The CarPlay and Android Auto features are the same for both brands as the actual CarPlay and Android auto comes from your phone and not the isudar / mr12volt hardware.

Your photos are also off apple CarPlay and mine are of android so, they will be different. Our CarPlay looks the same as yours...

Really unsure what isudar equaliser can offer when the audio is neutered by converting the digital signal analog and then to digital vs the mr12volt complete factory fiber optic audio connection.

All of this has been discussed and proven numerous times...

 

I have had both and the way Mr12Volt uses the tv input is way better than Isudar. I did not like how long it took for Isudar to start up and be available. They have maybe changed something in a year or so, but the interface is better on the Mr12Volt.

 

After waiting for weeks to get a response from mr12volt customer service, I finally received an answer from them. This is verbatim - "we always encourage users to only pair with Mr12volt, we know this will disable the steering wheel call button but this is the most stable way for the Bluetooth connection to function."

So basically they do not have a solution to this defect and their response indicates that they are possibly aware of this issue.

 

I apologize about the delay in someone reaching out. I know Mr12volt was short staffed and then closed for a holiday for the past week, so that accounts for the delay, which is unusual.

I know firmware is constantly changing. Different phones, and features, and software can make any aftermarket hardware a challenge. This is not me saying "deal with it". This is me saying we are constantly working on new solutions of issues that crop up.

 

Mr12Volt said he only had an suv and not a 911 so was unsure when I asked if the Siri button on the stalk would still function post install. I for one will hold off on buying this one and look into others like Joyeauto and see if they have Siri support. It seems to me that they don’t want to admit the truth here as it’d hurt sales.


Jerome

 

I have the exact same issue to the letter that @shashankmittal described. Very frustrating experience.

 

1. Outgoing calls work without issues if the phone isn't paired with PCM - however, steering controls don't work.
2. When phone is paired with mr12volt and PCM, the outgoing calls behave differently with different phones -
a. Google Pixel 8 Pro - No sound from car speakers.
b. iPhone12 and 14 - No issue.
c. Samsung Galaxy Flip 6 (brand new) - intermittent issue. 2 out of 10 times, there is no audio from the car speakers.
3. The behavior is same whether the call is made from the phone, Android Auto or steering buttons.
4. Incoming calls do not ever have an issue.

Here is the bluetooth behavior during outgoing calls when paired with both mr12volt and PCM -
1. The call starts with mr12volt shown as the active bluetooth device on the phone screen.
2. Within a 2-3 seconds, the active bluetooth device on the call screen changes to PCM automatically.
a. After (2) happens, the audio can be heard from the car speakers.
b. When (2) does not happen, there is no audio from the car speakers and the active blueooth device continues to show as mr12volt.

This is certainly a firmware issue with mr12volt, but the fact that the company recommends not pairing with PCM, then its a bigger issue as the steering controls do not work and that's contrary to what is being advertised.

 

I've had my Mr12Volt for maybe 2 months now. I couldn't be happier with it as the better of the options out there for this retrofit Car Play / Android Auto setup. Mostly especially because of the MOST audio capabilities. I still haven't dialed in the best sound settings, but it's good to know it's there!

My only frustration is that my unit and setup is just not very reliable or responsive sometimes. Actually, mostly all the time with regard to navigation via like Waze or Google Maps. It's super delayed, doesn't sync, takes a lonnnng time to actually figure out GPS signal, and sometimes just straight up freezes and disconnects. I have to power cycle the vehicle and sometimes my phone. This happens on wireless Android Auto and wired, it doesn't matter. I can live with the touchscreen input sucking due to the fact that it was never designed to have the kind of touch input sensitivity like vehicles that come stock with Android Auto, but I can't live with this ridiculously crappy connection experience. Many times, I can't use my GPS whatsoever and have to resort to just using Google Maps on my phone to get where I'm going until or unless the GPS decides to sync up and play nice.

Not sure if it's just my phone (Pixel 7 Pro) or the Android Auto connection experience in general. I haven't tested the responsiveness or connection consistency with an iPhone for example. Just frustrating. I have heard mixed reviews about Android Auto having intermittent connection issues and/or could be my phone too.

 

Try with a friend's phone to see if that's the issue. I'm using a S24 ultra and it's very smooth.

 

Extremely stable for me, however I have only an iphone. Compared to the Isudar, Mr12volt was more stable as well.

 

Yup, I would say there seems to be a firmware issue with Android phones in particular as my wife's iphone does not have this issue. My android phone connects seamlessly to both the mr12volt and the PCM and everything works as its supposed to UNTILI receive a phone call or make have to make a call. Then I have to go through the steps you outlined in your previous posts. For safety reasons, I have since resorted to not receiving calls on mr12volt in my bluetooth settings while being connected to mr12volt. The tradeoff is that I lose all steering wheel functionality for phone calls which is a bummer since one of the main attractions for me was the ability to control calls through the steering wheel. Hopefully, this is looked into sooner and fixed.

 

Have you always had the S24 since you've had the Mr12Volt? I seem to recall reading once there were some specific Bluetooth and/or Android Auto connectivity complaints in general up to and including my Pixel 7 Pro but allegedly they resolved that with the 8 and up. Who knows, I'm not in the market for a new phone (yet) so might just have to be something I unfortunately live with. Very frustrating when you're driving and depending on the GPS directions and it cuts out let's say I don't know when you're making a turn somewhere and need to make a decision quickly which lane or exit you need to take lol... you have to pull over, disconnect/reconnect, restart the vehicle/phone, even sometimes unpair and repair the device. Doesn't matter if it's plugged in or over Bluetooth. So maybe that points to the alleged complaints about Android Auto overall vs just Bluetooth, idk.

That's good to hear, so maybe Android Auto still has quirks to figure out in general. But also agree of all the options out there from Isudar to GTA Car Kits (first product in this space I tried and failed), Mr12Volt is hands down the best. And you certainly pay for it lol but seems no retro-kit will ever be as good as a newer car designed from the factory with CP/AA already. Then again, come to think of it, a few years back I spent a few months driving a 2021 Ford F250 diesel truck every day and I had random intermittent issues with Android Auto and my then... Pixel 6 Pro IIRC. Not nearly as bad as what I'm currently experiencing with Mr12Volt, but still.

Thanks for the comment and that's good to know. Kinda confirms my suspicion(s) that this is a larger issue and not simply the Mr12Volt unit itself. I wonder if it's just something Google needs to iron out vs the phone manufactures. gosh you'd think in Google's very own in-house flagship Android phone product (Pixel), they'd have one of the more consistent smoother experiences compared to all the options of phones running Android with their own custom tweaks / bloat on top of Android OS i.e. Samsung et.al.

As for your issue, that's why I turned off and unpaired the PCM Bluetooth connection entirely. I was experiencing the same thing. I know it sucks to lose the steering wheel controls but at least the end/answer call option is just a finger push away on the screen!

 

Here is my opinion as I have been struggling with poor bluetooth connectivity with mr12volt:
1. mr12volt should support steering controls, without needing for the phone to be paired with the PCM. This is a functionality they need to develop in the firmware.
2. There is no logical reason to pair the phone with both the PCM and mr12volt concurrently. This isn't a standard way of using Android Auto or any bluetooth paired phone in a car. Google and phone manufacturers can't be faulted for this.
3. mr12volt customer support confirmed that they recommend not pairing with the PCM at all. This is contrary to what is being advertised - support for steering buttons. Clearly they know about these issues and are recommending that we do not pair with PCM.
4. If you turn off "Phone calls" under mr12volt pairing settings on your phone, everything works fine until you try to use AA next time. It fails to connect and start. Perhaps this is a path that mr12volt can explore and provide a fix.
5. Yes Android is fragmented unlike iOS, but that also means that if a developer claims to support Android, then they need to extensively test with various OEMs to ensure compatibility. I doubt mr12volt has a Pixel phone at hand to test with!

Overall, I like the unit when it works, but the extremely bad/flaky phone call connectivity has ruined the experience for me. mr12volt customer support is very slow and mostly unresponsive.

 

I pair to the PCM because the mic quality is awful on mr12volt. I've tried the OEM mic splice, the mic that comes with Mr12volt in multiple positions and one off amazon; the quality on all was terrible. I would use Mr12volt for calls if the quality was better and would take that over better steering wheel button integration.

 

I've used my mr12volt with the last 3 gens of the Samsung ultra phones. My experience as with the many others has been damn near perfect. There have been issues that crop up with certain situations but they get resolved over time. This is the same with any aftermarket solution. One thing that is obvious is the manufacturer is continuously working on the firmware and hardware to account for an of this buts hard to simulate each situation in house.

We are ever pushing forward