Cheap Android setup for HIghway Radar

[fitz4321]

Edit: 9/25/20
I have upgraded my dedicated Android to something better then the phone in original post. Although the idea of a super cheap phone for this is appealing, I found a phone of better quality required less fiddling to work efficiently.

Original post:
This may be the wrong section, but I chose here because I specifically set this up for Highway Radar.

1. $20 Tracphone from Amazon. I did not connect the cellular service. (See link below)

2. Establish a hotspot connection with iPhone.

3. For less battery drain, connect iPhone and cheap Android via Bluetooth

4. Edit: I no longer recommend this step of a Bluetooth app:
Load Android app “Bluetooth Auto Connect” on cheap Android. Play with the settings to force a permanent connection between both phones when they are in range. (Update: It is now a subscription app for about $12 a year)

5. Enjoy having Highway Radar work with no second data bill.

Note. This phone is locked for Tracfone only. It works great as a data phone without connecting cellular service.
TracFone TCL LX 4G LTE Prepaid Smartphone (Locked) - Black - 16GB - Sim Card Included - CDMA https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GC5FZDM/?tag=rdf0cd0c-20

 

[Smason]

Be careful with this phone. I looked into it and there are more than 3 reviews stating it randomly caught on fire.

Not great if its in your hand, let alone in a parked car.

 

[fitz4321]

Be careful with this phone. I looked into it and there are more than 3 reviews stating it randomly caught on fire.

View attachment 136129

View attachment 136130

Not great if its in your hand, let alone in a parked car.

I saw those reviews. I bet they sell thousands of those phones. I once saw a post that a Uniden detector burned up. I still have two Unidens.

 

[2018GTI]

This may be the wrong section, but I chose here because I specifically set this up for Highway Radar.

1. $20 Tracphone from Amazon. I did not connect the cellular service. (See link below)

2. Establish a hotspot connection with iPhone. If you try to use hotspot only it will drop every 15 minutes and require playing with phones to reconnect which is dangerous while driving.

3. connect iPhone and cheap Android via Bluetooth

4. Load Android app “Bluetooth Auto Connect” on cheap Android. Play with the settings to force a permanent connection between both phones when they are in range.

5. Enjoy having Highway Radar work great with no problems, no fiddling and no second data bill. (other then hitting the power button and tapping the Highway Radar app one time)

Note. This phone is locked for Tracfone only. It works great as a data phone without connecting cellular service.
TracFone TCL LX 4G LTE Prepaid Smartphone (Locked) - Black - 16GB - Sim Card Included - CDMA https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GC5FZDM/?tag=rdf0cd0c-20

Who is your cell service provider?

 

[fitz4321]

Who is your cell service provider?

AT&T

 

[fitz4321]

Be careful with this phone. I looked into it and there are more than 3 reviews stating it randomly caught on fire.

View attachment 136129

View attachment 136130

Not great if its in your hand, let alone in a parked car.

Update: phone still working fine six months later.

 

[Smason]

Update: phone still working fine six months later.

Thanks! I'm going to look into one as a backup then!

 

[Gunney57]

Be careful with this phone. I looked into it and there are more than 3 reviews stating it randomly caught on fire.

View attachment 136129

View attachment 136130

Not great if its in your hand, let alone in a parked car.

We really should be careful when charging most devices. I try not to charge unattended when possible. I've seen a few devices go up in smoke...

 

[Ohioluck]

Bought this setup and so far is working great. Only downside is the screen can be difficult to see unless you have the perfect angle.

 

[fitz4321]

Update... the “Bluetooth Auto Connect” app has become a subscription app. It was broke for a few days, but now works.

 

[hallm2020]

I was bummed when I saw this wasn’t available for iOS. Decided to go this route. Picked a lg tracfone but similar price. Hopefully I can figure out the hotspot connection.

 

[hallm2020]

Got my LG Rebel 4 tracfone today and I'm setting this up.

This may be the wrong section, but I chose here because I specifically set this up for Highway Radar.

1. $20 Tracphone from Amazon. I did not connect the cellular service. (See link below)

2. Establish a hotspot connection with iPhone. If you try to use hotspot only it will drop every 15 minutes and require playing with phones to reconnect which is dangerous while driving.

3. connect iPhone and cheap Android via Bluetooth

4. Load Android app “Bluetooth Auto Connect” on cheap Android. Play with the settings to force a permanent connection between both phones when they are in range. (Update: It is now a subscription app for about $12 a year)

5. Enjoy having Highway Radar work great with no problems, no fiddling and no second data bill.

Note. This phone is locked for Tracfone only. It works great as a data phone without connecting cellular service.
TracFone TCL LX 4G LTE Prepaid Smartphone (Locked) - Black - 16GB - Sim Card Included - CDMA https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GC5FZDM/?tag=rdf0cd0c-20

What is the reason for the Bluetooth Auto Connect app? So it doesn’t disconnect from WiFi? Does the app still exist? Also what setting did you choose for location settings? High Accuracy, battery saving or device sensors only?

 

[Gunbjorn]

BLU Studio Mini is $60 on Amazon and it has an accelerometer and runs Android 9.

 

[fitz4321]

Got my LG Rebel 4 tracfone today and I'm setting this up.

What is the reason for the Bluetooth Auto Connect app? So it doesn’t disconnect from WiFi? Does the app still exist? Also what setting did you choose for location settings? High Accuracy, battery saving or device sensors only?

For some reason my iPhone would always drop the hotspot from WiFi. I think it was a carrier thing. It no longer drops on IOS 14 beta so I’m no longer using the Bluetooth connection. I’m now simply using normal hotspot. I now use an app on the Android called Connection Stabilizer. It pings the hotspot every 15 seconds so the connection doesn’t get stale and kicked off by the iPhone.

 

[bbenj10]

For some reason my iPhone would always drop the hotspot from WiFi. I think it was a carrier thing. It no longer drops on IOS 14 beta so I’m no longer using the Bluetooth connection. I’m now simply using normal hotspot. I now use an app on the Android called Connection Stabilizer. It pings the hotspot every 15 seconds so the connection doesn’t get stale and kicked off by the iPhone.

Are you able to set the android device to automatically connect to your iPhone's hotspot when it's in range? Or do you still have to manually enable the iPhone's hotspot every time you get in your vehicle?

 

[fitz4321]

Are you able to set the android device to automatically connect to your iPhone's hotspot when it's in range? Or do you still have to manually enable the iPhone's hotspot every time you get in your vehicle?

I have to manually connect.
As of yesterday I updated my dedicated Android to something better. The Tracphone was having problems working with SABRE.

 

[bbenj10]

ah that's too bad to hear. I'm getting the cheap amazon version set up now and I can tell it's definitely a bit on the slow side. hopefully it works out okay

 

[fitz4321]

ah that's too bad to hear. I'm getting the cheap amazon version set up now and I can tell it's definitely a bit on the slow side. hopefully it works out okay

It was slow to load, but once Highway Radar was up, it worked good. I also deleted all of the preloaded unnecessary apps to allow the resources of the phone free up.

I just used the cheap phone for a 1000 mile drive with good results, but the cheap phone was having problems working with SABRE, hence the upgrade.

At the time of the original post this worked fine for me, but in the end, I decided a better Android would be more stable.

I just updated the original post to reflect this.

 

[Up All Night]

I’ve been thinking of going on Aliexpress and looking for a slightly larger newer phone for android BT only APP use.
But, I need to find a mfg that supports there hardware. Or a phone that is popular enough to get updates from third party users. I’m Sick & Tired of Android devices not being supported. Bought my Samsung and it got one update then they want you to buy a new phone... open to suggestions. Oh yeah the other problem with the Samsung is it’s locked to one carrier and can’t be unlocked if I get tired of WiFi only connections and want to get a cheap plan. And since it’s a unpopular inexpensive phone there’s no after support potential.
Galaxy J3 Achieve Sprint Locked.

Posted from my iPhone using the RDF Mobile App!

 

[fitz4321]

I went with a pixel3 XL