Found a cheap alternative for wireless Android Auto for under Rs 2000

It works flawlessly with the Seltos 10.25" head unit and Samsung Galaxy (S21).

BHPian anandjm recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Looks like we could use Rpi Zero for wireless Android Auto.

There even is a GitHub project

Considering a Pi zero 2 w plus case costs less than ₹ 2,000, this is significantly cheaper than commercial adapters.

Will probably try this sometime over the weekend.

Here's what BHPian dipdawiz had to say on the matter:

Many many thanks for the post.

Excellent find and I could not wait but to try out ASAP; as many of my friends always asks me for wireless android dongle but most of them do not want to tryout spending 5~6k or more for Carlinkit or other Chinese brands. So wanted to check as soon as possible after I saw your post yesterday evening; if this works. Hence just tried out today. It works flawlessly with Seltos 10.25" head unit and Samsung Galaxy (s21). Here is what your need and I did

1. Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W (RPi zero W also works)
2. 4gb SD card
3. USB to Micro USB data wire
4. A PC or Mac for obvious reasons (I used windows PC)

Now
1. head to https://github.com/nisargjhaveri/Wir...roidAutoDongle
2. download prebuild image from this location https://github.com/nisargjhaveri/Wir...ongle/releases
- make sure you download appropriate image for your Rpi model, like for Pi Zero W download raspberrypi0w-sdcard.img.xz; for Pi zero 2 W download raspberrypizero2w-sdcard.img.xz
3. I used Raspberry PI Imager, open the app

4. Select Device, for me it was Raspberry PI Zero 2 W.

5. Then in "Choose OS" select custom, browse the image you downloaded and open

6. Inset the SD card in your PC/Mac and then click on "Choose Storage" and select the SD card. Make sure you are selecting correct one if there are multiple connected to your laptop/PC.

7. Now click Next, it would ask to apply some custom setting select "No" and then you would see an warning that data would be erased from the SD card, select "Yes"; it would start writing the image into the SD card. Once the software say it is done, remove the SD card.

8. Insert the SD card in RPi SD card slot. Head to your car. Switch on. Connect the micro USB cable to RPi OTG USB (marked as USB, not PWR IN) and USB A side to your car's AA USB Port.

Make sure in your mobile both Bluetooth and WIFI is enabled and "Wireless AA" is enabled in Android Auto settings.

9. First time it takes around a minute and you would see "AA Wireless Dongle" available in your Bluetooth devices list on your mobile. Pair with it.

10. Rest of the things happens automatically, from now on communication is on WIFI and it takes around 30~35sec to connect from ignition to display AA.

Here is a video showing how it is working, from power on to boot up, to show up on screen and maps and YouTube music, it was lag free: https://youtu.be/4p3sgKSyeUE

As the developer of the project says, it is not tested for all mobile or many head units, there is a possibility it would not work for you. Also for my use one limitation I found is it does not auto shutdown like AA Wireless a dedicated dongle. So it would drain your battery if stays powered on. However with proper collaboration with developer I hope things would be sorted out and new features implemented. Also I did not try all functions nor I used it for long enough, so long term usability is yet to be seen. But a nice project for DIY fans.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.