[MrSweet1991]

Hi All,

I got the xtrons into place and it has transformed the car so much! But, before I tighten everything into place I wanted to know if any of you have some ideas for the GPS and USB placement? The GPS is one fugly ass box so that needs to be hidden but placed somewhere good for signal and USB's I'm not sure? Given that they'll just be loose leads I'm not to sure where would be good (glove box maybe?)

[sirleeofroy]

I have an android unit in my car, though mine is the slightly older unit with buttons etc...

The USB extension I ran into the glove compartment however I am thinking of extending it further into the armrest.

That silly little GPS didn't get installed.... At the time I managed installs for a car sharing firm and used one of the bigger puck style antennas, I have placed this right in the top corner of the windscreen, passenger side of course and routed the wiring behind the pillar cover. locks on within seconds every time!

[MrSweet1991]

Originally Posted by sirleeofroy

I have an android unit in my car, though mine is the slightly older unit with buttons etc...

The USB extension I ran into the glove compartment however I am thinking of extending it further into the armrest.

That silly little GPS didn't get installed.... At the time I managed installs for a car sharing firm and used one of the bigger puck style antennas, I have placed this right in the top corner of the windscreen, passenger side of course and routed the wiring behind the pillar cover. locks on within seconds every time!

Hi mate,

Well I came up with some pretty good ideas while I was out there, the USB mounting part was completely by accident and I only discovered the removable plastic piece when I put my hand behind the back to see if I could reach the radio from the glove compartment. Anyway..

This shows the plastic piece that can be pushed out from the back and I then threaded the USB's through. The chubby USB plastic bit creates a pretty snug fit



Then another shot just to show better where this section is



The GPS took a few minutes to route down the speaker hole (well it would be a speaker if I never had the poor man's basic system.. None the less I made good use of it) I used a thick aux lead to push down the speaker hole first and then once I grabbed the aux lead through I attached the GPS connector side to the aux lead and pulled it through, the GPS wire itself is too flimsy to route I found and then I adhered to the bottom of the vent cover



Popped the cover back on and a GPS app showed accuracy within 9m which I read on Google was about the norm so I'd say location worked great and its a clean install!



Now all I need to do is use my new USB's to root it

[sirleeofroy]

Ah, good shout on both the USB port location and the GPS..... Didn't think to use that spot lol

As for modding/rooting the unit, see here - https://forum.xda-developers.com/and...re-development

I am currently running the Malaysk Android 9 Rom which has a ton of customisation.... I would also fully recommend looking into the sound mods if your doesn't have the DSP

[J0K3R5]

Hal9k ROM 3 for MTCD/E head units with Android 8/6
https://forum.xda-developers.com/and...units-t3847477

[MrSweet1991]

Originally Posted by sirleeofroy

Ah, good shout on both the USB port location and the GPS..... Didn't think to use that spot lol

As for modding/rooting the unit, see here - https://forum.xda-developers.com/and...re-development

I am currently running the Malaysk Android 9 Rom which has a ton of customisation.... I would also fully recommend looking into the sound mods if your doesn't have the DSP

Hi mate

Well, theres a design flaw with the USB's lol the left USB with a USB cable makes it hard to shit the glove box as it touches the USB lol

As for ROM I went with Hal9k, Malaysk looked very popular but I wasn't keen on the screenshots I seen at the time and Hal9k seemed so easy and it was. Installed APK that installs modified recovery and then used a USB hard drive to install the ROM. So far I'm loving it! Viper4android is working great after downgrading as the older version you can "lock mode" and use the headset profiles with Viper Bass and Viper Clarity and a few others which are missing with the "speaker" option now my underseat subs are doing a nice job

loads more to do but so far I'm loving the head unit and the ROM is great, definitely need a reversing camera though!

[MrSweet1991]

Originally Posted by J0K3R5

Hal9k ROM 3 for MTCD/E head units with Android 8/6
https://forum.xda-developers.com/and...units-t3847477

That's the one I went with mate, done both the OTA updates and Viper4android updated and lost the "lock effect mode" which is how I got the Viper bass and zvioer Clarity to work but thankfully somebody posted the older zip with instructions so I got it back.. Viper4android is so needed with this basic sound system lol

I'm planning on doing a few more things like Carly and seeing if I can get Shadow to run descent (it's a cloud based gaming computer) but WiFi reception is pretty crap but I'm planning on getting an extention and maybe routing the antenna up to the shark fin or something..

[sirleeofroy]

Originally Posted by MrSweet1991

Hi mate

Well, theres a design flaw with the USB's lol the left USB with a USB cable makes it hard to shit the glove box as it touches the USB lol

As for ROM I went with Hal9k, Malaysk looked very popular but I wasn't keen on the screenshots I seen at the time and Hal9k seemed so easy and it was. Installed APK that installs modified recovery and then used a USB hard drive to install the ROM. So far I'm loving it! Viper4android is working great after downgrading as the older version you can "lock mode" and use the headset profiles with Viper Bass and Viper Clarity and a few others which are missing with the "speaker" option now my underseat subs are doing a nice job

loads more to do but so far I'm loving the head unit and the ROM is great, definitely need a reversing camera though!

Ah well it looks pretty good, maybe a bit of fettling will get it so the glove box closes a bit better?

Yeah I used the Hal9k Android 8 ROM earlier this year and it was great, the speed sensitive volume was well implemented (and adjustable) and it ran very smoothly. As soon as he does his Android 9 version I will move to that as I can't be bothered to roll back my recovery etc.

With regards to how it looks, personally, I don't really like either of the ROMs, the included launchers are pretty crap... There are some alternatives though (CarWebGuru Launcher, Car Launcher AGAMA). I use Car Launcher Pro (Pro version is paid for but worth it IMO) as its clean, relatively uncluttered and looks like it could be OEM.

As for sound, Viper4android is great but before using that I would ensure you are getting the best possible output from the unit as stock. Do you have the 10 band EQ or do you have the full on DSP with more adjustment? I mention this as the units with the 10 band EQ have really crap sound to begin with, mainly because the 10 band is fake and is a manipulation of a "true" 3 band. There is a mod to enable the true 3 band EQ... There are also Modded MCU files that tweak the stock sound outputs, I use these myself and I can tell you that they do indeed make the unit sound noticeably better:

See original thread here - https://forum.xda-developers.com/and...mware-t3816042

Updated MCU files here - https://forum.xda-developers.com/and...od-cs-t3922056

3 Band EQ mod (if you don't have the DSP) - https://forum.xda-developers.com/and...essor-t3834657

Also, if you have the stock system with no tweeters, I urge you to get some. If not, get the MB Quart coaxial speakers for the front doors at the very least. The stock BMW speaker are absolute kitty litter, at best.

Carly can be a bit of a pain to get working, not because the program doesn't like the unit, more that the Bluetooth implementation is a bit funky.... Basically it picked up my Carly adapter once, connected and used once but not worked since....Renaming the OBD adapter can help but I think it struggles with multiple BT connections. Phone is perfect though! (Using an external mic, routed to the top of the drivers side A-Pillar)

As for the WiFi, again the antenna implementation is not great. some have solved its poor pick up by using a bigger antenna, other have done a small mod that connects another wire to the board but I can't find the thread for that, when I do I'll add it here.

I'm sure you're all over it but if you have any questions, feel free to ask... I've been messing around with mine for 2 years now!!

[MrSweet1991]

Originally Posted by sirleeofroy

Ah well it looks pretty good, maybe a bit of fettling will get it so the glove box closes a bit better?

Yeah I used the Hal9k Android 8 ROM earlier this year and it was great, the speed sensitive volume was well implemented (and adjustable) and it ran very smoothly. As soon as he does his Android 9 version I will move to that as I can't be bothered to roll back my recovery etc.

With regards to how it looks, personally, I don't really like either of the ROMs, the included launchers are pretty crap... There are some alternatives though (CarWebGuru Launcher, Car Launcher AGAMA). I use Car Launcher Pro (Pro version is paid for but worth it IMO) as its clean, relatively uncluttered and looks like it could be OEM.

As for sound, Viper4android is great but before using that I would ensure you are getting the best possible output from the unit as stock. Do you have the 10 band EQ or do you have the full on DSP with more adjustment? I mention this as the units with the 10 band EQ have really crap sound to begin with, mainly because the 10 band is fake and is a manipulation of a "true" 3 band. There is a mod to enable the true 3 band EQ... There are also Modded MCU files that tweak the stock sound outputs, I use these myself and I can tell you that they do indeed make the unit sound noticeably better:

See original thread here - https://forum.xda-developers.com/and...mware-t3816042

Updated MCU files here - https://forum.xda-developers.com/and...od-cs-t3922056

3 Band EQ mod (if you don't have the DSP) - https://forum.xda-developers.com/and...essor-t3834657

Also, if you have the stock system with no tweeters, I urge you to get some. If not, get the MB Quart coaxial speakers for the front doors at the very least. The stock BMW speaker are absolute kitty litter, at best.

Carly can be a bit of a pain to get working, not because the program doesn't like the unit, more that the Bluetooth implementation is a bit funky.... Basically it picked up my Carly adapter once, connected and used once but not worked since....Renaming the OBD adapter can help but I think it struggles with multiple BT connections. Phone is perfect though! (Using an external mic, routed to the top of the drivers side A-Pillar)

As for the WiFi, again the antenna implementation is not great. some have solved its poor pick up by using a bigger antenna, other have done a small mod that connects another wire to the board but I can't find the thread for that, when I do I'll add it here.

I'm sure you're all over it but if you have any questions, feel free to ask... I've been messing around with mine for 2 years now!!

Hi mate that's some great info on the unit thanks! So right now I'm looking into the Bluetooth side of things, it's not great in general and it also won't pair with an xbox controller as I believe the MCU side of things only handles audio and OBD devices so I'm trying to get some clarification on XDA about an adapter "Comfast wu725b£this is not only a Bluetooth adapter but also WiFi so a double upgrade. Only issue is for some people it works perfect and others the Bluetooth isn't working, but as the XDA thread covers many head units we (PE9890BIPL) owners may have an advantage which is our unit doesn't already use the wu725 Bluetooth driver (in factory settings in our head unit Bluetooth shows as something else) which means we could install the adapter, go into factory settings and change Bluetooth to the wu725 adapter and those drivers will get loaded while also disabling the on board avoiding conflicts.. I'm still new to this though so I'm searching more and waiting for replies.

As for the audio, I honestly have no idea about the 10 band equiliser, true 3 band and DSP (I'm really new to the audio side of things) so I'm not sure how to answer that? But the MB Quartz would be a great addition to this pants system, and no doubt some tweaters to separate the frequencies better, the door speakers try and take on too much haha.

As for the WiFi mod that sounds right up my street BUT if possible I would like to keep the warranty sticker in place for now otherwise I'd look right into that!

Yes the carly adapter I can imagine is a little finicky, have you tried opening the Bluetooth apps in Settings > Apps and cleared cache? Being's as it did actually work maybe that could do the trick. Either way I'd love to get an adapter to replace both Bluetooth and wifi, it's too finicky lol

[mike_o]

Originally Posted by MrSweet1991

...

The GPS took a few minutes to route down the speaker hole (well it would be a speaker if I never had the poor man's basic system.. None the less I made good use of it) I used a thick aux lead to push down the speaker hole first and then once I grabbed the aux lead through I attached the GPS connector side to the aux lead and pulled it through, the GPS wire itself is too flimsy to route I found and then I adhered to the bottom of the vent cover



Popped the cover back on and a GPS app showed accuracy within 9m which I read on Google was about the norm so I'd say location worked great and its a clean install!

Interesting. I'd expect that GPS unit to be designed for mounting the other way round (sticky foam down) Did the manual say anything about that? GPS modules have much better sensitivity in the correct orientation, but with your results, it's either correctly mounted, or it's maybe getting some reflected signals...

[rasa bmw]

ive just got a 640d with bang and olufsen,,jesus its like a gig in ya car ha ha,,£3700 option,,wouldnt be me,,i usually just listen to radio anyhow

[MrSweet1991]

Originally Posted by rasa bmw

ive just got a 640d with bang and olufsen,,jesus its like a gig in ya car ha ha,,£3700 option,,wouldnt be me,,i usually just listen to radio anyhow

The best I've heard personally was the Bose system in the Q7 I had, shit it was clear and loud. I've now got a 15" Alpine Type R firing straight into the cabin with a DIY ski pass hole I made and it's ridiculously loud.. I still haven't got around to upgrading my base speakers though, I don't even have any Tweeters

[MrSweet1991]

Originally Posted by sirleeofroy

Ah well it looks pretty good, maybe a bit of fettling will get it so the glove box closes a bit better?

Yeah I used the Hal9k Android 8 ROM earlier this year and it was great, the speed sensitive volume was well implemented (and adjustable) and it ran very smoothly. As soon as he does his Android 9 version I will move to that as I can't be bothered to roll back my recovery etc.

With regards to how it looks, personally, I don't really like either of the ROMs, the included launchers are pretty crap... There are some alternatives though (CarWebGuru Launcher, Car Launcher AGAMA). I use Car Launcher Pro (Pro version is paid for but worth it IMO) as its clean, relatively uncluttered and looks like it could be OEM.

As for sound, Viper4android is great but before using that I would ensure you are getting the best possible output from the unit as stock. Do you have the 10 band EQ or do you have the full on DSP with more adjustment? I mention this as the units with the 10 band EQ have really crap sound to begin with, mainly because the 10 band is fake and is a manipulation of a "true" 3 band. There is a mod to enable the true 3 band EQ... There are also Modded MCU files that tweak the stock sound outputs, I use these myself and I can tell you that they do indeed make the unit sound noticeably better:

See original thread here - https://forum.xda-developers.com/and...mware-t3816042

Updated MCU files here - https://forum.xda-developers.com/and...od-cs-t3922056

3 Band EQ mod (if you don't have the DSP) - https://forum.xda-developers.com/and...essor-t3834657

Also, if you have the stock system with no tweeters, I urge you to get some. If not, get the MB Quart coaxial speakers for the front doors at the very least. The stock BMW speaker are absolute kitty litter, at best.

Carly can be a bit of a pain to get working, not because the program doesn't like the unit, more that the Bluetooth implementation is a bit funky.... Basically it picked up my Carly adapter once, connected and used once but not worked since....Renaming the OBD adapter can help but I think it struggles with multiple BT connections. Phone is perfect though! (Using an external mic, routed to the top of the drivers side A-Pillar)

As for the WiFi, again the antenna implementation is not great. some have solved its poor pick up by using a bigger antenna, other have done a small mod that connects another wire to the board but I can't find the thread for that, when I do I'll add it here.

I'm sure you're all over it but if you have any questions, feel free to ask... I've been messing around with mine for 2 years now!!

Hi mate, been a while! Well I'm running Hal9k Android 9 using his upgrade app for a quick install, I literally like a week ago upgraded the MCU which is soundpatched its this one

dmcu(MTCE-GS-3.30sp+by+cs-x)

Do I still need the 3 band EQ?

And I really wanted to use RealDash but these units or Roms are buggy! Like I've got it to connect to Carly once or twice and actually see realtime info but one way or another it disconnects and reconnects and won't stay connected. I was hoping to get a Y splitter for the OBD port and run a K+Dcan to the USB that sits behind the xtrons unit but I can't even get apps to use that either :/