Nexus 6, custom ROMs, and Android Auto?? (Picture distorted)

[s2kpdx]

UPDATE 7/6/15: CM 12.1 is messed up again. I don't know. just find a rom that doesn't have a baked in DPI changer...
UPDATE 6/2/15: The newest nightlies of CM12.1 have a fix in place. It is filtering down into some of the custom roms as well (see below)...
UPDATE 6/9/15: The newest nightlies of CM12.1 have removed the fix. This is getting annoying.
UPDATE 6/16/15: I am going to stop maintaining this thread. AOSiP is the rom to go with for those wanting to keep Andoid Auto functionality in place.


So I have an annoyance that I wanted to see if anyone else was experiencing. I recently got a Pioneer AVIC-8100NEX head unit that has android auto built in. When I am using a stock based ROM, the android auto works fine. When I am running a CM/AOSP based ROM (with built in DPI changing), the picture is like zoomed in and is totally unusable. I can even run a stock based ROM with custom kernel and it runs just fine. I am currently running meanpop with code blue kernel and it works fine, I just miss a lot of the features of the other Roms that I can't get it to work right on.

Roms that work:
Stock
AOSIP (updated 6/16/15)

 

[s2kpdx]

I just realized the background wallpaper is the same on both. This is driving me nuts!!

So its like it is just outputting the navigation buttons and "status bar" at the wrong resolution...??

 

[skaforey]

Have you tried adjusting the dpi in chroma to see if it helps at all?

 

[sykopompos]

So I have an annoyance that I wanted to see if anyone else was experiencing. I recently got a Pioneer AVIC-8100NEX head unit that has android auto built in. When I am using a stock based ROM, the android auto works fine. When I am running a CM/AOSP based ROM, the picture is like zoomed in and is totally unusable. I can even run a stock based ROM with custom kernel and it runs just fine. I am currently running meanpop with code blue kernel and it works fine, I just miss a lot of the features of the other Roms that I can't get it to work right on.

Roms that work:
Stock
MeanPop
Sinless
CleanROM

They look like this on the head unit (how they should):

Roms that do not work:
CM12.1
Chroma
Euphoria
Resurrection Remix
Benzo
BlissPop
Temesek 5.1
OptiPop


They look like this on the head unit:

Anyone experiencing this as well or know what the heck the issue could be??? I kinda think it might be an easy fix for someone that knows that they are doing (not me!).

Thanks in advance!

The problem is, I'm pretty sure none of us devs even have android auto to even begin to know where or what needs to be done to fix it

 

[s2kpdx]

The problem is, I'm pretty sure none of us devs even have android auto to even begin to know where or what needs to be done to fix it

Yeah that's what I am thinking too. Its just so odd that it looks normal on all stock based Roms, but on any cm/aosp ROM its displayed incorrectly... Just has me stumped.

 

[s2kpdx]

Ok, I have finally figured out that it is directly related to the rom having a built in DPI changing option in settings. All roms that have this do not work, and all that do not, work. Plus if I make extreme changes to the DPI using that setting, it is reflected a tiny bit on the head unit.

So next question... How difficult would it be to remove that built in DPI changing from one of these roms and see if that is enough to fix it???

 

[exb0]

Ok, I have finally figured out that it is directly related to the rom having a built in DPI changing option in settings. All roms that have this do not work, and all that do not, work. Plus if I make extreme changes to the DPI using that setting, it is reflected a tiny bit on the head unit.

So next question... How difficult would it be to remove that built in DPI changing from one of these roms and see if that is enough to fix it???

You can't just "remove" it per-se. The only way is to build android yourself. Find the commit and remove it from your source and build it. Find what's linked to the dpi change and repeat process. All in all, unless you're comfortable with linux I think you're just gonna have to choose between android auto and custom roms.

 

[joshm.1219]

You can't just "remove" it per-se. The only way is to build android yourself. Find the commit and remove it from your source and build it. Find what's linked to the dpi change and repeat process. All in all, unless you're comfortable with linux I think you're just gonna have to choose between android auto and custom roms.

Well he listed 4 ROMs that do work so its not that black and white at least. For now, his custom ROM options may be limited but in a year or so when Android Auto compatible head units are more affordable, I'm sure there will be some devs that use it. It's just what sykopompos said, there probably isn't even a dev, at least for our phone, that has Android Auto yet. That's just because it's really new.


I don't understand how having a built-in DPI changer in the ROM is the problem though. You can simply change it in terminal on any ROM you want anyway. Just because they've built-in a GUI to change DPI, they've messed up Android Auto? Really weird.

 

[s2kpdx]

Well he listed 4 ROMs that do work so its not that black and white at least. For now, his custom ROM options may be limited but in a year or so when Android Auto compatible head units are more affordable, I'm sure there will be some devs that use it. It's just what sykopompos said, there probably isn't even a dev, at least for our phone, that has Android Auto yet. That's just because it's really new.


I don't understand how having a built-in DPI changer in the ROM is the problem though. You can simply change it in terminal on any ROM you want anyway. Just because they've built-in a GUI to change DPI, they've messed up Android Auto? Really weird.

Exactly why I am so frustrated with it. I can run OptiPop (does not have built in DPI changing) just fine with my DPI changed to 480 (via shell) and Android Auto will display perfectly on the stereo. But the second I try and run a rom that has the baked in DPI changer (weather I have changed the dpi or not), it displays Android Auto all zoomed in as I show in my picture.

At first I thought it was AOSP/CM based roms that were the problem, but now that I have found Optipop to work correctly (AOSP based) I think that narrows it down to the DPI changer baked in. Most AOSP/CM based roms do have the built in dpi changer, which is why it took me a while to figure this out (I have pretty much flashed every rom available for the N6 haha).

I feel like if and when one of these rom devs gets android auto, it could be a fairly simple fix. Until then, I guess I am stuck finding roms that do not have the baked in dpi changer. The only one I can find currently (aside from stock based), is OptiPop.

If nothing else, hopefully my findings will help people like me in the future, and maybe even help a dev diagnose it.

 

[exb0]

Well he listed 4 ROMs that do work so its not that black and white at least. For now, his custom ROM options may be limited but in a year or so when Android Auto compatible head units are more affordable, I'm sure there will be some devs that use it. It's just what sykopompos said, there probably isn't even a dev, at least for our phone, that has Android Auto yet. That's just because it's really new.


I don't understand how having a built-in DPI changer in the ROM is the problem though. You can simply change it in terminal on any ROM you want anyway. Just because they've built-in a GUI to change DPI, they've messed up Android Auto? Really weird.

I never said that it'll never work. What I simply said was right now, at this point, he has no choice but to choose between non-dpi changing stock roms and android auto. Sure maybe in a few weeks or month someone would develop for it.

Exactly why I am so frustrated with it. I can run OptiPop (does not have built in DPI changing) just fine with my DPI changed to 480 (via shell) and Android Auto will display perfectly on the stereo. But the second I try and run a rom that has the baked in DPI changer (weather I have changed the dpi or not), it displays Android Auto all zoomed in as I show in my picture.

At first I thought it was AOSP/CM based roms that were the problem, but now that I have found Optipop to work correctly (AOSP based) I think that narrows it down to the DPI changer baked in. Most AOSP/CM based roms do have the built in dpi changer, which is why it took me a while to figure this out (I have pretty much flashed every rom available for the N6 haha).

I feel like if and when one of these rom devs gets android auto, it could be a fairly simple fix. Until then, I guess I am stuck finding roms that do not have the baked in dpi changer. The only one I can find currently (aside from stock based), is OptiPop.

If nothing else, hopefully my findings will help people like me in the future, and maybe even help a dev diagnose it.

Because most of the time dpi changing isn't just a build prop modification. The last few versions of android required a little more modification to the source to make dpi changing work. If you didn't, some things might be misaligned or just wont work properly. However, I'm not sure if this is the case with lollipop. I have yet to build for it so I'm not sure, but it's just another possibility.

 

[s2kpdx]

Lets bump this up

 

[adiliyo]

bump bump! this is driving me crazy! i wish i knew how to fix it

 

[buschris]

I was looking for somewhere to post this, and it seems a fitting thread. I have an app called Socializer for Meetup.com that does this same thing on my Nexus 6. It displays correctly on DirtyUnicorns and CleanROM, but not correctly on BlissPop or Euphoria. Crazy stuff. I've tried changing the DPI to no avail. Something similar to OP's problem for sure.

 

[vvveith]

Seek some of these resources.

So I have an annoyance that I wanted to see if anyone else was experiencing. I recently got a Pioneer AVIC-8100NEX head unit that has android auto built in. When I am using a stock based ROM, the android auto works fine. When I am running a CM/AOSP based ROM (with built in DPI changing), the picture is like zoomed in and is totally unusable. I can even run a stock based ROM with custom kernel and it runs just fine. I am currently running meanpop with code blue kernel and it works fine, I just miss a lot of the features of the other Roms that I can't get it to work right on.

Roms that work:
Stock
MeanPop
Sinless
CleanROM
OptiPop (AOSP based - no dpi changer)

They look like this on the head unit (how they should):

There is an Android Auto thread here at XDA, however, there are only a handful of us that have the equipment that supports it. There are several other threads outside of XDA that have information on subjects like this. So far though, there is only one developer I've found that actually owns a compatible HU.
Hopefully by the end of the year it will be more abundantly used.

 

[WisdomWolf]

I just got a new 4100NEX installed over the weekend and ran into exactly the same issue on Temasek's CM12.1 build. At least you've narrowed down the common thread amongst the ROMs that exhibit this issue. It saved me a lot of trial and error headache. I'm going to see if I can find the source code that references the dpi change function for one of these ROMs and see if I can figure out how to fix it. I make no promises, but it seems that our choices are drastically reduced until this issue gets resolved.

 

[buschris]

I've found that it has nothing to do with the dpi per se, but how the app scales on the ROM. Something that deviates from Stock allows the issue to occur. Ultimately the creator of the app is to blame for not setting the app to scale properly. I have only one app that acts stupid

 

[WisdomWolf]

What app are we talking about now? The one that integrates dpi scaling customization into Cyanogenmod and it's derivatives? Or Android Auto?

 

[buschris]

yes, is there a particular app on the head unit giving you trouble? I have thought of sending the dev of the app I use (Socializer) an email to see if he can nail the issue down.

 

[adiliyo]

i'm pretty sure the OP (and me at least) are talking about the android auto app itself

 

[buschris]

same problem really, but is there any advantage to running the ROMS that don't display properly to the ones that do?

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