This app was mentioned in 64 comments, with an average of 1.80 upvotes
For phone-only users, there are a couple ways to keep using the app's features:
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Headunit Reloaded does a decent job of it, somewhat laggy but gets it from your phone on to any other Android unit via WiFi. I tested it on my new headunit for my Mustang and it was surprisingly okay, but I prefer the native version of apps on it instead.
Install Headunit Reloaded onto the tablet - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gb.xxy.hr&hl=en_US&gl=US
On the S10 I just have AA installed and updated.
On the Atoto I have HeadUnit Reloaded installed. First I downloaded the trial version to make sure it worked. Once confirmed I bought the paid app. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gb.xxy.hr&hl=en_US
Install HeadUnit Reloaded onto your Head Unit, plug in the phone and it should prompt a set up. I think you might need USB debugging on both the phone and headunit enabled.
If you have other questions, I can try to answer them.
There's an Android app that emulates the functionality you're looking for. It's called Headunit Reloaded
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gb.xxy.hr&hl=en
Check this thread and use the trial APK to see if your device is compatible. If you can make it work, then buy the full version and you'll be good to go. If you have question ask in the XDA Thread, the developer is a nice person and often posts here in the sub.
Good luck!
You should check out Headunit Reloaded! It's a full Android Auto emulator. I've tested it out a bit on previous devices and it seems to work pretty well. It definitely feels better to use. I never liked the AA for phone screens app or the maps driving mode.
Yes!!! I use a setup like that!
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gb.xxy.hr
It's called Headunit Reloaded. Still some bugs, but it's worth the $8 and there is a trial version as well. Test it first. Googling Headunit Reloaded will give you some xda threads that should help with set-up.
Good luck!
Very worth the $5
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gb.xxy.hr
I got frustrated with Assitant driving mode in like 5 seconds of looking at it and found this alternative.
There is a free trial version of the app on XDA here:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/android-4-1-headunit-reloaded-for-android-auto-with-wifi.3432348/
Yea I signed up for mine on dec 2nd 2020 and finally got it on may 29 2021.. definitely was a long wait but well worth it. If you have an extra Android Phone you can check out Headunit Reloaded which is made by the same developers and essentially does the same thing the dongle does but requires the extra phone.. I've never used this though so I have no experience with it, I've just seen it come up in other topics.
For me, I HATE AA running on the phone itself and I don't know why anyone would want to do this... It DOES render the phone useless. To fix it, open Android Auto on your phone, tap the menu icon in the top left, go to settings>Car Settings> and change "Turn on Automatically" to Never. I turned off everything aside from "Turn BT on automatically". This prevents AA from taking over your phone but leaves AA functioning in your car...
It will work, but you don't really need AAWireless on an Android based headunit. You can just install HeadUnit Reloaded (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gb.xxy.hr). Depends a bit on the Bluetooth on this unit, but the beta version has native wireless AA built in.
The only way to know this would be to try it, but I'm going to go ahead and say no.
When you connect to AA through a head unit all the audio is directed over either Bluetooth or USB. Turn off Bluetooth and it defaults to USB, turn on Bluetooth and it will connect over Bluetooth instead of USB. Since the car sees AA as a "source" like it would the aux jack or the CD player you wouldn't be able to use AA and the DAC at the same time.
That being said I will definitely test this (I don't have a car with AA but there's an app called Headunit Reloaded that emulates AA on Android devices.) I recommend that you try this out yourself as your milage may vary but I will also update you on my findings.
Mmm, that does make it pretty useless on a longer trip. I did read about an app that gives you the same functionality, but haven't tried it yet. I'll see if I can find the link again.
If you're really on a budget you may consider a single-SIN Android headunit. There's an app called Headunit Reloaded Emulator on the Play Store, that you can install on any Android device and it will act as an Android Auto headunit screen. It will work as long as the headunit supports connecting your phone via USB (otg).
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I use this on an Android tablet, connecting my phone using a USB OTG adpter, the tablet works as the Android Auto on newer cars. This is the cheapest alternative without using an AA-capable headunit.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gb.xxy.hr&hl=es_MX
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Anything easier will be more expensive, as other users already stated. Good luck.
Ah, well that is quite interesting!
Their little box seems to be handling some aspect of the calls itself, though it may be just acting as a Bluetooth remote.
I haven't managed to make the navdy USB port work on host mode (needed to plug other USB devices in) though it appears it should be possible. Alternatively, there may be a similar app-only installation similar to that which could use the built in Bluetooth for connection.
Edit: this. this could be good: https://labs.xda-developers.com/store/app/gb.xxy.hr https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gb.xxy.hr
Still not sure if the USB link to phone will be the correct way around, but it's worth a try.
ps. yes the display is running Android 5.1 behind the custom hud app you see on screen.
You should try https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gb.xxy.hr&hl=en (that's not me). But be careful, leaving a tablet in a car is probably dangerous - the battery is not designed to withstand the temperature in the car.
With an app called Headunit Reloaded you can use your phone as a headunit screen running Android Auto. This gives you the easy to use full Android Auto experience without needing a compatible headunit and is fairly easy to setup. There is a trial if you want to test it.
It's a misconception AA does not support portrait screen. It already did which is why they added the portrait resolution 720 x 1280 and 1080 x 1920 to AA developer settings to make it more abundantly clear i.e. support was already in place before this.
It's up the manufacturer to support it.
In your case, you are using an Android hu and the solution providing this unofficial AA has to support it e.g. zlink, autolink, etc. If you are using HUR, it should support portrait.
Could you please show where on the dash?
And are you using the device tethered to a phone or something like Head Unit Reloaded for Android Auto?
Headunit Reloaded does the trick if that's your goal. It also supports automatic day/night mode based on time of day and let's you manually choose a zoom level. We probably have the same head unit model. This is what I used before the recent firmware patch. It works well but lacks hardware acceleration so it'll run at like 15FPS if you perform a full screen update. Lower the resolution in the Headunit Reloaded app to speed up the screen refreshes. It does work. You can set the UI scale close enough that you end up with just a bottom bar that has the previous and next buttons on it.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gb.xxy.hr&hl=en_AU&gl=US Head unit reloaded will simulate android auto on a head unit that runs android natively
Yes and it's my preferred way of doing it. Headunit Reloaded.
I had issues with zlink which would get stuck in day mode which had too much glare at night, using HR fixed it.
I don't think the head unit is setup to utilize Android Auto. Simply having Android as the OS for the head unit doesn't mean it will run AA off your phone. You would probably need something like HUR to get everything working.
I used headunit reloaded in my old car whcih is pretty much the same as what you get in aawireless without the box (same developer),
It wokred very well, it automatically turned on my phones hotspot and connected via that.
it was a little buggy at time, but thats to be expected, it did take a few seconds to intitialise, but honestly not much longer then my 2017 golf gti takes to initialise android auto in my new car
Exactly. Takes a little setup but after that works great!
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gb.xxy.hr
It's the same guy behind the aawireless dongle.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/aawireless#/
P.s it can obviously only work on Android.
Download and install Headunit Reloaded by Emil Borconi
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gb.xxy.hr&hl=it&gl=US
This app will make use of USB (or wireless connectivity) to host your phone with Android Auto. There's a trial version in case you want to test if the setup works smoothly.
In the Play Store description page you should be able to also follow instructions for Wireless AA.
That's fair. I have a buddy with one of those android tablet radios, he reckons it's fine. He runs Headunit Reloaded to give him Android Auto support.
It's an app that acts as android auto receiver and has capability of wireless android auto. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gb.xxy.hr
So I would enter my car, my phone would connect to car via Bluetooth automatically, that would trigger Android auto on my phone & turn on mobile hotspot. Meanwhile, the tablet would detect this hotspot and connect on its own which would trigger head unit emulator app. Then one touch and android auto would be on the tablet ready to go. Experience just like an expensive infotainment system.
UPDATE 2: So the Zlink 3.6.2 App is crap (Iphone i hear is fine, but i'm not a apple person).
So i did some research and installed this App Headunit Reloaded Emulator for Android Auto https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gb.xxy.hr&hl=en_US
This App solves all my issues.
Thank you everyone for the help.
Virtually, yes they will.
All you will need is Headunit Reloaded https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gb.xxy.hr and you should be able to take advantage of the tablet USB and even could have the chance to run it wirelessly.
Head Unit Reloaded: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gb.xxy.hr
It's an emulator for the headunit version of Android Auto, so you get the car experience, but on a better device (most headunits are garbage).
Feel free to pm me for help getting it working!
You didn't originally mention the iPhone, which makes things much harder. I know of an app that will turn your tablet into a head unit for Android Auto: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gb.xxy.hr
I think it requires your phone to be an Android phone though.
Edit: there's a trial version of the app - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gb.xxy.trial
You can have android and android auto. I do it in my Mazdaspeed 3 with a seicane android head unit running head unit reloaded. Link is below.
For Android Auto, try this - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gb.xxy.hr
You can hook up using USB from you headunit to your phone, or use wifi. Works pretty similarly to factory installed Android Auto.
If you want Android Auto, then use this on it.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gb.xxy.hr&hl=en_US
HUR will let you run the unit as a display for AA. It'll run fine on a PX5/8.0 system if that's your budget.
>On your phone, have AA installed and updated.
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>On the Atoto I have HeadUnit Reloaded installed. First I downloaded the trial version to make sure it worked. Once confirmed I bought the paid app. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gb.xxy.hr&hl=en\_US
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>Install HeadUnit Reloaded onto your Head Unit, plug in the phone and it should prompt a set up. I think you might need USB debugging on both the phone and headunit enabled.
It's an app that's available from the [Play Store](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gb.xxy.hr). That's the free trial (I believe it's time limited, usable for 30 minutes or less each drive). It was designed to run Android Auto on a headunit or tablet. Running it on the headunit would be "self mode".
I just started using it with a tablet in the car with my phone connected via USB. It works pretty seamlessly. I can have my phone doing GPS, mobile data, etc. It passes that through to the tablet. The tablet connects to my car via bluetooth and I have audio out the car speakers. The developer seems responsive on the XDA forum link if you have questions.
Why not just run android auto on the N7? https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gb.xxy.hr
FWIW, I did have that setup and preferred the rpi + official touchscreen.
Did you buy an official Android TV box? Sounds like you bought some random chinese Android TV box. It's not that confusing. Also someone did make an app to make a tablet or whatever into a real Android Auto receiver unit for your phone: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gb.xxy.hr There's a trial version too listed in the Play Store.
You should try this app, Headunit Reloaded which has a -trial. Head unit reloaded basically allows a full android head unit to run android auto.
Apparently you can use Headunit Reloaded Emulator to push your phone to the tablet, and you get full functionality. Can you confirm if this works? My pioneer gets here tomorrow and installed on thursday, but ill return it if this works out!
Ah, I see! Even if that were the case, wouldn't the tablet be able to use it's own GPS for location? Alternatively, there is also Headunit Reloaded, that essentially projects the AA output from your phone to the tablet, meaning all network and location information comes from the phone.
There is an alternative and cheaper solution. You can buy an Android powered headunit, and my app from the playstore: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gb.xxy.hr
The app is reported to work very nicely on S160 headunits, but people using Joying units complain about slowness. Eonen unit are also reported to work (see: http://imgur.com/a/AgTkH). The problem is I cannot guarantee which unit will work and which not some of those cheap headunits are cheap for a reason. Haven't tested yet but Joying has now a headunit which is Intel powered, I'm expecting the app to run smoothly on those units.
I am working on a project similar to your second option. Most evidence points to the RPi being mostly incompatible with AA, but some people are working on it.
If you are intent on Android Auto, you could buy a cheap tablet then run the Headunit Emulator on it (try the trial first to make sure you like it). I can say that at least the trial version worked fine on my tablet. Your biggest issues would be providing power for your tablet and integration with the car audio and whatnot if you want the full AA experience which can be done if you're any good with tinkering and are willing to spend a little more money on hardware.
Sorry, I should have linked that.
HUR Google Play
HUR XDA forum thread
It allows you to use a tablet as a screen in your car to display Android Auto.
Made by Emil Borconi-Szedressy the same person who made AAWireless.
Head Unit Reloaded: Lets you display AA on your phone instead of your car's radio, for testing & other uses. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gb.xxy.hr
Try Head Unit Reloaded, it emulates android auto, no guarantees it will work, but try the trial version before paying. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gb.xxy.hr
If you didn't buy the optional USB stick, then it's a blessing in disguise because such stick is often not worth the trouble. Although, not exactly comparable as officially built-in AA, the better alternative for AA on an Android hu is Head Unit Reloaded. Try the trial and if you like it then the paidversion. Should you need help to set it up, you should be asking in its official forum.
You can use an app like this maybe. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gb.xxy.hr It can connect wired and wirelesly and can simulate the large screen.
It's in the Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gb.xxy.hr
Also XDA Labs: https://labs.xda-developers.com/store/app/gb.xxy.hr
Here's the XDA forum discussion: https://forum.xda-developers.com/general/paid-software/android-4-1-headunit-reloaded-android-t3432348
The app basically emulates an AA certified head unit (gross simplification, I'm sure) so you can connect a phone up and get the AA experience on a cheap head unit/tablet.
I should've added to my first response that you can, of course, download Android Auto and run it on your head unit natively but it won't use the latest user interface; it will use the basic phone screen UI. You can, however, use HUR in Self Mode with AA installed directly on the head unit. This way the AA installation on the head unit itself is treated as the phone you would normally connect and HUR displays the full Android Auto UI. This way your phone isn't involved at all and so doesn't need charging.
I have the same head unit and I get android auto using an app called head unit reloaded. No dongle required. Link below.
Torque can write logs to a csv file.
Tasker can read them, split them, and put them into variables.
Tasker can create a scene that uses these variables and display them on the tablet.
Connected to my phone and using Android Auto, I turned a Lenovo tablet (Tab4 8plus running 7.1.1), HUR, Tasker, Torque, Join and an api pull from DarkSky (via Autoweb) into this: https://i.imgur.com/BEA73RW.jpg All white text on the black backgrounds, except the time/date and the icons for wifi, ltw & battery is generated by a scene in tasker along with the above apps. The text values updates every second.
Torque runs on the tablet, OBDII adapter is connected to the tablet as well. Phone is only there for the temperature (DarkSky API is on the phone, and wasting another API call on the tablet was not worth it), and Android Auto.
I would imagine you could build a screen overlay over whatever you wanted. Though you will be building all those fancy graphics yourself. Or at least coding them yourself.
Links for Headunit Reloaded
Simple, get a Joying and buy my app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gb.xxy.hr you can have the best of both worlds!
You can do it, search for an app "Headunit Reloaded Emulator" or use this link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gb.xxy.hr free tiral app also available.
Headunit reloaded allows for wireless AA on units that do not typically support it
Nope, but what you can do is get a single DIN Android powered one and buy my app from: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gb.xxy.hr it should work on most of the devices, but unfortunatelly cannot guanrantee you that. Alternatively you might want to ask the seller to let you try the app before you buy the headunit.