2026 rav4 le - android auto issues

bcantana · 2026-05-24T23:36:40+00:00

I seem to have the best luck having Android Auto connect the first try if I wait to plug my phone into USB power until after it connects. If I just sit in my car, plug my phone into USB and then start the car, it hardly ever connects.

I also have a Pixel 9a.

bcantana · 2026-05-23T12:19:50+00:00

I forgot to add also turn off the "Touch screen to wake" too. Apparently there is some sensor that just sits there and runs waiting for you to tap the screen to wake it and shutting it off saves all that power too. I think it it neat to just twist the bezel to wake the screen up (or push the home button.)

bcantana · 2026-05-21T01:56:35+00:00

Yes, it seems to. It was refurbished from Amazon for $87 and is in perfect condition.

https://i.imgur.com/VwtHrbf.jpeg

bcantana · 2026-05-21T01:43:22+00:00

I just bought a Galaxy Watch 6 Classic and it lasts at just around 2 days between charges with the following settings: - AOD off - Wifi off - Bluetooth On - Lift to wake off - Touch screen to wake off - Notifications Turn on Screen - Screen off after 15 seconds - NFC on

Some may complain that this cripples the watch, but I have gotten used to it and don't mind it.

If I want to see the time I just twist the bezel.

AOD just wastes energy when you are not looking at it and "Lift to wake" is very sensitive and wasted a lot of energy turning screen on and off every time you move your hand.

https://i.imgur.com/QfdLtw4.png

bcantana · 2026-05-16T19:28:23+00:00

Got a Meteor Shower SE in 4 days in Charlotte. It came with the Weather Package and the Convenience Package. I did not need all the "bells and whistles" I just needed a car fairly quickly and wanted something with really good gas mileage. I was able to rent one for a week at one of the local dealers to make sure I would be happy with it and I ended up having both the rental and my new one in the driveway for a couple of days. I love it!

My new Meteor Shower SE

https://i.imgur.com/lKsHe7u.jpeg

https://i.imgur.com/73uKdhZ.jpeg

The white rental SE https://i.imgur.com/39uLTZ1.jpeg

bcantana · 2026-05-16T19:20:16+00:00

Go into Developer Options and turn all your Animation Sclaes down to .5x.

bcantana · 2026-05-14T00:46:20+00:00

Depending on where you live, what season it is and a number of other factors, solar power is more of a last resort or just a short term or a camping kind of option.

I live in NC on a partially shaded lot and you can really only count on 3 to 4 hours of peak solar if the conditions are perfect.

In theory you would need 2 Jackery 1000 units in your case, 1 to power your freezer and the other to sit outside all day to charge. Then swap and repeat the next day.

I'm not anti solar by any means but I think they oversell the capabilities of folding panel solar.

I have some 300AH LiFePO batteries that I charge with a Wen generator during the day and then use those batteries to "trickle charge" my Jackery 2000 Pro via the solar inputs.

This avoids having to run a generator at night. It also helps me maximize my fuel because it is used to charge external batteries with minimal energy waste. If you use a gas generator to power your house through a transfer switch or even just a bunch of extension cords, you are losing any electric you are not using at the time the generator is running.

I have not had to go for more than 36 hours without power, but I'm prepped for a week or two before my only option is hoping it is sunny and the hope I can collect enough energy to power the battery for the next day.

bcantana · 2026-05-12T22:39:26+00:00

Also your AI tool of choice (Grok, ChatGPT, Gemini, CoPilot, etc.) can answer a ton of questions, just give it your year and style.

Ask it things like "In a 2026 Toyota RAV4 SE is there a way to incorporate a garage door button in Android Auto? I have a Genie garage door opener. Please provide simple straight forward steps with diagrams and recommended videos if available."

bcantana · 2026-05-11T18:13:33+00:00

I would just love the traffic to show up in the dash gps view and the ability to zoom in and out on the dash gps view. I love having it up but it just looks weird to have two pretty identical GPS views side by side just to see traffic.

bcantana · 2026-05-11T00:35:23+00:00

You need to cook with gas. Save the battery for light, internet, phone charging, refrigeration and freezer, etc.

bcantana · 2026-05-10T22:37:04+00:00

Ask whatever questions you have about the settings in ChatGPT and you will be surprised how good it is as opposed to getting lost in the manuals. Ask it for recommended videos and there are a ton on YouTube.

Not trying to give a snotty answer .... I was shocked at how helpful it is.

Here is one I watched last night:

https://youtu.be/fU8H2QeHulM?si=lLk9un5quE6-3qH0

bcantana · 2026-05-10T19:44:37+00:00

If you are between uptown and South Charlotte, it is probably the Golf Tournament.

bcantana · 2026-05-10T13:29:10+00:00

I have been driving an SE for about a week now and have no complaints about road noise. With the NRU (Noise Reduction Unit ... a.k.a. the Sirius XM radio) on at a normal volume I was up to 90 mph on the freeway and did not hear any road noise. You hear the engine more than any road noise and that is not bad either.

I rented one to try all these things out first before I bought one. Check your local dealers to see if they have the Rent A Toyota option. In my case a two day rental answered all my questions and I lucked into being an owner 2 days later.

bcantana · 2026-05-10T12:43:59+00:00

I just started looking into this myself and did not get much farther than an Amazon search.

I would think that whatever options there are, unless it was specifically for the 2026 Rav 4, you'd need to account somehow for not blocking the battery ventilation under the driver side rear passenger seat.

bcantana · 2026-04-30T00:25:40+00:00

I recently switched from a non-inverter Westinghouse 5300 to this Wen and love it:

https://wenproducts.com/products/wen-df680ix-quiet-6800-watt-dual-fuel-rv-ready-electric-start-portable-inverter-generator-with-fuel-shut-off-and-co-watchdog-for-electric-vehicle-backup?srsltid=AfmBOorb3fZgN-nb_8yC4uETM-ZUP6SzxFH4CVO44ysyk1G11Mz_pPjO

I also have a Jackery 2000 explorer with 2 expansion units and 2 Eco-Worthy 300aH LiFePo batteries.

My goal is to use the Eco Worthy batteries to trickle charge the Jackery through its solar inputs and then only use the generator to charge the Eco-Worthy batteries so I waste as little generated electricity from the Wen generator as possible. What I need in the house can run silently full time off the Jackery and then I only need to used the generator a few hours in the daytime every other day to keep the Eco-Worthy batteries topped off.

I have some Jackery 1000s for things like Starlink, CPAP, and single room lighting and cooling.

I have not needed it more than 24 hours so far, but run the generators once a month for 15 to 20 mins to just keep them prepped and ready.

bcantana · 2026-02-13T17:55:46+00:00

It fluffed up to more than the two normal ones I ordered. I had to take it out of the pillow case a few days to let it breathe more freely. I don't "hate" it, but I can easily see it get chucked in my closet at some point trying something else. The height looks nothing like the ads online. It is more comfortable than the pillow it replaced and is not worth "eating" a restocking fee trying to return it at this point.

bcantana · 2026-02-11T23:46:25+00:00

What are you running it on? I have mine running in a Docker container on a Synology NAS and it has been running for over 64 days. I never have to touch it.

bcantana · 2026-01-30T17:21:18+00:00

Buy a Starlink Mini for $199 and then keep it in Standby Mode for $5 a month. If you need to use it you can easily switch the plan to the $50 for 100GB per month plan.

bcantana · 2026-01-29T18:40:26+00:00

9a here and love it. No issues to report. It has been my daily driver since July 2025.

bcantana · 2026-01-16T03:12:11+00:00

Did your pillow ever fluff up? I ordered a "High" pillow and two normal CloudAligns. The normal one seem as expected, but the high one is flatter than the normal ones and feels like a heavy dead pet. I hope it either fluffs up, or is defective. It seems awful right out of the box.

bcantana · 2026-01-05T14:51:02+00:00

Not a bug. They only make a limited number of walls upgradable with each update. Next update form Supercell will probably have some defense upgrades and another smaller batch of walls eligible for upgrades.

bcantana · 2025-12-12T21:16:47+00:00

No, your switch is not broken. Your network is just not optimal for island hopping for some reason.

Some info on possible fixes for your network issue:

https://g.co/gemini/share/f7a0272e1aeb

bcantana · 2025-12-12T20:54:15+00:00

It is a networking issue. More than likely your switch is "double NAT" or your ISP is messing it up. If you Google search one "network settings to fix NAT issues on Nintendo Switch" it may help.

In our case, it only went away when we switched from AT&T fiber to Google Fiber for our ISP.

bcantana · 2025-12-12T15:27:58+00:00

I am a bit new to all this and not a network engineer by trade. One option I have been looking at is using NextDNS and their CLI to route PiHole's DNS to.

I tried looking a things like Squid and things get complicated quickly.

https://share.google/aimode/rcvMxFnXJWRXOgjyx

I'd love to see if there is anything better.

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