[PaKii94]

Originally Posted by ssshake

Not really. This is the cheapest one that was on there. It’s canadian dollars not US and that’s after $60 shipping.

True. CAD got me oops

[Cactus_BMW]

Originally Posted by toddyus

See answers below:

"Does it start in android by default and you press some button to get to idrive?"
You can get it to start in either side. There are instructions out on the web somewhere, but essentially, you start the system, switch to the side you want and, after 45 seconds or so, shut the system down. Let it completely shut down and when you start it again, it will return to the side you were on last.

toddyus (or anyone else) - are you able to get the unit to start on Android side just into the menu, and not into the Android music player?

I have mine booting to Android automatically, but it then launches the music app and starts playing whatever song/playlist is there. This adds 20-30 seconds before the system then launches into AutoPlay/CarPlay (set through Startup Manager app I installed).

I'm not sure how to get it to just boot to Android menu...

Thanks,
-Cactus_BMW

[toddyus]

Originally Posted by Cactus_BMW

"Does it start in android by default and you press some button to get to idrive?"
You can get it to start in either side. There are instructions out on the web somewhere, but essentially, you start the system, switch to the side you want and, after 45 seconds or so, shut the system down. Let it completely shut down and when you start it again, it will return to the side you were on last.

toddyus (or anyone else) - are you able to get the unit to start on Android side just into the menu, and not into the Android music player?

I have mine booting to Android automatically, but it then launches the music app and starts playing whatever song/playlist is there. This adds 20-30 seconds before the system then launches into AutoPlay/CarPlay (set through Startup Manager app I installed).

I'm not sure how to get it to just boot to Android menu...

Thanks,
-Cactus_BMW

I have had it working that way in the past, so I know it's possible, but not sure what I did to make it work that way.

[Cactus_BMW]

Originally Posted by toddyus

I have had it working that way in the past, so I know it's possible, but not sure what I did to make it work that way.

That is encouraging...please let me know if you can recall how you got it set up to function this way.

[toddyus]

Originally Posted by Cactus_BMW

That is encouraging...please let me know if you can recall how you got it set up to function this way.

I learned something yesterday you might want to try. If you leave it on bluetooth (which I don't use and it is in fact turned off) and let it boot into Android and into the bluetooth app, you can then close the bluetooth app, switch to carplay and now the track forward and backward buttons will work in Autoplay. They did not work for me previously.

Still fiddling with quicker startup and directly into Autoplay.

[Cactus_BMW]

Originally Posted by toddyus

I learned something yesterday you might want to try. If you leave it on bluetooth (which I don't use and it is in fact turned off) and let it boot into Android and into the bluetooth app, you can then close the bluetooth app, switch to carplay and now the track forward and backward buttons will work in Autoplay. They did not work for me previously.

Still fiddling with quicker startup and directly into Autoplay.

Thanks, I'll give this a shot.

After the AutoPlay update that added the option to auto-launch when phone is plugged in, I enabled it to see what would happen at start up. Surprisingly, within a second of landing in Android after BMW logo screen goes away, CarPlay launches. Unfortunately though, then the Android Music app launches and takes you out of CarPlay.

I was happy to see that conceptually I could be in CarPlay within 20 seconds of starting the car (without having to touch the screen or my iDrive controller), but then frustrated that I have to physically navigate back to CarPlay. I reverted back to launching AutoPlay via Startup Manager automatically, even though it waits for about 15 more seconds to start after Android is done booting and Music has launched. With this method I plug in my iPhone immediately after I've started the car, and in about 35 seconds I'm in CarPlay. If I could avoid launching Music I'd be in CarPlay in under 20 seconds.

[gamesfrager]

You guys should install the Tasker app on your Android unit. You can do so much with it.

I hope this helps.

[Cactus_BMW]

Originally Posted by gamesfrager

You guys should install the Tasker app on your Android unit. You can do so much with it.

I hope this helps.

Hi gamesfrager,
Thanks for the tip. Can you give an example of what the Tasker app will do for me? I'm not familiar with this app, or how I'd use it. Sorry, I'm an Apple guy...iPhone, iPad, iMac, MacBook Air. The Avin unit is the first Android device I've owned, so I'm still getting used to this side of things.

I have a free version of "Startup Manager" app installed that I've used to disable unneeded apps/processes (primarily Google related things). This has shortened my system boot time by about 30 seconds. Does Tasker do something similar, monitor/manage what apps run?

Thanks!

[gamesfrager]

Originally Posted by Cactus_BMW

Hi gamesfrager,
Thanks for the tip. Can you give an example of what the Tasker app will do for me? I'm not familiar with this app, or how I'd use it. Sorry, I'm an Apple guy...iPhone, iPad, iMac, MacBook Air. The Avin unit is the first Android device I've owned, so I'm still getting used to this side of things.

I have a free version of "Startup Manager" app installed that I've used to disable unneeded apps/processes (primarily Google related things). This has shortened my system boot time by about 30 seconds. Does Tasker do something similar, monitor/manage what apps run?

Thanks!

Tasker allows you to automate many things on Android.
You can create "profiles" that are triggered by conditions you set (example: after boot, connected to wifi/bluetooth, a specific app is launched, based on time, etc.).
Once a profile is "active" you can set an "enter action".
You can kill apps, launch another app, play a sound, have it say something (text-to-speach) and many more.

Do a quick search on youtube about Tasker tutorials. Look for beginner ones. It has a bit of a learning curve, since you can set logic flow like if/else statement, loops etc.
Basically if you have ever tried programming/coding, then it makes it a lot easier to understand.

Let me know if you have a specific tasker question and I'll try to help.

[Cactus_BMW]

Originally Posted by gamesfrager

Tasker allows you to automate many things on Android.
You can create "profiles" that are triggered by conditions you set (example: after boot, connected to wifi/bluetooth, a specific app is launched, based on time, etc.).
Once a profile is "active" you can set an "enter action".
You can kill apps, launch another app, play a sound, have it say something (text-to-speach) and many more.

Do a quick search on youtube about Tasker tutorials. Look for beginner ones. It has a bit of a learning curve, since you can set logic flow like if/else statement, loops etc.
Basically if you have ever tried programming/coding, then it makes it a lot easier to understand.

Let me know if you have a specific tasker question and I'll try to help.

Wow. Tasker sounds exciting. I'll look at some of the videos soon.

So, really all I'm trying to do is have the unit launch into CarPlay ("AutoPlay" app) as quickly as possible, and hands-free. Do you know if through Tasker, I can have the unit boot and then auto-launch AutoPlay/CarPlay - and bypass the unit launching the Android Music app (which for some reason seems to be necessary to force unit to boot to Android, and not go into BMW side)?

The Startup Manager app I'm using does get me into CarPlay hands-free. I have it set to launch AutoPlay at startup, but it only launches it after Music app is running. The issue is, for some reason to have the unit boot to Android (and not BMW side), it has to launch Music first. The way I'm running now, it takes about 20 seconds after booting is done and Music app launches for CarPlay to come up. This setup does work well, and is fairly effective...but I'd be especially happy if I could just go from BMW booting splash screen, to Android menu for a split second, and then it launches into CarPlay (bypassing the 20+ seconds it takes launching Music, playing song, then finally starting CarPlay).

[Cactus_BMW]

Originally Posted by toddyus

I learned something yesterday you might want to try. If you leave it on bluetooth (which I don't use and it is in fact turned off) and let it boot into Android and into the bluetooth app, you can then close the bluetooth app, switch to carplay and now the track forward and backward buttons will work in Autoplay. They did not work for me previously.

Still fiddling with quicker startup and directly into Autoplay.

toddyus... Tried it this morning, but quickly realized that launching Bluetooth from the Android menu snaps me out of Android and takes me over to BMW side. Not sure if this is because I've disabled Android Bluetooth, or because of things I've disabled at startup via Startup Manager app.

I actually don't mind not having skip buttons work on my steering wheel, as I can almost as easily skip via my iDrive controller knob (turning it to select the skip button on screen in CarPlay, then pressing in on the knob). I thought I'd give this a try though to see if maybe it would get me into CarPlay any quicker than via the Music app path it takes now. If it could get me there after booting in 10 seconds instead of the 20 I'm at now, it would be an improvement.

I'll fiddle with my Bluetooth settings to see if I can get this to work. Even it if boots the same time, getting the track skip buttons to work on the steering wheel would be worth it and give me another option other than using iDrive controller or tapping the screen.

[gamesfrager]

Originally Posted by Cactus_BMW

Wow. Tasker sounds exciting. I'll look at some of the videos soon.

So, really all I'm trying to do is have the unit launch into CarPlay ("AutoPlay" app) as quickly as possible, and hands-free. Do you know if through Tasker, I can have the unit boot and then auto-launch AutoPlay/CarPlay - and bypass the unit launching the Android Music app (which for some reason seems to be necessary to force unit to boot to Android, and not go into BMW side)?

The Startup Manager app I'm using does get me into CarPlay hands-free. I have it set to launch AutoPlay at startup, but it only launches it after Music app is running. The issue is, for some reason to have the unit boot to Android (and not BMW side), it has to launch Music first. The way I'm running now, it takes about 20 seconds after booting is done and Music app launches for CarPlay to come up. This setup does work well, and is fairly effective...but I'd be especially happy if I could just go from BMW booting splash screen, to Android menu for a split second, and then it launches into CarPlay (bypassing the 20+ seconds it takes launching Music, playing song, then finally starting CarPlay).

Not sure how is the android side is launched. Is it an android app? Sorry I don't have access to these units to dig around.
Question: once you are on the iDrive/BMW side, how do you switch back to android/CarPlay?

You can automate that process with tasker, or at least I hope.
I would say get Tasker, even if you can't get it to do the current ask, you can certainly find another use for it.
It's the first app I install on a brand new android device.

[Cactus_BMW]

Originally Posted by gamesfrager

Not sure how is the android side is launched. Is it an android app? Sorry I don't have access to these units to dig around.
Question: once you are on the iDrive/BMW side, how do you switch back to android/CarPlay?

You can automate that process with tasker, or at least I hope.
I would say get Tasker, even if you can't get it to do the current ask, you can certainly find another use for it.
It's the first app I install on a brand new android device.

You switch sides by holding the iDrive controller menu button for approx 3 seconds. This is almost like cycling through HDMI inputs on your TV.

I'll give the Tasker app a shot this weekend...I'll report back after I play around with it a bit.

[toddyus]

Originally Posted by Cactus_BMW

toddyus... Tried it this morning, but quickly realized that launching Bluetooth from the Android menu snaps me out of Android and takes me over to BMW side. Not sure if this is because I've disabled Android Bluetooth, or because of things I've disabled at startup via Startup Manager app.

I actually don't mind not having skip buttons work on my steering wheel, as I can almost as easily skip via my iDrive controller knob (turning it to select the skip button on screen in CarPlay, then pressing in on the knob). I thought I'd give this a try though to see if maybe it would get me into CarPlay any quicker than via the Music app path it takes now. If it could get me there after booting in 10 seconds instead of the 20 I'm at now, it would be an improvement.

I'll fiddle with my Bluetooth settings to see if I can get this to work. Even it if boots the same time, getting the track skip buttons to work on the steering wheel would be worth it and give me another option other than using iDrive controller or tapping the screen.

You can press the idrive knob to select items in CarPlay??? VERY interesting. I need to know more. I can use iDrive to scroll and select items, but pressing the knob does nothing. My research suggests this is typical behavior for the AutoPlay-based dongles.

Can you post photos of both the firmware and APK versions you're running for Carplay? Then, can you can you post a photo of your system details?

I've been trying everything to get the idrive button to work.

Separately, in case it helps anyone else, the behavior you're seeing with bluetooth, I believe, is because you have it setup to use the car-side bluetooth.

[Cactus_BMW]

Originally Posted by toddyus

You can press the idrive knob to select items in CarPlay??? VERY interesting. I need to know more. I can use iDrive to scroll and select items, but pressing the knob does nothing. My research suggests this is typical behavior for the AutoPlay-based dongles.

Can you post photos of both the firmware and APK versions you're running for Carplay? Then, can you can you post a photo of your system details?

I've been trying everything to get the idrive button to work.

Separately, in case it helps anyone else, the behavior you're seeing with bluetooth, I believe, is because you have it setup to use the car-side bluetooth.

Below are some pics. Sorry, they uploaded out of order, but you should be able to find what you are looking for.

FYI - This is in my X5 (E70) w/ CCC iDrive. I browse the various model forums here for conversations about these Android units.

[toddyus]

Originally Posted by Cactus_BMW

Below are some pics. Sorry, they uploaded out of order, but you should be able to find what you are looking for.

FYI - This is in my X5 (E70) w/ CCC iDrive. I browse the various model forums here for conversations about these Android units.

Looking at this, I realize I don’t know enough about Android and these systems to understand the role of the MCU vs the app version vs the OS, etc.

My Carplay is on the same APK and firmware versions as you, which suggests it’s the unit itself. Here are my details. Not even sure where I can get a firmware update. Seller hasn’t been much help.

Anyone know enough to recommend what I could try comparing Cactus’ specs with mine?

Here’s mine:

[gamesfrager]

Originally Posted by Cactus_BMW

You switch sides by holding the iDrive controller menu button for approx 3 seconds. This is almost like cycling through HDMI inputs on your TV.

I'll give the Tasker app a shot this weekend...I'll report back after I play around with it a bit.

Sorry for late reply, was a very busy work week, and going to be next week as well.
Anyway, since switching from iDrive back to android requires a manual hardware interaction, I doubt you can automate that.

You said that once the music app is launched, Android is in the forground not iDrive, and you are trying to save some boot time.
Well you can set a profile with conditions like:

condition: after boot => action: set variable %Booted = 1
condition: app [music app] & %Booted = 1 => kill app [music app] & clear variable %Booted (so you don't end up killing the music app over and over)

That's a very rough idea, but might be a good start.

[Cactus_BMW]

Originally Posted by gamesfrager

Sorry for late reply, was a very busy work week, and going to be next week as well.
Anyway, since switching from iDrive back to android requires a manual hardware interaction, I doubt you can automate that.

You said that once the music app is launched, Android is in the forground not iDrive, and you are trying to save some boot time.
Well you can set a profile with conditions like:

condition: after boot => action: set variable %Booted = 1
condition: app [music app] & %Booted = 1 => kill app [music app] & clear variable %Booted (so you don't end up killing the music app over and over)

That's a very rough idea, but might be a good start.

gamesfrager -
To recap, my objective to to have the system launch into CarPlay as quickly as possible, hands-free (not having to tap anything on screen or via iDrive controller). As I believe you mentioned before that you don't own, or have not used one of these systems, here's some baseline info. Sorry if any/all of this is repeat for you or you already know:

The Android unit can be set to boot to Android side. To make this happen, you must leave it in Music or Video app for at least 30 seconds then shut the car/system down. Once you've done this, the system will now always boot to Android side, as long as it was shut off from Android side. You no longer need to leave it in Music/Video app for 30 seconds. Notes further below for if system is shut down while on iDrive side.

On its next startup, you will see the Android boot screen (which you've selected in the unit's Settings). In the case of most people here, that would be a BMW logo screen.

Once on and in Android interface, long-press (~2-3 seconds) of the iDrive controller Menu button will switch the display to the core iDrive BMW screen. All original BMW iDrive functions are here and function exactly as they did on stock display.

If you happen to shut the car off while on an iDrive screen, next boot up will remain on iDrive side. You will have to long-press the iDrive Menu button to switch back over to Android interface, and then remember to leave it in Music or Video for 30+ seconds on your next shutdown to force it to boot to Android side.


How my system operates:

00 Seconds
Start car. System begins booting, BMW logo page displayed.

20 Seconds
System finishes booting, on Android side. Menu screen displayed.

22 Seconds
Music app launches. Previously selected track continues playing.

38 Seconds
AutoPlay app launches. If iPhone is plugged in, CarPlay is displayed. If iPhone not plugged in, prompt to connect phone to USB is displayed - once connected CarPlay is displayed.

Note: I have installed Startup Manager app. I've disabled all non-relevant apps, and have AutoPlay set to start at boot up - which happens at 38 second mark above. Before using Startup Manager, it took 1 minute 15-20 seconds for my system to finish booting and launch into CarPlay. This was a HUGE improvement.

It was also suggested here that tapping the steering wheel voice button can launch into Navigation (and thus CarPlay). This does sort-of work, but then you are having to interact with the voice command, telling it to "Cancel" to stop it from trying to do take your voice command. This doesn't work well for me - especially when I have others in the car.

In a recent AutoPlay app update, they added a feature to automatically launch the AutoPlay app when an iPhone is plugged in. To try out this function, I performed a couple tests:

Test 1: Enabled AutoPlay auto-launch. Plugged in iPhone at system boot. As soon as system finished booting, AutoPlay launched and dropped me into CarPlay (@ 21 second mark from above timeline). Then 2 seconds later the Music app launched, taking me away from CarPlay. At 38 seconds, an error pops up indicating AutoPlay is already running. Must acknowledge error, then back out to menu, and tap on Navigation (configured in system settings to go to AutoPlay/CarPlay) to get back to CarPlay.

Test 2: Enabled AutoPlay auto-launch; removed AutoPlay from Startup Manager. Plugged in iPhone at system boot. As soon as system finished booting, AutoPlay launched and dropped me into CarPlay (@ 21 second mark from above timeline). Then 2 seconds later the Music app launched, taking me away from CarPlay. The error that AutoPlay is already running did not happen, but still must back out to menu, and tap on Navigation (configured in system settings to go to AutoPlay/CarPlay) to get back to CarPlay.


So, the AutoPlay app can immediately launch as soon as Android finishes booting - which is my goal. My issue is...the Music app will still launch seconds later and take you into that app. At that point you need to menu back out (iDrive controller or touching the screen), then go into Navigation (configured to go to AutoPlay/CarPlay). I'm trying to have this boot into CarPlay automatically, hands free - as quickly as possible.

The way my system boots now is fine, and gets me into CarPlay hands free (after iPhone is plugged in) in 38 seconds. I'm just exploring if there is a way to cut out the Music app launching, and get into CarPlay 16 seconds quicker than it takes now. In auto-launch test #s 1 & 2 above, it is proven that CarPlay can be up in 22 seconds - before Music app then launches. I just don't know if there is a way to prevent Music from launching.

- Cactus_BMW

[gamesfrager]

So looks like the goal is to prevent the music app from launching and saving another 15-16 seconds. So why not exclude the music app from the boot process?
Sorry if I'm missing something here.

What happens if you disable the music app?
Would you able to boot into Android and get CarPlay to stay?
If that's the case, then problem solved?

Another idea with Tasker:
- upon boot: disable music app (you might have to do shell command if it's not available as an option through Tasker, and you will need to be rooted)
- detect when AutoPlay is launched, then re-enable the music app

[Cactus_BMW]

Originally Posted by gamesfrager

So looks like the goal is to prevent the music app from launching and saving another 15-16 seconds. So why not exclude the music app from the boot process?
Sorry if I'm missing something here.

What happens if you disable the music app?
Would you able to boot into Android and get CarPlay to stay?
If that's the case, then problem solved?

Another idea with Tasker:
- upon boot: disable music app (you might have to do shell command if it's not available as an option through Tasker, and you will need to be rooted)
- detect when AutoPlay is launched, then re-enable the music app

Yes, my goal is now to prevent the music app from launching, thus saving another 15+ seconds in the time it takes to get into CarPlay.

What I'm looking for help with:

1. I'm not sure how to disable the Music app.

2. I'm nervous that disabling the Music app then would prevent the system from booting to Android side. Has anyone does this, and had success?

3. If/when the system gets turned off from iDrive side, and then would boot there instead of Android side, how do I get it back to booting to Android? Right now when this happens, I have to make sure I'm in the Music app for 30 seconds, then shut down. If I've disabled the Music app I wouldn't be able to do this. I guess I'd have to re-enable the music app, restart, launch Music, wait for 30 seconds, restart, and then go disable Music app again.


Unfortunately I haven't had time yet to install and test out Tasker - I still need to do this to see if it can help. Also, as I've been typing here, I'm starting to think this may be more hassle than its worth (and perhaps not even possible) to save 15 more seconds on each startup.

- Cactus_BMW

[gamesfrager]

Well you said you can switch back to the Android side holding the menu button on the iDrive controller, so you can go back and enable the music app.
So give it a try.

Also, lookup how to flash back the firmware on this Android unit in case anything happens.

[svinfinity]

So what is the consensus on the audio quality with the new 7.1 units? Should i wait for 8.0? I’m planning to install in my m3 with Individual audio.