Essentially my objective is to build my own Chromecast audio using an old android phone/tablet. I want to plug the phone to my sound system via AUX and tell my Google mini to play music on the old phone - which will play through the nicer speakers.
Is this possible? I found some apps that turn the old android into a castable device, but I'm not able to link it in Google home (it only appears as a cast device when in other apps).
I researched this on Google but wasn't able to find exactly what I was looking for.
I need the Google Home app to recognized my old phone as a "device"
Thanks!
This is something I've been wondering too, I've been experimenting with the new Google Assistant SDK v1alpha2. I got her talking now which I couldn't do on alpha1, the problem is that the types of devices you can register as applications are limited to basically lightbulbs and switches. I wonder how much we can eventually do with the Assistant SDK, since other companies are releasing speakers now with Google Assistant on them like the LG ThinQ Speaker.
We'll probably see more features soon.
i think for now that's doable only with pixel phones..
Have you thought about updating the phone with a rom, connect a mic and speakers to it? Keep it plugged in and keep the screen on face down. That's what I did for my speakers..
ezramaryland said:
Essentially my objective is to build my own Chromecast audio using an old android phone/tablet. I want to plug the phone to my sound system via AUX and tell my Google mini to play music on the old phone - which will play through the nicer speakers.
Is this possible? I found some apps that turn the old android into a castable device, but I'm not able to link it in Google home (it only appears as a cast device when in other apps).
I researched this on Google but wasn't able to find exactly what I was looking for.
I need the Google Home app to recognized my old phone as a "device"
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
use a custom rom with android tv opengapps that works
Related
Hey guys
So I recently got the Nokia Lumia 1020 after being an android user since day one. Rooted and everything
I have couple of issues and questions that have arise since then.
1. How can I change the search button to bring up google instead of bing? I have read that you have to change your language to Russia but I would not want to do that
2. With my Note 3, HTC one and other previous android devices, I was able to use maps with speech and use the FM radio on my deck together. Android would just mute the FM radio and give me the next direction.
With WP8, it seems like I have to select bluetooth source in order for speech to work, however I can no longer listen to the radio at the same time. Is there a fix/workaround for this?
3. NFC tags.. I recently bought a bunch.. however I noticed that you can't have the nfc tags to change the settings but just launch the settings app? So I would need 3 NFC tags to turn off BT, turn off wifi and enable gps? Seems..... any fix?
Thanks
- Sashi
1: Basically not possible until we "root" the 1020. Maybe if a bootloader exploit is found. Otherwise, only devices sold in markets where Bing doesn't have much presence - such as Russia, I guess - support that option. You can install apps for other search engines, but the button is sort of "hard-coded" to the Bing app.
2: WP7 used the Headset mode of Bluetooth (Hands-Free Profile) for driving directions, but that was built into the OS. Apparently Here Drive can't or won't do that (I consider this a regression, since my car doesn't support the audio profile) so the car needs to be using BT audio (A2DP, I think) to give directions. However, as a work-around, you can of course play media *from the phone* and it should work fine (it will be muted while directions are spoken). Whether you use internally stored MP3s, streaming music from the built-in Xbox Music (formerly Zune Pass), one of many apps (such as Pandora), or the phone's built-in FM receiver (requires that headphone wires be connected, since that's what it uses as an antenna, but otherwise possible), you can have your music and directions both.
3: Yeah, for reasons of their own, Microsoft hasn't exposed any way for third-party developers to toggle various settings directly. With that said, though... There's basically no need to turn either BT or WiFi off; they draw extremely little power when not in use (and by default, WiFi turns off while the screen is off and there's no external power anyhow). As for GPS, unlike Android's incomprehensibly wasteful approach, on WP8 it is *always* inactive unless an app or OS feature is explicitly using it, so as long as you remember to close the navigation app when you're done with it, there's no need to manually turn off location services.
Hope that helps.
GoodDayToDie said:
1: Basically not possible until we "root" the 1020. Maybe if a bootloader exploit is found. Otherwise, only devices sold in markets where Bing doesn't have much presence - such as Russia, I guess - support that option. You can install apps for other search engines, but the button is sort of "hard-coded" to the Bing app.
2: WP7 used the Headset mode of Bluetooth (Hands-Free Profile) for driving directions, but that was built into the OS. Apparently Here Drive can't or won't do that (I consider this a regression, since my car doesn't support the audio profile) so the car needs to be using BT audio (A2DP, I think) to give directions. However, as a work-around, you can of course play media *from the phone* and it should work fine (it will be muted while directions are spoken). Whether you use internally stored MP3s, streaming music from the built-in Xbox Music (formerly Zune Pass), one of many apps (such as Pandora), or the phone's built-in FM receiver (requires that headphone wires be connected, since that's what it uses as an antenna, but otherwise possible), you can have your music and directions both.
3: Yeah, for reasons of their own, Microsoft hasn't exposed any way for third-party developers to toggle various settings directly. With that said, though... There's basically no need to turn either BT or WiFi off; they draw extremely little power when not in use (and by default, WiFi turns off while the screen is off and there's no external power anyhow). As for GPS, unlike Android's incomprehensibly wasteful approach, on WP8 it is *always* inactive unless an app or OS feature is explicitly using it, so as long as you remember to close the navigation app when you're done with it, there's no need to manually turn off location services.
Hope that helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for 1 & 3
However with #2, I would like to have my USB that is plugged into my car deck AND driving directions at the same time. With android this is possible... but not with WP8
What? I must be misunderstanding you, because there's no problem at all with having USB plugged in while getting directions. Or did you mean you're getting the music off the USB (you said radio before, which the phone is capable of doing by itself) and hence the USB is a different input that the BT?
My usual approach in my car is cigarette lighter -> USB adapter -> phone -> ripping cable (I'd use BT if my car would do it for music) -> car stereo AUX port, and that works fine for getting both music and directions. Swap out the aux port and the ripping cable for Bluetooth and it will still work fine (as I've found when I had to rent cars).
That's correct, my deck has a Bluetooth source as well as a USB source.
I have to select Bluetooth source in order to get voice directions to the car speakers but if I select USB source the voice navigation no longer works
Yeah, that's a pain. Is there some reason you can't play your music/audiobooks/podcasts/whatever through the phone, though? Yeah, it's annoying to need to change what works, but on the plus side, it's all your media on one fewer device than you're using now.
GoodDayToDie said:
Yeah, that's a pain. Is there some reason you can't play your music/audiobooks/podcasts/whatever through the phone, though? Yeah, it's annoying to need to change what works, but on the plus side, it's all your media on one fewer device than you're using now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would like to use USB because that way I can save the storage on my phone for pictures and stuff
Is there any way to get mirrorlink working on the Nexus 6?
Not sure what mirrorlink is. Do you mean Miracast? If so, I don't believe it works. Chromecast works great for screen mirroring your Nexus 6 to a HDTV.
Found this searching for compatibility... One application for MirrorLink for those that didn't know is Pioneer head units like the AppRadio so you can mirror your phone's screen onto it...
any luck?
Is MIrrorlink compatible with the nexus 6? If so, anybody know how to enable it?
My understanding....
spillytime said:
Is MIrrorlink compatible with the nexus 6? If so, anybody know how to enable it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what I have been told neither Mirrorlink nor AppRadio are compatible with Lollipop in general and the nexus 6 specifically. Your only option at this point is Android Auto which works well if you have the supporting HU from Pioneer. However, at this time, not many developers have made their applications compatible with it. When the 2016 car models start rolling out with AA preinstalled in their HU, then I believe we will see a flood of apps moving into the platform.
Google needs to start supporting MirrorLink on Nexus phones. I have a Nexus 6 and the Pioneer AVH-4100NEX.
Android Auto has been a horrible experience so far. It worked at first, for a couple of months, and then I don't know why (Android update maybe?) but suddenly it stopped working and hasn't worked since.
Even when it did work, there were some VERY annoying things:
1) if your phone is plugged into the USB cable, Android Auto launches, and as long as you're still plugged in I couldn't find any way to temporarily get out of Android Auto (such as if I want to check my email or some other app on the phone). Or if I want to listen to a YouTube video (or watch it from my phone, lets say I'm the passenger ok?), then I'd have to un-plug the USB which means my phone isn't charging.
2) The other really annoying thing is that Android Auto limits developers in how many screen clicks user would need to do to get to content (including, clicking the down arrow to browse through a long list). Where this is a problem for me for example, is my Spotify playlists. Android Auto will only display about 10 or so of my playlists.
So I find myself disconnecting the phone from the cable and just streaming over bluetooth.
In fact at first I was really upset that my phone was no longer launching Android Auto at all and stopped working with my Pioneer AVH-4100NEX, but now that I am just able to leave the phone charging all the time and have full access to my phone apps, all my spotify playlists, and am just streaming over bluetooth I'm not really sure I want to fix Android Auto.
What I really want at this point is to just MIRROR my phone screen to my head unit. This way no matter what I want to watch or listen to, it doesn't matter if "Android Auto" supports it or not. I can put on YouTube videos, or anything I want.
So this gets me back to Mirror Link, I don't know why Google or Motorola is not supporting it, MirrorLink from what I've seen should be another viable option for Android users (and for now I think a better option than Android Auto)
I'll be posting this reply as a separate topic as well, here and in Google's forums because it needs some attention.
Thanks
Ill repost this here as well
You have to take into account the many laws in different places concerning cell phones and driving. In some places you can get a ticket just for having your phone in your hand while driving. And now they are cracking down even harder on it. Also some OEM have been known to block some cars from working with devices like that. It was found that one samsung device had a list built into the OS that blocked a number of different cars from working with Android Auto. This I can only assume came from the Car manufacturer.
If I had a nickel for all the distracted drivers around me, well, I'd have a lot of nickels!
5.1 did not fix the bluetooth issues I had...it actually added another bug.
New with 5.1:
-When playing music with Google Play Music, whenever I switch tracks, the screen turns on. Why?
Still a problem after 5.1:
-Sometimes Bluetooth plays but without sound - it takes some weird opening/closing/pausing/starting maneuvering to hopefully get it working
-Pause during notifications does not work properly - I've tried this with Google Maps and a few different podcast apps. With Google Maps Navigation on and a podcast playing...when Google Maps wants to talk, it pauses the podcast (as the setting says) but the Google Maps notification is muted. It's just silence until it is done and then the podcast resumes.
Is anyone else having these sort of issues?
Nexus 6, 5.1D, stock, rooted ,twrp, with my 2013 Cadillac ATS
Yes it is happening to others myself included. why? I have no idea. But you are certainly not alone.
Sent from my Google N6 on VZ
I just posted this in the General section ....
OTA'd the 5.1 update on 3/26/15.
Since then, contact addresses fail to appear on vehicle displays over Bluetooth.
Rebooted phone / Forgot and paired phone to vehicle, no fix.
Phone is paired to 2 vehicles with the same results.
Can anyone confirm this?
Having the same issue. If you disable ambient display, the screen will stay off when selecting tracks with Bluetooth. My issue with Bluetooth is that every few days I have to reboot the phone to get the BT to work. I can't even toggle Bluetooth. When I do, it says Bluetooth turning off, it toggles back on by itself. Tried force closing all running apps but dosent help.
Bluetooth...
jeffreii said:
5.1 did not fix the bluetooth issues I had...it actually added another bug.
New with 5.1:
-When playing music with Google Play Music, whenever I switch tracks, the screen turns on. Why?
Still a problem after 5.1:
-Sometimes Bluetooth plays but without sound - it takes some weird opening/closing/pausing/starting maneuvering to hopefully get it working
-Pause during notifications does not work properly - I've tried this with Google Maps and a few different podcast apps. With Google Maps Navigation on and a podcast playing...when Google Maps wants to talk, it pauses the podcast (as the setting says) but the Google Maps notification is muted. It's just silence until it is done and then the podcast resumes.
Is anyone else having these sort of issues?
Nexus 6, 5.1D, stock, rooted ,twrp, with my 2013 Cadillac ATS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When it comes to bluetooth problems, especially with cars and this phone you will find very few helpful answers. Sad but true, not many Nexus 6 people seem to use hands free automobile applications on their device. I had to buy a new head unit for my car along with all the other bullcrap to make it look nice in my car to get some of these puzzling problems to disappear. Android Auto works great if you have the supporting gear in your car and follow the instructions about how to pair phone with car and use the right USB port and wire in your Nexus. After that, everything works as expected. Unfortunately you do have to spend some cash and time to do this but it is the future and if you plan and use your phone in car more than anywhere else, it is worth the investment and will improve with time. The only good take away from all this is, so far only nexus devices running lollipop work with Android Auto supporting head units.
vvveith said:
When it comes to bluetooth problems, especially with cars and this phone you will find very few helpful answers. Sad but true, not many Nexus 6 people seem to use hands free automobile applications on their device. I had to buy a new head unit for my car along with all the other bullcrap to make it look nice in my car to get some of these puzzling problems to disappear. Android Auto works great if you have the supporting gear in your car and follow the instructions about how to pair phone with car and use the right USB port and wire in your Nexus. After that, everything works as expected. Unfortunately you do have to spend some cash and time to do this but it is the future and if you plan and use your phone in car more than anywhere else, it is worth the investment and will improve with time. The only good take away from all this is, so far only nexus devices running lollipop work with Android Auto supporting head units.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It wasn't perfect, but my Bluetooth was just fine pre 5.1...I can deal with the quirks and avoid spending $$ on Android Auto (for now at least)...but these major bugs need to be fixed ASAP.
Do we know if this is fixed?
Is this fixed in 5.1.1? Is there an issue logged with google? Anyone?
I have my nexus 6 rooted with 5.1.1 stock and the bluetooth doesn't work. I cannot see any device but the other devices can see it.
I have tried to fix it clearing cache and data (only bluetooth) but the problem is still there.
Do you have any idea guys?
This morning I remembered my experiments with my old gt-9100 and I have decided to do wipe cache and wipe dalvik-cache.
And now... bluetooth is alive!!!
[emoji39]
Is there a way to run my Spotify or Waze on it? I have the hacked spotify installed on my rooted Galaxy S7 Edge..
Thanks
Spotify is already compatible with Android Auto. If it's on your phone, it will show up as an audio option in Android Auto.
Waze is coming (soon I hope).
I assume you are referring to Android Auto, and not your radio itself.
ScottBroker said:
Is there a way to run my Spotify or Waze on it? I have the hacked spotify installed on my rooted Galaxy S7 Edge..
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
cz9h3d said:
Spotify is already compatible with Android Auto. If it's on your phone, it will show up as an audio option in Android Auto.
Waze is coming (soon I hope).
I assume you are referring to Android Auto, and not your radio itself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was referring to the radio. Pandora and Google maps show up on the radio. And , in theory, my phone is locked when I plug the usb in and I cannot use any function on it that is not on the radio....
LOL - okay - I'm going to regurgitate a lot. If you're a super user, excuse me telling you stuff you already know...
-The IO6 radio is standard on the Malibu premier, which includes navigation. This is not Google Maps, it has fully self-contained maps (and are they on the SD card for 2016, I think?).
-Your radio also has the Pandora app built in, so if you have Pandora installed on your phone, and the phone connected via bluetooth, the app will leverage your phone and play Pandora.
Are you currently using Android Auto? I would highly recommend playing around with it if you haven't, I find it immensely useful.
-Depending on when your vehicle was built, you may or may not have Android Auto compatibility. If you don't, your dealer will do a free reflash of your radio to get it. Follow the next two steps to see if you do.
-Your phone has to at least have Android 6.0 and have the Android Auto app installed. Just go to the Google Play store, search for Android Auto. If you can see/download it, then your phone is recent enough.
-When you now plug your phone in (must use the USB cable for AA), the "Projection" icon will change to Android Auto on your Malibu's screen, and you can launch AA.
Note: I had issues when connecting some phones for the first time for AA - had to actually change the connection from USB Charging to MTP - by pulling down the notifications and manually changing this - I think (hope) this isn't required in most cases, now.
What's great about Android Auto?
-Google Maps: the real-time traffic for this is awesome. It will be much much more useful than your XM Traffic on your factory navigation.
-Lots of music choices, including Spotify. Also Audible, Podcasts, etc.
-Messaging - you can have your incoming texts/etc, read aloud, and respond back with your voice.
Of course all of this does use your phone's data (or you can leverage your free 3GB of 4GLTE if you haven't used it yet, by connecting your phone to your car's network).
Disclaimer - I work for GM.
Hope this helps...
I have a 2016 Malibu Hybrid. I start waze before I plug in the phone then proceed to use AA.
I started a project to use my old galaxy S4 as a Google assistant and a chromecast all at once. I have the google assistant part working and the casting apps installed. Its just down to fine tuning now and getting both to work correctly. This project originally started with just using the phone as a google assistant and then I thought why not add chromecast. The S4 supports MHL so I figured ill get a dock and go from there (the dock has yet to arrive).
Here is my setup for all those who wish to follow, help or provide input.
-Galaxy S4 rooted with stang5litre Ediition 5.0 rom.
-Installed google assistant via google assistant launcher here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/apps-games/app-google-assistant-launcher-google-t3614804
NOTE: The above app may not be needed cuz my limitation was getting an updated google to install on android 5, I got the assistant app fine. Your results may vary. I got updated google search via apk and was off and running.
Once I got the assistant installed I paired it with a bluetooth speaker and had 2 issues.
1. Bluetooth not staying connected & audio not coming through the speaker. It was just a matter of finding the right speaker and then playing with it.
2. I also had the screen off issue where assistant would not respond and had to get daydream to work. I also tried this app: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1934495
The problem with screen standby is it wont respond to assistant calls when it triggers, but I might need to go back to it when the doc arrives. The daydream screensaver I have now is clock plus which has a dim to nearly dark features. So that works for assistant to stay active.
-Chromecast ability: I installed 2 apps for chromecast like affect. 1. Airpin (airplay) and 2. allcast receiver. I tried airscreen but that dev wants to much money for such a simple app. Now I know neither of these offer true chromecast support and airscreen is the only 1 that does offer the real deal (it even shows up in the google home app, impressive).
-My next step is to see if I can cast to the device and keep assistant around in the background. I know this will be the most challenging part because of the following:
1. Audio to both bluetooth and TV speakers or maybe I can use a wired speaker for when the TV is off. I'd like to be able to do this all without getting up to fix anything. Will see.
2. Google assistant popping up in front off chromecast app, I'm not sure if I can somehow address this and ask assistant to bring app to front. Maybe impossible and Ill have to use a bluetooth remote.
Input thoughts on this project?
I guess no one cares about this, the state of device obsolescence is so high that a new device is what everyone wants instead of looking for fixes and uses for old devices. Everyone rather move on and move up to something new, easier & better. XDA used to be full of mods, hacks and tricks to use old tech, NO MORE! Everyone seems to be falling for big tech BIG deception. Is it really this bad? Are we all just going to stab mother nature in the back just because we rather have something new, & throw away something old?
Enough of the rant: I got this working and its better then I could imagine. The unitek smart phone dock is great for the S4. Google assistant works via the hacks and keeps connected to my bluetooth speaker despite the tv turning on. The logitech keyboard also works via OTG perfectly. So I can keep assistant working and all I need to do is run allcast or airpin and the audio will continue through bluetooth up until I turn bluetooth off. I like that cuz all I need to do is disconnect bluetooth and TV (hdmi) takes over audio. One thing I noticed is that airpin will not work but allcast does fine, ill have to figure out why airplay does not work but I do know the difference between allcast and airpin is that chromecast is a handoff and airplay is not, so it could just need an update. I could also easily turn this into a android tv with a launcher swap and a few tv apps, but for now I prefer chromecast type device.
The best thing about this is that once I'm done using the cast features I can go right back to it being a google assistant without skipping a beat which I was concerned would cause some kinda hickup with the daydream screen function & MHL. I figured I might need something like screen standby (see: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1934495) but I actually did not, which is a big surprise. The screen just goes off when MHL is used and back on (including daydream function) when tv turns off.
Anyway that's a wrap on this project 100% success. If anyone has any questions let me know I'll try to help.
No one interested.. YIKES..
This sounds interesting but if I need an additional accessory, its not really worth it cuz a chromecast literally costs 35 bucks.
---------- Post added at 11:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:15 PM ----------
Also, this looks interesting.
https://www.howtogeek.com/307267/ho...io-from-only-a-specific-app-on-the-galaxy-s8/
If we can port that over to our device, then we can assign google assistant to the bluetooth speaker and every other sound should come out from the tv.
Google home app
Yes, Airscreen is the real deal and the only store app I've found that actually does work with Google on my old s5 android to stream from new note9 android. so I bought the cheap premium monthly subscription. However I can't get it to show in the home app, just in Google play and YouTube.