Media volume control with Tasker & Gear 2

gear2_tasker_volume

This tutorial is for those who want to control the media volume on Android through their Gear 2. It can also be used without the Gear 2 part, if you are only interested in the tasks themselves.

First, make sure you were successful in getting Tasker to work with the Gear 2.
(I recommend getting that example app to run before continuing)

If you just want Volume Profiles to be triggered by Tasker, go to the bottom of this post!
If you want two separate buttons to increase/decrease the volume, follow these steps:

A task/app for increasing the media volume:

  1. Open Tasker and press the 3-dotted button on the top-right and select Preferences.
  2. Uncheck the Beginner Mode (or you won’t be able to set the level variables at step 6.)
  3. Create a new task and name it: Media Volume Increase.
  4. Press + and select Variables, then Variable set.
    • Name: %mediaVolume
    • To: %VOLM + 3
      (volume increases by 3, e.g. 0/15, 3/15, 6/15. you can change this if you want)
    • If: %VOLM < 15
  5. Back.
  6. Press + and select Audio, then Media Volume.
    • Level: %mediaVolume
    • Do not check Display or Sound unless you really want to (for a test).
  7. Back.
  8. Press + and select Alert, then Notify
    • Title: Volume increased to %VOLM/15
    • If%VOLM < 15
  9. Press + and select Alert, then Notify
    • TitleVolume at maximum! (%VOLM/15)
    • If%VOLM eq 15
  10. Back.
  11. Press + and select Alert, then Notify Cancel
    (to automatically remove the notifications on the phone so they don’t pile up)
  12. Back.
    Result
  13. Add the application icon (for the Gear 2) by using the button on the bottom-right.
  14. Back (you should be at the task list now).
  15. Press the 3-dotted button on the top-right and select Preferences.
  16. Check the Beginner Mode (or not, if you know how to export apps without).
  17. Back (to the task list).
  18. Press & hold Media Volume Increase -> 3-dotted button on the top-right -> Export.
    (make sure you have installed Tasker App Factory first or you won’t be able to export)
  19. After the export is done, press the Android robot icon on the bottom-right of the popup.
  20. Install the application.
  21. Open Gear Manager -> Notifications -> select Media Volume Increase.
    (make sure you turn on notifications in the manager for this to work. please see below)
  22. Gear Manager -> Samsung Apps -> Find and install LaunchGear.
  23. Open LaunchGear on the phone and add Media Volume Increase.
  24. Open LaunchGear on the Gear 2 and test out your new app.

If everything works fine, we can create the second app for the Gear 2:

A task/app for decreasing the media volume:

  1. Open Tasker and press the 3-dotted button on the top-right and select Preferences.
  2. Uncheck the Beginner Mode (or you won’t be able to set the level variables at step 6.)
  3. Create a new task and name it: Media Volume Decrease.
  4. Press + and select Variables, then Variable set.
    • Name%mediaVolume
    • To%VOLM – 3
      (volume decreases by 3, e.g. 6/15, 3/15, 0/15. you can change this if you want)
    • If%VOLM > 0
  5. Back.
  6. Press + and select Audio, then Media Volume.
    • Level%mediaVolume
    • Do not check Display or Sound unless you really want to (for a test).
  7. Back.
  8. Press + and select Alert, then Notify
    • TitleVolume decreased to %VOLM/15
    • If%VOLM < 15
      AND
    • If%VOLM > 0
  9. Press + and select Alert, then Notify
    • TitleVolume at minimum! (%VOLM/15)
    • If%VOLM eq 0
  10. Back.
  11. Press + and select Alert, then Notify Cancel
    (to automatically remove the notifications on the phone so they don’t pile up)
  12. Back
    Result
  13. Add the application icon (for the Gear 2) by using the button on the bottom-right.
  14. Back (you should be at the task list now).
  15. Press the 3-dotted button on the top-right and select Preferences.
  16. Check the Beginner Mode (or not, if you know how to export apps without).
  17. Back (to the task list).
  18. Press & hold Media Volume Decrease -> 3-dotted button on the top-right -> Export.
    (make sure you have installed Tasker App Factory first or you won’t be able to export)
  19. After the export is done, press the Android robot icon on the bottom-right of the popup.
  20. Install the application.
  21. Open Gear Manager -> Notifications -> select Media Volume Decrease.
    (make sure you turn on notifications in the manager for this to work. please see below)
  22. Gear Manager -> Samsung Apps -> Find and install LaunchGear.
  23. Open LaunchGear on the phone and add Media Volume Decrease.
  24. Open LaunchGear on the Gear 2 and test out your new app.

How to turn on notifications on the Gear 2:

  1. Open “Notifications” in Gear Manager
  2. Uncheck “Limit Notifications”
  3. Press on “0) More Notifications”
  4. Press “Turn On”
  5. Check the box next to “Gear Manager”
  6. Return to “Notifications” in Gear Manager
  7. Scroll down and check the boxes you want to receive notifications from

Check the [Guide] How to set up Galaxy Gear 2 for non Samsung devices for errors.

Volume profiles for the Gear 2:

  1. Install Volume Profile for tasker and create a profile called Outdoor (as an example).
  2. Edit the Settings of Volume Profile to disable vibration and sound on profile change.
  3. Open Tasker and create a new task and name it: Set outdoor volume profile.
  4. Press + and select Plugin, then Volume Profile -> Configuration: Outdoor.
  5. Back.
  6. Press + and select Alert, then Notify
    • TitleOutdoor profile set!
  7. Back.
  8. Press + and select Alert, then Notify Cancel
    (to automatically remove the notifications on the phone so they don’t pile up)
  9. Back.
  10. Add the application icon (for the Gear 2) by using the button on the bottom-right.
  11. Back (you should be at the task list now).
  12. Press & hold Set outdoor volume profile -> 3-dotted button on the top-right -> Export.
  13. After the export is done, press the Android robot icon on the bottom-right of the popup.
  14. Install the application.
  15. Open Gear Manager -> Notifications -> select Set outdoor volume profile.
    (make sure you turn on notifications in the manager for this to work. please see above)
  16. Gear Manager -> Samsung Apps -> Find and install LaunchGear.
  17. Open LaunchGear on the phone and add Set outdoor volume profile.
  18. Open LaunchGear on the Gear 2 and test out your new volume profile.

Yes, lots of steps but once you create 2-3 apps, everything will seem easier 🙂 Now enjoy your new apps for controlling your phone with your Gear 2 while going for a run!

Similar apps can now be easily created, for example: increasing/decreasing any other type of volumes on the phone (ringer, alarm, notifications, etc.) but the media volume should be the most useful. For complex alarm/ringer settings, use Volume profiles.

UPDATES:

  • 23.07.2014 – added steps to automatically remove the generated notifications on the phone using Tasker (step 11 for first two apps, step 8 for the last one).

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Getting Tasker to work with Samsung’s Gear 2

Gear2 Tasker

After a lot of troubleshooting, a rom reinstallation and a couple of workarounds, I can now finally start Tasker tasks, from my Gear 2 Neo, on my Galaxy S3, which in turn can control almost anything on the phone itself, my laptops or other devices! 🙂

  • An example regarding other Tasker possibilities: AutoRemote with AutoVoice Demo
    (althrought I’m not into voice automation and this tutorial will not cover it, for now)

Before this, I was only able to send notifications from Tasker to the Gear 2, which is also cool but controlling your smartphone with your smartwatch gives you endless possibilities!

Back to the tutorial. There are two ways to get this working:

    1. On Samsung devices with a stock rom (currently 17 devices)
      Samsung Galaxy S5 / Galaxy Grand 2 / Galaxy Note 3 / Galaxy Note 3 Neo / Galaxy Note 2 / Galaxy S4 / Galaxy S3 / Galaxy S4 Zoom / Galaxy S4 Active / Galaxy S4 mini / Galaxy Mega 6.3 / Galaxy Mega 5.8 / Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 Edition) / Galaxy NotePRO (12.2) / Galaxy TabPRO (12.2/10.1/8.4)
    2. On Non-Samsung devices OR Samsung devices with a custom rom
      Follow this guide on xda first, to get your Android phone to work with the Gear 2.
      WARNING: I’m not responsible if you brick your phone! Read the xda guide carefully!

Regarding point 1: I can’t really help with this, as I have a Galaxy S3 with a custom rom installed (SlimROM 4.4.4) and I had to follow the xda guide from point 2. for it, but it should work out of the box and even easier. Just make sure you have Gear Manager installed from the Samsung app store and then go to the steps further below.

Regarding point 2: after following the xda guide from the link above and connecting your Gear 2 to the phone, you also need to be able to receive notifications and also install apps from the GALAXY Apps store correctly, not only the stand-alone apps but also those that install on the phone too! This usually gave the Installation Failed. Try Later.(0) error, until yesterday, but thanks to a discovery from @drakenjin on xda, and my install tips, you should be able to fix these errors like this:

After installing everything and have OP’s version of samsung apps, even if you go to Settings -> Apps -> GALAXY Apps to disable it, you will see there are only two buttons: Force stop and Disable. Clicking on Disable just disabled it and no popup for factory reset of the app appeared.

Then I opened samsung apps and I was prompted to update, so I did. After updating, the version was 14070105.01.021.1 and now, after going again to Settings -> Apps -> GALAXY Apps, you will see three buttons: Force stop, Uninstall and Disable. Clicking on Disable now opened the popup to reset the app to it’s factory settings. Reset it and follow @drakenjin’s post and click Phone here to download and install the new GALAXY Apps store on your phone.

After this I had version 14070905.01.025.1, even if I’ve updated before disabling.

If everything goes well, you should be able to install anything from Samsung’s app store, to the Gear 2 and phone, especially the free launcher that we need for everything to work. 🙂

Now to the actual “hack”: Tasker + App Factory Plugin + LaunchGear!

Assuming you went through either 1. or 2. successfully and you have installed GALAXY Apps, Gear Manager and connected to your Gear 2, follow the next steps:

    1. Install Tasker from the Play Store, if you don’t have it already
      (it’s not free but it’s worth every penny)
    2. Install Tasker App Factory from the Play Store
      (a free Tasker plugin to create separate apps that link to it)
    3. Gear Manager -> Samsung Apps -> Search and install LaunchGear
      (this one is free, thanks to Heedeok Lee)

Tasker App Factory is the actual workaround here, as LaunchGear supports only apps but not shortcuts to Tasker tasks (for now). With the App Factory you can export tasks from Tasker as separate applications which LaunchGear can then execute. (see example below)

Until I’ve reinstalled SlimROM, I always had problems with App Factory apps force-closing on me (“Unfortunately, … has stopped.“) but now with Tasker v4.4 (final) and the latest App Factory, it finally works perfectly! Not sure what got fixed for that, the rom or the apps.

Example: Gear 2 -> Phone -> back to Gear 2 again, with a notification!

  1. Open Tasker -> Tasks
  2. Create a new task and name it whatever you want, e.g. “Phone Battery Level”
  3. Add a new sub-task with + -> Select Alert -> Notify
    • Title: Phone battery level: %BATT%
  4. Back.
  5. Add a new sub-task with + -> Select Alert -> Notify Cancel
    • Title: nothing/nix/nada (leave it empty)
      (so Tasker clears the notification on the phone after it appears)
  6. Back.
  7. Important: Add an application icon using the button on the bottom-right.
    (this it the icon that will display on the gear)
  8. Go back to the main page of Tasker and click and hold “Phone Battery Level”
  9. Click the button on the top-right -> Export -> As app.
  10. Wait for it to finish -> click the robot on the bottom-right of the popup and install.
    (test it by running “Phone Battery Level”. You should get the notification only on the phone)
  11. Gear Manager -> Notifications -> check “Phone Battery Level”.
    (if you don’t see the application list at the bottom, follow the steps from here)
  12. (on the phone) Run LaunchGear, which should be installed through GALAXY Apps.
  13. In LaunchGear, click + and add your “Phone Battery Level” app and confirm.
  14. Run LaunchGear and then the app, to see your phone’s battery level on your watch! 🙂
    (if your LaunchGear is black, close all recent apps on the Gear. I have it set on double-pressing the Gear main button. Hopefully Heedeok Lee will fix this issue)

And these are pretty much the basics. Not to mention what other complex apps could be created! Have fun and thanks go to @CarbonWyre@drakenjin, Heedeok Lee, and other users from the XDA thread mentioned above.

For more information, check out my XDA thread on for this tutorial, but I plan on updating this post with more tips and tricks!

More apps:

TIPS and TRICKS:

  1. When you want icons that are not built into tasker, just install an application with the desired icon from the Play store. Then select that application’s icon at step 8. in the above example and export the app. After you installed the tasker app with the desired icon, you can uninstall the application from which you’ve “stolen” the icon 🙂

More to follow!

UPDATES:

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HUAWEI HG655b, the cheap all-rounder!

A couple of years ago, one of Romania’s main ISP’s (Romtelecom) started having this router as an option for their customers for a small fee or for “free”, depending on their contract. Nowadays, those who switched to the competition (RDS) even in the rural areas, find these DSL routers obsolete and sell them for 10-15€ or less, which is rather cheap considering the advantages listed below.

I’ve got both of mine for free from friends that didn’t need them anymore 🙂 Some pictures:

Pros: (with default hardware and firmware: V100R001C02B018)

    • DSL (one input) for ADSL or VDSL connections
    • VOIP with two phone outputs (never tried them)
    • 4 LAN outputs (well, that’s a standard for most routers)
    • 1 USB port for flashdrives and hard drives but connecting a USB hub for multiple ‘drives is also possible!
    • 4 SSID’s, so you can have multiple access points showing up, like 4 different WiFi connections with their own names, encryption, permissions and settings!
    • Router on/off button (sadly, not all routers have this anymore)
    • WLAN on/off button!
    • WDS button

Cons: (with default hardware and firmware: V100R001C02B018)

    • USB port has only FAT32 support! (latest firmware fixes this)
    • No WAN port, only DSL (latest firmware fixes this)
    • print server not working (latest firmware fixes this)

Pros: (after updating to the latest firmware: V100R001C02B025)

    • option to turn the first LAN port into a WAN port – other ISP’s work now! (e.g. RDS)
    • print server (e.g. using one of the routers in another room, where the usb printer is)
    • NTFS support for flashdrives and hard drives!
    • DLNA (tip: UPNP has to be activated too)

Cons: (after updating to the latest firmware: V100R001C02B025)

    • by turning the first LAN port into a WAN port, you have only 3 LAN ports left.
      Other than this, I can’t think of other disadvantages right now.

Some were able to install DD-WRT and OpenWRT on this model. I didn’t try it yet but having DD-WRT on my main (TP-Link) router got me tons of extra functionalities which would go hand in hand with the Huawei routers. And connecting all of them together, in a better way than right now, would be a nice upcoming project – for which this blog is more intended.

Until then, please check out Claudiu’s posts regarding the HUAWEI HG655b.

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Coming Soon!

Until then…

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