{{ :android_auto.jpg?nolink|}}
====== Android Auto ====== 

<wrap info>Only available with **[[premium|Premium Gold]]**</wrap>

----

This guide explains how to use Locus Map on your car's display via Android Auto — choosing a map, searching for destinations, navigating, and controlling the app from your phone while connected.

===== Before you start =====

  * Make sure Locus Map is installed and set up on your phone.
  * Connect your phone to your vehicle via Android Auto (wired or wireless, depending on the car).
  * Launch Locus Map from the Android Auto app menu on the vehicle's display.

===== Displaying the map =====

==== Choosing which map to show ====

Locus Map can display any map you have available in the mobile app — LoMaps (online or offline), satellite imagery, or maps from third-party providers.

  * By default, the map is selected automatically based on your phone settings.
  * To pick a different map, open the map selector directly in Android Auto.\\ {{ :manual:user_guide:android_auto02.jpg?nolink |}}

<WRAP center round tip>
**Recommended:** Use the **offline version of LoMap**. Offline maps remain available even when you lose signal, and they support rotating place names to match your direction of travel.
</WRAP>

==== Controlling the map ====

On the **vehicle display**, you can:

  * **Pan and recenter** the map
  * **Zoom** in and out
  * Enable or disable map **rotation**\\ {{ :manual:user_guide:android_auto03.jpg?nolink |}}

<WRAP center round info>
During active navigation, the **map refreshes once per second**, in line with the location update rate.
</WRAP>

=== Automatic zoom during navigation ===

When navigation starts, Locus Map switches to the **Auto preset** and restores your previous settings when navigation ends.

To **customize** automatic zoom by speed:

  - Open Locus Map on your phone.
  - Find the [[.:settings:presets|Auto preset]] in the app settings.
  - Adjust the [[.:settings:control#automatic_zooming|zoom-by-speed behavior]] — it will apply the next time you navigate via Android Auto.

=== Day and night mode ===

By default, Locus Map switches between light and dark modes based on the **lighting conditions reported by the vehicle.** You can change this behavior in the [[.:settings:control#dark_theme|app settings]] if you prefer a fixed mode.

<WRAP center round info>
Note: dark mode currently renders the map as an inversion of the light theme, which may not look ideal with every map type. A dedicated dark LoMap theme is planned for a future release.
</WRAP>


==== Showing waypoints, routes, and overlays ====

You can display extra content on top of the base map:

  * **Custom waypoints, including geocaches** — tap one to see its basic info or start turn-by-turn navigation to it.
  * **Planned routes** prepared in the mobile app or web planner.
  * **Auxiliary graphics**: time and distance circles, azimuth and direction lines, and dynamic elevation data near the cursor.
  * **Map overlays**, for example, cadastral data from the WMS/WMTS library.

===== Searching for a destination =====
{{ :manual:user_guide:android_auto04.jpg?nolink |}}\\ 
Locus Map performs a **full-text search for points of interest** (gas stations, restaurants, accommodation, campgrounds, etc.) and for **mailing addresses**.

  * **When stationary**: use the keyboard or voice search via the vehicle's audio system.
  * **While driving**: only **voice search is available**, for safety reasons.
  * **Search history is shared with the mobile app**, so anything you searched for earlier on your phone shows up in Android Auto autocomplete.

**Once you've picked a result, you can start turn-by-turn navigation straight away.**

===== Navigating =====

You can navigate either to a **single destination** or along a **pre-planned route**.\\ {{ :manual:user_guide:android_auto01.jpg?nolink |}}

==== Choosing a destination ====

There are three ways to pick a destination in Android Auto:

  * **Select a custom waypoint** (for example, a geocache).
  * **Search for a place or address**.
  * **Tap directly on the map** — Locus Map fills in the address automatically.

==== Route calculation modes ====

Two modes are available:

  * **Fast** — prioritizes the shortest travel time.
  * **Economy** — optimizes for fuel efficiency.

The app **remembers your last choice** and confirms it automatically after 5 seconds the next time you start navigation. You can **change the mode before it confirms**.

===== Using your phone and Android Auto at the same time =====

Locus Map can be controlled on **both the vehicle display and your phone simultaneously**. Use this when you want to:

  * **Change** the destination or navigation content on the fly from your phone.
  * Use features that **aren't available on the vehicle screen**, such as **track recording**.