Android Auto Hack

[marko]

My car requires Android Auto (you'd think for a $65K, 2020 car it would come with Sirius, Pandora and Navigation built in? No.) Frustrating to see the 2021, $25K cars offering 'wireless AA'.

Anyway, it works great for a long-ish trip but for day-to-day errands I'm in/out/in the car which means I have to connect/disconnect/connect the phone via a USB. A real PITA and as such I don't use it daily.

Somewhere along the way I read about this hack and decided to try it myself:
I found an older Android phone of mine. Installed AA into it and connected it to the car via USB and keep it there permanently.

That phone doesn't have any data access because it's not a 'live' phone. So I just hit the button on my current phone to "mobile hotspot" and the two connect.

Now, I can keep my 'live/new' phone in my pocket and jump in/out of the car and they will reconnect when I return. The 'dead' phone plays my AA selections using the mobile hotspot from my newer phone.

I've only done this a day or two but it seems to work just fine.

Someday, there'll be a dongle that does this but despite on-line 'news' of such I can't find where to buy one. For now, this seems to work.

 

[audreyh1]

Oh, I thought it was the bad kind of hack.

 

[marko]

Oh, I thought it was the bad kind of hack.

Sorry. MIT reference.

 

[NW-Bound]

Thanks for the tip. My car supports Android Auto, and I will try this when I upgrade to a new Android phone and have a spare one.

 

[teetee]

My car does not come with a LCD monitor based infotainment system (being a 2015 model you would think it should have that out of the factory - all it has are buttons and a tiny LED screen showing the track number or radio station frequency).

I replaced it with a $70 EBay no brand android marshmallow head unit.

Now I don't need to take out my phone when I enter the car.

Everything is now done on the head unit itself. It is just like a phone that supports Bluetooth, gps navi with offline maps, FM or audio from storage / phone, dashcam recording, rearview cam, and more.

Even the steering wheel wiring was pretty straightforward (no need additional PAC adapter) which I found really useful to switch different apps, adjust volumes and other stuff without taking my eyes from the road.

I have no reason to use Android auto when the Google play store is right there on the head unit and I can install all the apps I need.

If I park closer to the house, I can just use my wifi to install apps or upgrade them on the head unit. If I really need the Internet while driving, then I can tether it to my phone.

I think the aftermarket head units are so advanced and inexpensive these days that a new car would be more attractive to me if it does not come with a factory head unit but allows easy installation of the aftermarket one of my choosing.

 

[folivier]

Interesting how things can work out. Had to follow my wife for a short distance recently, me in the RV and her in our toad car. My phone connected to her car so I couldn't call her! I had to turn off bluetooth on my phone in order to call her.

 

[pb4uski]

If you were following her why didn't you just drop back out of bleutooth range?

 

[Koolau]

If you were following her why didn't you just drop back out of bleutooth range?

Okay, off topic, but I gotta tell this story - and no it has nothing to do with Auto Hacking or anything else pertinent. I'm guessing it's apocryphal but told as "true." Back in the day, you could actually start an auto-trans car by pushing it. SO a guy tells his wife to push his car with hers. He reminds her that she has to get up to at least 35 mph to accomplish the start. SO, as he waits, he sees her approaching the rear of his car, yes, you guessed it, going 35 mph. Returning you now to our regularly scheduled subject. YMMV

 

[teetee]

Okay, off topic, but I gotta tell this story - and no it has nothing to do with Auto Hacking or anything else pertinent. I'm guessing it's apocryphal but told as "true." Back in the day, you could actually start an auto-trans car by pushing it. SO a guy tells his wife to push his car with hers. He reminds her that she has to get up to at least 35 mph to accomplish the start. SO, as he waits, he sees her approaching the rear of his car, yes, you guessed it, going 35 mph. Returning you now to our regularly scheduled subject. YMMV

Hahaha thanks for that. In that situation a phone call will probably not help much (before both cars are totaled) but I can just see the facial expression of the front driver right before the impact.