mib2q-carplay 1.1

mib2q-carplay 1.1

CarPlay and Android Auto on the Audi Virtual Cockpit for MHI2Q head units: the
phone's own map on the cluster, turn-by-turn guidance on the cluster and head-up display,
cover art, and a Green Engineering Menu page to manage it all from the car.

Warning

This modifies firmware processes and system configuration on your head unit. Use it
only on a unit you own, never install or test while driving, and accept that you do it
at your own risk. Everything is reversible with Uninstall (stock files are backed up
on the unit).

What's new in 1.1

Android Auto support

• Google Maps / Waze map on the Virtual Cockpit. Android Auto gets a second display
  for the cluster: an independent map stream, separate from the main screen. It is shown
  1:1 on the VC (no scaling) and follows the cockpit layout (Large, Classic, Sport).
• Turn-by-turn from Android Auto: maneuver arrow, distance bar, lanes and route text on
  the VC and the head-up display, the same as CarPlay. This also works without the
  cluster map.
• Android Auto cover art on the VC media screen.
• Audi navigation keeps working while an Android phone is connected: the cluster and HUD
  are taken over only while an Android Auto route is running.
• CarPlay and Android Auto share one install; the head unit switches automatically with
  the phone that is connected.

Other changes

• New menu switches: Android Auto cluster map ON / OFF and Touchpad as D-pad ON /
  OFF. With the touchpad switch off, the MMI touchpad goes to CarPlay the stock way.
• Save logs also copies the Android Auto receiver (gal, libautoreceiver.so) to the
  card once, so the cluster map can be enabled for other firmware.
• Installer: re-running it no longer adds blank lines to smartphone_integrator.json.

What works and what does not

Tested on an Audi A5 (F5) with MU1329 (MHI2Q_ER_AUG22_P5152).

	CarPlay	Android Auto
Phone's map on the Virtual Cockpit	✅	✅
Map follows the cockpit layout (wide / classic / sport)	✅	✅
Maneuver arrow, distance, lanes, route text on the VC	✅	✅
Head-up display guidance	✅	✅
Cover art on the VC	✅	✅
Steering-wheel roller zooms the cluster map	✅	❌ Android Auto has no zoom command for its cluster map. The roller only moves the VC scale bar.
MMI touchpad as D-pad	✅ (switchable)	stock Android Auto behaviour
Wireless adapter	main screen only (see limitations)	not tested

Requirements

Head unit	Audi MHI2Q with Virtual Cockpit. Developed and tested on an Audi A5 (F5) with MU1329. Update to the latest firmware first.
Tools	M.I.B. (More Incredible Bash) working on the unit, access to the Green Engineering Menu, a FAT32 SD card
Phone	iPhone with CarPlay (USB cable for the cluster map; tested with iOS 27), or an Android phone with Android Auto

Android Auto cluster map on other firmware: the map needs a profile for the unit's Android
Auto receiver (gal). MU1329 and MU0918 are built in. On other firmware Android Auto stays
stock on the main screen, while turn-by-turn and cover art still work. Send the folder from
Save logs to get a profile added.

What is on the SD card

SD card root/
├─ mod/                     first install: M.I.B. "Run Custom Script"
│  ├─ custom.sh, command.sh   setup (installs everything + the menu in one run)
│  ├─ install/                installer
│  └─ menu/                   Green Engineering Menu installer
├─ carplay/                 the release (also used by the menu's "Install / update")
│  └─ 14 program files + VERSION
└─ (optional) carplay_safearea.conf, carplay_safearea_small.conf   your own layout values

extras/MIB-mods/ in the download holds the individual M.I.B. scripts for use without the
menu (copy one mod/ folder to the card at a time).

Install (first time)

1. Back up the SD card's current mod/ folder if it has one.
2. Copy the contents of SD-CARD/ to the root of the M.I.B. SD card: mod/ and
   carplay/ must sit directly in the card root.
3. Disconnect the phone. Insert the card.
4. Green Engineering Menu -> M.I.B. -> Advanced Settings -> Run Custom Script
   (older M.I.B. release zips: Run individual script).
5. Wait for DONE. mib2q-carplay 1.1 installed. A WARN line names a step that was
   skipped; a FAILED line means nothing was changed.
6. Keep the phone disconnected, wait a few seconds, then reboot the head unit normally
   (not the forced button combination right after copying files).
7. Connect the phone. The cluster shows the phone's map; the Green Engineering Menu now has
   CarPlay-RGI.

Update from 1.0

1. Copy the new SD-CARD/ contents to the card: carplay/ and mod/, because the menu
   has new buttons.
2. Run step 4 of Install once (this updates the release and the menu together).
3. Reboot the head unit.

The installer now also switches the Android Auto launcher in smartphone_integrator.json.
Uninstall restores the original file.

Uninstall

Green Engineering Menu -> CarPlay-RGI -> Uninstall CarPlay (restore stock), then
Remove this menu, then reboot. Without the menu: copy extras/MIB-mods/uninstall/mod/
to the card as mod/ and run it from M.I.B. Stock configuration files are restored from
the backups the installer made.

Green Engineering Menu: CarPlay-RGI

Settings marked next connection apply when the phone is reconnected; no reboot needed.

Button	What it does
Install / update CarPlay (release on SD)	Installs the release from carplay/ (or mod/carplay/) on the card. Reboot afterwards.
Save logs to SD (+ verbose on)	Saves all logs to carplay_logs/NNN/ on the card and switches detailed logging on. For a bug report: press it, reconnect, reproduce, press it again, send the newest folder.
Cluster video (AltScreen) ON / OFF	CarPlay: offer the cluster screen to the iPhone (default ON). OFF = no CarPlay map on the cluster; the arrow still works. Next connection.
Route guidance ON / OFF	Turn-by-turn arrow, route text and HUD guidance, for CarPlay and Android Auto (default ON).
Android Auto cluster map ON / OFF	New. Offers the second display to Android Auto (default ON). OFF = stock Android Auto; the arrow, HUD and cover art still work. Next connection.
Touchpad as D-pad ON / OFF	New. CarPlay: finger drags on the MMI touchpad move the selection (default ON). OFF = the touchpad goes to CarPlay as on the stock unit. Next connection.
Calibration grid ON / OFF (toggle)	Draws a coloured ruler over the cluster map (lines every 60 px) to measure the visible area.
Apply SafeArea from SD (carplay_safearea.conf)*	CarPlay: applies your own layout values from the card root: carplay_safearea.conf (wide map) and/or carplay_safearea_small.conf (classic view). Format: four lines x=, y=, w=, h=. Next connection.
Reset SafeArea to built-in	Back to the built-in layout values. Next connection.
Classic-view SafeArea ON / OFF (2 ViewAreas)	CarPlay: toggles the separate classic-view layout (on by default). Next connection.
Re-request cluster map (test app switching)	CarPlay diagnostic: asks the phone for the cluster map again in the running session.
HW decoder ON / OFF (toggle, default ON)	CarPlay: hardware or software decoding of the cluster video. Next connection.
HW decoder probe (OMX, logs only)	Diagnostic: logs the hardware decoder's capabilities; then Save logs.
Copy stock lsd.jxe to SD	Copies the stock HMI file to the card (read-only on the unit; needed only to build from source).
Uninstall CarPlay (restore stock)	Removes everything (CarPlay and Android Auto parts) and restores the stock configuration. Reboot afterwards.
Remove this menu	Deletes the CarPlay-RGI page (gone after the next reboot).

Known limitations

• No zoom of the Android Auto cluster map. Android Auto offers no zoom command for its
  cluster display and ignores the roller there. The roller zooms only the hidden Audi map,
  so the VC scale bar still moves.
• Android Auto cluster map is always dark. The light theme on the cluster display
  crashed Android Auto on the phone in upstream testing.
• Android Auto size and density are fixed when the phone connects; layouts switch live.
• Wireless CarPlay dongles do not support the cluster map. The tested dongle always
  identifies itself as an iPhone 7 on iOS 14.4, never requests the cluster stream and does
  not forward CarPlay route guidance, so it gets standard CarPlay on the main screen only.
• The CarPlay turn-by-turn arrow needs an app that sends CarPlay route guidance (Apple
  Maps, Google Maps; Waze does not). The cluster map works with any CarPlay navigation app.
• The phone decides which navigation app is drawn on the cluster; the car cannot pick one.
• Layout values are the built-in defaults for the B9 cluster. Other clusters may need their
  own values (see Calibration grid and Apply SafeArea from SD).

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Try
No CarPlay map on the cluster	USB cable (not a dongle); Cluster video ON; reconnect the phone.
No Android Auto map on the cluster	Android Auto cluster map ON; reconnect; Save logs and look for init enabled in aa_cluster_hook.log (no profile for your firmware yet if it says unknown_receiver).
Cluster map black	CarPlay: HW decoder ON / OFF; Save logs.
Android Auto drops after connecting	Android Auto cluster map OFF (stock Android Auto), then Save logs and report.
No arrow / HUD	Route guidance ON; for Android Auto, start navigation in Android Auto itself.
Anything else	Save logs to SD (twice, as described a...

mib2q-carplay 1.0

mib2q-carplay 1.0

CarPlay on the Audi Virtual Cockpit for MHI2Q head units: the CarPlay map on the
cluster, turn-by-turn guidance on the cluster and head-up display, cover art, and a
Green Engineering Menu page to manage it all from the car.

Warning

This modifies firmware processes and system configuration on your head unit. Use it
only on a unit you own, never install or test while driving, and accept that you do it
at your own risk. Everything is reversible with Uninstall (stock files are backed up
on the unit).

Features

CarPlay map on the Virtual Cockpit

• The navigation map of your CarPlay app (Apple Maps, Google Maps, Waze, ...) is shown on
  the Virtual Cockpit, next to CarPlay on the main screen.
• Follows the cluster layout. Switching the VC between the wide map and the classic
  view (big dials, small map window) moves the map's arrow and turn card into the visible
  area automatically.
• Steering-wheel zoom. The scroll wheel zooms the CarPlay map; the scale readout on
  the VC follows the steps.
• The navigating app stays on the cluster while you use another app on the main screen
  (iOS behaviour, kept intact).
• Hardware video decoding (Qualcomm decoder, about 8x less CPU than software). If it
  ever fails it switches itself off and the software decoder takes over.
• Leaving CarPlay returns the cluster to the native Audi map.

Turn-by-turn and more (also without the cluster map)

• 3D maneuver arrow with lanes, distance, arrival time and remaining distance on the cluster.
• Route text on the VC (next road or exit sign); OK on the steering wheel toggles
  arrival time / time left.
• Maneuver icons, lanes and distance on the head-up display.
• Cover art on the cluster media screen.
• Parking (PDC) popups no longer hide CarPlay; the MMI touchpad works as a D-pad in CarPlay.

Green Engineering Menu: "CarPlay-RGI"

Installed together with CarPlay. Every function is a button; no SD-card script swapping.

Wireless CarPlay dongles

Dongles are detected and get standard CarPlay on the main screen. See Known limitations.

Requirements

Head unit	Audi MHI2Q with Virtual Cockpit. Developed and tested on an Audi A5 (F5) with MU1329. Update to the latest firmware first.
Tools	M.I.B. (More Incredible Bash) working on the unit, access to the Green Engineering Menu, a FAT32 SD card
Phone	iPhone with CarPlay. The cluster map needs a USB cable (not a wireless dongle). Tested with iOS 27.

What is on the SD card

SD card root/
├─ mod/                     first install: M.I.B. "Run Custom Script"
│  ├─ custom.sh, command.sh   setup (installs CarPlay + the menu in one run)
│  ├─ install/                CarPlay installer
│  └─ menu/                   Green Engineering Menu installer
├─ carplay/                 the release (also used by the menu's "Install / update")
│  └─ 11 program files + VERSION
└─ (optional) carplay_safearea.conf, carplay_safearea_small.conf   your own layout values

extras/MIB-mods/ in the download holds the individual M.I.B. scripts for use without the
menu (copy one mod/ folder to the card at a time).

Install (first time)

1. Back up the SD card's current mod/ folder if it has one.
2. Copy the contents of SD-CARD/ to the root of the M.I.B. SD card: mod/ and
   carplay/ must sit directly in the card root.
3. Disconnect CarPlay. Insert the card.
4. Green Engineering Menu -> M.I.B. -> Advanced Settings -> Run Custom Script
   (older M.I.B. release zips: Run individual script).
5. Wait for DONE. mib2q-carplay 1.0 installed. A WARN line names a step that was
   skipped; a FAILED line means nothing was changed.
6. Keep CarPlay disconnected, wait a few seconds, then reboot the head unit normally
   (not the forced button combination right after copying files).
7. Connect the iPhone by USB. The cluster shows the CarPlay map when navigation (or the map)
   is active; the Green Engineering Menu now has CarPlay-RGI.

Update to a later release

1. Replace carplay/ on the card with the new one (keep mod/ only if the new release notes
   say the menu is unchanged; otherwise copy the new mod/ too and run step 4 of Install).
2. Green Engineering Menu -> CarPlay-RGI -> Install / update CarPlay.
3. Reboot the head unit.

Uninstall

Green Engineering Menu -> CarPlay-RGI -> Uninstall CarPlay (restore stock), then
Remove this menu, then reboot. Without the menu: copy extras/MIB-mods/uninstall/mod/
to the card as mod/ and run it from M.I.B. Stock configuration files are restored from
the backups the installer made.

Green Engineering Menu: CarPlay-RGI

Settings marked next connection apply when the phone is reconnected; no reboot needed.

Button	What it does
Install / update CarPlay (release on SD)	Installs the release from carplay/ (or mod/carplay/) on the card. Reboot afterwards.
Save logs to SD (+ verbose on)	Saves all logs to carplay_logs/NNN/ on the card and switches detailed logging on. For a bug report: press it, reconnect, reproduce, press it again, send the newest folder.
Cluster video (AltScreen) ON	Offers the cluster screen to the phone (default). Next connection.
Cluster video (AltScreen) OFF	Stock CarPlay negotiation: no CarPlay map on the cluster (turn-by-turn arrow still works). Next connection.
Route guidance ON	Turn-by-turn arrow, route text and HUD guidance from CarPlay (default).
Route guidance OFF	Cluster/HUD guidance takeover off; the cluster map video is unaffected.
Calibration grid ON / OFF (toggle)	Draws a coloured ruler over the cluster map (lines every 60 px) to measure the visible area.
Apply SafeArea from SD (carplay_safearea.conf)*	Applies your own layout values from the card root: carplay_safearea.conf (wide map) and/or carplay_safearea_small.conf (classic view). Format: four lines x=, y=, w=, h=. Next connection.
Reset SafeArea to built-in	Back to the built-in layout values. Next connection.
Classic-view SafeArea ON / OFF (2 ViewAreas)	Toggles the separate classic-view layout (on by default). Off = one layout for both views. Next connection.
Re-request cluster map (test app switching)	Diagnostic: asks the phone for the cluster map again in the running session.
HW decoder ON / OFF (toggle, default ON)	Hardware or software decoding of the cluster video. Next connection.
HW decoder probe (OMX, logs only)	Diagnostic: logs the hardware decoder's capabilities; then Save logs.
Copy stock lsd.jxe to SD	Copies the stock HMI file to the card (read-only on the unit; needed only to build from source).
Uninstall CarPlay (restore stock)	Removes everything and restores the stock configuration. Reboot afterwards.
Remove this menu	Deletes the CarPlay-RGI page (gone after the next reboot).

Known limitations

• Wireless dongles do not support the cluster map. The tested dongle always identifies
  itself as an iPhone 7 on iOS 14.4, never requests the cluster stream and does not forward
  CarPlay route guidance, so it gets standard CarPlay on the main screen only. Use a USB
  cable for the cluster map.
• The turn-by-turn arrow needs an app that sends CarPlay route guidance (Apple Maps,
  Google Maps; Waze does not). The cluster map works with any CarPlay navigation app.
• The phone decides which navigation app is drawn on the cluster (the one navigating, else
  the last one used); the car cannot pick an app.
• The cluster map runs at the frame rate the phone sends (about 16-22 fps observed).
• Layout values are the built-in defaults for the B9 cluster (wide: 360,87 720x297;
  classic: 520,87 400x297). Other clusters may need their own values (see Calibration grid
  and Apply SafeArea from SD).

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Try
No CarPlay map on the cluster	USB cable (not a dongle); Cluster video ON; reconnect the phone.
Cluster map black	HW decoder ON / OFF to switch to software decoding; Save logs.
Dongle does not connect	Make sure this release is installed (dongles are detected automatically).
Anything else	Save logs to SD (twice, as described above) and report with the carplay_logs/NNN folder.

Credits and license

The biggest thanks go to
Mr-MIBonk/M.I.B._More-Incredible-Bash,
the base this mod is built on: every install, update and uninstall runs through M.I.B.

Also built on luka-dev/mib2q-carplay-rgi (base
hook, Java patch, maneuver renderer, installer) and
harman-f/mhi2_altscreen_carplay (cluster
video hook), with findings from
joeyQuery/MHI2-altScreen and
yuedizhibo/MHI2Q-CarPlay-AltScreen.
See LICENSE and THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md in this download. carplay_hook.jar contains
modified classes of the Audi/e.solutions HMI and is not covered by the GPL (see the notices).