Long Distance Testing using Android Auto
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Hello everyone,
I am near Ushuaia at the moment having ridden a motorcycle from Puerto Montt (Chile), in and out of Argentina multiple times, off-road and on road through very varied conditions and vistas - all very good.
I have been using a head unit on my BMW R1250GS connected through Android Auto to my Xiaomi Android phone running MyRouteApp navigation.
I use route files which have been created on MyRouteApp planning which contain waypoints shaping points etc etc and one route file is normally a days worth of riding.
I have found that when using Android Auto, what is presented on the screen is a limited version of the application that is presented on the phone.
I have also found that you can only start a route on your phone rather than on the head unit.
Many times during the trip the connection between MyRouteApp and the head unit dropped out and had to be reset meaning that my phone had to come out of my pocket each time to start the route.
The zoom function did not work as per how it works on the application.
Many other functions were either missing or did not work as well as on the phone.
Often I switched the device back to my trusty Garmin Navigator 6 as it got too frustration to use MyRouteApp with the head unit.
On the other hand, if I simply put in a location and navigated to it, everything behaved as you could expect (albeit with limited menus).
I also tested WAZE on an A to B basis and it performed equally as well
My overall impression and take away from my trip to date is that using a carplay or Android auto head unit with navigation software such as MyRouteApp when using routes (MyRouteApp is not alone here as other navigation applications have the same issues) is not a viable solution.
Using it as a simple A to B navigation application is excellent!
Taking out the Android Auto or Carplay interface and simply using it on your phone works perfectly.
I have another month here as I ride north again but am unlikely to use the head unit and will revert to Garmin.
The device itself is excellent, it is functional, works with the scroll wheel and connects easily to my phone. The issue is simply the functionality that is parsed through from MyRouteApp via Android Auto to the device itself.
I have looked at other head units from different manufacturers and they perform in exactly the same way.
Some have more features, some have less but overall, the issue is the useability with routes.
I do not have a solution and would hope that the functionality between the applications and the head unit (which appears to be dependent on Android Auto or Carplay) improves .
A to B routing is clean and crisp but anything more complicated is problematic.
Unfortunately, the part I need is that part that doesn't really work properly.
This is for information only as I do not think there is a quick fix although am aware that you can tweak Android Auto and Carplay to perhaps improve the functionality. I really do not want to have to tweak anything more that what is a fairly standard process with toll roads, ferries etc etc
