Oh
Cheers boundy
I'm just talking to a couple of sellers trying to get the right one.
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Chinese carplay unit success in B8 with MMI 3G basic
- Thread starter Boundy
- Start date
Cheers boundy
I'm just talking to a couple of sellers trying to get the right one.
Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk
Albert Badenhorst
New Member
Hello Everyone, I bought the Carlinkit from AliExpress (Non-mmi) for my Audi B8.5. So far it works perfectly but I do have some little annoyances I can't seem to get rid off.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3303...27424c4d321xS2.
1. I don't seem to have any access or controls over the brightness of the screen(Physically backlight) seems to be 100% all the time. When switching back to the normal Audi interface I can see the backlight change based on the knob near the light switch or the internal brightness settings on the radio itself. When I switch over to the box it goes to 100% immediately and no lights on or anything will change that. (There are no settings internally on the box that will change the backlight either)
2. I have a rear camera installed and works great, but sometimes when I have been in reverse with the camera active and switch back normal P or D the screen flickers not to nothing to the output but rather carplay is it's and functions but a noticeable flicker of the backlight seems to occur for a while and then slowly fades away until the backlight is solid again(Sorry no sure how else to describe it)
UPDATE on point 2: I've tested again and it seems to happen only on the output of the box, when I switch over to the Audi manu the flicker disappears. Wondering if it could be a ground thing. I only connected the camera via the yellow rca cable and the cable coming out of the rca cable to 12v power. The red and the black wire of the camera I left discconecetd
3. I couldn't get the internal mic to work from the car which was already installed, so I ended up installing the one provided, but there is some nasty noise on the mic quality, anyone knows how to resolve it?
Wireless connections seem to be very solid so very happy about that, All the controls work, steering wheel controls included. Only thing I sad about it is on the normal Audi radio when you were to push mute it would act as a play pause button and it does not seem to act as a play/pause button on the carlinkit box.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3303...27424c4d321xS2.
1. I don't seem to have any access or controls over the brightness of the screen(Physically backlight) seems to be 100% all the time. When switching back to the normal Audi interface I can see the backlight change based on the knob near the light switch or the internal brightness settings on the radio itself. When I switch over to the box it goes to 100% immediately and no lights on or anything will change that. (There are no settings internally on the box that will change the backlight either)
2. I have a rear camera installed and works great, but sometimes when I have been in reverse with the camera active and switch back normal P or D the screen flickers not to nothing to the output but rather carplay is it's and functions but a noticeable flicker of the backlight seems to occur for a while and then slowly fades away until the backlight is solid again(Sorry no sure how else to describe it)
UPDATE on point 2: I've tested again and it seems to happen only on the output of the box, when I switch over to the Audi manu the flicker disappears. Wondering if it could be a ground thing. I only connected the camera via the yellow rca cable and the cable coming out of the rca cable to 12v power. The red and the black wire of the camera I left discconecetd
3. I couldn't get the internal mic to work from the car which was already installed, so I ended up installing the one provided, but there is some nasty noise on the mic quality, anyone knows how to resolve it?
Wireless connections seem to be very solid so very happy about that, All the controls work, steering wheel controls included. Only thing I sad about it is on the normal Audi radio when you were to push mute it would act as a play pause button and it does not seem to act as a play/pause button on the carlinkit box.
Thank you for this video.
Do you mean that exist/return is slow working?
PS1. How to check with screen resolution do I have (6,5" or 7")?
PS2. Is any topic about experience with Android Head Unit on our Audi A4 B8 ?
I'm not really sure what you are asking.
MMI 3G Low/Basic also known as Bnav has a low resolution 6.5" screen.
MMI 3G high also known as Hnav has a higher resolution 7" screen.
There is are a few members that have fitted the full head unit rather than just the add on, I'll see if I can find you a link
I agree with you, by the seller asking me what resolution have have my display on mmi3g Low
SDK version: 25.0.0.5.6.0.0.0
Cust Version: v2.1.0.6.ly.a
MCU Version: 20.5.31.16
HW version: Audi_hdmi
Just changed the parking aid beeper that was faulty, but the parking sensors are not working properly - removed the carplay unit and sensors detect movement in the rear but not in the front and it doesn't beep.
Tried to remove the mmi and AC unit, have done some sh** and started to have tons of errors. Clean all of them with VCDS, but still have the message "problem with stability program - read instructions" and still have a HVAC error. Placed again the carplay unit and the sensors appear as if they are all touching to something and they don't beep at all. Tested the front and back cameras, work very good (haven't mounted them yet) - I can use "reverse display track", "reverse display radar" but not "reverse line detect".
Right now I don´t really know what to do. Don't know if I change all the sensors, if remove the aftermarked stuff and try to put all back as original and see if I can get the parking aid to work. Any opinions?
Also, so I can install my front camera, can you tell me where can I pass the camera cables to the glove box?
Haven´t seen any tutorial...
I'm not sure on a car with the steering wheel on the wrong side. On a RHD car, the wires can be taken through the Ecu box under the scuttle tray and dropped into the drivers footwell
The visual lines for the parking sensors don't seem to display on the screen while the camera is showing, it just shows like something is really close front and rear, mine still beeb correctly though. Check you haven't pulled a wire out of the car play units harness, it's easy done, as they are not factory quality
Have you considered the Andream unit? I recently bought and installed one in my 2013 S4 with 3G+ MMI.Oh
Cheers boundy
I'm just talking to a couple of sellers trying to get the right one.
Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk
I see you're an Android user, as am I. Be prepared to be disappointed with Android Auto. Something else Google has under developed.
Paul
Hi Paul,
I havnt actually ordered it yet. With the car being 10 plus years old I've held of spending money on "toys" for it for a while just incase something ugly pops up.
It'll be something I do as I'm missing my dab radio stations and is like the advantage of a rear view camera
Do you have a link to the andream unit so I can take a look?
Thanks
Nathe
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Hey,
This is the one I went for. As you've probably already discovered, the Andream, the generic devices on Aliexpress and the Unique Auto Developments units are all the same and I'd wager the software on them is identical too.
As far as the device is concerned, I'm impressed with the Andream. It went in easily enough and works. I've had a good level of after sales service from the vendor too, after I complained about what I thought was an issue with the unit. As it turned out, it's an issue with Android Auto. The vendor was still reasonably quick at sending me the latest software, for it, to try though.
I have the OEM rear camera (and DAB) so removed some of the excess cables to make squeezing it all in the dash a little easier. I'm still toying with the placement/ routing of the USB lead though.
Android Auto is a let down though as it's just not very polished. The 'issue' that I mention above is with the nav volume (I.e. Google Assistant's voice) and 'media' volume not being independent and thus when you adjust the music volume, the nav volume changes equally. This can be very uncomfortable if your listening to music at a decent level and suddenly a nav instruction comes through. There's a rumour Google are finally splitting out volume control for 'Media' and Google Assistant but, we'll see how that pans out.
I use Amazon Music as my music app of choice and you can't just select anything from your library. All you can select is content you've played through the device before or a shuffle of your library. This maybe different with other music apps.
Overall, it does give me options over the onboard solution, most notably traffic on the nav. And of course, there's no need to update the map database every 6/ 12 months. You can also use Waze but, I prefer Google Maps. Being able to stream music is nice, despite the shortcomings I've experienced. And the wireless connection to Android Auto is very nice too. I'm glad I bought it.
Paul
I don't use nav speech to be honest so that wouldn't really bother me, when using Google maps I only use nav instructions for route updates.
Is this the exact one you purchased as the link doesn't state of it's suitable for an S4.
What was the delivery time like and so you know where's it's shipped from?
Thanks
Nathe
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Yes, that's the exact one. There is only one version for the B8/ B8.5 platform.
Ping them a message before you buy and they'll ask for images of your centre console and MMi version details, to ensure your MMi hardware is compatible and that you get the right unit..
I wouldn't be concerned that they don't state it's specifically compatible with the S4, as the car model doesn't really have anything to do with it. It's the MMi version that's important.
I think it took just over a week and it came from China direct I believe. Labelling was customs friendly.
Paul
Just blown F52 (7,5A) Entertainment system fuse on the luggage compartment. Everything went back to normal. Managed to put the rear camera working and, as you said, the proximity radar shows as if you are really close to something, although the beeps are working fine now (parking buzzer was damaged). Tomorrow I can place some photos.
I have just received my andream. Unfortunately my car was stolen Monday night. Would anybody be interested in the andream unit before I send it back to the seller?
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Hi Boundy,
Just came across this post and I'm fairly new to the Audi scene
I have a 2015 2.0tdi cab with 3g high I believe (has HDD and two sd cards)
1. So just to confirm, the unit you have is a module which allows Android Auto and car play? It doesn't replace the MMI screen in the car?
2. Also, I assume all the OEM MMI functions are retained ?
3. I have factory reverse camera, how will this be affected?
Sorry for the stupid questions
Just came across this post and I'm fairly new to the Audi scene
I have a 2015 2.0tdi cab with 3g high I believe (has HDD and two sd cards)
1. So just to confirm, the unit you have is a module which allows Android Auto and car play? It doesn't replace the MMI screen in the car?
2. Also, I assume all the OEM MMI functions are retained ?
3. I have factory reverse camera, how will this be affected?
Sorry for the stupid questions
Yes still have it for sale. Sorry, only just seen your reply
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Hello everyone,
I've bought an audi a5 2010 with bnav (3g MMI basic/low). Has anyone recently bought the standalone interface with apple carplay and android auto for their 3g mmi basic/low and can confirm that it's working? If yes, i would be amazing to receive a link where you've bought it. Since, every link i come uppon has a stamp that says 3g mmi basic is not compatible.
I've bought an audi a5 2010 with bnav (3g MMI basic/low). Has anyone recently bought the standalone interface with apple carplay and android auto for their 3g mmi basic/low and can confirm that it's working? If yes, i would be amazing to receive a link where you've bought it. Since, every link i come uppon has a stamp that says 3g mmi basic is not compatible.
JCrawford96
New Member
hello I’ve Audi A5 2012 with MMI BNAV also, did you find a CarPlay unit that works? Having same issue all sellers saying BNAV not supported.
JCrawford96
New Member
The units on there are over £400 not sure if that’s for a new sceen etc to or just the CarPlay box but the stand alone CarPlay units on AliExpress are only £160 or full new display unit from rsnav for £450
It's a carplay/Android Auto box only, and yes it's more expensive, but they will supply the right one for your car along with backup support. £160 isn;t a bargain if it doesn't work, is it?
The fact of the matter is, the UAD add on works properly and is supported for the Bnav, the no brand Chinese boxes are alway going to be a bit of a hack job to make work with varying degrees of success. You pays your money, you make your choice.
Hi, I have a 2011 A5 with BNAV and the carplay unit I bought works pretty well. Basically just have the same issues everyone else has (top lines of the display are cut off, parking sensors don't move on reverse cam graphics etc). I only wanted it to make listening to music easier and using Waze instead of the factory maps and it works fine for all of that.
I got my unit from RoadTop Carplay on Aliexpress. I remember them also having a separate store page with a similar name that has direct stock in Europe. I bought mine from China with the following link though.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000979755773.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.473f4c4dZw2OwU
I'm not sure if the seller realises the MMI Basic is different to the higher end 3G units but they insisted it would work with my car and it does but I'm assuming they might start saying the unit is incompatible like all other sellers do.
I do have a slight issue with the reverse camera though that's probably worth mentioning. I don't get any voltage out of the reverse camera wire/pin on the unit which means if/when I fit a reverse camera I would have to splice into the reverse light wiring or use the 12v constant feed from the unit and fit it with a switch to turn the camera on and off at will. Unsure if this is because my car only has rear sensors and therefore doesn't have the PDC button on the dash or could just be there's something not soldered on properly inside the box.
Also Android Auto is refusing to go into dark mode. It used to be fine until the app updated a few months ago. I've seen other people with the same issue on reddit though with cars that come with factory head units so seems like more of an issue on Google's side but still something to consider.
Big thanks to Boundy for this thread though otherwise I'd have never have taken the plunge!
JCrawford96
New Member
Thanks for the reply I’ve been talking to a seller for a few days on AliExpress and went ahead with a purchase that they’ve assured me works with BNAV model mmi, I will update when it arrives and when it’s installed also will link it if it does work it cost me £110 in total with shipping.
What you said about reverse camera power my intentions were always to splice into reverse light so it only gets power when needed so this isn’t a issue and also I have a iPhone so will only be interested in the apple CarPlay so the small issue with android auto does not bother me also.
I purchased the OEM style reverse camera for the boot handle this was £15. Hopefully doesn’t take to long to come and will update shortly.
You need to run the video coax to the handle so I see little point in cutting into the car loom as the the camera is normally supplied with a coax/power combi cable, just connect this to the camera power feed that's already in the carplay box loom, and run a ground from the camera to a bolt in the tail gate
JCrawford96
New Member
thanks for the reply I will try what you’ve said, I was just going on the install instructions I was given when I ordered the unit and the camera but I’ll will try this before splicing into the cables thanks
