Welcome! Please feel free to ask for help or share your experience with the Atoto S8 line of head units.
Current lineup:
S8 Standard S8G2A71S(2GB/16GB)
S8 Pro Version S8G2A75P(4GB/32GB)
S8 Ultra
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Tips/Notes
Ensure your Google contacts are backed up if you allow the HU to access them. It has been known to delete them. You can disable Contact Sync from the Accounts section in Settings.
Developer Options can be enabled via the repeated clicking under 'About', but to access the menu, you need a play store program that will take you directly to it. A lot of alternative launchers provide a way to access them.
The ONLY USB connection that USB debugging works on is USB1 --> Phone Link. For it to work, you need to change the "computer connection" to whatever the SECOND option is [untranslated]. This can be selected from the top right menu in Developer Options
File down the very end, outer part of the wire harness clip, and it will go in all the way and latch like it's supposed it. Just needs to clear the casing by 1/16" or less.
On at least the first batch of S8's there is a chance the RCA Rear and Front outputs are incorrect and need swapped. The labels are incorrect.
A6 Help Thread
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Just got mine in this afternoon and installed it in my 86 Ford truck this evening. Prior to that I set it up via the AC adapter (sold separately).
I know there are a lot more fleshed out reviews out there but here's my take on it.
I really liked the A6Y Pro. It started out really strong and for 95% of the time it did what was needed. When you consider it's a head unit so it encompasses a lot more than just an Android tablet, it really is impressive. Everything it did, it did well - it just did it kind of slowly. It got pretty sluggish at times when trying to switch between a lot of apps and installing apps from the app store was painfully slow. It should be noted that in just the normal run of the mill drive when you are listening to a single music/radio app or navigation it did great. It was really just when I was sitting in my truck messing with it that one noticed these things. So take those complaints as being a tad bit critical.
In comes the S8. I didn't have any plans of getting the S8 initially but since I am still working on the interior of the truck I am restoring I felt like it made sense to get the latest version before finalizing the wiring and dash.
Right off the bat, it's noticeably faster and more responsive. I could install my apps from the app store about as fast as I could click them. Even the cold boot wasn't much slower than my phone (A6Y Pro would go through the 'Optimizing app' process every time and that took awhile). The status bar has changed quite a bit in that the navigation is at the top left vs the bottom. The three primary buttons work really well there and the split screen feature works slick.
This is a personal preference but while I like the new status bar approach, I wouldn't mind seeing a way to style it differently. I am not a huge fan of colors up there like is seen when a phone is connected.
As I said, there are better video reviews out there but let me just say that if you have the A6Y and feel like you are pushing it, the S8 is the answer for you.
Additionally the Atoto support team is very quick to respond (realize that hours may differ from where you are) and is extremely helpful. That's a huge plus especially with the S8 being fairly new to market.
Items of note that I have found:
1. LastPass and FCC Launcher.
Both need Accessibility Services but when trying to grant them and click OK I am unable to due to a message of: "Because an app is obscuring a permission request, Settings can't verify your response"
There may be other apps that will run into this issue also or if someone has tried either one of these and they don't have the issue granting it, please let me know
2. RCA Rear and Front outputs are incorrect
This one threw me for a minute. I am using the RCA FR and FL for my door component speaks and am joining the RR and RL for my Hideaway sub. Turns out in the first shipment of S8's the ports are backwards so you will need to hook the Fronts to the RL/RR and vice versa. I am told that the next shipment will have this resolved. Those are the only RCA outputs I have used so far as the male part of my rear view camera RCA cable fell off when removing the A6Y Pro so I have to wait for a new connector to come in so I can repair it.
kramttocs said:
2. RCA Rear and Front outputs are incorrect
This one threw me for a minute. I am using the RCA FR and FL for my door component speaks and am joining the RR and RL for my Hideaway sub. Turns out in the first shipment of S8's the ports are backwards so you will need to hook the Fronts to the RL/RR and vice versa. I am told that the next shipment will have this resolved. Those are the only RCA outputs I have used so far as the male part of my rear view camera RCA cable fell off when removing the A6Y Pro so I have to wait for a new connector to come in so I can repair it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much for posting this so mine can be installed correctly! I am surprised Support didn't tell me this since I have been talking to them about something else, but maybe they have different people for different issues. UPS finally got around (with their huge backlog of full trucks just sitting for days) to delivering my S8 Pro today, so I'm excited!
Out of curiosity, why did you choose to use the same back-up camera instead of get the new 720p HD one that uses the S8's capabilities for virtual bird's-eye view? I went with that camera because I used real bird's-eye view on a family member's car last fall when I borrowed it and it was helpful. Plus, of course, the coolness factor.
I hope to get the S8 Pro installed soon, but definitely do post anything else good or bad you find about yours!
I have been playing with mine a LOT the past couple of nights on the couch with it hooked up to the wall power supply. Mainly messing with FCC Launcher.
The birds eye view cameras are really nice. My wife's new Explorer has it and she loves it. I prefer turning around to backup myself so I only use my camera when hooking up to a trailer. I have it hooked to a button so it doesn't even come on when going into reverse. It's also a recessed camera that is drilled through the license place and sits flush so I don't hit it when climbing in the bed. So the short answer is that at least for now, it's not a big thing for me on my truck. I would really like to hear your experience with it though.
One thing I noticed was that the harness connector latch isn't quite right on my S8 to the point the latch on the harness itself doesn't really click. I shaved a little of the harness latch and it helps some but the problem is on the units connector and would be hard to get at. This may be only on my unit and isn't a big deal but just wanting to mention anything and everything I am finding no matter how nitpicky and irrelevant to usage it may be
On the factory reset confirmation there is spelling problem (encoding) with "can't"
I also confirmed with Atoto Support that you can't set an SD card as internal storage.
The built-in file manager doesn't appear to have 'share' options so in order to send a screenshot in gmail I needed to install a 3rd party one.
I definitely don't want to discount all the positive aspects of the S8. Still very happy with the purchase/upgrade. Even after messing with it a lot the performance is still very good. Haven't noticed any lagging or concerns there.
Glad to hear yours arrived! Please don't hesitate to add any of your findings here also. Do you use the rca low level outs then? I assume yours is from the first batch also but maybe not.
kramttocs said:
I have been playing with mine a LOT the past couple of nights on the couch with it hooked up to the wall power supply. Mainly messing with FCC Launcher.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had to look up that launcher. It looks nice, though I still like the look of Agama better. If you have tried Agama, what made you choose FCC over it?
The birds eye view cameras are really nice. My wife's new Explorer has it and she loves it. I prefer turning around to backup myself so I only use my camera when hooking up to a trailer. I have it hooked to a button so it doesn't even come on when going into reverse. It's also a recessed camera that is drilled through the license place and sits flush so I don't hit it when climbing in the bed. So the short answer is that at least for now, it's not a big thing for me on my truck. I would really like to hear your experience with it though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, my SUV is a 2005, so doesn't have a back-up camera, just back-up sensors that ding and have warning lights in the rear, so I'm not used to using a back-up camera and look behind as well as use my mirrors, but when I had to borrow my family member's car when mine was in the shop (brake lines rusted out and almost made me T-bone another car, but I was able to swerve around him with probably a few inches to go), using the camera when backing out in a parking garage was very helpful, especially to see the railings of the walkway behind me diagonally. So, I figured I should get it, especially since the bird's-eye view is what helped the most in that situation.
One thing I noticed was that the harness connector latch isn't quite right on my S8 to the point the latch on the harness itself doesn't really click. I shaved a little of the harness latch and it helps some but the problem is on the units connector and would be hard to get at. This may be only on my unit and isn't a big deal but just wanting to mention anything and everything I am finding no matter how nitpicky and irrelevant to usage it may be
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I definitely appreciate you mentioning everything! I already put a sticky note on the S8 box to remind myself about the audio plug switcharoo. Do you think your harness has the potential to fall off? Or is it secure enough that you trust it will stay?
On the factory reset confirmation there is spelling problem (encoding) with "can't"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hate bad grammar, but at least it is in a place I won't see it often.
I also confirmed with Atoto Support that you can't set an SD card as internal storage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You mean you can't save files and apps on it? It is only for updates, to transfer photos to the Gallery, and if you use it for music files?
BTW, have you tried the Gallery feature? I take it that it is like a screensaver slideshow type of thing?
The built-in file manager doesn't appear to have 'share' options so in order to send a screenshot in gmail I needed to install a 3rd party one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's weird for sure. I hope they fix that in the future.
I definitely don't want to discount all the positive aspects of the S8. Still very happy with the purchase/upgrade. Even after messing with it a lot the performance is still very good. Haven't noticed any lagging or concerns there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's great that there isn't any lag etc., which is one of the reasons I decided to upgrade to the S8 instead of installing the A6 I'd had for months.
Glad to hear yours arrived! Please don't hesitate to add any of your findings here also. Do you use the rca low level outs then? I assume yours is from the first batch also but maybe not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seeing as mine was supposed to have been delivered on the 5th (it was out for delivery, but they didn't finish their route that day or the next business day), I'm sure it is also from the first batch. I have no idea about the "rca low level outs", sorry! I never got the A6 installed, so my car still has the old OEM factory unit in it (which has been very frustrating).
Lace'n'Pearls said:
I had to look up that launcher. It looks nice, though I still like the look of Agama better. If you have tried Agama, what made you choose FCC over it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have Agama installed also and like it. No real complaints other than I wasn't able to customize it as much as I liked. It has a great UI for safe usage while driving though.
I like that FCC has some really good auto-centric widgets and can be tailored to one's own taste. It reminds me a lot like if Nova Launcher had an auto version. It does have some major pitfalls right now but I am hoping they will be addressed. I believe they are because it's designed for a different type/brand/tech of headunit and isn't entirely generic. It's because of these issues that I haven't uninstalled Agama yet
Here is what I have right now. Simple but does what I need. The background is a live visualizer.
Lace'n'Pearls said:
I definitely appreciate you mentioning everything! I already put a sticky note on the S8 box to remind myself about the audio plug switcharoo. Do you think your harness has the potential to fall off? Or is it secure enough that you trust it will stay?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really think it's secure enough. I am not worried about it although I would prefer to have that satisfying click.
Lace'n'Pearls said:
You mean you can't save files and apps on it? It is only for updates, to transfer photos to the Gallery, and if you use it for music files?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This actually isn't as big of a concern as I first thought. You can save files on it but not apps. Initially Spotify wasn't picking it up and I have some large playlists that I download. After a couple reboots though it's now seeing it as the default offline location so all good there. As long as it's available for apps to use (and it looks like it is now) then I am fine with it not being internal as I suspect people won't load up their HU internal storage with apps as much as they do on their phones.
I hadn't tried the Gallery but just did. From the app drawer it looks like a normal photo viewer/slideshow app. From the pulldown menu though I must not have mine configured correctly as when I click that icon it shows a stock photo with a clock/date widget on it. It never seems to change the photo though.
Glad to hear the accident was avoided! I can imagine that got the heart beating.
If you mess with your HU a lot, might be worth looking into the ATOTO AC-10V1. It's not really a super fun purchase but sure beats sitting in a hot car playing with the launcher and getting everything setup. One could also make their own if they wanted.
How soon do you think you'll install your S8? Wanting to hear your experience. :fingers-crossed:
The best thing you can do, and it's now possible on the S8 is to use KLWP to completely design your own interface. It wasn't possible on the A6 as it killed the live wallpaper background process on fast boot/resume. Obviously there is a learning curve, but it's a real treat once you get going.
Super_paulie said:
The best thing you can do, and it's now possible on the S8 is to use KLWP to completely design your own interface. It wasn't possible on the A6 as it killed the live wallpaper background process on fast boot/resume. Obviously there is a learning curve, but it's a real treat once you get going.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Funny you mention that and I am glad you did. I found a reddit post talking about that so installed it last night. Haven't played around with it yet though as it did look like it was a bit of a commitment. Have a screenshot of yours? I haven't searched yet but is there a community on xda for it?
I think there's a Reddit. I had to sack it off and use kwgt instead on my A6, that's the widget only version. But the limit is your imagination with KLWP. You'd need to have your unit on the bench or use an emulator I guess as it'll take a while.
kramttocs said:
I have Agama installed also and like it. No real complaints other than I wasn't able to customize it as much as I liked. It has a great UI for safe usage while driving though.
I like that FCC has some really good auto-centric widgets and can be tailored to one's own taste. It reminds me a lot like if Nova Launcher had an auto version. It does have some major pitfalls right now but I am hoping they will be addressed. I believe they are because it's designed for a different type/brand/tech of headunit and isn't entirely generic. It's because of these issues that I haven't uninstalled Agama yet
Here is what I have right now. Simple but does what I need. The background is a live visualizer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like the live visualizer background! That's a cool feature. I'm going to have to check that app out.
I really think it's secure enough. I am not worried about it although I would prefer to have that satisfying click.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gotcha.
This actually isn't as big of a concern as I first thought. You can save files on it but not apps. Initially Spotify wasn't picking it up and I have some large playlists that I download. After a couple reboots though it's now seeing it as the default offline location so all good there. As long as it's available for apps to use (and it looks like it is now) then I am fine with it not being internal as I suspect people won't load up their HU internal storage with apps as much as they do on their phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad it is working now for ya! Yeah, I don't think I'll be putting too many apps on it, but if I had files to play from the SD card, that would be helpful.
I hadn't tried the Gallery but just did. From the app drawer it looks like a normal photo viewer/slideshow app. From the pulldown menu though I must not have mine configured correctly as when I click that icon it shows a stock photo with a clock/date widget on it. It never seems to change the photo though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm, you'd think it would work the same from both locations! I don't know if I'd ever use it as a slideshow or screensaver, but I figure I'll put some of my photos (I'm a photographer) on it just in case.
Glad to hear the accident was avoided! I can imagine that got the heart beating.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It certainly did, especially when a few hundred feet later all the dashboard lights turned on and the car was dinging at me, so I pulled into the parking lot that was there and smoke started coming out! Thankfully, I was just diagonally across the street from the mechanic I go to, so I didn't need a tow. It was a very rainy day and I'd had to drive through a flooded street about a half-hour before it, and had just pulled out of the gas station after filling up to ready for the next day's hour drive to a concert when it happened. Glad I could borrow a car and still get to the concert, but my car was in the shop for two weeks because he was slammed and no longer had another guy working for him, and GM was on strike so I think the parts took longer to get, too.
If you mess with your HU a lot, might be worth looking into the ATOTO AC-10V1. It's not really a super fun purchase but sure beats sitting in a hot car playing with the launcher and getting everything setup. One could also make their own if they wanted.
How soon do you think you'll install your S8? Wanting to hear your experience. :fingers-crossed:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have air conditioning in my car, plus it isn't hot here yet (64° right now), which actually is annoying because I sprayed UV protectant on some metallic car trim a few days ago and it is still tacky, unlike last July/August/September when it was good to be installed in two days. I did the front doors and around the sunroof with it last year, but didn't get to finish before the weather was too cold, so now I will do the back doors (on a warm, sunny day) and then we'll see what else.
Today, I got an app't for the S8 install on Thursday, so I'm excited!! I'm sure I could do the wiring myself, but I'm too scared of breaking my car trying to open it up and put it back together, so I'll let the pro do it (he's got so many trophies you'd think the front of the shop was a trophy store).
---------- Post added at 08:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:07 PM ----------
Super_paulie said:
The best thing you can do, and it's now possible on the S8 is to use KLWP to completely design your own interface. It wasn't possible on the A6 as it killed the live wallpaper background process on fast boot/resume. Obviously there is a learning curve, but it's a real treat once you get going.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I'll have to try all three launchers!
Hello, fellow ATOTO users. I am testing the S8 Ultra and, as others have mentioned, it is noticeably peppier than the A6. I'm wondering if others have noticed a couple of annoying things I've come across. I like being able to mark radio stations as favorites - even to the point of giving their buttons custom names. On the A6, I'd hit the radio buttons and I'd be taken to my favorites. On the S8, just the generic radio screen. Also on the A6, I'd turn the car on and the unit would open to the home screen and play music or radio, whichever I was running when I shut it off. On the S8, if I was listening to the radio, it goes to the radio screen (but just the generic one, remember..) or, if listening to the music player, it goes to that screen. I spent a lot of time getting my home screen set up and would really prefer to see that when I turn the unit on. I know, picky. Have others had this experience?
wheresduke said:
Hello, fellow ATOTO users. I am testing the S8 Ultra and, as others have mentioned, it is noticeably peppier than the A6. I'm wondering if others have noticed a couple of annoying things I've come across. I like being able to mark radio stations as favorites - even to the point of giving their buttons custom names. On the A6, I'd hit the radio buttons and I'd be taken to my favorites. On the S8, just the generic radio screen. Also on the A6, I'd turn the car on and the unit would open to the home screen and play music or radio, whichever I was running when I shut it off. On the S8, if I was listening to the radio, it goes to the radio screen (but just the generic one, remember..) or, if listening to the music player, it goes to that screen. I spent a lot of time getting my home screen set up and would really prefer to see that when I turn the unit on. I know, picky. Have others had this experience?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yep, experienced the exact same thing and reported to Atoto. The radio opening not on the favourites is particularly annoying, makes the favourites kinda pointless. I have taken to just assigning all stations on the "opening" radio screen to stations that are basically my favourites. Certainly seems an oversight on Atotos behalf as it worked ok on the A6.
The radio widget, although better than on the A6 as it doesnt just scan now, it jumps to stations. Again but not favourites, just all channels saved. Also it doesnt show the labels, just the frequency which seems like something easy to do so why miss it off?
Its a way better unit than the A6 though, even though it still has a few problems. I mean the problems seem like childs play to fix so not sure why this wasnt tested out prior.
Agree on the radio. The favorites behavior is pretty unpolished. I would also like to see the 'Delete all' button for the favorites as nested inside settings although not sure what to replace it with necessarily. How often are people going to really want to delete all of their presents?
kramttocs said:
Agree on the radio. The favorites behavior is pretty unpolished. I would also like to see the 'Delete all' button for the favorites as nested inside settings although not sure what to replace it with necessarily. How often are people going to really want to delete all of their presents?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should never have a delete all button like that not nested or behind a menu, it's frankly a dangerous design.
It's weird, it's like the testing by the developers was flawed, the favourites thing is pretty obvious from the second time you use it and then you'd fix it, surely.
I have the S8 standard, I've been running and messing with it for about a week now. The stock launcher, the icons are way too big and there's no way to resize them, so I installed Google Now Launcher and the icons are smaller and I can stack 2 rows on the bottom of the screen. The only issue that I'm having with the launcher is that the Phone app is gone. It's not onscreen and it's not in the app drawer. It's like it disappeared when I installed the new launcher. I still receive calls through it connected to bluetooth to my cell, but I can't find the app to make calls out.
With the radio, I have the same back up cam that everyone gets installed and it worked great the first day that I installed it. I put the car in reverse and 3 seconds later I have video. My car sat for 2 days and then when I drove it again, the reverse cam video shows up, but it says no signal and the screen is black. So I know at least the trigger wire works, and it has to be a short in the video cable itself. But every now and then, I get video on the screen.
I'm guessing there's no way to set certain apps to load on startup. I'd like to turn on the car and the radio app just turns on and plays, but it defaults to the the home screen and I have to load the radio app. I don't use the radio widget, I use the icon to bring up the full screen version of the radio. Once the radio app is running, I have a habit of hitting the back button and it turns the radio app off. So I have to get used to hitting the home button after I load it so it goes back to the home screen.
Google Maps works great, I downloaded over 600MB of offline maps. I don't have a hotspot except when I use my phone, so it is completely shut off from wifi. I can get into some pretty deep woods with it. But sometimes the app gets stuck and you get a white screen and the GPS can't find you. So you have to force stop Google Maps and reload it and hope that the GPS finds you. I'll post up more of my experiences with it as time goes on. But I have to say, this is my 4th Android car stereo and it's really great so far.
Strizay said:
I'm guessing there's no way to set certain apps to load on startup. I'd like to turn on the car and the radio app just turns on and plays, but it defaults to the the home screen and I have to load the radio app. I don't use the radio widget, I use the icon to bring up the full screen version of the radio. Once the radio app is running, I have a habit of hitting the back button and it turns the radio app off. So I have to get used to hitting the home button after I load it so it goes back to the home screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm still waiting on my S8 Pro to arrive but I was looking through a thread for must have apps for android head units and this comment suggested AutoStart - No root. Hopefully this helps you, or it looks like there's plenty on the Play Store to try out.
kramttocs said:
2. RCA Rear and Front outputs are incorrect
This one threw me for a minute. I am using the RCA FR and FL for my door component speaks and am joining the RR and RL for my Hideaway sub. Turns out in the first shipment of S8's the ports are backwards so you will need to hook the Fronts to the RL/RR and vice versa. I am told that the next shipment will have this resolved. Those are the only RCA outputs I have used so far as the male part of my rear view camera RCA cable fell off when removing the A6Y Pro so I have to wait for a new connector to come in so I can repair it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HI again. I was reading the manual again last night and I thought about the EQ and listener settings. Does the wires being reversed affect those settings, like if I set it to sound best for the front seat, will it sound best for the back seat instead? Or is it basically just the same as the labels on the back of the unit being switched, but the unit doesn't know?
Also, for the Gallery to work via the pull-down, check out the manual on how to load the photos onto the system and then reboot it. Interesting for it to work like that!
A note I want to make is that this unit has four USB ports coming from the back, and unfortunately I didn't realize that until it was too late to order a second dual-USB extension square mount (I had gotten one dual and one single for the A6) before my install. I will have to use the single one for my side of the car (the QC 3.0 one) and the dual for the passenger side. I wish I could have had a dual for my side, too, but I probably won't need it anyway. (I'm not planning on opening up the dash again just for an extra USB port whether I get a dual for my side or a second single for a different spot in the car. And I'm definitely not going to have messy wires hanging out, hence the square mounts.)
Does anyone here use the Bluetooth tethering app that the manual recommends? You put it on both the phone and the head unit, unlike the other app I use when tethering my iPad (when the power or cable Internet goes out) which goes only on the phone.
Also, do you think it is possible for Atoto to change the unit to allow Tasker to never be killed during sleep (for fast boot), or is that an Android limitation? I would think that it wouldn't take too much battery power, but really I don't know. I just think it would be handy so we can set up tasks to automatically open apps or change settings etc. upon fast boot.
wheresduke said:
Also, do you think it is possible for Atoto to change the unit to allow Tasker to never be killed during sleep (for fast boot), or is that an Android limitation? I would think that it wouldn't take too much battery power, but really I don't know. I just think it would be handy so we can set up tasks to automatically open apps or change settings etc. upon fast boot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i think my S8 Ultra doesnt kill tasker? i know it doesnt kill Live Wallpapers like my A6 used to. I can test today and report back.
---------- Post added at 08:57 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:55 AM ----------
Strizay said:
I have the S8 standard, I've been running and messing with it for about a week now. The stock launcher, the icons are way too big and there's no way to resize them, so I installed Google Now Launcher and the icons are smaller and I can stack 2 rows on the bottom of the screen. The only issue that I'm having with the launcher is that the Phone app is gone. It's not onscreen and it's not in the app drawer. It's like it disappeared when I installed the new launcher.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use Nova Launcher, its very customisable, you should give that a go.
Something else I noticed. on the back of the S8 standard is a split Y USB extension cable. They're labeled, but I can't remember what they say right now. But I have the one port going straight to my dash cam, and I have another USB Y splitter on the other. From that splitter I have 2 type C charging cables so that I can charge 2 cells at the same time. The charging works great, but the file explorer app does not recognize them as USB devices. When I connected mine for the first time, it asked if I wanted to connect it for dev use and I hit no. then I switch it to data transfer and an error comes up on my phone and the stereo does not recognize them as external storage.
Hiiamhello said:
I'm still waiting on my S8 Pro to arrive but I was looking through a thread for must have apps for android head units and this comment suggested AutoStart - No root. Hopefully this helps you, or it looks like there's plenty on the Play Store to try out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the help, but none of the autostart apps worked. I dragged down the top bar and hit restart and it still load the radio. I guess I'll have to load it manually every time I get in, kind of a bother, but it's not really a big deal.
Super_paulie said:
I use Nova Launcher, its very customisable, you should give that a go.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just tested Nova out and it looks and works like Google Now Launcher, and it does the same thing, it doesn't recognize the phone as an app. I can't create a shortcut icon for the phone because I can't find it any where. And whenever I turn the stereo off then on, The search app loads automatically. No matter what, if I drag down the top bar and hit reboot or if I just turn the unit off, the search box still loads and I have to close it to get to the home screen. I uninstalled Nova and I'm back to the stock launcher again. The only real problem I have with the stock launcher is that you can't resize the icons, other than that it's fine.
Super_paulie said:
i think my S8 Ultra doesnt kill tasker? i know it doesnt kill Live Wallpapers like my A6 used to. I can test today and report back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well that's cool! I'm looking forward to mine getting installed tomorrow (if everything goes well). I installed the red trim on my back doors this afternoon, too, since it was warm and sunny finally, so it is a good week for my car!
---------- Post added at 09:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:15 PM ----------
Strizay said:
Something else I noticed. on the back of the S8 standard is a split Y USB extension cable. They're labeled, but I can't remember what they say right now. But I have the one port going straight to my dash cam, and I have another USB Y splitter on the other. From that splitter I have 2 type C charging cables so that I can charge 2 cells at the same time. The charging works great, but the file explorer app does not recognize them as USB devices. When I connected mine for the first time, it asked if I wanted to connect it for dev use and I hit no. then I switch it to data transfer and an error comes up on my phone and the stereo does not recognize them as external storage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not all the USBs are meant for use for external storage devices. That's one of the labels on the cords. Quick Charge is another label (except I don't know if your S8 Standard has QC 3.0), and I believe the other label is for Android Auto/Apple Car Play. I'm sure they all charge, but only the one is QC 3.0, which is the one I'll be using to charge my Samsung phone. The S8 Pro has two sets of Y-split USB cables, so four USB ports (not including the one on the front of the stereo next to the screen), and I believe two are for external storage. I only plan on having guests use them for charging, and I don't understand the point of the ugly, clunky Android Auto app, but I probably should write down which port is which (although I am losing one due to not realizing in time that I need the flush mounts for four ports instead of three).
Maybe I'm not remembering it correctly, but isn't there a separate plug-in for dash cams? Or does yours just not use that type of plug?
Related
Ok so right off the bat I'm not a professional phone reviewer. This is just me talking about a phone I'm excited about... I didn't post any pictures as I didn't take any yet, but I'm very pleased with the look and you can find plenty online.
So I've spent the last two weeks researching and looking for a good dual sim phone, with dual standby capability. Before I start, without a dual standby capability a dual sim phone doesn't let you take a call from one number, while you are talking on your other number.
This phone is the international version and is a triband 900/1800/1900 - as always be sure your service provider runs on the band before you buy a phone. It also has to separate IMIE numbers as well.
[This next paragraph is for entertainment only, so feel free to skip to the next one if you're not interested in a very good prank.]
I ordered this phone from Amazon and chose overnight shipping. Needless to say I've not been excited about a phone for a very long time, but this time I was. Unfortunately the last update was that it was checked into Memphis, which has all flights grounded. So, the 2nd day I check the tracking and I see that it's out for delivery, I hop in my car and start the 40 minute drive to my office to pick it up. 3 minutes out my manager calls me and tells me "it just arrived"... I arrive and I open my shipping box, upset that it's late but happy it's here. I pull out the phone box and open it up... only to see some piece of crap prepaid ancient mini brick phone. I instantly flip my lid, and for a split second I considered just snapping this piece of crap in half. I then dump the box contents on the floor, and then realize there is a group of people in tears laughing. Turns out my best friend cut the packing box open (from the bottom as not to damage the label) and put his crap phone in it. Anyways, on to my thoughts...
[Appearance] So, when I pull the phone out it's really quite nice looking. It has the shape and appearance of an Iphone, but it has the 4 hard buttons at the bottom. One nice thing comparing it again to the Iphone is that not everyone and their dog has one of these. Very slim form and smaller overall than the Iphone. I have not taken pictures yet, and have not completely tested it overall but I have already decided that it was well worth the $260 ($230 from another seller, but I paid the extra $30 for piece of mind).
The first thing I do is pair it with my windows mobile Smartphone and I then beam over all of my contacts. The windows mobile phone just sends them all, but I had to hit accept for every single file. Tedious, but much easier than actually re-entering them in by hand. After that I had to enter into the file explorer and choose reload for about 90% of them (one by one again). In the end they all transferred over, with attached photos. The only thing that didn't transfer was the ringtone assignments.
[Call Quality] Once I was able to get outside of work hours I placed both my personal and work sims inside the phone. I've tested it like crazy just on calls alone. First, the speaker phone is WAY louder and much more clear than my HTC Fuze (Raphael). In addition the call quality when not on speaker phone is quite nice as well. There were times when I thought I dropped the call because there wasn't that light hiss in the background. Next I tried calling out on the sim. When you dial a number, just to the right there are a couple of boxes and you just touch the sim you want and whalla, you're calling out on that sim. It also had no problem taking calls from one line while on the other. It's just like call waiting. The only negative to it is that the icon which identifies the sim is very small and in the top left of the incoming call, so it's somewhat hard to tell which line is ringing. Although I predict I will get quite used to it.
The touch screen is very responsive and is actually fairly easy to negotiate around with just using your fingers. The speed of the phone is nearly instant in everything you do, outside of accessing memory to change a ringtone or something (super slow). Granted I have a crapload of photos and ringtones on my microSD card.
[Features] It has some pretty cool features within the simple operating system. There are 4 hard buttons on the bottom, and 4 soft buttons at the bottom of the touch screen. The hard buttons are useful and make sense. The screen buttons are also good. There is one button on the bottom right that opens up a new menu on the right side of the screen. This menu has 4 long buttons that let you easily access everything you need within the phone. In addition there is a little rounded tab at the right side of the screen when you are in idle mode. The first tab allows you to access your "widgets" You can just drag them and drop them right onto the desktop, or drag them right back in. Out of the box the widgets are as follows: FM radio, round old school clock, Calendar, music, photos, world time, memo notes, missed calls, messages, and schedule. Really neat in that you can just place them where you want, and they all come out small but expand into the full featured widget. At the idle screen you can also slide your finger either right or left, and it makes the screen flip as if it was a cube. Your widget menu has not been replaced by a speed dial menu. Press any icon from 2-9 (1 reserved for Vmail) and it lets you choose a contact to associate. You can then drag that icon right onto the desktop of the phone as well. Overall very cool features so far.
The locking mechanism is quite nice as well. You can either unlock with a short hold on a key on the screen, or the lock key on the right side of the phone. About the only negative so far is that there isn't a slide to unlock, and you press the hard keys to answer or decline. I know at some point I will accidentally answer or decline someone while pulling the phone out of a full pocket.
Next onto the camera. 5M camera with a crapload of image settings. While the quality isn't nearly as good as my high end digital camera, it shares many of the same features. It has an LED flash, and you can really play around with the settings (assuming you are a camera buff, otherwise most will just confuse you). It lets you take quick action photos in sets of 3, 6, or 9 in fast succession too. it also has a video camera, but I didn't test it as of yet.
It has an FM radio which needs to have the dual earphone wired headset hooked up to it to use (typical). The headset of course has a microphone also for those of you who think talking on Bluetooth was invented by the "debil". (That's some high quality H20).
The PC suite that comes with it is pretty nice so far also. When you connect the phone you can choose between 4 options. One can be a music sync for all the music lovers out there, but my presumed favorite is that you can use the phone as a modem with the provided software (not tested yet). You can connect to your PC via USB or Bluetooth. I only wish my work computer would allow for me to install software! Oh well...
Text messaging and MMS is nice as well. You can choose most of the typical entry methods, but I've been having fun with the handwriting entry. Don't leave any gaps when you spell any letters, but it's cool to just write on the screen and have it put it right into a text. It's slower than using the on screen key pad, but a fun novelty for now. It doesn’t appear to have a full touch screen qwerty, but I also didn’t rotate it to landscape during testing so it could be there.
I did have one issue with my voicemail recognizing one number at AT&T, but after a long hold time they just reset my voicemail and both numbers worked like a charm in accessing vmail. One negative, and a fairly big one is that when I called both of my lines and left voicemails it still only put one voicemail notification at the top. It's not possible, or at least I've not figured out how to discern which line has the voicemail on it. Although when unlocking it puts a nice big box on the screen stating the calls I missed. In addition the missed call widget is nice to show missed calls as well.
About the only issue I am having so far is getting the internet to work. I want to test it just so I can verify it will work, and to mess around with the browser some. I intend to drop my dataplan as I only used it for my GPS previously, and since Santa brought me a full on GPS I know it's a wasted $30 a month.
[G-sensor] It also has what I think is called the G-sensor, or at least the thing that rotates the screen when you do. Also when you drag the widgets or speed dials onto the screen you can shake it to “snap them into place”. Personally I prefer to place them in the locations I want though.
So, in closing I love this phone so far. The last phone I was this happy with was the original Razr back when no one else but me and a select few had it (only a few other dummies willing to pay the $500 for it back in the day). I presume that I have missed a fair amount of things people may be interested in, so please feel free to ask for additional information and I will see if I can discern it from messing around with the phone. My HTC Fuze and Crap dual sim Chinese phones are officially retired. I’m sure I’ll snag another smartphone at some point so I can load up all of the tweaks from here, but for now it’s nice to have a phone that isn’t slow to respond and accomplishes my personal goals.
But no windowsmobile, right?
HI, thats a long review. Think a lot people are happy about it, cause it is a good phone i suppose.
But it's not windowsmobile,isnt it?
I need "dual sim" "dual standby", and find no windowsmobile phone that supports this. I have two china phones, which both drive me mad, more than windowsmobile ever did, so I finally want to find a solution.
Don't think this is the right thread to post my topic,so I'll search now for the right place here in xda-developers.
Cheers
I just took my G2x out for my first bike ride running SportyPal Pro. The GPS tracked very well, so that's the good news.
However, since I don't have a new bike mount for it yet, I had to keep it in my pocket. Several times when taking it out to check something, I noticed the Car Home app was open on the screen. Does anyone know how this could be launching itself from in my pocket? I tried long pressing every soft and hard button on the phone and none seemed to be a shortcut for that. Any thoughts? Thanks.
Keep the phone away from magnets, problem solved.
ctso said:
Keep the phone away from magnets, problem solved.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Problem solved. It was in the same pocket as my money clip, which is magnetized, thanks a lot! I didn't know this thing had a sensor for that. I guess the car dock has a magnet to trigger that app?
I had the same problem with my hip holster I keep my phone in. So since I never use the Car app anyway, I simply removed it with Titanium Backup and the problem is solved.
I'm looking forward to Gingerbread, which has a Car Home application that I actually did use on my Nexus One. In that version, you can move applications around and add new ones; with this one, the icons are fixed and you can't add anything to the blank spots (as far as I can tell, anyway).
I've got an app on the market called Spider Launcher that lets you redirect car mode to launch a different app. It lets you pick the Activity rather than the app you want to launch, that way you can have it go to a launcher app. E.g. on mine I use LauncherPro for my main home screen, but when it goes into car mode it launches ADW. Also, while it's in car mode your home button will also take you back to the specified app.
Spider Launcher handles other redirects too, but I originally designed it with car mode in mind. Sorry for the self-promotion here, but it seemed relevant.
keyboardr said:
I've got an app on the market called Spider Launcher that lets you redirect car mode to launch a different app. It lets you pick the Activity rather than the app you want to launch, that way you can have it go to a launcher app. E.g. on mine I use LauncherPro for my main home screen, but when it goes into car mode it launches ADW. Also, while it's in car mode your home button will also take you back to the specified app.
Spider Launcher handles other redirects too, but I originally designed it with car mode in mind. Sorry for the self-promotion here, but it seemed relevant.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This actually sounds like a very useful app, pretty cool. Thanks for mentioning it!
LOL, I had no idea it was related to my magnets in my holster. I was like, WTF is going on so I ended up freezing the app. I never use it anyway.
Which car dock app are you using? Why? I messed around with the app that ess installed on our phones and Car Home Ultra. Any others out there?
I've used Car Home Ultra (paid version) for a long time. It just works and has a lot of features.
TabGuy said:
I've used Car Home Ultra (paid version) for a long time. It just works and has a lot of features.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do you make that speed alarm feature work? I turned it on and my speed would flash no matter what speed I drove?
Car Home Ultra does seem to be pretty good. Seems like the de facto app for car docks.
alprazolam said:
How do you make that speed alarm feature work? I turned it on and my speed would flash no matter what speed I drove?
Car Home Ultra does seem to be pretty good. Seems like the de facto app for car docks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't use speed alarms so I can't be of much help there.
Car Home Ultra. I have it set so when my motion activated Jabra Freeway speakerphone connects to my phone, Car Home Ultra starts automatically. Very nice app.
That would be such a great feature if I didn't prefer to stay connected to my lg tones when I get in the car. I'm thinking that an nfc tag attached to the mounting bracket can serve the purpose of automatically putting me in car home mode.
iBolt also do a car dock app (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ibolt.carhome).
On my previous S4, my Carhome Ultra would take over the home button when docked, so that whenever I pressed the home button it would always take me back to Carhome Ultra. With my Note 4, this doesn't seem to be working - pressing home takes me back to my normal launcher. Is anyone experiencing this, or is this some configuration issue at my end?
smar said:
iBolt also do a car dock app (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ibolt.carhome).
On my previous S4, my Carhome Ultra would take over the home button when docked, so that whenever I pressed the home button it would always take me back to Carhome Ultra. With my Note 4, this doesn't seem to be working - pressing home takes me back to my normal launcher. Is anyone experiencing this, or is this some configuration issue at my end?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Out of interest, has anyone managed to get audio working over a USB dock or cable?
SquidgyB said:
Out of interest, has anyone managed to get audio working over a USB dock or cable?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are several threads talking about this issue, look at the other car dock and desk dock threads in this forum for more info. The short answer is yes and no- it IS possible to get audio out over usb but only with an OTG cable and a DAC currently, and I don't believe you can do charging AND audio simultaneously, so no you can't just plug in one cable in your car. However, it looks like Lollipop will have support for audio out over usb built in as a standard feature, although details are slim at the moment. It's my hope that Samsung knew that the feature was getting built into Lollipop, and so they just didn't bother wasting the time on developing support for it in the Note 4 at launch because it'll be included standard once the L update rolls out. I have nothing to back this up, just my own personal hope Anyway like I said look at the other dock threads in the accessories forum, it's discussed in more length.
As for dock apps, I second the vote for iBolt Dock and Drive. I started using it on my s4 when I bought the iBolt car dock, and I've found it to be a very polished and well developed app. When I got the Note 4 I started looking for a new car dock app, tried Car Home Ultra and a few of the other ones that rate highly but I've found that at least for me the iBolt dock app is really everything I'm looking for, and the new version is even better. It's easy to use, looks great, and isn't cluttered up with useless junk. I know some people want all kinds of crazy functionality in their dock app, but I personally prefer to keep things a bit more minimal- just nice big customizable shortcuts, music controls, and simple location/speed data, and iBolt does that very well.
On the other end of the spectrum, if you're looking for something that gives a TON of info and is chock full of driving features, one of the other apps I tried was Ulysse Speedometer. It was definitely one of the better car dock apps I saw, and if they made it a little easier to get to all of the app shortcuts then I might have gone with it over iBolt. In my case though my car has a multifunction display, and I just don't need all the info that Ulysse shows on it's main screen, at least not on my daily commute. I may hold onto it just for times when I really want all the driving info, or when I just want a cool looking display to show off
smar said:
iBolt also do a car dock app (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ibolt.carhome).
On my previous S4, my Carhome Ultra would take over the home button when docked, so that whenever I pressed the home button it would always take me back to Carhome Ultra. With my Note 4, this doesn't seem to be working - pressing home takes me back to my normal launcher. Is anyone experiencing this, or is this some configuration issue at my end?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go to Settings-> Start/Stop Car Mode. Turn that on.
Within the Car Home app
smar said:
iBolt also do a car dock app (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ibolt.carhome).
On my previous S4, my Carhome Ultra would take over the home button when docked, so that whenever I pressed the home button it would always take me back to Carhome Ultra. With my Note 4, this doesn't seem to be working - pressing home takes me back to my normal launcher. Is anyone experiencing this, or is this some configuration issue at my end?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I downloaded it for the first time last night and that is a user changeable setting in the app to have the home button go to Carhome Ultra.
mty msi said:
I downloaded it for the first time last night and that is a user changeable setting in the app to have the home button go to Carhome Ultra.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually I've now got the home button to work correctly when docked. Basically did a factory reset, and started over. This seems to have resolved the issue.
---------- Post added at 06:50 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:49 PM ----------
alprazolam said:
Go to Settings-> Start/Stop Car Mode. Turn that on.
Within the Car Home app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, but I already tried that. Didn't help. I also used Tasker to force car mode, but didn't work either. As per my other post, I finally managed to resolve the issue with a factory reset.
I am having the same issue. Tried the setting that I posted above and it doesn't work for me. My phone may need a reset as well. I get a lot of force closes and hang ups in the settings menu.
This is the best one
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nezdroid.cardashdroid
danilos2k said:
This is the best one
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nezdroid.cardashdroid
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In the description it states one click dialing, does that mean you can't use OK Google through your Bluetooth earpiece to dial a number or a contact?
Other thing that throws me off is they're only 79 reviews.
It look like there was a problem with his google account, look here
https://plus.google.com/app/basic/communities/110030480996836432786
Inviato dal mio SM-N910F utilizzando Tapatalk
This looks interesting.... http://www.onicsusa.com
I just purchased a 2018 Honda Accord EX that has Hondalink. The OS seems to be based on Android 6.1.1
So far Im very disappointed with the limitations of the Hondalink OS. The Driver Distraction Limitations are ridiculous. In CA it's illegal for you to hold your phone. It must be hands free. But as long as it's mounted, you are still able to use many functions as long as it's single finger touch. Regardless, I think a user/driver should be allowed choices and be held responsible if abusing those choices, like texting while driving, or watching a video while driving. But the limitations of HondaLink, coupled with AndroidAutos ridiculously small list of supported apps, it makes me wonder... WHY??? Why have this system at all? There's no app/option to watch video or browse images (even if parked) and no web browser. No Youtube. No Voxer support. Nothing. When I ask google for showtimes of a movie playing, using voice command, it gives showtimes for theaters that aren't even close to where I am when asking. Ive even tried to specify the theater when asking. Doing this only confuses it. This is a pathetic substitute for the fandango app.
Obviously I considered using the "Install App" (App Installer? sry, not in car) button. So, went on my galaxy S8+, used APK extractor, copied extracted apks to a USB jump drive, and plugged the jump drive into the car. The car recognizes the Jump Drive, and sees the apks, along with their appropriate file sizes. The apks I tested are Accuweather, ES File Explorer, Voxer, and Youtube. When I tap on one of the files, it brings up the "Install App?" dialogue box, but the button "Install" is greyed out.
Does anyone know how to get into the Developer Diagnosis page?
At the very very least, I'd like to disable the Driver Distraction Setting
Is there an android app that can be used as a substitute to Android-Auto that is a straight screen mirroring of the phone to the HondaLink Infotainment console?
i have a 2018 accord sport...i don't even get the subwoofer or the extra speakers....but using AA with my phone or just unplugging it when needed works just fine. What are you needing it to really do?
Before I go into it, please understand that I recognize that feature limitations and the "Driver Attention" lock is all meant for the safety of the driver and for others around the driver. I recognize that ultimately the road and the safety of those on the road are the priority. But i will also note that in CA, as long as the phone is mounted and not in your hand, you can pretty much do any task that only requires one finger (short of texting)
That being said, if AA allows an app, like Doubletwist, im frustrated that I cant do a simple one finger task of scrolling down a list of albums/artist/songs/playlist unless I'm at a complete stop. I've found that when I'm rolling at 2-3mph and am STILL locked out, im having to unplug my phone and look down at it to simply change playlist. When I'm going down a freeway and I'm in stop and go traffic for 15-20miles and never actually coming to a completely stop, this can be beyond frustrating. Ultimately I think that driver safety should be the drivers responsibility, and not predetermined by a company. If a driver abuses technology, then the driver needs to be accountable. It's my mission to figure out how to disable that stupid driver attention lock.
What do I want it to do? I want more than an overglorified play/pause button. Seriously. Yes it shows the name of the song and allows me to go to the next track, previous track, pause/play, but beyond that, absolutely no control. Voxer is a VERY simple one touch app. You tap to start voxing, you tap to stop. That's it, super straight forward. NOT supported. I want to be able to browse firefox, fandango, and YouTube when I'm parked.
But ultimately, I want the Android experience with full fledged apps. Android Auto pretty much just commandeers the Hond aLink infotainment screen. So just allow straight screen mirroring. That's what I "want".
Make playlists In Google play music....use your voice to change it.
Google play is nothing more than pandora and spotify. You have to select from their options. Yes, I might being "picky", but I prefer Doubletwist. It lets me sync my iTunes music and playlist. The point is, AA supports Doubletwist, but is too limited, and the "Driver Attention" lock is frustrating as heck. Besides that, AA is just too limited, too restrictive. Google/android should just do away with AA and just do straight screen mirroring. Or at least allow a 3rd party to make an app that resembles AA without so much of the limutations. It's sad that the most awesom.e feature in the best car ive had in almost 20 years is turning out to be the most pointless feature. 90% of what you can do through A you can do through Bluetooth. But I Really don't want to get a mount and make the dash look tacky. I mean, the phone mounted right next to the high infotainment screen. Jeez. More to the point, I just plain don't see why I should have to.
varxtis said:
Google play is nothing more than pandora and spotify. You have to select from their options. Yes, I might being "picky", but I prefer Doubletwist. It lets me sync my iTunes music and playlist. The point is, AA supports Doubletwist, but is too limited, and the "Driver Attention" lock is frustrating as heck. Besides that, AA is just too limited, too restrictive. Google/android should just do away with AA and just do straight screen mirroring. Or at least allow a 3rd party to make an app that resembles AA without so much of the limutations. It's sad that the most awesom.e feature in the best car ive had in almost 20 years is turning out to be the most pointless feature. 90% of what you can do through A you can do through Bluetooth. But I Really don't want to get a mount and make the dash look tacky. I mean, the phone mounted right next to the high infotainment screen. Jeez. More to the point, I just plain don't see why I should have to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure what the doubletwist is, but I prefer using sony xperia musix (look here on xda). For youtube there is carstream app that someone made which can be used for watching youtube while driving besides parked (http://www.thekirankumar.com/blog/2017/12/29/play-youtube-video-android-auto-app/). Also, i believe there is newer android auto version which allows wireless AA but I haven't tested that yet which may help with some issues that you have.
YoColdRain said:
Not sure what the doubletwist is, but I prefer using sony xperia musix (look here on xda). For youtube there is carstream app that someone made which can be used for watching youtube while driving besides parked (http://www.thekirankumar.com/blog/2017/12/29/play-youtube-video-android-auto-app/). Also, i believe there is newer android auto version which allows wireless AA but I haven't tested that yet which may help with some issues that you have.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks I'll look into those. Presently, I just stuck a phone mount on the dash and keep everything Bluetooth. Its only taking advantage of probably 5% of the Honda-link infotainment consoles potential, and yet it's still 20x better than battling with Android Autos ridiculous limitations. Sad :\
varxtis said:
Before I go into it, please understand that I recognize that feature limitations and the "Driver Attention" lock is all meant for the safety of the driver and for others around the driver. I recognize that ultimately the road and the safety of those on the road are the priority. But i will also note that in CA, as long as the phone is mounted and not in your hand, you can pretty much do any task that only requires one finger (short of texting)
That being said, if AA allows an app, like Doubletwist, im frustrated that I cant do a simple one finger task of scrolling down a list of albums/artist/songs/playlist unless I'm at a complete stop. I've found that when I'm rolling at 2-3mph and am STILL locked out, im having to unplug my phone and look down at it to simply change playlist. When I'm going down a freeway and I'm in stop and go traffic for 15-20miles and never actually coming to a completely stop, this can be beyond frustrating. Ultimately I think that driver safety should be the drivers responsibility, and not predetermined by a company. If a driver abuses technology, then the driver needs to be accountable. It's my mission to figure out how to disable that stupid driver attention lock.
What do I want it to do? I want more than an overglorified play/pause button. Seriously. Yes it shows the name of the song and allows me to go to the next track, previous track, pause/play, but beyond that, absolutely no control. Voxer is a VERY simple one touch app. You tap to start voxing, you tap to stop. That's it, super straight forward. NOT supported. I want to be able to browse firefox, fandango, and YouTube when I'm parked.
But ultimately, I want the Android experience with full fledged apps. Android Auto pretty much just commandeers the Hond aLink infotainment screen. So just allow straight screen mirroring. That's what I "want".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To unlock the driver attention thing you need to hold the home, power, and source button for bout 10 seconds then click on the detail information & setting screen and from there hold home button again for 10 seconds and then click on the vehicle model information and turn off the DD VSP ERROR and that should do it. However everytime you turn off your car it resets and you have to do it all over again.
I've had the Pixel 4a since tuesday and I like it. I've a few observations I thought I'd put here in case anyone else agrees; there's a fix/workaround etc:
1) The speaker isn't too loud and it's only in the last 20% or so of the volume bar that you can hear the difference. They should change the linearity such that there's more control over the sound difference of the last 20% of the range, if that makes sense. Not a big deal.
2) It's annoying that I can't swipe back (ie swipe left from the right edge of the screen) to get rid of the keyboard. Instead a large percentage (10?) of the bottom of the screen is black except for the arrow which closes the keyboard. Waste of space.
3) On a similar note, there's a white line near the bottom of the screen. I guess it's to show that you can swipe up, but I'm not sure. Why would anyone who wasn't sure if they could swipe up see a white line and go "ah - I bet I could swipe up here"? But that's my best guess. And this is on most screens. It's the worst, and the most noticeable, on chrome. You have a full screen site, curving nicely at the top of the screen, and at the bottom the screen starts to curve but then there's the black rectangle, which exists purely to highlight the mystery-white-line-which-might-mean-you-can-swipe-up-here, cuts in, ending the curve and wasting around 5% of the height of the screen. This line doesn't appear in 3 button mode. But isn't the point of gestures that you don't need to waste space on buttons. So...don't waste the space showing me you can swipe up then. There's no swipe down hint, or swiping left/right hint. I don't get it at all. It knows I know you can swipe up, because I've swiped up.
4) Nova launcher problem. It just doesn't stick. Every once in a while it stops being the default launcher and you have to run it again. This has happened on other phones and eventually they fix it. I guess I have to try nova launcher again every month or so. The stock launcher isn't too bad, but:
5) Stock launcher is quite unconfigurable. The 5 icons at the bottom of the screen are sort of like the nova launcher dock (which i always turn off) and are there on every screen.
6) There's a notification history, which is a great idea. If you swiped away a message but then forgot if it was an email, or which whatsapp contact it was, you can see quickly what the most recent message was. You access it via a button under the notification shade which you can press to get at it. But...get this: That button only exists if you currently have unread notifications. If you swiped the last one away, the history button vanishes. You now have to go into settings to read it (why settings? my photos aren't in settings). Why? Who thought that was a good idea? That's when you're most likely to want the history! Doh!
7) Aggressive app killer. This will never change - no matter what google says about ai and machine learning, there's something too complicated about "ok, there's a music player running, playing music, and there are headphones attached, and the headphones are playing music...but...oh, the screen is turned off, which apps can I kill to save battery...well, there's this music player nobody's looking at, that'll do" to ever fix. Really? You're not checking if an app gets reloaded immediately after it gets killed every time it's killed and learning "hmm... it's as if.....he was listening to music and didn't want the app killed?" I guess it's true what they say - most machine learning is just a regex, and this isn't something which can be solved with a regex, so... I've disabled the battery optimisation for this app; time will tell whether that does the trick.
8) Can't disable the sound it makes when taking a screenshot.
9) Google photos can't keep up with quickly deleting a number of photos. To be fair, this happens on the website too. It's odd - you'd think it would be easy. You're not actually doing anything other than marking the fact that a photo is deleted. You're just moving it to the bin; it still exists locally. It's an offline-operation. Why doesn't it just defer until later, or do asynchronously - whatever it's doing. On both web and phone it's so laggy and disorienting that it's easy to end up deleting the wrong photo, the only workaround being to delete literally one picture every 5 seconds. Annoying if you're been taking pics of kids and took a bunch so as to ensure you have at least one without a blur or closed eyes etc.
Well, sounds quite ranty I guess. It's a great phone though - highly recommended. I really bought it for the camera and the fact it's quite a small phone. I recommend the spigen tough armor (sic) case; nice and grippy and feels like it's going to keep it pretty safe.
Maybe these things will be fixed in future updates. I reverted back to 10 and flashed Dirty Unicorns, just a better overall user experience compared to stock at the moment.
I would like to add something: do you also the "bubbles" always appear on the left of the screen even if you have moved them to the right before closing them?
_a! said:
...Well, sounds quite ranty I guess. It's a great phone though - highly recommended. I really bought it for the camera and the fact it's quite a small phone. I recommend the spigen tough armor (sic) case; nice and grippy and feels like it's going to keep it pretty safe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most observations in original post pertain to Android 11 (AOSP) and have little to do with the device itself. My experience on a couple items:
- Nova has yet to crash since updating to Android 11 (stable on A10 too). That said, you likely interact with the launcher in different ways not to mention app portfolio interactions. Should submit a bug report to developer via contact link in Nova settings.
- Not experiencing the same nonlinearity in volume adjustment. Max volume is fine for my tastes but probably would work well as the sole audio source at an Italian wedding
DB126 said:
Most observations in original post pertain to Android 11 (AOSP) and have little to do with the device itself. My experience on a couple items:
- Nova has yet to crash since updating to Android 11 (stable on A10 too). That said, you likely interact with the launcher in different ways not to mention app portfolio interactions. Should submit a bug report to developer via contact link in Nova settings.
- Not experiencing the same nonlinearity in volume adjustment. Max volume is fine for my tastes but probably would work well as the sole audio source at an Italian wedding
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Click to collapse
The device runs Android 11, so that's all I can talk about, not what might happen if it ran a different operating system.
I never said nova launcher crashed; just that it stopped being a default launcher by itself a few times.
The white line at the bottom of the screen is annoying! I liked having the option in Oxygen OS to hide it, hopefully that becomes an option on future updates.
Overall I'm really enjoying the phone after coming from the Nord.
_a! said:
The device runs Android 11, so that's all I can talk about, not what might happen if it ran a different operating system.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not what I said; no reference to an alternate OS
_a! said:
I never said nova launcher crashed; just that it stopped being a default launcher by itself a few times.
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Click to collapse
Almost always the result of excessive memory pressure (also has nothing to do with the device assuming memory is adequate...which it is on the 4a)
For your issue 4 I guess there's bug in Nova launcher. I had similar issue with Nova, but after switching to Lawnchair it sticks permanently.
Default gesture navigation is surely ****ty. I prefer using old 3-buttons navigation.