dmd docs
DMD Phone Link
Puts your Android phone on the dashboard. Calls, messages and notifications appear on the head unit, you can answer or decline without taking a glove off, and files you share from the phone land straight in DMD. Your phone stays in your pocket.
- Runs On
- Your Android phone — Android 10 or newer
- Talks To
- Mini Launcher on the head unit
- Connection
- Bluetooth — no internet, no account, no cable
- Call Audio
- Stays on your phone and helmet intercom
Why This App Exists
An iPhone can be mirrored to the head unit with no app at all — Apple builds that ability into iOS. Android does not have an equivalent, so an Android phone can only be mirrored if something on the phone offers to do it. That is what this app is.
If you ride with an iPhone you do not need this app. Pair it in Mini Launcher › Settings › iPhone instead.
Getting The App
DMD Phone Link is not on the Play Store — it is installed directly from here, on the Android phone you ride with.
- Open this page on the phone and tap Download Latest APK at the top. It saves to your Downloads folder.
- Open the downloaded file. The first time, Android asks permission to install apps from your browser or file manager — approve it, then re-open the file.
- Tap Install, then Open.
- From then on the app checks for new releases itself — see Keeping It Up To Date below. You should not need to come back here.
Setting It Up
- Install DMD Phone Link on your phone (see Getting The App above).
- Open it and tap Grant next to Bluetooth & notifications, then allow the permissions it asks for.
- Tap Allow next to Battery optimisation. Without this, Android will eventually stop the app while you ride.
- Tap Choose a Link Device. If your head unit is already paired it appears under Paired — tap it. If not, tap Enable on Make this phone visible, then pick the head unit under Nearby to pair and link in one step.
- On the head unit, open Mini Launcher › Settings › Android Phone and choose the same phone.
The top row is the link status — Connected once the head unit has it. Below that, the three setup rows should all read green, then everything under Shared with the head unit is yours to choose.
There is nothing else to visit day to day: the app is configured once and then stays in your pocket.
Both screens should say Connected within a few seconds. After this the link comes back on its own — when you start the bike, after a phone reboot, and after either app is updated. You should not need to open this app again.
Make this phone visible is the phone's half of pairing — it lasts two minutes, which is long enough for the head unit to find it. Pairing itself is done on the head unit.
Once paired, the unit appears under Paired; tap Link to use it, or Unlink to stop without forgetting the pairing.
Choosing What Gets Shared
Everything is off until you switch it on, and the choice is made on the phone — the device that owns the data. Anything switched off is never sent; the head unit is not even told it exists.
| Setting | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Phone calls | Incoming calls appear on the head unit. Choose Everyone, Known numbers (anyone in your contacts), Favourites only (starred contacts) or Off. |
| SMS | Text messages, with the same four choices. Set this to Off and no text reaches the head unit, even as a notification. |
| Notifications | App notifications are mirrored. Every app is included unless you switch it off under Choose apps. |
| Quick replies | The short messages offered on the head unit when you decline a call or answer a message. Edit them here — there is no keyboard on the bike. |
Answering Calls
A call appears full screen if the launcher is in front, or as a compact bar over your navigation app if you are riding. You get four choices:
- Answer — picks up on the phone. The audio stays between your phone and your helmet intercom.
- Decline — rejects the call.
- Ignore — clears it from the head unit but leaves it ringing on the phone, so it can still reach voicemail.
- Message — declines and texts the caller one of your quick replies.
Calling Out
Your starred contacts and recent calls are sent across, so you can dial from the head unit's dialer. If the head unit has no SIM of its own, the call is placed by your phone automatically — you do not have to choose.
Notifications & Replies
Mirrored notifications appear in the head unit's notification card and full list, labelled Phone so you can tell them from the head unit's own. Dismissing one on the bike clears it on your phone too.
When a message can be answered, a Reply button appears — tap it and pick one of your quick replies. This works with WhatsApp, Signal, SMS and anything else that offers a reply from its notification.
Under Choose apps, everything is mirrored unless you switch it off. Anything turned off here is never sent — the head unit is not told it happened at all.
Sending Files to the Head Unit
In any app on your phone, tap Share and choose Send to head unit. The file crosses to the head unit and opens in DMD.
Bluetooth is not fast. A route file arrives in a second or two; a large PDF roadbook can take a minute or more. You will see the progress, and you can cancel.
Sharing Your Internet
Most head units have no SIM, so they are only online near a Wi-Fi network they know. This app can hand them your phone's connection for weather, map tiles and HUB syncing. There are two ways, and they suit different things:
| Method | Setting Up | Speed | Battery | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluetooth | Once, then automatic | Slower | Low | Weather, map tiles, HUB syncing, live tracking |
| Wi-Fi hotspot | Once, then switch the hotspot on for each ride | Full speed | High | Downloading maps, sending large files |
Bluetooth is the one to pick unless you need the speed. Once it is set up it simply reconnects, and it does not flatten your phone. Choose the method under Share internet, and the app will take you to the one system screen you need to switch it on. The head unit reports back whether it actually got online.
Keeping It Up To Date
This app is installed by hand rather than from a store, so it checks for its own updates. Scroll to Updates at the bottom of the app: it shows the version you have and a Check button. If a newer one exists, tap Update to download it and then Install.
Updating does not break the link or lose your settings; the app reconnects to the head unit on its own once the new version starts.
If Something Is Not Working
| What You See | What To Do |
|---|---|
| Stuck on "Waiting for the head unit" | The head unit is the side that connects. Check Mini Launcher is running and that the phone is chosen under Settings › Android Phone. |
| Notifications stopped after a while | Android has probably stopped the app to save battery. Allow Battery optimisation in the app, and on Xiaomi, Huawei, Samsung and similar phones also allow autostart in the system settings. |
| Head unit shows nothing after a call | Check Phone calls is not set to Off, and that the caller matches the filter you chose — on Favourites only, an unknown number is never sent. |
| No devices under Nearby | Bluetooth only finds devices that are currently visible. Tap Make this device visible on the other one, then Scan again. |
Your Privacy
Nothing goes to the internet. Your calls, messages and notifications travel directly from your phone to your head unit over an encrypted Bluetooth connection between two devices you paired yourself, and the head unit only accepts the one you chose. There is no account, no server and no copy of anything anywhere else.