When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Hey OP, I appreciate the full Aliexpress links. I was wondering if anyone on this thread know if I would need to buy MOST adaptor for this item? I have a 997.1 w Bose
I installed the same HU as the OP about a week ago and am generally pretty happy with it. You do need the MOST adapter with Bose, you can get it from Aliexpress for $80 from the same vendor as the head unit. It worked right out of the box without any issues, pretty impressive. The HU comes with a Canbus adapter that worked right away too. Huge surprise is that the radio station frequency appears on the tach display just like the PCM did. So not only is the HU reading the Canbus correctly but it's also sending over it too. It really is plug and play, I was amazed how easy it was to hook up.
Main issue is that it comes with a black bezel that matches the 997.2. I had a paint shop mix me up a can of spray paint trying to match the 997.1 volcano gray, it's close but not quite right. It looks okay but it's a little darker and the mismatch is a tad annoying. Apparently the original color is very difficult to match for whatever reason.
There's a virtually identical unit if you search around on Ali that has 4/32 GB rather than the 2/16 GB in the unit linked by the OP. No complaints with the 2/16 GB unit but in hindsight I would have bought the higher capacity unit had I noticed it as it's only ~ $25 more expensive. These units do not have a DVD player, which isn't real clear from the Ali posts.
On first power up it takes the unit about 30 seconds to boot up. After that it goes into sleep mode when the key is removed (it looks like it does this by reading the Canbus command). Next time the key is put in it wakes from sleep mode and powers up pretty much instantly, maybe a second or two. I was concerned about battery drain so I tested it as the car sat during the week (with doors locked). After six days the battery was still right at 12.4 volts. Someone in China did a pretty good job integrating this into the Canbus and Porsche power saving mode.
As the OP mentioned, the stock launcher is pretty lame, I'm using the AGAMA launcher now and it works well and looks clean. However, the big volume control buttons on it do not work for the radio, some googling shows this is a common complaint for all of these launchers. The only way to control the volume is by hitting the Android icon in the top status bar which is virtually impossible to do when driving. If you have steering wheel controls you can use them but unfortunately my car does not. I ordered this add on one from China three weeks ago, but apparently it's still on the proverbial slow boat.
There are also other ones that have small round disk control that can be stuck on the center console or someplace discreet. These all have a wireless connection to a receiver box that you wire into the Android head unit. Once it's wired in you just need to sync up the control with the unit.
So overall pretty happy with it, particularly for the price. I put the new GPS antenna under the dash and the reception is so-so. The stock GPS antenna would probably work better but it's wired to the OEM nav unit in the frunk so the cable would need to be rerouted to the head unit. I also ordered a back up camera/license plate light that replaces one of the original lights that I'll be installing next.
Any idea if it's compatible with the OEM Sirius/XM Tuner? I can deal with some loss of PCM 3.0 functionality but Sat radio is all I listen to. Gotta have my NPR anywhere I go.
I wish they had a model with the PX6 (RK3399) Quad-core CPU for our cars. The next best that is available is a PX5 Octa-core CPU. The PX6 has about +33% better performance based on bench scoring on XDA Developers. Woe is me. I also wish these units had higher resolution.
Has anyone found this headunit in grey? My interior is sand beige and pcm is grey. Very interested but don’t want to mis match with black bezel. Thank you!
None of the cheap Android HU's themselves are XM compatible (e.g. the Connect tuner) that I've found, and I've looked a lot. Probably due to licensing and IP issues.
You can add the separate XM tuner/display though it's not a very elegant solution. Something like this:
Where I live NPR is on like a half a dozen stations between 88 and 92 MHz. You can't get away from them if you try! Do have XM in my DD for the NHL Network though.
Has anyone found this headunit in grey? My interior is sand beige and pcm is grey. Very interested but don’t want to mis match with black bezel. Thank you!
No and I looked quite a bit. Painting is really tough, it's pretty much impossible to match the metallic gray color. A pro could probably get it close but the cost would be close to that of the HU itself. The bezel cannot be removed (I tried) so you can't replace it with one of the pre-painted aftermarket bezels.
If I had to do it over again I would probably leave the HU bezel black and live with it. I have black interior though so it wouldn't have been that noticeable.
None of the cheap Android HU's themselves are XM compatible (e.g. the Connect tuner) that I've found, and I've looked a lot. Probably due to licensing and IP issues.
You can add the separate XM tuner/display though it's not a very elegant solution. Something like this:
Where I live NPR is on like a half a dozen stations between 88 and 92 MHz. You can't get away from them if you try! Do have XM in my DD for the NHL Network though.
I guess I could just use the NPR app on my phone and use BT audio to play it from the unit.
No and I looked quite a bit. Painting is really tough, it's pretty much impossible to match the metallic gray color. A pro could probably get it close but the cost would be close to that of the HU itself. The bezel cannot be removed (I tried) so you can't replace it with one of the pre-painted aftermarket bezels.
If I had to do it over again I would probably leave the HU bezel black and live with it. I have black interior though so it wouldn't have been that noticeable.
I may just go ahead and live with it for now, I’ve been in the market for a very good oe style head unit and this checks off all the boxes other than the color
i believe (but could be mistaken) that mrGatsby was able to remove his to paint the trim.
if you're correct and it cant be removed, then i am definitely going to paint the oem pieces matte black and call it a day. i really hate the volcano grey oem .1 pcm color.
Originally Posted by PV997
No and I looked quite a bit. Painting is really tough, it's pretty much impossible to match the metallic gray color. A pro could probably get it close but the cost would be close to that of the HU itself. The bezel cannot be removed (I tried) so you can't replace it with one of the pre-painted aftermarket bezels.
If I had to do it over again I would probably leave the HU bezel black and live with it. I have black interior though so it wouldn't have been that noticeable.
i believe (but could be mistaken) that mrGatsby was able to remove his to paint the trim.
if you're correct and it cant be removed, then i am definitely going to paint the oem pieces matte black and call it a day. i really hate the volcano grey oem .1 pcm color.
I tried to remove it and got it loose but it turns out there is something embedded in the bottom of the bezel with very short wires going directly into the head unit. There's no way to unplug it as the wires have no slack, the bezel only separated from the HU chassis by a millimeter or so. I think it may be the AM antenna in the bezel.
You might be able to open the chassis and disconnect the wires. I was already worried I might have damaged them so I gave up before I trashed it completely.
I masked the whole thing off and painted it that way. Definitely a hassle.
I guess I could just use the NPR app on my phone and use BT audio to play it from the unit.
OMG I’m dumb. It just occurred to me that since I’d already be turning the WiFi hotspot on my phone for the h/u anyway, I could just dl the NPR app from the Google Play store to the h/u and play it from there.
Here are some photos of my 987 CAYMAN S 2006 with BOSE:
Bonus points: anyone know how to wire up the multifunction controls of a macan steering wheel (although i have a 987.1, i swapped out the 987.1 steering control unit for a 997.613.289.01). I know that I *might* a steering adapter from gpsadapter and that the dealer needs to program/turn on the multifunction/sport steering function.
Here were the wiring diagrams provided by the seller:
(i know it's not super clear, but i guess we should never expect much from our friends at aliexpress.)
09-01-2019, 10:50 PM
