Frequently Asked Questions

HavenDrive is a telemetry and driving information app for Android Auto.

It displays real-time information such as:

• GPS speed
• Altitude
• Compass heading
• Coordinates
• GPS accuracy
• Trip information
• Position logging

HavenDrive is intended for informational purposes only.

Not really.

HavenDrive does not calculate routes, provide turn-by-turn directions, or tell you where to drive.

On Android Auto, HavenDrive is a template-based telemetry dashboard — not registered as a navigation or map app.

Think of it as a driving dashboard, not a navigator.

No.

HavenDrive is not designed to replace dedicated navigation software.

If you need route guidance, traffic information, lane assistance, speed camera alerts, or ETA calculations, use a navigation app such as Google Maps, Waze, Sygic, TomTom, or another navigation solution.

Yes.

HavenDrive can be used alongside most navigation applications. A common setup is:

• HavenDrive displayed on the Android Auto screen
• Google Maps, Waze, or another navigation app displayed on the phone

This allows you to monitor live telemetry on the vehicle display while still viewing and controlling navigation on your phone.

You can also reverse this arrangement:

• Google Maps or Waze displayed on Android Auto
• HavenDrive displayed on the phone

Choose whichever setup best suits your driving preferences.

If HavenDrive is currently displayed on the Android Auto screen:

1. Tap the Android Auto app launcher (the grid or app button).
2. Open Google Maps, Waze, or your preferred navigation app.
3. Tap the search bar or destination field.
4. Android Auto will display a message prompting you to continue on your phone.
5. Tap your phone and enter the destination.
6. Start navigation on the phone.
7. Return to HavenDrive on the Android Auto display if desired.

The navigation app will continue running and providing route guidance even when HavenDrive is visible on the Android Auto screen.

Yes.

You can switch between HavenDrive and supported navigation apps at any time using the Android Auto app launcher.

Switching applications does not stop the navigation session. Your route will continue running in the background unless you explicitly cancel it.

HavenDrive is designed as a telemetry dashboard, not a map application.

The Android Auto screen shows a grid of live metrics (speed, altitude, coordinates, trip stats, and more) — the same information as the phone home screen, without a compass marquee or map surface.

The main screen is a scrollable grid of live metrics — the same tiles as the phone home screen (speed, altitude, trip stats, vector, and more). The title row shows bearing and coordinates when GPS is available, plus a Recording label or status messages when needed.

A red record-circle icon in the header opens Trip actions — start, pause, resume, or stop logging; stop tracking; reset start location; open your navigation companion on the phone; and browse logged trips.

On supported car hosts, a vertical toolbar beside the grid provides two quick actions: a gear icon for display settings and a pin-map icon to send an open-on-phone notification to your configured navigation app (Google Maps, Waze, and so on). Older hosts show the same actions in the header action strip instead.

Altitude profile and CSV export are not available on Android Auto — use the phone when safely parked.

Tap the gear icon on the car dashboard to open Display settings. This is a convenience panel for three toggles that apply immediately:

• Decimal vs DMS coordinates
• Numeric bearing (degrees) vs cardinal directions (N, NE, E, …)
• Incline as percent vs degrees

These are the same preferences as on your phone — changing them in the car updates the phone app and vice versa.

Everything else (metric/imperial units, logging intervals, navigation companion, themes, Pro options, and so on) is configured in Haven Drive Settings on the phone. Android Auto settings are meant for quick adjustments while driving, not a full settings screen.

Vertical speed and incline tiles color their values to show direction of change:

• Green — ascending vertical speed or uphill incline
• Red — descending vertical speed or downhill incline
• Default color — no significant change (near level)

Other tiles use the standard text color. When GPS is lost, tile icons turn red but values stay readable.

Coordinates, bearing style, and incline unit can be changed from Display settings (gear icon). Each toggle applies immediately — there is no separate Apply button.

You can also tap the Incline tile to switch between percent and degrees, or tap the Vector tile (Pro) to switch bearing between numeric degrees and cardinal directions (N, NE, E, …). The vector tile uses the same bearing style as the header title.

On the phone, tap the coordinates row to toggle DMS vs decimal, the incline tile for percent vs degrees, and the vector tile for degrees vs cardinal — the same shared preferences.

It opens the Trip actions dialog — the same place to start, pause, resume, or stop logging, stop tracking when stats are active without logging, reset your start location, open your navigation companion on the phone, or browse logged trips.

Stop logging opens the journey name screen when a trip is recording. Stop tracking (shown when trip stats are running but you are not logging to the database) clears the current evaluation and waits for movement or a manual reset.

To anchor trip stats at your current position while parked, use Reset start location in Trip actions.

Android Auto currently does not allow third-party applications to place custom widgets, dashboards, overlays, or telemetry panels on top of another application's map.

Only Google-controlled system components can share screen space with the active navigation app.

If Android Auto ever allows this capability in the future, HavenDrive will gladly support it.

No.

For safety reasons, all destination entry, route planning, application setup, and configuration changes should be performed only while the vehicle is safely parked.

The driver should never attempt to enter destinations, operate a phone, configure applications, or interact with Android Auto while the vehicle is moving.

Always follow local traffic laws and prioritize safe vehicle operation.

Yes.

HavenDrive can record telemetry information such as:

• Position
• Speed
• Heading
• Altitude
• Timestamp

Recorded data is stored on your device.

Start and stop logging from the home screen on your phone, or from Trip actions on the Haven Drive Android Auto dashboard. While Android Auto is connected, either surface can start or stop a trip — you are not required to use the car display.

Pro users can choose Auto-resume logging under Settings: Off, Ask, or Always.

With Ask, Haven Drive shows a Continue recording? prompt for 5 seconds on the Android Auto dashboard (inline overlay, same style as Trip actions) as soon as Android Auto reconnects while the trip is still paused. On the phone, the same prompt appears when you open the app and are moving above about 5 km/h or 5 mph while Android Auto is not connected.

Tap Yes to resume or No to end the trip. If you do nothing, the prompt applies your Ask default action (Settings → Resume or End trip; default is Resume). Always resumes without asking; Off ends the paused trip.

Points already saved to your device are kept. When Haven Drive starts again, if the trip was still open it is treated as paused: a pause marker is written after your last recorded location, the status shows Logging paused, and your Auto-resume logging setting applies (Off ends the trip, Ask shows Continue recording?, Always resumes automatically).

Auto-stop paused logging (Pro) uses the same timer as any other pause, starting from that recovery pause marker.

On trip details (phone and Android Auto), Haven Drive shows two times:

• Total duration — wall-clock time from when the trip started to when it ended, including pauses and time spent stopped while logging was still running.
• Travel duration — only the driving sessions. Time while logging was paused (manual pause, Android Auto slow-speed disconnect pause, or recovery pause after a crash) does not count.

Average speed uses travel duration and path distance. The logged trips list shows travel duration.

No.

HavenDrive does not send your location history to us.

Trip logs remain on your device unless you explicitly export or share them.

No account is required for core functionality.

Some premium features may require Google Play licensing or subscription verification.

No.

HavenDrive is designed around local storage.

Any recorded telemetry remains on your device unless you choose to export it.

Mostly yes.

GPS telemetry does not require an internet connection.

Some optional features, licensing checks, updates, or future online services may require connectivity.

No.

HavenDrive is not a certified navigation system and should not be relied upon as the sole source of information when operating a vehicle.

Always pay attention to road conditions, traffic regulations, road signs, and your surroundings.

Yes.

GPS data can occasionally be inaccurate due to:

• Poor satellite visibility
• Tunnels
• Dense urban environments
• Weather conditions
• Device limitations

Always use your own judgment while driving.

Because without access to location data, it cannot calculate:

• Speed
• Heading
• Altitude
• Position
• Distance travelled

Location access is required for the application's core functionality.

Haven Drive uses the same movement detection as trip stats (about 1.5 km/h). When driving starts, you get a notification with Track, Log, and Ignore. You can also choose Track trip from the dashboard menu (☰) before stats are active.

• Track — start live trip stats on the dashboard
• Log — start trip stats and begin journey recording (requires Enable trip logging in Settings)
• Ignore — skip this drive until you stop again

Track and Log also turn on Always on display in the dashboard menu so the phone screen stays on while you drive. Trip stats do not start silently until you pick Track or Log, or start logging yourself. Android Auto connected skips the prompt and behaves as before.

Haven Drive keeps GPS active while the phone app is open on the dashboard so it can acquire a fix and show satellite counts.

When the app is in the background and you are not recording, connected to Android Auto, or driving with live trip stats active, GPS may stop to save battery — the last values stay on screen until you open the app again.

No.

HavenDrive is provided for informational and recreational purposes only.

It must not be used as a replacement for vehicle instruments, navigation equipment, safety systems, emergency services, or professional navigation tools.

GPS speed is generally very accurate at steady speeds in open areas, but temporary errors can occur due to:

• Poor satellite visibility
• Tunnels
• Dense forests
• Urban canyons (tall buildings)
• Signal reflections

Short spikes or drops may occasionally occur.

Most vehicle speedometers intentionally display a slightly higher speed than the actual vehicle speed.

GPS speed often represents the true ground speed and may therefore appear lower than the dashboard speedometer.

GPS altitude is typically much less accurate than GPS position.

Even when stationary, the reported altitude may fluctuate by several meters due to satellite geometry and atmospheric conditions.

Altitude should be considered an estimate rather than a survey-grade measurement.

When moving slowly or standing still, GPS has difficulty determining the vehicle's direction of travel.

As a result:

• Heading may fluctuate
• Compass direction may rotate unexpectedly
• Direction is most accurate when the vehicle is moving

GPS receivers estimate position from multiple satellites and continuously refine the solution.

Small differences of several meters are normal and expected.

HavenDrive records raw GPS positions.

GPS measurements may occasionally drift:

• Into adjacent lanes
• Onto nearby roads
• Slightly off-road
• Across bridges or junctions

Unlike navigation apps, HavenDrive does not perform map matching to force the recorded route onto a known road network.

Users often compare logs to Google Maps and assume the recorder is broken. Differences are expected and do not indicate a fault in HavenDrive.

Exporting logged trips is a Pro feature. Without Pro you can still record trips, open the logged trips list, and view trip details on your phone and on Android Auto.

On your phone, open Logged trips, choose a completed trip, and use the export buttons on the trip detail screen:

• Export CSV — a spreadsheet-style file with one row per GPS log point (timestamp, latitude, longitude, altitude, speed, heading). Useful for analysis in Excel, Python, or other tools.
• Export GPX — a standard GPS track file (.gpx) for fitness, hiking, or navigation apps that accept GPX.
• Export to KML — a KML file (.kml) representing the path, intended for opening or sharing in map apps such as Google Maps.

After export, Android shows the normal share sheet so you can send the file to email, cloud storage, or another app.

CSV export is not available on the Android Auto screen — use the phone trip detail screen when safely parked.

Trip distance is calculated from GPS positions.

Vehicle odometers are calculated using wheel rotation.

Because different measurement methods are used, small differences are normal.

HavenDrive does not add trip distance until GPS quality and movement meet the same conditions required to start the trip timer (see Trip Time below).

This avoids counting indoor GPS drift or jitter while the phone is stationary as traveled distance.

• Horizontal accuracy must be 15 meters or better (a reported accuracy value of 15 m or less).
• You must move at least 10 meters at more than 1.5 km/h with that level of accuracy.

Until both are satisfied, distance, straight-line distance, average speed, and related trip tiles remain at zero or show "--".

The trip timer does not start when you open the app. Time is recorded only after HavenDrive confirms that you are actually moving with a usable GPS fix.

All of the following must be met before the Trip Time tile begins counting:

• A GPS fix with horizontal accuracy of 15 meters or better (accuracy value ≤ 15 m, and accuracy must be reported — unknown accuracy does not count).
• At least 10 meters of movement at a speed above 1.5 km/h, measured only while that accurate fix is available.

When the timer starts, the clock runs continuously for the rest of that trip session until you reset the trip.

If you are indoors, parked, or moving slowly, GPS accuracy may stay worse than 15 meters, or your speed may stay below 1.5 km/h. In those cases HavenDrive intentionally does not start the timer.

This is normal behavior. Once you drive (or walk briskly outdoors) with a good satellite fix and exceed the movement threshold, trip time and the other trip statistics will begin updating together.

After the movement threshold is met (see Trip Time above), HavenDrive records trip time as elapsed real time from that moment until you reset the trip.

It is a simple duration clock — not derived from distance or speed. Pauses while parked still advance the timer once the trip is active.

Trip distance is the length of the path you actually traveled according to GPS, not a straight line to your destination.

While the trip is active, HavenDrive adds up short straight-line segments between consecutive GPS positions. Each segment is included only when:

• The horizontal accuracy is 15 meters or better.
• The segment is at least about 2 meters long.
• The implied speed between the two points is at most about 250 km/h (very large jumps are ignored).
• The time gap between samples is not too long (gaps over about 30 seconds are treated as a break and do not add distance).

If you drive around a block, trip distance follows the corners of your route. It is usually longer than the straight-line distance to your current position.

Maximum speed on the live trip tiles is not taken from a single GPS speed reading. Haven Drive computes implied speed from the distance and time between consecutive GPS fixes, and only raises the recorded maximum when several filters pass:

• Implied speed must be at most about 250 km/h.
• Both GPS fixes must have horizontal accuracy of 10 meters or better.
• The first segment after a long GPS gap (over about 30 seconds) — for example leaving a tunnel — does not update the maximum.
• A new maximum needs two consecutive implied speeds within about 15% of each other, so a one-sample jump is ignored.

Logged trip CSV files store the GPS-reported speed about every 15 seconds and do not include a separate maximum-speed column. Live maximum and CSV peak speed can therefore differ.

The Straight line tile shows the direct (geodesic) distance from your trip anchor point to your current position — as the crow flies, not along the road.

The anchor is set at the GPS fix where your trip becomes active (after accuracy and movement thresholds are met). Trip time, path distance, average speed, max speed, and max/min altitude all start from that same moment. Straight line and vector measure from that geographic anchor to your current position.

Current speed, altitude, vertical speed, and incline are live readings and are not tied to the trip anchor.

Straight-line distance updates only while the trip is active (after the same movement threshold as trip time). It can be much smaller than trip distance if you have driven a winding route.

The Vector tile (Pro) combines direction and distance from the same anchor used for straight-line distance.

It is displayed as bearing and distance, for example:

333° · 15 m

Meaning: your current position is about 15 meters away from the anchor in the direction 333° (northwest on a compass). The distance value is the same straight-line distance as on the Straight line tile; the bearing is the initial direction from the anchor to your current location.

In Settings you can enable Keep first vector anchor so that when you restart the trip and choose to keep the anchor, straight line and vector still measure from the original starting point while trip time, distance, average speed, and altitude extrema reset.

They measure different things:

• Trip distance — total path length along your GPS track.
• Straight line / vector distance — direct spacing from the anchor to where you are now.
• Vector bearing — which compass direction that direct line points.

Example: you drive 500 m along a curving road but end up 80 m from your starting anchor. Trip distance may read about 500 m while straight line and vector distance read about 80 m.

All three (plus trip time) stay at zero or "--" until GPS accuracy and movement thresholds are met, then update together for the active trip.

HavenDrive does not consider:

• Traffic
• Road closures
• Speed limits
• Navigation routes

Any estimated arrival information is based only on current movement and should be considered approximate.

Most displayed values originate from GPS data.

When GPS quality degrades, multiple measurements may be affected simultaneously:

• Speed
• Altitude
• Incline
• Vertical speed
• Heading
• Coordinates

In difficult environments, measurement accuracy may temporarily decrease.

To reduce battery consumption and storage requirements, positions are recorded at intervals.

As a result, recorded tracks may not perfectly reproduce every turn or maneuver.

The incline value is calculated from GPS altitude changes and traveled distance. While GPS position is usually accurate to a few meters, GPS altitude is often significantly less accurate and can fluctuate even when driving on a perfectly level road.

Because of this, short-term incline calculations may occasionally show values that are higher or lower than the actual road grade.

HavenDrive calculates incline as:

Incline (%) = (Altitude Change ÷ Horizontal Distance) × 100

For example:

Altitude gain: 5 m
Distance traveled: 100 m
Incline = 5%

The displayed value represents an estimate of the average grade over a recent section of road rather than the exact grade at a single point.

HavenDrive is designed to operate without requiring map downloads, internet connectivity, or third-party mapping services.

All incline calculations are performed locally using GPS sensor data available on the device.

This approach provides worldwide coverage but may be less accurate than systems that use detailed terrain databases.

Several factors can cause rapid changes:

• GPS altitude noise
• Temporary loss of satellite visibility
• Reflections from buildings, cliffs, or terrain
• Tunnel exits and entrances
• Dense forests
• Bridges and overpasses

A sudden change in reported altitude may temporarily affect the calculated incline even if the road itself has not changed significantly.

At higher speeds, the calculation uses a longer distance window.

For example:

30 km/h → calculation over a shorter distance
90 km/h → calculation over a longer distance

Using a longer distance averages out GPS altitude noise and typically produces a more stable estimate.

Very steep grades are often encountered at lower speeds.

At low speeds:

• Less distance is traveled between GPS samples.
• GPS altitude noise becomes a larger percentage of the calculation.
• Small altitude errors can have a significant impact on the result.

To improve responsiveness in steep terrain, HavenDrive uses shorter calculation windows, but this naturally increases sensitivity to measurement noise.

Road signs are based on engineering survey measurements taken during road design and construction.

HavenDrive estimates incline using real-time GPS data.

As a result:

• Road signs represent the official grade.
• HavenDrive provides an approximate real-time estimate.

Differences of several percentage points may occasionally occur.

Typical road grades are approximately:

Short spikes outside these ranges may be caused by GPS measurement errors rather than actual road conditions.

Vertical speed represents the rate of ascent or descent.

It is calculated as:

Vertical Speed = Altitude Change ÷ Time

Typical units are:

m/s (meters per second)
ft/min (feet per minute)

Example:

Altitude gain: 30 m
Time: 60 s
Vertical Speed = 0.5 m/s

Vertical speed is derived directly from altitude measurements.

Since GPS altitude is inherently noisy, vertical speed is usually noisier than vehicle speed.

Even on level ground, small GPS altitude fluctuations may produce non-zero vertical speed readings.

To reduce this effect, HavenDrive applies filtering and averaging, but some variation is unavoidable.

A small icon in the top-right corner of the vertical speed and incline tiles shows which sensor HavenDrive is using for that calculation.

• Thermometer icon — barometric pressure sensor (barometer). HavenDrive uses relative pressure changes to estimate short-term altitude movement. This is usually more stable than GPS for vertical speed and incline.
• Broadcast pin icon — GPS altitude. Used when the device has no barometer, or when barometer data is not yet available. This is the same GPS-based method described elsewhere in this FAQ.

On phones and tablets with a built-in barometer, HavenDrive prefers barometric data for vertical speed and incline because GPS altitude is good for approximate height but noisy for small, quick changes. The barometer does not replace GPS for position, speed, or coordinates — only for these elevation-derived metrics.

If your device has a barometer, you should generally see steadier vertical speed and incline readings when the thermometer icon is shown. Devices without a barometer always use GPS and show the broadcast pin icon.

When the device has no barometer, that source icon is shown in red on both tiles. Red means GPS altitude is being used because no pressure sensor is available — the same fallback as the broadcast pin icon, with a stronger visual hint that readings may be noisier.

No.

Incline and vertical speed are provided for informational and recreational purposes only.

They should not be relied upon for vehicle operation, route planning, safety-critical decisions, or determining whether a road is suitable for a particular vehicle.

Like all GPS-derived measurements, they are estimates and may occasionally be inaccurate.

Please report it through the support channel listed in the Play Store or on the HavenDrive website.

Bug reports are greatly appreciated and help improve the app for everyone.