Hello eveyone. I'm looking for a new 7" universal Android head unit. I've narrowed it down to the non-physical button model because I like the flush look. I had it narrowed down to the Atoto A6 until I found the XDA forum. I've read that the Dasaita may have a little better support and that the HA2100-V600 may be a little brighter. And now, I've found the Dasaita with 4GB of RAM. I Think this could be useful in the future.
I've spend hours reading all 84 pages of the MCU update forum that has spanned over the past 7 to 9 months. During that period, there were several reports of problems with the Dasaita Blue tooth, GPS and other things. However, the people still seem to stand behind their brand. Are the problems with the Dasaita as bad as it sounds, or is it just a few people having these problems?
I like the idea of the Atoto A6 having Dual Bluetooth. This will allow me to Pair with my phone and the OBDII adapter at the same time. None of the other head units mention this. I keep reading that these units are basically the same, so it seems that they all should be able to do this. But I don't know if they do. Any one have a Dasaita HA2100 that can verify it? Could it be an Android 7.1 feature? The Atoto also has the external wireless antenna and multiple USB outlets, one of which is 2 amp for quick phone charging.
If anyone has either of these models and wants to elaborate on what they like about it (or don't like), I would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks for your help.
The Atoto is one of the few that uses a MediaTek SoC instead of a Rockchip or Intel Sofia. That means for right now, there's no community support.
I've got the 2gb touch-only version, had it since just before Christmas. It's reasonably responsive (think 2012-2013 high-end tablet/phone responsive), it gets really bright (I'm in Florida with a sunroof and non-tinted windows, never had a problem seeing the screen), colors are a bit muted but viewing angles are good. 2 second boot is true, it comes alive very fast, backup camera activates quickly.
Dual BT was the main selling point for me, and it works as advertised, phone is paired for phone/contacts/media, OBD2 is paired, and phone is can paired again for BT tethering. BT tethering works decent, there's plenty of bandwidth for running Maps/Waze while streaming Spotify, but you'll of course want to switch back to WiFi tethering/hotspot for video streaming or even installing apps from the Play Store.
The microSD card slot works well, I've use a NTFS formatted 128gb SanDisk with no issues. The "fast charge" USB connector puts out just under 2a, so it does charge quicker than most, but still no comparison to an QC 2, 3, or Power Delivery charger. That same USB port is the only USB 2.0 port, the other two USB ports (on one dongle) are USB 1.1
The combination of on-device and external microphones seems to work well enough for voice activation and calling (my callers say I sound fine, no worse than any other speakerphone). Google Assistant does NOT work on this device (or just about any tablet for that matter), but Google Now/Voice Search does work, along with OK Google voice detection. (and OK Waze detection if you're Wazing).
I've only had one crash, and that may have been a launcher problem, or a Spotify problem as much as an Atoto problem.
Audio quality is good, with a half-decent EQ, fader/balance controls, loudness. Power is lacking, so you'll want to run this through an amp.
Steering wheel interface works (though I needed both a PAC CANBUS harness/box, and at PAC SW-1 RC to make them work). Pro-tip if you go with the PAC stuff, program the SW-1 as a Pioneer, and then use the Kenwood wire (instead of the 3.5mm plug) to Key + on the A6. There's also no provision on the A6 for dual button mapping, you get one function per button (some units allow for double press or long press for more options).
Wifi reception is solid, the included remote antenna is the key to this (mine is mounted on the edge of my windshield, partially tucked under the headliner, and practically invisible.
GPS reception is also very good, I almost always get 10+ satellites and quick locks.
So far, so good.
But...the A6 has three big problems.
The first is that the distance between the outer glass screen with the touch layer, and the actual LCD is pretty wide, and that causes parallax issues, where you touch on the glass doesn't match up with the screen, especially annoying with small buttons and hamburger menus. The physical button version doesn't seem to have this issue, because the touch screen and the LCD are closer (at the cost of having the whole display inset and not flush.). If I had to do it over, I'd opt for the PB model.
The second issue is that there's always some electronic noise heard when the unit is powered up, similar to putting a mobile phone next to speakers, and it varies with CPU load and Wifi activity. You don't notice it when music is playing but if there's a pause (or you pause), there it is again. Doesn't seem to be affected by volume settings though.
The last major issue (and there's maybe a fix coming for this in the next firmware update from Atoto) is that when the device has been off for more than oh, ten minutes, when it comes back on, it automatically loads the AM/FM tuner and plays. Which is annoying enough on its own (the FM tuner app is hideous, for one thing), but for some reason, the volume from the tuner is 2x the volume of MP3, internet streaming, or BT streaming music, so if you were rocking out even just a little when you parked the car, when you get back, your eardrums will be bleeding from the FM blast. So far, nobody has figured a way to disable the FM app, it's part of the system, and tied to the MCU.
Overall, I'm not unhappy with the A6, since I went into it knowing that all the Chindroid head units are flawed...but for $179 (Lightning deal), I figured it was worth the risk.
Croak said:
The Atoto is one of the few that uses a MediaTek SoC instead of a Rockchip or Intel Sofia. That means for right now, there's no community support.
I've got the 2gb touch-only version, had it since just before Christmas. It's reasonably responsive (think 2012-2013 high-end tablet/phone responsive), it gets really bright (I'm in Florida with a sunroof and non-tinted windows, never had a problem seeing the screen), colors are a bit muted but viewing angles are good. 2 second boot is true, it comes alive very fast, backup camera activates quickly.
Dual BT was the main selling point for me, and it works as advertised, phone is paired for phone/contacts/media, OBD2 is paired, and phone is can paired again for BT tethering. BT tethering works decent, there's plenty of bandwidth for running Maps/Waze while streaming Spotify, but you'll of course want to switch back to WiFi tethering/hotspot for video streaming or even installing apps from the Play Store.
The microSD card slot works well, I've use a NTFS formatted 128gb SanDisk with no issues. The "fast charge" USB connector puts out just under 2a, so it does charge quicker than most, but still no comparison to an QC 2, 3, or Power Delivery charger. That same USB port is the only USB 2.0 port, the other two USB ports (on one dongle) are USB 1.1
The combination of on-device and external microphones seems to work well enough for voice activation and calling (my callers say I sound fine, no worse than any other speakerphone). Google Assistant does NOT work on this device (or just about any tablet for that matter), but Google Now/Voice Search does work, along with OK Google voice detection. (and OK Waze detection if you're Wazing).
I've only had one crash, and that may have been a launcher problem, or a Spotify problem as much as an Atoto problem.
Audio quality is good, with a half-decent EQ, fader/balance controls, loudness. Power is lacking, so you'll want to run this through an amp.
Steering wheel interface works (though I needed both a PAC CANBUS harness/box, and at PAC SW-1 RC to make them work). Pro-tip if you go with the PAC stuff, program the SW-1 as a Pioneer, and then use the Kenwood wire (instead of the 3.5mm plug) to Key + on the A6. There's also no provision on the A6 for dual button mapping, you get one function per button (some units allow for double press or long press for more options).
Wifi reception is solid, the included remote antenna is the key to this (mine is mounted on the edge of my windshield, partially tucked under the headliner, and practically invisible.
GPS reception is also very good, I almost always get 10+ satellites and quick locks.
So far, so good.
But...the A6 has three big problems.
The first is that the distance between the outer glass screen with the touch layer, and the actual LCD is pretty wide, and that causes parallax issues, where you touch on the glass doesn't match up with the screen, especially annoying with small buttons and hamburger menus. The physical button version doesn't seem to have this issue, because the touch screen and the LCD are closer (at the cost of having the whole display inset and not flush.). If I had to do it over, I'd opt for the PB model.
The second issue is that there's always some electronic noise heard when the unit is powered up, similar to putting a mobile phone next to speakers, and it varies with CPU load and Wifi activity. You don't notice it when music is playing but if there's a pause (or you pause), there it is again. Doesn't seem to be affected by volume settings though.
The last major issue (and there's maybe a fix coming for this in the next firmware update from Atoto) is that when the device has been off for more than oh, ten minutes, when it comes back on, it automatically loads the AM/FM tuner and plays. Which is annoying enough on its own (the FM tuner app is hideous, for one thing), but for some reason, the volume from the tuner is 2x the volume of MP3, internet streaming, or BT streaming music, so if you were rocking out even just a little when you parked the car, when you get back, your eardrums will be bleeding from the FM blast. So far, nobody has figured a way to disable the FM app, it's part of the system, and tied to the MCU.
Overall, I'm not unhappy with the A6, since I went into it knowing that all the Chindroid head units are flawed...but for $179 (Lightning deal), I figured it was worth the risk.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you, that is exactly the kind of information I was looking for. I had read about the radio coming on with each startup. I'm glad you said something about the touchscreen. The flush screen was one of the selling points for me, but if the actual lcd is still recessed, I may go for the PB. Prices have skyrocketed since just before Christmas.
On the Dasaita, I had asked if the 4GB HA2100-V600 they have on Aliexpress would be updated to Android 7.1 (it's currently Android 6.0). They told me that unit would not be able to run Android 7.1 because of hardware incompatibility issues. He said they had an Android 8.0 unit with 4GB RAM if I wanted to pay the Price. I didn't even ask how much because the 6.0 unit was already at the upper price range I want to spend for one of these. However, Hot Audio is saying they are working on a 8.0 upgrade for the HA2100 and it should be out any time now. Who Do I Believe? I feel pretty sure the android 6.0 unit will be upgraded since there are several other brands already running 7.1. Anybody?
Thing about the flush screen/body is that most car kits end up making the whole thing recessed anyway. PB version wouldn't have looked any worse, and it would have operated a bit better. Also, turns out the PB model is a much more recent hardware revision, released in November, whereas the touch-only model came out almost six months earlier.
Here's a shot of mine using a Schoshe double-din mounting kit.
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Does the Dasaita HA2100 have dual BT? I'm in the same position as OP - I currently have a Joying 2GB unit and it's a pain to BT tether (still not reliable after root). The Atoto A6 blog says there is a pro version coming by Feb 2018 end with "hand gestures recognition control", whatever that means. http://www.myatoto.com/index.php?m=...FjAFegQIBRAB&usg=AOvVaw0vQxQJxnoYd_2loGxiT1vf
Till then I'm looking at the Atoto A6 a61721p.
Great ATOTO using experience.
Croak said:
The Atoto is one of the few that uses a MediaTek SoC instead of a Rockchip or Intel Sofia. That means for right now, there's no community support.
I've got the 2gb touch-only version, had it since just before Christmas. It's reasonably responsive (think 2012-2013 high-end tablet/phone responsive), it gets really bright (I'm in Florida with a sunroof and non-tinted windows, never had a problem seeing the screen), colors are a bit muted but viewing angles are good. 2 second boot is true, it comes alive very fast, backup camera activates quickly.
Dual BT was the main selling point for me, and it works as advertised, phone is paired for phone/contacts/media, OBD2 is paired, and phone is can paired again for BT tethering. BT tethering works decent, there's plenty of bandwidth for running Maps/Waze while streaming Spotify, but you'll of course want to switch back to WiFi tethering/hotspot for video streaming or even installing apps from the Play Store.
The microSD card slot works well, I've use a NTFS formatted 128gb SanDisk with no issues. The "fast charge" USB connector puts out just under 2a, so it does charge quicker than most, but still no comparison to an QC 2, 3, or Power Delivery charger. That same USB port is the only USB 2.0 port, the other two USB ports (on one dongle) are USB 1.1
The combination of on-device and external microphones seems to work well enough for voice activation and calling (my callers say I sound fine, no worse than any other speakerphone). Google Assistant does NOT work on this device (or just about any tablet for that matter), but Google Now/Voice Search does work, along with OK Google voice detection. (and OK Waze detection if you're Wazing).
I've only had one crash, and that may have been a launcher problem, or a Spotify problem as much as an Atoto problem.
Audio quality is good, with a half-decent EQ, fader/balance controls, loudness. Power is lacking, so you'll want to run this through an amp.
Steering wheel interface works (though I needed both a PAC CANBUS harness/box, and at PAC SW-1 RC to make them work). Pro-tip if you go with the PAC stuff, program the SW-1 as a Pioneer, and then use the Kenwood wire (instead of the 3.5mm plug) to Key + on the A6. There's also no provision on the A6 for dual button mapping, you get one function per button (some units allow for double press or long press for more options).
Wifi reception is solid, the included remote antenna is the key to this (mine is mounted on the edge of my windshield, partially tucked under the headliner, and practically invisible.
GPS reception is also very good, I almost always get 10+ satellites and quick locks.
So far, so good.
But...the A6 has three big problems.
The first is that the distance between the outer glass screen with the touch layer, and the actual LCD is pretty wide, and that causes parallax issues, where you touch on the glass doesn't match up with the screen, especially annoying with small buttons and hamburger menus. The physical button version doesn't seem to have this issue, because the touch screen and the LCD are closer (at the cost of having the whole display inset and not flush.). If I had to do it over, I'd opt for the PB model.
The second issue is that there's always some electronic noise heard when the unit is powered up, similar to putting a mobile phone next to speakers, and it varies with CPU load and Wifi activity. You don't notice it when music is playing but if there's a pause (or you pause), there it is again. Doesn't seem to be affected by volume settings though.
The last major issue (and there's maybe a fix coming for this in the next firmware update from Atoto) is that when the device has been off for more than oh, ten minutes, when it comes back on, it automatically loads the AM/FM tuner and plays. Which is annoying enough on its own (the FM tuner app is hideous, for one thing), but for some reason, the volume from the tuner is 2x the volume of MP3, internet streaming, or BT streaming music, so if you were rocking out even just a little when you parked the car, when you get back, your eardrums will be bleeding from the FM blast. So far, nobody has figured a way to disable the FM app, it's part of the system, and tied to the MCU.
Overall, I'm not unhappy with the A6, since I went into it knowing that all the Chindroid head units are flawed...but for $179 (Lightning deal), I figured it was worth the risk.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot for your honest reivew. After find your honest using feedback, I placed the Order for one ATOTO product: A62721PB. It seems like their products is hot-sale. There are just left 3 to sell now. So lucky for me to find this great Chinese head unit. However, I am not so lucky enough to catch their lightning deal. So I paid $249.:crying::crying::crying:
Anyway, I am very happy with ATOTO product. I noticed that you pointed out an using issue: radio automatically turn on. Based on my experience, please make sure you exit our radio, turn off the car then turn on car, the radio will not showing up. If the radio still turning on after the car is on, please open AUX then exit it. I am sure you will solve the problem.
I also have the same problem. I know it is a nuisance. So I registered on their support website and found this way. Hope it will help you. What's more, I have sent mail to their support team, they feedback to me the same method within 1 hours. I had to say: They have a great and professional support team. I will get another ATOTO product for my GF.
bluemind497 said:
Thanks a lot for your honest reivew. After find your honest using feedback, I placed the Order for one ATOTO product: A62721PB. It seems like their products is hot-sale. There are just left 3 to sell now. So lucky for me to find this great Chinese head unit. However, I am not so lucky enough to catch their lightning deal. So I paid $249.:crying::crying::crying:
Anyway, I am very happy with ATOTO product. I noticed that you pointed out an using issue: radio automatically turn on. Based on my experience, please make sure you exit our radio, turn off the car then turn on car, the radio will not showing up. If the radio still turning on after the car is on, please open AUX then exit it. I am sure you will solve the problem.
I also have the same problem. I know it is a nuisance. So I registered on their support website and found this way. Hope it will help you. What's more, I have sent mail to their support team, they feedback to me the same method within 1 hours. I had to say: They have a great and professional support team. I will get another ATOTO product for my GF.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The trick with switching to AUX and exiting does not work on my unit.
But I've found a fix and it will work 100% of the time. I'm arranging a return of the Atoto unit with Amazon. The radio issue is not something I can live with, having to do half a dozen button presses when starting the car, I may as well use a mobile phone.
Also, if the radio does not get turned on at startup, the MCU isn't initialized, which means there's no audio, no backup camera, etc. My return period expires in a week, and I have no faith that Atoto will fix this before then, so I'm returning it, and finding a different unit. I'll take a look at Atoto again with their next generation of units, they're on the right track, but they're not there yet.
There is supposed to be a "pro" version coming out before March, which will include hand gestures control. ATOTO support says you'll be able to control the unit without touching the screen/steering wheel. I'm guessing the price for the current premium version will go down so I'm going to wait. If you find another unit with dial Bluetooth or easy tethering let us know pls.
Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
car_dude_123 said:
There is supposed to be a "pro" version coming out before March, which will include hand gestures control. ATOTO support says you'll be able to control the unit without touching the screen/steering wheel. I'm guessing the price for the current premium version will go down so I'm going to wait. If you find another unit with dial Bluetooth or easy tethering let us know pls.
Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds great! I will buy the next version. Hope they can give me some discounts! Let's waiting!
Just got an email from ATOTO - new model coming in March. I'm waiting...
Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
I own a Dasaita HA2100A-V600.
I own a Dasaita HA2100A-V600. It differs from the HA2100-V600. It has a capacitive home button, lacks a micro sd slot, and is 178mm wide. The dasaita is not compatible with Bluetooth game pads nor my obdlink mx obd2 scanner. I suspect that the ATOTO A6 is compatible with these BT accessories. I had to use the much cheaper and faster usb obdlink sx on my dasaita. Honestly, if dasaita makes a direct fit product for your car, it is more economical than getting a dash kit, canbus to analog converter for reverse trigger and (retained) accessory power, in addition to steering wheel control adapter. Dasaita units have built in canbus capabilities where ATOTO units do not. Dasaita doesn't make a direct fit for the Ford Focus MK3. If I were to do it all over again. I would've gone with the Atoto unit from the start, only because fitment of an ATOTO 173mm unit has to be easier than the larger Dasaita units.
Croak said:
The Atoto is one of the few that uses a MediaTek SoC instead of a Rockchip or Intel Sofia. That means for right now, there's no community support.
But...the A6 has three big problems.
The first is that the distance between the outer glass screen with the touch layer, and the actual LCD is pretty wide, and that causes parallax issues, where you touch on the glass doesn't match up with the screen, especially annoying with small buttons and hamburger menus. The physical button version doesn't seem to have this issue, because the touch screen and the LCD are closer (at the cost of having the whole display inset and not flush.). If I had to do it over, I'd opt for the PB model.
The second issue is that there's always some electronic noise heard when the unit is powered up, similar to putting a mobile phone next to speakers, and it varies with CPU load and Wifi activity. You don't notice it when music is playing but if there's a pause (or you pause), there it is again. Doesn't seem to be affected by volume settings though.
The last major issue (and there's maybe a fix coming for this in the next firmware update from Atoto) is that when the device has been off for more than oh, ten minutes, when it comes back on, it automatically loads the AM/FM tuner and plays. Which is annoying enough on its own (the FM tuner app is hideous, for one thing), but for some reason, the volume from the tuner is 2x the volume of MP3, internet streaming, or BT streaming music, so if you were rocking out even just a little when you parked the car, when you get back, your eardrums will be bleeding from the FM blast. So far, nobody has figured a way to disable the FM app, it's part of the system, and tied to the MCU.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, full root and a custom recovery is available for this now. As for custom roms and stuff, nothing for that right now. My unit is fully rooted but I have not yet installed TWRP custom recovery as its not something I am going to be using at the moment. FlashFire is working just fine for my needs.
I will address your issues number 2 and number 3.
As for the "electrical noise" when powered up or when no sound is present, I am not experiencing that what so ever. Make sure you have good solid ground. If you are using a PAC device (You mentioned that earlier about the steering wheel controls), make sure its not the PAC device its self causing the problem. I am using the PAC RP5-GM11 in my 2004 Chevy Tahoe and there is zero electrical noise/hiss what so ever.
As for the radio always turning on, that I will agree with, it is super annoying as is the SD card or anything other than the radio, playing at what seem like half volume that the radio plays at. The best way to stop the radio from playing when you first turn on your car/power, is to turn off the head unit with the power button before you remove power/turn off your key. Now when you turn the car back on, the head unit is off and you will have to turn it back on. But be ready to turn the volume down if you had it up pretty high when you turned off the unit.
Myself, other than the clunky factory UI/Launcher and the radio issue I mentioned and the quoted post, that are my only real issues but far from deal breakers for me. The launcher is easy, just install a different one. And now that my unit is rooted, its just a little bit better for me. Overall, after 2 months now, I am very happy with mine so far.
I have installed the Atoto A6Y2721PB on my 2017 Honda Accord Sport. I am having an issue with the ASWC-1. I have updated both firmwares to the most recent versions. When I go to program the Steering Wheel Controls through the Atoto system, it is only recognizing no more than 3 of the buttons on the Steering Wheel. Right now it is configured for Pioneer/Jensen as that is what Atoto Customer Service recommended. However, the only buttons recognized are Volume Up, Seek forward, and Seek Backward. It does not recognize volume down, source, or any of the lower buttons: Pick Up Phone, Hang Up Phone/Back, or Voice Command. I tried every brand available on the ASWC-1 manual stereo program, as well as the Auto stereo program, and some recognize the source and volume down buttons, but none recognize the lower (Pick Up Phone, Hang Up Phone/Back, or Voice Command) buttons. I have tried wiring the Atoto to the 3.5mm female multiple ways as well, sometimes different buttons will work, but no more than 3. I am not getting any errors while setting up the ASWC-1, I get the 7 Green LED blinks, and the Red Solid LED as well. Any ideas or recommendations?
This is installed with the Metra 99-7804 kit for my vehicle.
Any update? How is the unit after 6 months? Is the radio turn off problem better now?
Blakestr said:
Any update? How is the unit after 6 months? Is the radio turn off problem better now?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Firmware update in early February made it a tiny bit less annoying, in that the "Aux trick" works more reliably. But you still have to frequently manually select AUX after starting the car, or you get either no audio using speaker wire output or muted audio with no onboard controls (fader/balance, EQ, SWC etc) if using RCA outputs to an external amp. There's been no firmware updates since then.
Also, on mine, the backup camera stopped working in late January. Atoto sent me a replacement camera/harness, still not working. Reverse trigger works (it mutes audio when in reverse) and the dedicated camera power and ground connections in my car meter out correct, but it gets no signal from the camera...even took both cameras to an audio shop, and they both work on the shop's test devices, so it's something in the input side of the Atoto that went bad. And yes, I installed a relay on the PAC harness, so it's not the 1 amp limitation that's causing the problem.
Updating apps from the Play Store is painfully slow...it's not a bandwidth issue, it's once the app update has finished downloading, it takes many, many minutes for the update to process. Things like Waze or Maps can take 20 minutes to update AFTER downloading.
Finally, the biggest reason I went with the A6 in the first place, dual Bluetooth for tethering, is a feature I ended up not using much after the first month, because I have an in-car hotspot now, and don't need to tether my phone for data.
But other than that, it's working mostly fine for what I use it for, which is Waze, MP3, Spotify, with CarWebGuru as the launcher. And, it only cost me $179 for the unit itself. Still looking for that "great" double-din universal Android head unit, but at this point, I'm probably just going to go with a 2018 model major brand head unit with capacitive display and Wireless Android Auto (the Alpine HALO9 unit looks very interesting).
As soon as I saw MediaTek.....
Keep away.
Perfect, thanks for this. I ordered the 2 gig Physical button, 239 minus the 15 clipon off amazon. I also ordered the steer wheeling control (even though I don't really like the way it looks but I care more that it's made and seems to work for it), a highly rated backup camera for $25 and the Atoto Bluetooth OBD2 reader.
This is for a 2005 Hyundai Elantra, which I already have the Scorsche DoubleDin kit and the Metric Harness.
I'm particularly excited because there has always been this huge gap in tech between my home life and my car. I've spent the last 3 years using a bluetooth headset as my audio source from my phone. (audiobooks mainly, physical control buttons on headset). Though I could never get my S7 Edge to root I should be able to use one of the paid tethering apps of the playstore hopefully. (I want faster speeds than BT tether - I "watch" a lot of information videos on Youtube that are more or less audio productions.
Always use a PX cpu. never go for mediatek or allwinner unless you cannot fint a PX unit.
I installed the Sony XAV-AX200 system in my vehicle a few days ago. Coming from a very traditional car stereo that was not smart in any way, that only did CD, radio, and mp3, this is a very different experience. I've been learning the quirks of this system, and I thought that perhaps if I organized my observations here, it might benefit someone thinking of this system. Feel free to add, answer questions, etc. I intend to update/add as I observe more.
This was installed in a 2004 vehicle with no "smart" anything, no steering wheel controls, nada. My unit has been flashed to the firmware version 1.01, published May 10, 2018, available at the Sony support page.
The Good:
Sounds great
Works well with factory Pioneer amp/speakers/subwoofer.
Decent radio reception
Plays FLAC and mp3 files from usb flash drive
Works with both Android Auto and Car Play
Real volume knob and forward/back buttons
The Quirks:
There is no power button. There is no way to turn this system off. Has anyone ever wired a switch into the power line, to give them a way to actually turn these "smart" stereos off? I'm considering it.
If you do not manually go into a menu, then select to turn off current source, before you turn off the ignition, whatever you had playing last time will auto play when you start the car. There seems to be no way to disable this obnoxious behavior. You just get blasted with whatever, when you turn on the key.
Mp3 and flac files only play from your phone or from a usb flash drive. They will not play from a CD-R disc. This is truly bizarre.
Tips:
Works with a USB 3.0 hub, with a few caveats. I have a small Targus USB 3 hub plugged into the port on the back of the unit, and then two dash ports plugged into the hub. Either a flash drive (full of FLAC files so far) or my Android phone will work if plugged into either dash-mounted port.
However, if you have a flash drive that is hooked up through the hub, playing music, and then you also plug in your Android phone through the hub, Android Auto takes over.
While the music you have already playing from the flash drive will keep playing in the background, and indeed further music files in the folder keep playing (if you don't start playing something from your phone), you lose all access to control the music.
The USB icon disappears from the home screen as long as your Android phone is plugged in.
While the music from the flash drive will keep playing indefinitely (if you don't play media from your phone) when you unplug your phone, the music from the flash drive will stop until you tap the "USB" icon on your home screen, and it will not resume from where it was, but will start at the beginning of the drive, alphabetically.
Album art does work, but you must turn it on in the settings on the unit. Album art displays as a background image while music is playing from a usb drive.
At least on the FLAC files I've been playing, album art only seems to work if it is 400x400 pixels in size or smaller, and is embedded into the file's tags. folder.jpg files in the album folders are ignored, and larger embedded images are also not displayed on the unit.
I had some albums in FLAC format that would not play. This turned to be due to the way they were saved. I had to open them in an audio editing app and export them as 96 kHz, 24 bits files, which is the max this unit can play.
XAV-AX200 and Android 9 Pie
EDIT: This only fixed it on the first call. On subsequent calls, it doesn't help.
FYI, in case someone else experiences this: After my phone (Essential Ph-1) updated to Android 9, Pie, the next time I connected to my XAV-AX200 via Bluetooth, while talking on the phone, there was horrible roar of feedback every time the phone call was routed through the stereo by Bluetooth. I solved this problem by turning the microphone gain from medium to low on the stereo. Hope this helps someone else.
Hi, thank you for sharing, but you better search for the Sony XAV-100 and XAV-200 threads in the android Auto forums and specifically for posts of Superdavex who made all kind of improvements. See also his github repository: https://github.com/superdavex/Sony-XAV-AX100
I guess you find more owners and info there.
To power off the unit, long press (a second or two) on the top left button.
admrusty said:
To power off the unit, long press (a second or two) on the top left button.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That does not work on the XAV-AX200. It does work on the XAV-AX100.
celticchrys said:
Mp3 and flac files only play from your phone or from a usb flash drive. They will not play from a CD-R disc. This is truly bizarre.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not really strange, if you think of this unit as a tablet stuck to the front of a basic CD player.
The CD player plays CD audio, the tablet has no access to the disc, it just changes the audio input when needed.
Yes, it is very strange. My last several very cheap car stereos could do this simple task. If Sony was capable of playing mp3 cdr discs for the last 20 years, they should still be able to do so.
thanks for your tips and information about it.
Help with XAV-AX200 please. Keeps rebooting when connect phone.
I bought is on eBay and updated the firmware to the latest. EVERY TIME I hook up my phone to the USB, it keeps rebooting the unit. I have tried Note 8, Note 4, and iPhone 6. Any ideas short of returning it? I have the unit out on a table to test it using a power supply at 12v. Works fine until connect a phone to the short usb in the back. I have the red/yellow on 12v and the black grounded to the unit.
Todd
admrusty said:
To power off the unit, long press (a second or two) on the top left button.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have XAV-AX200C2 and the power off function as is stated here works for me.