Newbies head unit buyers guide - Android Auto General

Newbies head unit buyers guide - Android Auto General

I scanned thru several of these forums looking at the stickies in particular plus a few searches. However, I didn't find anything that would guide the selection of my 1st Android head unit. In particular, I am looking for the pros and cons of each type (Intel vs PX3 vs PX5, etc), as well as preferred manufacturers. I can fit a universal 2DIN in the dash with slight alterations. I would like to mod the unit so significant community involvement in customization is very important to me vs. having the latest and greatest thing out there. I want to hook up the unit to my Canbus so I can capture the steering wheel signals in my 2012 Ram 1500. I think that my truck has an external amp, but that it uses speaker-level signals vs. line level to drive. I have a factory externally amplified sub in the back. What other features are discriminators when trying to select the best unit? Thanks in advance!
Paul

I've had a bad experience with android (bought from Erisin) my unit died after only 6 months use (PX3 board) I then bought a PX5 board which only lasted a few weeks - when working the PX3 was ok - PX5 was faster - the unit I got seems impossible to get into recovery thus far. Erisin won't provide any support as they know it's too late for me to complain to Ebay or Paypal. I liked the android but I would look for a unit that has good support and is easy to get into recovery should things go wrong. I also have another car which has Windows system (Xtrons) but with built in DAB which apart from minor glitches has been good but is a little restricted with some software I would like to use.

Related

Witch head unit for my 2012 Ford Focus?

I'm a little bit confused...
I've bin looking for a good aftermarket head unit for my 2012 Ford Focus.
I found a few devices witch are based on the S160 platform like roadnavi.
Also a device witch is marked as 5.1.1 <LINK> witch seams to be on a mtcd base.
Im not sure if there is a devices available on a mtcb base for my car model.
What i read on xda, mtcb is the most popular an mod friendly device, mtcd is maybe to new on the market.
Have any of you guys a recommendation for me? Maybe one have the same car?
Thanks, Stefan

hello,
i have a 2013 ford focus.
Sad to see that here is no answer since 1 year.
iam looking for a replacement head unit too
have you found a headunit?
regards Christoph

I bought my unit from that company I have a 2011 Focus. Been working great for more than a year now.
It supports steering wheel controls, OEM reverse sensors, displaying which doors are open including boot. I also bought the boot handle camera and wired that up.
The only downsides are BT audio isn't the best, so I play all my music off USB.
And it seems like the PX3 units drain a little power when the car is off but I've always been able to start my car so probably not a big issue.
I flashed my unit with a KD rom as it looks nicer and updated my MCU to the latest version for KGL.
Here are a few head units for you to look at:
http://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/2ZRz3nQ
http://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/23FEiQj
http://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/6MJ2z7E
Happy to answer any Ford Focus 3 specific questions.

Have a look at Ownice C600 tesla style head unit
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/pr...Player-Radio-for-Ford/426795_32839757790.html

Recommendations on current Android Headunits

Hi Guys
I've just passed my current car containing my MTCD headunit to my wife, having bought myself a new car. Its a vehicle specific unit so will be staying in my wifes car.
There are no vehicle specif units for my new car, so am looking at standard double din options. To be honest, I've never been overly happy with the MTCD unit, its the first gen version with 5.1.1 the crappy PX3 Rockchip SOC and 1 gig of RAM. I've finally got it working acceptably using Malaysks ROM and Micro Gapps, but dont really want to stick another one of these in the new car!
There are a few more options available these days, PX5 units with better Rockchip SOC and 2GB RAM, the Intel Sofia Units, some other varients and I am also looking at an Android Auto head Unit from JVC as these are coming down in price.
Important things for me are:
Bluetooth Hands free
Radio (not fussed about DAB)
Sat Nav / Maps
Reversing Cam
Music
Listening to Audiobooks, probably doesnt need to be listed, but its important to me!
ODB stuff is nice (but not so important)
Lastly, the performance needs to be acceptable, I dont care if its not blazing fast, but we all know how slow some of these units are!
With all this in mind, what do people suggest looking at currently?
Many Thanks.
Josh

Also interested.
Have done lots of reading on the PX5 vs Sofia but haven't come to a conclusion yet.

I too am in the market, I got an old Dashlinq 4 in my BRZ running Android 4.1.1 and would love something that can actually run somewhat smoothly and keep pace with current apps now. Really would like something with at least Android 6.0 and 2GB of ram. Other than that needs to be Toyota Universal 6.2 inch double din size.

If the vehicle allows it, get an Android 7.x, with a high res IPS display, they are flooding these in the android HU market in china, but models are limits to popular car models.

Hey, new person buying a chinese unit (help please)

I don't know where to post this so I'm posting here due to the amount of other Erisin posts.
I'm in the middle of looking for a double din head unit for my Rav4, this Erisin ES4763C head unit has come up on eBay / Erisin website when googled.
After reading a lot of reviews its putting me off spending around £250 on this head unit with camera, reverse camera, DAB+ etc.
I'm after a head unit that will do almost everything and it seems to fit the bill.
I'm wanting to know are they easily fixable, are they able to refund money if said item is broken? I'll be paying via PayPal to get some protection.
I like to research before I plunge in. Youtube videos seem to have helped a bit on what they do and they seem ok.
Would you recommend buying one or should I stay clear? - Just don't want to end up looking like Homer Simpson in my car with separate things like dash cam, satnav and bluetooth headset. (Season 14, episode 20.) (google "homer simpson car gadgets" since im not allowed to post links yet.)
After a bit more research, I've come across Xtrons PCD67HGT that does all the same stuff as Erisin but without the TV option. (But who drives with TV on?)
I honestly don't know which head unit to go for.
I'm after a head unit that can do these:
DAB+
Dash cam record + speed
Sat Nav
Reverse camera
Hands free phone
Steering wheel control
WiFi + 4G (or connect to phones 4G. Is this possible? So I don't have to buy another sim card?)
DVD + mirroring for back passengers.
What head units are there for me? Vehicle is a RAV4 2004 gen 2 D-4D.
I have around £260 to spend.
Thank you.

Im using Xtrons TA701PL and it really runs like a charm.
Some of the most important setups are there, and its got expansion slots for everything and then some.
Sound is way better than i expected, perhaps some would argue that the amp is a little to the lower side, but its still able to blast out your speakers if you want to.
Ive tried a various amount of the unbranded CH HU´s from Ebay/Amazon, but nothing compares to Xtrons, i even had one of these unbranded ones having 20 mins to open spotify!, on my Xtrons, its there allmost instant.
Support wise, they do have a forum, but its one of those forums where you cant just post anyways, but they have to allow your post to be shown, so its 110% useless, BUT they do have a online chat, where you allso can leave an email, and they do respond pretty quickly.
I had 1 issue with mine, a faulty cable, and they sendt me a new one, at no charge.
Only real wierd issue software wise i have, is some apps seems to see BT as turned off, this seems to be a trend among Android HU´s, every single one ive tried has this, it can sometimes interferer with some apps that need BT to be activated.
I bought mine directly at Xtrons

Impetuz said:
Im using Xtrons TA701PL and it really runs like a charm.
Some of the most important setups are there, and its got expansion slots for everything and then some.
Sound is way better than i expected, perhaps some would argue that the amp is a little to the lower side, but its still able to blast out your speakers if you want to.
Ive tried a various amount of the unbranded CH HU´s from Ebay/Amazon, but nothing compares to Xtrons, i even had one of these unbranded ones having 20 mins to open spotify!, on my Xtrons, its there allmost instant.
Support wise, they do have a forum, but its one of those forums where you cant just post anyways, but they have to allow your post to be shown, so its 110% useless, BUT they do have a online chat, where you allso can leave an email, and they do respond pretty quickly.
I had 1 issue with mine, a faulty cable, and they sendt me a new one, at no charge.
Only real wierd issue software wise i have, is some apps seems to see BT as turned off, this seems to be a trend among Android HU´s, every single one ive tried has this, it can sometimes interferer with some apps that need BT to be activated.
I bought mine directly at Xtrons
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im close to buying the PA77HGTP, reverse camera, DVR camera comes to around £251. I'm close to clicking the button but something's putting me off. They recently brought out 8.0 with 4gb ram. But doesn't fit my car
There's no videos etc for showing the newer Xtrons working that I can find.
Hmm just don't know what to do.

Zenlot said:
Im close to buying the PA77HGTP, reverse camera, DVR camera comes to around £251. I'm close to clicking the button but something's putting me off. They recently brought out 8.0 with 4gb ram. But doesn't fit my car
There's no videos etc for showing the newer Xtrons working that I can find.
Hmm just don't know what to do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im quite happy with using the 7.1 models, all i wanted was the dual app function on the screen, so i can have spotify and traffic on at the same time

Zenlot said:
I don't know where to post this so I'm posting here due to the amount of other Erisin posts.
I'm in the middle of looking for a double din head unit for my Rav4, this Erisin ES4763C head unit has come up on eBay / Erisin website when googled.
After reading a lot of reviews its putting me off spending around £250 on this head unit with camera, reverse camera, DAB+ etc.
I'm after a head unit that will do almost everything and it seems to fit the bill.
I'm wanting to know are they easily fixable, are they able to refund money if said item is broken? I'll be paying via PayPal to get some protection.
I like to research before I plunge in. Youtube videos seem to have helped a bit on what they do and they seem ok.
Would you recommend buying one or should I stay clear? - Just don't want to end up looking like Homer Simpson in my car with separate things like dash cam, satnav and bluetooth headset. (Season 14, episode 20.) (google "homer simpson car gadgets" since im not allowed to post links yet.)
After a bit more research, I've come across Xtrons PCD67HGT that does all the same stuff as Erisin but without the TV option. (But who drives with TV on?)
I honestly don't know which head unit to go for.
I'm after a head unit that can do these:
DAB+
Dash cam record + speed
Sat Nav
Reverse camera
Hands free phone
Steering wheel control
WiFi + 4G (or connect to phones 4G. Is this possible? So I don't have to buy another sim card?)
DVD + mirroring for back passengers.
What head units are there for me? Vehicle is a RAV4 2004 gen 2 D-4D.
I have around £260 to spend.
Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Main question is: how good are you at DIY electronics? If not good at all you might want to consider buying a unit from a specialized company that will also set it up in your car.
After using several chinese HUs here are my findings:
All the units I have seen have low quality glossy LCD screens. If you live in a sunny area don't expect to see anything on the screen.
There is no QC at the end of the production cycle. That is why people receive units with non functioning screens or get weird errors from units with bad internal connections.
System architecture is unnecessarily complicated AND has serious limitations. For example you cannot: use a BT dongle or use a generic camera with the DVR app.
Bluetooth phone connections are generally of poor quality.
Some 4G modems work, others don't - no drivers.
Dual-zone (i.e having satnav on the HU screen and play a movie on the back screens) isn't generally available and you should specifically ask for that.
Steering wheel controls work as long as you have a resistive- type SWC. If not, additional modules are required.
Older units (with Android 4.4 or 5.1) have too little RAM and may become extremely slow.
With that said you can still find good value for money, just make sure you talk to the seller before paying anything and confirm every single feature for your specific car model. Chinese will answer any question before sale and pretty much disappear after sale.
I cannot comment on DAB+, never used it.

Looking for 2din head unit with fastboot and 4g sim connection

I have greate head unit in my toyota ractis that is cheap and work well with fast boot [joying brand]
My friend have another head unit that have sim card internet support but it's boot time is very long [Ownice brand]
I'm looking for head unit that will have also fast boot [that I couldn't find in Owince devices] and 3G\4G [the more the better]
thanks

I would think that this would get more views in the general android head unit forum rather than the MTCB sub forum. Also I think that looking for a new MTCB device is not wise at this moment there seems to be better newer things out there. Pretty much it seems there are two choices PX5 type devices or Atoto which uses mediatek. I have been reading many pages in the android head unit forums the last few weeks. I think I will settle for a atoto a6y pro. The other unit I think I may buy is the v600 dasaita version of the px5. I have a 2017 mitsubishi outlander GT with factory rockford amp and 360 camera. PX5 units have the advantage of custom roms and newer android. ATOTO units have older android but better preamp and better bluetooth. As far as your cellular needs this will most likely require a dongle with any unit that you buy. Any android ready usb dongle should work. Get a unit that has more usb ports and probably USB 2.0 is better for cellular dongle. The atoto has the best boot times from what I can research but it seems that many of the youtube videos of the atoto units are sponsored so I take those with a grain of salt. Also the amazon reviews although good link all models of the atoto in the reviews so that you have to manually read if the review is for the pro versions. I would only buy a atoto pro with the upgraded amp and qualcom bluetooth. The atoto a6y pro also seems to have fakra Z gps plug which for me looks like I can use my factory antennas for gps.

Android HU that match Pioneer or Sony quality?

Greeting all,
I'm sorry if this the wrong section.
I was searching for a new head unit to buy, my goal is for a double din unit integrated on the Dash not the float one,
looks like the best is will be earther Pioneer or Sony "XAV-AX7000", but...
I was thinking, if there is an Android Head unit that :
Matching Pioneer/Sony Quality
Native Android Auto support
a native support that deal natively with Voice and Phone handling.
your input is very approached.

MAJED.y said:
Greeting all,
I'm sorry if this the wrong section.
I was searching for a new head unit to buy, my goal is for a double din unit integrated on the Dash not the float one,
looks like the best is will be earther Pioneer or Sony "XAV-AX7000", but...
I was thinking, if there is an Android Head unit that :
Matching Pioneer/Sony Quality
Native Android Auto support
a native support that deal natively with Voice and Phone handling.
your input is very approached.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There isn't one.
Also, the grey market head units are not Android auto. If you can accept bugs and happy with hobbyist level units, the largely chinese repurposed Android units can be ok.
If you want supported quality, genuine branded and/or Android auto is for you.

marchnz said:
There isn't one.
Also, the grey market head units are not Android auto. If you can accept bugs and happy with hobbyist level units, the largely chinese repurposed Android units can be ok.
If you want supported quality, genuine branded and/or Android auto is for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your input,
I would ask you what is the best Headunit out there based on your experience ?
there are too many.
things I like
HU to be clean look, less bezel as possible
Solid Bluetooth Call performance.
Support for Dark/Day theme

I'll throw in my 2c here. I find "supported" an interesting statement. If you mean warranty(DOA, or breaks in 6 months) then i guess you can call Sony and the Likes "supported". If you however you mean gets updates, can talk(chat) with someone when things are not working right, or for that matter actually get's new features.... well as the not so proud owner of a mid ranged Android Auto Wireless "mainstream" head unit, you better like how it works when you plug it in because that's it! you're done, you won't get updates, you won't get fixes, you won't get new features.
As the proud owner of a new Android Head Unit, is the warranty worth the paper it's printed on? hopefully I never need to find out. Beyond that, I've been chatting with the manufacturer almost every day getting help resolving issues. My firmware is less than a month old, If I want something new I install it from the the Play store. The unit is custom fit to my car and looks more OEM than the OEM(good luck with that form Kenwood, Pioneer..)
The 250 dollars worth of connectors and maestro boxes to make "supported" units work with my factory amp was just released, the adapter for my android head unit was an addon when I ordered the unit and cost 40 dollars and was plug and play/
The wireless AA in my "unsupported" unit is 10x as reliable as in my "supported" unit and if it has issues I message the developer.
Needless to say I have a "supported" HU i'm looking to get rid of ;-)
For recommendations I'd say FInd one made for your car, with a look you think is good. Get Px6 or UIS7862, get one with coax or optical out unless you have factory amp you want to work, in which case make sure they have a CanBus for you. If you have Subaru think IDoing, if you have anything else I'd probably go with Joying.

gottahavit said:
I'll throw in my 2c here. I find "supported" an interesting statement. If you mean warranty(DOA, or breaks in 6 months) then i guess you can call Sony and the Likes "supported". If you however you mean gets updates, can talk(chat) with someone when things are not working right, or for that matter actually get's new features.... well as the not so proud owner of a mid ranged Android Auto Wireless "mainstream" head unit, you better like how it works when you plug it in because that's it! you're done, you won't get updates, you won't get fixes, you won't get new features.
As the proud owner of a new Android Head Unit, is the warranty worth the paper it's printed on? hopefully I never need to find out. Beyond that, I've been chatting with the manufacturer almost every day getting help resolving issues. My firmware is less than a month old, If I want something new I install it from the the Play store. The unit is custom fit to my car and looks more OEM than the OEM(good luck with that form Kenwood, Pioneer..)
The 250 dollars worth of connectors and maestro boxes to make "supported" units work with my factory amp was just released, the adapter for my android head unit was an addon when I ordered the unit and cost 40 dollars and was plug and play/
The wireless AA in my "unsupported" unit is 10x as reliable as in my "supported" unit and if it has issues I message the developer.
Needless to say I have a "supported" HU i'm looking to get rid of ;-)
For recommendations I'd say FInd one made for your car, with a look you think is good. Get Px6 or UIS7862, get one with coax or optical out unless you have factory amp you want to work, in which case make sure they have a CanBus for you. If you have Subaru think IDoing, if you have anything else I'd probably go with Joying.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your input.
Just to clarify a few points raised so new members arent mistaken.
You have an FYT unit with an idoing badge on it - and it's not Android Auto.
Android auto is effectively screen mirroring. Why would you want constant updates..... AA is screen mirroring. Comparing the two - are very different,
Android Head unit updates from these grey-box manufacturers usually introduce new bugs while fixing something else. Or regression bugs. Thirdparty ROMs exist on these forums for certain types, such as MTCD, which were largely born from fixing bugs and issues, such as OBD bluetooth connectivity.
You're chatting with the reseller, not manufacturer. When it comes time to resolve any real software bug, like all that own these grey-boxes, you'll probably look for info here and hope someone has a fix after the reseller stops communicating with you. Take a moment to read through the forums if not convinced.
You've had a bad experience with an aftermarket (AA?) unit, assume you installed that or possibly an inexperienced installer.
PX6, UIS are System On Chip types, not headunit models, for which there are a multitude of manufacturers based on reference designs. Saying buy a PX6 is therefore meaningless without specifying the type - you own an FYT. Teyes say their FYT is better than your Idoing FYT
Regarding the add-on boxes to make your aftermarket Sony work, perhaps you received bad advice.
Cheers.

marchnz said:
Thanks for your input.
Just to clarify a few points raised so new members arent mistaken.
You have an FYT unit with an idoing badge on it - and it's not Android Auto.
Android auto is effectively screen mirroring. Why would you want constant updates..... AA is screen mirroring. Comparing the two - are very different,
Android Head unit updates from these grey-box manufacturers usually introduce new bugs while fixing something else. Or regression bugs. Thirdparty ROMs exist on these forums for certain types, such as MTCD, which were largely born from fixing bugs and issues, such as OBD bluetooth connectivity.
You're chatting with the reseller, not manufacturer. When it comes time to resolve any real software bug, like all that own these grey-boxes, you'll probably look for info here and hope someone has a fix after the reseller stops communicating with you. Take a moment to read through the forums if not convinced.
You've had a bad experience with an aftermarket (AA?) unit, assume you installed that or possibly an inexperienced installer.
PX6, UIS are System On Chip types, not headunit models, for which there are a multitude of manufacturers based on reference designs. Saying buy a PX6 is therefore meaningless without specifying the type - you own an FYT. Teyes say their FYT is better than your Idoing FYT
Regarding the add-on boxes to make your aftermarket Sony work, perhaps you received bad advice.
Cheers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
More clarification, not trying to start an argument,
Yes I know IDoing is the "Reseller"
Yes I use Android Auto(when I want to), these units have apps that emulate Android Auto, or you install Head Unit Reloaded, both of which work better than my experience with "Supported" AA head units.
I understand your point on the updates coming from FYT or whoever is making the boards, but my point is updates from Sony, Kenwood are practically non-existent and there is no where to get help or "hacks".
How does an Installer have anything to do with the fact that AA Wireless flips a coin as to when it will decide to kick in when my phone connects. It's software, not hardware. Search around this is a well documented common issue and with little chance of updates from the Manufacturer or interest in fixing it from Samsung or Google....
on your comment on making my unit work with my HK, I'm not even sure what your point is, if I want it to work I need a dash kit, new harness, and a top of the line Maestro box from Crutchfield or the like and after that it looks like and aftermarket 7" radio. The one I have now looks like it was intended to be there from the factory.
Again these things are far from perfect, you can find my Idoing review on the Head Unit Forum, but compare to the limitations of the big name aftermarket units not to mention the price difference.

Database Develop

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