Android Auto first impressions thread (and ask us anything!)

[PqP]

It's easier on your phone's battery, doesn't need/use data, gets better satellite signal due to dedicated antenna right under the windshield, and if you're making a bunch of short trips, you can queue them all up at once (and don't have to keep plugging/unplugging your phone).

Depending on the unit, there may be other features you might find useful (like speeding notifications).

Plus, if your chauffeuring clients around, you usually have more control of level and amount of voice guidance, even what speakers it comes out of.

I have the AVIC-8100NEX and the Nexus 5. For GPS navigation I prefer Google Maps, whose visual display is simpler and more comprehensible, as are the voice instructions. But am I glad I have the 8100's native GPS as a backup service when I need it, because Google's navigation doesn't work where there's no service for the Nexus 5.

As for music, I simply got myself a bunch of el-cheapo teeny SDHC thumb drives, loaded them with various kinds of music, and attach one at a time to USB1, to be played by the Pioneer either in sequence of in shuffle mode. The AA screen shows Google Maps navigation, the USB1 music plays, the Google Maps navigation voice instructions mesh well with the music, and the Pioneer's speed limit warnings work fine as well. It's all well coordinated.

 

[applehater00]

When I am playing music in AA I can exit and play music on the regulat Pioneer play screen. You can play, pause and skip and back track songs but you cant search. You can get to where it shows you the folder that contains music, but you cant open the folder. Sometimes the album art is missing also, especially on the first track you play, even if the art has shown up before.

that is the bigest drawback to me is that you have to make sure the music is in a playlist, so if you download new music but dont put it in a play list you cant really access it. It will show up in recent downloads or whatever, but not sure how long it stays there.

Pioneer 4100nex with 1.03

Thank you for answering my question.

Really quite ridiculously awful and no matter how advanced Android Auto is, not havign anywhere near decent music functionality is basically falling at the first hurdle and it's where Carplay, with it's boring icons and inferior map etc, outshines AA massively.

What an incredible disappointment that even workarounds don't work. Sort it out Android if you want to draw people away from Apple!! THERE NEEDS TO BE A DECENT NON-VOICE MUSIC BROWSE/SEARCH FUNCTION!!!!

 

[VincentVV]

Actually, if you know where you are going before you leave the house, you can download the entire map you're going to be needing. That way GPS still works, as does navigation even with no cellular service!

 

[Cant Miss]

Actually, if you know where you are going before you leave the house, you can download the entire map you're going to be needing. That way GPS still works, as does navigation even with no cellular service!

IIRC, routing won't work without data.

 

[PqP]

Actually, if you know where you are going before you leave the house, you can download the entire map you're going to be needing. That way GPS still works, as does navigation even with no cellular service!

Right you are. That's what I've learned to do.
I live in Cambridge, MA. My Nexus 5 service provider is Metro PCS (=T-Mobile). Whenever it's sunny, I hop into the WRX to try out the new toys. One thing I enjoy doing is to at some point deviate from the route and go into the wild blue yonder, and see how my navigation system will bail me out.

Friday, I made a hop to the Cape, and branched off halfway up the Cape. Google Maps died on me while trying to recalculate the route. If you look up the T-Mobile coverage for Cape Cod you'll see a black area halfway up and towards the east. That's where I landed and got lost -- Google Maps-wise.

The Pioneer 8100's native navigation bailed me out and got me to Provincetown. Interestingly, once there, although supposedly covered by T-Mobile, apparently the 4G LTE coverage wasn't too good, because Maps was sitting there, looping, claiming to download the route -- like forever...

The Pioneer got me back from Provincetown to Hyannis, where Google Maps became operational again.
Hats off to the Pioneer navigation system, which can even navigate the "black" eastern areas halfway up Cape Cod.

OBSERVATION: The Maps problem indicates that as soon as it tried to recalculate the route, it forgot all about the Boston-Provincetown route I had downloaded at home (had it remembered it, it would have been able to navigate me back from Provincetown without needing to download).
Now my Nexus 5 has 32GB memory, of which some 20GB are still available. The Pioneer navigation system seems to be living in 16GB and to cover the entire US. Why the hell does Maps have to start off by deleting the maps downloaded at home, to then want to reload those same maps and suffer from lack of LTE service ???

 

[PqP]

Thank you for answering my question.

Really quite ridiculously awful and no matter how advanced Android Auto is, not havign anywhere near decent music functionality is basically falling at the first hurdle and it's where Carplay, with it's boring icons and inferior map etc, outshines AA massively.

What an incredible disappointment that even workarounds don't work. Sort it out Android if you want to draw people away from Apple!! THERE NEEDS TO BE A DECENT NON-VOICE MUSIC BROWSE/SEARCH FUNCTION!!!!

Man, if you've read my various earlier comments, you know that I'm aware of all these problems.
But AA is **NEW**. It's a new platform operating under severe constraints (like, make sure drivers don'y play Candy Crush while on cruise control).
It needs hardware platforms (my Pioneer AVIC-8100NEX is the first) and qualified Android apps (only Maps right now; I choose to contemptuously disregard the abortion named Play Music !!!). So that's what we have to live with for right now.

On the positive side: It'll evolve, fast. The changes are all in the firm/soft-ware. I feel reasonably confident that when I change cars, I can transplant the 8100 to the new vehicle, and still enjoy the latest and greatest in AA (with the exception of newer future head units which are physically tied into the car's computer).

And I'm pretty happy with my solution to the music problem: A bunch of small thumb drives (none needs to be bigger than 2GB, which is PLENTY for music; even though mine are all 32GB which is the max SDHC the Pioneer supports), each representing a physical "playlist".

 

[applehater00]

You're right mate. It's new and hopefully will get better.

On that basis I've decided to risk it and yes will switch over to Android but will not risk spending £600+ on the AA route whilst it's the way it is.

Thanks again everyone. I'll watch this space. In the meantime I'm checking out Auto Mate.

 

[PqP]

... the biggest drawback to me is that you have to make sure the music is in a playlist, so if you download new music but dont put it in a play list you cant really access it. It will show up in recent downloads or whatever, but not sure how long it stays there.

Pioneer 4100nex with 1.03

In Google Play Music, can you make a playlist from plain stored mp3 files? I have over 40GB of mp3's, many of them classical music, none of them downloaded (IOW ripped from CD). If that's possible and you know how, can you please explain?
I'd like to have such playlists on my phone, and be able to select and play them on Google Play Music.
But is that really possible ???

 

[PqP]

You're right mate. It's new and hopefully will get better.

On that basis I've decided to risk it and yes will switch over to Android but will not risk spending £600+ on the AA route whilst it's the way it is.

Thanks again everyone. I'll watch this space. In the meantime I'm checking out Auto Mate.

Makes sense. The problem is not AA navigation in general but rather Google Maps's short-term memory lapses AND the non-availability of other Android navigation apps that operate on a memory-resident mapping DB (rather than a dynamically downloaded one).

So your AA navigation right now is as good as your 4G LTE data service availability. If you live and only travel in a reasonably sized country (like Luxembourg or Monaco) you're 100% fine. If you're an Australian who likes to venture into the Outback, or a Bostonian lost in the wilderness of Cape Cod, then you're not so fine.

There are Android navigation apps which operate on stored memory-resident maps. One that I like a lot is GPS Navigation & Maps. But until it's been transmogrified onto the AA platform, it's unavailable on the Pioneer head unit. It IS however still available on your phone. So when you find yourself lost in the wilds of somewhere, you can park the car and unplug the phone, then run this navigation app and use the handheld phone to direct you back to civilization.

 

[PqP]

It charges fine and is fully charged when arriving at your destination.

Fully charged - that's my experience as well, having used AA navigation on my Nexus 5. I plug the USB into the Nexus, then hide the Nexus in that little storage cubicle under the console arm rest, where the USB connection lives. BTW, the nexus doesn't seem to suffer any heat problems in there.

After hours of continuous travel with AA navigation, when I remove the Nexus it's fully charged.
I attribute this to the fact that the Nexus screen goes black and dead on me as soon as AA has taken over. Displaying the GPS navigation information on the phone's screen is probably the biggest drain on the battery.

 

[Goosty]

What text message apps work with Android auto? Namely textra?

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[PqP]

What text message apps work with Android auto? Namely textra?

One should hope NONE !!! Unless by purely voice.

 

[Goosty]

One should hope NONE !!! Unless by purely voice.

Thanks. Since voice is the only way to use it. Was wondering if it only worked with hangouts or something. Sort of like how android wear didn't work with all 3rd party text apps right away.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Tysonsaurus]

What text message apps work with Android auto? Namely textra?

Posted via the Android Central App

Hangouts.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[MMcCraryNJ]

Hey everyone. Quick question (saw it asked earlier in the thread, but no answer yet given).

How exactly does Android Auto push music functionality to the head unit? Is it through the USB connection, or is it Bluetooth streaming? I know that when you connect a device via USB, it automatically creates a Bluetooth connection for phone call/text message audio (as noted in the Android Auto documentation), but I cannot find any information as to if Google Play Music is using the same Bluetooth connection to pass the music audio, or if it's passing audio through the USB connection.

Thanks!

 

[Insp_Gadget]

Hey everyone. Quick question (saw it asked earlier in the thread, but no answer yet given).

How exactly does Android Auto push music functionality to the head unit? Is it through the USB connection, or is it Bluetooth streaming? I know that when you connect a device via USB, it automatically creates a Bluetooth connection for phone call/text message audio (as noted in the Android Auto documentation), but I cannot find any information as to if Google Play Music is using the same Bluetooth connection to pass the music audio, or if it's passing audio through the USB connection.

Thanks!

USB.

USB allows for functions like channeling sound to specific speakers (for example, having the navigation voice louder on the speaker closest to the driver, while simultaneously playing stereo music properly balanced for everyone else in the car). Bluetooth audio doesn't allow that level of control.

 

[MMcCraryNJ]

USB.

USB allows for functions like channeling sound to specific speakers (for example, having the navigation voice louder on the speaker closest to the driver, while simultaneously playing stereo music properly balanced for everyone else in the car). Bluetooth audio doesn't allow that level of control.

You, sir, are a man's man. Thank you so much.

 

[posman53]

I've had my 4100 now for almost a month, and overall, I love the head unit. Auto-EQ did a great job of setting the sound environment in my Equinox, and I hear a great deal more sound separation than when I had my stock radio installed. Android Auto installed easily and connected to my N6 with no issues, and for the first iteration, works pretty well. I've the same complaints about Google Music that others have expressed here, relative to browsing and searching, and there is always hope that it will improve.

One thing I've discovered is that the volume when I first use AA is really loud. My volume level could be set at 2, and it blasts me out of the car. However, if I start Music first, and the switch to setting my destination for my drive, the volume level drops to where it should be. I haven't figured out if this is caused by the head unit, AA itself, or the installation of the steering wheel controls wiring harness (Best Buy kinda jacked the installation). Has anyone else experienced this?

I have my music library uploaded to Play Music and rarely keep music on my phone. I've yet to have success using the voice search to play an album from my library. Does anyone know if that actually works?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Insp_Gadget]

I've had my 4100 now for almost a month, and overall, I love the head unit. Auto-EQ did a great job of setting the sound environment in my Equinox, and I hear a great deal more sound separation than when I had my stock radio installed. Android Auto installed easily and connected to my N6 with no issues, and for the first iteration, works pretty well. I've the same complaints about Google Music that others have expressed here, relative to browsing and searching, and there is always hope that it will improve.

One thing I've discovered is that the volume when I first use AA is really loud. My volume level could be set at 2, and it blasts me out of the car. However, if I start Music first, and the switch to setting my destination for my drive, the volume level drops to where it should be. I haven't figured out if this is caused by the head unit, AA itself, or the installation of the steering wheel controls wiring harness (Best Buy kinda jacked the installation). Has anyone else experienced this?

I have my music library uploaded to Play Music and rarely keep music on my phone. I've yet to have success using the voice search to play an album from my library. Does anyone know if that actually works?

Thanks in advance.

I've observed the same thing with the AA Google Nav sound. (I did my own installation, and I'm sure I've got it installed correctly per the wiring diagrams from my interface kit.) I don't get blasted by the voice, but it is a bit loud. She seems to ignore volume controls unless playing music.

As far as the music library and calling up albums, I have no problems there. (Disclaimer: I'm a Google Play All Access subscriber, so I have access to more than just my own music.) One thing that might be a factor for you (or others that have the same issue)... Does all of your music have the proper metadata (i.e. tags) applied to it? If you ripped your music from CDs or didn't purchase it from legit sources, it probably doesn't have proper tags for Artist, Album, Track #, Genre, Year, embedded Album Art, etc. In order for Voice Search to be able to find it, it has to be able to read the MP3 metadata, so it can properly index the music.

I made sure all of my music was properly tagged (using a good tag editor) prior to uploading it to Google Play Music. You can edit the tags with Google Play Music (from your desktop), but it's not as easy to do bulk editing as with a more robust music manager (like Media Monkey, etc.).

The only time I've run into problems with calling up a specific album or song is when the album title matches a particular song (sometimes on the same album and sometimes not). For example Michael Jackson's "Thriller" (both a song and an album title). Google Play Music will sometimes be unpredictable with what it will do. I've had it bring up the album "Thriller" and start playing the first track of that: "Wanna Be Startin' Something". Other times, it has actually brought up the song "Thriller" and started playing it.

Another observation: Since, Voice Search doesn't recognize asking for both the artist and title at the same time (i.e. "Play Michael Jackson Thriller" or "Play Thriller by Michael Jackson"), you have to ask for either the artist or the song. If you ask for the artist, Play Music will queue up a selection of songs by the artist (as you would expect). If you ask for the song, Play Music will play the song and then queue up a selection of music tracks to follow it that are similar in genre, but not necessarily by the same artist. Essentially, it will create a "Radio Station" based on the song title. (Again, this is only applies if you're a Google Play All Access subscriber.)

In either case, whether it properly grabs music from your library or not is probably dependent on the tags in the MP3s you uploaded.

 

[cwolfey]

I found that the volume for the navigation is controlled using the phone side buttons, specifically "media" volume.