Wireless CarPlay - and some other features.

[ChrisMac]

I have fitted an Android unit to my ZS EV to give Wireless CarPlay/Android Auto.

It is a very small module that simply plugs into the USB port where you would normally connect your phone for CarPlay.

It needs access to the internet to work fully. This can be achieved by tethering to your phone, the in-car WiFi or by putting a SIM Card into the module.

I went the SIM-Card route.

Wireless CarPlay works flawlessly. I get into the car and just lay my phone down on the charging mat in the car and it auto-connects.

It actually runs Android 9 and with a SIM Card removes the need for a phone completely.

I’ve downloaded a few apps that will keep me occupied when charging the car

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It also runs the full version of ABRP, so you can do all your configuration and route planning using the in-car screen without needing a subscription.

Almost any Application available on the Google App Store can be downloaded and used.

A good video showing features is here..

What apps have you downloaded for watching programmes / movies. I can't get sky go or any others to work. Android Auto only seems to put up certain apps

 

[EV AL]

Let’s not be pedantic boys, everybody needs to look away at surroundings for normal driving. I was talking specifically about tv and dvd screens…not sat nav or radio..
you are more likely to watch a tv screen longer.
I won’t quote all of this just the relevant part

 

[ChrisMac]

As a parent with 2 kids, I spend a shed load of time sitting outside places while my kids are doing stuff. I don't want to watch movies while I drive, lol. Would just prefer to use the capable 10" screen instead of my phone

 

[EV AL]

As a parent with 2 kids, I spend a shed load of time sitting outside places while my kids are doing stuff. I don't want to watch movies while I drive, lol. Would just prefer to use the capable 10" screen instead of my phone

Not a problem if you are stationary parked up, or you can’t see it whilst driving.
The original post was just informative, but too many nit pickers here

 

[MichaelJHunt]

What apps have you downloaded for watching programmes / movies. I can't get sky go or any others to work. Android Auto only seems to put up certain apps

Android Auto and Apple CarPlay do not allow video applications to play whether tethered or wireless on the car display.

There are ways around it, but that would involve “routing” your device and losing all security and software update capability.

If you want video applications, such as IPlayer or YouTube, to play on your car display then you need to purchase a different device, as suggest by the OP.

 

[sgt4hed]

Android Auto and Apple CarPlay do not allow video applications to play whether tethered or wireless on the car display.

There are ways around it, but that would involve “routing” your device and losing all security and software update capability.

If you want video applications, such as IPlayer or YouTube, to play on your car display then you need to purchase a different device, as suggest by the OP.

I can confirm this, I tried to watch netflix while parked up through AA screen mirroring and it would only play me the audio with a blank screen. Only way to realistically watch video on the MG is to chuck a load of vids on a USB stick and use the inbuilt media player to do it. I have managed to do that with an external HDD

 

[MichaelJHunt]

I can confirm this, I tried to watch netflix while parked up through AA screen mirroring and it would only play me the audio with a blank screen. Only way to realistically watch video on the MG is to chuck a load of vids on a USB stick and use the inbuilt media player to do it. I have managed to do that with an external HDD

Or get one of these;

 

[sgt4hed]

Or get one of these;

yeah but aren't these things like a couple hundred quid?

 

[barmy292]

Yes there are lots of options for wireless CarPlay if you have got an iPhone, but your options are really much more limited for Android users who want Android Auto. Motorola has launched a dongle and then there is the AAWireless dongle that I have.

Smarter people use iPhones - study

A new study shows that states with more college-educated people tend to have higher iPhone sales.

money.cnn.com

 

[sgt4hed]

Smarter people use iPhones - study

A new study shows that states with more college-educated people tend to have higher iPhone sales.

money.cnn.com

I wonder if this in reality has a correlation between the fact that more educated people have higher paid jobs and tend to buy the more expensive iPhone over a budget android?

I personally have no loyalty to either and flip between what is best in terms of tech and features at the time... Have been Android for years now but iPhone is tempting me away with their video recording and app stability...

 

[BarryH]

If you are talking a 2 second glance then we also need to make carrying children in the car illegal, as well as having your wife or friends in the car with you, the screen showing the song currently playing on the radio must also be gone, along with the rear view mirror as you need to take your eyes off the road ahead to focus on that, same goes with side mirrors, heater controls... Do you want me to go on? What I am saying is that there are multitudes of distractions that are ever present when driving and people will and do take their eyes off the roads for seconds at a time. It is down to the driver to be disciplined enough not to look at a video being played... it's no different to my wife sitting in the passenger seat watching netflix on the iPad... going to want to make that illegal next as that can distract the driver

Can you now see how ridiculous your post sounded? And flexing that you are a road policing officer just makes you seem like you don't know your job well enough as you are quite clearly misinformed about the law currently as there is currently no law forbidding video being played on a static device in a car, the law is around using, or more importantly holding a mobile device and the only legislation they could prosecute under would be driving without due care and attention and/or reckless/dangerous driving, you would not be prosecuted simply for "watching a movie" as no such legislation currently exists.

Yes I think crying children in my car should be banned far more distraction than a satnav which for the most part you listen to rather than look at and a Wireless Android Auto device means I can speak the destination

 

[hmadsen]

I wonder if this in reality has a correlation between the fact that more educated people have higher paid jobs and tend to buy the more expensive iPhone over a budget android?

I personally have no loyalty to either and flip between what is best in terms of tech and features at the time... Have been Android for years now but iPhone is tempting me away with their video recording and app stability...

Denmark is Apple country, about 50% of all mobile phones are apple.

Here, there is NOTHING "fancy" about owning an iphone as kids as young as 10 years old have newer iphones.

Here we usually see it like this.

Iphone is easier to use, because of the restrictions, apple decide what you are allowed to do, while android is for people that want a good cheap phone, and people that are more technically minded, and want to control, themselves how their phone is operated.

 

[Gadget Geek]

Iphone is easier to use, because of the restrictions, apple decide what you are allowed to do, while android is for people that want a good cheap phone, and people that are more technically minded, and want to control, themselves how their phone is operated.

Sounds a bit like Tesla and the legacy manufacturers.

 

[Gadget Geek]

I went down the "AAWireless" adapter route which arrived about a week ago. using the short USB 'C' cable supplied it plugs into the AndroidAuto/Carplay port on the Gen1 and after first-time bootup of 20 to 30 seconds I linked the Dongle to the car and the phone wirelessly to the dongle which took another 30 seconds and I was up and running with Wireless Android Auto! As I say I've only had it about a week or so and it has worked flawlessly opening up AA within a few seconds of turning the car on. I ordered mine in about November on Indigogo for March shipment and as we know there have been chip shortages and shutdowns in China so it arrived mid-April. Now although I bought mine on Indigogo where they have been sold for a while now, they are about to go Retail about now. Their nearest rival I guess in the Motorola device but I've not seen that widely reviewed in fact I've only seen press releases. So I'm very happy with this which worked right out of the box with my Samsung A52 and launches Google Maps even before I'm off the drive for my dash to the gym in the morning because as described in this review the ZS detects you approaching with your key fob and powers up the Android Auto USB and therefore AAWireless dongle before you even get in the car! How's that for service?

Importantly this works with MG ZS! see this review

Mine dropped through the letterbox today and I promptly scanned the QR code on the box and installed the app. That was the easy bit. Unfortunately, mine didn't work straight out of the box. It took several goes for it to download the update, getting to 23%, 77% etc until it finally got to 100%. It then took a few goes to get it to install the update, it kept coming up with an error before finally installing. I then followed the setup guide on the phone and waited for Android Auto to appear as an option on the infotainment screen . . . nothing. Fortunately the inbuilt troubleshooter is quite good and after going through a few options, it found the AAWireless wifi hot spot and connected. Now working well with my phone in my pocket. Happy days.

 

[SteveMP]

As my MG5 LR has neither wireless charging or wireless Android Auto (but my phone does) and the inbuilt system for Nav etc is a bit clunky, I decided to see what alternative tech was available.

I am now a happy convert to Android Auto and the added benefit of it being wireless and wireless charging.

Wireless Android is provided using a product from Wireless AA, a start up on Indiegogo that has now gone mainstream with its own website. Works faultlessly so far. Two week delivery from China. AAWireless | Wireless Android Auto™ for everyone

Flexible Wireless charge pad from Amazon. Grips phone nicely on rubber surface.

Dasing 5/7.5/10W C1 Car Qi Charger Pad Fast Charging Dock Station Non-Slip Mat : Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo

Dasing 5/7.5/10W C1 Car Qi Charger Pad Fast Charging Dock Station Non-Slip Mat : Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo

www.amazon.co.uk

I purchased a short angled USB cable to fit.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B075WNLS1N?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

Been on the fence with this but finally took the plunge and ordered AAWireless along with t chargepad and cable.

Crossing fingers!

 

[BarryH]

Mine dropped through the letterbox today and I promptly scanned the QR code on the box and installed the app. That was the easy bit. Unfortunately, mine didn't work straight out of the box. It took several goes for it to download the update, getting to 23%, 77% etc until it finally got to 100%. It then took a few goes to get it to install the update, it kept coming up with an error before finally installing. I then followed the setup guide on the phone and waited for Android Auto to appear as an option on the infotainment screen . . . nothing. Fortunately the inbuilt troubleshooter is quite good and after going through a few options, it found the AAWireless wifi hot spot and connected. Now working well with my phone in my pocket. Happy days.

Mine worked out of the box! I then did an update, all went ok as it has several times already and checked the app yesterday and they're another update. They are certainly keeping on top of things. I guess as the user base expands they are refining it to ensure stability and compatibility with all those versions of Android in the wild. Very pleased with mine - get in the ZS (Gen1) and as soon as the Head Unit boots up comes Google maps ready to speak my destination

 

[wsrg1]

Can you use the carlinkit V3 with an OBD sensor and monitor the stats on a split screen with sat nav also showing. This would be a game changer for longer journeys.

 

[Maciej]

I went down the "AAWireless" adapter route which arrived about a week ago. using the short USB 'C' cable supplied it plugs into the AndroidAuto/Carplay port on the Gen1 and after first-time bootup of 20 to 30 seconds I linked the Dongle to the car and the phone wirelessly to the dongle which took another 30 seconds and I was up and running with Wireless Android Auto! As I say I've only had it about a week or so and it has worked flawlessly opening up AA within a few seconds of turning the car on. I ordered mine in about November on Indigogo for March shipment and as we know there have been chip shortages and shutdowns in China so it arrived mid-April. Now although I bought mine on Indigogo where they have been sold for a while now, they are about to go Retail about now. Their nearest rival I guess in the Motorola device but I've not seen that widely reviewed in fact I've only seen press releases. So I'm very happy with this which worked right out of the box with my Samsung A52 and launches Google Maps even before I'm off the drive for my dash to the gym in the morning because as described in this review the ZS detects you approaching with your key fob and powers up the Android Auto USB and therefore AAWireless dongle before you even get in the car! How's that for service?

Importantly this works with MG ZS! see this review

Hey could you tell me if you experienced any issues since you got it in April I want to buy one soon and need to make sure it works as intended

 

[BarryH]

Hey could you tell me if you experienced any issues since you got it in April I want to buy one soon and need to make sure it works as intended

No problems worked flawlessly out of the box and has had several updates which have worked without any drama. I'm also running Android 12 on my Samsung and I've not had any of the Android 12 issues reported elsewhere for cable-connected phones.

 

[Gadget Geek]

No problems worked flawlessly out of the box and has had several updates which have worked without any drama. I'm also running Android 12 on my Samsung and I've not had any of the Android 12 issues reported elsewhere for cable-connected phones.

I had an initial problem setting mine up, but the in-built diagnostic troubleshooter was brilliant. It detected the problem and corrected it and it's been trouble free since.

One thing to watch out for is if you unlock the car and you get a phone call. Once you unlock the car, it wakes up the USB ports and the AAWireless takes over your phone functions. You can't answer the call, stop the call or anything else. You have to hurry into the car, switch it on and use the infotainment system to answer (or switch your phone off and on again).

Go on, ask me how I know this.