|
|
|
|
|
|
BMW Garage | BMW Meets | Register | Search | Today's Posts | Mark Forums Read |
|
BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum
>
AVIN 8.8inch - who has this?
|
|
06-04-2019, 09:22 AM | #420 |
Registered
0
Rep 3
Posts |
Hi,
First time poster, thought I would share some of my experience with the 7.1 8.8 unit I installed in RHD 2007 E90 CCC. (I'm in the UK). In the EU the 7.1 unit sells for 300 Euros (335 USD) 1. Install - watched a few videos on how to do this, but not many had any reasonable detail on how to route the cables up to the screen, or how to get the harness out of the way to allow the main unit to slot back into place easily. So a) Getting the main unit to fit back into place. To do this I removed the glove box to get better access to the back of the unit, then pulled the original factory plug around the CCC mounting frame so it was no longer behind where the unit slots back into. Route the plug from the adapter harness into the same space and connect up. b) Cable routing. Most videos I looked up brought the cable up behind the AC controls and then under the bottom lip of the screen. The first part of this is fine, but if you route the cables under the bottom lip of the screen it will not fit back into place correctly (holes don't line up which I have seen many people mention in this thread). Instead route the harness up to the left of the screen above the glovebox (remember my car is RHD) and then across into the space behind the screen. After doing this my screen went back into place easily with both mounting holes lining up perfectly. c) GPS antenna. At first I had the GPS antenna supplied with the unit plugged in and positioned under the dash above he screen. I could have mounted this on top of the dash, but its ugly... The signal was sort of OK, but often struggled to get a 3D fix, especially in areas where coverage was poor. To sort this I bought a splitter cable ( https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ) and a converter ( https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ) to use the factory antenna. Outside my home this resulted in the number of satellites with lock increasing from 2 to 11. 2) Bluetooth. Split solution - Connected to the original CCC system for the phone connection, and connected to the android unit for audio streaming. I found that I could not get the audio volume high enough when in a phone call using the android unit, and also the mic pickup was better when connected to the CCC system. To do this, pair the phone to the Android system, then under the bluetooth settings for the connection on the phone just disable 'Phone Calls" and 'Contact sharing" . You can then stream music over bluetooth to the Android system and manage phone calls using the original CCC unit. 2) Music. I use Spotify installed on the Android system most of the time. Audio quality is OK, but not as good as the factory CCC system, so I still use this quite a bit to listen to the radio and CD's. I also copied about 10Gb of MP3 files over from a USB drive onto the unit itself, and these playback fine with the built in music player, again, not as high quality as the factory system, but OK. 3) Apps. Netflix and Amazon Prime video, YouTube etc. work fine. I use google maps for navigation. The only issue with this is that many of the controls are right at the edge of the screen, so pressing them with fat fingers is often difficult. Got a $1 stylus to solve this, and it also means the screen no longer gets covered in fingerprints (Top Tip). When using google voice assistant to ask for directions etc, the system will turn down any music playing, but often not enough for the system to hear you clearly. The solution I found to this was to install Android Auto on the unit. When using the voice assistant via the Android Auto app it mutes the audio source whilst listening, so the pickup is much better. 4) Reversing Camera. One of my favourite things... I bought a replacement trunk handle with a camera built in for 20 Euros. Cant recommend one of these enough. Earthed the camera directly to the battery with a crimped connector, then used the power lead built into the composite video cable to pick up 12V from the back of the Android screen. On the screen harness this was a brown wire marked and "Camera Power +12" which is only active when the car is put into reverse. The 3D overlay of the parking sensors on the live camera image and the active guide lines are killer. 5) Performance. Startup is about the same as most people have experienced, but my the time I've turned the car on, driven out of my garage and to the bottom of the driveway its all up and running. With android auto, google maps navigating and Spotify streaming music the CPU usage sits around the 70% mark, occasionally hitting 100. I may bite the bullet and get the 8.1 6 core unit to compare, now currently on sale at 320 Euros (It was 500 Euros when I bought my 7.1 unit for 300). 6) Turn off auto to switch to AUX in the factory settings. I was getting a strange audio issue, specifically sometimes the navigation instructions would suddenly get very loud and just on the left channel. Tracked this down to switching between AUX and RADIO/CD. The factory setting automatically switches to the AUX input when you press the menu button for 3 seconds when switching from the CCC to the Android system. I found this auto switching feature to be the cause of my navigation audio glitch. Turned this off, no more glitch, I just have to switch to AUX manually (use one of the programmable buttons on the CCC unit to fo this) 7) CCC Controller. I find this works well with the build in apps like music and BT, also for navigating the Apps list. The best 'hidden' feature of this is to go 'Back' just click the control wheel to the left, took me a while to find this.. (Top Tip) Hopefully some new information for this long running thread. I'll post an update if I upgrade to the 8.1 unit ;-) Phil. P.S. The SD card slot is on the front of the unit to the left. Last edited by tescophil; 06-04-2019 at 09:32 AM.. |
Appreciate
0
|
06-04-2019, 08:34 PM | #421 |
New Member
6
Rep 29
Posts |
Thanks for this! I'm on the fence right now about the 8.1 vs waiting for the snapdragon octa core with android 9.0. I'm hoping we see some early feedback on performance and feature comparison (also hoping to see better bluetooth quality if possible).
|
Appreciate
0
|
06-05-2019, 05:32 AM | #422 |
First Lieutenant
87
Rep 352
Posts |
I would love to have one of these, but I just cannot sacrifice audio quality.
As soon as they sort that aspect out, this will be a done deal. |
Appreciate
0
|
06-05-2019, 10:10 AM | #423 |
Captain
21
Rep 677
Posts |
|
Appreciate
0
|
06-05-2019, 05:48 PM | #424 | |
Captain
245
Rep 612
Posts |
Quote:
The only problem with this type is that I have iDrive so I need the one that fits in my dash. If it was cheap enough I bet I could retrofit that sucker though. |
|
Appreciate
0
|
06-05-2019, 06:30 PM | #425 | |
Captain
21
Rep 677
Posts |
Quote:
|
|
Appreciate
0
|
06-05-2019, 06:58 PM | #426 | |
Captain
245
Rep 612
Posts |
Quote:
|
|
Appreciate
0
|
06-08-2019, 10:31 AM | #427 |
Registered
0
Rep 3
Posts |
So, more info on setup and improved audio quality
Messing around for a few more days with different configs/apps etc. and have now landed on my preferred setup. 1. Bluetooth connected to the CCC system for phone calls 2. Bluetooth connected to the Android unit for music playback 3. Android Auto running on the phone + Rotation control app 4. Phone connected to the Android unit via USB using PhoneLink With this setup, the audio quality I believe is close to the factory unit. No idea why, but streaming audio over bluetooth directly from the phone produces the best results. Workflow: 1. Jump in the car, ignition on 2. Force landscape mode on using the Rotation Control App 3. Connect phone to USB (routed into the armrest) and forget about it. 4. On the head unit, the bluetooth control app starts automatically by default as the last audio source connected 5. Open PhoneLink on the Android unit 6. The system then automatically connects and mirrors the phone screen, then opens Android Auto automatically (you can set any app to open by default in the EasyCon app on the phone) 7. Done. This whole process takes about 90 seconds from getting into the car. Playing back music via Android Auto, using Spotify or ANOther music app for local files works very well. There is no lag whatsoever controlling the phone from the Android screen. Saying 'OK Google' works perfectly, and as far as I can tell, uses the Mic built into the Car and not the Android unit (much better pickup). Another big advantage doing it this way is that all messaging works, SMS, WhatsApp etc, so I can send messages using 'OK Google' commands, and any messages received are read out by the system. The 7.1 quad core unit I have is not the fastest, and when running several apps has enough lag to be irritating, but when using the PhoneLink it's (obviously) as fast as my phone. When using the built in apps like navigation, or running Android Auto on the head unit I could not get the 'OK Google' integration to work, which I find incredibly useful when driving as I don't have to touch the screen at all. I can select playlists, change tracks, navigate, check email etc all with voice controls. I use the Rotation Control app to force the screen to stay in landscape, because if you open an app that does not natively support this (eg, on my OnePlus 5T the phone dialer), the screen flips to portrait, and the only way to get it back is pick up the phone and give it a shake ! Was thinking of upgrading to the 8.1 or 9 version, but now its just not necessary (for me) |
Appreciate
0
|
06-08-2019, 12:45 PM | #428 |
Captain
245
Rep 612
Posts |
It sounds to me like the best way to use this system is as a phone mirror instead of actually using the automotive skin right? I would ideally want to get in and have my phone auto connect on Bluetooth and not use a cable at all since I have a wireless charger mount installed. So do you just use Waze, Google maps, etc. in phone mirror mode? I work from my car and navigate to 10 places a day sometimes so OK Google and voice for waze is real important for me. It almost seems like a tablet would do about the same or am I missing something?
|
Appreciate
0
|
06-11-2019, 03:45 PM | #429 |
Registered
0
Rep 3
Posts |
For me, screen mirroring works the best because my phone has a lot more horsepower than the head unit. This would be the case even if I upgraded to the 6 or 8 core head unit.
Screen mirroring works via WiFi, but you can only control the phone using the touch screen when connected via USB. You could use a tablet and a Bluetooth adapter plugged into the AUX port to do this, but it would look rubbish ! |
Appreciate
0
|
06-18-2019, 08:46 PM | #431 |
Private First Class
32
Rep 160
Posts |
Do these android headunits support FM radio? Or do you have to switch back to the stock system for that?
__________________
2008 E90 335xi - DPs, 5" IC, MHD Stg2+, xHP Stg3, xDelete | 2013 X5 35d - DUDMD Stg1, EGR Delete
|
Appreciate
0
|
06-19-2019, 07:13 AM | #432 |
Private First Class
55
Rep 169
Posts |
Has anyone gotten the updates to launch on these things? There's a new update from Avin and I have never gotten updates to work. I've tried everything. Both USB ports, SD card, the update WILL NOT start for me.
Here's what was released yesterday. 1. Download the software update file from the link below to your computer. Password: 190612avinusa.com Filename: AVINUSA_PX6_ID7_Software_Update_061219.zip https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mxx...ew?usp=sharing 2. Extract the file AVINUSA_PX6_ID7_Software_Update_061219.zip with password: 190612avinusa.com 3. After you have extracted the zip file you will find a new file named px6.zip RENAME px6.zip -- to -- px6_format.zip 4. COPY the new px6_format.zip file directly to your USB flash drive. Do not put it in any folder. It should be the only file on your USB flash drive. 5. Plug your USB flash drive into your PX6 BMW monitor and power on the monitor if you have not already done so. 6. Wait about 30 seconds a popup screen will appear asking if you want to install the update. Click Install The system will automatically reboot and start the update process. This can take up to 5 minutes to complete so be patient and DO NOT power off your car until the update is complete. IMG_20190612_134406.jpg 7. After the update is completed you will see this message on the screen asking you to remove the USB flash drive from the system. It will automatically reboot the system after you disconnected your USB flash drive. IMG_20190612_131011.jpg 8. After the system boots backup, you will still be on the old ID6 UI. 9. You will need to enter the factory settings menu to select the new ID7 UI. How to: Enter the factory settings menu FACTORY SETTINGS PASSWORD = 1314 1. Click "System info" in the page below Screenshot_2017-06-01-00-07-09.png 2. Click the Factory button circled below. 3. Enter password 1314 Screenshot_1970-01-02-08-01-46_-_Copy.png If you are using the ID5 UI then you enter the factory menu here 10. Click Advanced settings then select "BMW-EVO-ID7" Screenshot_20130118-165716.png 11. Now reboot the monitor by turning off the car for 45 seconds. 12. Turn on the car to start the monitor. 13. Congratulations! You have succesfuly update your system to the new ID7 UI. Enjoy! ============ IF after the update is complete your factory menu does not have the ID7 option you will need to follow this guide to make the id7 menu option appear https://support.avinusa.com/hc/en-us...ype-menu-list- |
Appreciate
0
|
06-19-2019, 07:18 AM | #433 |
Private First Class
55
Rep 169
Posts |
Also, no, you cannot flash MHD from this unit so don't even think about it. The unit turns off before the flash completes when the ignition goes off and on and will brick your car. Ask me how I know.
|
Appreciate
0
|
06-19-2019, 03:45 PM | #434 | |
Private
15
Rep 79
Posts |
Quote:
|
|
Appreciate
0
|
06-20-2019, 10:33 AM | #436 |
New Member
6
Rep 29
Posts |
Looking at the new 9.0 units. I see px6 with 4g ram
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3295...c-a8fdc76d8ea4 or octa-core with 2g ram (and notably cheaper) https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3301...5-7007ffade44e Has anyone had any experience yet with the 9.0 units? I'm itching to pull the trigger but wondering if its worth testing out the newer unit or sticking with 8.1 (cheaper and more reviews/feedback) |
Appreciate
0
|
06-25-2019, 06:00 PM | #437 | |
Private First Class
32
Rep 160
Posts |
Wondering this as well!
Quote:
|
|
Appreciate
0
|
06-25-2019, 07:37 PM | #438 |
Captain
245
Rep 612
Posts |
I noticed they have 4gLTE units. That would mean your car would have it's own SIM card. Might be worth $10 a month to add your car like a tablet to your phone plan. Imagine your car having it's own phone number and dedicated cellular access. Not only could you track it with apps like "Life360" or find my phone but software probably exists to let you call into your car and wake up a web cam, execute start engine etc. with some kind of Arduino or something.
|
Appreciate
0
|
06-26-2019, 03:40 PM | #439 |
Captain
245
Rep 612
Posts |
I recently purchased a CIC system but still plan on doing an Android system on top of that. Is there going to be an advantage to having the CIC system when using the Android system? For example can I access menus easier with the newer style CIC controller or does that just work with the BMW system only?
|
Appreciate
0
|
06-26-2019, 07:13 PM | #440 |
New Member
12
Rep 27
Posts |
I have one of these and to be honest, I'd like to rip it out and throw it in the garbage. It's based on woefully obsolete hardware and constrained by a locked down cUstomized version of Android OS. I'm a tech junky so an obsolete tablet jacked into my existing audio system with a freak'n aux cable is NOT what I was hoping for.
The Bluetooth can't handle anything more than a phone call so forget about binding it to your JB4 Bluetooth adapter. Ain't happening. The USB ports can't even successfully connect to usb ODBII adapter. Binding a USB adapter is out of the question. The installation was ridiculous! The wiring harness is too short. I don't care what they say! I've done plenty of car audio when I was younger and I can say without hesitation, the wiring harness is bullshit. There's a reason why all the install videos talk very little about the actual installation experience. I have yet to get either camera working. the camera software won't bind to the front camera at all. When I inquired about a return, I was told everyone else makes it work followed by an email stating the rerun had to be in packaging for suitable for resale. Shit,! The first thing my dog did was chew a corner off that damn box! When I asked about advanced RMA, they didn't even bother with a reply. I've been half-heartedly looking for an alternative ever since.
__________________
2013 335i M Sport
|
Appreciate
0
|
Bookmarks |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
|
|