bE550

I had problems with my front camera not working on the RoadTop unit. I contacted them and they promptly provided updated firmware. There were no changes beyond the camera stuff though. I found the system quite stable. The only other problem I have is that sometimes it doesn’t connect and in those cases I just go to Bluetooth settings on my phone and manually connect from there. Very happy with the system. Here’s the latest firmware I have:

cadetdrivr

FWIW, I contacted RoadTop on Aliexpress and they sent me a link to a revised MCU software version (MCU 20.5.22.11) that fixed that issue. The "OK" button open the steering wheel still works in both CarPlay and the MB dash but the arrow keys no longer interface with CarPlay.

However, the MCU version I received is not as new as the one that bE550 received nor did it include the revised system software. I don't know the reason for the different versions.

Attached below is RoadTop MCU 20.5.22.11 (password = 8032). Also note that it says "BENZ1" so there apparently are multiple hardware versions. Play with it at your own risk.

SKullman

Hey all, received my latest gen from Carasara. Following these great posts, took me about 3 hours to install, test, and put back together.

I'm not super happy with my location between the the glove box and center stack, so I might try better later. Nothing to add for install pics, but I would like to share my dipswitch settings, I had to reference the doc twice to get it right for my car, so passing along. USDM 2013 E350 w/HK stereo, detected as 7" screen:

95Sinned420

Here is the pic for mine.

95Sinned420

I've installed the Road Top version, thru amazon via the link several posts back. It wasn't the best price (about $50 difference after taxes) compared to Aliexpress. But, it was a faster shipping time and I felt safer buying thru Amazon.
My vehicle is a 2014 E350, with HK system. I disabled voice commands so that I could use Siri. I had to enable the Aux per the directions in this thread. However, I discovered that by turning off MOST, it disabled my SDARS (Sirius XM Radio) function, even after re-enabling MOST to ON. You have to manually enable SDARS again, I didn't know what SDARS was, but my lucky guess, it enabled Sirius for me again. The only thing different now is that I no longer have the ability to use Media Interface, which is the car's center console connection that allows iPod/iPhone integration for music. I believe enabling Aux disabled this? If I'm wrong, please let me know what I have to change in the engineering menu to re-enable it. It's not a big deal, since using Carplay will make that plug obsolete, but it would be nice to still be able to use it while not using Carplay.

I'm not sure the version my unit shipped with, but everything seems to work flawlessly, aside for one thing. The left steering buttons, including the OK button, does not interfere or control Carplay menus.
The one thing that is wrong with the unit is that it doesn't show the front camera when I switch to Drive from reverse (while using Carplay). Reverse seems to work fine. There is a menu option for a timer on Front Camera, by default is set to 0, but increasing this only shows a blank screen for the set amount of time when I switch to Drive. I believe it is mean for aftermarket front camera. So, if you have the 360 surround view, this may be something to consider. I am emailing the tech support to see if they will send me an update to fix this only problem.

One tip I want to point out is that you can use your Carplay for navigation, while listening to your factory radio. Simply press the Radio button and you can cycle thru the different radio platforms (XM, FM, etc) and if you want to hear the Carplay audio a gain, pressing Disc will switch to Aux.
I found the installation extremely easy. The dash trim was just a little tricky with the vent tabs and the last section by the ignition switch. I did nothing fancy mounting it. It is literally just wedged between the cabin filter housing area and the bottom plastic cover. The cover holds it in place and keeps it from moving around and I had all the wires tucked under the left carpet.

sainath

Hello

Received Road Top for my MB GLK 2014 (X204) NTG4.5 and having issue with LVDS Cable - I am not sure where to connect second port - can anyone help?
Last Image is second port of LVDS cable which i don't know where to connect?

Also, as per instruction when i press CLEAR button for more then 3 seconds or BACK button for more then 3 seconds i can not get get into decoder menu?












In the instruction manual it says as below:

Tip 1: The installation process requires connection of original fiber optic cable if your car has fiber optic function. You need to move the original fiber optic cable to the new harness.
Tip 2: No need to connect the mic AUX cable of the decoder power cable.

Do i have to do anything with my fiber optic cable ? not sure which one it is?

Any help will be greatly appreciated.
I am in Canada and lives in Ontario.

Thank you for your time.

cadetdrivr

1) Fiber optic. Watch the Unichip video in post #2 of this thread and the photos in post #4. In the video he's installing it in a GL but the fibre wiring in back is identical.

2) LVDS. LVDS is the video cable so if it's not installed you won't see anything on screen. The Road Top cable has a V shape with connectors on the three ends. One end of the Road Top LVDS cable (with the 90 degree port) replaces the BLUE Mercedes LVDS cable on the back on the Command unit. The other end of the Road Top LVDS cable (at the bottom of the V) plugs into the Road Top box. You then attach the original Mercedes LVDS cable that you disconnected into the remaining port on the Road Top cable.

3) AUX. You may, or may not, need to activate AUX in the engineering mode to hear audio. (see post #2)

95Sinned420

The original optical cable must come out of the original plug, then into the new plug, this if IF you have optical cable. Refer to the first page instructions here

Here's the LVDS connection routing.

sainath

Thank you very much.
Ok Did everything as per your info.

and got to last stage where my screen flicker when i press C or Back button to get into Decoder Menu:

Fiber Optic Connected

LVDS Cable now connected as per instruction from Cadetdrivr and 95Sinned420. Thank you.

Start of Screen

Checking Aux connection

When i select C Button to go into Decoder Menu

When i select BACK Button to go into Decoder Menu

When i select BACL Button to go into Decoder Menu



- Done.

sainath

All,
Problem Solved.
Toggle Switch Setting were different.
Reached out to Road Top and they provided setting for 7 inch which works.

Thank you Cadedrivr and 85Sinned420 for your time and support.
Extremely Happy now as i started to get worried as one of the harness plastic was slightly broken during transit.
Thanks again.

95Sinned420

Glad it worked out. I was about to reply and suggest to double check your switches.

I’m so happy with my unit as well, so far I have not had any glitches or bugs. Only issue is minor incompatibility with front camera not showing when I switch to drive. Reverse camera works as intended. Of course I can always get out of the CarPlay mode and utilize the original operations, but that defeats the purpose.

meatballr

Thanks cadetdrivr, this has been the best thread on the installation of the CarPlay device. I got the road top unit a couple of days ago and it works great. Finally bit the bullet on upgrading the CLA45 with the main aim of something that feels like it was OEM, which this is.

Minor issue of echo during phone calls at louder volumes. Got a couple of suggestions from road top which I’ll try out.

The volume is a bit lower than the normal radio which is a minor annoyance and probably have to play with the equalizer. The sound quality on initial listen is more muted and neutral than the stock setup.

Overall very happy with the unit overall.

sainath

Thank you.

Is there any instruction how to open glove box for 2014 GLK 250 ?
I tested everything as it worked great now i want to route the USB into glove box for access - or is there any other alternative ?
Plan to tied up everything by EOD today if possible.

Thank you.

bentz69

Just to pass along some info to others.....I picked up the RoadTop unit (NTG 4.5) from Amazon for for my 2014 w204 c63. Although the directions are pretty rough, I was able to get everything connected and had it working. Wireless android auto, wired android auto and screen mirroring all worked great BUT I didn't have any sound. A member from the c63 section informed me that the original fiber optic cable/plug needed to be removed from the OEM harness and plugged into the jumper harness that goes directly into the back of the command unit. The directions also stated that if you have the AUX option in audio menu then you shouldn't need to use the AMI plug with the 3mm jack in the armrest to get audio. Unfortunately for my car that was incorrect. The 3mm wire needed to be routed through the armrest. Once that connection was made I had audio.

I was hoping to be able to keep the box behind the command unit but after fighting with it for over 2 hours and smushing wires every which way, its just not possible. Everything was unplugged and I found a small spot in the passenger side foot-well right next to the glove-box to stick it. Its still a tight fit but it can make it in there. The glove box didn't need to come out, just drop the lower kick panel and you can find a small section that you can pass the wires through. Even with the box away from the command unit, its still a real b*tch to get the jumper harness to stay flat while you push back the command unit. The harness needs to be under the command unit, it wont fit directly behind the head unit. I have to assume the wifi antenna can be mounted anywhere in the dash and still have a full connection. I moved it around the car before sticking it inside dash and always had a full signal.

Couple notes. I'm using a Samsung S8
-Not sure about apple but android supports multiple Bluetooth devices at the same time. I am able to keep my Bluetooth connection to the vehicle itself AND the carplay unit at the same time. Seems convenient when switching back and forth between platforms if you just want to listen to the radio but still take a phone call.
-I need more time to play with this thing but I noticed that you have to connect to wifi first BEFORE bluetooth or else you cant connect to android auto. A bit annoying since everyone allows Bluetooth to connect whenever the car starts and now you have to toggle the carplay bluetooth off/on to make a connection. 1)Connect to the "carplay" wifi first. After the wifi is connected and the carplay screen is open, toggle the "carplay" bluetooth off/on. Once connected, android auto should start automatically on your phone then pop up on the command unit screen. Select it on the command screen when it pops up and your in. Wired android auto just needs to be plugged into the phone and select the WiredAuto icon. '
-You can also return to the main command screen and not lose the android auto connection.
-Screen mirroring with android only works a wired connection. Download the "Autolink" app first. Plug the phone in while on the main carplay screen and select the Autolink icon. I noticed mirroring is only allowing audio to play through the phone. Have to work on this one.

Overall I think its a great option if you want to avoid placing a new screen.

95Sinned420

I have the front camera issue as well, being a 360 optioned car. Contacted RoadTop but they haven’t provided me any firmware, only told me to turn the 3 aftermarket settings to off (line detect, display track, and radar). Problem still persists.. waiting for their response again. My MCU is 20.4.30.17

deeoh

Hey bentz69,

Glad you made it through the process, even without instructions! Tip: keep an eye out for Road Top MCU/SW firmware updates, as they are constantly being released and improved. Note: none of these Andream clones are perfect, but they come fairly close, considering the overall costs involved.

Now, some people consider it blasphemy for installing a Chinese aftermarket box in their fine German automobile, but for me, it's a helluva lot cheaper than trading up to a newer car with it already factory installed, or retrofitting a factory OEM unit (BMW guys love doing this) but to each their own. Who knows, maybe the next gen will get it perfected Until then, enjoy your new car!

-David

sainath

Hi 95Sinned420,

I have same version which i just installed in my GLK X204.


I have reached out to Road Top yesterday - awaiting for response as my camera not working as well.

How did you manage to route USB into Glove Box - still trying to figure out in my GLK.
Thanks

cadetdrivr

FWIW, if you have HW Version: BENZ (NOT BENZ2) on the info screen, I attached a newer MCU that RoadTop sent me a little earlier in this thread. I don't have 360 cameras so I don't know if the newer MCU would help or not.

95Sinned420

My HW Version is BENZ2.


For my w212, I did not route anything into glovebox. I just stuck the USB port under the side carpeting and the rest of the unit and wires under the cabin filter, held up by the cabin filter footwell panel.
The USB port I can just tuck it away and dig it out if I need it.

E Lover

Do you guys have a joyeauto on a NTG4? It's a while that it crashes very often. Very frustrating and it seems their support team doesnt care any more to help. Do you have this crashing Issue? Also most of the time the whole unit is slow and laggy. I wish i had bought it from a better manufacturer...

sainath

All,

I am having hard time to put the unit back due to very limited space in my 250 GLK.
what are the options - can anyone suggest?

Thank you again.

meatballr

The directions is wrong on this point, you need to turn AUX on in the engineering menu, even if you have the AUX option in your audio list. Have a look at Cadetdrivr's earlier instructions. I had thought that just seeing the Aux option in the audio menu meant the Aux was set to on in the engineering menu (it wasn't). The engineering option must switch between the between the armrest aux (OFF) and the internal aux (ON).

meatballr

The more recent posters have gotten the new generation unit (Road Top, Carsara etc). So far, so good on the new gen units. No reports of crashing, a couple of reports of occasional connection issues. I haven't had any issues running over the past couple of days. I've also found the unit very snappy with no noticeable lag. My wife's noted that the scrolling and selection felt snappier than her OEM BMW Carplay.

bentz69

Interesting....At this point I already routed the wire through the console, up the backside in between the ac vent and into the armrest. Is there any benefit to enabling aux in the engineering menu vs running the cable?

meatballr

No real advantage now that you have done the hard work of running the cable. I did feel that the audio quality was higher going through the armrest. My theory is the dedicated and higher gauge cable in the armrest vs the internal cable through the harness.

I didn't run a cable through to the armrest as it is a PITA in the CLA.