Dash Mounting Google Nexus 7 (2013)

XDGFX · Sep 1, 2015

Intro:

Hi everyone! I have had my 1.6 MK4 Golf for about half a year, and have been working on it a fair bit recently. As a new driver I've decided that engine modifications are not really financially viable; so I have been modifying the interior in order to better suit me.

I installed two amplifiers in the boot to run a sub and the existing speakers - connected to an AUX coming from the front. I am very happy with the install, and the sound quality is much better than that coming from the OEM head unit.

After this install; the stock radio and CD player are no longer in use - so I have decided to make use of the space they are taking up - by installing an Android tablet! I had the Nexus lying around not getting any use, so I've taken up the project of installing it in the dash, and making it work as an in-car device should function.

This is a work in progress; I will start by explaining how I have modified the tablet and software, and as soon as the required parts arrive I will continue this post and update it with the techniques I've used to install the tablet.

Part 1, The Tablet:

Software:

The Nexus is running stock Android 5.1.1, with Nova Launcher. There is no need to modify it with a custom rom. Rooting may make some steps easier, however I did not root my device and managed to set it up as I wanted. In case you want to copy the home layout, I have included a backup of the Nova settings in a download at the bottom of this section.

Apps I used:

Nova (Prime to hide apps)

Tasker

Battery Saver Pro

Secure Settings

Home screen:

I decided to keep the home screen very clean - an analogue clock and four most used apps; Settings, Gmail, Chrome and Maps. The App Drawer is opened by pressing the 'Home' circle at the bottom. The wallpaper is plain black. There are no more home screens, and I have used Nova to lock this one so I can't accidentally move an app. I use the Rondo icon pack. In the settings I have disabled auto rotate; so the device is always locked in landscape.

App Drawer:

The App Drawer is very minimal as well - with only six apps I feel I will need to use while on the road. I have hidden most of the apps, including the apps already on the home screen. I can get to any app by swiping down on this screen, and searching for it. On this screen (Top left to right) I have the Google Calendar App, Facebook Messenger, Nova Settings, Google Play, Plex, and YouTube. Of course I will not be using these while driving - for safety.

Apps:

Google Maps is a given; this is what I will be using most on this device. I like the features of Waze, however I really dislike the design overall.

Battery Saver Pro - I use this to automatically enable Battery Saver mode whenever the screen is turned off. This is all part of the app - not much configuration was needed. I used adb to remove the orange bars whenever the device is in this mode, a tutorial on how to do this is contained inside the app. Secure settings - this is needed as an addition to tasker, to allow access to specific bluetooth connections on the device. Tasker is used for automation.

Automation:

I have a fair amount of automation on the device in order to make it work seamlessly when I enter the car. The first task I created was to force the tablet to connect to my phone as soon as power is connected. This should happen automatically as the two are paired, however it often does not work, and this is almost fail-safe. The task created made use of Secure Settings - namely BT Connect, to my specific device. The task is trigged by any power connection

The reason I need to connect my phone is because the tablet is only the WiFi model; I use bluetooth tethering on my phone to allow the tablet internet access. Bluetooth tethering on android can be enabled manually, however often it will disable automatically if bluetooth is switched off. I set a simple task in tasker on my phone to set bluetooth tethering on whenever bluetooth is enabled.

On the tablet, as the buttons will be obstructed when it is mounted, I decided to make sure the screen is always on. To do this I enabled developer mode on the tablet, and checked 'Stay Awake', which will not let the device sleep whenever power is connected.

As the device will be connected to the ignition live, the tablet screen will turn off, and batter saver will be enabled as mentioned before. In the event that the device runs out of battery in this mode (will be several weeks), I changed a setting, using adb, to make the device boot automatically when power is connected. This is done by unlocking the device with fastboot, and sending the command 'fastboot oem off-mode-charge 0' which will boot the device as long as there is enough power. To restore the original setting, run the command again replacing '0' with '1'.

There are a couple more automation settings I have applied, however they are not vital for this installation. Next I will go through the process of installing the device in the dash of my Golf! Thanks for following so far!

Download for Nova Backup:

Mediafire

Zippyshare

XDGFX · Sep 2, 2015

Part 2, The Install:

Today I decided to prepare the dash for installing the tablet, by cutting slots in the plastic where the tablet would go. I ended up completing the install - after a full day of working on it.

The first step in the process was to remove the interior panelling around the wheel, and glovebox to allow access to the centre console. I won't go through all these steps as there is a very detailed guide which I used here.

The cover for the heating controls was removed, and the cupholder was taken out - however I found later that this was not necessary.

I started using a handheld rotary tool to cut away the side of the plastic where the tablet would go. There is just enough overhang on the edge that I could fit the tablet there, with fairly easy cutting. I had to cut slightly further into the protruding mounting point to accommodate for the tablet's width.

I ended up switching from my rotary tool to a cordless drill, and using more durable cutting bits. I still managed to break two.

One side done! This was copied over to the second side. Slightly more plastic had to be taken out here, as the tablet bulges where the micro-usb connector is.

Initially I had intended to use a Qi charger to provide power to the device, however I found this was not very reliable; often a previously working position would not charge the device after being unplugged a few times. I decided to use the built-in charging port on the Nexus instead, as there is a small amount of space for a cable down the side of the plastic trim.

I had to take apart a micro-usb charger to get it to fit in the space, and managed to break one completely. The second one barely fits in the gap, however I got it working.

The tablet is already very secure, however duct tape made sure it will not fall out.

Fitted back in the car.

To supply power for the tablet, I soldered a USB port adapter onto the cigarette lighter port. Both parts had to be sanded beforehand to allow a clean solder. However it turned out that in VW's the cigarette lighter is constantly live. I connected a spare piece of wire to the ignition switched live originally for the head unit. Use tape, and shrink-wrap to cover all the bare connections.

After I confirmed it was fully functional, I could replace all the trim around the console.

Overall I am very happy with the install - I had to modify plans in order to get it working as intended, however the finished product is incredibly clean, and despite small gaps above and below the tablet, it does not look out of place. Since the install I have added a tasker profile which will lock the device as soon as power is disconnected. That way, even if the tablet is left in maps (which normally prevents sleep on battery power), it will not run flat.

isitafox · Sep 2, 2015

Looks tidy, good work!
One question though, what's the thing taped to the back of the tablet that the charger is plugged into?

XDGFX · Sep 2, 2015

Thanks! It's the Qi charger I originally intended to use to charge the device - as it meant there was no cable making it any longer. However this ended up proving unreliable so I scrapped the idea; its no longer there and there's a normal cable from the normal charging port

Sargo · Sep 5, 2015

isitafox said:
Looks tidy, good work!
One question though, what's the thing taped to the back of the tablet that the charger is plugged into?

Callum Morrison said:
Thanks! It's the Qi charger I originally intended to use to charge the device - as it meant there was no cable making it any longer. However this ended up proving unreliable so I scrapped the idea; its no longer there and there's a normal cable from the normal charging port.

Qi charger aka wireless charging possible unreliable because its very slow compared to charging through regular port.

Great guide, only suggestion I would have is to make sure that the USB adapter you use can provide at least 2AMPs or whatever is the maximum the tablet can be charged at or you might end up with a dead tablet - no maps, no music :angry:

On heavy use - maps, music, BT, BT tethering there is no way the tablet will last several weeks, especially if you do a lot of short journeys and it does not have enough time to recharge perhaps addition of a power bank would be beneficial so you could charge both at the same time but when you turn the ignition off the tablet would still charge from the power bank if needed.

Also you should mention that the software setup is optional and some of mentioned apps are not free, this would work just fine if you didn't follow the first part.

It might also be useful to have another tasker script to turn off all radios and change performance settings (lower cpu speed, different governor etc.) when the tablet is not charging but I guess the battery saver app does this for you, although i dont think you can modify these with out root permissions.

I do admit the software setup would make this more efficient.

Again great guide - finished product looks awsome mate.

used-to-own-a-vr6 · Sep 6, 2015

That looks great. Nice write up too.

XDGFX · Sep 6, 2015

Sargo said:
Qi charger aka wireless charging possible unreliable because its very slow compared to charging through regular port.

Great guide, only suggestion I would have is to make sure that the USB adapter you use can provide at least 2AMPs or whatever is the maximum the tablet can be charged at or you might end up with a dead tablet - no maps, no music :angry:

On heavy use - maps, music, BT, BT tethering there is no way the tablet will last several weeks, especially if you do a lot of short journeys and it does not have enough time to recharge perhaps addition of a power bank would be beneficial so you could charge both at the same time but when you turn the ignition off the tablet would still charge from the power bank if needed.

Also you should mention that the software setup is optional and some of mentioned apps are not free, this would work just fine if you didn't follow the first part.

It might also be useful to have another tasker script to turn off all radios and change performance settings (lower cpu speed, different governor etc.) when the tablet is not charging but I guess the battery saver app does this for you, although i dont think you can modify these with out root permissions.

I do admit the software setup would make this more efficient.

Again great guide - finished product looks awsome mate.

It does not say on the charger, but the amazon page states it is 1amp for each port. This may seem like not enough, however it seems to be working fine for now. I noticed when using the same adapter in the 12v socket (as intended) it will charge one phone fine, however when plugging in a second device, the charging will toggle every few seconds. It may be that the rates 1 amp is for when two devices are plugged in, and that changes when only one port is in use.

Software is completely optional, however I recommend a few of the settings; especially the power activated toggles as if there is no access to the hardware buttons, you may find yourself without any way to turn on the device. I imagine there are numerous workarounds; mine was just one method.

Some apps are not free, again though they are optional

I wanted some form of automation to save battery life when it wasn't plugged in - and the battery saver app automatically puts the device in Android L's battery saver mode; which certainly slows the CPU, as well as other things I'm not certain about. Next to no charge is used though between uses.

Thank you!

used-to-own-a-vr6 said:
That looks great. Nice write up too.

Thanks a lot!

Dash Mounting Google Nexus 7 (2013)

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