xMaximus

I changed the Screen Parameters. Still not working. It's total blank like nothing's there.

LemonSqueezy

This may be stupid but are the 2 connectors properly connected behind the new screen..?

xMaximus

Yup. The screen works. I can go through the different apps and such. Now just like C240dude, my knob does not work also. Very odd. I really think it's the connector that goes to the radio unit. It was a snug fit since there's lots of wires going into it than the stock ones. What's troubling me is that that connector doesnt seem to fit flush with the radio unit in the back like the stock ones. I had a difficult time pulling the tab down to attach it. Anyone have this issue and how to deal with it carefully without damaging unit?

LemonSqueezy

Would suggest anyone installing this to test functionality first while all trims and components are removed and cables exposed. Having unit and all trims installed makes it difficult to check connections.

the two connectors behind the new screen, I think the smaller white one is for your comand output. Along that smaller white plug there is a blue plug, that blue plug connects to your old comand cable that used to connect to your old screen. Make sure that connection is nice and snug.

I notice a lot of time the scrolling knob doesn't work until the comand portion is displaying. Also if you're connecting/disconnecting cables a lot with your car on, you may have to fully turn car off then back on again for scrolling knob to sync.

xMaximus

I made sure all the cables leading to and from the original COMAND unit are snug. Here's a picture of the back of my OEM screen. My has two square connectors, the blue connector you're talking about is not on my stock unit. Instead, I used a converter that came with the package (see photo). This has the blue connector you're talking about.


Back of OEM screen. 2010 w212


Cables that goes to the back of the OEM screen.


I connected the cable to a converter that has a blue plug.


Is this blue plug you're talking about? I notice some cars came straight with this blue and not like mine.

LemonSqueezy

Might be a little stumped on this one ��. Mine did not come with a converter, oem cables already had a blue connector, but yes that was the blue connector i was talking about. Maybe you simply forgot to press power on the radio unit? Or maybe you forgot to plug the little teeny tiny white connector to the right side of your radio unit? I doubt the big adapter cables would be the issue because they simply just snap and lock in. The fiber optics cable should be straight forward too, off the radio unit, then back into the radio unit with new adapter cable inserted

LemonSqueezy

Take your radio unit out and check something for me real quick. Within all that junk of cable mess there are some cables labeled 'AB'. Connected to AB is either another cable labeled "A" or a cable labeled "B". If AB is with A try to disconnect and try AB with B, or vice versa.

jjsaustin

I'm curious how clean the fit is. Are there any pics from the side view or the back (looking thru the windshield)

LemonSqueezy

Sorry about the glare

xMaximus

Finally got my COMAND to show up. Here's what the manufacturer said to do. Since my unit is an old unit (2010), I had to splice two wires and connect them (see photo below).

Red and yellow wires. (Video and 12V)

Finally...


Thanks for everyone's input and help. Next up, trying to get my knob to scroll through the apps and the aux audio to work with the music apps.

kajtek1

So how well GPS works?

jjsaustin

Thank you for the pics

Mikeki7

It does not work that well at the moment. The location update is not often so your location is kind of jumpy, more jumpy then a ntg4.5 oem navi. I don't think it is a hardware issue though and its just that the android system is not set up optimally. If I can modify the system files I can probably make it work smoothly but not enough time to look into it right now, though I will say the device comes pre-rooted which is nice, should make getting a backup of the system not difficult. I did ask the manufacturer for a stock flashable image but I did not get one, Im sure if I had a legitimate problem with the device then they may provide it.

dsenela

Hi guys!

After researching for quite a bit, I think I am ready to get one of these for my 2008 C300 W204. Quick questions to those that have installed this unit, are there any means by which the screen brightness can be dimmed for night driving? Also is it confirmed there is no way of changing Kilometers to miles / Celsius to Fahrenheit? I am curious how the odometer shows on screen, does it actually compute the kilometers from miles or just shows the actual miles and appends the Kilometer label? same with temperature?

Thanks all!

Av8rdh3

Maximus, did your kit have and RCA plugs? I can't get audio to work, everything else is.... Any help is appreciated. (2012 E63)

LemonSqueezy

I haven't noticed any options to adjust brightness yet, I think it's actually not bright enough especially in direct sunlight. Brightness does not bother me at night. No options to switch km to miles yet. Km displayed is actual miles converted to km. Same for temperature.

The rca plugs are part of the adapter which comes with the kit

LemonSqueezy

Also are the audio jacks plugged into the audio port? Mine does not auto switch audio like in Chris' video, I have to go into oem screen, manually select audio, and select 'aux' then start playing something on the android side

kajtek1

Any update on GPS performance? Also will it work with aftermarket rear camera?

dacia

LemonSqueezy, you said on-line (youtube) content will not show on the entire screen?
How about mirroring/casting your phone to the screen? Have you tried that and if so how is the result?
When you play a video on the phone and you cast it to screen does it fill the entire screen?
How about when you play a DVD from the COMAND unit? It only shows on the original OEM size screen on the left side, is that correct?

I want to get one as well but my car is RHD, and they don't have the bracket for right hand drive cars.
If you mirror / cast your phone and run google maps off the phone then there should be no lag when navigating.
Have you connected the GPS antenna that comes with the unit so you can use google maps from the Android unit?

Also, how difficult was it to route the wires into the center armrest?
Did Chris give you any instructions?
I did remove the COMAND unit once already, that's not a big issue but pulling the USB cable into the armrest seems like a lot of work.
Space behind the COMAND unit is quite tight and I had hard time putting everything back together (I installed an extra cable harness to get Video in Motion and to turn off the ECO function).
Did you have any problem with tucking the cables back in?
Your car had the NTG 4.7 system, correct? Was the installation truly plug and play?
To route the USB cable into the glove box did you remove it (glove box)?
You car is 2014, so is mine, so you probably have the Media interface Plus (option 518) already installed in the armrest with a USB connector and an proprietary Media Interface connector.
Do you think it would be possible to connect those to the Android unit?

Sorry for all the questions, Chris' and Carlife's (Chinese vendor / manufacturer) video on youtube does not have all the answers/details.

LemonSqueezy

I have not really had much time to test out the GPS yet. There is an option in the menu's to auto select aftermarket rear view camera when you hit reverse.

I have not actually tried mirror cast, the vendor has told me what to do to connect it but i have not tested if it actually works. If you use comand dvd, then yes it will only display on the left side of the screen because you will be in OEM mode. I think the youtube videos does not use the full screen because of the aspect ratio that most people create videos on. Movies from my usb drive which use like that 4:3(?) ratio will fill up the entire screen.

Yes i am on ntg 4.7. The wiring to the center armrest was a little tricky, All i did was youtube videos on how to remove everything. There is a little light lamp thing that illuminates the center armrest inside, I unplugged that and snuck the audio cord right in between that, then plugged the light back in. Took me an hour to figure out to how disassemble the ashtray and cup holders and center control knob, but once i figured that out, maybe 15 minutes tops to get it on and off.

not quite sure about the "Do you think it would be possible to connect those to the Android unit?" would need a bit more clarification.

dacia

Dual-Male Fakra Y-splitter to Female Fakra
Thanks a lot for the answers.
What I meant by the last question is that since the cables for the AUX and USB connections are already factory installed connecting the sockets in the armrest to the COMAND unit, if we could split wires at the end where they connect to the COMAND unit then we wouldn't need to pull them again from the Android screen all the way to the armrest.
If there was a commercially available Y splitter/connector that could split the connectors into two, then one side could be connected to the COMAND as per OEM setup and the other could be connected the Android screen. This way we would save the pain of having to run one wire to the armrest for the AUX input and one to the glove box for the USB input. Those connectors already present in the armrest in my, and your, car. I believe the pre-facelift 212s had those connectors in the glove box.
.
.
.
I just did a quick google search. there are Fakra connector splitters available. So then the only question is what is the connector end looks like for the AUX and USB connectors at the Android screen end.
I hope it makes some sense.

Did you remove the glove box to route the USB cable in there or was there any gap somewhere?

dsenela

I finally pulled the trigger on one of these from eBay. Works very well despite some of the obvious embarrassing grammatical mistakes. I wonder if everyone else's have the same quirks as mine.



What are these labels 'HI' supposed to mean, I assume they should be connected with climate control, but i have tried all settings but these haven't changed at all, maybe I am missing something?




Says 'lamplet open' when headlights are switched on (Sorry for the camera glare)



Another embarrassing screen.

I know these are minor inconveniences, I just wanted to know if everyone else have the same issues, as I assume there are different variants of these units out there. Which brings me to the question, does anybody have the password for advanced settings? I am sure access to advanced settings would enable us make some interesting changes and hopefully root the device. Also, does everyone have the SIM Card slot? any luck getting it to work? I tried several SIM Cards from different carriers with no luck.

kajtek1

Frankly after seeing so many "lost translations" published by MBUSA, some Chinese glitches don't bother me at all.
I speak 3 languages and spend part of my life in metric, part in SAE system so switching from one logic to other comes automatically.
Coming to engineering mode, I did not try it but have info from the net how to start:
-turn on the radio
- press "phone hang-up" + "1" + "#" for at least 5 seconds

dealer menu
- press "phone hang-up" + "7" + "9" for at least 5 seconds
Use at your own risk.

Mikeki7

Pretty sure dsenela is talking about the setting in the android unit that asks for a password not the factory engineering mode. Also @dsenela the device is already rooted, so if you know your way around android and/or willing to learn then you can make some nice changes to the unit yourself, especially fixing text mistakes. Dont forget to backup the system, which is super easy since it is already rooted. The HI text is there when the AC is at the highest settings and LO at the lowest, it should change when you use AC but it seems like there is an issue with canbus communication. Climate info shows up fine in my CLS.

dsenela

The lost translations are not really a deal breaker for me, I am still in awe at how much work and effort was invested in making the unit's aesthetics and functions way better than my current OEM, with menus in different languages to boot. I was just hoping there was a quick way we could tweak the unit to finesse some of these minor issues. I too have spent my entire life using the metric system (and English is not my native language either,) it would be nice to have an option to switch between them though.

The password I was referring to is the one on the android unit, not the OEM HU. I knew about Engineering mode, but learned about the dealer menu today, I will try it out to see what's in there, thanks!

@Mikeki7, I just assumed the unit was not rooted, this is sweet!, I will definitely be digging in there to find what is possible. About the 'HI' not changing I believe it could be vehicle specific, my w204 does not have LO/HI settings on the climate controls. Also today in sub-zero morning temps the unit started behaving strangely, randomly getting stuck in boot loops and freezing on some screens, but it is probably just a loose connection, I will check all my connections again when it gets warmer.