Android Dash Display Screen
- Thread starter AnubisZed
- Start date
scottp3000
Member
Cheers again Dave, supremely helpful! 
I'll give it another shot over the weekend.
Just in case it helps anyone else - i've attached a 128gb portable USB drive stacked with music to the USB extension cables (located mine in glovebox), and it works a treat. Slight pause on selecting music while it finds the drive when you open the app, but otherwise magic
I'll give it another shot over the weekend.
Just in case it helps anyone else - i've attached a 128gb portable USB drive stacked with music to the USB extension cables (located mine in glovebox), and it works a treat. Slight pause on selecting music while it finds the drive when you open the app, but otherwise magic
UPDATE:- Ok as for the ID7 UI update, I am not prepared to offer this to anyone at this moment in time due to it being "buggy"
Hopefully a new full version will be available in a couple of weeks, sorry but I don't want to be bombarded by "why this" and "how that", so I'll let you have it once the new release is proved to work properly from the install without tweaks.
Hopefully a new full version will be available in a couple of weeks, sorry but I don't want to be bombarded by "why this" and "how that", so I'll let you have it once the new release is proved to work properly from the install without tweaks.
vld said:
I think I managed to fix it, not sure if it works as good as originally though as it still seem to hiccup.
I've installed the app "GPS Test", and from its menu you choose "AGPS" -> "Clear and update". Not sure exactly what this does, clearing some cache perhaps. Before doing this it was just dead, showing that it sees just one satellite or none at all, regardless of how long I was waiting, regardless of reboots or factory resets in the custom settings page (i haven't factory reset whole Android as I didn't want to spend time reinstalling and reconfiguring everything).
One thing to note: do not set the Android location mode to "High accuracy". For me at least, that is only making it work erratically or not at all. "GPS only" is the only option that works for me (regardless if the unit has Internet access or not).
LordLolzeye
Member
Anyone experienced audio issue with the new unit? I've recently bought an wireless carplay unit that i've connected via USB, since then, the unit decided the audio is not necesarry anymore and stopped working. Any ideeas? (I'll probably start by removing the carplay unit, if that doesn't work - factory reset)
About my GPS problem, I finally factory reset Android and it seems to have solved the problem. So hopefully it wasn't a hardware issue, but just some app that messed up settings, or maybe I did something wrong.
Moreover, I made it even better than before. I found an awesome app called "GPS Keeper", which keeps the GPS lock from going cold. That means, if you stop your navigation app and reopen it at a later time, after you drive for a while, there won't be any delays anymore. I am using the pro version, which allows it to run at boot time. That means, if I leave home and on my way I decide that I need some guidance, the nav app will instantly have my location, no more waiting for the GPS to find the fix.
Some other change that considerably improved my experience, was to add the GBoard app, for a proper keyboard app which is easier to type in (addresses for example, in the nav app).
I complained before about brightness, at night. I have finally found the brightness control option, it's hidden under "Camera/Video Settings" (for some reason). On top of that, I just realized that I can use the power icon on the top right corner to turn the screen off completely (not sure how I missed it until now
).
One thing that bugged me was the fact that the Bluetooth options were missing from the Android settings, so you can't connect other devices to it. I now learned that the reason for this is that the unit uses a custom Bluetooth module, to enable the device to act as a sound receiver from your phone. And I think I might be able to use an USB Bluetooth dongle to add the functionality one has on a regular phone/tablet.
A tip for those that are going to install the unit: sound proof the plastic around the unit (not sure how, tape, grease or whatever) because it can make a lot of annoying squeaky noise on less than perfect asphalt. Listening to music covers the noise, but without the music it bugs me enough to wanting to redo the install.
So, after three months of using the device, would I buy it again? Yes, I would.
Moreover, I made it even better than before. I found an awesome app called "GPS Keeper", which keeps the GPS lock from going cold. That means, if you stop your navigation app and reopen it at a later time, after you drive for a while, there won't be any delays anymore. I am using the pro version, which allows it to run at boot time. That means, if I leave home and on my way I decide that I need some guidance, the nav app will instantly have my location, no more waiting for the GPS to find the fix.
Some other change that considerably improved my experience, was to add the GBoard app, for a proper keyboard app which is easier to type in (addresses for example, in the nav app).
I complained before about brightness, at night. I have finally found the brightness control option, it's hidden under "Camera/Video Settings" (for some reason). On top of that, I just realized that I can use the power icon on the top right corner to turn the screen off completely (not sure how I missed it until now
).One thing that bugged me was the fact that the Bluetooth options were missing from the Android settings, so you can't connect other devices to it. I now learned that the reason for this is that the unit uses a custom Bluetooth module, to enable the device to act as a sound receiver from your phone. And I think I might be able to use an USB Bluetooth dongle to add the functionality one has on a regular phone/tablet.
A tip for those that are going to install the unit: sound proof the plastic around the unit (not sure how, tape, grease or whatever) because it can make a lot of annoying squeaky noise on less than perfect asphalt. Listening to music covers the noise, but without the music it bugs me enough to wanting to redo the install.
So, after three months of using the device, would I buy it again? Yes, I would.
vld - I'm glad you are sorting problems with it (did you edit that last post? I'm sure you originally said something different!). As for brightness you can swipe down the screen twice to reveal a brightness control (or you could in the original version, I'm currently running the updated software with the new ID7 UI and haven't looked recently).
To be fair I'm not using my unit to it's fullest advantage as I run everything through Android Auto (Headunit Reloaded app), so that's my music, sat-nav, phone etc, but then the screen is there if I don't have a good enough phone signal as I have sat-nav on-board (Sygic) and music on my memory card. Yes the GPS receiver is slow to pick up so I might have a look at that "GPS Keeper" and see how it goes.
To be fair I'm not using my unit to it's fullest advantage as I run everything through Android Auto (Headunit Reloaded app), so that's my music, sat-nav, phone etc, but then the screen is there if I don't have a good enough phone signal as I have sat-nav on-board (Sygic) and music on my memory card. Yes the GPS receiver is slow to pick up so I might have a look at that "GPS Keeper" and see how it goes.
You could try Aliexpress, and you want to be looking for Android 9, with 4GB RAM and either 6 or 8 core processor to have the latest version. Also if you want the iDrive rotary controller then make sure it's an option as most don't sell it with it.Adil_3 said:
There is a company in Germany that sell through eBay but as the price is well over £1000 it's just not worth it.
hehe, yeah, it was a post full of ranting, i cooled off and spent a couple of hours in the car trying to solve my issues, and edited the post on a positive toneAnubisZed said:
I did use this combo for a few weeks, and while it worked fine, it was a bit annoying that it wasn't full screen. With the latest versions of AA and HUR (updated via the XDA Labs app) it is now full screen and better than ever. I still decided to install AA directly on the unit and using my phone just for the Internet connection. It is a bit smoother and it starts considerably faster.AnubisZed said:
I still have a bit of trouble with the WiFi, which doesn't always want to autoconnect to my phone's hotspot or sometimes it takes a long time before it decides to connect. But given that I have offline maps downloaded in Google Maps, it's not particularly a problem. I try to keep the device as useful as possible in an offline mode.
Other good use I found for it: Audible/Youtube/Ted for audio books, lectures and other talks. Not watching the screen while I drive, just listening. Makes commuting more fun.
I found the problem with my GPS signal. Turns out it's a bad idea to install the GPS antenna under the center speaker cover. That cover is a metallic mesh and it shields the antenna too much. From a cold GPS start (*), it took up to 10 minutes to get a location fix. From a warm start (**) at least 5 minutes. After removing the cover, the warm start now takes a minute or even less. So i will have to find a new location for the antenna, probably directly on the dashboard.
* A "cold" GPS start refers to a situation in which the GPS device must acquire all data in order to start navigation, like if the device is brand new or has recently been factory reset. This usually happens when you haven't used the car in a while.
** A "warm" or "normal" start means the GPS has most of the data it needs in memory and will start quickly. A warm start happens when the device has been off for a day or so, but not off so long that its data is extremely outdated.
Edit: people using similar devices and posting about it on other forums report that they get a considerably better GPS fix once they either replace the GPS antenna with another one, or use the BMW original antenna (if the car has original nav) with a splitter.
* A "cold" GPS start refers to a situation in which the GPS device must acquire all data in order to start navigation, like if the device is brand new or has recently been factory reset. This usually happens when you haven't used the car in a while.
** A "warm" or "normal" start means the GPS has most of the data it needs in memory and will start quickly. A warm start happens when the device has been off for a day or so, but not off so long that its data is extremely outdated.
Edit: people using similar devices and posting about it on other forums report that they get a considerably better GPS fix once they either replace the GPS antenna with another one, or use the BMW original antenna (if the car has original nav) with a splitter.
vld said:hehe, yeah, it was a post full of ranting, i cooled off and spent a couple of hours in the car trying to solve my issues, and edited the post on a positive toneAnubisZed said:
I did use this combo for a few weeks, and while it worked fine, it was a bit annoying that it wasn't full screen. With the latest versions of AA and HUR (updated via the XDA Labs app) it is now full screen and better than ever. I still decided to install AA directly on the unit and using my phone just for the Internet connection. It is a bit smoother and it starts considerably faster.AnubisZed said:
I still have a bit of trouble with the WiFi, which doesn't always want to autoconnect to my phone's hotspot or sometimes it takes a long time before it decides to connect. But given that I have offline maps downloaded in Google Maps, it's not particularly a problem. I try to keep the device as useful as possible in an offline mode.
Other good use I found for it: Audible/Youtube/Ted for audio books, lectures and other talks. Not watching the screen while I drive, just listening. Makes commuting more fun.
Look into installing a version of the youtube app called "Vanced". https://www.xda-developers.com/youtube-vanced-apk/
It'll let you play content while youtube is in the background and also offers a picture-in-picture mode. Otherwise you might get ticketed for having video playing while driving.
I suppose the main downside is that it doesn't do what iDrive does, it would have been a great product if it replicated exactly what the OEM system does after all it does have a canbus input.bmw665 said:
I use mine every day, but to be fair I use it with Android Auto so I'm not actually using the screen to it's full extent. Sound quality is very good, although I'm sure a few audiophiles would say it's not up to much, but to be fair when your driving along with the roof down what on Earth are you going to expect from it??
Seriously though the sound from it is very good but is limited only by how good your headunit system is in the first place.Would I buy it if I already had iDrive?....... NO, there are other add-ons to get what I'd want out of it.
Would I buy it if I didn't have iDrive already?...... Ermmm I'd probably say yes simply because it does bring a lot of functionality that you simply don't have. Yes you can stick a tablet in the car but it would be a bit of a hash to sort it and this screen does fit really well and it does look OEM as opposed to something you've thrown together with some toilet rolls and sticky-backed-plastic!
It is costly, and to be honest I think it should be a lot less considering it's not exactly new technology (the actual tech side of it has been around for a number of years now).
My car didn’t have iDrive and I bought this when Dave organised a group buy. He fitted it for me too. I don’t use it’s full potential really, largely because I’m not very IT literate. However, I can play my music through it, connect my phone effectively, have access to Apple Car Play and have Sat Nav available. I also have DAB but Dave is researching aerials for me. The windscreen aerial I currently have fitted in not powered and reception is variable.
Overall I am happy with the product although it is somewhat expensive. Dave has been and continues to be very helpful and that Is what makes the difference for me. Without that help I would have been lost.
Overall I am happy with the product although it is somewhat expensive. Dave has been and continues to be very helpful and that Is what makes the difference for me. Without that help I would have been lost.
As for fitting I have the installation video and I offer to fit as well.
Yes it is a lit of money and your access to the cars systems is limited to speed, revs, fuel, temp doors open etc, there is no access to things like service info or any of the connected BMW apps etc.
Photo attached I took the other evening.... I need to lower the brightness just a little so it's not quite so in your face, although the camera picked that up more than I noticed at the time.
Yes it is a lit of money and your access to the cars systems is limited to speed, revs, fuel, temp doors open etc, there is no access to things like service info or any of the connected BMW apps etc.
Photo attached I took the other evening.... I need to lower the brightness just a little so it's not quite so in your face, although the camera picked that up more than I noticed at the time.
Attachments
And here is a shot showing the OEM PDC screen (not my Z4).
Shows up very nicely, I'll be changing my aftermarket rear sensors to front/rear OEM PDC in the coming months (as well as changing the reversing camera to a number plate centrally located one instead of the light position) and I'll upload it to my YouTube channel as a full How-To as well.
Shows up very nicely, I'll be changing my aftermarket rear sensors to front/rear OEM PDC in the coming months (as well as changing the reversing camera to a number plate centrally located one instead of the light position) and I'll upload it to my YouTube channel as a full How-To as well.
