Limited Waze functionality in Android Auto

Railroad_Jim · May 19, 2021

Okay, this one has been driving me crazy since I bought my 2020 Custom Trail Boss. It only has the IOR base entertainment system, as that is all you can get in the Custom.

Anyways, I've been using Waze and Android Auto standalone for years now, but for some reason, the implementation of Waze when running plugged into my truck's AA head unit lacks features. Has anyone else noticed this?

If I run Waze in AA in standalone mode, as I do in one of my other cars without a fancy head unit, hitting the round orange button in Waze brings up a ton of options which don't exist in my truck. (Such as Report Gas Prices.) I'd guess that that Waze runs the version from my phone, but somehow the truck limits the options that are available.

Is there a way to get all of the Waze options to be available in my truck.

My other pet peeve about the IOR head unit, is related to using the radio. As you may know, the Custom can't be had with steering wheel controls, and if I'm in Android Auto but listening to the radio, there's no easy way to change stations using the presets. The big up and down buttons next to the volume only search up and down frequency, but it would be so much more convenient if there was an option to make them perform next and previous presets instead. Instead, I have to hit the home button to move away from the AA screen, then squint to see the tiny touchscreen presets at the top of the screen and then, hope that my finger hits the right area....

I have plans on using a CANbus sniffer to sniff the next/previous preset codes from my friend's Silverado RST, and see if I can playback those codes on my truck and have the presets work. If so, I'll build some arduino based hardware device with buttons to send those codes. But, I have no time at the moment....

Railroad_Jim · June 17, 2021

I'm surprised that nobody else has been bothered by this issue.

Well, I learned something today, and it's probably not good for those of us who plug in our phones via USB to the GM stereo to run Android Auto and Waze.

According to this article:

https://support.google.com/waze/answer/7441088

Quote

When you connect your mobile device to your vehicle with a USB cable, Waze projects a more limited version of the app, which currently focuses primarily on navigation.

You can navigate through search or voice commands; however, you cannot update your Settings, add or modify Favorites, send reports via voice commands or use social features, including chit-chats with Wazers on the road, sharing your drive or location, etc.

Ugh. I wonder if the newer trucks that let you connect your phone wirelessly to Android Auto no longer have this limitation in Waze?

I wonder if there's a way around this limitation for my 2020 truck?

Edited June 17, 2021 by Railroad_Jim
Made the URL clickable

Stand By · June 29, 2021

Oh people ARE bothered by it. Unfortunately I don't believe there are enough of these on the road to encourage after market support to contend with the encryption. For me, even the IOR was a step up from my previous truck, referring to blue tooth, wifi and android auto, not control options. I opted for a truck with good towing options over a lesser equiped truck that had the electronics, unwittingly. Not that there were many choices available, though.

Railroad_Jim · June 30, 2021

I looks like there are some new hardware solutions that will add WiFi Android Auto to our trucks. The boxes plug into the truck's USB port and provide a WiFi connection, for your phone, which I think will get around the Waze limitation. Here are two products that show what I'm talking about:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/aawireless#/

https://carsifi.com/

Unfortunately for me, both of these devices require Android 9 or above, and my treasured LG V20 is only at Android 8.

Does anyone know of a new phone with most of the features that the LG V20 has? Specifically, it has these features:

- IR Blaster (The phone acts as a remote control to control TVs and stuff)

- User swappable battery (Yes, this is about the last major manufacturer phone that lets you carry a spare charged battery and swap it out.)

- USB-C (Seems like almost all phones have this now. This one also provides HDMI connectivity which is cool.)

- Fingerprint reader (Again, most new phones seem to have this now.)

- Micro-SD Card Slot (I was surprised to see that some Android phones don't have this now.)

The IR Blaster and user swappable battery are the two features that I'd miss the most.

The sell IR blasters that plug into the USB port, but that would be a pain to carry around the dongle.