I'm hoping someone here has some *real* ideas or answers regarding this issue.
I have a handsfree Bluetooth kit in my car so that I can safely place calls while driving. This worked flawlessly with my previous Windows Mobile phones (Tilt/Tilt II). With the phone tucked in my pocket and the mobile OS “locked” I could press the voice activation button on the dashboard and easily call someone. Not so with my shiny new AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II. Now I have to dig the phone out and unlock the device before I can use my handsfree system… are we back in the smartphone dark ages?? I might as well take up texting and driving while I’m at it and forget the handsfree unit altogether.
Apparently Google in their infinite wisdom has decided already paired Bluetooth devices pose a security risk. As such, when Android is “locked” it disables any control from Bluetooth. I suppose if you work for the government or some place that you need Pentagon like security this makes sense. For the 95% of us that don’t need these draconian measures this is just plain stupid and potentially unsafe.
I've already rooted my phone. I've tried other ROMs like the latest builds of UnNamed, ICS'd Out, and CyanogenMod. None of these allow Bluetooth operation while the phone is locked (and in fact all of them introduced other issues). I've searched the forums but most similar posts go unanswered or contain nonconstructive replies (flames, unrealistic answers, etc).
I can't and won't disable ALL security. I won't give up making phone calls while driving - I'm on the road a decent amount and need to use that time productively. What are my other choices? Go buy an iPhone or a Windows Mobile unit which work "right"?? Seems like a crazy oversight by Google/Samsung/AT&T if those are my only options!
I would suggest using the official samsung Car dock, as the USB port on there has a special impedance that tells the phone to go into driving mode, which once you unlock the phone, it stays unlocked until you either lock it, or take it off the dock. It also charges your phone at the same time. However if you have a case, this will not work for you. You would need to solder up your own usb plug that has a certain impedance over some pins (theres a thread somewhere about that, its like a jig, but with different impedance) and just plug that in when you're driving, but you still have to unlock the phone at least once with it plugged in.
My clarion cz500 car stereo has no issues making or receiving calls via Bluetooth while my phone is locked.
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My biggest gripe with Android is that BT calling does not work as well as it did with WinMo's Voice Command (which works really well considering how poorly much of WinMo worked). Initiating calls via BT is my main gripe with Android. I wish Google would get it right already. That said, I have no problems answering calls via BT even when the phone is locked.
My phone is paired with the built-in BT in my car and I have no issue with making/taking calls while the phone is locked. Maybe its a compatibility issue with your particular hands-free device?
I also have no BT problem when locked, using the standard BT in my Toyota Avalon, 2011. Running rooted, UnNamed ROM, Entropy's DD 120811 kernel.
For those of you who think BT calling works just fine, I have to ask, have you ever used a WinMo phone with Voice Command? If not, then you don't know how well it's supposed to work. With VC, I could touch the call button on my BT headset or BT car stereo at ANY time, get a little chime and then say the name of the person I wanted to call and have it dial automatically. I never had to touch the phone to do this. When I try this on my Cappy or SGSII I get nothing. I have to initiate the call on the phone and using voice recognition on Android is spotty, at best, and requires more steps. At least answering a call is relatively easy. I have no love for MS, but they got this part right on their phones.
Miami_Son said:
For those of you who think BT calling works just fine, I have to ask, have you ever used a WinMo phone with Voice Command? If not, then you don't know how well it's supposed to work. With VC, I could touch the call button on my BT headset or BT car stereo at ANY time, get a little chime and then say the name of the person I wanted to call and have it dial automatically. I never had to touch the phone to do this. When I try this on my Cappy or SGSII I get nothing. I have to initiate the call on the phone and using voice recognition on Android is spotty, at best, and requires more steps. At least answering a call is relatively easy. I have no love for MS, but they got this part right on their phones.
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Sgs2 does this stock with no problems via samsung/vlingo voice command app. Seems hit or miss on some custom roms. As long as device has bt turned on and had been prior paired with a headset, just have to turn headset on then hit the button on the headset. Voice prompts over headset ensue
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I'm headed into the AT&T store tomorrow to do some definitive tests but so far I'm skeptical people who say it's working for them truly have their phone locked. The Bluetooth unit in question is a Parrot CK3100 LCD - a bit dated (3 years old) but it works flawlessly with several WinMo phones, several non smartphones (mostly Nokia's), and we just tried a friend's iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4. In all cases phonebook and voice dialing not only worked excellently it worked when the phones were truly locked and the screen off.
On the other hand the 3 Android devices I've tried all have the same problem - they won't dial out either by phone book entry or voice recognition unless you unlock the device first. The 3 devices are: Samsung Galaxy S II (AT&T), Samsung Galaxy S (Verizon), and EVO 3D (T-Mobile).
Unfortunately I don't have any other Bluetooth headsets to try out, hence my planned trip to AT&T. I plan on walking out of their either with a Bluetooth device that works or an iPhone Thanks for the replies.
I hear you. I have a Motorola FINITI bluetooth headset and it will not voice dial with the screen locked on my AT&T Galaxy SII.
Is there not an option to keep it from locking? :/
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mohitrocks said:
Is there not an option to keep it from locking? :/
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Some roms give you a quick toggle in your status bar called secure mode, this should do it.
I'm on villain rom with jaykay mod quick toggles and i have that options.
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My stock phone is paired with the built-in BT in my car. I also have I have no problems with making or receiving calls while the phone is locked.
I can also make calls using voice dial when the phone is locked using my plantronics BT headset.
GeorgeP said:
My stock phone is paired with the built-in BT in my car. I also have I have no problems with making or receiving calls while the phone is locked.
I can also make calls using voice dial when the phone is locked using my plantronics BT headset.
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Are you using a pattern/pin lock? Or just the slide to unlock.
Just slide to unlock.
It works very well and very straightforward. I just press and hold the call button on my headset (while the phone is locked), and then after the tone say, "call John Doe on mobile" and it works.
Something for OP to consider in troubleshooting why he is unable get this work:
The BT voice dial works through the older pre-installed Vlingo (version 2.x). Even though I have the newer version (3) of Vlingo installed, the phone still launches the older preinstalled version of Vlingo for BT voice dial. So it seems the BT voice dial function is in some way hardcoded to that version of Vlingo.
Perhaps OP is using a custom ROM in which the older pre-installed Vlingo is removed(?). I know that is the case with some of the custom ROMs for the Int'l SGS2.
If I were to freeze or remove the older version of Vlingo, that might impact BT voice dial. Although I wouldn't expect it to affect the use of my phone through my car's build in BT.
Try it with a pattern lock or some kind, I believe that is what the OP has and its what "locks" the phone from using BT dialing, whether its voice based, or address book based from a headunit.
OK, if OP means that type of lock, then, no you cannot make a call when locked.
Although, it is not clear to me why one would want BT to bypass the lock in this manner. It seems the PIN or pattern lock would be pointless. If the phone is stolen (or lost) the person who stole it (or found it) could have access to your phone's contents through bluetooth. Am I missing something?
Definitely missing something. He wants the phone to be able to make calls while the phone is locked which is why i suggested to keep it unlocked by enabling driving mode through the mount.
My point was that allowing bypassing the lock through BT creates a exposure many would not want. The simplest solution might be keeping it unlocked either using a mount as you suggest, or using one of the profile apps that lets you create a profile to keep the phone unlocked when plugged in. He could then plug it into the car power adapter.
I use a pattern lock, and can make calls through the built-in BT in my car when the phone is locked. I can dial on the car's touch screen (disabled when the car is in motion, except for pre-set speed dials), or tell it to call someone by pressing a button on the steering wheel and saying the name. The car BT compares the spoken name with the list of contacts from my phone that have been BT-loaded into the car's contact list. Nevertheless,the call is made though the phone, since the vehicle BT is not itself a phone. Has anyone noticed that we have not heard again from Rajah, the originator of this thread? Rajah, are you there? Were your issues resolved?
I have a Motorola Roadster bluetooth car speaker.
It works fine for incoming calls and plays music over FM.
Can I setup things so I can make hands free outgoing calls,
just push a button on the Roadster and say call home, etc ?
Seems to work at times but once the Note's screen locks, it stops working...
I've noticed the same problem with my Jawbone ERA. Actually, the ERA keeps disconnecting and later reconnecting itself while in use. It doesn't do that with any of my other devices. :/
But as for your problem...if you charge your phone while it's in the car, and set the Note to open Voice Talk when a Bluetooth device is detected, as soon as you turn on your Bluetooth, VT will stay open and give you instant access to a variety of voice commands. If you enable driving mode, it will read incoming messages to you, and then allow you to reply hands-free. You can also make outgoing calls. If you want, you can also enable a mode so that it will listen for a keyword and you don't have to press a button at all, but that would add to the battery drain a bit.
I know that's not what you wanted necessarily, I'd also like the same thing...mostly so I can keep the phone in my pocket and operate it remotely via headset. But I have yet to get that to work reliably.
EDIT: Okay, I just did some testing and actually fixed my ERA's disconnection issue by doing a factory reset. But the phone WILL NOT take voice commands when the screen is off, or when it is at the lock screen. And for some odd reason, if I have Voice Talk open and I press the button on my headset, it beeps and the phone closes Voice Talk. Every time. If Voice Talk isn't open, when I press the button on my headset it opens Voice Talk and responds to my commands as it should. Very strange.
Thanks for the reply.
Does yours work with a Pin lock?
When I have a pin protected lock screen,
Voice Talk works with the Roadster button but only when the Note is unlocked.
Once the lock screen times on
it does not detect the voice command button press on the Roadster.
If I remove the pin on the lock screen it works all the time but my phone is unprotected.
I'd like the voice button on the Roadster to work even when the pin lock is used and active, does yours?
Oh! I didn't even think of that...I do have the PIN lock activated. You are correct, it works just like it should when there is no PIN code on the device. I suppose it's by design, but it sure would be nice if they had an exception one could enable for voice input. Well at least I know now, haha.
Hey everyone, I've been trying to figure out why sometimes the voice guidance from navigation (both Waze and G-Maps) over bluetooth kicks in extremely low while other times it doesn't. I've checked volume settings in the phone and the app itself, but no dice. I've been experiencing this since I was using my Note 3 some months ago, but it's gotten more annoying as of late since I've been riding my motorcycle more often. Without having the bluetooth audio kicking in strong enough to my helmet, it's impossible to navigate. Again, sometimes it is fine and other times it isn't. I don't know what sequence of events takes place for the volume in navigation to fade. This also happens with all the music/audio apps I use (Google Play, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Audible, and Songza). Has anyone else been experiencing this? And if so, have you been able to resolve it or at least know what actions cause it? If I can at least prevent it from happening, that's just as good to me as fixing it. Thanks in advance!
In addition, it isn't dependent on device being streamed to. It happens with my helmet, car, BT headphones, and even soundlink. You may be wondering why I was driving connected to a Bose Soundlink; merely for testing purposes. I wanted to create all the possible scenarios for this. I never bothered to try it using wired headsets because wired isn't an option for while on the motorcycle. It wouldn't be so bad if I could see the screen while riding when the volume goes low on me, indicating directions are being announced, but that's only possible at night; not during a bright and sunny commute. Thanks again!
alpinesun said:
Hey everyone, I've been trying to figure out why sometimes the voice guidance from navigation (both Waze and G-Maps) over bluetooth kicks in extremely low while other times it doesn't. I've checked volume settings in the phone and the app itself, but no dice. I've been experiencing this since I was using my Note 3 some months ago, but it's gotten more annoying as of late since I've been riding my motorcycle more often. Without having the bluetooth audio kicking in strong enough to my helmet, it's impossible to navigate. Again, sometimes it is fine and other times it isn't. I don't know what sequence of events takes place for the volume in navigation to fade. This also happens with all the music/audio apps I use (Google Play, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Audible, and Songza). Has anyone else been experiencing this? And if so, have you been able to resolve it or at least know what actions cause it? If I can at least prevent it from happening, that's just as good to me as fixing it. Thanks in advance!
In addition, it isn't dependent on device being streamed to. It happens with my helmet, car, BT headphones, and even soundlink. You may be wondering why I was driving connected to a Bose Soundlink; merely for testing purposes. I wanted to create all the possible scenarios for this. I never bothered to try it using wired headsets because wired isn't an option for while on the motorcycle. It wouldn't be so bad if I could see the screen while riding when the volume goes low on me, indicating directions are being announced, but that's only possible at night; not during a bright and sunny commute. Thanks again!
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I'm having the complete opposite problem..I need to find a way to turn navigation volume down while listening to music or listening to Audio books..Navigation comes in very loud in my F150 over bluetooth..I do notice when i'm not listening to any other audio and navigation kicks in it kind of fades in.
Hey All,
So, I've been searching all over for an answer to this, I've found a lot of information about S-Voice's problems being used over a bluetooth device but I haven't been able to find any direct discussion of the issue I'm experiencing.
What I've found is that when I have S-Voice's voice wake-up feature enabled, it'll work totally fine with bluetooth off. However, as soon as I toggle bluetooth on the wake-up feature just completely stops working. I don't even need to be connected to a device, as long as bluetooth is on S-Voice Wake-Up does not work. I can manually launch S-Voice and it will hear me just fine, but saying the wake-up command does nothing. As soon as I toggle bluetooth back off, it'll wake up again just fine. I do get that with a bluetooth device connected the microphone on the device needs to be active, so I could understand if this was happening while I was paired with a headset or something, but it seems really odd to me that just having bluetooth on at all would disable the wake-up command feature.
I did try Ok Google and found that it works whether bluetooth is on or off, but I really like the increased functionality that S-Voice offers and I think that for the most part the updates Samsung has done on it are great, so I'd like to get this working if possible.
Has anyone else experienced this, either on the Note 4 or on any of the other Galaxy devices? Anyone have any ideas or solutions?
Thanks!
I'm having the same issue with svoice, thought it was just the bluetooth in the car at first til I red your post
Widespread
I've got exactly the same problem.... Lovely new note 4 which is forcing me to use my hands on the phone whilst driving... Samsung need to think about this.
Apparently an issue for a few years due to Bluetooth /svoice conflicts, but not acceptable to leave it unaddressed.
I can still use my car system to skip music tracks on the phone, or dial numbers from the car stereo touch screen, but surely this is one of the most valuable areas for voice control?!
Bluetooth off then everything works fine, but Bluetooth on and svoice just fails. No wake up or voice recognition.
I don't use a headset, and the car doesn't have an inbuilt mic, so phone mic is used for calls (which is still fine incidentally.. Only svoice which is screwed.)
Looking forward to someone finding a simple solution to this, as I have spent hours in the menus trying to make a difference but Samsung might have just let us down I'm afraid... And if that's the case then I look forward to hearing them fix it, and update our ware to get everyone on track again.
Resolved and simple
After much fckin about I managed to get this sorted and the answer is simple..... You can't have both apps always trying to recognise the voice all the time.
Go to the settings for ok Google and voice detection then always on... Uncheck it and suddenly svoice is working again... On my way to the car for final checking now,but preliminary checking says all should be good.
Nope
Ok... It works until the system is fully connected.
As soon as the connection is made then the handset microphone switches off again.
Note 4 s voice is officially dangerous to Road users and Samsung are ultimately proving themselves irresponsible for creating a system which forces use of hand and eye coordination when in Bluetooth and car mode.... Seriously Samsung... Sort this sht out.
When driving, set to hands free mode, this allows use of svoice on bluetooth
Ooof said:
Ok... It works until the system is fully connected.
As soon as the connection is made then the handset microphone switches off again.
Note 4 s voice is officially dangerous to Road users and Samsung are ultimately proving themselves irresponsible for creating a system which forces use of hand and eye coordination when in Bluetooth and car mode.... Seriously Samsung... Sort this sht out.
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Note 4 and above have it listed as car mode.
svoice works perfectly with blue tooth when car mode is enabled.
Set it up at home before you use it the first time.