How to give your old Android tablet a second life as an Android Auto display
It’s easy to feel like every Android owner drives a vehicle with Android Auto built in. That’s far from true, but the good news is it’s easier than you might think to get Android Auto into your car. In fact, all you need is a cheap tablet—even an Amazon Fire tablet.
For those who aren’t familiar, Android Auto is not a separate entity from the Android that you see on your phone’s screen. Android Auto is on your phone, just waiting to be projected onto a display that can receive it. That’s what’s built into the infotainment system on many cars, and it can work over USB or wirelessly.
Think about it like playing a game from your PC on your living room TV with Steam Link. The game is visible on the TV, and you can play it with controllers connected to the TV. However, the game itself is obviously on the PC, and that’s where all the processing power is coming from. Android Auto works in a very similar manner, but there’s not an official Steam Link-like app for Android Auto. We need some way to mimic the connection.
Google killed Android Auto for phones, but you can bring it back with an app
You may already know that Android Auto lives on your phone, but it’s not officially possible to literally use Android Auto on your phone’s screen. I’ve always thought that was a shame since so many people drive around with their phone in a mount and Google Maps open. Why shouldn’t the phone interface adapt to the car? Turns out it can.
As I mentioned at the top, I recently wrote about using an Android phone itself as an Android Auto display. The app I used for that can also act as our Steam Link-like receiver on a secondary device, and I’ve since found an even better version of it.
Despite my positive experience with the Headunit Reloaded app, it has very poor reviews in the Play Store (2/5). A couple of readers pointed out that there is another, more reliable app based on the same project—Headunit by Mike Reid—called Headunit Revived. I’ve been happy with this app so far, and it has some bonus features that I really like.
Setting things up is pretty easy. First, install Headunit Revived on the tablet and WiFi Helper on your phone. Headunit Revived has a “Quick Setup” process that asks a few questions to configure the experience to your tablet—display size, device orientation, etc. Read our guide on getting the Play Store up and running on a Fire Tablet if that’s your device of choice.
Next, go into the Settings and select “Wireless Helper” for the Wireless Mode. I’ve found this to be the most reliable option. Use “WiFi Direct (P2P)” as the Helper Connection Strategy. Now, you can go back to the main screen and tap the purple “WiFi” button.
Grab your phone and open the WiFi Helper app. Make sure “Wi-Fi Direct” is the Connection Mode, and the “Wi-Fi Direct Device Name” matches what you see at the top of the Headunit Revived screen. Tap the “Start Android Auto” button at the top of the screen. It may take a few seconds, but the Android Auto interface should launch on the tablet.
With the basic connection set up and working, we can change some settings to improve the process every time. The best workflow is to have both apps automatically run when the devices connect via Bluetooth. This way, you can simply get in your car, and the process will be automated.
If this method doesn’t work for you—it doesn’t work with my Fire Tablet—there’s a second-best. In Headunit Revived, go to “Auto-Connect Settings” and make sure “Auto-Connect Last Session” is enabled and at the top of the list. This will make the app automatically search for your phone when you open it. To expedite things on your phone, use the “Start Searching” app shortcut for WiFi Helper.
In terms of audio output, all you need to do is pair your tablet to your car’s Bluetooth or connect it with an aux cable. This is a cool way to put an old Android tablet to good use. It doesn’t really even matter how powerful it is; your phone will do the hard work.
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