Overheating phone is a deal-breaker

[Tim Watson]

Hey guys,

Last week I spent £500 on a Chigee AIO-5 for my GS with a view to switching to Android Auto and MRA in place of my Nav 6. I was planning to write up a full "for and against" post for the two solutions, but I think it's already game over.

I use my navigation for full 8-hour days on the bike, usually to reach landmarks on a rally which need photographing to show evidence of reaching the landmark. Long story short: On my first full day of using MRA last Friday, each time I stopped at a landmark the phone (a Samsung S20) which was stored in my tank bag (partially unzipped for airflow) and connected to the bike's USB, was so hot that I got "Unable to start camera. Phone too hot. Wait for it to cool down" message, and had to wait around 10-15 minutes for the phone to cool before I could get my picture and be back on the road. The temperature on the day was between 18C and 20C. By mid-afternoon, navigation stopped (again) but this time it was because the phone reported it was so hot it was closing applications responsible for causing the overheating. So the MRA app had stopped completely, halting navigation.

So I was planning to give a detailed comparison of pros and cons of each solution to help people decide whether they should switch from "old skool" to the new way of doing things, but my experience with the heat is that it simply doesn't work.

I'm going to give it 24 hours for the MRA and Chigee communities to comment, but then I think the brand new Chigee will be up for sale.

[Jörgen]

@Tim-Watson The phone is getting too hot without using the display? Wow!

[Tim Watson]

@Jörgen Hi. Yes. It wasn't something I'd expected at all. No other apps were running. No music streaming etc. The only other phone connection was Bluetooth to a Cardo Edge for verbal satnav instructions. At one point I unplugged the USB in case the charging was responsible, but MRA and Android Auto still overheated the phone so the camera wouldn't work at the next stop.

[Jörgen]

@Tim-Watson I can´t help with a solution, I only can recommend my setup. I use an Outdoor tablet (Oukitel RT3) since 1,1/2 year without any problems, even at more than 30 degrees and full brighness, no issues.
Maybe an Outdoor phone would help.

[Tim Watson]

@Jörgen Thanks Jörgen. I don't want this to turn into an MRA-bashing post, but I will say that using MRA for a day made me realise how good the Nav 6 is! I think a dedicated GPS is still the answer for long rides. I'd like to work with MRA to bring the app forward but not if it kills my phone!

[Jörgen]

@Tim-Watson I do not see this as bashing. There is a heating problem that can happen under some circumstances, but this should be answered by MRA team.

[Tim Watson]

@Jörgen Thanks. I literally spent over £500 to switch to MRA with Android Auto so this is pretty gutting. I'm probably going to take a £100+ hit selling the Chigee. However, googling last night and this morning shows overheating issues with Android Auto and HERE maps. I don't really see a solution being close unfortunately.

[Jörgen]

@Tim-Watson As I said, my tablet is also Android and has no issues.

[Tim Watson]

@Jörgen That's a fair point. A rugged device may suffer less overheating. I have read that taking the phone out of any case can help, but who wants to be taking their case on and off each time they use it on the bike? I also have an old Samsung S9 that I would be less worried about damaging, but then I'm carrying two devices and having to set up WhatsApp, Spotify etc. on two devices, not to mention paying for mobile data twice.

I think my point is simply that 9 out of 10 people want to use their normal phone for their navigation, rather than having a dedicated rugged tablet or phone. If a typical phone, in it's normal protective case, overheats to the point of not working then this solution is going to be a problem for a lot of people.

Of course, this all related to Android Auto. For a user using a Quadlock case and the MRA app on their phone, the cooling airflow is likely to avoid this overheating.

[Marinus van Deudekom]

@Tim-Watson Hi Tim
I also use a S20 in the combination with Android Auto. The screen of my phone is also off and I use the AA for navigating. It is connect by usb to my car. So not in the glove compartiment just in the open. On my bike it's mounted on a quadlock wireless. Then I use the phone for navigating. It gets warm but because it's it in the open air doesn't get overheated. Maybe getting your phone mounted like that could solve your problem

[Mzokk]

Did you have the phone display switched off? I have a AA on my Africa Twin and have been testing using MRA against my Garmin XT with the hope of junking the XT. I have been testing using an old Motorola G7 with Android 10 (offline) and a new Motorola Edge Neo 40 (Online). I usually use Spotify (online) or Musicolet (Offline) The phone is either placed in an old padded camera bag over the handlebars or a Ram mount. In either case the phones now charge and don't overheat. Nor do they overheat in the car. That said sometimes when testing the bike looks ridiculous.

[Corjan Meijerink]

The overheating is being addressed by HERE but quite complicated.
Unfortunately the performance can differ a lot per device. Therefore some have issues while others do not even when they have the same phone.

[Tim Watson]

I did have my screen switched off.

Marinus and Mzokk, you both have your phones "outside", and I'm sure this helps with the cooling. However, I really don't want my phone outside exposed to the weather, vibration and the risk of theft. I am confident that the MRA app running on a phone on a Quadlock mount would run better and have better functionality. However, I would much prefer the phone to be tucked away and only the Android Auto head unit to be exposed.

I do have old Samsung handsets that I could "sacrifice" to the heat Gods, but then I need to carry two phones, run two data tariffs, and have all of my Android apps on both phones to provide all the functionality on the Android Auto device.

[Tim Watson]

@Corjan-Meijerink Hi. Yes, I have read about the heat issues with HERE. It's unfortunate that running wireless Android Auto just makes things even worse. It's such a shame because the Chigee unit is really impressive, and once MRA over Android Auto and Car Play has more functionality, it would have been a superb solution.

[Con Hennekens]

@Tim-Watson said in Overheating phone is a deal-breaker:

I think my point is simply that 9 out of 10 people want to use their normal phone for their navigation, rather than having a dedicated rugged tablet or phone.

Given the fact that you bought a Chigee to carry with you, this is not quite true. Also lot's of people buy dedicated satnavs like Zumo's and the like. They all carry an extra device. I consider my rugged phone to be a (cheap!) dedicated satnav...

not to mention paying for mobile data twice.

Why would you do that. There are more clever ways to get data, and besides it also works without data. Like any dedicated satnav does.

Of course, this all related to Android Auto.

This is "of course" not true at all. Some suffering from this problem use their phones on the handlebar without any AA/CP.

Overheating (caused by battery drain) is a recognized problem, it is being worked on, but seemingly quite complex. While some suffer from it (which is bad!), many don't. Taking phones out of cases an things like that are merely a workaround. If it does not work for you, that is a of course pita.