How to record every trip automatically

Odo can record every drive without you opening the app. There are two approaches, and you can use both at once: whichever starts the trip first wins.

Motion detection

Odo notices you're moving fast enough for long enough and starts a trip. No setup per car, works for any vehicle. Uses some battery and can't tell a driver from a passenger.

Shortcuts automations

Your car's CarPlay or Bluetooth connection, a Driving Focus or an NFC tag starts the trip. The most battery-friendly and reliable option, set up once per trigger.

Option 1: motion detection

1. 1

   Open Auto-Start Trips

   In Odo, go to Settings → Driving → Auto-Start Trips and choose Motion Detection.

2. 2

   Allow access

   Give Odo Motion & Fitness access and set Location to Always, so it can notice a drive while the app is in the background.

3. 3

   Tune the start

   The default start speed is 12 km/h, held for 5 seconds. Lower it for a bicycle, raise it if walking or slow traffic starts trips by mistake.

Motion detection is off until you turn it on. If you need a break from it, for example on a day of passenger rides, snooze auto-start from the speedometer's menu for 30 minutes up to the rest of the day.

Option 2: CarPlay, Bluetooth or NFC

Odo's trip actions plug into Apple's Shortcuts app. In Odo, Settings → Driving → Auto-Start Trips → Shortcuts has two ready-made shortcuts you can add in one tap, plus step-by-step guides for each trigger. To build one yourself:

1. 1

   Create an automation

   Open the Shortcuts app, tap the Automation tab, then tap +.

2. 2

   Pick a trigger

   Choose CarPlay, Bluetooth (your car's stereo), NFC, a Focus such as Driving, or the Action Button.

3. 3

   Add Odo's action

   Search for Odo and choose Start or Resume Trip.

4. 4

   Run immediately

   Set the automation to Run Immediately so it fires without asking.

5. 5

   Add the opposite trigger

   Create a second automation for disconnect that runs Pause Trip, or Stop Trip if you want each drive saved as its own trip.

Let trips pause and end on their own

• Auto-pause when stationary pauses the trip after a stop of 30 seconds to 5 minutes, and resumes as soon as you move.
• Auto-end finishes the trip after you've been parked for 5 to 60 minutes, and sets the end time back to when you actually stopped.
• Ignore Early Stops protects against a flaky CarPlay or Bluetooth connection ending a trip in its first seconds.
• A trip summary notification tells you when a trip ended on its own.

All three are in Settings → Driving, and all are off until you turn them on.

Get the right vehicle every time

If you have more than one vehicle, turn on Settings → Driving → Auto-match Vehicle. Odo can assign each trip by OBD2 adapter, by CarPlay, or by each car stereo's Bluetooth, so automatic trips land on the right car.

If trips don't start

• Check the automation is set to Run Immediately in the Shortcuts app.
• For motion detection, confirm Location is set to Always and Motion & Fitness is allowed.
• Make sure Low Power Mode isn't limiting background activity.