[MOD] AppRadio Unchained - Full mirroring for Pioneer AppRadio 2 and 3

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Area51©

Senior Member
Aug 30, 2013
2,507
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This mod is not developed / maintained anymore.
The mod is based on an (now) old version of the Pioneer AppRadio app that does not support the latest Android versions and head units.
If it works then it works but if not then you are on your own. There is no support. Also the ARUnchained GPS Injector app is not developed anymore.

To use AppRadio Unchained please get the paid version from the Play store called ''AppRadio Unchained Reloaded".
For details see here: AppRadio Unchained Reloaded

If you don't want to root your phone and have Android 7 or higher there's AppRadio Unchained Rootless

Old information:
=================================================================================================
The Pioneer AppRadio is a radio with a 7" touch screen. Android devices can be connected via HDMI and shown on the screen.
Touches and keypresses are sent back to the Android device via Bluetooth. The radio has a GPS receiver and data is sent
over Bluetooth as well. In essence a very nice concept.

To connect to an AppRadio there's a Pioneer AppRadio app available in the Play store. The Pioneer AppRadio app
is however quite restrictive. It allows only to run a small number of apps that are approved by Pioneer. These approved
apps can interact with the AppRadio app because they have a built in Pioneer SDK. The number of useful apps is small.
For details look here: Pioneer Appradio Knows website.

The goal of this project is to modify the Pioneer AppRadio app in such a way that it allows full mirroring.
This means that any app can be used and controlled using the touch screen and keys on the headunit.
Also any application can receive GPS data from the AppRadio.

Setup guides by RogerH
Pioneer AppRadio with Nexus 5
Setting up Pioneer AppRadio with Android Stick

Links
CNET article that gives a nice overview
Video from Steven Solazzo
Video from SinisterC6
Video from Neil Fontamillas
Video from M Sylvester showing AVH-4000NEX working
Video from M Sylvester showing AVH-8000NEX working
Video from M Sylvester showing Samsung Note 3 hardware setup
Video from Pascal H showing ARU in action in a Porsche 997 Turbo (in French)

Current status of the AppRadio Unchained Mod (free)
Beta release 6 is available for testing.
You can download it from here: arunchained0.16.apk

For Android HDMI sticks there's a special version available.
You can download it from here: arunchained0.15stick.apk

Current status of AppRadio Unchained Reloaded (has built in GPS Injector) (paid)
In addition to the AppRadio Unchained mod of the Pioneer AppRadio app, a completely Pioneer-less app was developed.
Basically it allows you to connect to your AppRadio in a faster and easier way without the need to use Tasker.
For details see here: AppRadio Unchained Reloaded

Current status of the ARUnchained GPS Injector (to be used with the AppRadio Unchained Mod) (paid)
GPS injection on system level using mock locations is available in the playstore here: ARUnchained GPS Injector
For GPS Injector details go to the FAQ here: ARU FAQ
Please fill out the survey here: ARUnchained GPS Injector survey
Navigation apps that already have AppRadio support like Waze and Navfree still work using the HU GPS. If you only use those apps then you don't need ARUnchained GPS Injector.
Head unit models that have built in navigation like AVIC-Z150BH, AVIC-F50BT and similar are not supported as Pioneer does not support sending of GPS data to the android device. If you are unsure, a test that can be done is to install Waze, if Waze can use the GPS of the head unit, ARUnchained GPS Injector works as well.

Release notes beta release 6
Rotation locker only active when HDMI connected.
ARU menu also available when not connected from Settings / Help menu.
Rotation locker and Start GPS Injector are now separate options.

Release notes beta release 5
Right part of the screen not reachable on Nexus 5 issue fixed.
Touch made more accurate for all phones.

Release notes beta release 4
Start / stop GPS Injector service when bt connected / disconnected.
SWC extended with ff & rw (to be tested by M.a.s.e-> doesn't work)
Play/Pause of HU quick menu bar now working.

Release notes pre-beta release 3
Steering wheel controls are working now.
For details go here: ARU FAQ

Release notes pre-beta release 2
Multitouch implemented.
Hardware keyboard issue fixed.
Options menu available.
Rotation locker.
Invert XY-coordinates. -> Does not work 100% yet.

Release notes pre-beta release 1
Radio buttons are working now.
Alternate method for setting uinput access rights fixed.

Release notes pre-beta release 0
Root access is required so your phone must be rooted.
For now it only allows using the touch screen.
Only single touch is supported.
Keys from the radio don't work yet.
GPS from the radio doesn't work yet.
Steering wheel controls don't work yet.

Users have reported it working on AppRadio 2, AppRadio 3, AVIC-F950, AVH-X8500BHS and AVH-X8550BT.

Disclaimer: Use at your own risk. Basically if it damages anything (you / your phone / your radio / your car or whatever),
don't blame me.

Donating
If you like my work and want to donate something, click on the "DONATE TO ME" button. However the first page will show in Dutch ( I guess because I am registered there).
Two solutions:
1) In another browser window logon to Paypal first. Then press the "DONATE TO ME" button here.
2) At "Donatiebedrag" enter the amount in US$ you want to donate, at "LOG IN OP PAYPAL" enter your logon details. After logon the language will change to your local language.

FAQ
For FAQ go here: ARU FAQ

Common issues and solutions
For an overview of common issues go here: Common issues and solutions compiled by stewbuntu
For help on what hardware to use you can also go here: Appradio forums It's basically the ARLiberator forum but has information about how to setup your hardware too.

Compatibility list
This app is compatible with any AppRadio that is supported by the original AppRadio app.

Details of supported Android devices:
Please fill out the survey here: ARUnchained survey
You can also report the issues that you have.

See attached ARUnchainedSurvey03.zip file for results of the survey. It's a zipped pdf file (had to zip it because of pdf size limitation on XDA). It gives a good overview of what phones/radios are working with ARU.

Old releases
Beta release 5 is still available in case 6 doesn't make you happy: arunchained0.15.apk
Beta release 4 is still available in case 5 doesn't make you happy: arunchained0.14.apk
Pre-beta release 3 is still available in case 4 doesn't make you happy: arunchained0.13.apk
 

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bodieism

Senior Member
Dec 23, 2010
269
37
Montana
Nice work! I can't wait to get home and test it out.

In the other thread I saw that someone had a S4 working with the AR3 using your app, so you have me really tempted to upgrade from the AR2 :D If you get GPS working on the AR3 you can definitely count on a donation from me.
 
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Area51©

Senior Member
Aug 30, 2013
2,507
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FAQ

ARUnchained GPS Injector

The ARUnchained GPS Injector app has two parts inside. One is the GPS service and one is the UI activity.
The service is the part that injects the GPS data into mock locations. ARU 0.14 and up will start this service automatically when a bluetooth connection is made to the HU (at the same moment that the rotation locker is started). The GPS service is stopped when bluetooth is disconnected.
The UI activity is started when you start the ARUnchained GPS Injector app from the launcher. It shows the status of the GPS service and also the actual GPS data. The purpose is to be able to check whether the service is working properly. With the start / stop buttons the GPS service can manually be started / stopped.

For the GPS service to work Mock locations has to be enabled. To use the phone built in GPS, Mock locations has to be disabled. It can become tedious to set this manually so ARUnchained GPS Injector has an auto on/off Mock locations feature. In order for this to work ARUnchained GPS Injector has to be converted into a system app.
This involves moving "mars.area51.arunchainedgps.apk" from "/data/app" to "/system/app". This can be done with root explorer for instance. Set permission to rw-r--r-- and reboot your phone. On Android 4.4 (KitKat) you should move the apk to "/system/priv-app" folder instead.

For pre-KitKat Android versions converting to system app can be done using Titanium backup:
Open Titanium Backup
Search for ARUnchained GPS Injector
Long press and choose convert to system app
Reboot phone.

Converting to system app using free ES File Explorer
1. Make sure in ES File Explorer, Root Explorer is enabled and Mount R/W is on RW
2. Copy pkg.apk in /mnt/asec/mars.area51.arunchainedgps-1 to SDCard and rename it 'mars.area51.arunchainedgps-1.apk'
3. Install 'mars.area51.arunchainedgps-1.apk' from SDCard
4. Move 'mars.area51.arunchainedgps-1.apk' from 'data/app' to /system/app or /system/priv-app on 4.4.x
5. In /system/app or /system/priv-app select 'mars.area51.arunchainedgps-1.apk' and in menu select Install.
6. After install reboot

How to make a logcat using an app called Catlog
Start Catlog logcat through app menu and select record.
Select home button so you leave Catlog app running.
Go through process to start ARU and connect to AR.
Once you know the bug was created, open the Catlog app from notification bar (this stops recording).
Select the recording, which is named by date-timestamp...from action selection pick share by email...this zips the logcat and system info txt files into one zip.
Email to self and share the zip with dev by email or any other method you want.

On my Samsung phone not the whole screen is shown but a part is cut off
A) The default Samsung launcher doesn't handle landscape well. The solution is to install an alternative like Nova launcher.

On my Samsung phone touch stops working after calibration
A) Verify your phone is rooted properly.
B) On Android version 4.3 and higher Samsung has Knox security and SELinux is in enforcing mode.
This somehow prohibits accessing the /dev/uinput device which is required to be able to input touch/key events on system level.
In order for ARU to work Knox has to be disbled and SELinux has to be in permissive mode.

Possible fix 1:
First install an app called Android Terminal Emulator then open a terminal and type
the following lines pressing enter after each line:
su
pm disable com.sec.knox.seandroid

Now wait a bit till knox is killed and finally type:
setenforce 0

If this works, you have to do it every time you reboot your phone. It can be automated with Tasker for instance

Possible Fix 2:
Install the Xposed framework and the Wanam module.
At Security hacks tick " Disable Knox notifications" and "Disable SEandroid".
Reboot.

Possible Fix 3:
If the other fixes don't work and your bootloader isn't locked you can try to install a custom kernel that has Knox disabled and SELinux in permissive mode by default.

Keyboard use
It's not necessary to install Car Keyboard. Only the original Pioneer AppRadio app needs that.
Note that the virtual keyboard created by ARU is sometimes incorrectly detected as a hardware keyboard.
This prevents the software keyboard to be shown and makes it impossible to enter anything.


To check / set the keyboard settings:
  1. Click the menu button on ARU.
  2. At the right bottom click on "Change input method"
  3. A pop-up is shown that CarKeyBoard has to be installed. Ignore it by clicking OK.
  4. The dialog for selecting the input method is shown.
  5. Make sure hardware keyboard is switched off.

Use of the hardware buttons:
The home, menu and back button now work as advertised.
To go back to the native interface you have to open the AppRadio app manually and then press the home button.
To go to the AppRadio app easily, swipe down the status bar and click the AppRadio notification.
Fast option to go back to the native interface: Double click the home button, touch the blue bar in the middle with 4 squares on the left.

Release notes pre-beta release 2
Multitouch implemented.
Multitouch works now. AppRadio 3 has a bug which makes it a bit unpredictable.

Hardware keyboard issue fixed.
Sometimes the virtual keyboard created by ARU was incorrectly detected as a
hardware keyboard preventing the software keyboard to be shown. Fixed now.

Options menu available.
The options menu can be reached from the app's main screen. There's now an additional ARU
option sub menu available with two options:
Rotation locker.
Invert XY coordinates.

When in AppRadio Mode homescreen, select menu button, select ARU, there you will see the ARU feature options...only accessible when connected to HU at this time.

Options can be set but will only become active after force stopping the app and then restarting it.
Go to Settings->Apps->AppRadio Unchained and do a Force stop. After that just start ARU again
and the options will take effect.

Rotation locker.
Forces rotation to be in landscape when enabled.
Locker becomes active when a bluetooth connection is established with the radio.
Locker is deactivated when bluetooth is disconnected.

Invert XY-coordinates.
Necessary for some tablets and HDMI sticks.
Currently this options doesn't work well. Somehow it will switch mode during calibration, giving
incorrect calibration results. After that touches are at the wrong position meaning app is useless.
Will look into it soon.

Release notes pre-beta release 3
Steering wheel controls
Steering wheel controls are working now.
Currently supported are: previous track and next track.
There might be more but I couldn't get it out of my radio.
Of course there's volume, mute etc. but that is handled directly by the radio
and never sent to the phone.
In case there are commands sent by the radio to the phone besides the ones already implemented the logcat will contain this:
Don't know how to translate RemoteCtrlInfo = <number>. Let me know the number and what remote control command you were
issuing and I can add it.
 
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enjoimadcow

Senior Member
Dec 15, 2011
79
13
Hell yeah man! Thank you! will test soon on my AR3. If you have that bitcoin address set up I'll send you like $20 worth of btc for this mod.
 
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snorr

Member
Nov 16, 2011
7
1
great... waiting so long for getting AR3 support...

will test it today and donate as well... :)

Gesendet von meinem Nexus 7 mit Tapatalk 4
 
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lpasq

Senior Member
Feb 14, 2006
1,393
215
Original Hack Bounty Crew:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
$200 lpasq (xda) Confirmation number: 7D019513V95549722
$100 drawblood (appradioforum & xda) Donation made per post on AppradioForum
$50 ofarrell.g1 (xda)
$50 evillela2001 (xda) Confirmation number: 3NF91232VR227492L
$50 Meldoon (xda)
$25 rs2k (xda) Confirmation number: 8R358541KC016842T
$25 jj69chev (xda)
$25 leobg (xda) Confirmation number: 8TE693651C300254U
$25 tnuts22 (xda) Paid
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
$550 Committed - U.S. Dollars
($425) Confirmed Donated
==============================================
$125 Due
 
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tmp_do

Member
Mar 16, 2010
45
5
hey Area51. i have a bugreport for u. appradio app from market work ok on lg p999 with stock 2.3.4 fw, but modified app crash twice at startup. then it work seems fine(cant test it with pioneer now). on same phone with cm7(2.3.7) and cm10 all ok. i have a log dump for u: http://pastebin.ca/2455597
 
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enjoimadcow

Senior Member
Dec 15, 2011
79
13
Alright just got done testing with my note 1 I717 running stock 4.1.2. Couldn't get it to work at all. Bluetooth is connected as I can stream google play and make phone calls through the unit. However, when I connect the MHL adapter to the deck, I get an icon that I can only describe as a map with a speech bubble with a bluetooth symbol in it with an x by it. I'm assuming it means no bluetooth connection. However streaming music via bluetooth is currently going on. Now on the phone side, normally in the non modified version of ar before the mhl adapter is plugged in and bluetooth is connected, it gives a picture of a usb cable on the phone with an arrow saying plug in. On the arunchained, it just gives the Bluetooth symbol with 6 dots like it's not connected. I'm terrible at bug reports so if you have any questions I'll try to answer it.
 
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Area51©

Senior Member
Aug 30, 2013
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hey Area51. i have a bugreport for u. appradio app from market work ok on lg p999 with stock 2.3.4 fw, but modified app crash twice at startup. then it work seems fine(cant test it with pioneer now). on same phone with cm7(2.3.7) and cm10 all ok. i have a log dump for u: http://pastebin.ca/2455597

I think it may be due to code obfuscation stripping a bit too much code. Thanks for the report.
 

jdbaldi

Member
Sep 28, 2007
5
0
Droid Bionic

I donated 50usd...even without the AR2 hardware buttons working, this app is awsome. I use an old rootrd stock Droid Bionic, and your app works perfect for me. No lag, no parts of the screen I can't get to, just works perfect. Thanks for all the hard work, buy some drinks on me.
 

Area51©

Senior Member
Aug 30, 2013
2,507
1,079
Breda
I donated 50usd...even without the AR2 hardware buttons working, this app is awsome. I use an old rootrd stock Droid Bionic, and your app works perfect for me. No lag, no parts of the screen I can't get to, just works perfect. Thanks for all the hard work, buy some drinks on me.

Don't pay me too early, the app is not even finished. I might take the money and run......
J/k, I will finish everything.

And I have to add, thanks a lot for the donation!
 
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Area51©

Senior Member
Aug 30, 2013
2,507
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Breda
Alright just got done testing with my note 1 I717 running stock 4.1.2. Couldn't get it to work at all. Bluetooth is connected as I can stream google play and make phone calls through the unit. However, when I connect the MHL adapter to the deck, I get an icon that I can only describe as a map with a speech bubble with a bluetooth symbol in it with an x by it. I'm assuming it means no bluetooth connection. However streaming music via bluetooth is currently going on. Now on the phone side, normally in the non modified version of ar before the mhl adapter is plugged in and bluetooth is connected, it gives a picture of a usb cable on the phone with an arrow saying plug in. On the arunchained, it just gives the Bluetooth symbol with 6 dots like it's not connected. I'm terrible at bug reports so if you have any questions I'll try to answer it.

Hmmm, basically that part (Bluetooth communication etc.) is not changed from the original app. So I don't really understand why there is a difference. It seems you are using an AR3 but I have an AR2, so I guess icons on the headunit are different.
On my phone side I get a Bluetooth symbol with 6 dots as well, and it's working.
 
Last edited:

enjoimadcow

Senior Member
Dec 15, 2011
79
13
Hmmm, basically that part (Bluetooth communication etc.) is not changed from the original app. So I don't really understand why there is a difference. It seems you are using an AR3 but I have an AR2, so I guess icons on the headunit are different.
On my phone side I get a Bluetooth symbol with 6 dots as well, and it's working.

hmmmm. I uninstalled the app, restarted the phone, reinstalled, gave root access, and still nothing =(. I made an album of screenshots and pics http://imgur.com/R7sU3gf,vBVOGAN,VAiII0J,U5NEyBC#3 . When I go to the center icon it gives me a message like app radio does not seem to be installed, when I hit ignore, I see the home screen of android, but I get that hand with the x when I try to do anything.
 

Area51©

Senior Member
Aug 30, 2013
2,507
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Breda
hmmmm. I uninstalled the app, restarted the phone, reinstalled, gave root access, and still nothing =(. I made an album of screenshots and pics http://imgur.com/R7sU3gf,vBVOGAN,VAiII0J,U5NEyBC#3 . When I go to the center icon it gives me a message like app radio does not seem to be installed, when I hit ignore, I see the home screen of android, but I get that hand with the x when I try to do anything.

Phone side is same as I get. AppRadio side I can't compare I have an AR2.
On the phone side I only get that Bluetooth icon with the 6 dots. I think the other is because you have Bluetooth streaming.
 
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Area51©

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Area51©

Senior Member
Aug 30, 2013
2,507
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I tried it again but now I got a message that the file is in the owners bin. When I clicked the link, I entered into design mode or something. I had to click "View live form" to enter data. But it seems someone else entered data in design mode and replaced all the titles with the answers he wanted to give. Do you have a copy? Maybe need another link to go to the View live form mode right away.
 
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leobg

Senior Member
Mar 7, 2006
1,366
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hmmmm. I uninstalled the app, restarted the phone, reinstalled, gave root access, and still nothing =(. I made an album of screenshots and pics http://imgur.com/R7sU3gf,vBVOGAN,VAiII0J,U5NEyBC#3 . When I go to the center icon it gives me a message like app radio does not seem to be installed, when I hit ignore, I see the home screen of android, but I get that hand with the x when I try to do anything.

Have you paired the radio to the phone under Bluetooth settings? Also - check if phone is "selected' on the connection tab on the radio itself (I recommend auto connection to be set to ON)
 

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  • 80
    This mod is not developed / maintained anymore.
    The mod is based on an (now) old version of the Pioneer AppRadio app that does not support the latest Android versions and head units.
    If it works then it works but if not then you are on your own. There is no support. Also the ARUnchained GPS Injector app is not developed anymore.

    To use AppRadio Unchained please get the paid version from the Play store called ''AppRadio Unchained Reloaded".
    For details see here: AppRadio Unchained Reloaded

    If you don't want to root your phone and have Android 7 or higher there's AppRadio Unchained Rootless

    Old information:
    =================================================================================================
    The Pioneer AppRadio is a radio with a 7" touch screen. Android devices can be connected via HDMI and shown on the screen.
    Touches and keypresses are sent back to the Android device via Bluetooth. The radio has a GPS receiver and data is sent
    over Bluetooth as well. In essence a very nice concept.

    To connect to an AppRadio there's a Pioneer AppRadio app available in the Play store. The Pioneer AppRadio app
    is however quite restrictive. It allows only to run a small number of apps that are approved by Pioneer. These approved
    apps can interact with the AppRadio app because they have a built in Pioneer SDK. The number of useful apps is small.
    For details look here: Pioneer Appradio Knows website.

    The goal of this project is to modify the Pioneer AppRadio app in such a way that it allows full mirroring.
    This means that any app can be used and controlled using the touch screen and keys on the headunit.
    Also any application can receive GPS data from the AppRadio.

    Setup guides by RogerH
    Pioneer AppRadio with Nexus 5
    Setting up Pioneer AppRadio with Android Stick

    Links
    CNET article that gives a nice overview
    Video from Steven Solazzo
    Video from SinisterC6
    Video from Neil Fontamillas
    Video from M Sylvester showing AVH-4000NEX working
    Video from M Sylvester showing AVH-8000NEX working
    Video from M Sylvester showing Samsung Note 3 hardware setup
    Video from Pascal H showing ARU in action in a Porsche 997 Turbo (in French)

    Current status of the AppRadio Unchained Mod (free)
    Beta release 6 is available for testing.
    You can download it from here: arunchained0.16.apk

    For Android HDMI sticks there's a special version available.
    You can download it from here: arunchained0.15stick.apk

    Current status of AppRadio Unchained Reloaded (has built in GPS Injector) (paid)
    In addition to the AppRadio Unchained mod of the Pioneer AppRadio app, a completely Pioneer-less app was developed.
    Basically it allows you to connect to your AppRadio in a faster and easier way without the need to use Tasker.
    For details see here: AppRadio Unchained Reloaded

    Current status of the ARUnchained GPS Injector (to be used with the AppRadio Unchained Mod) (paid)
    GPS injection on system level using mock locations is available in the playstore here: ARUnchained GPS Injector
    For GPS Injector details go to the FAQ here: ARU FAQ
    Please fill out the survey here: ARUnchained GPS Injector survey
    Navigation apps that already have AppRadio support like Waze and Navfree still work using the HU GPS. If you only use those apps then you don't need ARUnchained GPS Injector.
    Head unit models that have built in navigation like AVIC-Z150BH, AVIC-F50BT and similar are not supported as Pioneer does not support sending of GPS data to the android device. If you are unsure, a test that can be done is to install Waze, if Waze can use the GPS of the head unit, ARUnchained GPS Injector works as well.

    Release notes beta release 6
    Rotation locker only active when HDMI connected.
    ARU menu also available when not connected from Settings / Help menu.
    Rotation locker and Start GPS Injector are now separate options.

    Release notes beta release 5
    Right part of the screen not reachable on Nexus 5 issue fixed.
    Touch made more accurate for all phones.

    Release notes beta release 4
    Start / stop GPS Injector service when bt connected / disconnected.
    SWC extended with ff & rw (to be tested by M.a.s.e-> doesn't work)
    Play/Pause of HU quick menu bar now working.

    Release notes pre-beta release 3
    Steering wheel controls are working now.
    For details go here: ARU FAQ

    Release notes pre-beta release 2
    Multitouch implemented.
    Hardware keyboard issue fixed.
    Options menu available.
    Rotation locker.
    Invert XY-coordinates. -> Does not work 100% yet.

    Release notes pre-beta release 1
    Radio buttons are working now.
    Alternate method for setting uinput access rights fixed.

    Release notes pre-beta release 0
    Root access is required so your phone must be rooted.
    For now it only allows using the touch screen.
    Only single touch is supported.
    Keys from the radio don't work yet.
    GPS from the radio doesn't work yet.
    Steering wheel controls don't work yet.

    Users have reported it working on AppRadio 2, AppRadio 3, AVIC-F950, AVH-X8500BHS and AVH-X8550BT.

    Disclaimer: Use at your own risk. Basically if it damages anything (you / your phone / your radio / your car or whatever),
    don't blame me.

    Donating
    If you like my work and want to donate something, click on the "DONATE TO ME" button. However the first page will show in Dutch ( I guess because I am registered there).
    Two solutions:
    1) In another browser window logon to Paypal first. Then press the "DONATE TO ME" button here.
    2) At "Donatiebedrag" enter the amount in US$ you want to donate, at "LOG IN OP PAYPAL" enter your logon details. After logon the language will change to your local language.

    FAQ
    For FAQ go here: ARU FAQ

    Common issues and solutions
    For an overview of common issues go here: Common issues and solutions compiled by stewbuntu
    For help on what hardware to use you can also go here: Appradio forums It's basically the ARLiberator forum but has information about how to setup your hardware too.

    Compatibility list
    This app is compatible with any AppRadio that is supported by the original AppRadio app.

    Details of supported Android devices:
    Please fill out the survey here: ARUnchained survey
    You can also report the issues that you have.

    See attached ARUnchainedSurvey03.zip file for results of the survey. It's a zipped pdf file (had to zip it because of pdf size limitation on XDA). It gives a good overview of what phones/radios are working with ARU.

    Old releases
    Beta release 5 is still available in case 6 doesn't make you happy: arunchained0.15.apk
    Beta release 4 is still available in case 5 doesn't make you happy: arunchained0.14.apk
    Pre-beta release 3 is still available in case 4 doesn't make you happy: arunchained0.13.apk
    21
    Kick off of AppRadio Unchained Reloaded

    Today I decided to start working on the standalone version of AppRadio Unchained. When finished it will not be a mod of the original Pioneer app anymore but a completely independent app so it can be available in the play store. The GPS injecting functionality will be included so there's only one app for everything. It will also remove the overhead of the Pioneer app so the touch response can be better too.

    For now the working title will be AppRadio Unchained Reloaded.

    The first things that will be done are as following:
    1) Reverse engineer AR3 communication protocol.
    2) Implement AR3 communication protocol.

    I will keep you updated on the progress.
    12
    FAQ

    ARUnchained GPS Injector

    The ARUnchained GPS Injector app has two parts inside. One is the GPS service and one is the UI activity.
    The service is the part that injects the GPS data into mock locations. ARU 0.14 and up will start this service automatically when a bluetooth connection is made to the HU (at the same moment that the rotation locker is started). The GPS service is stopped when bluetooth is disconnected.
    The UI activity is started when you start the ARUnchained GPS Injector app from the launcher. It shows the status of the GPS service and also the actual GPS data. The purpose is to be able to check whether the service is working properly. With the start / stop buttons the GPS service can manually be started / stopped.

    For the GPS service to work Mock locations has to be enabled. To use the phone built in GPS, Mock locations has to be disabled. It can become tedious to set this manually so ARUnchained GPS Injector has an auto on/off Mock locations feature. In order for this to work ARUnchained GPS Injector has to be converted into a system app.
    This involves moving "mars.area51.arunchainedgps.apk" from "/data/app" to "/system/app". This can be done with root explorer for instance. Set permission to rw-r--r-- and reboot your phone. On Android 4.4 (KitKat) you should move the apk to "/system/priv-app" folder instead.

    For pre-KitKat Android versions converting to system app can be done using Titanium backup:
    Open Titanium Backup
    Search for ARUnchained GPS Injector
    Long press and choose convert to system app
    Reboot phone.

    Converting to system app using free ES File Explorer
    1. Make sure in ES File Explorer, Root Explorer is enabled and Mount R/W is on RW
    2. Copy pkg.apk in /mnt/asec/mars.area51.arunchainedgps-1 to SDCard and rename it 'mars.area51.arunchainedgps-1.apk'
    3. Install 'mars.area51.arunchainedgps-1.apk' from SDCard
    4. Move 'mars.area51.arunchainedgps-1.apk' from 'data/app' to /system/app or /system/priv-app on 4.4.x
    5. In /system/app or /system/priv-app select 'mars.area51.arunchainedgps-1.apk' and in menu select Install.
    6. After install reboot

    How to make a logcat using an app called Catlog
    Start Catlog logcat through app menu and select record.
    Select home button so you leave Catlog app running.
    Go through process to start ARU and connect to AR.
    Once you know the bug was created, open the Catlog app from notification bar (this stops recording).
    Select the recording, which is named by date-timestamp...from action selection pick share by email...this zips the logcat and system info txt files into one zip.
    Email to self and share the zip with dev by email or any other method you want.

    On my Samsung phone not the whole screen is shown but a part is cut off
    A) The default Samsung launcher doesn't handle landscape well. The solution is to install an alternative like Nova launcher.

    On my Samsung phone touch stops working after calibration
    A) Verify your phone is rooted properly.
    B) On Android version 4.3 and higher Samsung has Knox security and SELinux is in enforcing mode.
    This somehow prohibits accessing the /dev/uinput device which is required to be able to input touch/key events on system level.
    In order for ARU to work Knox has to be disbled and SELinux has to be in permissive mode.

    Possible fix 1:
    First install an app called Android Terminal Emulator then open a terminal and type
    the following lines pressing enter after each line:
    su
    pm disable com.sec.knox.seandroid

    Now wait a bit till knox is killed and finally type:
    setenforce 0

    If this works, you have to do it every time you reboot your phone. It can be automated with Tasker for instance

    Possible Fix 2:
    Install the Xposed framework and the Wanam module.
    At Security hacks tick " Disable Knox notifications" and "Disable SEandroid".
    Reboot.

    Possible Fix 3:
    If the other fixes don't work and your bootloader isn't locked you can try to install a custom kernel that has Knox disabled and SELinux in permissive mode by default.

    Keyboard use
    It's not necessary to install Car Keyboard. Only the original Pioneer AppRadio app needs that.
    Note that the virtual keyboard created by ARU is sometimes incorrectly detected as a hardware keyboard.
    This prevents the software keyboard to be shown and makes it impossible to enter anything.


    To check / set the keyboard settings:
    1. Click the menu button on ARU.
    2. At the right bottom click on "Change input method"
    3. A pop-up is shown that CarKeyBoard has to be installed. Ignore it by clicking OK.
    4. The dialog for selecting the input method is shown.
    5. Make sure hardware keyboard is switched off.

    Use of the hardware buttons:
    The home, menu and back button now work as advertised.
    To go back to the native interface you have to open the AppRadio app manually and then press the home button.
    To go to the AppRadio app easily, swipe down the status bar and click the AppRadio notification.
    Fast option to go back to the native interface: Double click the home button, touch the blue bar in the middle with 4 squares on the left.

    Release notes pre-beta release 2
    Multitouch implemented.
    Multitouch works now. AppRadio 3 has a bug which makes it a bit unpredictable.

    Hardware keyboard issue fixed.
    Sometimes the virtual keyboard created by ARU was incorrectly detected as a
    hardware keyboard preventing the software keyboard to be shown. Fixed now.

    Options menu available.
    The options menu can be reached from the app's main screen. There's now an additional ARU
    option sub menu available with two options:
    Rotation locker.
    Invert XY coordinates.

    When in AppRadio Mode homescreen, select menu button, select ARU, there you will see the ARU feature options...only accessible when connected to HU at this time.

    Options can be set but will only become active after force stopping the app and then restarting it.
    Go to Settings->Apps->AppRadio Unchained and do a Force stop. After that just start ARU again
    and the options will take effect.

    Rotation locker.
    Forces rotation to be in landscape when enabled.
    Locker becomes active when a bluetooth connection is established with the radio.
    Locker is deactivated when bluetooth is disconnected.

    Invert XY-coordinates.
    Necessary for some tablets and HDMI sticks.
    Currently this options doesn't work well. Somehow it will switch mode during calibration, giving
    incorrect calibration results. After that touches are at the wrong position meaning app is useless.
    Will look into it soon.

    Release notes pre-beta release 3
    Steering wheel controls
    Steering wheel controls are working now.
    Currently supported are: previous track and next track.
    There might be more but I couldn't get it out of my radio.
    Of course there's volume, mute etc. but that is handled directly by the radio
    and never sent to the phone.
    In case there are commands sent by the radio to the phone besides the ones already implemented the logcat will contain this:
    Don't know how to translate RemoteCtrlInfo = <number>. Let me know the number and what remote control command you were
    issuing and I can add it.
    12
    Development proposal

    First of all I want to say is that I love working on ARU. In fact if I could make enough money by doing that to make a living it would be the only work I would do.

    The only way to do it right is to make an AppRadio Unchained standalone version that doesn't require the Pioneer app at all. This has several advantages:
    - Development is easier because now it's a bit of a pain to integrate the mod and the Pioneer app.
    - It's a lot easier to add features.
    - It's a lot easier to add connection improvements/workarounds.
    - The app won't have the unnecessary overhead from the Pioneer app.
    - GPS injection will be integrated.

    There's of course disadvantages:
    - The communication protocol has to be reverse engineered for each radio type.
    - Quite a lot of testing is required to verify that the communication is working properly.
    - Obviously there's quite some work involved implementing the communication.

    In a few weeks my current assignment at a customer ends and I might have a timeslot for working on ARU standalone. In short my proposal is a crowdfunding idea. It would need 650 people to pay 20$ upfront via Paypal. At my normal rate this allows me to work on ARU for one month (I admit I am not paid badly). I will throw in another month for free and one more if required. This should be enough time to get it working. I will guarantee that you get a working version. If not, I will refund your money. After development is finished it will be in the Play store for 30$ (same as ARL) so if you pay upfront you will have a discount of 10$.

    The initial version will support AR2 and AR3 (those I have myself). For other models I need the help of some of you to create communication logging and to do some testing once the protocol is implemented. Also I can buy some other models if required.

    I will return in a few weeks. In the meantime you can think about it.
    11
    AppRadio Unchained Reloaded progress

    Here's a short update so that you know I am still working on it.

    I have been working the last few days on creating the alpha version of Reloaded. I refactored the prototype completely so that it's more or less logically structured.

    Today worked on integrating all components and got everything working. So touches, keys, SWCs and GPS is received via Bluetooth and injected into the system. It's really great that I can use the debugger now. With the ARU mod version that was not possible.

    After that worked on getting the Bluetooth connection bullet proof. I did quite some experiments with it but still want to improve it. One thing I noticed that toggling Bluetooth from on to off and then on again really helps a lot to make a quick connection so I will try to implement that for the first alpha release.

    I still have to work on the GUI so it looks a bit nicer and add an options menu. Also want to implement the AR2 communication protocol so for the first alpha release AR3 and AR2 are supported.
    I hope to have an alpha release ready somewhere next week.