Related
The other day I tried my XDA2 as an MP3 player for the first time, walking to the supermarket with headphones on. I realised that you must keep the machine turned on otherwise Windows Media Player stops playing. Bit surprised by this! (Does this fit with what other people have found? Seems a little impractical.)
So, I had to walk to Tescos with the XDA2 switched on in my trouser pocket. By the time I got there, I'd managed to open the Contacts app, find an ex-girlfriend's contact info and edit it. I'm not sure how I did this in my pocket. (But she always used to call me 'Clever ****' )
Anyway, has anyone heard of an app that covers the screen with some sort of blank page and turns off the backlight, so that I need to touch a specific spot to reactivate the regular display? With something like that, I couldn't accidentally mess about with the machine and cause havoc. If such a thing doesn't exist, does someone fancy making one? Surely it would be so simple.
Would be interested in your thoughts, XDA2 brethren.
sublimatica
WMP has an option to Toggle off the screen.
Tools - Settings - Buttons
Hardware buttons are still live but the screen, and touch capability, are disabled. It also helps to extend battery life.
COOOL!
Perfect! Map the Action button to the screen toggle and my prayers are answered! Thanks a bunch for that - I'd discovered how to map play, pause, stop etc to the cursor pad, but didn't realise what 'screen toggle' did.
Nice one. Much appreciated.
I'd like to compile a list in one thread. Hopefully Samsung + Verizon is reading.
- GPS
Takes longer than usual to acquire a GPS lock when GPS hasn't been used for a while.
- Rotate notification
Notification sound sometimes plays when the phone orientation changes. Typically happens after connecting to USB with debugging enabled.
- Pandora/Radio Time status bar text
Status bar text is in black instead of white; this is an app issue, but still annoying.
- Desk clock app
When docked, there should be an option for the display to automatically change from day time to night time view based on sunrise/sunset. The month is shown as text as well as 2 large digits; the date should be shown as large digits. The current date doesn't update as it should; in the morning, the highlighted date will be yesterday's date.
- Smart Alarm
The Smart Alarm will play a nice calm sound before your alarm. Good idea, but there's no way to snooze it. If you dismiss the Smart Alarm, the normal alarm will never sound. Normal alarm functions properly. Should have an option for 1 min. Smart Alarm.
- Stock Car Dock app
Only launches VZ Navigator (which no one would ever use). Google Maps should be an option (if installed). Must remove stock app and use a Market app to fix.
- Bing
Really?
- Browser bookmarks
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=795392
Don't pin bookmarks for us. There are ways to get rid of them and we shouldn't have to find those ways to do that. There are 2 Verizon bookmarks that you CAN NOT delete without a workaround.
- Messaging Notification
I like the puzzle piece notification. I would like it even more if it worked with Handcent (or other SMS apps).
- Battery charging
Why does the battery usage drop a few percent right after it's pulled off the charger after a full charge?
- Battery notification
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=790908&page=5
Please don't notify that the battery is changed via popup. This is not an iPhone. Use the notification bar so it doesn't illuminate the phone at night while we're sleeping which then causes the battery to drain even more.
- Headphone jack
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=786793
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=790645
Should be able to distinguish the type of headphone you're plugging in. You can't use the phone mic to talk on the phone when normal headphones (with no mic) are plugged in.
- Dock audio jacks
The home dock states the jack will be functional in 2.2. The car dock didn't have that sticker. Hopefully these work after the update.
- Edit magnification/improved copy + paste
http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=3190
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=794020
Should be able to enter an edit mode to show a magnification window to help determine where your finger is when editing text. This will also improve the copy paste function. There is a feature request open by Android developers for this. Also, I believe HTC has implemented something like this - so should Samsung.
- Navigation volume
Even with Google Navigation volume at max, it is much lower than the other sounds playing through the phone.
- Lag
All Galaxy S models have a "lag" based on the file system Samsung decided to use. A Linux-native file system should be used instead.
- Browser GIF support
Browser does not support animated GIFs
- Dock audio support
Some charging docks state the audio outputs will be supported in 2.2.
- Softkey lights
Softkey lights should stay on while the screen is on (in some cases... or at least optional).
- Incoming call screen locks
Incoming calls lock the screen. Outgoing calls don't. The screen shouldn't lock during calls.
- Stock E-Mail app
Stock e-mail app can't open some attachments (notably PDFs).
- Stock calendar limitations
Overlapping appointments are not handled well; week view does not show detail it should (and is possible the most used view). Does not default to Google calendar.
- Music player auto pause
Music should automatically pause if headphones are unplugged. This feature may be in 2.2.
- Contact sorting
No option to sort contacts by Last Name, First Name
- T9 Dialer default
Love the fact they added a T9 dialer. Hate that it defaults to the first number in the contact's list of phone numbers. It should default to the default number of the contact and/or show all the contact's numbers or all the possibilities of the name/number search query. Is the T9 dialer search function using Bing? (cheap shot)
- Global search button
The global search button usually has options within the Settings menu which should give you the options to search applications, contacts, e-mail, etc. on the phone itself. This option is not present (another Bing limitation maybe?)
- Music player controls
After stopping the music player, the controls will sometimes re-appear unless the player task is killed using a task manager. This has been known to happen after receiving a phone call.
- Phone notification
When in a call, there are 2 phone icons in the notification bar. Maybe one is an Android default and the other is for the super cool phone control from the notification pull-down?
- Call quality
Could be improved
- Daily briefing app
Nice idea, but it's not configurable and has been known to slow down the phone when used as a widget.
- Bloatware
No one likes this stuff. Please give us the ability to uninstall these apps. And follow Google's approach and utilize the Market to update your own stock apps so we don't have to wait for a full system update for app fixes.
- Car dock application after removal from dock
Screen doesn't lock when removing from car dock; screen stays on and will sometimes re-launch the last application (Navigation mostly). The bad part is when you grab the phone to remove it from the dock, you typically press something on the screen or one of the soft keys.
- Text Messaging +1
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=797001
Texts fail to send when the contact number has +1 in the number field when using stock Messaging app. To fix, edit contacts via G-Mail and re-sync your contacts via your phone.
- Touch screen doesn't work on edges
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=798244
When drawing on the screen, the pixels closest to the edge are not displayed.
- Screen burn in
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=805249
- Auto brightness
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=821723
Doesn't work as well as it should. Too bright in the dark, not bright enough (100%) in direct sunlight.
- Signal strength
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=782781
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=821472
Appears to be lower compared to other phones.
- Wi-fi Notification
When wi-fi network notification is disabled, you still get a notification of wireless networks after disconnecting from a saved network.
- Market Application Update Notifications
Never notified of application updates until the Market app is re-launched.
- Market Downloads
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=815360
Sometimes apps don't download from the Market. I have this problem when wi-fi is enabled. I will verify wi-fi works (using the browser for example), Market downloads sit at "starting," disable wi-fi, Market apps immediately start to download.
- Calendar + Maps
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=9215536&postcount=49
Calendar doesn't link to map locations.
If you know of a bug not listed, post and I'll try to add to the list.
my fascinate acquires gps lock within seconds. not 30 seconds. not 45 seconds. no more than 15 seconds.
noises when you go from portrait to landscape and back? weird. mine doesn't do that.
bing as default is unacceptable. bing is simply a random website generator. does anyone really use it?
1. My gps is fine, I think it might be defective for most phones?
2. Download cVolume light and turn you system sound to 0 and you won't hear it anymore
3. Tell the pandora devs about that problem and they might fix it
4. I don't think any dock does that?
5. Why don't you just wake up when your alarm sounds
6. The phone doesn't come with google maps? I don't remember
7. it is easily fixed if you are rooted, or if you want to get launcher pro
8. it's not hard to delete bookmarks and all phones come with bookmarks that are already there
9. Handcent doesn't tie in with the lockscreen
10. how long have you been charging it? it might not be fully charged
11. it takes maybe half of a second for the screen to lock.
bomber889 said:
1. My gps is fine, I think it might be defective for most phones?
2. Download cVolume light and turn you system sound to 0 and you won't hear it anymore
3. Tell the pandora devs about that problem and they might fix it
4. I don't think any dock does that?
5. Why don't you just wake up when your alarm sounds
6. The phone doesn't come with google maps? I don't remember
7. it is easily fixed if you are rooted, or if you want to get launcher pro
8. it's not hard to delete bookmarks and all phones come with bookmarks that are already there
9. Handcent doesn't tie in with the lockscreen
10. how long have you been charging it? it might not be fully charged
11. it takes maybe half of a second for the screen to lock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been hesitating posting this, because I was afraid of a list of "you're holding it wrong" type of responses. No disrespect, I appreciate your comments and suggestions. I am aware of some of the applications available to work around some issues and other issues we shouldn't have to deal with by rooting the phone. I figured it would be nice if Verizon & Samsung had a list of bugs by a GOOD user community as well as others from this forum who may not be aware of all the issues currently present.
That being said...
1. My GPS works as well, but acquiring a lock isn't as fast as it should be.
2. I use the app Quick Settings. This sound isn't set to the system sounds - it's set to the notifications (same as text messages). Give it a try.
3. Thanks.
4. Still annoying.
5. Thanks I'll give that a try.
6. Google Maps is not installed by default, but the option to change should be there.
7. I like TouchWiz. Rooting should not be a solution.
8. There are 2 Verizon bookmarks which you can not delete without a workaround. They are possible to delete, but not like the others. Give it a try.
9. It would be a nice feature enhancement.
10. Long enough for it to be fully charged. There's a post on it if you search.
11. It's not as fast as it was before the update. To me, it's a bug.
Thanks for your comments, but I think we could all benefit more from contributions. Your #2 was close to a contribution as it's always helpful to learn about new apps - but your solution is incorrect.
Headphone jack needs to be fixed. Its definitely a software issue. The phone should be able to distinguish the type of headphones that are connected cuz other android phones does that.
This is more of android os flaw but I want to be able to select any texts aside from text boxes such as websites and received email just by multi-touch.and I want to be able to drag the cursor along the words I made a typo on rather than continuously attempting to land my fingers between the letters I want to edit.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
Phone call lock screen
I've been looking for someone with a similar issue to mine but couldn't find a solution.
If I make an outgoing call for a duration longer than the time my display is set to lock after being idle (1min), I can hang up straight after the call ends. In other words, the display does not lock during an outgoing call. However, when I receive an INCOMING call and speak for a few minutes (e.g. longer than the 1 min display lock timer) at the end of the call I have to unlock the display to get back to the dialer and then end the call.
I would prefer the screen to not be locked after a phone call. Any suggestions?
GPS is an issue as I was stuck in traffic and trying to find another way home and just gave up and relied on my instinct.
The battery has been great for me and it takes an hr or 2 depending on my usage for the battery to move once off the charger.
Everything else has been stated.
Does anyone know how to get into the menu where recovery etc is????? Up+menu+ power ain't working.
DeezNotes said:
I'd like to compile a list in one thread of anything you guys find.
- Battery drop after charging
Why does the battery usage drop a few percent right after it's pulled off the charger?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have noticed a pattern of charging to full and then draining while still plugged into power. Attached is a screenshot of Juice Plotter showing what happens while my phone is plugged in at night.
Computergeek737 said:
I have noticed a pattern of charging to full and then draining while still plugged into power. Attached is a screenshot of Juice Plotter showing what happens while my phone is plugged in at night.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is something someone else on the forum noticed and posted here. I noticed it when I'm looking for it, but it's not something you'd know about unless you were tracking your battery usage with a percentage (as some people have done by replacing the stock battery icon in the taskbar with the circle battery icon that shows the percentage). The issue is that immediately taking it off the charger after a full charge, the battery drops a few percentage... which is just weird.
inJustus said:
GPS is an issue as I was stuck in traffic and trying to find another way home and just gave up and relied on my instinct.
The battery has been great for me and it takes an hr or 2 depending on my usage for the battery to move once off the charger.
Everything else has been stated.
Does anyone know how to get into the menu where recovery etc is????? Up+menu+ power ain't working.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've read in the Developer forum that some people (including me so far) have had some success with un-checking VZW location services in the Location & Security menu. I've only had this option set for a day so far, but it seemed to work the one time I used GPS - tracking was instant.
To get to recovery, power down, then hold both volume buttons and power on. I'd suggest checking the Developer forum for more information related to recovery. The current Clockwork button scheme is wacky (once you get to that point - which I haven't).
pollsizer said:
I've been looking for someone with a similar issue to mine but couldn't find a solution.
If I make an outgoing call for a duration longer than the time my display is set to lock after being idle (1min), I can hang up straight after the call ends. In other words, the display does not lock during an outgoing call. However, when I receive an INCOMING call and speak for a few minutes (e.g. longer than the 1 min display lock timer) at the end of the call I have to unlock the display to get back to the dialer and then end the call.
I would prefer the screen to not be locked after a phone call. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can try using Screebl? That keeps your screen on when it's at an angle, but I believe it has some in-call options as well. I've been trying to test this to confirm the bug, and I can only get the screen to lock if I navigate away from the in-call screen.
Screebl Lite:
i switched from a Nexus one to a Fascinate....
What i have noticed is that there is a wierd momentary freezing from time to time...
loading an app or switching screens, or trying to load app list, etc.... it will freeze up for a second or so before doing anything... and at times just freezes completely for about 5-10 seconds without me being able to touch anything or use the back buttons etc.... anyone else having this problem?
iifuzz said:
i switched from a Nexus one to a Fascinate....
What i have noticed is that there is a wierd momentary freezing from time to time...
loading an app or switching screens, or trying to load app list, etc.... it will freeze up for a second or so before doing anything... and at times just freezes completely for about 5-10 seconds without me being able to touch anything or use the back buttons etc.... anyone else having this problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This sounds like the infamous "lag" that plagues all of the Galaxy S phones. Most people will root the phone and implement the lag fix to resolve this issue.
Most people ask for an explanation as to why this is. The short of it is Samsung decided to use a file system that couldn't handle multiple read/writes as good as a Linux native file system. Our phones have 2 GB of internal storage for Market apps (located in /data/app). The lag fix creates a 1 GB file formatted as EXT2 (Linux native) within the 2 GB partition. The result is that the phone runs like a bat out of hell, but you only get half as much storage for your apps. For some, 1 GB is enough for their apps. For some, they won't push the phone hard enough to notice the lag.
Pay attention to how Samsung treats the other Galaxy S models (particularly outside the US). It's likely that what they change on those phones will be what'll happen to our phones. If they don't fix it post 2.2, we'll have to keep an eye on the Development area for ROMs which fix this for us.
pollsizer said:
I've been looking for someone with a similar issue to mine but couldn't find a solution.
If I make an outgoing call for a duration longer than the time my display is set to lock after being idle (1min), I can hang up straight after the call ends. In other words, the display does not lock during an outgoing call. However, when I receive an INCOMING call and speak for a few minutes (e.g. longer than the 1 min display lock timer) at the end of the call I have to unlock the display to get back to the dialer and then end the call.
I would prefer the screen to not be locked after a phone call. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, this is a very annoying bug; incoming calls do not keep the screen from locking, but outgoing calls do.
Along the same lines; if you use the Music Player at any point during normal use, and exit when you are done, the application exits like it should. But then if you place or receive a phone-call, the music app reappears in your notification bar for no reason.
Very annoying.
How about better copy and paste like the dx? I also can't seem to use the copy and paste inside the email or gmail app.
I would also like it if they could add bluetooth keyboard support and video out through the headphone jack like the galaxy s international version.
That's my wishlist, hope it might be able to come in an update, 2.2?
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
The copy/paste feature request has been posted on the Android code website, which I doubt everyone knows about. We have to go there and mark each feature request with a star to get it to rank higher in the results list. Hopefully Google will do something about it. HTC and Motorola both implemented their own copy/paste bubble, but I agree that we need one for the Samsung (or for Android in general)!
http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=3190&colspec=ID Type Status Owner Summary Stars
Does anyone else also have a problem with the handset speaker?
When I'm on a call I get a very annoying reverb of my own voice,
and I can hear A LOT of my own wind noise or extraneous noise that's
being fed to my mic. This is really annoying... I bought a brand new fascinate
but not from verizon.... so I can't get a replacement T~T....
shl615 said:
Does anyone else also have a problem with the handset speaker?
When I'm on a call I get a very annoying reverb of my own voice,
and I can hear A LOT of my own wind noise or extraneous noise that's
being fed to my mic. This is really annoying... I bought a brand new fascinate
but not from verizon.... so I can't get a replacement T~T....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have this issue as well. Sounds like the speaker is clipping when the volume is higher than 1/2.
There is no simple way to copy paste contact information.
I also hate how android changes the ui when u use the keyboard in landscape mode.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
anks86 said:
I have this issue as well. Sounds like the speaker is clipping when the volume is higher than 1/2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't like the call quality at all and it might be a deal breaker. I hear myself like I'm talking through a kazoo. There is a microphone in the ear piece that seems way to sensitive. And you don't believe me open voice recorder and blow by the mic on the bottom an then blow in the ear piece. See. Is there some sort of canceling thing going on during calls with this over sensitive mic? Voice recording from 3 feet away with normal voice renders distortion. Recording a video in a room with people talking leaves audio garbled all to hell.
My omnia i910 sounded like a land line and I miss it. And I work outside and never had any complaints. But with the fascinate after 4 days I been asked. Are you skydiving? You in a hurricane? How windy is it by you? (just a mild breeze). Even walking generates wind noise that is audible on both ends. Will the update fix this? My 30 will be well over before the update. I might just take it back and leave money on credit until update and see if it was fixed. I absolutely love this device. But hate the phone. And the phone is a major part of what I need.
25 days left.
good day.
I noticed the Android radio section is kinda small so thought I would provide some feedback with the various ones I've used. I've had two Panlelo and two Atoto radios.
The Panlelo radios I used were basically trash. Well the first one was ok, but it had a long boot. And started up with some strange bluetooth and gps error messages. I did like it at the time and it wasn't until I purchased Atoto that I realized what I was missig.. Being the first Android radio I used I had nothing to compare it to. I bought a different Panlelo for my wife because she wanted a volume knob. That's the only thing nice about it. The SD card slot was broken, the touch was terrible especially at the top and bottom. it wouldn't auto connect to my hotspot, it wouldn't remember my car launcher pro as the default launcher. Was just bad. I had also purchased a camera from them and the power trigger wire had a break in it somewhere. I've come to learn Panlelo does not make quality products. Oh yeah the first Panlelo had the side buttons stop working after a few months! And I always had obd2 connection issues.
The two Atoto radios I've had are amazing! The A6 premium I used for a year and then moved it to my wife's car. It has held up amazing and everything is layed out so much better than Pablelo. I never have issues with it. The obd2 always connects. I recently got the A6 pro with gestures and it's even better, though it's also more expensive. Aside from the gestures, the built in amp is noticeabley better. I can crank it much louder before distorting. It will actually support 2 ohm speakers although the kickers I use are 4 ohm with pretty high sensitivity (I think around 90) so they get pretty loud without an extra amp. The screen is also more vivid, better blacks, viewing angles and brighter. The resolution is the same as the first A6 but It definitely looks better. I don't use the provided screen protectors, and they don't seem necessary. The other A6 has no scratches after a year.
The gestures are pretty cool, although I've found the only two that work without problems are rotating your fingers/hand clockwise and counter clockwise. I never get false positives and it always registers when I use it. I first used it for volume up and down, but I've since used them as shortcuts for navigation and front camera. I changed the navigation app to torque so it pulls torque up instead. And front camera, I use for parking my big f250. Volume controls, home button and next are all configured on my steering wheel.
I used to use to wave your hand (defualt for that is mute) but I found it was triggering just driving around. Im hoping an update will make this more reliable. The other ones, hand forward and hand backward from sensor also trigger false. Umm besides that the layout is really good, with home, back and recents on the bottom left close to driver. (Another thing Panlelo got wrong by putting these on the top right)
Hotspot auto connects. Ohhh yeah and one thing I recently discovered! You can share Google maps navigation via Bluetooth. I'm still trying to think of a more seem less integration (wish it had NFC). But Bluetooth works well. Basically start your navigation from your phone, hit the share button, choose Bluetooth > Bluetooth2> accept the file transfer from Atoto it will then show where it was downloaded but just open maps and it will be there. It's actually pretty easy and works better than trying to type an address in. Especially when a lot of times someone has already texted you the address to your phone.
I'm still hoping for an easier way, I wish I could just out the phone close to the radio and beam it over. Or if there was a good way to get texts on the radio... I know there are Android messaging apps that sync, but I prefer the stock messaging app. Anyway, that's my experiences with Android radios. I like to use carlauncher pro.
Edit: added a couple more pics, one to show the parking camera
I can't make up my mind
Thanks for the right up. I may order the Pro unit minus the gesture feature. What brand of cables did you use on the install?
Hi,
I got my new head unit the other day, this one;
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003019883587.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.180c4c4dRzap6R
It;s a;
MTK 8259 8-core 2.0GHz
6G+128G
Overall it seem not too bad so far, not too long, sounds ok. But it has 2 major problems to me.
1. Landscape - Isn't
Although the unit has the screen in landscape mode, the unit appears to be coded to behave like portrait. So although all look fine initially, after using it a little you begin to realise it's not. For example most apps that are orientation aware reneder themselves different. Maps, Gmail, YouTube and YouTube music all have views split left/right; map on right, info on left; song of left, play list on right and so on. But the head unit does not do this, it tries to put the content top and bottom, like using a phone in portrait. On some apps, it just makes it horrible, like maps where when you view info the map is push to a skinny little band across the top. On some apps like YouTube Music, it breaks it. becuase you loose sight of the track list!! on a phone it would be under the song, but there is no space to do this on the head unit. This applies to all apps. It seems they have just not defined the mode to be landscape.
Is this just my unit, or is the a fault on others?
Can you via an app fix this? force it to be right. There is no settings for rotate or orientable in the units limited settings. I did try some apps, but they asked me to turn auto-rotate on in settings, but this doesn't exists.
Fixing this would be a big improvement. would move it from 1/5 to a 4/5.
2. WiFi.
This is broken. My unit has GPS and 4G and thus has antenna for each. I think that although the unit has Wifi it's actaully got no antenna for it internally, so signal is all but non existent. I can connect to my phone hotspot bc the phone is 2 feet away. but if i park my car on the drive, it will not connect to my router in the garage (which has great wifi coverage). I actually need to drive car into the garage and part car 1m away to get it too work at all.
Anyone else have this?
3. Firmware.
Is there other firmware for the version I have?
Thanks.
moa77 said:
Hi,
I got my new head unit the other day, this one;
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003019883587.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.180c4c4dRzap6R
It;s a;
MTK 8259 8-core 2.0GHz
6G+128G
Overall it seem not too bad so far, not too long, sounds ok. But it has 2 major problems to me.
1. Landscape - Isn't
Although the unit has the screen in landscape mode, the unit appears to be coded to behave like portrait. So although all look fine initially, after using it a little you begin to realise it's not. For example most apps that are orientation aware reneder themselves different. Maps, Gmail, YouTube and YouTube music all have views split left/right; map on right, info on left; song of left, play list on right and so on. But the head unit does not do this, it tries to put the content top and bottom, like using a phone in portrait. On some apps, it just makes it horrible, like maps where when you view info the map is push to a skinny little band across the top. On some apps like YouTube Music, it breaks it. becuase you loose sight of the track list!! on a phone it would be under the song, but there is no space to do this on the head unit. This applies to all apps. It seems they have just not defined the mode to be landscape.
Is this just my unit, or is the a fault on others?
Can you via an app fix this? force it to be right. There is no settings for rotate or orientable in the units limited settings. I did try some apps, but they asked me to turn auto-rotate on in settings, but this doesn't exists.
Fixing this would be a big improvement. would move it from 1/5 to a 4/5.
2. WiFi.
This is broken. My unit has GPS and 4G and thus has antenna for each. I think that although the unit has Wifi it's actaully got no antenna for it internally, so signal is all but non existent. I can connect to my phone hotspot bc the phone is 2 feet away. but if i park my car on the drive, it will not connect to my router in the garage (which has great wifi coverage). I actually need to drive car into the garage and part car 1m away to get it too work at all.
Anyone else have this?
3. Firmware.
Is there other firmware for the version I have?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Enable developer options or search in setttings( "RTL" or"LTR" ...) and check if has rtl or ltr layout by default
LTR is the standard for some eastern and asian regions
2. Try hotspot from it and see how far it broadcasts wifi(if its small then manufacturer or seller cheaped ou ton the wifi chip or coded it very crappy)
3 Firmware try research, if you cant find anything in English repeat the search translated to chinese (modern) , you'll have better chances of finding something
I know that there are many purpose-built Android DIN units that have some sort of resistive keypad interface. More than that I don't know a whole lot. I'm not talking about those.
I'm talking about normal Android tablets, like my Nexus 7 (2013) that sits on a gimble mount to my right. I do USB and Bluetooth so that's what I tried. Android has KeyEvents for a few things, like phone call, contacts and calculator. It doesn't have KeyEvents for Google Maps or your different audio apps. So your USB or Bluetooth device has to be different than a standard HID input device as you'll want to send custom info. Because you'll need to send intents, you have to make sure that your steering wheel is connected all the time to a specific Service or Activity. A normal HID input device belongs to the system and goes to the foreground app, not some random background app. So you need a custom USB or Bluetooth and an Activity or Service.
My steering column currently has just the single wire. I figure that I will use Bluetooth and steal a bit of power (milliamperes, not enough to actuate the horn) so it doesn't need batteries.
So, I threw together a proof-of-concept using USB. It works fine on my Android 9 devices, I set hot keys for a few different apps. I should be able to either add a second HID interface for "normal" buttons like volume, call or simply add that to the Activity or Service. There are currently permission wrinkles to get over on Android 10. Switching this from wired USB to Bluetooth is trivial.
Am I missing something? Is this old hat? How else is this done?
I've been doing some more work on this. I'm a bit surprised that I've gotten no resonance on this or anyone saying that they already do this some other way.
The 16 buttons can each do one of three things
A hot key directly to an app (not simply "next app" or "app switcher" dialog)
Go to a specific webpage using (and reusing) a specific browser tab (I've got onboard systems that host status web pages)
Normal Android keys like VolUp, VolDn, MediaPlay, etc.
The USB version works fine. It uses a daemon to inject the normal keys. The Bluetooth version is coming along. I've switched to using raw GATT instead of HID over GATT.
Na? How about this then?
Hi Renate,
I think these units you are talking about are not that often to find in cars. I don´t know anyone who uses a tablet in his car and the Nexus 7 is a real outdated unit, slow on startup and in usage.
The car units themselves normally provide SWC via CAN or resistance based.
To have an additional keypad beside the radio is not needed, as you are able to use the SWC buttons individually... at least for the most ones which are working resistance based.
That is the reason you won´t get any answers in this forum. Sorry for bad news...
Hi rigattoni: Thanks for the response. I'm just trying to figure out how people are using stuff in this whole Auto department.
I didn't think that anyone would be impressed with my Nexus 7 (2013), it's just what I'm using at the moment. In my vehicle (a Chevy G30 1 ton truck) a DIN unit is not as visible as a gimble mounted tablet. I do have space for a dual DIN. Currently I have a single DIN $20 stereo with Bluetooth. That's good enough.
But my theme was mostly: Do people have app-specific keys (without using the screen)? Can you go to Google Maps, your favorite streamer, your local audio collection (without using the screen). Would you like to? If you have CANBUS SWC you probably don't have a dedicated button to display your propane & fresh water tanks.
Aren't SWCs mostly normal Android KeyEvents? How can they get you to a specific app?
On CAN there is no possibility to change the SWC buttons to different apps.
If they are resistance based as a lot of the cars (even if I would like to get all things done via CAN) there you have an internal app included to register your buttons based on different resistance.
On a lot of units you even are able to set your SWC buttons to specific apps.
On top there you have this menu button on the SWC where you can toggle between FM radio, launcher, phone, MP3 and navigation, you name it...
I don´t use Google Maps, instead I use TomTom and if you set TomTom as standard navigation app, you can do so.
Additional buttons in form of a number pad I personally don´t need. By using an aftermarket launcher and have all my needed apps just in front.
For tablets like you use, the num pad is a nice thing as you don´t have these possibilities.... sure.
BTW: If you use an android car unit, there is no full BT stack implemented. That means that you would not be able to connect with your unit to the propane or fresh water tank or something like that. The implemented BT stack can only be used for phone calls and for BT OBD scanner.
Thanks again. Wow, it seems like those DIN units are more like radios than like Androids if they don't have full Bluetooth. Resistance keypads are kind of bush league too.
Actually, my tanks, power, HVAC, tilt come over WiFi from my Raspberry Pi. The OBD comes over USB from the microcontroller that runs my instrument display. (I've got to take a new photo since I replaced the display with a larger yellow one.) The PRNDL indicator indicates shifter position and which gear I'm actually in. The "5th gear" on a 4 speed is just what I call it when the torque converter locks. It kind of is another gear. I really love the lower left engine running time so that I remember to take coffee breaks!
I threw the keypad back on the steering wheel. For testing I just have 2 x AAA batteries. I'll add the current "stealer" later.
I use similar head unit to this one:
And I use analog (or resistive, whatever) SWC. It can be configured as in video above. I mean you can map any of those 16 functions to any button in SWC
Renate said:
Do people have app-specific keys (without using the screen)? Can you go to Google Maps, your favorite streamer, your local audio collection (without using the screen)
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Click to collapse
I'll try to answer as best as I can, because I'm not sure if I got your point.
Its possible to open some apps by SWC. For example button 4 opens navigation app, which can be selected in head unit options (it can be every navi app installed on your head unit - google maps, here maps, sygic etc)
11 opens FM radio app
9 pick ups a call (if actually is someone calling) or opens bluetooth app where you can make calls (contact list can be synced from phone, call history also). Also by this BT app you can stream music from phone to car audio.
As you can see its very limited. In my head unit there is no way to open e.g youtube app by SWC.
other functions which can be used:
1(play/pause), 2 ,3 ,5(mute),6,7, 10 no explanation required I guess
12 depends on how the Chinese implemented it In mine : press once - mute/unmute sound. press & hold for while - somehow locks the screen (like in smartphone), black screen with date and time is displayed. Sound is muted too.
13 'home' button - works like in smartphone, brings you to main menu
14 back - works like in smartphone
15 turns off display (but plays music/ navigation commands in background)
16 'mode' one of most useful - cycles through active apps
8 AFAIK it opens google assistant, but it doesnt work in mine.
Thanks, wotii098. It seems like you're reinforcing my point. Besides "Navigation" and "Radio" most of the actions are generic Android KeyEvents. I'd think that MEDIA_NEXT and MEDIA_PREVIOUS only work correctly when your music app is in the foreground? When it gets to the nitty-gritty, I use 3 different mapping services and I need to switch between them. If you are wondering what keycodes exactly are being generated (or just to check) you can use my UsbMode.apk (in the sig). Probably "Navigation" and "Radio" don't exist as KeyEvents.
Renate said:
Thanks, wotii098. It seems like you're reinforcing my point. Besides "Navigation" and "Radio" most of the actions are generic Android KeyEvents. I'd think that MEDIA_NEXT and MEDIA_PREVIOUS only work correctly when your music app is in the foreground? When it gets to the nitty-gritty, I use 3 different mapping services and I need to switch between them. If you are wondering what keycodes exactly are being generated (or just to check) you can use my UsbMode.apk (in the sig). Probably "Navigation" and "Radio" don't exist as KeyEvents.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, Renate, that also works if the audio or navigation is working in background as the translated button press throws an intent. Even Navigation and Radio or any other app can be started (or taken to foreground) by mapping a keycode to a specific app.
For radio you even are able to switch stations without bringing the app to foreground. That all happens in the background by intents.
So nearly any modern Car radio with Android is working like that. You even are able to connect 2 different key panels to the units. That´s what I did... My SWC buttons are connected to the key 1 cable and an additional thingi in my cup holder in the middle console has different settings and is connected to the key 2 cable. So the preconditions in Android car radios are fine to fire the intents to every single app you programmed.
You even are able to use long-click intents to switch to different functions.
Examples:
Station forward is a short click, station search is a long click.
Volume down works in a long click as mute/unmute button.
Menu button calls navigation on long click
the green phone button takes the call, on long click I open the voice dialer
...
Well, clearly your (custom) radio app is working on Intents and not KeyEvents.
The problem with long presses is that it delays the immediate action of a press (until it determines whether it's a long or short press).
Ok, in mode switching applications that's not a killer. For page-turn it is. Being impatient, I expect action on the down press. I defeated the long/short logic on my Android ereader.
I replaced my old Nexus 7 (2013) with my cheapy Walmart ONN 8" tablet. Although the battery was fine, I decided to do a "battery-ectomy". The first reason is, I don't like the USB cord coming in the bottom of the tablet where I can catch my knee on it when I turn around. The Onn 8 is pretty standard with a 10k resistor from the white lead to ground to simulate a thermistor. I didn't want to give up the USB connector entirely as I can/will use it for my custom ODB. I was going to solder in an extension so that I didn't have to use the connector out the bottom. It turned out easier than that. The little PCB for the USB can be unscrewed and the flex printed circuit for it can be routed out a hole in the back of the tablet. I may epoxy the board to the back of the tablet, but for now it's dangling. The round thing in the center is a sawed-off microphone holder (5/8-27 thread) epoxied to the back of the tablet. It screws on a gimbal mount by my right hand. The red/black wires get fed 4V from a Velleman buck converter.