Any clever idea to overcome no Android Auto / Apple Carplay?

[Steve A.]

I purchased it and had to return it for a number of reasons. It's more trouble than it's worth and I'd recommend against it. It randomly turns on when the vehicle is off and there is no fix for this. My vehicle is close enough to my office that it would connect as a bluetooth device and take over phone calls as a speaker even when I wasn't in the vehicle. There is no optical sensor on the device so it does not dim automatically at night. You will constantly need to manually adjust the brightness. It has a scheduled night mode that did not work on my unit. The installation is easy but it rattles. The device is essentially unsupported by EVSportline. They are having a very difficult time with customer service at the moment. It took months and half a dozen emails to get a single response regarding the technical issues I was having. You're better off getting a magsafe phone mount for the dash, connect it to power via the obd port, and using your phone for Waze, etc. For audio, you can pay for two years of Spotify for the cost of the display which will work and sound better.

Funny. I was one of the first to take delivery and have had ZERO issues that you describe above. First of all, it only turns on when the truck awakes, which @evsportline has stated over and over in the original thread whenever anyone whines about it; i.e. blame Rivian not the device. Also, @evsportline responses to customer issues speak for itself in the original thread.

FWIW, it's probably not a big deal to me since I don't walk around w/ Bluetooth turned on my phone unless I actually am in my R1S or using some other Bluetooth device at home, since it's a security vulnerability, and I always run my vpn client app except when I'm in my R1S since Android Auto won't work w/ a vpn.

The Rivian bracket is simple yet effective; I've never notice any rattle and I always drive in sport mode/lowest ride height/stiffest suspension/max brake regen.

As far as dimming, it's not a feature that I care about. What I do care about is Waze which is ESSENTIAL to anyone who has a significant commute in any major city. AFAIC Rivian navigation is GARBAGE esp. the traffic info and the inaccurate speed limits on state/local roads.

Even if the magsafe mount worked w/ Androd phones, I'd still get this device since 10" and much more visible.

That said, to each their own but as far as this device goes, #ItJustWorks!

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[CardiacR1S]

I purchased it and had to return it for a number of reasons. It's more trouble than it's worth and I'd recommend against it. It randomly turns on when the vehicle is off and there is no fix for this. My vehicle is close enough to my office that it would connect as a bluetooth device and take over phone calls as a speaker even when I wasn't in the vehicle. There is no optical sensor on the device so it does not dim automatically at night. You will constantly need to manually adjust the brightness. It has a scheduled night mode that did not work on my unit. The installation is easy but it rattles. The device is essentially unsupported by EVSportline. They are having a very difficult time with customer service at the moment. It took months and half a dozen emails to get a single response regarding the technical issues I was having. You're better off getting a magsafe phone mount for the dash, connect it to power via the obd port, and using your phone for Waze, etc. For audio, you can pay for two years of Spotify for the cost of the display which will work and sound better.

Thanks for the thorough feedback.

 

[akc5247]

Thanks, I personally don't like those.

I understand you don't like these but just wanted to say I was initially like you. But I have since gone on and installed that screen and has been great so far.

Not many alternatives if you want to use existing screens.

 

[akc5247]

I purchased it and had to return it for a number of reasons. It's more trouble than it's worth and I'd recommend against it. It randomly turns on when the vehicle is off and there is no fix for this. My vehicle is close enough to my office that it would connect as a bluetooth device and take over phone calls as a speaker even when I wasn't in the vehicle. There is no optical sensor on the device so it does not dim automatically at night. You will constantly need to manually adjust the brightness. It has a scheduled night mode that did not work on my unit. The installation is easy but it rattles. The device is essentially unsupported by EVSportline. They are having a very difficult time with customer service at the moment. It took months and half a dozen emails to get a single response regarding the technical issues I was having. You're better off getting a magsafe phone mount for the dash, connect it to power via the obd port, and using your phone for Waze, etc. For audio, you can pay for two years of Spotify for the cost of the display which will work and sound better.

Huh! I have had no issues with it

I also added a USB C to uSB C on/off switch (GINTOOYUN USB C Cable with ON/Off Button USB Type C Male to Female Power Cable with Switch for Raspberry Pi 4B Power Supply 30cm) which enables that annoying auto connect from happening when you are anywhere nearby.

Also, in regards to Evsportsline, I have realized they responded faster on FB posts. Not that I ever needed any help from them so far, but that's just my observation.

 

[WorldComposting]

Mapping: Rivian navigation has gotten way better in the last 6 months, and for me it almost always matches Google maps routing exactly.

Music: I use Spotify, but YouTube music works via bluetooth. If you care about audio quality you wouldn't be using YouTube music.

Texting: I have my phone set to announce texts when I'm driving and it does this over bluetooth. I can also just say "Hey Siri" to call or text anyone and it works very well, also over bluetooth.

Haven't missed CarPlay at all really, but I'm not a Waze power user.

Mapping: I completely agree as someone who has had my R1S since July 2003 I really complained about the navigation but it has really gotten better I feel in the past two months. It now seems to have more current traffic information and even routes around it. In fact just recently on a drive it updated the directions because of an accident that happened 20-30 minutes before that shut down the road. 4 months ago it would have registered it clear when it had an 8 mile backup.

Music: I do wish they would add YouTube music but I just stream via BT so it really isn't a big deal

Texting is the one thing I haven't been able to get working as well because I'm used to the visual cues of texting in Android Auto. Not that I'm staring at the screen but just the flash of colors it does.

 

[jimbones]

Thanks for the thorough feedback.

I've had mine for about 2 months and would only recommend it if you have an essential need for a specific Carplay compatible app. I wanted easy access to these apps:

- Apple Music
- SiriusXM
- Siri/texting support
- Apple maps - my wife sends me addresses while I'm driving the kids around and apple maps detects addresses in iMessage and automatically suggests them. no charging routing needed on these trips so apple maps is fine.

After 2 months of use, I dont really use the EVSportline screen anymore. Instead I pull over or use "hey siri" to do what I need. I have 4 main reasons for not using it anymore:

- no automatic brightness control based on ambient light. the "time" based brightness doesn't work for me as it needs to be changed every few weeks to match when it gets dark. it also doesn't work when driving long distances in tunnels. this is highlighted when the rivian's screen switches to dark mode and dims automatically and the EVSportline screen doesn't change and projects it's blinding brightness right into your retinas.

- poor screen quality. the screen has a low pixel density and low resolution. this is extra noticeable since its mounted on top of the beautiful OEM Rivian display. it reminds me of mounting an old CRT monitor on top of an LCD monitor.

- poor capacitive touch sensitivity. this is noticeable since the OEM display sensitivity seems perfect, but the EVSportline display requires noticeably more force to register a touch input compared to OEM, and I'm constantly having to retry touch events sometimes 3 or 4 times.

- poor motion and animation. ui animation has a low frame rate compared to the OEM display. The OEM seems to run at 30fps+ and the EVsportline seems to run around 15fps, a very noticeable difference. most animations on the OEM display are smooth and fluid. animations on the evsportline display are choppy and janky. this is probably due to an older CPU in the EVSportline display to save costs. this reminds me of how carplay felt right after it launched in 2014-2016 as most car manufacturers didn't have the processing power for fluid animations at 30fps. if you bought a new car in the 2020's, all of a sudden carplay felt much smoother because of the upgraded CPUs in the cars themselves. so the EVSportline feels old in that sense.

I work in tech as a designer, and I love beautiful and polished experiences. The EVSportline is not a beautiful and polished experience. But if you NEED access to essential apps, or don't care about anything I mentioned above, then it might be okay for you.

Hopefully that helps.

 

[racekarl]

.. as someone who has had my R1S since July 2003

I know there was some early speculation that certain influencers got to jump the line and have their vehicles delivered early, but who did you know to get an R1S 6 years before the company was founded?

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Yeah. Don’t be overly dependent. People survived just fine before either were invented.

 

[DoubleTake]

Thanks, I personally don't like those.

You don’t like these but are considering adding a huge ass iPad instead ????

 

[narmstrong79]

You don’t like these but are considering adding a huge ass iPad instead ????

Yes, something that can be a little discreet. I don't like the look of those aftermarket units sitting above the car screen, tucked under and deforming the dash. Plus, these units aren't typically high quality electronics or display. It's basically a cheap android tablet. They will get slow and laggy after a few years I'd my guess.

I'm going to stick with stock + my phone for now and see if I really miss android auto or not.

 

[DoubleTake]

Yes, something that can be a little discreet. I don't like the look of those aftermarket units sitting above the car screen, tucked under and deforming the dash. Plus, this units aren't typically high quality electronics or display. It's basically a cheap android tablet. They will get slow and laggy after a few years I'd my guess.

I'm going to stick with stock + my phone for now and see if I really miss android auto or not.

Well I don’t miss CarPlay at all but I did get the screen and barely use it. It does look great and functions as it should. Very responsive and boots up very fast.

 

[narmstrong79]

Well I don’t miss CarPlay at all but I did get the screen and barely use it. It does look great and functions as it should. Very responsive and boots up very fast.

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll consider it, but it's not my ideal solution.

 

[Jacquesass]

Has any one come up with an ingenious idea how use Apple / Android in their R1T /R1S?

I was thinking of having an ipad/tablet that mounted to a magnet hinge under the front center vents. either an Ipad / tablet with cellular connectivity or one that shares the 5G connection to my phone (I use a OnePlus, this is a feature on their devices). This way I can use my YouTube music, google maps, waze, etc... as my media player. I would have this Bluetooth to the car rather than my phone. Text and phone calls would be the only issue.

I don't like the looks of those aftermarket Carplay/ Android auto screens that are available.

Check out Proclipusa.com. They have an awesome (but not cheap) mounting system that I’ve used in multiple cars over the years. Rock-solid. They have a Rivian mount that you can mount anywhere in the mid-portion of the dash; you can then get a holder for an iPad, iPad mini, your phone, whatever.

it won’t be CarPlay, but will give you Waze, any entertainment you want, even retro gaming (now that emulators are in the App Store).

 

[narmstrong79]

Check out Proclipusa.com. They have an awesome (but not cheap) mounting system that I’ve used in multiple cars over the years. Rock-solid. They have a Rivian mount that you can mount anywhere in the mid-portion of the dash; you can then get a holder for an iPad, iPad mini, your phone, whatever.

it won’t be CarPlay, but will give you Waze, any entertainment you want, even retro gaming (now that emulators are in the App Store).

Thanks, I don't really want a phone mount. Really the only thing I'm missing from Android Auto is text, and YouTube music. Google maps or Waze would be nice, but I don't need them.

 

[Jacquesass]

Thanks, I don't really want a phone mount. Really the only thing I'm missing from Android Auto is text, and YouTube music. Google maps or Waze would be nice, but I don't need them.

You lost me. Your original post said you wanted a tablet mount … and Proclip has Rivian tablet mounts.

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