Due to changes in Android SDK, automation of WiFi connection without helper app on the phone is not possible any more., therefore to use Headunit Realoded, shortly HUR, over WiFi you will need to use a helper app on the phone.
You will need to install the helper app called Wifi Launcher on your phone and only on your phone: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.borconi.emil.wifilauncherforhur&hl=en&gl=US
Sadly Android phones and android powered devices implementations of standards very a lot, so the app cannot offer one universal solution for each user, therefore below guide will describe several method of setting up the connections between the devices.
Connection methods available starting with HUR 7.2 and WiFi Launcher 3.9
IMPORTANT - Neither WiFi Launcher, neither Headunit Reloaded can turn on and off WiFi/BT automatically so for any of the automation to work, the most important requirement is to have BT and WiFi enabled on your devices.
Staring with this version, the connection method have to be explicitly selected on both HUR and WiFi Launcher, neither of the app will try to guess the preferred method. You must make sure that the right method is select on both devices. It is recommended to restart the apps after you change the connection method. In HUR connection method can be changed from Settings -> Connectivity -> WiFi Connection method.
- Network Discovery
- Can be used when both devices are on the same network, for example a mobile WiFi device providing internet (also called Mi-Fi device)
- There is no additional setting for this mode, just make sure that both devices are on the same WiFi and AA will start automatically
- THIS MODE CANNOT BE USED IF THE PHONE/CAR CREATES THE HOTSPOT! Please read below for correct configuration.
- WiFi P2P also know as WiFi Direct
- Not all devices support this, it is possible that your unit doesn't support it. Most phones will do
- On car side, when you select this method and return to the main menu at the bottom of the screen you will see a message if WiFi P2P is supported as well as with the device name.
- On the phone, inside WiFi Launcher app, select the WiFi P2P method and set the HUR WiFi Direct name to match the value displayed on your car screen.
- Once configuration is complete, open HUR on one device and WiFi Launcher on the other, then press the manually start service inside WiFi Launcher. When the 2 device detects each other, you will see a connection request on HUR screen, accept it, and AA should start shortly. In most cases the 2 device will remember each other and the connection will be fully automatic on further connections.
- Connection won't start if your phone is connected to some other WiFi, for example you are in the garage and your phone is still connected to your home WiFi, however as soon as you leave the house and phone disconnects from the home WiFi the connection will kick in
- Know issues/potential problems:
WiFi Direct can be unreliable, without providing any feedback. This is especially true on connection, while you see the prompt and you accept the connection, it sometimes can take a very long time for devices to connect in the background leaving the user without any info / update on what is happening. Also some devices will refuse to set up a connection on subsequent connections. This is due to very poor implementation of the WiFi Direct protocol in many cases, especially on older non-name headunits.
Create WiFi hotspot on HUR side
When you set HUR to create the hotspot you need to set WiFi Launcher to client mode
Every time the phone changes WiFi Network, it checks if the WiFi Network have been created by HUR and if that happens, it will fire up AA.
Know issues/potential problems:
Some phones will refuse to stay connected to a WiFi without internet and some phones won't be able to access mobile data when they are connected to such a WiFi.
WiFi client mode on HUR side
When you set HUR to WiFi client mode, you will need to set WiFi Launcher to "Create WiFi hotspot"
In this mode if the device running HUR is already connected to the phones hotspot when HUR app is being launched, it will start AA instantly.
If the device running HUR is not yet connected to the phone hotspot, it will start the connection as soon as it connects to the phones hotspot.
IT IS VERY IMPORTANT that you should NOT manually start tethering on the phone in this case as the WiFi Launcher app needs to do this at the same time as it creates the other necessary condition for HUR to be able to run AA.
If the phone creating the hotspot supports dual wifi (for example Pixel devices), where it creates a hotspot but it also stays connected to a WiFi network and this does happen (example leaving the house and the phone is still connected to your home WiFi but also creates the hotspot), the WiFi Launcher notification will be updated to reflect this stage, and only ever start the AA connection when the WiFi gets disconnected!
Manually connect to Android Auto Headunit Server
In this mode you do not need to install WiFi Launcher on your phone.
You will need to manually create a hotspot from the phone and connect the device running HUR to the phone
You will need to make sure you enable the developer settings in Android Auto and starting the headunit server from there. You can do this on your phone, by opening the phone settings, going to connected devices -> Connection preferences -> Android Auto. If you haven't enable the developer mode yet, scroll down and tap the Version 10 times quickly. Once you enabled the Developer mode, you can start the headunit server from the 3 dotted top right corner menu. The Headunit Server can be left running all the time as it doesn't have any negative effect, except the constant notification on the phone.
When headunit server is running and the device running HUR is connected to the phones hotspot press the WiFi button in HUR.
OLDER version connection, please consider updating as the support for older version will be faded out.
1. WiFi P2P also know as WiFi Direct - Strting with HUR 7.1.X and WiFi Launcher 3.8.X
Can be used if:
- HUR says WiFi P2P is supported
- HUR says legacy mode is false
- Phone also supports this (all OEM phones should do, though)
HUR:
- Settings -> Connectivity -> make sure Connect wifi hotspot option is disabled
WiFi Launcher:
- Select the cars BT from the list of BT devices, this will allow the WiFi Launcher app to start automatically every time the phone connects to the cars BT.
- HUR Wifi Direct name - Set the value shown on HUR home screen as device name (in most cases probably will be HUR7 )
- Turn off Enable hotspot option
- Turn off the Legacy mode
- Set the auto-reconnect & Ignore BT disconnect based on your own needs.
Once configuration is complete, open HUR on one device and WiFi Launcher on the other, then press the manually start service inside WiFi Launcher. When the 2 device detects each other, you will see a connection request on HUR screen, accept it, and AA should start shortly. In most cases the 2 device will remember each other and the connection will be fully automatic on further connections.
Know issues/potential problems:
WiFi Direct can be unreliable, without providing any feedback. This is especially true on connection, while you see the prompt and you accept the connection, it sometimes can take a very long time for devices to connect in the background leaving the user without any info / update on what is happening.
2. Phone creating hotspot
Can be used if:
- Almost all cases, however hotspot enabling can be phone/carrier restricted.
HUR:
- Settings -> Connectivity -> make sure Connect wifi hotspot option is disabled
WiFi Launcher:
- Select the cars BT from the list of BT devices, this will allow the WiFi Launcher app to start automatically every time the phone connects to the cars BT.
- Turn on Enable hotspot option
- Only enable the legacy option if HUR says Legacy: true
- Set the auto-reconnect & Ignore BT disconnect based on your own needs.
Once configuration is complete, make sure HUR is closed on the car side, then in WiFi Launcher press the start service manually. Check that the phone have actually created a hotspot, connect the car side to the phones hotspot (password should be configured from the tethering settings of the phone). Once car side is connected open HUR. AA should start in a few seconds.
Know issues/potential problems:
Some devices will kill the hotspot, when losing mobile data resulting in connection drop. Any app on the car side which uses internet will use mobile data allowance. HUR only generates intranet traffic so it won't use any data.
3. Car creating hotspot
Can be used if:
- Almost all cases, however hotspot enabling can be restricted (devices running Android 7.X do suffer from this as a general bug)
HUR:
- Settings -> Connectivity -> make sure Connect wifi hotspot option is enabled
WiFi Launcher:
- Select the cars BT from the list of BT devices, this will allow the WiFi Launcher app to start automatically every time the phone connects to the cars BT.
- Turn off Enable hotspot option
- Only enable the legacy option if HUR says Legacy: true
- Set the auto-reconnect & Ignore BT disconnect based on your own needs.
Once configuration is complete restart HUR, you should see the car creating a hotspot. Connect your phone to the cars hotspot, open Wifi Launcher and press the manually start service. AA should start up on the car screen.
Know issues/potential problems:
Some phones will refuse to stay connected to a WiFi without internet and some phones won't be able to access mobile data when they are connected to such a WiFi.
4. Using in-car WiFi
Can be used if:
- All cases when HUR indicates legacy mode is false ( indication only visible starting with HUR 7.1)
HUR:
- Settings -> Connectivity -> make sure Connect wifi hotspot option is disabled
WiFi Launcher:
- Select the cars BT from the list of BT devices, this will allow the WiFi Launcher app to start automatically every time the phone connects to the cars BT.
- Turn off the Enable hotspot option
- Make sure legacy option is turned off
- Set the auto-reconnect & Ignore BT disconnect based on your own needs.
Connect both devices to the WiFi network, open HUR, open WiFi Launcher and press start service manually.