I added Android Auto to an old car for just $4

I've gotten so used to Android Auto that I've come to depend on it a bit. That is fine; most of the time I use a car with Android Auto built in, so it doesn't matter how much I like using it.

But sometimes I have to use a car from the Dark Ages that lacks any sort of Android Auto support. In those cursed times, I'm forced to use regular Android for my navigation, with standard Google Maps.

Like some sort of peasant. It's just not on. Where are my chunky buttons, charming taskbar widgets, and Coolwalk interface?

I could buy one of those car displays you can use for Android Auto, but I had a better idea. What if I used an old device, like a phone or tablet, as my Android Auto display?

Well, I can, and I did. Here's how it works.

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Setting it up is less work than you might think

But it still needs some time, so set it up in advance

To get this going, you'll need an app that fools your phone into starting Android Auto elsewhere. That app is called Open Headunit. You can buy it on the Google Play Store for $4, or you can download it from the developer's GitHub for free. Your choice.

When you have it, start the app and go through the setup process.

If you're using the GitHub version of the app, you might have issues giving the app permission to Display over other apps. No problem, you can force Android to give the app permissions, even if it really doesn't want to. This is at your own risk.

1. Go to the Apps section in Settings and find Open Headunit.
2. Tap the three dots in the upper-right corner, and select Allow restricted settings.
3. Go back to your app, and you should be able to grant it the permissions you need.

As a quick aside, it's worth going back into the Settings menu after you've finished to tweak the Pixel Density (DPI) setting again. The app usually recommends you use a low DPI, and it's wrong.

I found that a low DPI made my screen barely usable, and it introduced so much lag it was impossible to use. Go back into the setting and choose the Automatic setting that matches the DPI to your phone's density.

You'll also need to activate Developer mode for Android Auto. You can do this by following these steps:

1. Open Android Auto settings by going to Apps > Android Auto > Configure in Android Auto.
2. Scroll down to Version, and tap it ten times in a row.

That's it; it's that simple.

After that, boot up Open Headunit and tap Self Mode to start the process. It'll boot you into the Android Auto settings. Tap the three dots in the upper-right corner, and select Start head unit server.

Now go back to Open Headunit, and tap Self Mode again. Android Auto should start up.

I used my phone for this process, but there's no reason you couldn't use an old tablet or phone.

Open Headunit allows you to use another device as a display for your main phone by connecting them with a USB-C cable. So you can have the huge Android Auto display of your dreams, as long as you have a way to mount it to your dashboard.

It works just like Android Auto

Just don't use it in portrait mode

I took my new Android Auto-ified phone out for a spin, and ... well, it's Android Auto.

There's not a lot to report, which is a good thing. It performed largely as I would expect Android Auto to, though there are a few caveats.

I tried it on my Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, which may have been a mistake. First I tried it in portrait mode, which was possible, but a bit weird. There wasn't quite enough horizontal space, which made my beloved taskbar widgets useless. Rotating it to horizontal in the settings helped.

The other issue was the size. Even the smallest in-car display is much larger than my Z Fold 8's outer display, and that lack of space would have made tinkering with settings on the go difficult. A larger device, like a tablet, would likely be a better idea.

Still, even with those problems, Open Headunit worked pretty flawlessly. I was impressed.

Just $4 to add Android Auto to your car

It beats buying a display

If you're anything like me, you're constantly wondering what you can do with old electronic devices. Now there's one more use for an aging device, and it's a good one.

Using Open Headunit to add Android Auto to a car that doesn't have it isn't a pipe dream — it's very doable, and when you get past the somewhat complex setup process, it's easy to use.

So, if you have an older tablet or phone that you don't use anymore, grab a car cradle and a USB-C cable, and give it a go. Android Auto is great, and it's worth adding.