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UPDATE: After purchasing the 4/64gb screen from Carlife mall, I used the Carlinkit dongle that comes in a retail package with instructions. You'll notice in my video that the apk app looks completely different than the normal one. The counterfeit dongle wasn't authorized to work on my new screen with the Carlinkit apk app, even though the app detected the dongle and new what software version it had. The quality difference between the 2 dongles is huge and the Carlinkit dongle has a much better charge time, but this usb splitter does still slightly improve my charge time.
I have great news! I improved my android auto charge time from 16h57m to 3h21~ minutes with the usb splitter cable I mentioned above.
The newest 4G have the same crappy firmware as the V2 as well.
To change the resolution is quite simple, I found an article that describes all the steps for a non-root user. https://joyofandroid.com/change-screen-resolution/
I changed it when I was testing it on a bench before installing it in the car, so I cannot tell how the NTG picture will look like, but the launcher was all messed up, background picture not fitting, the left side with the car, clock items was moved upwards...
I used it to install Google assistant that required at least 720p. Once installed it can be reverted. But I haven't had this issue again once I updated the firmware and had to reinstall everything, so I am not sure.
Basically hardware wise it has the potential but it would be better to adapt the launcher. Oh, and the launcher is not fully black in the settings for example, what makes it look, like well, pure Android.
Awesome! I will try this with the 9.33" screen and see what happens and let you know.
This is in fact a big pain in the *** with the V2, because you have to remove first the dashboard speaker cover just to remove the OEM speaker, and then you have such a bundle of cables with the display that it is quite hard to remove or add anything afterwards, especially because the adapter has the holes for the plugs and all has to fit perfectly before you push it in. And there is a big bunch of cables and connectors to store. So for me adding or removing stuff is an expensive task.
You certainly don't have to remove the speaker, only the grid above it. The installation is very similar to V1: big harness with one end getting sandwiched between the OEM unit and the OEM harness + small harness for the OEM screen image.
Originally Posted by fgarcor
I bought the V2 that comes with 2gb ram, because it was double than the V1 and some people complained about lack of space to store applications and being sometimes slow.
Hem your're mixing up two different things: "2gb" is the RAM used to run programs; in short, to get better performance. The V2 comes with 32gb of storage, and that's where we can install more programs.
Originally Posted by fgarcor
Additionally on the V2, the screen is super reflective and on the day light is hard to see it well.
Was it really better on the V1? But yes, and I've put a $6 anti-glare tablet screen protection to get rid of the reflections.
Originally Posted by fgarcor
The launcher in the V2 looks to me like an attempt to copy the functionality of the v1 by somebody else but having reached only half of the way, icons are not OEM like, fonts are different from each other, information displayed is quite useless, and it keeps the top task bar for many applications active.
I think there's been several "subversion" of the V2 that came with different versions of the software. I don't have these issues in mine. The top bar disappear only in apps that require full-screen, as standard in all Android platforms. You may want to try one of the apps managing full screen aka desktop mode, from the Google Play.
Originally Posted by fgarcor
[...] So I would not recommend the 10.25" V2 2gb+32gb display either.
I've got mine with the USB adapter. All works fine, I'm quite pleased with it.
You certainly don't have to remove the speaker, only the grid above it. The installation is very similar to V1: big harness with one end getting sandwiched between the OEM unit and the OEM harness + small harness for the OEM screen image.
Hem your're mixing up two different things: "2gb" is the RAM used to run programs; in short, to get better performance. The V2 comes with 32gb of storage, and that's where we can install more programs.
Was it really better on the V1? But yes, and I've put a $6 anti-glare tablet screen protection to get rid of the reflections.
I think there's been several "subversion" of the V2 that came with different versions of the software. I don't have these issues in mine. The top bar disappear only in apps that require full-screen, as standard in all Android platforms. You may want to try one of the apps managing full screen aka desktop mode, from the Google Play.
I've got mine with the USB adapter. All works fine, I'm quite pleased with it.
Thanks for the corrections Sly_North, I see there was misleading information and some mistakes while writting like OEM Speaker when I meant OEM display. Or I refered to the display (by its 2GB "Ram") to talk about its storage space (16GB that in fact is the half of the 32GB). Sorry for the misleading text.
Regarding the anti-glare screen protection, would you mind sharing the link to the item, I would gladly get one. I still think that on day light it is not enough bright, apart from the glare so having an extra layer on top of the display might not help, but hey if it works for you I am open to try it !
Do you mind ellaborating on the different versions that you aware for V2? For the sake of clarity this is what it is known to me until now:
- V1: 10.25" display: 1GB Ram + 16 GB storage. Launcher type 1 (let's call it like that) Link
- V2: 10.25" display: 2GB Ram + 32 GB storage. Launcher type 2. Link
- V3: 10.25" display: 4GB Ram + 64 GB storage + anti-glare. Launcher type 2. Link
- 9.33" display. 3GB Ram + 32GB storage + anti-glare. Launcher type 1. Link
Apart from those there seem to be also a 9" based on WindowsCE, and other 10.25" that brings CarLauncher as the main launcher.
And regarding the Top bar, it is not only application dependant, you can see as an example the way google maps is displayed on my screen compared to a V1. Google maps on V1 Google maps on V2
Do you mind ellaborating on the different versions that you aware for V2? For the sake of clarity this is what it is known to me until now:
- V1: 10.25" display: 1GB Ram + 16 GB storage. Launcher type 1 (let's call it like that) Link
- V2: 10.25" display: 2GB Ram + 32 GB storage. Launcher type 2. Link
- V3: 10.25" display: 4GB Ram + 64 GB storage + anti-glare. Launcher type 2. Link
- 9.33" display. 3GB Ram + 32GB storage + anti-glare. Launcher type 1. Link
Sorry, I just found these ones that I had to share:
- 9.33" display. 2GB Ram + 32GB storage. Launcher type 2. Link <-- This is not for W205, but you get the idea.
- 10.25" display. 1GB + 16GB. Launcher via CarLauncher. Link
You certainly don't have to remove the speaker, only the grid above it. The installation is very similar to V1: big harness with one end getting sandwiched between the OEM unit and the OEM harness + small harness for the OEM screen image.
Hem your're mixing up two different things: "2gb" is the RAM used to run programs; in short, to get better performance. The V2 comes with 32gb of storage, and that's where we can install more programs.
Was it really better on the V1? But yes, and I've put a $6 anti-glare tablet screen protection to get rid of the reflections.
I think there's been several "subversion" of the V2 that came with different versions of the software. I don't have these issues in mine. The top bar disappear only in apps that require full-screen, as standard in all Android platforms. You may want to try one of the apps managing full screen aka desktop mode, from the Google Play.
I've got mine with the USB adapter. All works fine, I'm quite pleased with it.
can you send a link for the antiglare screen protector? Does it fit perfectly? thank you
Could this be it?
C 0.3mm 9H 2.5D Toughened Tempered Glass For Google Pixel C 10.2" LCD HD Film Explosion-Proof Screen Protector Cover Guard https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/cZ2xOG16
I just got the newest 4gb 10.25 screen and I'm blown away! The fit and finish is SO much better than the 9.33 screen. I bought it from Carlife-mall rather than Ali Express and the purchase experience was also a lot better. They even provide installation instructions. I wish I would have went this route the first time.
The a/c controls are in Fahrenheit, and they pop up over all apps, including android auto through the dongle!!!
The screen bezel looks much better and the fit and finish is much better.
The screen itself looks way better and there's no white light bleeding on the corners like the lower quality 9.33 screen.
The touch sensitivity is much better and the screen is smoother.
The mounting hardware is completely stable and there's no wiggle or play with the screen.
The software is much more modern and customizable.
I just got the newest 4gb 10.25 screen and I'm blown away! The fit and finish is SO much better than the 9.33 screen. I bought it from Carlife-mall rather than Ali Express and the purchase experience was also a lot better. They even provide installation instructions. I wish I would have went this route the first time.
The a/c controls are in Fahrenheit, and they pop up over all apps, including android auto through the dongle!!!
The screen bezel looks much better and the fit and finish is much better.
The screen itself looks way better and there's no white light bleeding on the corners like the lower quality 9.33 screen.
The touch sensitivity is much better and the screen is smoother.
The mounting hardware is completely stable and there's no wiggle or play with the screen.
The software is much more modern and customizable.
Good to hear that you are happy. Is your knob joystick working in Android auto with the dongle? I mean the up, down, left and right?
Can you send a pic of the home screen?
In this page they also sell a similar one, but they say it has been deprecated, and the new device is this one. https://car-solutions.com/en/aux-mod...5.0-system.php
The advantage seems to be no cables in the arm rest, but I am not 100% sure that the automatic mechanism that switches the audio is capable of switching to aux in the ntg5.0 menu. I will investigate this, as I have received the dongle to unlock the aux and I just to buy the 3 RCA cables.
has anyone tried taking an android tablet, using the carplay dongle and then connecting the tablet using bluetooth directly to your car? I cant get over the quality issues with using that bluetooth adapter and maybe this would work better with a more direct connection?
Hi, where can I download all the update files? I installed mine yesterday. Everything is working good except
1. I’m using USB audio and the video and audio has significant lag
2. When I start my car fresh, all works good. After a short while, all my central controls are disabled. The lights are gone and they are all unresponsive (turn knob, touchpad, A button etc.)
has anyone tried taking an android tablet, using the carplay dongle and then connecting the tablet using bluetooth directly to your car? I cant get over the quality issues with using that bluetooth adapter and maybe this would work better with a more direct connection?
What I have tried to experiment with Bluetooth is the following:
1- use the Bluetooth in the display to connect it to the Bluetooth in the car. No success.
2- connect my phone via Bluetooth to the Mercedes and I observe the same lag as the display if I start a song. That means, is on Mercedes court. It seems the Bluetooth profile for making calls is different from the one used for playing media, probably the quality either.
What I have tried to experiment with Bluetooth is the following:
1- use the Bluetooth in the display to connect it to the Bluetooth in the car. No success.
2- connect my phone via Bluetooth to the Mercedes and I observe the same lag as the display if I start a song. That means, is on Mercedes court. It seems the Bluetooth profile for making calls is different from the one used for playing media, probably the quality either.
My main issue is the quality not so much the lag. I get a background almost hissing noise due to the bluetooth adapter and an echo in the call to people. If I could fix this and have the bluetooth adapter connect automatically without me having to that would be great. As this isnt possible from what I tried I'm thinking an android tablet connected using bluetooth to the car would maybe work better.
Have you upgraded to newest software?
This should fix most of the BT issues with echo and so on...
do you have the files? It doesnt seem like this will fix the issue of the hissing or lower audio quality. Have you seen a big improvement. I got mine from a aliexpress seller and they are no longer on aliexpress. Thank you.
Hi, where can I download all the update files? I installed mine yesterday. Everything is working good except
1. I’m using USB audio and the video and audio has significant lag
2. When I start my car fresh, all works good. After a short while, all my central controls are disabled. The lights are gone and they are all unresponsive (turn knob, touchpad, A button etc.)
I have updated to 20190104 already alongside with the Canbus. I am still having the above 2 issues. The canbus version is still CD. I saw some post that it is supposed to be KF. Anywhere i can get that version to try and see if it resolves my (2)?
Good to hear that you are happy. Is your knob joystick working in Android auto with the dongle? I mean the up, down, left and right?
Can you send a pic of the home screen?
Thanks!
I can only use the left and right controls with this 10.25in screen. I'll update this reply with a photo.
01-16-2019, 04:41 PM
