Google Maps is not switching to darkmode immediately

Tomblarom

Info: My car radio is installed in a campervan and runs 24/7 from secondary 12v battery. To turn the display off (not whole system) I have a small switch that controls ACC. Device is a 7862S and am using the new "Minimalist Mode", but the following bug also happend in the past with the "Normal Mode". Here is my system info:

Issue/Bug:
When the OS switches from day (light) to night (dark) in the evening, Google Maps is not switching immediately to dark. It is delayed by around 9-10 Minutes or even stays in light-mode, which is very annoying, when it's dark outside and you're being blinded by the bright display.

It does not matter which "Day/Night Mode" is selected.
When passing tunnels, it automatically turns dark and light again.
Restarting Google Maps does not help. General UI is dark, but not navigation. [videos: https://t.me/duduauto/1/117532 , https://t.me/duduauto/1/117552]

Steps to reproduce:

Select any "Day/Night Mode". e.g. time 08:10pm
Start a navigation with Google Maps to any destination
Wait until it's 08:10pm
Watch the system change from light to dark
Watch Google Maps not changing to dark
With some luck it changes to dark after 10 Minutes

Settings:

gismo

Tomblarom This is not related to DUDUOS but to the Google Maps app. You need to go to the settings of Google Maps. In there you'll find two settings for night/day one for the UI and one for the maps. Apparently you've selected Follow System for the UI because your menus get dark correctly. For maps, you've set it to Automatic - and that means Google Maps determines the colour of the maps, not the system. For instance, the map will go dark in a tunnel even if the system remains in day mode (eg if you don't use lights). But it also means that Google Maps has its own logic on when it's dark enough in the evening to switch the map to night also. This is why it sometimes takes 10mins longer or doesn't happen at all.
Sadly Google Maps has no setting to follow the system for maps (only automatic, always day, always night) but you can't blame the system for that...

PatrykWaw

The problem is widely known and is not directly related to dudu. This is a google maps problem. Change to another older version should help

picasso1850

gismo great explanation on the software logic decision tree

Tomblarom

gismo thanks for in-depth info. Yes it helps to understand the issue, yet not how to solve it. 🙁 It seems many experience this..

gismo

Tomblarom So what you can try to mitigate: In DUDU day/night settings choose based on location (sunrise/sunset) rather than light's status. I think that Google Maps uses a sunrise/sunset logic and it should come close.
The automatic light of my campervan (VW) is close enough so for me the advanced setting (light's status during day, night mode at night) works well. I see small deviations in Google Maps map handling but not disturbing.

Edit: I've just seen that you already use sunrise/sunset. Another thing I've seen in Google Maps is a bug, where the map stays on day mode even at night until you start to actually navigate. That's a bug in Google Maps and I think they'll sort it. Or maybe try other navigation apps. For instance I prefer OSMAnd when on tour because I might not be navigating but want to see where I'm going - Google Maps is really bad at just showing your position, it doesn't update constantly. Also OSMAnd's maps are much more informative, showing street surfaces, private roads etc. Useful as I have an offroad camper and do greenlaning from time to time. In Iceland, Google Maps didn't even know the tracks in the Highlands... but that's another topic 😉

PPS: As you have a RV, hope you've seen the valuable levelling widget that gives you tilt/roll info so you can find a level ground 😉