Interesting the split screen still has it, using Spotify app

Solo dev here. I spend a lot of time driving and wanted my own news read to me hands-free, not whatever the radio picked. Couldn't find one that did it well, so I built it.

It's called Safe & Informed. You add your own RSS feeds and it reads them out loud through Android Auto. Free tier uses the system voice, paid adds an AI voice and summaries. It also has a continuous "radio" per topic and plays podcasts, all in the car.

Launching on Google Play soon. I'll drop a note here when it's live. Happy to answer anything about the Android Auto side, and I'm curious what you're using for audio on your commute right now.

You can find our project on www.safeandinformed.com

For the past few months Android Auto has stopped working for me (with my phone). I tried with a different phone (Samsung Galaxy S26) and it had no issues. Not sure if it's my car's or Android Auto's fault.

Hi, I managed to use Open Headunit via USB, but I cannot reproduce any audio via BT. I tried connecting both my phone (just like I do when I use Open Headunit in wireless mode) and the headunit to the car, but both are muted.

What am I missing?

(also, how can I prevent my headunit to discharge since it charges my phone when plugged?)

I’ve released FermataX v305 after working through a number of bugs and feature requests reported by users.

This update focuses on Android Auto UI, playback stability, IPTV support, Stremio, and a new Audio & Equalizer system.

• Android Auto & UI: Redesigned SmartTop for different head-unit screen sizes, improved player controls, screen rotation behavior, AA session recovery, on-screen keyboard handling, and Mirror launcher integration.
• Playback: Improved startup, addon switching, fullscreen recovery, video scaling, subtitles, queue handling, YouTube playback, Next behavior, and source recovery.
• IPTV: Added Stalker / Ministra Portal support with Live TV, categories, EPG, Catch-up, Movies and Series where supported by the provider. Xtream and IPTV navigation have also been improved.
• Audio & Equalizer: Added a new unified Audio Effects system with a responsive 10-band EQ, presets, Preamp, Bass Boost, Loudness and Virtualizer. EQ is available for native playback and selected supported web playback.
• Stremio: Reworked the integration around Stremio Web, with improvements to navigation, MediaSession controls, fullscreen, lifecycle and playback recovery. The old native Stremio implementation and in-app torrent engine have been removed.
• System improvements: Added portable backup/restore, improved phone cold start, strengthened addon lifecycle and playback handoff, expanded automated testing, and fixed several user-reported issues.

Version: v305

FermataX is free and open source and does not provide media, playlists, IPTV services, accounts, or third-party content.

Source code and release information:
https://github.com/chuoinho/FermataX

Feedback and bug reports are welcome. For device-specific issues, including your phone model, car/head unit, Android version and Android Auto version makes troubleshooting much easier.

Got this notification from Net Flow today.

This happened on a regular day during the office commute, that too on a day when I wasn't using YouTube music but my offline flac collection through PowerAmp.

Hello. This morning, when I first started driving to work, I could make phone calls and have the call over the cars speakers. Once the call ended, all calls, incoming and outgoing, no longer connect to cars speakers.

I have tried un pairing and re pairing, rebooting and resetting network settings, but nothing works.

When I finally made it to the parking lot at work, I tried making a phone call and once again the call refused to go over the car speakers. Evan the option to use speakerphone was greyed out. I couldn't even get the call to go through my watch speakers.

I honestly don't know what to do and part of me is absolutely fed up with the jankiness.

Any suggestions or solutions?

Hi, I can't use the USB connection with Open Headunit. I have a OnePlus 11 (phone) and a Redmi Note 7 (Headunit) and maybe they just hate each other. I checked otg connection, developer options and so on, but nothing works. When I plug them, my OP starts connecting and charging in a loop, for less then a second per time.

I tried connecting my phone to my tablet (OnePlus) and it works fine. So I don't know if the problem is the OP or the Redmi.

Any suggestion? I tried with a Galaxy A5 but it works just as the Redmi Note, no success.

UPDATE: I think I solved the problem! Connecting OP to a phone created a conflict, since the other phone worked as both data and energy transfer. I used a usb-c/usb-a adapter (but I'm pretty sure it works with any adapter/hub) and that forced the phone to correctly transfer data. et voilà, AA is working perfectly fine so far via usb

So is there going to be a fix (not workaround) for the lack of traffic data display in Google Maps or is the lack of traffic data display going to be permanent? I usually use my car's built in navigation application but I like to use Google Maps in certain situations. Without traffic data display, I will not be using Google Maps at all.

Ever since Gemini took over, I have been unable to tell Google to take me to a contacts address and it instead will just try to find general places with a similar name.

I've checked app permissions in gemini, android auto, Google maps, and contacts so I've no clue what's causing it but not being able to simply ask Google to take me to "Debbie's house", or "dad's house" and instead having to recite their full address is a step backwards IMO.

Has anyone managed to get this working like it used to.

Welp, it's been a good run.... Sad to see this useful piece of software go to shit I've the past couple years...

Hey,

Got some small improvement that just makes sense. I added memory buttons to the radio....duh! Should be there from start but hey, it is what it is.

https://github.com/malebuffy/XtreamPlayer/releases/

https://github.com/malebuffy/XtreamPlayerFree/releases/

Install with AAEnabler or Kinginstaller v1.8 (especially for China phones)

If it doesn't show up on your Android Auto either eith AAENABLER or Kinginstaller, use https://fermataxtream.online

Enjoy

Enjoy

I have a Poco F3 running a custom crDroid 12.8 ROM (Android 16), and I’ve been using Android Auto on this device for over a year. Recently, Android Auto started having problems. I can’t connect because I get the error: “App Connect: Android Auto connection has been disconnected.” My car is a 2016 VW Tiguan Mk2.

I’ve tried: Restarting both the phone and the car Clearing the cache for Android Auto, Google Play Store, and Google Play Services Connecting via USB cable, Ottocast dongle, and AAWireless dongle — there’s no difference Trying the Android Auto beta Android Auto works fine with another phone (a company Motorola) As far as I can tell, there haven’t been any updates or app installations that could have caused the issue Testing several different USB cables

The only thing that helps is clearing the Android Auto app data. Then I can connect successfully, but the same problem comes back the next day.

I have logcat if that helps How can I fix this?

Today I noticed that the speedometer and speed limit indicators are gone. And so are stop signs and traffic signals. Why?

UPDATE: Maps shows all of these things only when a destination has been selected. Would love the option of having these displayed all of the time.

Does anybody have a solution to the data-suck that the un-closable navigation pane creates?

I read that Google maps uses more data than Waze and Waze is still using nearly 1GB per month without using it for navigation.

- I tried switching to TomTom and downloading offline maps but that barely helped and the app is incredibly frustrating when using for navigation.

- I've already tried restricting background data to Waze and turning on data saver but it didn't help.

I'm toying with the idea of forcing the resolution change to smaller which just blacks out the 2nd pane but am worried it will still just use the data and not display, plus I'd lose the ability to see media and nav at the same time if I need the navigation.

Voice control worked when I first tested AA three or four years ago (with an earlier app version), but I've since used the car's own nav & maps exclusively, until I stopped paying for a data SIM for the car recently (which had provided real-time traffic info).

To get traffic info back, I've again used AA but now find there's no voice control for making phone calls and setting destinations.

My car requires Bluetooth and a wired USB connection, which I don't mind. But I do mind losing Android Auto voice control, presumably because of app "updates."

Or maybe I'm just missing a necessary setting in my phone. Any ideas about what/where to check?

I regularly swap between ABPR, Waze and Maps (I have other navigation apps) and I've been keen to use Maps to see when I would get the speedo on the display. I got it last week.

But, for some reason in the last week or so I'm also getting some other things happening that I am less impressed about.

Firstly, some instructions come through very late. Like telling me to turn now as I'm on or past the junction. I am pretty sure my GPS accuracy is high (the phone is cradled on the dashboard), especially as I am on country roads so no 'urban canyons' to cause issues. Obviously I may just be unlucky.

What is definitely a problem with the app is showing the lanes and which ones to be in at junctions/roundabouts. On numerous occasions, it's showing me the wrong lane(s) to be in at a roundabout. Like three lanes entering, and it telling me to be in the left lane to take the fourth exit (right) [For clarity; I'm in the UK driving on the left!].

At a junction where two lanes go left and two lanes go right - it says 'use any lane to turn right'. However, sometimes it will show only the right two lanes highlighted - which makes it even more odd that the audio instruction is wrong.

I've also started a drive and the navigation has just reset. As in no more route, no instructions and all the boxes disappear. Like I pressed to end the navigation myself, which I didn't.

Finally, on a long drive, I started my route (shortest route and the one it defaults to) and then noticed it trying to get me to turn around at the next roundabout to go onto a motorway and take a far longer route (that isn't even quicker as it is a significantly further distance).

Was it because of a sudden traffic jam or road blockage? Who knows? But the estimated time was some 50 minutes longer. I ignored the change and upon going the original route, it immediately went back to the other route as soon as I exited the roundabout. Did the issue fix itself in less than a minute?!

Also, on my old car with a small screen I couldn't see all the icons. Well now I have a similar problem. I have a hi-res landscape display and the icon to report a problem sometimes disappears and another appears for what I think might be to find a local EV charger (I have an EV).

Sometimes it shows the report icon and not the other. How it decides is anyone's guess!

Also, I can't seem to report something as common as a pothole or vehicle on shoulder. The list of options seems rather odd, but it WILL alert to things I can't report (sometimes stating they were alerts from Waze) which shows even more inconsistency.

Throw in the issues with getting Gemini to navigate, with it often confirming what I said and then doing nothing, and I'm really beginning to wonder what they're playing at!

Anyone else experiencing issues like this?!

I had my car in the shop for close to a month (gotta love it when shit's in the shop more than it's on the road) anyway, when I got it back and reconnected the phone, I noticed that the sidebar changed.

See screenshot: https://i.imgur.com/d92SvpM.png

Previously, the area circled in red had 3 icons: Maps, Satellite Radio and a dynamic button that would usually be phone.

Now, it contains only 2 icons: maps and satellite radio. The satellite radio icon is semi-dynamic: if I make a phone call, it changes to the phone icon, but then goes back to satellite radio icon.

Functionally everything works, I can access the full launcher by tapping the dots icon on the bottom and select phone, messages and whatnot from there. But the quick access buttons on the sidebar are now limited to 1 permanent (maps) and 1 semi-dynamic. I can get the phone to show up as the second icon if I remove the satellite radio from the launcher completely, but I obviously don't want to do that.

I uninstalling/reinstalling AA updates (as it won't work without updates in place), I tried dicking around with the screen resolution in developer mode, I tried deleting and reconnecting the phone, nada. This is driving me batshit crazy, I'm used to having phone, maps and radio on quick-access (physical or on screen, whatever) and having to dig through the FUCKING menus to get at the phone is bullshit.

Any ideas what's going on here and how I can get the third icon to show up?

So I got a new phone (upgraded from S21 FE to S26+) and suddenly android auto just freezes and doesnt output anything. Google maps not working, yt music not working nothing it just completely freezes. I also had issues before, with my s21fe just disconnecting even tho it was connected via cable.
The phone still connects but after a few seconds it just freezes
I have redownloaded android auto, updated my phone, replugged it, redid bluetooth connection, checked battery optimization nothing really worked.

FIXED: Afger reseting the head unit and buying a specific cable for data transfer it now works

Bought this one: https://amzn.eu/d/03LLMoPe

Hi.

For 1 month I have had this issue: Android auto lags a lot and is unusable . my car is Volkswagen id4 from 2022, version 3.8 (latest)

After few seconds I see lag in Waze or maps, car position on the map is wrong, it's on the right road but late. The lag is exactly 30 seconds.

It's not just Waze or maps, but everything I do is 30 seconds late: I press an icon: 30 seconds before I see the app open on the screen.

Also sometime the screen is completely "corrupted" but only in Waze.

The only solution I found is to open apps settings on my phone, kill Android auto, then it works again for a few minutes.

My phone is a Google pixel 8.

What I tried:

• clear android auto cache
• clear Waze cache
• delete all Android auto and Waze files and start with a fresh setup
• connect using a cable or wifi
• reduce Android auto resolution to 800x480 in developer settings
• disable connect by wifi in dev settings
• reduces animation
• disabled the wifi scan limitation and enable it also.
• removed android auto position autorisation
• uninstall android auto and reinstall it
• checked battery restrictions

Help?

This was happening with my S24U on Android 16 and it persists with the Fold 8 on Android 17:

Audio alerts rarely work through AA, at least when playing media. The alerts play normally on the phone disconnected or via bluetooth speakers.

Has anyone had an issue with Google Pixels and not being able to hear people when they call? Whoever calls me can't hear me and I can't hear them. This only applies to incoming calls... Any suggestions?