Android head unit?

[DriftGirl]

Originally Posted by zonefive

I haven't been able to find a car stereo place that can sell/install these android head units. Why is that? All they sell is Pioneer, Jensen, etc.

I'm in SoCal. Any suggestions?

Buy one on Amazon

[Nolimite39]

Or you can buy them directly from the manufacturer/wholesaler/resaler website. Any decent audio shop should be able to install it. If they say they cant then either they are shit at their job or they are trying to get you to spend on their carried products. Also it should be noted that the high end pioneer, jvc, alpine, etc. are likely to produce better quality audio but not by much especially if you buy an android unit with built in DSP.

[eskirvin]

I installed my own. I asked Xtron many times for various installation tips or guides and was just told, "Have a professional install it." At a guess, the vast majority of Android head units are not being sold by the people that built them and they have a very limited understanding of how it actually works. Talking to the manufacturer in China might be expensive, not to mention the language barrier. If there's a shop that commonly does true custom work, fiberglass enclosures and such, they'd be more willing to give it a shot than some big box store.

[Nolimite39]

AVIN has a pretty good install manual which can really be used for any of these units as they are all copies of each other.

[Jim M3]

I just put in an AVIN for my son in his 2006 4.8is. with factory nav and DSP. It was NOT an easy job. The quotes I had from install shops was north of $1k. Thus I did it myself. You literally take apart most of the interior to install if you have those two options.

The video showing how to do it is good up to the point that they show the connections, and somehow with 4 wiring harnesses that is supposed to be intuitive.

It works great now that it is all together, would I do it again probably now that I know how but it wasn't a simple job.

[Fifty150hs]

Originally Posted by Jim M3

I just put in an AVIN for my son in his 2006 4.8is. with factory nav and DSP. It was NOT an easy job. The quotes I had from install shops was north of $1k. Thus I did it myself. You literally take apart most of the interior to install if you have those two options.

The video showing how to do it is good up to the point that they show the connections, and somehow with 4 wiring harnesses that is supposed to be intuitive.

It works great now that it is all together, would I do it again probably now that I know how but it wasn't a simple job.

Definitely not simple. Straightforward I thought, but time consuming. I also did what I saw on one of the installation videos I found on Youtube and cut the harness going to the back then reconnected it after running the wire to the back. Had to take out very little of the interior to do it that way.

[crystalworks]

Originally Posted by Jim M3

The video showing how to do it is good up to the point that they show the connections, and somehow with 4 wiring harnesses that is supposed to be intuitive.

It works great now that it is all together, would I do it again probably now that I know how but it wasn't a simple job.

Sorry about that. That was my video. What did I miss about the 4 harnesses? I forget now but I think they gave provisions for the round pin and the spade pin connections so 2 harnesses aren't used.

Yes, it is a very involved install. I've done it 4 times now and that one took about 8-10 hours total? It's a blur.

[Len]

I have a 10 in XTRONS running android 10 which I got a few months before it showed up on AVIN’s site so pretty sure it’s the exact same unit. Managed to get it on Amazon prime. Had the business cd changer and no dsp. While it was easier in that I didn’t have to disassemble the interior to run wires, it’s much harder on the dash side. The 10 inch is shaped like a single DIN on the back so I thought it would just slide in where the CD changer was, but not at all. It was a sitting at the wrong angle so I actually had to cut out the dash frame in small pieces until I got it to fit (didn’t want to accidentally cut more than I needed). AVIN has instructions on the 8 in model but that is more like a double DIN (I think it’s the same shape as the factory nav). I also had to cut and drill some brackets to mount it since the 2 screws to hold the whole unit in don’t have anything to grab. I’m still not sure if it’s angled correctly and pretty disappointed that there were no guides on what to cut.
Other than that I added a wireless XTRONS CarPlay box (probably just rebranded but IIRC the price was good) and IBUS which I got straight from Resler. I also got the quad lock adapter so that IBUS can plug straight into the head unit harness 2nd quad lock, but Resler got the pins in the wrong place and I had to move the pins around to get it working- pretty disappointed since the point was plug and play.
Anyway here are my 3 main complaints. Bothersome in the daytime- brightness. It’s just a bit too dim for me to see in the daytime, especially with it being angled to fit the dash. With CarPlay, originally I was having a ton a problems and had to unplug and plug in the box multiple times for it to work. It got better though but it still has issues from time to time. My biggest issue is pretty recent. I started having battery drain and couldn’t figure it out. Reset IBUS coding (just had comfortblink, cornering lights, DRL angel eyes, and brake force display options changed) and everything is fine now. Really sad as this tells me the car can’t be trusted when it’s coded with the app. Got lucky I hadn’t driven the car for a bit so it was at home, but scared that it can happen anywhere. Guess I’m stuck not coding
Also, another small one which I was expecting: really missing my volume knob lol

[Squiggy]

Originally Posted by Jim M3

I just put in an AVIN for my son in his 2006 4.8is. with factory nav and DSP. It was NOT an easy job. The quotes I had from install shops was north of $1k. Thus I did it myself. You literally take apart most of the interior to install if you have those two options.

The video showing how to do it is good up to the point that they show the connections, and somehow with 4 wiring harnesses that is supposed to be intuitive.

It works great now that it is all together, would I do it again probably now that I know how but it wasn't a simple job.

All DSP owners should pitch in $20 US to have you do a write up. I really need to replace my head unit but I am not a stereo guy and have a short attention span. I get frustrated easily and start beating on things with hammers.

[Caryalon]

Thanks all for your input. I ended up ordering the Avin with the buttons. Of course, it's freezing outside now, so install will be delayed...