Looking for the Android Auto headunit Apk/protocol - Android Auto General

Hi,
I have a 2015 Audi A3, which unfortunately didn't come with AA as an option (I think it was introduced in 2017). It's a real pain to install the 2017 MMI into an older car, but there are guys out there developing aftermarket Android-based headunits that basically put a whole android "phone" in the dash; which isn't a very eloquent solution and kind of overkill in my opinion. They've got their own SIM cards and you have to change the bluetooth devices the phone is paired to and whatnot. It's really not exactly what I'm looking for. I just want AA and that's it.
Anyway there's one guy who's kind of got what I'm looking for . Unfortunately because the car also didn't come with a touchscreen, I have to toggle through the menus with the knobs and steering wheel buttons, which is meh. I'd love to put a digitizer overlay on the screen and play around with it, maybe have a daughter board made up and inject the screen coordinates into the packets somehow before it's sent down to the phone. I'm more of an EE, don't really have a lot of Android dev experience but I've got a lot of microcontroller and firmware experience. Anyway that's my high level idea of how this might work, not sure if I'm going in the right direction. I did ask the guy at RSNAV (seems to be a one-man show) last night if I might have the source code after signing an NDA and I'm awaiting his response. In the meantime I want to get a plan of action going.
So I'm wondering how AA is integrated on the client-side. Obviously the manufacturer headunits aren't running Android, but they've gotta communicate somehow with the phone. I can't find this info anywhere, I'm guessing this is info Google only shares with Auto manufacturers and the Kentwoods and Pioneers of the world. But maybe I'm wrong. I'm assuming it's a protobuf-based protocol between the headunit and the phone, but I don't know.
Can anybody help me out here? Thanks.

All my android auto head units are running android operating system two Chevy and one Mitsubishi. Main reason why poplar cars get rooted head units and what not. But after market android auto head unit is probably your best choice.

Related

Aftermarket Head Units - What's Coming?

I would assume that the Pioneer NEX units will be receiving Android Auto, but those are really bloated, expensive systems that do way more than I want, and almost all of them have resistive screens.
There is currently an Alpine CarPlay head unit that seems very nice, and has exactly what I would want (except it's CarPlay). I hope they make this sucker into an Android Auto head unit when it's available.
What would be even more awesome is if it enabled whatever system (CarPlay, Android Auto) based on what was plugged in, so you and your SO could have different phones.
Anyone know any other head units that may be on the way?
You might want to check out a chinese Android head unit. They aren't exactly android auto and have their drawbacks on both the hard- and software side but they are available to buy now and are often sold dirt cheap, compared to the prices established brands will probably charge for upcoming android auto devices
Parrot RNB
Check out the first description of the Parrot RNB posted over at the Connected Car forum here. Just announced at '15 CES. It is a double-DIN, Lollipop head unit that is compatible with both Apple and Android systems, gps, OBDII (!).
Here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2449005
I have a Kenwood ddx9902S and could not be happier.
dcdttu said:
I would assume that the Pioneer NEX units will be receiving Android Auto, but those are really bloated, expensive systems that do way more than I want, and almost all of them have resistive screens.
There is currently an Alpine CarPlay head unit that seems very nice, and has exactly what I would want (except it's CarPlay). I hope they make this sucker into an Android Auto head unit when it's available.
What would be even more awesome is if it enabled whatever system (CarPlay, Android Auto) based on what was plugged in, so you and your SO could have different phones.
Anyone know any other head units that may be on the way?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
BPryde said:
I have a Kenwood ddx9902S and could not be happier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the 9702s and it had several issues. Ever since my phone updated to 6.0.1 (a Nexus 6P), the audio coming out of it (spotify or GPM) was very quiet. Nothing I did fixed it. Also, when using Android Auto, once an overlay sound (notification, Google Voice Search) happened, the audio would have this audible static in it during bassy notes, only fixed by rebooting the head unit.
I even got a replacement head unit and it had the same issues.
I ended up getting a Joying Android 4.4.4 head unit instead of Android Auto. So far I am really impressed. The screen is really good, the sound is great, and it's got full Android as the head unit's OS.

[Idea] Building your own Android Auto System

I noticed a few threads about porting Android auto to specific systems but I'm looking to open it up to porting Android Auto to ANY system.
In short, like building CAR PCs, the vision is to build our own Android Auto system.
The challenges are how are we going to get our hands on the software? Anyone know of any leaks/demos/files that are being provided to manufacturers in order for them to implement Android Auto?
Lets start collecting it here so we can start up a development community around it.
windraver said:
I noticed a few threads about porting Android auto to specific systems but I'm looking to open it up to porting Android Auto to ANY system.
In short, like building CAR PCs, the vision is to build our own Android Auto system.
The challenges are how are we going to get our hands on the software? Anyone know of any leaks/demos/files that are being provided to manufacturers in order for them to implement Android Auto?
Lets start collecting it here so we can start up a development community around it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have spent many hours over many weeks searching everywhere and anywhere on the internet for any hardware specifications associated with Android Auto and have come up with absolutely nothing. It seems like it should be relatively trivial to build such a device as it is my understanding that the hardware mostly acts as a dumb terminal to the software on your phone. This of course assumes that you don't care if your head unit is completely inoperable when not attached to your phone but this seems like a limitation that personally I would be perfectly happy with and is the reason that I will not buy any of the new head units from the manufacturers currently releasing them.
Obviously it still has to interface with the rest of your car speaker system so you'd need an amp and whatever else to make that work (like I said, NO information anywhere!) and you'd also need a touchscreen controller, etc., but still it just feels like it should be doable for just a few hundred dollars.
Sorry I can't provide any better information. I hope someone else can be more helpful.
Copied from my other post.
I am sure we will see hundreds of posts asking this question.
Likely #1 FAQ for Android Auto.
See my post on the new app and it's developer mode.
If developers can see and use the UI pretty well without a head unit, presumably on a tablet or larger phone, then non-developers should be able to do the same.
search u tube video: YkdW9O6iwYm
Says video is not available
https://github.com/f1xpl/openauto

LF: Android Auto Experience, without the Wires

feedback non-existent in H/U forum so thought i'd try my luck here.
seeking recommendation to be installed into RSX
back in January I looked into Android Auto/CarPlay from the brand names but they require USB connection to phone = dealbreaker
not looking to DIY a tablet into the dash
LF a 2DIN head unit that works very similiarly to AA without the wires.
I'm looking to have run this app pretty much on default
http://www.androidcentral.com/hands-automate-android-auto-your-phone
will be installing myself
to be used with Galaxy Nexus GSM on 4.3...quite long in the tooth my next phone is likely Note 5 or the new LG Nexus
convenience is key. I just want to enter the car and have BT auto connected to the phone and ready to stream music without having to pull out my phone.
voice-enabled messaging, google apps, backup cam, capacitative touch screen are all requirements. volume knob, 2gb ram, quad-core processor and large community dev support would be nice.I didn't look at Hufei and AN-21 because their specs are dated as they've been around for a while now. I've been waiting for android 5.0 head units to hit the market but it's taking forever.
i'm not an audiophile so as long as the sound quality isn't worse than a stock Honda radio I'm good which is only mediocre at best.
I think you're confused about a few things.
1. Android Auto requires USB, period. It doesn't work any other way.
2. AutoMate is not the same as Android Auto. It's a launcher that looks sort of like Android Auto. It has nothing to do with your other phone, bluetooth, etc. It's standalone. If you want to stream music from your phone you're gonna have a bad time.
The NU3001 is the best (i.e., most modern) head unit available today. Because the source code is available the community has developed a ROM that is car friendly and does work with bluetooth streaming, Google Now, etc. You can run AutoMate on it if you want but I finally uninstalled it as it's just a (pretty) layer that gets in the way between your maps/music/phone apps and you. There are variants available with a physical volume knob but to my knowledge they don't have one for a Honda.
alaninsitges said:
1. Android Auto requires USB, period. It doesn't work any other way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android Auto has Wifi support built in, but AFAIK my Headunit app is the only way to make it work at present, unless you have access to some unreleased devices/apps.
To Original poster: I don't think a solution with all the features you want exists yet. We've been waiting for decades for useful, robust implementations of the sort of environment that Android Auto and CarPlay provide.
I hope that within the next 2 years we will have solutions that are useful and "just work". The ones we have now clearly need work and seem as immature as Android 1.x and 2.x compared with the Android 5.x/6.x level solutions we want.

Looking for android screen, and a little question.

hello friends, i'm newbie at this topic, but i have a little question before i begin
first of all, ANDROID AUTO is a name for all the android car? or it's specific models?
second of all, I've been searching for over 3 weeks on the internet,EBAY,ALI etc.
and i can't find a what i'm looking for..
i've found some 2gb ram and 32rom, and with some good prices like 100$~170$ that is very low prices and good.
but must of them are not sitting good on the frame, get out a little bit. and i'm looking for a screen that support a subwoofer.
did anyone maybe seen or bought something like this?
9Inch,2RAM,32ROM,SUBWOOFER Support,coming with a compitible frame (I have corolla 2011).
Thanks very much for who can help
Android Navigation System with support subwoofer
123
Meir69 said:
first of all, ANDROID AUTO is a name for all the android car? or it's specific models?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Neither. Android Auto is a simplified Android user interface tailored for use while driving. The phone "projects" the interface onto the car's head unit, and the car provides touch input back to the phone. It supports a limited number of apps - navigation (Google Maps and Waze) and media (most major music apps, like Spotify, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, etc.), and handsfree phone. It supports Google Assistant, to allow voice commands. It also allows the phone to play audio through the car at a higher quality than Bluetooth can provide. It's supported by most major automobile and aftermarket car stereo manufacturers. It is not available in every country, probably because of legal or regulatory issues.
It has absolutely nothing to do with those cheap Chinese head units which run Android as an OS. There are different forums which discuss those.

Question The good old Android Auto Vivo Problem

Hey Guys,
i searched the Web for a possibility to get AA running on my X70 Pro+ with Origin OS Ocean....
Unfortunately there are only Posts and Threads about the X60 and other Vivo Phones and so on .
The issue seems to be the same.
Has anyone found a workaround to get AA running on Origin OS....?
I was hoping for Android 12 to get the Phone going, but no Idea what time we will get Android 12 and if Vivo sets permissions for AA then.
Cheers and greetings from Germany
Hi,
Right now, there is unfortunately no way to get Android Auto working. After Android 10 Android Auto only trigger car installation of it is a system application. Since there is not the case with Vivo and you couldn't mount AA as a system, you are out of options to make it work.
There is a slight, but really a slight option that it might work with the new Coolwalk version which will be available later this year.
Otherwise, the head unit direct version is also in preparation.
If you want the working AA now, the only realistic option is to buy an Android CarPlay dongle, or using a spare phone with older Android version as a buffer triggered from your phone hotspot (or with a separate sim card).
piskr said:
Hi,
Right now, there is unfortunately no way to get Android Auto working. After Android 10 Android Auto only trigger car installation of it is a system application. Since there is not the case with Vivo and you couldn't mount AA as a system, you are out of options to make it work.
There is a slight, but really a slight option that it might work with the new Coolwalk version which will be available later this year.
Otherwise, the head unit direct version is also in preparation.
If you want the working AA now, the only realistic option is to buy an Android CarPlay dongle, or using a spare phone with older Android version as a buffer triggered from your phone hotspot (or with a separate sim card).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much for the detailed explanation
Im looking for an EZ solution too
But from my knowledge the only work around right now is root the phone and make AA an system app
which is not EZ for vivo since it does not allow to unlock bootloader
There is simply no chance to run AA with x70 pro+ now. The only viable solution are android dongles running on past Android versions and triggering car AA. Or even better - if you have or can buy cheap an Android 8, 9 or 10 phone with full gps and at least 4g ram (could be with broken screen or scratches), you can use it as an interface.
The only way to have android auto to work on your vehicle is to have the one with Funtouch OS (which I have), other than that, you will waste your time in trying to find a way to make it work..
piskr said:
Hi,
Right now, there is unfortunately no way to get Android Auto working. After Android 10 Android Auto only trigger car installation of it is a system application. Since there is not the case with Vivo and you couldn't mount AA as a system, you are out of options to make it work.
There is a slight, but really a slight option that it might work with the new Coolwalk version which will be available later this year.
Otherwise, the head unit direct version is also in preparation.
If you want the working AA now, the only realistic option is to buy an Android CarPlay dongle, or using a spare phone with older Android version as a buffer triggered from your phone hotspot (or with a separate sim card).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will a dongle fix the connection issue?
piskr said:
Hi,
Right now, there is unfortunately no way to get Android Auto working. After Android 10 Android Auto only trigger car installation of it is a system application. Since there is not the case with Vivo and you couldn't mount AA as a system, you are out of options to make it work.
There is a slight, but really a slight option that it might work with the new Coolwalk version which will be available later this year.
Otherwise, the head unit direct version is also in preparation.
If you want the working AA now, the only realistic option is to buy an Android CarPlay dongle, or using a spare phone with older Android version as a buffer triggered from your phone hotspot (or with a separate sim card).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My head unit is after market and supports wireless. I know that my x fold won't hook up. Are you saying if I get carplay dongle I can hook my vivo wifi to it and it will work?
Sonicsoul25 said:
My head unit is after market and supports wireless. I know that my x fold won't hook up. Are you saying if I get carplay dongle I can hook my vivo wifi to it and it will work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The head unit has to support Android Auto. Then you can choose from a variety of dongles. Even though they have more or less the same chip, they are different. Each producer tries to squeeze the most from the device, and they have a different approach.
Basically, you must avoid those, which don't clearly stated that some version of Android is installed. Without Android you gain nothing, it's only wireless connection - for IOS.
Most of them have Android 9 or 10, though in the last time 11 appears as well. That is really interesting, because with Android 11 you must have AA as a system app in order to trigger it on a head unit. It looks like producers now solve that issue.
And surprisingly, the core you get on the head unit, if everything goes ok, is not Android, it's IOS. In that core you have android apps including Google Play.
Since, as I said, every unit has a unique configuration, it's not possible to recommend any. The device that I bought is not in the market anymore, for example.
The very piece that you buy must play well with your car head unit and everything what is behind. And behind is a lot, managing systems for settings, audio and other customization.
You must be aware, when you connect AA dongle, it cuts every other setting related to its management out.
Therefore, the biggest issue might be that you'll lose calling via Bluetooth functionality. Because callings (and old style sms) goes different way than other features. My dongle does support calling but in limited way, without Assistant support and with custom made phone app, where the contact selection is rather difficult. And the next flaw is that it doesn't get along with my car audio system, therefore woofers are not engaged. The dongle doesn't have an equalizer, and I can't remedy it.
There is noticeable lag when starting apps and with commands, but otherwise there is no lag when running. Music, video and Gmaps function without glitches. Yes, you have YouTube, Netflix and any other video app you might be subscribed to. And video runs well with a decent resolution. You can load apps from store or as a sideload. And you can play local files, stored either in the dongle memory or on USB.
That's my experience, others may have different. You don't have necessary to buy a dongle, you can use an old phone with Android from 8 to 10 as a driver. Because, as you may already guess, your actual phone serves only as a hot spot (wireless and if you're lucky bluetooth too - tethering) to provide a signal for AA dongle.
If you want to buy a dedicated device, select one which has reviews from the users with as much as possible similar circumstances and priorities as you have.
piskr said:
The head unit has to support Android Auto. Then you can choose from a variety of dongles. Even though they have more or less the same chip, they are different. Each producer tries to squeeze the most from the device, and they have a different approach.
Basically, you must avoid those, which don't clearly stated that some version of Android is installed. Without Android you gain nothing, it's only wireless connection - for IOS.
Most of them have Android 9 or 10, though in the last time 11 appears as well. That is really interesting, because with Android 11 you must have AA as a system app in order to trigger it on a head unit. It looks like producers now solve that issue.
And surprisingly, the core you get on the head unit, if everything goes ok, is not Android, it's IOS. In that core you have android apps including Google Play.
Since, as I said, every unit has a unique configuration, it's not possible to recommend any. The device that I bought is not in the market anymore, for example.
The very piece that you buy must play well with your car head unit and everything what is behind. And behind is a lot, managing systems for settings, audio and other customization.
You must be aware, when you connect AA dongle, it cuts every other setting related to its management out.
Therefore, the biggest issue might be that you'll lose calling via Bluetooth functionality. Because callings (and old style sms) goes different way than other features. My dongle does support calling but in limited way, without Assistant support and with custom made phone app, where the contact selection is rather difficult. And the next flaw is that it doesn't get along with my car audio system, therefore woofers are not engaged. The dongle doesn't have an equalizer, and I can't remedy it.
There is noticeable lag when starting apps and with commands, but otherwise there is no lag when running. Music, video and Gmaps function without glitches. Yes, you have YouTube, Netflix and any other video app you might be subscribed to. And video runs well with a decent resolution. You can load apps from store or as a sideload. And you can play local files, stored either in the dongle memory or on USB.
That's my experience, others may have different. You don't have necessary to buy a dongle, you can use an old phone with Android from 8 to 10 as a driver. Because, as you may already guess, your actual phone serves only as a hot spot (wireless and if you're lucky bluetooth too - tethering) to provide a signal for AA dongle.
If you want to buy a dedicated device, select one which has reviews from the users with as much as possible similar circumstances and priorities as you have.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the wealth of information. I Think I will just use my spare phone to run it. Until another solution arises.

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