Moto Actions/Display - Disable while driving

lou502

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(Sorry about the verbose post, but I think the details are important for the thread to stay on topic)

There have been various threads (here, XDA, Reddit) about how annoying Moto Actions/Display can be while driving (e.g., coming on when turning the steering wheel, or on every little bump or car acceleration). None of the threads had any real solutions, so I wanted to start this thread to see if anyone had new ideas, or if people have found any good "hacks" or workarounds to disable Moto Actions/Displays while driving.

To be specific; I am speaking of:
Moto app | Moto Actions | Approach for Moto Display
Moto app | Moto Display | Moto Display

My phone (Moto X 2014 Pure Edition) is in a cup holder stand, facing me. "Approach for Moto Display" is the primary one I want to disable in the car, as the screen comes on every time I turn the steering wheel. If the display also comes on too often with just normal car movements, I would want to disable Moto Display entirely while in the car.

1. My idea solution would be to control Moto Actions/Display with an NFC tag. I already have NFC tags at work, at home, and in the car doing different tasks. I would just add these items to the list. I contacted the developer of the "NFC Tools/Tasks" apps. He said being able to control the Moto app specific items is on his road map, but he doesn't currently own any Motorola devices.

2. The next idea is; does anyone know how to trigger the different Moto app settings via command line? I did some digging around, but couldn't really figure anything out. The NFC Tasks app allows the execution of command lines.

3. Another idea; what about a way to program a macro, where you would record the screen presses to disable Moto Actions/Display; and then you could just have a widget or shortcut on the Home screen that you would press when in the car. So the disabling would not be completely automated, but it would be one additional icon press, instead of the current eight or so.

4. In one of the threads, somebody mentioned covering the sensors. Has anyone had consistent luck with that method? If so, could you provide the details (which sensors, etc.).

Previous threads...
(well...it won't let me post the links)
 
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fatboy97

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This is probably not what you want to hear, but I'm going to say it anyways... leave the device in your shirt pocket or pants pocket. While driving I can hear it and don't get distracted by seeing it.
 

benhaube

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Like the previous poster said, couldn't you just turn the phone so it isn't facing you? You would still be able to use the voice features for driving, and you shouldn't be looking at the phones screen while driving unless it's in a windshield mount for navigation or similar anyway.
 

lou502

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Ahhh, the last two replies show I missed a needed point to keep the thread on topic.
While driving, I use the phone to listen to podcasts. So it needs to be in the cup holder to be able to connect it to the power outlet and FM transmitter. And it needs to face me so I can change podcasts on longer trips.
 

lou502

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To item #4 in my original post; I played around with covering different parts of the phone. The sensors that control "Approach for Moto Display" are at the top. On the drive home yesterday, I put a sticky note on the top of the phone. It did prevent Moto Display from activating while turning the steering wheel or otherwise moving in front of the phone.

Moto Display did activate a few times based on car movements, but it wasn't too frequently.

I'd still prefer to figure out a way to to make items #1 or #2 happen, if anyone has ideas.
 

raptir

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I've been looking for a way to do this as well. Keeping it in my pocket is not a reasonable option because I typically charge my phone while in the car and use it for music. Tasker is unable to do anything because I keep getting the "Permission Denied" message when trying to manipulate it. And Android does not allow an app to emulate screen touches since that would be a major security concern. With root you can get it to emulate keypresses or a d-pad functionality, but that doesn't help since the Moto app cannot be navigated using only the dpad.

It seems as though unless Motorola updates the Moto app to allow external apps to change settings or builds in a way to automatically disable display when driving, we'll be stuck.
 

fatboy97

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Sounds like the best place for this discussion might be on the Motorola forums. Not to say Motorola will change this or make a new option on their settings for you, but if enough people have the same issue, maybe they will look into it.

Go to motorola.com and at the bottom of the page is a link to their forums. You can register your device and discuss this on their forums.
 

Drew R

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My apologies for resurrecting an old thread but this issue was driving me crazy with my X Pure.

As far as the motion activating Moto Display, I was having this problem while driving with my phone in a cradle. I found that activating "Driving" in Moto Actions stopped this from happening. I have it on priority notifications only and silent but it may help regardless of the driving settings, I haven't tried adjusting the settings yet.
 

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