Database Users

Help me choose the right system

I have a 99 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 which currently already has an Android Head Unit in it. It's done a fairly good job up to this point. I have rooted it and have added quite a few apps to it.
The thing that most detur's me about it is no Andoid 5.1 which means no "Ok Google Everywhere" function. Also no USB MIC's supported. I also have a Sega Dreamcast Emulator and it runs just slightly too slow to be usable. Also, sometimes while I'm idle I wish I could play Steam Games. I know thats asking ALOT for a Car Headunit. What I have is still quite pleasing but I just want more I guess.
Thing is ... I can't tell what I really want.
I don't know if I want to stay in the Android series and either get another head unit or custom build a Android Stereo
or
If I want to just build a Windows 10 System with a suitable graphics card and then run Android 5 or 6 on a Virtual Machine like Virtual Box.
There's advantages and disadvantages to both.
First I have alot of questions ...
FOR ANDROID:
Headunits:
With the Android Head Units, are there any available running Android 5.1 that also have a Quad Core and 2GB of RAM? I've only been able to find that the only support 1GB of RAM.
For the Joying Head Units, I heard that they do not like Waze as it causes the volume knob to stop working. Have they resolved this issue? Is there a fix for this? What if the unit does not come with knobs but instead buttons? does the issue still exist?
Are there any ways to root the 5.1 Head Units ? Anything out there like Redmod?
If I stay with 4.4 can I get Google Now, "Ok Google Everywhere" to work? That's minimum for me to consider it. I really need that as I need voice commands navigation while I'm driving.
Are there any yet that provide full bluetooth functionality?
Is there any way at all that I can have all my apps installed on the iNand instead of that limited 1 or 2GB ROM space? I tried symlinks but ended up crashing my first unit and had to factory reset.
Custom:
Are there any devices out there better than the ODROID?
Can the TV Android Boxes be used like a real Android and use all the standard Apps, like Poweramp, Waze, Google Maps?
Can I still get GPS, Navigation, Bluetooth, with the proper corresponding hardware? What about hands free calling?
I head that you need to use a separate sound processing unit, is this a Sound Card? Also is Android compatible with all USB sound cards or am I limited to some?
Will the sound quality be just as good to my speakers as the Head Unit as I will have to run an external Soundcard and AMP to achieve the sound I need.
FOR WINDOWS:
What other system boards can I use that support a Laptop style Battery?
How can I implement a 2GB Dedicated Video card on a Mini ITX Board, or would I need to use a different board and if so what would you recommend? I've been researching and it looks like I can use one of the Mini PCIe e slots for a dedicated low profile graphics card. Does the same apply for ODroid?
Would I be able to get the same functions I love so much from Waze and other Android Apps if I run Android as a Virtual Machine? Will the VM still see all my hardware? GPS, Bluetooth, Touch LCD, ect?
How will I manage Power Consumption and is there any way I can run a laptop style battery with the machine?
FOR SOUND:
I heard that it is recommended to run a separate sound processor for ODROID, What is that and where can I find it?
What exactly would I need to get sound to my car speakers? Is the hardware bi-compatible between both systems?

Setup/install question

So jumped in with out doing enough research.. I just installed one of the double din android units in my car. I was able to get everything wired up and running. But not much is working well.
I got this unit
GCS APEX ANDROID HEAD UNIT W/ GPS - 2015+ WRX / 2015+ STI
Android Operating System Version: 5.1.1
Processor: 1.6Ghz Cortex A9 Quad Core
Memory: 1GB RAM, 16GB flash
Stereo Power: 4x50W
So the unit itself seems very slow. I installed 2 apps. Spotify and Waze. The apps take a long time to load/open.
Spotify. Ok this is odd but not sure if its normal. I open spotify and I have the HU paired with my hotspot. It loads and starts to play but the sound is awful. I am not able to control anything via the headunit for sound such as fader/balance/eq. They don't do anything. Now if i open spotify from my phone and cast it to the HU i have all those controls and it sounds 100x better but the volume can be adjust from the phone and have to set that low. Is that normal? I have tried to get the USB to work and it will charge my phone (iphone 7+) but the headunit won't recognize the phone at all. don't even give me an option to use it via usb. I can also connect via bluetooth and stream that way but its similar where I can adjust volume from the phone. Sorry if this is really n00bish but thinking maybe its a setting? I can't seem to find anything.
After doing some reading i guess the 1gb was not the way to go but stuck for now. so any suggestions? I just want to be able to use Waze, and spotify and have the unit respond. When I click a button the delay is not a second or two but over 50 seconds and seems like it just crashes. I clear the memory and dont' have any live wallpapers running just nothing seems to be responding at all
Hope this makes sense and or someone might be able to give me some insight. Thanks for any help.
I can't post the link to the actual unit since I don't have enough street cred with the forum yet.

Any thoughts?

radio
My radio has the same specs as yours apart from the android version (4.4.2), i can confirm that Spotify and waze are both up and running within a second or two.
It does sound like you might have a faulty unit, is it possible to return it ?
You could also try a different rom but will kill any warranty I guess.

Yah that is what i am worried about. The vendor is not so eager to exchange it. I am going to take some video of what I am talking about maybe that will add some detail. Maybe someone will see it and point out that I might be doing something wrong. Not sure but very frustrating.
boss126 said:
My radio has the same specs as yours apart from the android version (4.4.2), i can confirm that Spotify and waze are both up and running within a second or two.
It does sound like you might have a faulty unit, is it possible to return it ?
You could also try a different rom but will kill any warranty I guess.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

thedru13 said:
Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If yours is a MTCB/C unit (check the MCU version, it should start with this either MTCB or MTCC) you can flash a 4.4 ROM.
I also received my unit with 5.1 and downgraded to 4.4.

So tried a bunch of things over the weekend. No luck. I did do a factory restore and then was not able to even log into the play store at all. Google services kept crashing. I tried all the trouble shooting I could find online with no luck. Also I was not able to get the USB connection to see my iPhone. I could plug in a thumb drive and it worked fine. Are these just not able to use an iPhone at all? Not sure if anyone has been able to get the USB connection working between headunit and iPhone.
I sent the unit back hopefully getting a replacement to continue to try and get it to work. If not guess I will look for something else.

Android 9, 2GB ram, Tesla style for Opel Astra J, No sound issue except radio

Hello dear forum friends, i have problem with own Android unit.
Just i try to tell my situation.
So i bought and install this HU -->bit.ly/2JmGdrZ (Aliexpress).
What about my unit?
Android 9.
2GB RAM, 16 GB internal space.
Model FF-5000
Hardware AC8227L
Kernel 3.18.79
Cores 4
Processor ARMv7 rev 7 (v7l)
MCU TS907.190108
Media HC_v2.0.0_190618_1330
ibb.co/Kw72P6M
ibb.co/cxWq51C
ibb.co/VBggcfH
ibb.co/SDgQC87
ibb.co/TcJ0DNK
ibb.co/Cw4TNF3
So i installed this Android unit and all works perfectly. After 2-3 weeks after install, i play music in very loud volume an get stuck and get error "MCU UART ERROR". Later my player get unstuck, later stuck, later unstuck. Now my player unstuck, but no sound from all sources, youtube, music, chrome and more(Show as playing, but no sound). Play and get sound only from radio.
Sometimes, example after night when i go to car and start car, i hear very silent music from music playing, for about 1-3 sec, later silent hissing.
When my player get stuck with "MCU UART ERROR", i get show in setting "NULL" in MCU version.
Dealer send to me, MCU Update, but update now fix it.
What i can do for fix this issue? Software? Hardware? Maybe can bus box?
Youtube video --->youtube. com/watch?v=TDFw_OtwMlY
Sorry, spam system in this forum for newbies, not allow to write right URL.

App crashes instantly, Chinese head unit, any suggestions?

Hello all
I bought a chinese head unit for my accord, and installation was easy. However, opening any apps causes it to crash instantly. For example, when opening Spotify (downloaded from the play store), it crashed instantly and I can't get it to open up. I also tried downloading an older verison apk but same issue. As far as the information I got, it is an Allwinner quad-core t3-2101. Here is the link where I purchased it.
Android Honda Accord 2008-2011 car 10-inch navigation integrated machine | eBay
2 Din android setero. Still using the old stereo in the car?. Based on the Android platform, users can download any applications in his favorite. Android 10.1 system. MP3 MP5 Player. HDMI Cable. Unit Functions.
www.ebay.com

Bosion AC8257

Hi there!
I've bought a Bosion HU (4gb ram 64 rom chipset ac8257) and works really well compared to my previous unit (PX5 2gb ram). I've registered at 4PDA forum to get some information about software but I can't find too much info about this unit..Any experience with this kind of software? I get used to the PX5 units so now I'm completty lost about this new chipset.....MCU...
Link to my product
https://es.aliexpress.com/item/1005002120465337.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.484463c0bL1okN
Thanks in advance.

hey. i know its an old thread but I ve got the bosion HU.., already followed the almost dead thread at 4PDA Forum also. This head unit is crap, honestly spoken, do you have an idea if there are alterntive firmwares maybe from other manufactures that would work with the boison units? my BT calling feature stopped working after last update what has been talked about at 4PDA also. In addition I do not like much the apprearnce of the start-screen and many other minor issues too... now I am in hope that somebody has found a good working alternatively firmware file that is way better than the boison one? sorry for my bad english..

Hi! Same situation on my side.....I've tried another Android units before and this one it's not bad....I've not found another compatible firmware....If you find something please post it

I've just purchased this ac8257 b200 unit and I'm NOT loving it. My px5 with frequent wifi dropouts is preferable.
Does anyone else have an issue with the accessibility downloaded services being disabled after a short period? I've added the apps to be excluded from Battery optimisation and ensured battery saver is off and even made the apps device admins if the app can be but within an hour the services are disabled.
Also, Google voice typing seems to be like the old android 6 version with the big grey rectangle covering the lower half of the screen while listening for voice input and if it fails because the internal mic is crap I can't get it to cancel to go back to the keyboard. I usually have to exit the app and relaunch it.
UPDATE: Apparently Duraspeed is a separate task manager/battery optimisation app that comes with these units. I've now tried turning that off as well as enabling it and adding the apps as exclusions and the downloaded services are still disabled after a short period.
Google Maps also runs much slower than my previous 4Gb px5 unit.

You have probably found this post already but I got an update for my unit here. https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/...with-android-11-android-auto-wireless.4467385

8257 / AC8257 / AC8257_DEMO Android 11 & Android 12 with MCU update​
8257 / AC8257 / AC8257_DEMO Android 11 & Android 12 with MCU update
So, I did some work and found Android 11 & Android 12 for the 8257 and both works, great. Along with the MCU update. The AC8257_Android_scatter.txt, found in both android files are known as project ac8257_demo, with platform MT6761. I have found...
forum.xda-developers.com
this could help