User guide

Everything Drive Launcher does, and where to find it. New here? Start with How to install.

The home screen

Drive Launcher has two layouts: Classic (below) and Dashboard.

Home icon (top left) – opens Drive Launcher's settings: licence, theme, speed alert, car, headlights and more.
Clock and the Auto · Day / Night button (top right) – tap either one to change the theme.
Speed card – your speed, trip distance, drive time and heading.
Now playing card – song, artist and album art, with previous, play/pause and next.
Weather card – the weather where you are. While you're navigating with Google Maps or Waze it becomes the Next turn card.
Your car – in the middle, in your model and colour. Press and hold it to change it.
Dock (bottom) – Navigation, Music, Video, Phone, Radio, Connectivity, Settings and Apps.

Dashboard layout

A second home screen, laid out like a car's own infotainment system. To switch: open the settings (the home icon top left on Classic, or the gear top right on Dashboard) → Layout → Dashboard or Classic. It shows when the screen is landscape.

Top bar – your car's badge, the clock, date, signal, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and the gear for settings. Tap the badge to change the car.
Where to? – One tap to drive Home or to Work (the first tap asks for the address; press and hold to change it), or to find Fuel or Parking nearby. Open Maps opens your navigation app.
Next turn – while Google Maps or Waze navigates, the same card shows the turn sign, the distance, the street and when you'll arrive. Tap it to go back to the map.
Music – album art, song, artist and album, a progress bar, and big volume, previous, play/pause and next buttons. Tap the album art or the app's icon in the corner to open the music app.
Speed, Trip (distance and drive time) and Weather.
Your car – in your model and colour, lighting up with your headlights. Tap it to change the car.
Dock – Navigation, Music, Phone, YouTube and Apps. Press and hold a button to choose a different app for it, just like on Classic.

Change your car model & colour

Drive Launcher comes with these cars:

Honda Vezel – Gray metallic, Pearl white, Crystal black, Midnight blue, Crystal red, Chilli red
Suzuki WagonR – Silky silver, Pearl white, Black, Wine red, Champagne beige, Midnight purple
Micro Panda – Sunset orange, Pure white, Midnight black, Titanium grey, Ruby red, Ocean blue, Lime green, Sunshine yellow, Silver metallic
Micro Panda Cross – Moonlight silver, Pure white, Midnight black, Ruby red, Ocean blue, Sunset orange, Flame orange
Suzuki Spacia – Pure white pearl, Phoenix red, Bright orange, Mustard yellow, Offblue, Cool khaki, Silky silver, Black pearl, Custom XS pearl white
Toyota Prius – Barcelona red, Attitude black, Blue ribbon, Super white, Classic silver

The car you picked when buying is set for you when you activate your licence. To change it at any time:

Press and hold the car on the home screen (or tap the home icon → Car).
To change the model, tap Change car model… and choose your model – Honda Vezel, Suzuki WagonR, Micro Panda, Micro Panda Cross, Suzuki Spacia or Toyota Prius.
Tap the colour you want. The car on the home screen changes straight away.

When you switch model, the colour carries over if the other model has it too (for example Pearl white). Otherwise you get that model's first colour, and you can pick another.

Use a photo of your own car

In the same menu, tap Use my own photo… and pick a picture. A side view of the car with the background removed (a PNG) looks best. To go back to a built-in car, open the menu again and pick a colour.

Changing the car needs an activated licence.

Headlights & night look

When you switch your headlights on, the car on screen lights up – headlights, low beam on the road and red tail lights – and the screen changes to the dark look.

Usually automatic. Most car players tell Android when the headlights are on (they go into night mode or dim the screen). Drive Launcher spots this by itself – often after you switch the headlights on and off a couple of times – and shows “Headlight signal found”.
If it doesn't happen: tap the home icon → Headlight detection and follow the two steps (headlights off → Next, headlights on → Next).
Some car players don't pass the headlight wire to Android at all. Then the dark look still comes on at sunset.

Theme

Tap the clock (or the Auto · Day button on Classic):

Auto – dark with headlights on or after sunset (recommended).
Follow car – follows the car player's own night mode / headlights.
Day or Night – always the light grey look, or always dark.

Dock & apps

Tap a dock button to open its app.
Press and hold a dock button to choose a different app for it – for example Waze for Navigation or Spotify for Music. To go back, press and hold it again and tap Use default.
Apps opens all your apps, with search. Press and hold an app there to open its Android app info (to uninstall it, clear its data and so on).

Music & navigation

For song titles and album art, tap the Now playing card once and turn on Drive Launcher – now playing. This also lets Drive Launcher show the next turn from Google Maps, Waze, HERE and Sygic.
Tap the album art to open the music app that's playing. Use the big buttons to skip or pause without leaving the home screen – a tap anywhere else on the card does nothing, so a near-miss while driving won't take you away.
While navigating, tap the Next turn card to go back to the map.

Speed & speed alert

Speed and weather need location. If the speed card shows “Tap to allow location”, tap it and allow.
Speed alert: tap the home icon → Speed alert and choose a limit from 50 to 120 km/h. A chime sounds when you go faster – even while Maps is open.

When the car starts

Drive Launcher can get things going when you start the car (the car player boots). Tap the home icon and turn these on or off:

Resume music (on by default) – carries on with the music app you used last.
Open navigation (off by default) – opens your Navigation app.

The trip distance and drive time start again from zero each time the car starts.

Licence

Drive Launcher needs a licence key. Buy a licence – it's a one-time payment and the key is emailed to you straight away.
To activate: the launcher asks for your key when it opens. Or tap the home icon → Licence (or the orange “Tap to enter your key” button), type your key (like DL-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX) and tap Activate. It needs internet once – your phone's hotspot is fine. After that it works offline.
One licence is for one car player. Changing car player? Contact us with your key.

Updating the app

From version 4.16 the app updates itself: when a new version is out, an orange Update to … button appears on the home screen (it checks once a day – or tap the home icon → App version · Check for updates). Tap it, and Android asks you to install the update. The first time, Android asks you to allow Drive Launcher to install updates.

On an older version, download the latest DriveLauncher.apk(download it with your licence key) and install it over the old one, the same way as the first time. Your licence, car, dock apps and settings are kept – there's no need to uninstall first.

Something not working?

The old home screen comes back – press Home and choose Drive Launcher → Always, or tap the home icon → Change default home app.
No song title or album art – tap the Now playing card and turn on Drive Launcher – now playing.
Speed or weather shows nothing – tap the speed card and allow location.
No next turn while navigating – if the card says “Turns are off”, tap it and turn on notifications for Google Maps (or Waze): the turns come from the map app's notification.
The car doesn't light up with the headlights – run Headlight detection from the home icon menu.
Still stuck? Contact us – we're happy to help.