Database Users

Are there any Chinese HU's without any problems?

Wow, just when you think you've found a headunit that is perfect, what happens instead? You read some reviews that are written after the user owned it for a short amount of time, and then you discover the problems.
Is there an Android HU that gets good FM/AM reception? Doesn't need to be rebooted? Won't disappoint? I previously got burned on a cheaper model and don't want to repeat that again. Hell - I could have just gotten a Kenwood and avoided all the headache and a $195 install job.

Hi,
I think that depends on your definition of "problems". My definition of a real problem is when there is no solotion on xda developers
OK, first I would recommend that you buy a head unit that was made for your car brand and model if available. I own a 2013 Skoda Rapid (similar to VW Polo / Golf, no "dirty" jokes please lol) and bought a VW specific model ("Autopumpkin" (reseller) 2 DIN for VW, RK3066 processor with Android 4.4.4 @ 800x480px, firmware is KLD2).
Installation: Plug in the quad lock CAN bus and the head unit was ready. Nothing else to do.
AM/FM:
In some cases, your car antenna needs +12V power to work properly. My head unit has a "phantom power adapter" (don't know if this is the right word in english). If you don't connect +12V to antenna, the reception is awful, I only received 4 stations with poor quality. Once the pantom power was connected (in my special case, I also needed a FAKRA adapter to connect the head unit with the car antenna since the plugs from the head unit didn't fit in the car connector), I received 18 stations (more can't be saved) on 88-95MHz (band goes from 88-108 here) using auto scan mode.
"Doesn't need to be rebooted":
I don't know exactly what you mean, would you like to specify that? The head unit can't be always on due to the high power consumption which would kill the battery very fast. Boot time is about 20-30 seconds but it remains about 5 minutes in standby if you pull out the ignition key.
Sound quality:
If sound quality is as important for you as for me, you MAYBE have a problem with those cheap head units but that also depends on what you like to do and to what kind of music you do listen.
On FM, sound quality doesn't matter for me because I use FM only for traffic announcements and news / documentary). The built in EQ is not the best one, at first I was thinking about to send the unit back because of the bad quality. After some days, I tried Poweramp with it's EQ and the difference was HUGE. Sounds better that the original car radio. Later, I tried Viper4Android (EQ app) since the Poweramp EQ only works for Poweramp and I thoght better radio sound quality would not be bad, but AFAIK AM/FM (and Bluetooth) sound output is not processed in Android what means only the build in EQ can influence the sound quality of that parts.
Traffic announcement (TA):
But one thing about TA feature does really drives me crazy: If you have enabled TA and the radio app detects traffic announcements (what happens also if the radio is in "background" respectively not explicit opened), a "modal popup" appears and you can't do anything (you can't skip TA or switch to another app) but vol up / down or disable TA with the "Close" button at all what means that you have to go to the radio app and enable TA again manually.
Bluetooth:
Bluetooth works much better than expected. If I get into the car in the morning, my phone (Sony Xperia Z2 with stock rom) connects with the head unit in seconds. If I press the "Play" button in the head unit's bluetooth app, it almost instantly continues playing my Spotify playlist from the phone (Spotify app doesn't work on my head unit, don't know why...).
3G / Wifi:
About 3G: Sometimes the HU loses connection because the power supplied by the USB ports is not enough. In that case, I have to power off and on the unit again (but "soft" reboot, done in seconds). Wifi (if you use your smartphone as hotspot with teathering) does work very well but not on distances over approx. 10 meters.
About GPS:
The GPS signal fixes very, VERY fast (2-5 seconds, but thats maybe because Android fixes the signal at boot time) and the supplied navigation app (iGO Primo) can calculate a route from south germany to a random forrest in Poland (I tapped on a random place on the map) approximately 1500km away in less than 10 seconds.
Dual way CAN bus:
Does work with my car, I can control radio stations via the buttons of my on-board computer / MFD (Multi Function Display as called by VW, my car doesn't have SWC) and the MFD shows the station frequency. I can also control the Media Player App (next / prev track, not volume), but only the built in one, not Poweramp.
Conclusion: If there is a HU for your specific brand / model, you should not have as much trouble as if you buy a generic one, especially with installation. You should have at least some basic Android, car and technical knowledge and (most important) the will to play around with your device, try out new apps, firmwares and roms, play with the settings etc... If you want a real plug and play solution, you maybe have to pay 1000€ / $ +. You get what you pay for
I hope my reply was helpful.

Nice Text. So it is.

hippelsepp said:
I hope my reply was helpful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was, thank you. Which HU do you use?

My question is: Is there an American/Japanese/Anywhere else head unit that can do as much as these Chinese head units??

TC Car Audio Android Head Units

Hi all. I have a 2011 Hyundai Accent that used to run a HuiFei KGL4 Hyundai-specific 7" unit. It's been one rollercoaster ride with that unit, having to deal with the following:
1) Underpowered USB ports (had to solder a voltage step-down converter to amp it up for it to work properly)
2) The latest ROM forces me to wait 30 seconds for the unit to shut down after turning off ignition, otherwise my PKE car alarm won't trigger as all doors are generally closed within that time frame because I've already stepped out of the car. Funny piece is there's no way out of this even if I go back to an older software, or use an MCU that doesn't support sleep
3) Weak FM radio
After messing real bad with #3 above, killing one channel off of my FM radio (only right channel is working now) after breaking the electronic links for one of the caps needed, I decided it's time to let go. Not to mention that the reseller that I've brought it from is no longer responding when it comes to asking for replacement parts and Kai Ge Le doesn't sell parts from products that weren't directly bought from them. Malaysk' great ROM helped me get through the day for a while, but hey, when you want a fully working product, you gotta move some time right?
The next dilemma was: should I go with Joying or any other HuiFei-based Android radio and potentially deal with the same thing? Then I thought... man, it's time to accept I'm not too good with soldering and I can't risk messing another brand new radio just for dealing with the same thing.
Long-story short, I went with a not so known MCU / manufacturer / reseller combo this time around for hopes I'd get different results. It may be a bit of a challenge to get support from the community granted none of my searches yielded any results for the MCU the device is using, but man... with how the ROM of this new unit working fluidly as it is, I'm finally content.
Some distinct differences with HuiFei:
1) Boot-up time. Before upgrading my KGL4 to RK3188, boot-up time was 30 seconds. When I upgraded to RK3188 roughly ~15 seconds. In this unit? I don't even notice waiting for boot. It properly turns off USB connected devices so my battery does not get drained- tried for 5 days now and has been consistently fine.
2) Next / Previous controls. I did not need to install Car Service for Next / Previous to be consistent on non-stock apps (Radio, Music, Video apps). If I press next or previous in my steering wheel on, say, Spotify or PCRadio, the behavior is the same. It goes to the next / previous track as expected, with no additional apps or configuration needed.
3) RADIO - I can't emphasize this enough. In days where I just want to use the radio instead of songs from streaming apps, man, this unit delivers! It subdues the static / hisses well, and clearly picks up the same radio stations that I used to have in my car's factory radio that the KGL4 one struggled to pick-up.
4) Bluetooth function - I was never able to get my KGL4 unit to pair with my OBD2 device, no matter how many times I've back-read in the different threads. In this new unit, it was able to detect and pair with it the first time I tried! The plus part is that the Bluetooth config of this new unit allows you to enter the pair code for devices that requires it - at least on this one I'm sure the HuiFei units cannot prompt for the pairing code of the other device.
5) Support for external hard drives. I was unable to connect a 500GB external drive in my KGL4 before until I did the USB mod. For this new unit, it supports it right off the bat. No mods necessary.
6) There's an actual WIFI antenna!
Another plus for me is the screen size upgrade. The new device has 9" of real-estate. I did lose DVD functionality and potentially not have the option to update the software to 5.1 (runs on 4.4), but I can live with those. If anyone's familiar or has the same MCU as mine, or shares the same software build, let me know. Maybe that will be a good reference for anyone who'd potentially buy units from them. In the meantime, TC Car Audio has a store in AE if you want to inquire (Store ID 1360064). Looks like they also have a couple of 5.1 devices, just not sure if it shares the same MCU / ROM combo.
DISCLAIMER: I do not work for TC car audio. Just passing along the positive experience I have with their product, and hoping to help others see that there are better options out there beyond the more known brands.
MCU: 2016-04-25 10:38:12 KEQ_60_C6R_7706_5006_CAN(DaZhongWC)_Newlap

jrgalang said:
2) Next / Previous controls. I did not need to install Car Service for Next / Previous to be consistent on non-stock apps (Radio, Music, Video apps). If I press next or previous in my steering wheel on, say, Spotify or PCRadio, the behavior is the same. It goes to the next / previous track as expected, with no additional apps or configuration needed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm more interested in this part. I wonder why this works on your unit, but not the majority of Anrdoid head units?
Can you try Pandora or Google Play Music? Does the app have to be open and in the main view for it to work? or will it work while playing in the background. Like say you are watching the Navigation with Pandora playing in the background from a Pandora app on the Android head unit, if you hit a track change with the Navigation app on the screen will it still change tracks?

CadillacMike said:
I'm more interested in this part. I wonder why this works on your unit, but not the majority of Anrdoid head units?
Can you try Pandora or Google Play Music? Does the app have to be open and in the main view for it to work? or will it work while playing in the background. Like say you are watching the Navigation with Pandora playing in the background from a Pandora app on the Android head unit, if you hit a track change with the Navigation app on the screen will it still change tracks?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Microntek head units are using its own "layer" of virtual keys mapping (irkeyDown/up). It is useful from their point of view, because you have possibility to use long press behavior on hard keys. Android has its own definitions of key events and actually it is good habit to use them (in case of developing "steering widgets" and players developing as well). Probably microntek finally started to broadcast Android's defined key events among the system which caused support of many media players .
But that is only my theory .

CadillacMike said:
I'm more interested in this part. I wonder why this works on your unit, but not the majority of Anrdoid head units?
Can you try Pandora or Google Play Music? Does the app have to be open and in the main view for it to work? or will it work while playing in the background. Like say you are watching the Navigation with Pandora playing in the background from a Pandora app on the Android head unit, if you hit a track change with the Navigation app on the screen will it still change tracks?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I couldn't try Pandora given where I'm at. But yeah, Google Play Music works just as same as Spotify. No need to have the app open, I mostly have Car Launcher Pro on screen OR my GPS app and I can hit next / previous even if the music apps are on the background.

jrgalang said:
I couldn't try Pandora given where I'm at. But yeah, Google Play Music works just as same as Spotify. No need to have the app open, I mostly have Car Launcher Pro on screen OR my GPS app and I can hit next / previous even if the music apps are on the background.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wtf, I gotta figure out how to get that on my Joying.

Reply
jrgalang said:
Hi all. I have a 2011 Hyundai Accent that used to run a HuiFei KGL4 Hyundai-specific 7" unit. It's been one rollercoaster ride with that unit, having to deal with the following:
1) Underpowered USB ports (had to solder a voltage step-down converter to amp it up for it to work properly)
2) The latest ROM forces me to wait 30 seconds for the unit to shut down after turning off ignition, otherwise my PKE car alarm won't trigger as all doors are generally closed within that time frame because I've already stepped out of the car. Funny piece is there's no way out of this even if I go back to an older software, or use an MCU that doesn't support sleep
3) Weak FM radio
After messing real bad with #3 above, killing one channel off of my FM radio (only right channel is working now) after breaking the electronic links for one of the caps needed, I decided it's time to let go. Not to mention that the reseller that I've brought it from is no longer responding when it comes to asking for replacement parts and Kai Ge Le doesn't sell parts from products that weren't directly bought from them. Malaysk' great ROM helped me get through the day for a while, but hey, when you want a fully working product, you gotta move some time right?
The next dilemma was: should I go with Joying or any other HuiFei-based Android radio and potentially deal with the same thing? Then I thought... man, it's time to accept I'm not too good with soldering and I can't risk messing another brand new radio just for dealing with the same thing.
Long-story short, I went with a not so known MCU / manufacturer / reseller combo this time around for hopes I'd get different results. It may be a bit of a challenge to get support from the community granted none of my searches yielded any results for the MCU the device is using, but man... with how the ROM of this new unit working fluidly as it is, I'm finally content.
Some distinct differences with HuiFei:
1) Boot-up time. Before upgrading my KGL4 to RK3188, boot-up time was 30 seconds. When I upgraded to RK3188 roughly ~15 seconds. In this unit? I don't even notice waiting for boot. It properly turns off USB connected devices so my battery does not get drained- tried for 5 days now and has been consistently fine.
2) Next / Previous controls. I did not need to install Car Service for Next / Previous to be consistent on non-stock apps (Radio, Music, Video apps). If I press next or previous in my steering wheel on, say, Spotify or PCRadio, the behavior is the same. It goes to the next / previous track as expected, with no additional apps or configuration needed.
3) RADIO - I can't emphasize this enough. In days where I just want to use the radio instead of songs from streaming apps, man, this unit delivers! It subdues the static / hisses well, and clearly picks up the same radio stations that I used to have in my car's factory radio that the KGL4 one struggled to pick-up.
4) Bluetooth function - I was never able to get my KGL4 unit to pair with my OBD2 device, no matter how many times I've back-read in the different threads. In this new unit, it was able to detect and pair with it the first time I tried! The plus part is that the Bluetooth config of this new unit allows you to enter the pair code for devices that requires it - at least on this one I'm sure the HuiFei units cannot prompt for the pairing code of the other device.
5) Support for external hard drives. I was unable to connect a 500GB external drive in my KGL4 before until I did the USB mod. For this new unit, it supports it right off the bat. No mods necessary.
6) There's an actual WIFI antenna!
Another plus for me is the screen size upgrade. The new device has 9" of real-estate. I did lose DVD functionality and potentially not have the option to update the software to 5.1 (runs on 4.4), but I can live with those. If anyone's familiar or has the same MCU as mine, or shares the same software build, let me know. Maybe that will be a good reference for anyone who'd potentially buy units from them. In the meantime, TC Car Audio has a store in AE if you want to inquire (Store ID 1360064). Looks like they also have a couple of 5.1 devices, just not sure if it shares the same MCU / ROM combo.
DISCLAIMER: I do not work for TC car audio. Just passing along the positive experience I have with their product, and hoping to help others see that there are better options out there beyond the more known brands.
MCU: 2016-04-25 10:38:12 KEQ_60_C6R_7706_5006_CAN(DaZhongWC)_Newlap
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello friend,
This is Nicole from Kaigele.
Sorry to tell you that,from your posted info and images,this unit is not from our factory.Maybe you need to contact your direct seller to get more help.
thanks
best regards
Nicole

Guidance for Android Head Unit

I currently have a Kenwood KVT614 head unit that I hate with a passion. I can't stand the useless screen (without apps it really serves no purpose), the navigation software and about everything.
As a result I am considering switching the head unit out and I love the idea of something running android.
My car is an electric car and it only has a single DIN slot, so I am somewhat constrained in my choices.
Ideally I am looking for an android head unit that covers the following:
- Can run android apps, e.g. navigation (both offline and online via the phone)
- Tethering - I read that some headunits have issues with Bluetooth tethering which is obviously much better for phone battery
- Having an electric car, I actually want the headunit to turn OFF (not sleep) when the car is off
- Screen size: not too big - probably 6-7 inches or I saw some "very wide" widescreens at 8.8 inches that would fit well
- I also like the idea of screen mirroring or android auto (and carplay) working but I would very much prefer for this to work via wireless (not some stupid cable)
- power consumption would ideally be as little as possible with this being in an electric car ...
Does anyone have any recommendations?
I have been looking at some of Joying units, since they seem to be the most modern android head units with 4GB RAM, 32 or 64GB storage and running Android 8.0 or 8.1 …
Would love to get some feedback.

And how do I determine whether a head unit is a MTCB or MTCD, or whatever?
Is there a database or list somewhere? Does this no longer apply to new headunits?

It's too bad there is no sticky or wiki with recommendations and some guides.
Once you know your board (MTCx) there is some decent info, but for someone looking for a single DIN headunit there current forum setup is pretty useless.

No one helps here much.

The new joying intel based units have a new dsp chip that will blow everything out of the water in android platforms. I ordered on last week. Will be doing a review on it by next weekend hopefully

Head Unit Recommendation for Car Dash Board

I have a generic 9" Android Head Unit (K6_11_OH??) running Realdash app as a car dash board.
It works quite well using both of the USB ports for serial data (UART) and GPS input. Basically nothing else is required other than wifi to install head unit app
Main issue I have is the head unit re-assigns the USB COM ports each time it powers off and back on. This is annoying as I need to re-assign the dash app inputs every time I turn it of and back on.
Can anyone recommend a generic 9" head unit and chipset combo for the following: ??
- Easy to root
- Easy to customise ROM to strip unwanted apps and bloat
- Easy to customise Launcher / UI to remove (Dash app auto launches but not good if radio also tries to auto launch)
- USB ports enabled and easy to assign and access
- GPS
- Wifi
- 2GB RAM is sufficient
- No need for any other features that add cost such as high end music features (So relatively inexpensive)

markze said:
I have a generic 9" Android Head Unit running Realdash app as a car dash board.
It works quite well using both of the USB ports for serial data (UART) and GPS input. Basically nothing else is required other than wifi to install head unit app
Main issue I have is the head unit re-assigns the USB COM ports each time it powers off and back on. This is annoying as I need to re-assign the dash app inputs every time I turn it of and back on.
Can anyone recommend a generic 9" head unit and chipset combo for the following: ??
- Easy to root
- Easy to customise ROM to strip unwanted apps and bloat
- Easy to customise Launcher / UI to remove (Dash app auto launches but not good if radio also tries to auto launch)
- USB ports enabled and easy to assign and access
- GPS
- Wifi
- 2GB RAM is sufficient
- No need for any other features that add cost such as high end music features (So relatively inexpensive)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From forums, which units have you considered

marchnz said:
From forums, which units have you considered
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There seems to be so many options, I don't want to make the same mistake and buy another one that is not well supported, which is why I asked here.
The one I have now has firmware with K6_11_OH and the last updates I could find was 28/06/2019 and it seems they we never very widely supported.
I had a head unit for my Mazda which is nice. I got it from Bestycar which has an SC7862 chipset which is great for normal music player but more advanced and does not seem as easy to customise and simplify like I want for the basic dashboard specific use for my project car.
So I assume one of the MTC units like a PX5 or PX6 chipset might be the best way to go now?

The dash has been built using a 9" unit this exact shape and I would rather keep this the same.

markze said:
There seems to be so many options, I don't want to make the same mistake and buy another one that is not well supported, which is why I asked here.
The one I have now has firmware with K6_11_OH and the last updates I could find was 28/06/2019 and it seems they we never very widely supported.
I had a head unit for my Mazda which is nice. I got it from Bestycar which has an SC7862 chipset which is great for normal music player but more advanced and does not seem as easy to customise and simplify like I want for the basic dashboard specific use for my project car.
So I assume one of the MTC units like a PX5 or PX6 chipset might be the best way to go now?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don´t get your point...
You are searching for a good supported and quality head unit, right?
In this case you really should dive in at Joying for FYT units ( https://forum.xda-developers.com/f/fyt-android-head-units.12445/ ) or may be Klyde for CSN2/CSM4 units which are supported in this forum part.
At least you need to search for a unit specially for your car, or you need to search for a universal one with 2-DIN. Don´t ever buy a 1-DIN unit, as they all have severe issues with overheating if they are based on 6- or 8-core chipsets.
But by the way... the points you mentioned in your first posting... Sorry, but what do you expect to get?

I was expecting someone might say something like "UIS7862 head units seem to be the easiest to root hack and customise".
I don't actually want an expensive unit with heaps of great audio features as it is just a screen with 1 app and serial data feeds.
If I could get an Android tablet for 12V car use, with 2 x USB ports and completely raw Android ROM I'd be happy.

Android 13 head unit - no way to reach Volvo Sensus

Hello!
I recently bought and received one of them aliexpress android head units. Not sure what the name of it is though but it looks just like the rest of them with the capacitive buttons on the left side.
Model Link
I got the one called "F 4G 64G".
I have a 2015 Volvo S60 and I managed to install it in the car with canbus etc. Haven't managed to get the sound working as it seems I need some sort of adapter to the factory amp for it to work.
Today I changed to summer tires triggering the TPMS system and discovered that there's no apparent way to reach the Sensus system without pulling the head unit out and connecting the old original screen.
Pretty much all of the head units I've seen have some sort of app to reach the original Sensus UI, like a passthrough of sorts, but I can't find anything like that on this one.
Does anyone know how I can reach Sensus? Is it possible to download an app from play store or sideload it somehow, or Is there some magic button combination to press on the AC dash?
Kind of an hassle to reach vital functions that the Android unit doesn't seem to support, like TPMS, service information, oil level etc...