# Hammerhead Karoo computer tweaks



## JhnBssll (27 Dec 2018)

I've had my Karoo for about 10 months now. It's a great little device but the software isn't yet exploiting the full potential of the hardware so I've followed in the wake of a growing number of users by making some personalisations  I've not done anything new or creative, just followed their instructions but thought I'd share my progress none the less 

Here's the Karoo alongside the bone conducting headphones I intend to try out over the coming days with a view to using on the commute in the new year.







What you can see on the display in that picture is the Karoo's main menu from which you can start a ride, view previous acitivities, pair sensors etc. 

Karoo is basically an android device, running Android 6.0, and whilst it is fairly well sealed off from the outside world it is possible to sideload applications to it from a PC or Mac via USB. I've spent the last few days experimenting and have got to a stage where I'm ready to try it out in the wild with my new settings  So now, with a swipe in from the left you are greeted with this newly installed overlay menu:






This gives direct links to the new bits I've added, namely NovaLauncher (essentially a new main menu), firefox, a media player, whatsapp, dropbox and the OsmAnd mapping app. If you tap the first item, NovaLauncher, it takes you to the new launcher screen...






...and it instantly looks a little more like the Android we all know and love  Here's BlackPlayer, the media player I have installed. This involved changing the USB debugging mode to allow me to view the contents of the device in order to transfer some media files across to its 9GB inbuilt storage... 






... and here is OsmAnd which I'm sure a fair few of you will be familiar with, it's a great mapping utility and allows the use of GPX overlays to create turn by turn navigation cues which are displayed as well as audio cues via bluetooth. The standard Karoo mapping software is ok but the turn by turn routing is a little buggy and it doesnt have audio cues as yet.






I've added the firefox browser to allow me to quickly find and download new GPX files if needed, and obviously view the CycleChat forum...






And I've loaded WhatsApp so wifey can call me over the bluetooth headphones while I'm out and about, and track me if needed.






This all runs in parallel with the standard functions so it'll still display speed, cadence and all the standard features while I'm on the move, with the option of accessing these new features via the new overlay menu if needed 

Irritatingly they have blocked google play services amongst other things so you can't add new apps from google play, or run any apps that require your google login to function. That aside, technically I guess you could sideload anything you wanted 

The real brilliance is you don't have to do anything 'bad' to the device to achieve this and a simple factory reset will take it completely back to standard if there are any problems in the future  A few people have rooted their device and gone further than this with the customisation but a) I'm not capable of doing that and b) it's irreversible so if you brick the device its an expensive error 

Anyway, just thought I'd share what's been keeping me entertained for the last few days  All ready to go for the new year commute now with new out front mount added to the commuter


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## J1888 (27 Dec 2018)

How much of an effect does the extra functionality have on the battery life?


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## dodgy (27 Dec 2018)

Interesting to see this develop!


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## Ming the Merciless (27 Dec 2018)

So you have basically reverted it to an Android phone but with Karoo form factor?


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## JhnBssll (27 Dec 2018)

J1888 said:


> How much of an effect does the extra functionality have on the battery life?



Minimal I would think but haven't tried it in anger since I made the changes. The antennae and screen use most of the power, a few extra apps running shouldn't affect things greatly  Before the changes it used about 10% an hour with everything on and less ifyou put it im aeroplane mode which is plenty enough for what I'll ever need it for


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## JhnBssll (27 Dec 2018)

YukonBoy said:


> So you have basically reverted it to an Android phone but with Karoo form factor?



Not really, the hardware is optimised for use as a bike computer so it'll never be a fully functional android phone. What I've done is added the extra functionality I feel it should have out of the box. I am confident that in time I'll be able to factory reset the device as it will have been updated to include these features. Until then, this is my solution


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## Lpoolck (28 Dec 2018)

Does WhatsApp and the Internet work when out on the road without a WiFi connection? If so, where does it get its data from? Does it use your phone as a hotspot?


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## JhnBssll (28 Dec 2018)

Lpoolck said:


> Does WhatsApp and the Internet work when out on the road without a WiFi connection? If so, where does it get its data from? Does it use your phone as a hotspot?



The Karoo has a SIM slot so you can connect it to a 3G data network. If you do not fit a SIM you can connect it to your Phone as a hotspot instead


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## J1888 (28 Dec 2018)

JhnBssll said:


> Minimal I would think but haven't tried it in anger since I made the changes. The antennae and screen use most of the power, a few extra apps running shouldn't affect things greatly  Before the changes it used about 10% an hour with everything on and less ifyou put it im aeroplane mode which is plenty enough for what I'll ever need it for



Cool! Keep us updated if you don’t mind, interested to see how it works out for you - would consider doing something like this myself


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## adamhearn (28 Dec 2018)

I think I'd sooner pick up a cheap phone for a lot less cost and have full functionality out of the box. I don't see anything particularly unique/amazing with the device itself?


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## JhnBssll (28 Dec 2018)

adamhearn said:


> I think I'd sooner pick up a cheap phone for a lot less cost and have full functionality out of the box. I don't see anything particularly unique/amazing with the device itself?



In a way you're right; on paper there isn't a lot between the Karoo and most mobile phones. What is missing is how well the Karoo works as a data recorder and data display with the native software - 90% of the time I don't have the map onscreen, I'm displaying live data fields. It automatically uploads a ride to Strava as soon as you end the ride. If you create a route on the online hammerhead dashboard it is automatically uploaded to the device within seconds of hitting save. Also you shouldn't forget just how good the screen is in bright sunlight and when wet, cold etc. - it really can cope in all situations. It's clear a lot of thought has gone in to designing the hardware, it would be unfair to assume that since it runs Android its just a repackaged phone. Also ask yourself whether a modern phone would last 10 hrs with the screen on bright enough to see in direct sunlight whilst running GPS navigation software - I'd be fairly surprised if most would last half that. All this said, you could make a cheap phone do 70% of what the Karoo can do without much fuss, but I like new tech and gadgets and will always be an early adopter of new fangled wizardry  I can totally see why this wouldn't appeal to some, I'm not going to try and convince you otherwise 



J1888 said:


> Cool! Keep us updated if you don’t mind, interested to see how it works out for you - would consider doing something like this myself



I will report back as soon as I've had a chance to go out for a ride - maybe tomorrow afternoon unless the gap in my diary closes up  I've been playing with the bone conducting headphones and am pleasantly surprised by the audio quality, yet to see what they're like with added wind noise though


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## adamhearn (28 Dec 2018)

I was certainly keen and appreciate that phones have [significant] limitations. Sadly I stopped being interested after seeing it costs £399 (though presently on sale at £315) and then all the waffle about how wonderful it is to have a walled garden.

I’m equally unimpressed with the competition too


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## J1888 (28 Dec 2018)

JhnBssll said:


> In a way you're right; on paper there isn't a lot between the Karoo and most mobile phones. What is missing is how well the Karoo works as a data recorder and data display with the native software - 90% of the time I don't have the map onscreen, I'm displaying live data fields. It automatically uploads a ride to Strava as soon as you end the ride. If you create a route on the online hammerhead dashboard it is automatically uploaded to the device within seconds of hitting save. Also you shouldn't forget just how good the screen is in bright sunlight and when wet, cold etc. - it really can cope in all situations. It's clear a lot of thought has gone in to designing the hardware, it would be unfair to assume that since it runs Android its just a repackaged phone. Also ask yourself whether a modern phone would last 10 hrs with the screen on bright enough to see in direct sunlight whilst running GPS navigation software - I'd be fairly surprised if most would last half that. All this said, you could make a cheap phone do 70% of what the Karoo can do without much fuss, but I like new tech and gadgets and will always be an early adopter of new fangled wizardry  I can totally see why this wouldn't appeal to some, I'm not going to try and convince you otherwise
> 
> 
> 
> I will report back as soon as I've had a chance to go out for a ride - maybe tomorrow afternoon unless the gap in my diary closes up  I've been playing with the bone conducting headphones and am pleasantly surprised by the audio quality, yet to see what they're like with added wind noise though



I’ve had two pairs of Aftershokz - fantastic for then commute, and I only used them for podcasts so audio quality not an issue. Both sets snapped though...


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## PaulSB (29 Dec 2018)

I know very little about the Karoo device other than reading online reviews all of which suggest this device is a "work in progress." This thread seems to confirm the point.

I'd be interested to know why one would buy a product launched before it was fully ready for use? Especially when the Wahoo Elemnt is +/- £100 cheaper and is, as far as I'm aware, fully functional. I should add I'm a convert from a Garmin 810 (which I never really trusted) to the Wahoo which to date has proved faultless.


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## adamhearn (29 Dec 2018)

It has all the smell of the recent style of product development... get the public to buy in advance (crowdfunded) then fail to deliver on promises but disguise that with continual updates 

I know joe public expects the moon on a stick but when/why did this become the norm?!

It’s good to read the initial post as I’d not heard of the device previously and it gives a balanced approach to moving forward rather than just bitching about it being poor.

@PaulSB As to why one might buy one, your last statement answers your own question. The established market no longer offers what the modern day gadget consumer’s insatiable need to follow the next trend expects.


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## JhnBssll (29 Dec 2018)

When I paid for the device I knew it was a slight risk. There were a few delays, I ended up waiting around 4 months for mine but those that had bought in earlier had to wait a lot longer, some up to a year. To counter this the early adopters paid less, ibthink mine was about £260, and after initial software issues they opened the returns window up to 90 days. This gave me plenty of time to use it, discover it's limitation decide whether I thought it was worth continuing with. Overall I'm glad I did, it's a fab little thing and does things the wahoo and garmins can't. The screen is also far superior to anything else.

I went out this afternoon and ran the standard apps on-screen with media player in the background, it used about 15% battery in around 90 minutes so it's still around 10% an hour. The AfterShokz Trekz Air headphones were a revelation; there were times i couldnt hear the music due to wind noise but overall they were excellent and didnt seem to detract from my awareness of approaching vehicles or hazards. I think they'll be perfect on the commute and lone rides 

I'm hoping to go out again on new years day on a longer ride - I'll plot a new route and use OsmAnd to guide me around


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## JhnBssll (1 Jan 2019)

I tested OsmAnd navigation out today. I started a ride in the standard Karoo software and left it running in the background to record the ride data then opened the media player, whatsapp and dropbox. I used whatsapp for the live tracking function so my wife could see my location when she fancied checking my progress. I had copied a .gpx of my route in dropbox and once selected it automatically downloaded and opened in OsmAnd. A few taps of the touchscreen later and the navigation started with additional audio cues via the headphones. I had previously set OsmAnd to turn the screen on near junctions so I turned the screen off to see if it worked.

The first 26 miles were fabulous; OsmAnd's mapping and audio cues were great, and it turns the screen on and off in plenty of time for the next instruction. The audio cues automatically reduce the media volume before announcing the instructions so it all seems to integrate quite nicely. It's a bit of a faff to get between OsmAnd and the karoo data screens - I'm hoping a coming software update will bring the karoo's own mapping capabilities closer to these third party apps so I can revert back to using the standard features.

Calls and tracking worked fine - I suffered a mechanical and had to call for rescue but my wife could see exactly where I was and call me while I slowly cycled towards our arranged rendezvous point to check I was ok. I was very impressed with the call clarity over the headphones, and she said I was perfectly audible at the other end too so the microphone seems to be good too.

Battery wise I finished on 75% after getting home and uploading all the data to strava, so again around 10% drain per hour. At that rate I'd be able to ride 150 miles on one charge with all connectivity and features running 

Overall a succesful outing, even if I didn't make it the full planned distance and my wife missed a bit of Bridget Jones Diary


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## DisjointedReality (3 Jan 2019)

JhnBssll said:


> When I paid for the device I knew it was a slight risk. There were a few delays, I ended up waiting around 4 months for mine but those that had bought in earlier had to wait a lot longer, some up to a year. To counter this the early adopters paid less, ibthink mine was about £260, and after initial software issues they opened the returns window up to 90 days. This gave me plenty of time to use it, discover it's limitation decide whether I thought it was worth continuing with. Overall I'm glad I did, it's a fab little thing and does things the wahoo and garmins can't. The screen is also far superior to anything else.
> 
> I went out this afternoon and ran the standard apps on-screen with media player in the background, it used about 15% battery in around 90 minutes so it's still around 10% an hour. The AfterShokz Trekz Air headphones were a revelation; there were times i couldnt hear the music due to wind noise but overall they were excellent and didnt seem to detract from my awareness of approaching vehicles or hazards. I think they'll be perfect on the commute and lone rides
> 
> I'm hoping to go out again on new years day on a longer ride - I'll plot a new route and use OsmAnd to guide me around




I'm finding your work with the Hammerhead Karoo very interesting. Also I just wanted to post my full agreement with your comments relating to the AfterShokz Trekz headphones. I've had a pair of Trekz Titanium since shortly after they were launched and they are excellent. Yes, wind noise is an issue at times, but it's a small price to pay for being able to hear the outside world and listen to music, podcasts, audiobooks, and make and accept phone calls and receive notifications whilst riding. I just pause the audio when the wind noise is a problem.


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## JhnBssll (9 Mar 2019)

DisjointedReality said:


> I'm finding your work with the Hammerhead Karoo very interesting. Also I just wanted to post my full agreement with your comments relating to the AfterShokz Trekz headphones. I've had a pair of Trekz Titanium since shortly after they were launched and they are excellent. Yes, wind noise is an issue at times, but it's a small price to pay for being able to hear the outside world and listen to music, podcasts, audiobooks, and make and accept phone calls and receive notifications whilst riding. I just pause the audio when the wind noise is a problem.



I now use them on every solo ride and my opinion hasn't changed, certainly worth the money 

I made a minor breakthrough with the Karoo last night - I had long been trying to find out how to use my smart watch as a heart rate sensor so I can have heart rate data for my commutes when I don't want to wear my chest strap. Last night I discovered an app for WearOS called "Heart for Bluetooth" which does just this - it turns an android smart watch in to a discoverable heart rate sensor allowing you to pair it with a device  I havent tried it out in the wild yet but I got it all set up and working in a few minutes yesterday evening; could be useful for owners of other brands of computer too


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## Gmann (21 Apr 2019)

JhnBssll said:


> I've had my Karoo for about 10 months now. It's a great little device but the software isn't yet exploiting the full potential of the hardware so I've followed in the wake of a growing number of users by making some personalisations  I've not done anything new or creative, just followed their instructions but thought I'd share my progress none the less
> 
> Here's the Karoo alongside the bone conducting headphones I intend to try out over the coming days with a view to using on the commute in the new year.
> 
> ...


Hi JhnBssll , just joined the forum here and recently got a Hammerhead Karoo and really interested in your post and was wondering if you have any more instructions on how to do what you described on your Karoo?
Thanks.


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## JhnBssll (21 Apr 2019)

Gmann said:


> Hi JhnBssll , just joined the forum here and recently got a Hammerhead Karoo and really interested in your post and was wondering if you have any more instructions on how to do what you described on your Karoo?
> Thanks.



Hi Gmann, I would recommend you join the unofficial Karoo user forums and have a look around, that's where I got the ideas from 

https://www.karoousers.org/index.php

Essentially you need to install the android debug bridge (adb) on a PC or Mac which allows you to push apps to the device via a USB connection. It took me a while to get going but it's relatively straightforward when you know what you're doing


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## Gmann (21 Apr 2019)

JhnBssll said:


> Hi Gmann, I would recommend you join the unofficial Karoo user forums and have a look around, that's where I got the ideas from
> 
> https://www.karoousers.org/index.php
> 
> Essentially you need to install the android debug bridge (adb) on a PC or Mac which allows you to push apps to the device via a USB connection. It took me a while to get going but it's relatively straightforward when you know what you're doing


Magic JhnBssll, appriciate the advice.


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