Displaying GPS/Trail/Mapping app on Stark phone while riding?

[Chadx]

I have a GPS/Trail/Mapping app that I loaded on my Stark phone (onX Offroad in this case, but question applies to any mapping/trail app).

I've found that apps work and run normally on the phone, but while riding, only in the background. The issue is, every time you put the bike in drive, the display changes to the Varg gauge. I experimented with turning off the Stark phone's bluetooth, so it would not communication with the bike since it's not needed, but the phone keeps popping up a message saying to enable bluetooth to communicate with the bike. So that doesn't work.

What I've been doing is stopping and switching over to the app when I need to refer to it for directions. To the app, I come to a stop and within a second or two (faster than I can take off my glove), the little "home/house" button appears. I can click on that, hit the button to show all running apps, and select the app, then I can look at, and use, the app's map. While it is easier than pulling my personal phone out of my riding pants cargo pocket, unlocking, and looking at the app on that, I'd much prefer if the map could be displayed on the Varg screen as I'm riding for on-the-fly navigation.

I searched this forum and other sources and wasn't able to find anything. I'll reach out to Stark as well, and share their response, but curious if anyone has determined a way to display anything other than the Varg gauge while you are riding. Thanks.

 

[Beagle]

I have a GPS/Trail/Mapping app that I loaded on my Stark phone (onX Offroad in this case, but question applies to any mapping/trail app).

I've found that apps work and run normally on the phone, but while riding, only in the background. The issue is, every time you put the bike in drive, the display changes to the Varg gauge. I experimented with turning off the Stark phone's bluetooth, so it would not communication with the bike since it's not needed, but the phone keeps popping up a message saying to enable bluetooth to communicate with the bike. So that doesn't work.

What I've been doing is stopping and switching over to the app when I need to refer to it for directions. To the app, I come to a stop and within a second or two (faster than I can take off my glove), the little "home/house" button appears. I can click on that, hit the button to show all running apps, and select the app, then I can look at, and use, the app's map. While it is easier than pulling my personal phone out of my riding pants cargo pocket, unlocking, and looking at the app on that, I'd much prefer if the map could be displayed on the Varg screen as I'm riding for on-the-fly navigation.

I searched this forum and other sources and wasn't able to find anything. I'll reach out to Stark as well, and share their response, but curious if anyone has determined a way to display anything other than the Varg gauge while you are riding. Thanks.

That would be a terrific addition for off-road, sounds like something they should be happy to implement, the kind of thing that would justify using a smartphone instead of a more standard dashboard, might as well use this to their advantage to stand out even further from the crowd.

 

[Theo]

sounds like something they should be happy to implement, the kind of thing that would justify using a smartphone instead of a more standard dashboard, might as well use this to their advantage to stand out even further from the crowd.

I agree. They said that they would have implemented it in their first video:

 

[Chadx]

I emailed Stark. Meanwhile, their auto-reply, that acknowledged receipt of email, suggested I ask their AI bought "Sam".
www.starkfuture.com/sam (Note: You have to be logged in to your Stark user account to use it).
I couldn't resist some fun. I really should have saved the conversation as it was lot more entertaining that my brief paraphrasing below. Ha. But it went something like this:

Me: Explained situation and desire to be able to display mapping app on the Stark phone while riding.

Sam: We understand but we don't allow it for safety reasons so rider is not distracted.

Me: Not good enough, bot. It is a valuable feature that should be allowed. Everyone uses navigation apps every day in vehicles. How is this different?

Good ol' Sammy still understood the situation and the value of using navigation, but he said Stark feels it's a safety issue. Than he went on to suggest I use a dedicated GPS or phone mount to display mapping apps via a different device.

Me: Wait, you just said it was a safety issue but then you suggest I do it anyway, but with a different device? That doesn't make sense. Owners should just be able to display it on the Stark phone if they want.

Sam: Would you like me to open a ticket so Stark can review and consider your request?

Me: I already emailed the humans so no need. I'll work with them.

Sam: Sounds good. I'm closing this conversation. <Boop> And Sammy boy was gone.

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When Stark replies to my email, I'll share it here. They are typically quite responsive in my experience (I emailed them about stock bar bend specs and got several pdf charts back within a day). Once I share response and we see where this goes, then maybe anyone else that wants this feature can potentially email them so they can weigh the demand for this against all the other priorities they have. Maybe we can get them to make a change. I'd settle for being able to just turn off bluetooth so the Stark phone is not connected to the bike and I can turn that one later in the day to check SOC, but they would need to eliminate the constant pop up message that bluetooth is not enabled and it needs to be if I want to display bike info while riding. But ideally, they will allow us to display whatever app we want as we ride and not flip back to the Varg app every time we put the bike in drive, etc.

 

[FreedomFlyer]

I have the same issue. I think I might just try turning the Stark App off. Then turn it on from time to time to check battery status.

 

[AL_V]

I have the same issue. I think I might just try turning the Stark App off. Then turn it on from time to time to check battery status.

This works, if you touch the square button, then fling the Stark app upward to force stop it, you can then use your navigation app to your heart's content without it being interrupted.
Stark recommends against doing this, because it will prevent warnings like overheating, etc.

 

[Chadx]

This works, if you touch the square button, then fling the Stark app upward to force stop it, you can then use your navigation app to your heart's content without it being interrupted.
Stark recommends against doing this, because it will prevent warnings like overheating, etc.

Nice! Thanks for the idea @AL_V and @FreedomFlyer. I hadn't thought of that...but then I only loaded my mapping app one ride ago. I'll do this until Stark makes a change.

This is even more reason for them to work on this. Should be able to have Stark app running in the background so it can come to the front for errors/warnings but remain in the background when rider wants mapping app, or other app, in the foreground while riding. Easy enough to manually flip to Stark app for battery percentage. And, I don't need it to know which hp mapping I'm in.

 

[Chadx]

This is the update I received from Stark.

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Currently, the Stark phone is designed to prioritize the VARG gauge display when the bike is engaged. This is to ensure that critical information related to the bike's performance and status is always visible to the rider. Unfortunately, there is no setting available to override this behavior and allow other apps to display while riding.

The Bluetooth connection is essential for the Stark phone to communicate with the VARG, providing real-time data and updates. Disabling Bluetooth will prompt the phone to attempt reconnection, as you have experienced.

For now, the best workaround is to continue using the method you described: stopping to switch to the app when needed. We understand this may not be the most convenient solution, but it ensures that the bike's critical information remains accessible during operation.
If you have any further questions or need assistance with other features, feel free to ask!
Best regards,
Stark Future Team

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And my response:

Thank you for the outline of how and why the Stark app is prioritized. Please forward this request to the design and engineering team as there should be a simple way to make this work. If the concern is that errors and warnings are provided to the rider while using a mapping solution, the Stark app could simply pop to the foreground if there are warnings, similar to what it does now every time one puts it in Drive. There is no need to see battery percentage or power setting while riding as this information is not critical like warnings. The bike allows a rider to remove the phone from the cradle and leave at the trailer or keep it in a pocket to avoid damage, which means no warnings are provided, so even if the mapping app didn't allow warnings to pop to the foreground, it is similar to riding without the Stark phone in place, which is allowed.

Please forward the request to allow mapping apps to run in the foreground and only pop the Stark app to the foreground if there are critical warnings.

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Stark response:
I forwarded it to our design and engineering team, I hope they can prioritize your request!
Best regards,
Stark Future Team