Now I have come to a real project halt! Having an issue with my home wifi and when I loaded realdash (v201) on my test headunit which I have been using, it comes up with an almost full screen login screen as it is “offline” if I click the “X” it closes the app! This I see as a REAL problem for in car use as I know I don’t even get 4G service at my house until I drive a mile or so down the road. Also my goal is as a complete instrument cluster replacement so I will not have touchscreen so am I expected to drive around with keyboard and mouse strapped to steering wheel …
The MRD version of RealDash allows offline login for some time after initial online login. From time to time you do have to go online and verify your login though.
Thank you for your reply, is it possible to not have the login box not take up the whole screen? maybe just a small dialog in bottom right corner as a reminder? If wifi isn’t working the dash is unusable at that point, would be best if program switched from “online” to “offline” mode if no internet service automatically.
Also would it be possible to map the login confirmation to “any” steering wheel button press?
I agree that login confirmation is quite intrusive, but that is kind of an idea of it. I will see what I can do for this, but fair warning; in todays world we are not going to implement full offline version, unless its a some sort of manufacturer special requirement. There are so many things in RealDash that depend on internet connectivity that is makes no sense to use development resources to build public full-offline version. Granted; RealDash should work well and without interruptions when there is a temporary internet connection problem. But these are the scenarios that are notoriously difficult to test as apps behave completely differently in development environment when doing offline tests.
But we are working on it.
I just tried it again and if no network when first opened it gives long in screen and the x exits program, so essentially if there is no network the program will not run. I certainly understand your position of not having an “offline” version as that is how your licensing is structured. But couldn’t it attempt a connection silently for an hour before becoming unusable?
My car has an mdvr (it remains powered an hour after ignition turned off) which provides the hotspot and I know that takes at least 3 to 4 minutes to boot. So in this case scenario I would have to start car, wait until the mdvr boots to provide internet (which I don’t get at home) mean while the dash would have the big login screen, turn off and restart the car so realdash can start working.
Another case would be if someone was to borrow my car, they would have no clue what to do and be unable to drive the car because it would have no functioning dashboard.
Do you feel this is something that can be worked on?
Maybe this isn’t the right product for me?
Maybe something is wrong, I will check. After initial login, RealDash should allow 5 offline logins.
That could work, would it then automatically login when it gets internet service while in use?
It definitely is not allowing any login without service. I tested by logging in, close realdash, turned off wifi, opened realdash and immediately got the log in screen.
Ok, will fix this for next release.
FYI, I was having the issue on Android 9, Tested on Android 4.4.2 and it didn’t prompt for the login when no internet was present.
Had an issue with MRD not logging on at Brands Hatch last week, instead of preparing the car for the next session i was trying to get RD to load beyond giving a blank screen.
I am making an assumption that the blank screen after launch is related to RD not being able to verify / obtain a token to run?
Eventually i got past it and RD was fine the rest of the day, but it was quite frustrating at the time.
I can see advantages as MRD funtionality is built out, but at the moment i have to say I’m on the fence with it.
At the race track, i just need it to work right away and the play store version is calling.
I do understand that can be frustrating, and believe me, we would like RD to work perfectly in every occasion.
What exactly do you mean by ‘blank screen’? RealDash just displaying nothing? If that is the case I do not believe that problem is MRD version related. Something else has caused RD to hang.
Yes, app launches but then sits on completely blank screen.
From memory it displayed the message in bottom right that it was connected to my CAN adapter, but that was it.
After many attempts it worked, i think i might have had to login to MRD again once it had launched correctly, I don’t exactly recall as i was in a rush to get the dash displaying.
You were offline at the time?
As I said, in this case I don’t believe its MRD related, probably some other problem related to offline, or limited connectivity which can actually be worse. This behaviour is something that is traditionally very difficult to test properly on office environment. We do have software that emulates the poor networks and drop packets, but app still behaves differently on real life situations.
To make matters worse, here in Finland its very difficult to find poor network connectivity as 4G/5G network basically covers every square meter of inhabitant areas.
But that being said, I will put some extensive offline testing onto our todo list. We will try to find some other tools to help on this.
Well happened again this morning. I clearly had internet service as the street names and speed limits were working, that’s how I currently know I have service. Yet 5 minutes into my trip to work I was presented with the purchase splash screen.
Attempted to dismiss by pressing “maybe later” then spent the next 20 minutes of my trip looking at an ad for roofing. Unfortunately, as the bezel covers part of the screen, I cannot see the cancel button and have to connect a keyboard to tab and press to find the quit button.
I think I am coming to the conclusion this is not a viable option for an instrument cluster replacement as it could be somewhat dangerous, but just as an accessory gadget to run on a portable device.
I will have to start looking into something like QT or Rightware Kanzi, maybe then I can have a way of also adding support for an IP or external analog camera.
I installed a floating navigation back and home button which may help me get out of the ad screen? Time will tell.
I think as it stands i would agree with that, it’s just not reliable enough. Fortunately my use case is not as a replacement cluster, but that is in fact the most compelling use case.
I just want to be clear for anyone coming across this.
The app is great and does what the developer designed it to do and for the most part performs the way he expects it to perform.
It is not his fault I am trying to use it in a different use case then he intended and have crappy cellular service in my area (2G was great, 3G was iffy, 4G is crap! so much for improvements in technology).
I was just hoping to be lazy and not have to learn how to integrate something like QT, let’s face it the UI (graphics) is the relatively easy part it’s the backend hardware to software part I was hoping to bypass 
I’m ok with the criticism and you guys are free to choose any software you wish, as you know, ‘we do whatever we like’, and we includes you.
We will keep on improving anyways, and MRD offline usage is one of those things.
Could one of the 3 devices be set as “limited connectivity” or something, and that one have to check in much less often?
Sorry Jani, My last post I was trying to make it clear to anyone that I am NOT criticizing your work on this app, actually the opposite 
I wouldn’t know where to start to make an app cross compatible with so many different devices and accessories.
My criticism would be with my areas cellular providers lessening coverage every time they “upgrade” service if anything!