Troy.H

What’s the make and model of your product? I bet I can find some negative reviews of it, every product has some.

Make a product that adds CarPlay to the OEM PCM. If you can’t, don’t say that anyone who can is just making junk. If you don’t like the concept of modifying the PCM, then just say you don’t like it, don’t say that the idea guarantees that the product is junk.

They do work and lots of people have bought and installed them. If they don’t work or they fail often, the company will be out of business eventually, it doesn’t need you to help it.

DashLynx

First off, those reviews aren't negative; they actually mention issues with the radio getting fried. We get a bunch of calls like that from customers who messed up their CarPlay after making changes like that. The thing is, most people don't have the know-how or gear to do the install right. That's why it shouldn't be sold to regular person unless it's super easy to plug in and use. But even if a professional installs it, there's still a lot of ways things could go south with these products. Like the post says from OP, the product warns you not to install it wrong nd he was concerned. So, let me ask you this: if the product's so great, why didn't they use a connector that stops you from plugging it in the wrong way? Why does someone who just bought something and spent their hard-earned money have to turn to this forum for help with the product? They should be able to rely on the warranty and support from the manufacturer, not have to seek help from other users.

ATX_Native

The issue is your product does not work on our vehicles, no?

The other issue is you misrepresented the truth and said that these boxes are all made in the same factory.

Even when asked to explain how that’s true when there are functional differences between some of these, you pivoted and said they are all Chinese junk, which isn’t what you originally stated.

Then when told that I am not seeing failures and fried PCMs linked reviews from Amazon, where JoyEAuto, NM Automotive and definitely not 9XX are not being sold.

Seems like there is a company called ISUDAR selling there, not sure what that is or if it’s similar or reliable.

Sure, I will give you that it’s not ideal to have the general public cracking open the PCM and installing these, as there are a lot of non-technical folks out there that wouldn’t give the same attention to detail or do the initial legwork to study how to install.

I am still not seeing the NM Auto or 9XX boxes giving anyone issues on here, trust me you would see evidence of that

Even in here the limited pictures of the JoyEAuto instructions made me cringe compared to the NM an automotive 30+ page install manual with no errata and copious amounts of pictures of each step.

It seems you sell a product that won’t work on our cars because we don’t have factory CarPlay/AA and that you just wanted the opportunity to push a anti-Chinese manufacturing bias at the expense of truth and facts.

Personally I think you’re out of your depth here because what you’re talking about is completely free of facts and previous direct experience.

Just seems like axe grinding to me.

I wish you well and can get frustrations when you’re making a product domestically and trying to compete on price/value.

However I don’t think your product will work for our cars, right?

DashLynx

Let me break it down for you simply. My insights on this internal modification stem from years of experience. Chinese manufacturers have been doing these modifications for a long time, and I've seen thousands of units fried due to these integrations. Whether the manual is one page or 30 pages doesn't matter much because you can easily plug the connector in upside down.

When I say it's all made by the same factory, it's because China is divided into areas where similar companies or industries are located. Believe it or not, most of these products you see are just copies made by one company after another. They replicate everything down to the connectors because that's what Chinese companies do—they copy.

The issue is not only in low-quality design but also in the fact that thousands of radios were fried by these modifications. People often think they can do it themselves, but you won't find any warnings signs beyond not connecting the plug upside down. I've witnessed firsthand how many people have been burned by these Chinese modifications. Most of these conversations start the same way: "I thought I could do it, but now my radio is broken. What are my options?"

Furthermore, companies like NM add no value by bringing these products from China and reselling them at triple the price. But you could just as easily get the same product directly from China. At the end of the day, I'm just trying to make people aware that if they think it's going to be a simple modification, they're mistaken. Connecting a product physically to the motherboard of the radio is a big no-no and can lead to serious issues down the line.

That's exactly why you see those reviews where people mention their units no longer working or experiencing color issues. Unlike LVDS modification, which is a bit safer, this modification is directly to the motherboard. And at the end of the day, you end up with catastrophic results.

Troy.H

@DashLynx is spreading disinformation. You’ve seen “thousands of units” fried (so, according to you, almost every 997.2 in existence has been destroyed by this product?) yet no one here is talking about this horrific problem. Conspiracy?

Tell us the make and model of your product and let us see for ourselves how superior yours is.

DashLynx

Let me explain something to you. We don't make products for brand-new cars that require internal modifications. We used to make them, but generally speaking, the biggest issue we faced was people breaking FPC connectors before they could even finish the installation. Reworking FPC is a nightmare.

When I mention thousands of radios, you probably realize it's not just single Porsche radio or one brand. They're made by companies like Becker, VDO, Denso, or similar.

There are radios, like those in Porsches, that are all-in-one units. You can practically run them on your kitchen table. The only way to add any kind of video signal is to go internally.

Primarily, this applies to all Porsches built from around 2003 to 2017, depending on the car model. But there are also many Mercedes vehicles, almost all Mercedes-Benz models from 2003 to 2012.

VW radios from 2003 to 2016 are also in the same category. There are various car brands that produce radios that are all-in-one, ranging from Chrysler to Volvo, and everything in between.

Yes, people have attempted to install all kinds of brands, especially those with internal modifications from China, and ended up breaking or frying the radio.

Not everything ends up online. The majority of people never write reviews or post pictures. When they buy a product and encounter a problem, they start reaching out to different companies to find a solution.

It's worth noting that 97% of people who browse car forums never register or post anything in their entire lives. There are thousands of people browsing as I'm posting this message. Currently, there are 8000 unregistered guests on this website.

Troy.H

Tell us the name of your company if you’re so
proud of what you make. If you don’t, all these people browsing these forums will know you are just bashing an entire ethnic group for fun.

DashLynx

DashLynx.com Rennlist Site Sponsor

Troy.H

Your device requires an HDMI port. Our PCMs don’t have an HDMI port so we can’t use your device. Why are you telling us to not buy a product that is our only option?!

By the way, I’ve seen thousands of car stereos fried by DashLynx devices! Cheap American junk and a blatant copy of ottocast.

DashLynx

Alright, I'll give it a shot:

I'm guessing you're not American because no American would call something "cheap American junk." And since you're here defending the product, I'm guessing you're somehow involved with it. I doubt any American, like your profile says you are, would say that. The only problem is, our company has been around since 2014, while Ottocast just started in 2020. Plus, our product connects to the car's USB port, so it can't fry anything even if you wanted to. USBs have automatic fuses and protection, you know.

ATX_Native

That’s a wild theory.

From my experience people come in here all the time to admit self inflicted or incidental issues with things.

This is a community and for the most part people share positive and negative experiences, with products or vendors.

So you are saying that all the boxes are the same (even though there is evidence of them being different) and that people that run into problems are somehow hiding these issues for some reason, even though we are in a thread discussing an issue with one of these issues? lol

As I stated before and please try and hear me, the Unichip brand boxes are repackaged and sold by 9XX and NM Automotive.

NM doesn’t hide this as the thing literally says Unichip SmartAuto when you connect it to your phone.

Unichip sells their boxes direct, for about $20 less than NM, probably due to exchange rate.

9XX charges a lot more than Unichip and NM, but he actually comes to your town and installs it. That’s a bit of a value add, wouldn’t you say?

If the real Unichip box is so fraught with failures and misery, you think 9XX wouldn’t be popping them into customer cars?

Where has to deal with these folks face to face and has to deal with potential financial impacts/risks plus potential blowback from Rennlist and other communities?

There are Unichip “branded” boxes on AliExpress for about half of what NM/Unichip charges, but I am guessing these are clones or fakes.

I wouldn’t want to install them in my car.

ATX_Native

Oh boy, you just claimed he’s a Chinese plant? lol

You didn’t answer his question.

We have both asked the same basic question, how does your system interface with the 997 PCM systems?

Our PCMs don’t have USB nor did they come with factory CarPlay/Android Auto.

Your website says it interfaces with all Factory AA/CarPlay OEM Units.

We have cars made from 2005-2011, AA/CarPlay wasn’t really a thing prior to 2017 in Porsche vehicles.

I believe the first vehicle ever to get it OEM was in 2015/2016.

DashLynx

In Post number 13 of this thread, we mentioned that we don't make products like that. We were just answering OP's question and explaining why this isn't a good product. Everyone's free to do what they want, but as someone who's been modifying radios for over 20 years, I have the right to speak my mind. Thousands of radios have been messed up by folks trying to do this kind of internal radio modification without the proper experience or tools. Some of these units, because they're connected directly to the video chip or the LCD screen in the vehicle, end up frying those components due to their cheap design. This isn't like a plug and play LVDS setup.

Troy.H

You must be a racist jingoist, not a true American. A true American is open-minded, well-informed and welcomes competition.

There is a lot of junk in America. I am American and I spent my career in the software and tech industry. Most of the junk products I’ve used are American-made. American cars? Junk, in my experience. American audio equipment? Junk. American appliances? Junk. The best computer hardware in the world may be designed in America, but it’s all built elsewhere.

In my opinion, America only makes 2 things better than anyone: software and beer (and maybe movies). America is competitive in other markets and many products are great, but not objectively superior.

DashLynx

Let's take a look at what's changed the world that was made in America. iPhones American, but they're only put together in China using parts from the US. Even the screens are shipped from America to China, thanks to the Gorilla Glass company again invented in america. Then there's Tesla, shaking up the car industry, and SpaceX and its Starlink project for internet anywhere in the world. Don't forget Ford, who revolutionized manufacturing with the assembly line. And Nike, radar, the ballpoint pen, and some of the top-notch military gear—all made in America. When it comes to quality, American-made products are top-tier.

Sure, there are a few things invented outside of the US, but the whole world uses things like the internet, computers, and software those were created right here in USA. TVs? They're an American invention too. That's because we're not just sitting around, we're actively creating products. We don't settle for copying ideas halfway.

American appliances are the worlds best appliances, Samsung appliances that everybody seem to buy these days all over the country don't even last a year

And then we got credit cards, PayPal, all kind of digital payment system, email even this form was created in America the software on which this forum runs