Android head unit advice needed

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apm45

63 posts

Master Geek

#311395 11-Jan-2024 17:18

I'm looking to buy a head unit for my recently purchased car. It looks like best bang for buck will be an android based unit from Aliexpress. These come with vehicle specific fitting kits and wiring looms. I'm aware that quality can vary significantly, but I've found a model by Ekiy that has some really good reviews. (ignore the low initial price, I'd get the higher spec option)
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mKIDm2k

Does anyone here have much experience with android head units, and would you recommend them?

Is a 9" screen in a car good, or do you find it is excessively large and distracting?

Some units have 4g connectivity. Do you know if I put an NZ sim in if it is likely to work? I was going to try a 2degrees prepay sim and share data from my phone plan.

Any experience appreciated, thanks.

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#3180672 11-Jan-2024 17:45

I got one for my imported '15 Prius Alpha (Prius V) recently.

There are basically two after-market units advertised - a generic brand, and a Philips brand. I bought the Philips, from a Trademe vendor (based in Auckland), it's licensed branding and is from a Chinese outfit underneath - quite possibly the same thing.

This is the unit I got. - Philips CID6680.

Basically.. it does what it says on the label, it's generally fine, but the QC isn't great.

Examples:

- Is configured to 'cold boot' if the car is left off for longer than X (configurable value in the manufacturer config screen, I think I set mine to a week) but then sometimes does it at random, which means no stereo (or reversing camera) for a minute or so at random

- WHen it cold boots it forgets the date/time and has to re-learn them; supports GPS and NTP sync.

- built-in clock in the radio doesn't manage timezones when using auto time sync (so it's always UTC+12 when we're in DST.. so it's always wrong in summer) so I have to let it auto sync, then set it to manual and adjust it by another hour.

- Volume is inconsistent between audio sources, particularly 'radio' is substantially louder than Bluetooth

- Volume level 1/30 is quite loud, and 0/30 is muted, so ... that's annoying. I obtained the manufacturers menu pin code in the hope that this would have more options for configuring relative volume controls, no dice.

- The bezel wasn't perfect, apparently there's a couple of sub-variants of the way my air vents are configured - it was made to work with a dremel tool by the installer (I am in Wellington, so I bought the item online and then hired a local professional installer)

- Mapping software in it is functional, but nowhere near as useful as Google Maps.

- It's a passable android client (albiet with limited apps) when connected to wifi

- Android Auto, it turns out, does work via USB cable, so that's not so bad

- The Hands-free Audio for my phone(s) via Bluetooth or Android Auto has (apparently) pretty poor audio quality compared to the "OEM" stereo I had (which was in Japanese, and ran BSD underneath, and was quite full featured, except that I had to google-translate every menu option to figure out how to drive it for the few weeks I ran it)... so I actually have a standalone bluetooth sunvisor device linked to my work phone to give me a viable handsfree option for work.

- Radio auto-programs itself by scanning the band and saving everything it finds.

- Radio RDS will show you what station your own

-... but Radio RDS isn't used to save the name next to the frequency of saved channels. So you still have to know what freq you want. (It's Android. WHy doesn't it save the name of the station next to the freq of the station FFS)

- Reversing camera takes the camera feed but doesn't have steering indicator lines linked to the angle of your steering wheel, my '01 Gaia had this and I think the OEM stereo had this. So not supported by this head unit, I assume. It has some bodgy fake ones that don't move that you can turn on, i disabled them as pointless.

- Online material about this stereo is scarce, mostly marketing information ("the glossy")

- When I had problems with Android Auto it was trying to send my phone to a .cn website to sideload an apk to enable carplay. Turns out this wasn't necessary and there was a setting to toggle... but had me concerned for a minute.

At the end of the day, I appreciate an english-language head unit (having not had one for the 12 years I owned the Gaia until I bought this 6 months ago) and i'm comfortable enough setting the time to manual and fixing it when it decides to reset itself (about every month so far). The 9" display is pretty decent and fits the dash well enough (photo taken during the installation, excuse the scanner antenna sticking up in the bottom-middle)... i've become quite used to it and am happy enough given the TCO for this was about $700 and i'd have otherwise been spending $1500 on something brand-name-esque from a pro installer in the city. And that was probably going to be 8" with a much bigger bezel.

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BlakJak

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#3180673 11-Jan-2024 17:46

Oh and I forgot to add that the Steering Wheel Controls didn't work automatically, but there's a 'learn' mode that lets you map your chosen function to the various buttons, so I have volume control, mute, and input selection options on the wheel fairly happily (first time i've had that feature in a car. And I love it)

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BlakJak

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#3180678 11-Jan-2024 18:20

Historic TM link above doesn't work.

Here's a current listing for the unit I have:

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/car-stereos/dvd-video/listing/4508139326?bof=aiipffke

Vendor website link for when that expires:

https://www.pepsiauto.co.nz/products/philips-toyota-prius-oem-9-inch-gps-nav-android-stereo-bluetooth-camera-in - if it's not that one, it's close, if you search for the full description on Trademe you'd likely find it again.

The unbranded unit which is basically the same can be had here:

https://smartsolutionsstore.co.nz/products/toyota-prius-alpha-wagon-stereo-apple-carplay-android-auto-2g32g-gps-bluetooth

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Handle9

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#3180690 11-Jan-2024 18:57

I've got an older one (5 years old) in my Pajero and a newer one in Mrs Handles car. The one in my car is fine but a bit finicky. The one in Mrs Handles car is excellent with a very high quality IPS screen. You get what you pay for so make sure you get at least 3GB RAM

We both use them for carplay almost exclusively so don't really use the onboard apps. The only real complaint is the microphones suck on both of them.

tanivula

991 posts

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#3180699 11-Jan-2024 19:59

Always been tempted by doing this, question for those that have, does the aftermarket unit work with the factory reversing camera? Or does it require a separate (generic) one for it to work?

Handle9

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#3180700 11-Jan-2024 20:06

tanivula:

Always been tempted by doing this, question for those that have, does the aftermarket unit work with the factory reversing camera? Or does it require a separate (generic) one for it to work?

The simple answer is it depends. If it's got a generic RCA connector it'll go straight in but if it's proprietary it may require some jiggery pokery.

tanivula

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#3180701 11-Jan-2024 20:20

Handle9:

The simple answer is it depends. If it's got a generic RCA connector it'll go straight in but if it's proprietary it may require some jiggery pokery.

Fair, I guess that's the answer I mostly expected.

Having a trawl back onto AliExp I stumbled upon a upgrade to the existing head unit (I didn't know this was a thing!). So retains the stock screen etc and much cheaper than an entire head unit swap.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005219099125.html

interesting....

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Handle9

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#3180704 11-Jan-2024 20:32

tanivula:

Handle9:

The simple answer is it depends. If it's got a generic RCA connector it'll go straight in but if it's proprietary it may require some jiggery pokery.

Fair, I guess that's the answer I mostly expected.

Having a trawl back onto AliExp I stumbled upon a upgrade to the existing head unit (I didn't know this was a thing!). So retains the stock screen etc and much cheaper than an entire head unit swap.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005219099125.html

interesting....

I had something like this for my wifes old A4. It worked well but you need to be very careful to check compatibilty.

apm45

63 posts

Master Geek

#3180706 11-Jan-2024 20:36

BlakJak: I got one for my imported '15 Prius Alpha (Prius V) recently.

Thanks for the comprehensive response, that is really helpful.

It does sound a bit niggly, which isn't ideal. I wonder if the unit you got is slightly older technology, just because it says things like it has Bluetooth 3.0 for instance. It doesn't mention how much ram it has, or processor specs, which the AliExpress ones do.

Definitely gives me something to think about though, and I am wondering it if might be safer to go with a locally purchased 'brand name' head unit.

apm45

63 posts

Master Geek

#3180707 11-Jan-2024 20:38

Handle9:

I've got an older one (5 years old) in my Pajero and a newer one in Mrs Handles car. The one in my car is fine but a bit finicky. The one in Mrs Handles car is excellent with a very high quality IPS screen. You get what you pay for so make sure you get at least 3GB RAM

We both use them for carplay almost exclusively so don't really use the onboard apps. The only real complaint is the microphones suck on both of them.

Do you know the make/model of the newer one?

Most of the units seem to come with input microphones, as well as a microphone that can be plugged in, and presumably placed closer to the driver. Is it the built-in one that sounds bad?

Handle9

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#3180708 11-Jan-2024 20:41

apm45:

Handle9:

I've got an older one (5 years old) in my Pajero and a newer one in Mrs Handles car. The one in my car is fine but a bit finicky. The one in Mrs Handles car is excellent with a very high quality IPS screen. You get what you pay for so make sure you get at least 3GB RAM

We both use them for carplay almost exclusively so don't really use the onboard apps. The only real complaint is the microphones suck on both of them.

Do you know the make/model of the newer one?

Most of the units seem to come with input microphones, as well as a microphone that can be plugged in, and presumably placed closer to the driver. Is it the built-in one that sounds bad?

I bought it locally (I'm not in NZ) and it came with the car specific bezel.

Both microphones are a bit rubbish.

BlakJak

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#3180710 11-Jan-2024 20:53

apm45:
BlakJak: I got one for my imported '15 Prius Alpha (Prius V) recently.

Thanks for the comprehensive response, that is really helpful.

It does sound a bit niggly, which isn't ideal. I wonder if the unit you got is slightly older technology, just because it says things like it has Bluetooth 3.0 for instance. It doesn't mention how much ram it has, or processor specs, which the AliExpress ones do.

Definitely gives me something to think about though, and I am wondering it if might be safer to go with a locally purchased 'brand name' head unit.

My decision was budget-led. I tapped out my budget buying the car itself. I also wanted a 9 inch unit and something that had the Toyota loom fittings. The Prius Alpha is only available as an import so domestic offerings are pretty modest.

It's pretty usable once the niggles are overlooked. Though I wish the hands-free was better quality, mainly.

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skewt

750 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3180738 11-Jan-2024 23:18

I’ve played around with one of these models

The model I used, if you did a “backup” you could unzip using the password “jancar” edit the files, rezip and mod certain things, also just had certain admin pins you could enter, 1234,5678 to get other settings

I tweaked the volume issues so it was more uniform and didn’t jump

Still has the issue of randomly cold booting

BlakJak

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#3180742 12-Jan-2024 03:05

That's really helpful, I'll have to have a tinker. Thanks!

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mudguard

2114 posts

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#3180748 12-Jan-2024 07:18

As single din android units a thing?

I have an old project car, single din with CD. Was just going to put a modern head unit I for Bluetooth calling and music but wondered whether Android Auto would work with such small real estate. The only ones I've seen are big screen versions that slide out of the single DIN

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