Zakowsky

Since there are many Android install threads out there and I didn't want to just repeat them, I thought I would write one that highlighted all the questions I couldn't find answers to in the weeks I spent trying to figure out which one to buy. Basically I looked for HU's with reported problems, figured out who the actual manufacturer of it was from the firmware codes, and then ruled out other vendors that used the same hardware. A good resource if you want to get into the details is on xdadevelopers here, where they have lists of all the firmware codes for the different manufactures. If you are buying a new unit, you probably want to get at least a PX5 processor and Android 8.0 (although the PX6 and 8.1 is coming soon already...). I ordered the HIRIOT 9" IPS Android 8.0 PX5 4G ROM/ 32G RAM unit from AliExpress. Even though no one else had bought one (for the Cayenne), it had my best guess at having good components. Jumping to the bottom line, I really like the unit and I am glad I got this one.

So first off there was a shipping issue; it got lost by DHL for about 10 days, but when DHL did finally find it they shipped it by air I'm guessing, as it then got from Hong Kong to Canada in about 3 days. It arrived in good condition and was well packed.The box was well made, even with plastic corners to keep them from getting bashed in:



This is how it is all packed in - they sent the other things I got (ELM327 etc) in the same package:



This is the unit out of the box. Before I forget, the one thing about the construction I would improve is to smooth and polish the mounting tabs a bit more. When you install and remove the unit from the dash, especially if you do it a lot like I did testing things out, the tabs brush against the leather and could scrape or cut it if you are not careful. I put a bit of tape over the leather by where these pass when it goes in just to be safe.



The wiring harness and connectors are on the cheap side in terms of gauge and quality, but fit well and worked fine. Installation was easy, although cramming the CANBUS and MOST adaptor and all the wires back there took some work. As mentioned in other install threads, once you figure out there are areas on the sides at the top where you can fit boxes into it is much easier. But the fit was perfect and it blends so well it looks totally stock. The 9" screen is a must for me, and when on it looks great, it fills up the space well. The IPS panel is very good in different light conditions and angles. Touch response is good.

One issue for me was I was unsure if I would be able to get used to the tile design of the UI, and wanted to change it right away. This is how it is advertised, and is how it looks out of the box:



Which I didn't like, but after seeing it installed, if you put on a different live wallpaper it is not that bad. One thing that I wasn't sure of is why the 8.0 units all seem to have this launcher, which is the same as the one they put on the 6.0 units. Android 7.0 units have a more normal launcher, and that made me think the ones they say are 8.0 are really 6.0, because that happens sometimes on AliExpress...but it is really 8.0 and it just seems to be the trend to reuse the 6.0 style launcher. So how these tiles work is when you load a new app (either by Google Play or side load, both work fast and no problems) it randomly gets assigned a new color (which I don't think you can change), and a new tile is made with the normal icon inside it. As a change from the standard Android icons (which I originally thought I wanted) it's not bad actually. You can drag and re-arrange them like normal. But there is no app drawer, so all installed apps will have a tile on an ever expanding set of screens. But in practice I just use a few that I have set up like I want.

But this launcher is a fail for me in that I like to use a lot of widgets and it seems many widgets will not run on this UI, which was frustrating. I figured out finally that it was because of their size - the stock launcher can only handle very small widgets. But fortunately changing the launcher is not only easy but works reliably. Long story short I tried many different ones and settled on Smart Launcher. This gives you a home screen where you can have a set of icons to launch your most common apps, and you can put widgets on this page as well. In the picture below the HU is on the home screen, so common icons on the right, and a weather widget and a music widget on the left. Swipe the screen to the right and you can have as many pages of widgets of any size you like. Swipe the other way and you have an app drawer with all your apps like on a normal Android tablet. For me this was perfect, and I haven't seen the stock UI since. The live wallpaper I have on now uses a lot of resources (the Koi swimming fish one) but even so it runs perfectly smoothly.




OK, so for functionality:

- as mentioned even with many things running and the live wallpaper screen flipping and scrolling are smooth.
- using 3D mapping programs like Sygic or Waze are very smooth when you zoom and mover around, and map loading is also very good.
- Bluetooth and WiFi seem fine. I connect to a hotspot on my Android phone no problem, and it will even switch automatically to my phone from the home wifi when I get into the car. I personally don't use my phone for calls a lot in the car, but if I turn Bluetooth on on the phone, my 2G calls (and VOIP over Line) automatically started coming through the HU. The mic on the front of the HU works fine, people can hear me OK and doing a voice search works well for me (but I am pretty loud).
- I don't use Bluetooth to stream music, but tested it and it works.
- GPS works very well, I installed the antenna in the grill where the center speaker is and get strong signal.
- I never use the split screen mode but it works
- none of the stock programs are worth %$#@, just install your favorite music player (like Neutron), video player (like VLC), NAV program (Sygic for offline or Waze for online), file manager (Xplore works great), and weather and radar programs, and of course Torque for engine monitoring.
- start up after the first start following installation is instant upon putting the key in the slot. Well, like less than 1 second. The HU has only crashed with an older version of Waze, and can be reset on the front easily. If you reset it, start up is a typical Android start, so like 15-20 seconds.
- note: not directly related to the HU, but I also got the wireless backup camera, more for a joke than anything else because I thought it would be worthless, but for $10 or whatever I thought I would try it out rather than waiting until I had the time to run wires into the hatch and all that. But it actually works pretty well - depending on where you position the transmitter and receiver it only goes funky once in a while.

So for problems, they main one I had was with the CAN Bus. This started with finding out that the steering wheel buttons couldn't be programmed. What I eventually figured out (although I am not 100% sure about this still) is that if you get pre-programmed CANBUS then they can't be programmed any further. The reason being to make the CANBUS compatible with the Porsche BUS it really needs to be pre-programed. Out of the box the volume buttons work, as does the mute button, but the mute button does not pause the player. Although there might be a way to input a specific voltage to one of the pins on the CANBUS and cause it to go into programming mode if you really want to, just install MTCDTools. Lets you remap the buttons and works perfectly. Problem solved.

The other CANBUS issue I had was that I had was since I am one of those who scans through the modules with VCDS constantly, I noticed that the installation of the CANBUS adaptor caused some unusual errors, like:

01299 - Diagnostic Interface for Data Bus (J533), 013 - Check DTC Memory - Intermittent

I contacted Atop (the vendor) and after describing the issue they sent me a new CANBUS (no charge) and that seemed to help. I say seemed because what I think this relates to is how these Android HU's keep the CANBUS awake when the key is off (but still in). They have to trigger something, like when you leave the hazards on to do this yourself. After the old PCM would normally shut off (a few minutes), the dash goes dark like normal but the HU stays on, but you can now hear a faint clicking as a relay is being turned on and off in the dash somewhere. The new CANBUS they sent seems to work to keep the stereo on by a different method, as the clicking is less frequent and quieter. The error codes seem irrelevant though, and go away when you put the PCM back in. But so you know...

Another kind of issue is when you do file transfers, either through the USB or over WiFi sometimes it pauses. Seems the company knows about this - if you use a file manager that immediately cancels on a pause, it can be a pain, but I use Xplore and have no problems, it just waits a few seconds and resumes.

For the sound. I've commented on this in other threads, but briefly - I got their MOST adaptor, just to give it a try, and was disappointed at first. Having no front/back fade aside, the volume coming out of the stock Bose amp now was maybe 1/3 what it was before. Its clean, no humming or pops and such, but just nowhere near loud enough. Since it is all digital at this point this must be a programming of the adaptor issue. I did somewhat fix this by putting the PCM back in and increasing the volume to %75 before removing the PCM, but it is still lower than before. But now that I did the no fade work around (https://rennlist.com/forums/cayenne-...rk-around.html), where I put a small amp in to power the rear speakers and restore the ability to balance the speakers out, it sounds great. More than enough sound coming out of the front and satellite speakers from the Bose amp, and the factory sub is driven through the MOST adaptor just fine. I also later replaced my factory sub (still driven through the MOST adaptor and Bose amp, but I put another amp in after that to drive the bigger sub). Now it sounds awesome!

As for the actual quality of the sound out of the HU, I am quite critical of these things and although not perfect, I say it is pretty good. So with the PCM we had CD wav files direct digital to the amp, so to fairly compare, if you use FLAC files and a music player which does higher bit processing and uses the DSP, I'd say it is just as good. And I found that Vorbis Quality 10 ogg files are really good as well. I have a 32 gig flash drive with music plugged in, and with the ogg files you can get a lot on there. And with the rears driven off a nice amp (Nakamichi), and an old sub I had lying around to replace the factory unit, I'd say it sounds considerably better than before.

But most importantly this is overall a huge step up from the PCM. I mean, you get in and within seconds you have your traffic report, 3D navigation, weather radar, and your 100 album music library ready to go; rather than hoping the CD loads today with the PCM - no comparison!

And btw, wrt all the brands/software/vendors I refer to, I am not affiliated with anyone.

tats

MKITGO2

Thanks for the write up Zak, as Tats said, it is exactly what I have been looking for. One question for you, on this "...just install MTCDTools" is this an Android App?

Thanks,
MK

Zakowsky

Thanks! MTCDTools is a small free app written by some on xda developers, you can download the .apk for it here. It allows you to assign functions to button presses on the steering wheel, among other things. The program can do many things more complicated than what we need, so rather than figure it all out, someone made a simple instructional video - I don't really want to embed the video in this post, so just search YouTube for jJWmQR89s6Y and you will get it.

Basically you define an action (like go to the next track), and then bind it to a key by pressing the button (like the up arrow on the right side of the steering wheel). That is all there is to it, takes a minute to set up. Aside from changing tracks, I like it because one of the things with aftermarket CANBUS's (and maybe Android HU's in general) is when you hit the mute button on the steering wheel, it mutes the sound fine but with some music players it doesn't pause the song. With the app you can make it also pause the playback, if you want. Works great and I have never had a problem with it.

Red5

Was this unit a direct replacement? I have an 06 CTT-S and the head unit is going south. If I buy this unit will it work with my existing speakers and such? What else will I need to buy?

Brainz

Great write up, Z. Agree on protecting the leather surrounding the PCM -- those little metal tabs are a bit wide -- I've got a few tiny scuffs to prove it.

ReducedSpeedAhd

I just wish it had a volume ****... man i like *****...

Zakowsky

Main additional thing to buy is the MOST adaptor, if you have the Bose fiber optic system. Usually sold by the same vendor that sells the head unit. Sound with the adaptor is reasonable, just you loose the ability to fade front and rear.

Thanks Brainz. Yeah, I scuffed mine too before putting tape. The trim hides most of it.

It was hard to choose the large screen over the ***** for me too, but I am very glad I did. Having a large detailed NAV map is worth it by far, in my opinion. And in fact, while my CTT is down for fuel pump replacement I have been driving my Jeep Grand Cherokee which has *****. Now I'm finding when I go to change the volume and I hit a bump, and the volume bumps all over the place, I wish I had the steering wheel controls back for volume! So I guess there are pros and cons of each system.

MR Turco

Great write up! I guess I'm a little confused on the wifi... how is it connecting to the net or is it connecting to your phone as a modem? I was never clear on that.

Zakowsky

I totally forgot to address this in my main post - I'll edit it. This was something that I also didn't fully understand before I bought it. There is often a picture of some EzConnect or Easy Connect program, with some combination of Android USB, Android Bluetooth, iPhone Bluetooth, plus WiFi sometimes. Since I saw you could connect by Android USB or Bluetooth, I figured (hoped) you could plug your Android phone in to the USB port, and since it was connected to the head unit you could use your phone for internet access this way and charge it at the same time. This is not the case. Connecting your phone by USB (or by Bluetooth for that matter) does not give you internet access, just screen mirroring. Now I know many people really like the screen mirroring function, but for me I find it completely pointless. Why have a portrait mode version of your phone on your landscape dash, smaller than your phone, which is sitting right there anyway? But whatever, I guess it lets you just use your phone apps and that works for some.

I really wanted to get my phone working like this (through USB), because I always have to charge my phone in the car anyways, and since it is already plugged in might was well not have to mess with wireless connections. But then I recalled this is technically reverse tethering, which is a non-standard and somewhat difficult.

So to connect to the internet as you drive with the HU you have to set up a WiFi hotspot on your phone and then connect to that with your HU. Which is actually not as much of a hassle as I thought it would be. The HU connects very fast to your phone, and you can prioritize connections. So I have my phone ranked higher than my home WIFi, so when I get in the car in the garage it automatically switches to my phone, which is good because then when you drive away it doesn’t switch when you get out of range of the house. That can be annoying, because when I get in I start mapping traffic for my drive, and if it switches access points as you are waiting for Waze to figure out the best route, it can cause a delay.

MR Turco

This is what i thought but had no way to confirm. thanks for answering!

natty

Thanks for the writeup! Couple of questions

- Did you pay almost 60 bucks for shipping? That's the quote I'm seeing on Ali
- Is this on the low end of cost considering comparable units? Ali shows $278
- Can you provide a list of everything I need for a basic install (interface, adapter, trim, etc)? (Including backup cam)
- Maybe a step by step for getting the screen to the point you have it now with the associated apps? Like, what order did you install the apps and program the buttons? Or is it pretty intuitive/idiot proof?

I'm very interested in doing this
I have an 04 Cayenne S with the Bose system. Head unit works but sound no longer comes out

Zakowsky

Thanks natty. Before proceeding, I would suggest you figure out for sure why you have no sound. If it is the PCM you are OK, but if it is the Bose amp or a disconnected/broken optic fiber, you don't want to buy a new head unit and a MOST adaptor and still have no sound. I would check the fuses and connectors, and at least try and hear if there is any pops or clicks out of the speakers indicating the amp is still OK. I don't think I have heard of a PCM that the screen functions work but it doesn't put out sound before.

For the shipping, yeah it is too high, but when I looked at all the different vendors it seems like if the price is low, shipping is high and vice versa. Total worked out roughly the same as other places. I just focused on the firmware and the total price when deciding. Which is super cheap, no matter how you look at it, compared to going to an installer and having a name brand put in.

For the install all you really need is a Torx driver for the 4 mounting bolts, and some plastic trim removal tools to get the trim off the dash. I actually found this the hardest part, because I didn't want to break anything. But there are DIYs for getting the trim off if you search - it helps to know where the tabs are so you can pop it out with out breaking anything. Nothing to buy, the unit comes with a perfectly fitting surround faceplate. Just slide it in and put the 4 bolts back. Getting all the wiring to fit is a bit of a pain, but not that hard.

For the backup camera I got the Touareg one that HIRIOT sells. It actually doesn't fit perfectly, but I didn't take the time to measure the distance between the screw holes accurately. But it does mount OK. When I was checking out there was the option to include the wireless backup camera transmitter for like 10$ or something, which I bought for fun. Didn't feel like running a cable into the hatch immediately. It works great if there is no one else in the car, but if there are 4 people and gear in the back, the signal breaks up a bit. I don't really care about backup cameras so it is no big deal to me, although my rear windows are tinted so dark I can't see &^%$ at night through them, so it has in fact been helpful.

To get the unit set up is more a matter of taste, but it is just like setting up your phone or tablet. For how I did it, first thing to do is install Smart Launcher, which lets you put whatever widgets you want anywhere. That home screen I have has the Koi live wallpaper, and the Launcher gives you the right side for a set of quick launch icons, in a variety of layouts. I put the 12 I use all the time there, and then on the left is the widget from Weather and Radar, which I liked because it had the clock and daily forecast but was not over bearing. The music player widget is from Stellio, which I liked because of the way the program displays album covers in a well sized grid (not too big or small), it allows use of the DSP chip, and remembers the state of the player between on/off cycles, which some others didn't do so well. I really want a good live weather radar widget but I still can't find one for Canada. So I use RadarScope, which you have to run but gives really good data. I also stuck with Torque, which I finally got to run really well, and gives me HP and turbo boost and such, but I run that as an app rather than a widget, because the widget seems to crash still. For NAV I use Sygic for offline maps and Waze for online. Xplore for file management, VLC for videos. Don't care about the radio so I just use the stock app. I have a 32 gig memory stick in the USB port under the dash which holds all my media.

For setting up the wheel buttons, I describe this a couple of posts back, but the bottom line is you will get the volume controls, the mute (which also stops playback) and the next/previous track buttongs to work easily. The other buttons are harder to program, and I don't know if you can really. One button on my wheel (2004) changes between music/cd/video/radio and is annoying as $%^&. Scan might work with the radio, but I haven't tried. As long as I can change tracks, volume and mute/play, that is all I need and all I tried to do.

If you do go this route, the MOST adaptor will not fade front/rear, which is important to me, and I posted a workaround for this here.

Brainz

I thought I'd post a picture of my Android head unit (PX3 version) with the "Car Launcher AGAMA" app installed as the home screen.

I configured the colors to match the stock Porsche orange -- I think it looks really nice. You can assign different apps to the various button around the center logo (and the names of the buttons can be reassigned too). Each button can have a main app, or you can swipe the button to the center and launch a different alternative app. For example, my default music app is Pandora, but if I swipe to the center I can alternatively launch Amazon music, A2DP streaming, USB player, or any other app. Same goes with Navi: Waze is default, but I can do Google maps or a preinstalled GPS/Navi app.

For whatever reason, my phone and the Android HU don't like to connect via Wifi without some fiddling. I have a Llama routine setup to automatically launch a mobile hotspot on my phone, but for some reason the Android HU will try to connect and fail. I can make it work manually by turning each off and back on, but I've not found a way to make it connect automatically, which is annoying. For longer trips, spending an extra 30 seconds is no big deal, but I usually just listen to radio or use A2DP streaming for short trips (the BT connects fine).

Morganmobile