Android Auto launcher not showing sideloaded OsmAnd for Android 11 and above

[polarbearing]

There are several discussions where OsmAnd (plus or not) does not show in the Android Auto launcher when not installed directly from G. Playstore, i.e. installed from other stores (Fdroid, Aurora, Amazon) or sideloaded.
The behaviour and workaround depend on the Android version, but in Android 11 and above it differs between VLC and OsmAnd.
I compared an Android 7 and an Android 11 device.
My problem is that currently I cannot test nightly builds of OsmAnd under AA in Android 11, and AA itself stops working in Android 7.

---

Android 7 with the last AA version that works under Android 7
Install without package installer name:

adb push VLC_for_Android_v3.3.0_armeabi-v7a.apk /data/local/tmp/tmp.apk
adb shell
$ pm install /data/local/tmp/tmp.apk                                                               
Success

Now the VLC is listed in AA, but does not show in the launcher
We simply reinstall the same file and set the package installer name:

$ pm install -r -i "com.android.vending" /data/local/tmp/tmp.apk                                   
Success

Now the VLC also shows in the Launcher.
The same way, OsmAnd used to work until summer 2022 in AA. It still shows in the Launcher.

However now AA either throws timebombs, declaring things are too old, or throws communication error 14 claiming the clocks between car and phone were allegedly out of sync (which they are not)

---

In Android 11, apparently the package installer name is not needed anymore.

• AA version 8.0.623354, where AA has no app on the phone anymore, but a car screen only,
• The VLC is the latest downloaded from the videolan.org website. We explicitly set the installer name to nonsense,
• An Osmand nightly was installed previously with setting the playstore installer name:

adb push VLC-Android-3.5.2-arm64-v8a.apk /data/local/tmp/tmp.apk
adb shell
$ pm install  -i "bla.bla.bla" /data/local/tmp/temp.apk 
$ pm list packages -i |grep org 
package:org.videolan.vlc  installer=null
$ pm list packages -i |grep osm
package:net.osmand.plus  installer=com.android.vending

Now, while both VLC and OsmAnd+ are listed in the AA settings, only VLC is shown in the Launcher. Apparently, the installer name does not matter anymore.

AA developer setting "Unknown sources" is ticked. When I untick that, the VLC remains listed in AA, but disappears from the Launcher. I tick it again, it is back. Not so for OsmAnd.

While it is known that VLC and OsmAnd are in different categories, media and navigation, I see no reason why Google would it make easier for media apps to be sideloaded than for navigation apps.

Related Discussions:
#13514 OsmAnd+ (from Amazon App Store) does not connect to Android Auto
#3391 Android Auto ... in OsmAnd
Fdroid: Osmand~: 4.1.9 doesn't show up in Android Auto
microG + Android Auto fully working

[vshcherb]

That's quite unfortunate cause now we're stuck to Beta-Release cycle on Google Play

[polarbearing]

Unless we find the reason why a sideloaded VLC behaves different from a sideloaded OsmAnd.

[vshcherb]

You mentionned it's a media apps there were less strict and different perspective from the beginning. FOR a long time only waze and google was navigation only but vlc was already there

[UnlockAA]

Anyone who uses XPrivacyLua can unlock all apps for Android Auto with one hook. Currently I have created the hook for two versions. Maybe the other hooks are also interesting for you... https://github.com/UnlockAA/XPrivacyLuaHook

[kevinmcmurtrie]

Does the Play Store version support microSD card maps yet? I'm on F-Droid builds solely to avoid Google's monopolistic permissions rules.

[michaelblyons]

Root cause

The actual root cause is unclear, but Google is pretty explicit about what users should expect in Android Auto:

★ Important: Apps must meet the criteria listed in this page to qualify as an Android Auto or Android Automotive OS app on Google Play. Apps don't work with Android Auto unless they are installed from the Play Store or the ONE store.

Clearly this is not strictly followed for some apps, since people have had success sideloading messaging and media apps.

Workarounds

So far, I've only seen two major types of workaround.

Misrepresent the installer source

Since Google only allows this app when "installed from the Play Store," pretend that is the case. There are a couple ways to do this:

• Use adb to install the APK.

   adb push net.osmand.plus_421.apk /data/local/tmp
   adb shell pm install -i "com.android.vending" -r /data/local/tmp/net.osmand.plus_421.apk

• Use an installer app that (falsely) claims to be the Play Store.

Patch Android Auto to allow your app

If your phone is rooted and XPrivacy is installed, @UnlockAA has a module that will do this.

[starbrights]

If I remember right this adb install trick works only on <=A11, right?

[flo-at]

If I remember right this adb install trick works only on <=A11, right?

I'm using Android 12 and I used adb to spoof the installer. In the app's details it says that it was installed from the Play Store. It doesn't show up in Android Auto though. So I guess you're right, unfortunately. 😞

My phone is not rooted so I guess there aren't many options.

[nictakieg0]

Yeah, unfortunately it does not work in higher Android versions (Android 14). It's interesting though, it shows "installed from the Play Store" and still does not authorize it, how is it authorized then?

[flo-at]

Google recently changed the policy (https://developer.android.com/docs/quality-guidelines/car-app-quality). Now they don't mention that Android Auto only works for apps installed from the Play Store anymore. I cannot test it because I'm stuck at an older version of Android. If they still don't allow this, it probably violates the Digital Markets Act for installations in the EU.

Edit: here you can see the old version of their guidelines.

[nictakieg0]

Yeah AA works for some other apps (from other sources), but you need to enable developer mode...unfortunately maps are different and need to be installed from play store

[souija-wtf]

Looks like there is a difference between running on the SDK desktop-head-unit and a real car also. DHU is working with a nightly build perfectly well, but a real head unit isn't showing it at all, not even in the launcher config.

Running on GrapheneOS / Pixel 8 Pro / Sandboxed Google Play / APK installed OsmAnd. Not exactly standard, but something has changed recently on the AA side of things which breaks OsmAnd in this setup.

[khimaros]

i wonder if it is possible to launch an intent with adb, this might be an acceptable workaround for the lack of launcher icon.

[starbrights]

I think that one should help: https://github.com/sn-00-x/aa4mg

[M0P]

Hi everyone! I just wanted to share that I was able to get this to work by following this comment: https://gitlab.com/fdroid/fdroiddata/-/issues/2567#note_2042922228.

It uses https://github.com/chenxiaolong/AlterInstaller, and you'll need at least temporary root. I hope this helps!