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I haven't had time to work on the unit for a few days but still stuck with getting the OEM Comand to come up. I emailed my seller and he says that it is the unit, and I may need a replacement. They had a few listings, 2013-2014 and a 2015 listing. My question is if there is a real difference in the internals in a unit for the 2013 model and 2015 model (mine is a 2014). I'm just trying to figure out if I should just return the unit since I'm not getting anywhere with what I have currently. Maybe Chris (or anyone else) could help me with this. Thanks.
Good to see the Bluetooth audio works, so I won't have to make all the connections to get the AUX -> MMI set up.
Are you asking about the COMAND version or the Android screen?
The difference between the 2013-14 COMAND and the mid-2015 is that the earlier cars came with COMAND version NTG4.7 while the 2015 is NTG5s1 (5.1).
The main harness connector is the same but the smaller ones are a bit different, and the NTG5S1 comes with wifi and the front panel looks slightly different.
If your car is 2014 it has the NTG4.7 COMAND.
Did you specify the COMAND version you have to the Chinese seller when you ordered the Android unit?
The picture with all the arrows is the NTG 4.7.
Yup. The ECO off + VIM mod does not fit back there in the W212. When the COMAND unit is out, I tried connecting everything in serial, and the solution works. But there is no way it all fits back there. In cars other than the W212, it might, but on ours - there's just no way.
.
Have you seen the below post by Ungarisch regarding tucking the cables behind the COMAND?
Originally Posted by Ungarisch
word of advice to all who going to do the install, drop your glove box, its only (7) T20 screws and it slides forward.
Before I dropped the glove box it seemed impossible to put the the Comand unit back in its place. Also, I was super skeched out that I was going to kink or break the fiber optics cable.
After dropping the glow box you have TONS of rooms to route the harness, fuse box and extra leeds in the gap to the right of the Comand support cage. Also you're going to have to drill a hole in your glovebox anyways to pass the USB and headphone jack through.
Perhaps there is a way to keep the ECO Off/On harness afterall. :-)
I use an old iPhone 5c for Carplay, not Android. On a related note, does anyone know how to make a particular app autolaunch on screen start? What I'm trying to solve for is - start up car, screen goes on, and an app of my choice autolaunches. Maybe Spotify, or Carplay or whatever. I tried the Google Play version of Tasker but that didn't work. Anyone know of any other method to enable this behavior?
The Car Launcher is my go to app now as I can customize it better to have my specific set of app list. If I need to go back to the standard android one I just press home button. Using LMT PIE I can easily go back to Car Launcher.
Here is why I like Car launcher (Sorry for the blurry pics):
1. Built in voice search button
2. Choose any player installed and control play pause forward back
3. Create custom app list
4. Knob control
5. MPH. Minor but still a plus (far right of screen)
this area is completely empty, you can almost fit a 2-liter in there, maybe, probably not. But a VIM module, most definitely.
Thanks. I will have to see if this is the same for w204 as I am still having issue with OEM screen not showing up. I think i really need to completely free up that block connector to fix my issue.
Are you asking about the COMAND version or the Android screen?
The difference between the 2013-14 COMAND and the mid-2015 is that the earlier cars came with COMAND version NTG4.7 while the 2015 is NTG5s1 (5.1).
The main harness connector is the same but the smaller ones are a bit different, and the NTG5S1 comes with wifi and the front panel looks slightly different.
If your car is 2014 it has the NTG4.7 COMAND.
Did you specify the COMAND version you have to the Chinese seller when you ordered the Android unit?
The picture with all the arrows is the NTG 4.7.
OK, that makes sense. The back of my Comand is just like the NTG 4.7 above. I had gotten the unit for the 2015, which is the likely the 5.1. That may be the issue. Thanks.
this area is completely empty, you can almost fit a 2-liter in there, maybe, probably not. But a VIM module, most definitely.
I was going to do this to my pre FL W204 to try and fix my command screen not showing on the screen intermittently, but decided to go another route. I'm not sure this can apply to w212 however. Maybe one of you guys with a w212 who is still having trouble getting the command to go back into place to try it.
Just got word that a newer version with newer firmware is being produced. Got a guy on the inside asking for everyone to to note and take pics of their bugs. Post em here and I'll compile a pdf to send them. We get a discount on the unit for a group buy
Just got word that a newer version with newer firmware is being produced. Got a guy on the inside asking for everyone to to note and take pics of their bugs. Post em here and I'll compile a pdf to send them. We get a discount on the unit for a group buy
Nice! Hopefully it's not the android 6 with 2gb ram I see on aliexpress. The interface on it is junk. But here are my issues.
1. Auto sound switching doesn't always work. Only when the unit first turns on.
2. Bluetooth music streaming from my android phone doesn't work.
3. Mirroring on my android either USB or wifi doesn't work.
I disagree on the interface, I hope they keep it as is, looking like factory instead of some android launcher, but I see some improvements that can be made.
Namely;
-Let us re-arrange the icons
-Let us hide unused icons
-Enable the ability to auto-launch one app on start
-Fix Android Auto not working with their own (Carlife-Mall) Carplay/Android dongle adapter
-Fix the stretched out aspect ratio on CarPlay
-Make the internal battery/capacitor slightly bigger so that the unit only shuts off after 5 minutes after car, instead of 15 seconds now.
-Ability to change units from metric to US/imperial
-Fix the displayed car from always being an A-Class
-Ability to put Spotify on the "Home Screen" instead of "Apps" sub-menu
-Ability to delete useless "Carlife" app from home screen
-Make CarPlay dongle charge faster than the current 400mah, currently it drains battery faster than it charges
-The unit knows when headlights are on, it should be able to auto-dim screen when it sees headlight are on, and full brightness when heads are off
These would be nice, but not necessary:
-Make Dashcam input digital (HDMI instead of RCA) since nearly all dashcams have digital outs not analog
-Sim card to accept US (T-Mobuile/AT&T) GSM LTE bands.
Actually forgot there is a 3rd one that's android 7. But only for 2014 and 2017 w204. I emailed the seller a week ago for w204 pre face-lift availability but haven't gotten back to me.
10.25" Android 7.1 Car Multimedia Player for Mercedes Benz C CALSS 2014-2017 with GPS Navigation DVD USB AUX WiFi 4Core+RAM 2GB
Actually forgot there is a 3rd one that's android 7. But only for 2014 and 2017 w204. I emailed the seller a week ago for w204 pre face-lift availability but haven't gotten back to me.
10.25" Android 7.1 Car Multimedia Player for Mercedes Benz C CALSS 2014-2017 with GPS Navigation DVD USB AUX WiFi 4Core+RAM 2GB
Actually forgot there is a 3rd one that's android 7. But only for 2014 and 2017 w204. I emailed the seller a week ago for w204 pre face-lift availability but haven't gotten back to me.
10.25" Android 7.1 Car Multimedia Player for Mercedes Benz C CALSS 2014-2017 with GPS Navigation DVD USB AUX WiFi 4Core+RAM 2GB
What exactly does "Android 7" do for our units? I'm not aware of any car related app that wont run because our units are only 5.1. The Android 7 unit listed above still has identical guts to ours with the 4 core Mediatek SoC. I'm guessing that all the 2GB means is that instead of 1GB out of the internal 16GB being allocated for the OS, this unit has 2GB allocated. While that's nice, I don't think even 2GB is enough and you'll still need to use Apps2SD
This seems more of a 0.1 step upgrade compared to our's, not to mention the UI looks like a cheap Chinese MIUI tablet. Until they revise the SoC, and also keep the Mercedes looking UI, I don't see this as a worthwhile upgrade to what we got.
That is a horrible version with no can bus functions or oem car integration and BIG android boxes to fit somewhere. Dont go there..Trust me. IF there is a better version that realy is better I will have it...When its ready..
There is a new version of "our" unit in about a month..Needs alot more testing before release.
Chris, I've heard nothing but good things about you, and I would be interested in buying the new version when it's released. Can you please give us any spec changes that are confirmed in the new version? Also, would you be willing to give a discount for a group buy as well? Thanks!
No specs so far. All I know it has a motion sensetive interface that just looks super sillt to me. Sitting an waveing to the screen. Dont see the point.
What exactly does "Android 7" do for our units? I'm not aware of any car related app that wont run because our units are only 5.1. The Android 7 unit listed above still has identical guts to ours with the 4 core Mediatek SoC. I'm guessing that all the 2GB means is that instead of 1GB out of the internal 16GB being allocated for the OS, this unit has 2GB allocated. While that's nice, I don't think even 2GB is enough and you'll still need to use Apps2SD
This seems more of a 0.1 step upgrade compared to our's, not to mention the UI looks like a cheap Chinese MIUI tablet. Until they revise the SoC, and also keep the Mercedes looking UI, I don't see this as a worthwhile upgrade to what we got.
Android 6.0 and up supports google assistant which means voice command without screen interaction. Just say "ok google" and say get directions etc, or open an app, or play a song by voice. This will make for a safer driving experience.
Also 2gb or RAM will allow more apps to run at the same time. I notice from time to time, apps will either just won't open or apps will reload and not go back to where I left it because I have maps on, with iheart radio, and my home launcher. Again requiring more interaction with the screen to get back to where I was.
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