Screen timeout - new user coming from Android

[mjonis]

OK, I have a really old iPod Touch, so I'm not totally unfamiliar with iOS.
I have/had a Samsung Galaxy S4, but due to my old car and the aftermarket head unit, (Pioneer AVH-4000 NEX), I got an iPhone 6s so I could use carplay.

That said (I don't want to get into a war about which OS is better):

In Android (4.x on my Galaxy S4), there were some settings where I could configure the amount of time of inactivity before the phone display went "dark", and there was a separate setting for how much inactivity before the phone locked. Two completely different items. If the phone display went dark, you could press any button and it would re-display (but not locked). Unless you also had the inactivity too long and the phone locked.

I don't see any such setting on the iPhone. I see the screen LOCK (I have it set to 2 minutes, BTW). But if I set the phone down and don't do anything, in about 30 seconds, the screen fades to like 30% display and about 3 seconds later goes black (but phone isn't locked). Apparently this screws up carplay if you're attempting to use iHeart Radio (iHeart radio won't actually retrieve sound if the phone display is black), so that's why I'm trying to find the setting to configure how much inactivity before the phone display is turned off.

Is there such a setting?

Thanks!

 

[scifan57]

OK, I have a really old iPod Touch, so I'm not totally unfamiliar with iOS.
I have/had a Samsung Galaxy S4, but due to my old car and the aftermarket head unit, (Pioneer AVH-4000 NEX), I got an iPhone 6s so I could use carplay.

That said (I don't want to get into a war about which OS is better):

In Android (4.x on my Galaxy S4), there were some settings where I could configure the amount of time of inactivity before the phone display went "dark", and there was a separate setting for how much inactivity before the phone locked. Two completely different items. If the phone display went dark, you could press any button and it would re-display (but not locked). Unless you also had the inactivity too long and the phone locked.

I don't see any such setting on the iPhone. I see the screen LOCK (I have it set to 2 minutes, BTW). But if I set the phone down and don't do anything, in about 30 seconds, the screen fades to like 30% display and about 3 seconds later goes black (but phone isn't locked). Apparently this screws up carplay if you're attempting to use iHeart Radio (iHeart radio won't actually retrieve sound if the phone display is black), so that's why I'm trying to find the setting to configure how much inactivity before the phone display is turned off.

Is there such a setting?

Thanks!

If you go to Settings>General>Auto Lock, you can choose from a selection of times or never, which means the display will never turn off. This will drain the battery fairly quickly so it's better to be plugged into a charger when you do this for an extended period of time.

 

[Ledsteplin]

When you connect your phone to CarPlay, the phone's screen should lock automatically.

 

[mjonis]

If you go to Settings>General>Auto Lock, you can choose from a selection of times or never, which means the display will never turn off. This will drain the battery fairly quickly so it's better to be plugged into a charger when you do this for an extended period of time.

Thanks for the info. So I gather there is no way in iOS to have 2 separate settings. The screen LOCK (where you have to enter password or touchID) is the same as the screen timeout/blanking.

Well that's not great, but I guess it'll be one of the differences between Android/iOS I'll have to get used to (among many things). Not sure why Apple doesn't see it as being beneficial.

As you mentioned, battery life. I could have the screen "dim" after say, 2 minutes, but not lock (password protected) for say, 5 minutes (unless I push the button myself). That's how I had my Galaxy setup for. Made it easy to quit having to constantly lock/unlock the phone just to save a little power. Actually on the Samsung it would dim the phone display after a few seconds of inactivity, but not totally power it off, or lock it for whatever my timeouts were set to. However, that may have been special to the Samsung phones vs Android.

 

[mjonis]

When you connect your phone to CarPlay, the phone's screen should lock automatically.

How odd then, for iHeartRadio to be Carplay enabled, yet, when connected in Carplay, it is 100% unusable because the phone is locked.

Kinda defeats the purpose if you have to connect to carplay, unlock the phone and THEN start iHeart Radio (whilst phone is unlocked) in order for it to work.

However, my testing (contrary to what Apple's website says) is that the phone is *not* locked when you plug it into Carplay. Rather, it immediately dims the screen. I can push the button (with a non-finger-enabled fingerprint) and phone comes back to live--not ever locked.

This seems to back up that phone isn't locked, but I'll have to ask in other forums as to why iHeartRadio behaves the way it does with Carplay.

My thoughts on carplay 2 months after the fact • /r/apple

 

[bear7962]

Can't you use iheartradio from the CarPlay screen on your car? That's how I use CarPlay, not from the iPhone.

 

[mjonis]

Can't you use iheartradio from the CarPlay screen on your car? That's how I use CarPlay, not from the iPhone.

If the phone is "blanked" out, it will not actually launch the app. It just sits there. Waited 5 minutes and finally "woke up" the phone and then immediately the app launched.

I asked over in the AVIC forums for Pioneer and someone else is having the same issue with Carplay and iHeart Radio and another app. they don't work unless the phone is "active". I'm assuming poor implementation of the app vendor with carplay.

 

[Ledsteplin]

If the phone is "blanked" out, it will not actually launch the app. It just sits there. Waited 5 minutes and finally "woke up" the phone and then immediately the app launched.

I asked over in the AVIC forums for Pioneer and someone else is having the same issue with Carplay and iHeart Radio and another app. they don't work unless the phone is "active". I'm assuming poor implementation of the app vendor with carplay.

I don't have CarPlay. So I really don't know how it works. But I know many who do use CarPlay, and they don't have any issues. You're missing something, but I have no clue what it is. I'll poke around.

 

[bear7962]

I do have CarPlay. I plug my phone in the car and forget about it. Anything I want to use, that can be used is displayed on the two pages of my car's touchscreen display. So I am guessing something isn't correct on your end. My iPhone display is not touched at all once I get my iTunes display on the car touchscreen and that is pretty automatic once I plug my iPhone into my car.

 

[mjonis]

I do have CarPlay. I plug my phone in the car and forget about it. Anything I want to use, that can be used is displayed on the two pages of my car's touchscreen display. So I am guessing something isn't correct on your end. My iPhone display is not touched at all once I get my iTunes display on the car touchscreen and that is pretty automatic once I plug my iPhone into my car.

If I had to guess it's something with the Pioneer head unit, as at least one other person is having the same issue as myself with their Pioneer unit, but only with the iHeart Radio app and one other app. It seems hit or miss now. Sometimes it'll work but most of the time it'll just sit there. I'll have to fiddle with it more. Everything's (phone and Pioneer head unit) are at the latest firmware/code/updates, including the iHeart Radio app.

When it works, you start the car, plug the phone in to the cradle/lightning to USB. The phone will show it auto-launching Carplay, then the phone goes black. The HU switches into Carplay. You can push the iHeart Radio button. Then it shows you your list of channels, you pick one and you get the 3 buttons (rewind, play, fast forward) and a few seconds later, you hear a single "beep" and then it starts playing the audio.

Now, when it doesn't work:
You start the car, plug the phone in to the cradle/lightning to USB. The phone will show it auto-launching Carplay, then the phone goes black. The HU switches into Carplay. You can push the iHeart Radio button. Then nothing happens. The head unit is sitting there at the "now playing" but nothing else on the screen. Wait and wait. Nothing. You "wake up" the phone and you can see the phone THEN start to launch iHeart Radio and then all works.

Sometimes (seems to be dependent on whether the phone was playing iHeart Radio via Carplay when you shut off the vehicle), you can launch Carplay and go into Now Playing and it'll pick up where it left off, but that seems like a crap shoot.

I'm wondering if it matters if you exit the app (iHeart Radio) or not.
But NONE of the other carplay apps behave that way. Maps is fine. Music is fine, etc.

That's why I'm guessing it's something with iHeart Radio and/or Pioneer's implementation of Carplay.

 

[bear7962]

I have one comment that may be helpful or not but I will throw it out there. My Honda has CarPlay as a feature so I am not using an aftermarket unit like you are. But every time CarPlay connects, my car's touchscreen tells me that Bluetooth is now off as CarPlay doesn't work when BT is on.