Individual volume controls for music, podcasts, navigation, etc.?

[mjpatey]

Hi, all-

Is there any way to individually control volume levels of various sources in Android Auto? Without fail, I'll be listening to a podcast at a comfortable level, then navigation, or some other notification will nearly blast me out of my seat. Same thing with talking on the phone using the car's bluetooth, and other combinations of sources.

Is there any way to control these separately, so I'm not lunging for my car's volume knob every time?

-Mark

 

[anon(9983233)]

I would suggest that you look into locating and using an "equalizer" app

https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...artandroidapps.equalizer&hl=en&token=DdEGhST8

 

[ireknole]

Hi, all-

Is there any way to individually control volume levels of various sources in Android Auto? Without fail, I'll be listening to a podcast at a comfortable level, then navigation, or some other notification will nearly blast me out of my seat. Same thing with talking on the phone using the car's bluetooth, and other combinations of sources.

Is there any way to control these separately, so I'm not lunging for my car's volume knob every time?

-Mark

I think it depends on the car. My Hyundai has separate volume controls for phone calls (while on a call) , but all android auto notifications and audio goes through the same channel and it's not independent.

Some people with aftermarket units or different car models report being able to control the volumes separately. I've also heard that Apple carplay on the Hyundai has the ability to change volumes separately.

This has been a pet peeve of mine ever since I got android auto. It's very annoying to have loud music playing to be interrupted by an even louder navigation prompt. Same with quiet music, the navigation volume becomes too quiet to hear. Yes there are three options to change the navigation volume within the maps app but that doesn't offer the same granular control as a volume knob and it cannot be changed while driving.

The equalizer suggested will not work because it doesn't carry over to Android auto.

 

[mjpatey]

@Toaster- Thanks for the suggestion... I wish all I needed was an EQ. There doesn't seem to be a way to control app volume levels independently.

 

[mjpatey]

@ireknole, thanks for the insight. I just tried installing an "app volume control" app, but the developer says there's a limitation in Android, wherein a background app cannot be set to a different volume from a foreground one. So the app just constantly turns the global volume up and down based on rules you set for each app.

That makes me think Android itself may be the limitation here...

 

[Pedrore]

It does depend on the car. In my VW, I can adjust volume while nav or Google search is speaking and that is independent of radio volume

 

[ireknole]

@ireknole, thanks for the insight. I just tried installing an "app volume control" app, but the developer says there's a limitation in Android, wherein a background app cannot be set to a different volume from a foreground one. So the app just constantly turns the global volume up and down based on rules you set for each app.

That makes me think Android itself may be the limitation here...

Unfortunately, it's the car manufacturer's limitation or implementation of the app. That's even worse than an android problem because this will never get fixed. Car manufacturers put the app out and are done.

 

[mjpatey]

@Pedrore, I haven't tested that in my car (2016 Hyundai Sonata) yet... But radio audio is separate from Android Auto audio, so it makes sense that that would work. The issue I'm having is with wildly varying sound levels from one Android Auto source to another (such as Podcast Addict and Maps).

If the complexity of a user-adjustable mixer panel is an issue, maybe AA could just include auto level matching to keep things from getting too crazy.

 

[ireknole]

@Pedrore, I haven't tested that in my car (2016 Hyundai Sonata) yet... But radio audio is separate from Android Auto audio, so it makes sense that that would work. The issue I'm having is with wildly varying sound levels from one Android Auto source to another (such as Podcast Addict and Maps).

If the complexity of a user-adjustable mixer panel is an issue, maybe AA could just include auto level matching to keep things from getting too crazy.

I have the 2015 sonata and everything within Android auto is on the same audio channel. So if you try to change the maps voice volume while it's talking, it also changes the music volume. If you're listening to the radio, android auto is listed as a separate audio channel and it works as expected (quiets voice volume while keeping radio at the same volume).

I've heard that carplay works properly with separate channels and after hearing how other users of android auto have separate channels, this is definitely something Hyundai didn't bother to test when trying to be the first to push android auto out the door and they won't change it now.