Official Car Dock

**jimdibb** · 09-12-2011, 12:55 PM

I just also found that power must be available while inserting for the vehicle dock mode to work. I didn't realize mine wasn't plugged in when I tried it this morning.

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**chevyman29** · 09-12-2011, 07:39 PM

ok 2 things 1 there is no magnets ive had the car dock apart . 2, mine launches even if thers no power to the car dock . i have actually went inside and cut the wire inside the dock to stop it from launching as i dont wont automatic landscape .

**Markurski** · 09-13-2011, 02:15 PM

Here's a question for a techie about the cardock...let me know if I should move this ques to another thread.
Is there a way to permanently disable the warning page that comes up everytime you put the Bionic into the cardock? It's a splash page that comes up that you have to hit "agree" to to be able to use the NAV. it comes up everytime you go to/from the home page...it's annoying as f*%k!

**SamuriHL** · 09-13-2011, 03:24 PM

LOL! You should read it a little closer. Checking it makes it come up every time. Scroll it to the bottom and uncheck it.

**Markurski** · 09-13-2011, 06:47 PM

Originally Posted by SamuriHL

LOL! You should read it a little closer. Checking it makes it come up every time. Scroll it to the bottom and uncheck it.

Ahh, thanks samuri! I feel like an *****! Never thought about trying to scroll that page down! Figured it would be something easy like that...after looking through the cardock settings page, there is also a box you can un-check there.

**SamuriHL** · 09-13-2011, 06:51 PM

Originally Posted by Markurski

Ahh, thanks samuri! I feel like an *****! Never thought about trying to scroll that page down! Figured it would be something easy like that...after looking through the cardock settings page, there is also a box you can un-check there.

HAHAHAHA. It happens to all of us.

**fdisker** · 09-13-2011, 08:14 PM

I thought I would add to this thread with some thoughts on the actual use of the dock for those that are still on the fence about getting it.

1. Entry/Exit - coming from the Thunderbolt the Bionic is much different going in and coming out of the dock. With the Thunderbolt I had to apply a good amount of pressure to the top part of the phone before the phone would "click" into the connector. Same thing with removing it. This always annoyed me and there were a few times where I pulled the dock off the windshield when trying to get the phone out of the dock. All this has changed with the Bionic. The Bionic simply slides in and out with no force whatsoever. It's very nice and a welcome change. The clip that locks the phone in the dock also has a nice, premium feel.

2. Moto dock app - this is another huge difference between the Bionic and Tbolt. The dock app is customizable in that it allows me to add apps to the application. I love this and it was not possible on the stock HTC dock. Youtube, NFL Mobile and my choice of other apps are simply a swipe away now rather than having to fiddle with various home screens.

3. Landscape home screens - if you need to leave the moto dock app all your home screens are nicely landscaped. This wasn't the case with the Tbolt and it annoyed me. I no longer have to read things sideways.

Overall the experience is several steps above what I was getting with the Tbolt. I'm quite happy with it and feel the dock was worth every penny. I'd recommend it to anyone who spends a lot of time in their vehicle.

On a side note being able to watch NFL football live in the car while driving is simply amazing (and quite dangerous!)

**SamuriHL** · 09-13-2011, 08:21 PM

I've renamed the thread to be the "official" car dock thread. I think that will be useful. I agree that the car dock is lightyears ahead of even the Droid dock. Having the dock always be powered instead of having to plug the phone in and then placing it in the dock is awesome. I DO have to apply some pressure when inserting the phone into the dock on mine because of my cause, but, if I lock it while doing that I generally don't have a problem. I love how it clips in...very easy to insert and remove it from the dock which makes it more likely that every time I get in the car, even when driving across town, I'll throw it in there and turn on the . All in all, the car dock experience has been great.

**brnscofrnld** · 09-15-2011, 02:38 PM

Originally Posted by APeX3181

I didn't see an icon for the car dock either. I actually don't have a car dock, but on the OG Droid, I was able to have the car home app start up when it connected to my car's bluetooth. Is there any way to do that with this phone??

I'm really missing this feature as well. I was hoping that this would be an option with the Bionic since I loved that on my OG it would just connect to my car and automatically turn on the car mode.

Hopefully this gets figured out.

**pkooistra** · 09-15-2011, 05:19 PM

What cases work with the car dock? I can't seem to find a thread that answers that question. I was thinking about the otterbox commuter, but can't find if it works with the docks or not. I need a case that will give decent protection and work with the Car/home docks

Any help would be appreciated.

**SamuriHL** · 09-15-2011, 05:22 PM

I have an awesome silicone case on mine and it works more or less with the car dock. It requires a little downward pressure to make it work, but, it does work. I don't know about the otterbox case.

**pkooistra** · 09-15-2011, 07:19 PM

Do you know the brand? Does it offer much protection if the Bionic is dropped by accident?

**lembowski** · 09-15-2011, 07:44 PM

Originally Posted by pkooistra

What cases work with the car dock? I can't seem to find a thread that answers that question. I was thinking about the otterbox commuter, but can't find if it works with the docks or not. I need a case that will give decent protection and work with the Car/home docks

Any help would be appreciated.

Neither Otterbox case will work with the OEM docks.

**SamuriHL** · 09-15-2011, 07:45 PM

That one there. I have no idea how much protection it'd give from being dropped. I'm not dying to try it.

**pkooistra** · 09-16-2011, 02:44 PM

Are there any protective cases that will work with the OEM docks? Supposedly they are made with the inserts to accommodate certain cases.

**levydvm** · 09-17-2011, 12:04 AM

Originally Posted by brnscofrnld

I'm really missing this feature as well. I was hoping that this would be an option with the Bionic since I loved that on my OG it would just connect to my car and automatically turn on the car mode.

Hopefully this gets figured out.

You can launch the car dock app from a shortcut using AnyCut from the market (package name for car dock is called SmartMode). I use Tasker to automatically launch it when connected to my car's bluetooth.

**codered18** · 09-23-2011, 01:29 AM

It sometime not come up because it wasn't dock properly. Happen to me a few times. A little tug solves it all the time.

What I dislike about car dock is I have to manually plug in the aux. The Fascinate dock does it automatically.

**jimdibb** · 09-23-2011, 08:59 AM

If you go to the moto accessories site and get what's called the custom audio cable for $20 and12v USB charger plug, you no longer have to use the headphone plug and your aux stays connected all the time.
But the phone audio will not be routed there, it must come from the phone speaker. So close to perfect but not quite there.

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**jimdibb** · 09-27-2011, 07:18 AM

Turns out the phone audio is routed there if you toggle speakerphone OFF.

Also, the output is a fixed level output so you don't have to fiddle with 2 volume controls. You just use your stereo's volume control.

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**kbo** · 10-05-2011, 09:55 AM

I have been using the car dock for a couple weeks and am pretty disappointed with it. It only came with an insert to fit a Bionic with an extended battery, so the stock Bionic doesn't fit tight (same with the home dock). I have to be sure that the left side of the phone is sitting flush in the dock while I press down, otherwise I will not have audio out and the car dock app will not always launch.

I called Motorola and asked if they had an insert for the stock Bionic and they said they only had the insert that comes with the car dock.

**qnet** · 10-05-2011, 01:40 PM

So far, I love this dock. It's much better than the Magellan car kit I used with my Iphone (which is much more expensive). The Iphone dock would have trouble recognizing the device and, you had to keep adjusting it and pressing on it to make sure it would connect.

I use a black silicon case that I bought at Verizon and, it works well. I do have to give it a little extra push, to may sure it connects but, once connected; it stays connected.

The Seido case I've ordered, from what I've heard, will not work and, I'll just have to take it off when using the dock. What's cool about Seido caes are they are very durable and well made. You can take them on & off several times without much wear or bad effects .This is not that big of a deal to me because, I had to do that with my Nexus one car dock. This dock is probably the best dock I've had since the N1 dock.

I also agree with a previous poster who talked about being able to add apps to the car dock screen, that's a really nice feature. Something else I also missed is Google maps & navigation, it is much more accurate than the Magellan app I used with my Iphone.

**JackStorm** · 10-05-2011, 01:40 PM

Originally Posted by jimdibb

Turns out the phone audio is routed there if you toggle speakerphone OFF.

Also, the output is a fixed level output so you don't have to fiddle with 2 volume controls. You just use your stereo's volume control.

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I can't seem to find this on the Moto site. Any chance you can provide a little link action? Thanks!

**VBGlacier** · 10-05-2011, 04:28 PM

**mikeffi** · 10-14-2011, 10:07 AM

Well I got the dock yesterday and was happy with the fit and finish. I bought it from the Moto site so it came with the Y cable which works well. So the only issue I am having with it is the forced landscape mode. I opened mine up last night ( 4 screws ) to see if I could find and remove a magnet ( like did for the dock of my OG Droid ) with no luck. Well, some bad luck actually. I managed to lose the little whisker spring on the power button. ( It seems to work without out it )

While I had it apart I tried various things to isolate what was causing the thing to jump into SmartMode and for a time I thought I had succeeded somehow, but once everything was back together it again put me in forced landscape mode.

So two questions:
1) Where's the magnet

?
2) Is there a software fix that can make orientation automatic again while in the dock?