OpenAutoLink — Android Auto & Apple CarPlay

Bring Android Auto and Apple CarPlay to Android Automotive OS head units.
Phone projection on the car's existing screen. No SBC, dongle, or additional projection hardware.

OpenAutoLink runs on the vehicle's Android Automotive OS (AAOS) head unit. Android Automotive is the car's operating system; Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are the phone-projection experiences that OAL receives. OAL does not replace the car's operating system.

Android Auto and CarPlay share one app, with independent connection settings. USB CarPlay is supported alongside wireless and USB Android Auto. Wireless CarPlay remains available for development but is not working in the maintainer's vehicle.

Releases · Installation · Android Auto setup · CarPlay setup · Compatibility · Troubleshooting · XDA discussion

[!IMPORTANT] Install on a locked GM vehicle through your own Google Play Console app's dedicated Android Automotive OS Internal Test. APK sideloading is not supported on these head units.

Create your personal AAB at oal.mossyg.com in a desktop Chrome or Edge browser—no source editing, desktop download or Android SDK setup.

Save the required encrypted web identity backup for updates. CarPlay also needs your own compatible, authorized authentication pair; the builder does not supply it.

Create your AAB · Internal Test installation · CarPlay authentication

Choose your phone and connection

Check the source revision and release notes for your installed build. USB hot-plug handoff is implemented, but current vehicle validation is still pending.

What OAL provides

Shared application

• One car app for Android Auto and CarPlay.
• Draggable Settings/Stats controls. Audio/call preferences save automatically; connection, video and display changes use Save changes. Wireless reconnects automatically when safe. For an actual USB connection, saving persists the next-session settings without stopping projection; unplug and reconnect physically to apply.
• Open the vehicle’s media view with Settings → Audio → Both → Open OpenAutoLink in vehicle Audio.
• Configurable display layout, safe areas and video sizing for wide AAOS screens.
• Built-in diagnostics, optional log upload and network/vehicle inspection tools.
• Separate Android Auto and CarPlay settings; one phone projects at a time.
• Temporary USB hot-plug: when a phone arrives during active or connecting projection, choose Switch or Stay here without changing either protocol's saved connection mode.

Android Auto

• Wireless WPP and direct USB, without additional projection hardware.
• EV data in Google Maps: vehicle battery, range, charge-port data and a configurable energy model. See EV range estimates.
• Instrument-cluster navigation and media metadata on supported vehicles. Navigation-app support varies.
• Phone calls, microphone, steering-wheel controls and ignition reconnects.
• H.264, H.265 and VP9 video, with manual 1440p (2560×1440) and 4K (3840×2160) tiers and portrait equivalents, subject to phone/decoder support.
• Automatic video sizing prefers 1440p where supported; 4K can be selected manually.

CarPlay

• No iPhone companion app or additional projection hardware.
• USB projection, with wireless connection retained separately for development.
• USB CarPlay music, navigation and touch controls. Leave the iPhone unpaired from car Bluetooth for the recommended setup.
• Car microphone for calls and button-initiated Siri, enabled in normal operation.
• Native incoming-call display and steering-wheel Answer/Reject/End on supported vehicles after one-time call setup.
• Multi-touch gestures, including map pinch-to-zoom.
• Adjustable video quality, Fit to window and safe-control calibration for wide or curved screens.
• Music information and artwork on supported vehicle displays. Cluster route guidance is still being refined.
• Night-mode and vehicle-data integration.

Installation

Car app on a locked GM vehicle

1. Create your AAB on the website and save the required encrypted identity backup.
2. Follow the Internal Test installation guide: register with Google, create a free app, select dedicated Android Automotive OS → Internal testing, upload, enroll the car's Google account, and select the car in Google's web install picker.

Check Google's US$25 one-time registration fee and Android-device verification requirement for new personal accounts before paying, especially if you only own an iPhone. Check that your car is eligible for installation before uploading.

For CarPlay, include your own authorized authentication pair. For updates, restore your latest web backup, keep the same application ID and upload key, and upload a higher-version AAB to the same Internal Test. Desktop builder documentation remains available, but desktop downloads are not published yet.

The car itself needs internet-connected Wi-Fi or its data service; an OnStar data plan is not required.

The car APK on GitHub Releases is for AAOS systems/emulators that permit APK installation. It cannot be sideloaded onto a locked GM production head unit.

Car internet: no OnStar data plan required

You do not need an OnStar data subscription to install or use OAL. Without a vehicle data plan, connect the car itself to a Wi-Fi network with working internet, such as your home Wi-Fi, to download OAL through Google Play. A local car hotspot used for wireless Android Auto is not, by itself, an internet connection for the car.

Keep your car's apps updated—not just OAL. Like your phone, the car has a Play Store and apps that receive regular updates. Without an OnStar data plan, give the car itself internet access regularly:

• At home: save your home Wi-Fi in the car's network settings. When parked within range, leave the infotainment system on for a while so Google Play has time to download app updates.
• Away from home: connect the car to your phone's Wi-Fi hotspot at least once a week, or more often. I turn on my phone's hotspot on most drives to give the car frequent opportunities to stay up to date. Hotspot use draws on your phone's data allowance.

Enable automatic app updates in the car's Play Store and check for pending updates occasionally. Downloads depend on Play Store settings, connection quality and vehicle software; simply saving a Wi-Fi network does not guarantee updates while the car is off. This is routine care for all the car's Play Store apps, not an OAL-only requirement.

OAL's phone-projection connection does not require a paid OnStar data plan. Online navigation, music and other phone-app services still need their own internet connection, normally your phone's mobile data.

Android phone

For wireless Android Auto, install openautolink-companion-vX.Y.Z.apk from the matching release, grant its requested permissions, and configure the paired car. USB Android Auto does not need the companion.

iPhone

No OAL iPhone companion is required. Use a data-capable USB cable and your own authorized authentication pair, then follow CarPlay USB setup.

Other AAOS systems

Install the car APK only if the platform permits it. Bluetooth, networking, audio and vehicle integration vary by platform. Reports from Polestar and other non-GM AAOS vehicles without built-in phone projection are welcome.

Android Auto setup

Current wireless path: WPP

For Android Auto 17.4 or newer:

1. Install matching current car and companion releases; enable the car's Wi-Fi access point.
2. In OAL → Settings → Connection → Android Auto connection, select Wireless (WPP).
3. To avoid typing the AP name/BSSID, select the paired car under companion Auto-Start → Select Devices, tap Start WPP config listener in the car's WPP