CarStream (previously YoutubeAuto) for Android Auto APK download and setup

2,440 Replies

Play Youtube Video on Android Auto using this app

Screen Shot 2017-12-31 at 10.04.28 AMVersion history :

29th Dec 2017 : v1.0 released

29th Dec 2017 : v1.0.1 released to fix install errors on Android API level < 21

30th Dec 2017 : v1.0.2 released with safety disabled. Safety was showing blank screen when fullscreen. Controller support for nontouch screen still pending.

30th Dec 2017 : v1.1.0 Controller support for non touch devices done. Includes fullscreen and back nav support as well.

1st Jan 2018 : v1.1.1 Fix for app not installed on Marshmallow and lower Android phones. Install this version if you face “App not installed” error

1st Jan 2018 : v1.1.2 Stability fixes and support to resume video if was playing before app was minimized.

2nd Jan 2018 : v1.1.3 Ability to open any website via “Google search” option. Also send any custom url from the phone app. The car app remembers the last url visited and loads it automatically.

2nd Jan 2018 : v1.2.0 Speech to text for youtube searches. Minor fix to controller inputs.

2nd Jan 2018 : v1.2.1 Possible first fix for audio volume not controllable.

3rd Jan 2018 : v1.2.2 Full screen videos can be toggled more easily due to floating toolbar. Speech recognising view not hiding bug fixed. Its clickable just in case it doesnt hide. Progressbar to show page load progress.

3rd Jan 2018 : v1.2.3 Possible second fix for audio volume not controllable on some cars

5th Jan 2018 : v1.2.4 Fixed black screen which appears sometimes. Possible third fix for volume control in some systems.

6th Jan 2018 : v1.3.0Night mode support for Youtube added. Switch on your headlights to see the magic.

9th Jan 2018 : v1.3.1 Full screen mode now persists across videos. No need to switch fullscreen mode for each video on a playlist. It also stays on across app launches. You also should see a slight page speed boost.

9th Jan 2018: v1.3.2 Initial implementation of playing local offline videos/music/images. To enable, open phone app, grant “external storage” permission, then long press on the home icon (to the right of back button) on the car to open the SDcard folders. Now you can select a file and play it fullscreen. (Demo)

12th Jan 2018: v1.4.0 Now you should be able to use steering mounted controls (for next and previous video). This update also allows a “somewhat” background playback which allows you to listen to the audio without the video, but the catch is that you have to select the video first using the UI and then switch to background mode. This update should fix any volume control issues you have been facing in the past. (Watch the Demo)

12th Jan 2018: v1.4.1 If you have crashed when accessing youtube purchased videos, this build will fix it.

13th Jan 2018: v1.4.2 Please uninstall all previous builds and install this one if “youtube auto” has suddenly disappeared from Android auto (from last 1-2 days). If you dont uninstall previous builds, there is a chance that 2 similar looking apps show up.

This is possible because Google has blocked my previous app. Still not 100% sure.

13th Jan 2018: v1.4.3 About link redirecting to 404 page fixed.

14th Jan 2018: v1.4.4 Safety Warning popup added which pops up everytime you start driving. This warning will disappear if you use handbrake/parking mode.

15th Jan 2018: v1.5.0Aspect ratio support to remove black bars. You can toggle between aspect ratios in full screen mode. Also irritating notifications have been removed.

15th Jan 2018: v1.5.1Fullscreen controls support for controllers, use right,left,up and center to seek, change aspect ratio and play/pause.

15th Jan 2018: v1.5.2Bug fixes for “I understand the risk” not clickable for some users. Fixed steering mounted controls not working the first time.

15th Jan 2018: v1.5.4Fix for “I understand the risk” button not clickable. Irritating notifications are back because without them there is no way to make steering controls work reliably. Will be fixed soon

18th Jan 2018: v1.6.0Youtube auto renamed to CarStream with new logo. Looks like google bannned again. So if previous app is not showing up, use this app.

19th Jan 2018: v1.6.1Youtube auto renamed to CarStream with new logo. Looks like google bannned again. So if previous app is not showing up, use this app.

25th Jan 2018: v1.7.0Bookmarks support added. Click on last icon on the top toolbar. Long press on a bookmark to delete. Demo

25th Jan 2018: v1.7.1 Italian and chinese translations added. Check the credits section for how to add more languages. Thanks to everyone (mentioend in credits) for translating.

26th Jan 2018: v1.7.2 External SD card support works with most devices. Look for the ‘external storage’ bookmark. French translation added.

27th Jan 2018: v1.7.3 Basic keyboard input added. Translations to finnish, portuguese, danish, turkish, french added. Thank you everyone

6th Feb 2018: v1.8.0 More translations added. Revamped local offline player. Now play SD Card videos with next and previous support. Also supports formats like MKV. Also Bookmarks issues have been fixed. For a full list of supported formats read ‘Standalone container formats’ on this page

6th Feb 2018: v1.8.1 Bug fix release,
issues related to local videos not playing correctly fixed.

7th Feb 2018: v1.8.2 Bug fix release for bookmark dpad support in non touch screens

8th Feb 2018: v1.8.3 Bug fix release for audio focus issues. If carstream overwrites other players, this version fixes it. Also local audio/video continues to play in background.

21st Jun 2018 : 2.0.0 Introduces a way to unlock carstream in rooted phones. Thanks to ‘slashmax’ for figuring out the trick.

The following message is shown if handbrake is not applied. Please make sure you use this app safely.
Android auto youtube warning

8th Feb 2018 : For raising bugs or enhancement requests please visit https://github.com/thekirankumar/youtube-android-auto/issues

Youtube Auto Latest Version
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Youtube Auto Latest Version
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How to install the app

How to watch local videos of all formats on SD Card

Raising bugs, enhancement for new features

CarStream is developed and maintained by me in my free time. In order to efficiently manage my time, it would be great if you can use github for raising bugs and feature requests. I have been using this blog’s comments section till now for this, but it doesnt scale well. So if you put anything here, it will mostly get ignored. So please use github. I know its painful to create a github account, but it helps me. Before raising a github issue, check if the same issue exists, otherwise it will most likely be closed.
Use this link to reach github issues page

Debugging black screen issue

Black screen when switching on Youtube auto is usually related to Power saver mode on your phone. Some phones have it as “aggressive doze mode” or “advanced battery optimization”. For youtube auto to work seamlessly, you have to switch off power saver mode completely or disable it just for Youtube auto.

Also sometimes you can follow this trick of switching on youtube auto phone app on phone and then connecting to the car. Please try this on Xperia and Huawei phones. Also some huawei phones are not compatible with android auto in general. Even Waze doesnt work. Source

Disabling the bottom bar in fullscreen mode

Many users have requested this feature of hiding the nav bar when in fullscreen mode. Unfortunately google doesnt support this feature and we can expect google to give an API in future version of android auto. So this is not feasible.

Source code

If you want to add new features or checkout the code visit https://github.com/thekirankumar/youtube-android-auto/ Pull requests for new feature are welcome.

Donation

If you like this app, please make a donation.

My bitcoin (BTC) address 1MHUymspbm3FgJexAFcvxxq6QdHS9bJjZh

My paypal address https://paypal.me/thekirankumar2

My litecoin (LTC) address LXRkN1JDm1weqDL6WKCQRTcqqfPnSiGaCQ

Credits

Unofficial Android SDK https://github.com/martoreto/aauto-sdk Without this SDK this project wouldn’t exist. Thanks to Martoreto for reverse engineering the Waze app and coming up with a easy to use SDK and a sample app.

VideoEnabledWebview https://github.com/cprcrack/VideoEnabledWebView This webview makes fullscreen videos easy to implement.

Thanks for helping with translation :

German : Timo Neumeier
Russian : Ilja Skobelev
Italian : Gabriele Rizzo
Chinese : Nelson
French : Adil Bousfiha
Finnish : Joona Ahveninen & Raitsa
Portuguese: Daniel Stuart
Turkish: Ufuk Ata
Danish: Hayrullah Celik
Bulgarian : Boby
Polish : Krzysztof Białek
Estonian : Magnus Jaaska & Olev Kaas
Spanish : César Formica & Miceot

If you want to translate to your local language, please visit the github repository and raise a pull request or just mail me the strings.xml file at [email protected]

Note

Disclaimer :This is my personal project and I maintain it in my free time. The work here is in no way related to my Employer. It is a hobby project where I have not committed to anyone about maintaining it. With Google blocking every move, its getting more difficult to progress. You can imagine how it would be to fight as a one man army against google.

Unblocking instructions

[21st Jan 2018] Google has blocked the app multiple times till now and its becoming difficult for me to release just a new version to unblock it. Here are some tricks to do it yourself when google blocks the app.

Google blocks the app’s package name. This is how apps identify themselves and google is able to block the app easily by just identifying my app’s package name and then blocking it. As a workaround, if you are an android developer, just clone the source code and change the package name in build.gradle as well on the google-services.json file.

If you are not a developer, I recommend you use APK Editor Pro app (Its a paid app, but the apks are available everywhere). It allows you to change package names of any app without creating the APK yourself.

  • Download APK editor PRO (free version doesnt allow many features)
  • Open the settings and click “sign APK with” and select “key created by APK Editor”
  • Exit settings and come back to main menu
  • click “Select APK from app”
  • select the car stream apk
  • select “Full Edit”
  • click on the third tab on bottom called “manifest”
  • click on the second line from top called “manifest xmlns:android….
  • click on “package” and change the package name to anything you want. This is the most important step. You should use something which is unique to you. Use maybe your name or username in it. Do not use special character except “dot”. If your name is john doe, use maybe “com.johndoe.testapp” as the package name. Be creative here, because this is what google uses to block the app
  • Click save button, be careful not to press cancel.
  • Now click the build button on the top-right corner of the screen
  • This will take a few seconds and finish the creating a new APK
  • [IMPORTANT] Once it finishes, uninstall the old version of car stream. If you dont uninstall, the new APK wont install
  • Now go back to APK pro and press install the new apk you created which has your custom package name
  • After installation, Car Stream should work for you


If you get install issues with APK editor, try APK cloner. It doesn’t let you change package name, but it automatically chooses a package name and is easy to use and free.
If google blocks the apk again, come back here to this section for a new workaround.

8th Feb 2018 : For raising bugs or enhancement requests please visit https://github.com/thekirankumar/youtube-android-auto/issues

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2,440 thoughts on “CarStream (previously YoutubeAuto) for Android Auto APK download and setup”

    3. Joerg

      Sorry to say, but since I followed your instructions my smartphone won’t connect to any other device via USB anymore…
      Do you , Gabreile Rizzo, have any idea about that?
      Thanks in advance

      Reply ↓
  3. pascal_greece

    i have the latest version, i have network connection, but when i connect it to my infotainment system it only shows “press the last icon in the bottom bar to start playing”. i tried everything, did just as in youtube instructed. but no luck. plus, while viewing in my smartphone, it doesn’t look like in photos or video, it has a totally different interface. no “send to car” option i.e. .any ideas?

    Reply ↓
    2. TR6vs911 Mark

      I have the same exact problem no send to car onle the version 1.8.3 and I get the “press the last icon in the bottom bar to start playing” also who has the answer?

      Reply ↓
    3. Gabriele Rizzo

      Are you launching it from the car? Are you launching it from latest botton on the right?

      Send to car option is no more there since bookmarks are there now

      Reply ↓
  4. Ian

    Can’t seem to get it to work on Peugeot 5008 2017 1 cockpit? Is there something else I should be changing in editor pro?

    Reply ↓
  6. Gabriele Rizzo

    Guys , click on my name! I have a working method to get CarStream (and other AA apps) to work on Android Auto 3.0.

    Just click on my name and don’t forget to skip ads!

    Reply ↓
  7. Nikonja

    Gabriele please stop posting this because there is no workaround AA 3 yet!!
    We have to wait for Kumar to find solution but it looks like the development is stopped since there was no update for

    Reply ↓
        1. El Bubi

          Gabriele, regarding OBD2AA plugin, is there a free version of it or only paid one?

          Grazie ancora per el patch di CarStream!

          Reply ↓
      3. Poke

        Did not work for me. No issues running the exe and installing but still had the “press the last icon in the bottom bar…” issue

        Reply ↓
        1. Gabriele Rizzo

          That is not properly an issue. Are you launching it from the car? Are you launching it from latest botton on the right? The one with the speedometer icon and not the one with headphones

          Reply ↓
          1. Poke

            Yes, and yes. After tapping the last icon on the bottom (the speedometer icon) there is no carplay option.

          3. Poke

            Yes, and as I said, it didn’t work. This was also a an package name edited apk version that I ran your tool on.

          4. Gabriele Rizzo

            That’s what you did wrong. After you run my patcher you don’t have to do anything else. You don’t have to install it from phone. It will be already installed in phone. You may wanna try it all again.

  9. Apiwat

    Any possible way to watch Netflix with carsteam.? It shows the Netflix page of movies selection but after click the movie, there is no luck to play the movie.

    Reply ↓
  12. jimmy

    I’m having a problem. It says to click the last button on the bottom to play youtube on my vars screen. What am I doing wrong

    Reply ↓
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  14. Ozzir Eleirbag

    Guys, if you are attempting to install CarStream in latest version of Android Auto, IT WILL NOT WORK.

    Luckly, there’s a workaround and it needs a patcher on the PC.

    I made it very easy, just click on my name (skip ads after). I made a very easy Windows Program to do that.

    After you run it, you don’t have to do nothing else. You are ready to go.

    Reply ↓
  15. RB

    Hi, I downgraded AA to 2.9 and got carstream working. (turned of auto update)

    Is there a way to bypass the motion lockout for the keyboard?

    Reply ↓
  18. Michael

    A little nervous about the Android 8.1.0 update. Will it effect carstream?
    I like having the lofi hip hop YouTube channels streaming while driving. They just have simple cinamagraphs do not distracting, just ambiance.

    Reply ↓
    1. Anil

      open Car Stream from phone without connecting to car. Open websites where you want to login with @ symbol. like Facebook, Gmail etc. Add a bookmark in Carstream. Now connect phone to Car, and open bookmarks , thus you will be able to browse Facebook , Gmail etc from your Cars display unit.
      Android Auyo by default does not allow special charecters in keyboard

      Reply ↓
  20. Jorgo

    Is it possible to someone to create a download link for a already patched apk. That won’t some help. Thanks

    Reply ↓
  21. Anthony

    I haven’t tried it yet but car stream now shows up where Google play and spotify are gonna give it aahot today

    Reply ↓
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  24. Jalal mahd

    Thank you so much for making this video
    I have a Samsung Note 8
    And 2018 navigator sync 3 system
    But I downloaded the APK Editor Pro
    And I followed all the instructions
    After I deleted the carstreem app
    And click install from the APK Editor Pro
    It doesn’t install anything
    What should I do?
    Please help
    Thank you so much.

    Reply ↓
    1. Adel Janahi

      it happened with me, to solve this problem first uninstalled APK Editor then reinstall Android Auto and carstreem app you will find them in My File folder then go to downloads folder once finish reinstall APK Edito….it worked with me

      Reply ↓
  25. supercharger619

    Hey guys I’ve uninstalled carstream and tried with AA2.8 and AA 3.0 with no success, I keep getting the message below. Please advise.

    C:\Users\super\AppData\Local\Temp\afolder\adb.exe
    Access is denied.
    C:\Users\super\AppData\Local\Temp\afolder\AdbWinApi.dll
    Access is denied.
    C:\Users\super\AppData\Local\Temp\afolder\AdbWinUsbApi.dll
    Access is denied.
    Please connect your phone via USB. Continue if already connected.
    Press any key to continue . . .
    Please activate USB debug on your phone. Continue if already activated.
    Press any key to continue . . .
    Please place on desktop the APK you wanna patch and rename it “my.apk”
    IF THIS APP IS ALREADY INSTALLED ON YOUR PHONE AND THIS IS THE FIRST TIME USING THIS TOOL
    PLEASE UNINSTALL THE APP FIRST
    Press any key to continue . . .
    APK NOT FOUND. QUITTING.
    ‘sleep’ is not recognized as an internal or external command,
    operable program or batch file.
    C:\Users\super\AppData\Local\Temp\afolder\adb.exe
    Access is denied.

    Reply ↓
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  27. Adel Janahi

    Hey guys
    I have a Samsung Note 8 and i did all what you mention above and worked with me but when i use YouTube i get only sound without picture any reason?

    Thanks,

    Reply ↓
  29. ultramandam

    hi..

    carstream appears in the music button, instead of the last button on the right..
    seems to work like a music app, but wont play anything..
    is there a way to correct this?
    i’m on a 2016 honda civic..
    thank you in advance..

    Reply ↓
  30. Mohammed

    Thanks for your effort
    I just had a problem for the car stream mobile app
    The buttom ” send to my car” is not appearing on the app
    And when connecting the my mobile to the car there is no option to choose car stream as well ony return to sync3
    Thanks in advance

    Reply ↓
  31. Gabriele R

    Guys, if you are attempting to install CarStream in latest version of Android Auto, IT WILL NOT WORK.

    Luckly, there’s a workaround and it needs a patcher on the PC.

    I made it very easy, just click on my name (skip ads after). I made a very easy Windows Program to do that.

    After you run it, you don’t have to do nothing else. You are ready to go.

    Reply ↓
  32. Andygolf

    Intenté poner el parche en el portátil y me me ponía acceso denegado,pero al intentar poner el parche desde el ordenador me funcionó bien y ahora estoy usando android auto 3.0.5.

    Reply ↓
  33. Luca Italy

    Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML – Honda Civic X generation 2017 – Android Auto 3.0; as for Waze (same behavior) when I click Carstreaming in Android Auto in the car, I have a crash with black screen; somebody solved it? I think that solving for Wazw should solve also for Carstreaming.

    Thanks in advance
    Luca

    Reply ↓
  34. supercharger619

    Hey Gabriele,

    When I attempt your method, this is what I get, it hasn’t been “very easy” for me, please advise

    C:\Users\super\AppData\Local\Temp\afolder\adb.exe
    Access is denied.
    C:\Users\super\AppData\Local\Temp\afolder\AdbWinApi.dll
    Access is denied.
    C:\Users\super\AppData\Local\Temp\afolder\AdbWinUsbApi.dll
    Access is denied.
    Please connect your phone via USB. Continue if already connected.
    Press any key to continue . . .
    Please activate USB debug on your phone. Continue if already activated.
    Press any key to continue . . .
    Please place on desktop the APK you wanna patch and rename it “my.apk”
    IF THIS APP IS ALREADY INSTALLED ON YOUR PHONE AND THIS IS THE FIRST TIME USING THIS TOOL
    PLEASE UNINSTALL THE APP FIRST
    Press any key to continue . . .
    APK NOT FOUND. QUITTING.

    Reply ↓
      1. supercharger619

        I did reply, unfortunately there was no change with the version you released, i’m still open to suggestions

        Reply ↓
  35. Jorge

    Hey Gabriele,

    I patched successful the apk and reinstalled but he didn’t no work on Android Auto v. 3

    After the patch was finished I copy the apk from desktop to my phone and installed is this right?

    Thank you

    Reply ↓
    1. Gabriele Rizzo

      No, it’s not right. You don’t have to install it after. Uninstall it now and do it again with my patcher. Then the app will be patched and ready.

      Reply ↓
  36. jorgo

    @Gabriele

    Step by step please

    I must download the car stream app to my PC on the desktop
    Than I patched but before I must delete from my phone?

    Can you say me please step by step

    Thanks for your help buddy

    Reply ↓
    1. Gabriele Rizzo

      -Uninstall the app you have right now on the phone
      -Download CarStream on PC
      -Run Patcher
      -Done, try it on Android Auto

      Reply ↓
  37. Andygolf

    Yo lo que hice fue.
    Poner carstream en el escritorio y renombrarlo a my.apk.
    Luego parchearlo y cuando termine ya estará.
    El archivo parcheado no hay que copiarlo al telefono.
    El mismo parcher se ocupa de enviar al teléfono

    Reply ↓
  38. Marcin

    can you explain in points what to do in order that we have carstream in the car. some do not know how to do it :(

    Reply ↓
  40. jorgo

    Gabriele first of all i will thank

    The same i do but after that I installed the patched apk. Now you say I don’t need it after I patched. How it’s find Android Auto the car stream app without installed on my phone?

    Reply ↓
  41. Mark

    @Gabriel

    You write You DON’T have to install the APK after running the patcher

    When I don’t need to installed after a have patched how it comes the car stream to my phone. I need it too for my car.

    Thanks
    mark

    Reply ↓
      1. Anil Kumar

        Thanks Gabriele Rizzo, Your patcher does it all (your latest update).
        Uninstall CarStream first, Update android Auto yo version 3.0
        In Mi Phones.
        Turn on Developer options,
        Turn On USB Debugging,
        Turn on USB debugging (Security settings)
        Turn on Install via USB.
        And Run Gabriele’s AA Patcher.

        Thanks Brother

        Reply ↓
  42. Anil Kumar

    Thanks Gabriele Rizzo, Your patcher does it all (your latest update).
    Friends
    1. download Gabriele’s patcher to your PC,
    2. download CarStream 1.8.3 to your PC, Rename it to my and keep the renamed apk on your Desktop,
    3. Uninstall CarStream from your phone,
    4. Update Android Auto to version 3.0 from Google Play store,

    In Mi Phones.
    5. Turn on Developer options,
    6. Turn On USB Debugging,
    7. Turn on USB debugging (Security settings)
    8. Turn on Install via USB.
    9. Run Gabriele’s AA Patcher.
    do what the patcher say (It will ask you to turn on usb debugging and all that, and press any key to continue)
    Gabriele’s AA Patcher will automatically Re-install CarStream to your Phone.

    Thanks a lot…

    Reply ↓
  43. Anil Kumar

    I’ve backed up Carstream app patched with Gabriele’s AA Patcher and installed it on another phone with AA 3.0, But it didnt worked,
    So uploading of patched apk will not work. For them Android Auto 2.9 is the best way to use CarStream.

    Reply ↓
    2. William

      ADB shell script to set “my.apk” installer as Google play. Need root to run this script from the phone.

      Reply ↓
  44. fae

    grazie per tutti gli aiuti in primis
    non ho capito questo passaggio
    Rename it to my and keep the renamed apk
    come devo rinominarlo?
    ultima cosa è possibile installare anche un’altra app? o solo carstream?

    Reply ↓
    1. Gabriele Rizzo

      Devi rinominare il file a “my.apk”

      è possibile installare anche altre applicazioni, purché siano compatibili con Android Auto.

      Reply ↓
  45. fae

    c’e la possibilità di effettuare il backup dei segnalibri

    is there a possibility to backup the bookmarks?

    Reply ↓
  46. wil

    Sadky it appears to be completely broken now. I updated to the March update of Android 8.1 and even with Android Auto 2.9 installed, carstream stopped working. I hope it comes back.

    Reply ↓
  49. Amit Varshney

    Mine is oppo f3 mobile with sony xav x100 infotainment system .Carstream is not showing.on infotainment system. I have tried so many things but no use.please help

    Reply ↓

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