yyce400

Hi all.

After purchasing my E400 earlier this year, I've been enamored with the ride quality, performance, tech and overall feeling of the car. Definitely a huge step up from a B7 Avant. For an almost 7 year old model the tech works quite well, the lane keep assist and adaptive cruise, along with the 360 camera are gamechangers that I will probably look for in future cars as well. The only thing missing from the tech suite is Carplay, and I've been looking at various ways to implement it. After trying to get the OEM Carplay hack and failing (multiple dealers around me wanted a 2 hour "diagnosis" time for my fake Bluetooth issue), to looking at Android screens (also Roadtop, but other chinese brands), I saw a post on Reddit that showed a guy with a portable screen. I've seen Roadtop mentioned on this forum before, but not yet the portable version, so here we go:


I've now had this unit for a little over a week and I'm fairly impressed by it. The screen is 1280x480 and and better resolution than the OEM display. Installation was nonexistent, you just mount it and plug it into the 12v. I would like to have it be a USB, as I already have a dashcam plugged into the front, however the cord was long enough to reach the 12v at the rear of the center console. Here's how I have it installed.



It doesn't block my view of driving, but it does block the front PDC sensors. From my angle, (I'm 5ft7 btw), it covers the right side of the hood, and blocks a little bit above that. Nothing that would cause me to miss a pedestrian while turning right. I simply have to lean forward and I can see the PDC sensors. I previously had it mounted to a CD player mount, but it was too low, and I was easily distracted by having to look down especially using Maps. Here's the view from the front.



I tried to get it as clean as possible. I am unable to see any wiring from the driving position however the passenger will see the mount and the wire.

PROS:
- Has dual bluetooth transmission, so you can connect phone to display, display to car. No other screen has this functionality.
- Bright screen, easy to see during daylight, dimmer mode for nighttime (albeit have to manually dim display)
- No installation, dash/trim removal. Can use with any car, I can remove it as well if I'm parking the car outside for extended amount of time.
- Linux based, so no weird Android bugs or performance issues. Screen is smooth, transitions are smooth and has not crashed yet. Was a huge decision for me as I have read lots of issues with aftermarket Android screens. I've ditched Android a few years ago and never looked back. No weird robotic voice telling me that "bluetooth has been connected", so huge plus.
- Support is fairly quick, responds in 1 day.
- Cost is cheaper than an Android screen, with less install headache.
- Has additional functionality that I don't use, such as FM transmitter, Airplay (to watch videos I guess), SD card functionality.
- Cleans up my center area. I used to have a CD slot phone mount and now I have a really clean setup. The screen isn't overlay large and it's quite sleek, no weird bezels and being black it fits my interior perfectly. I have my phone usually in the cigarette tray area (I took out the silver thing and lined the inside with a piece of old mousepad lol).

CONS:
- Doesn't connect to MB car info, it literally only shows Carplay/Android Auto. Basically a glorified display for Maps and music. An integrated Android screen would plug directly into the car's infotainment, and show backup cam and other sensor info.
- Positioning of screen is awkward on the W212. I would have liked it to go below the OEM screen, but that would block the clock (MUST HAVE) and the vents. Anything lower is too low I feel.
- Basically there are 3 ways to connect the device to the car and phone.

1. Phone to Display BT, Display to Car through aux - Useless to me as my E400 only has the dual USB in the center console, no aux port.
2. Phone to Display BT, Display to Car BT - I initially used this at first, however I had issues receiving wechat and whatsapp calls, as I would get no audio, and would have to manually switch my phone to MB bluetooth (real pain in the ***, and distracting while driving). However this way enables navigation instructions to come through the car speakers. Steering wheel and car buttons work to control music.
3. Phone to Car BT, Display to Phone BT - Am using this way now. Music is handled from phone to car, with song info shown through both oem display and Roadtop display. Calls are handled through MB bluetooth and are seamlessly handled. However navigation instructions are played through the display's internal speakers. The voice still comes out as Siri, so it's not too bad. Steering wheel and car buttons work to control music in this mode also.

- So there's no perfect solution that I've found yet that most resembles OEM experience, however I'm satisfied with the current setup.
- 12v charger, why not a USB cord in 2022? Could possibly hardwire it, but havent looked into it so far.

Final thoughts: In short, this is exactly what I've been looking for in a Carplay screen. It's unobtrusive, easy to install and simple to use. I only use it for Maps and music, however it beats looking down on at my phone screen for navigation, and much safer. Cost to me was about $300 CAD, as I purchased it from Alibaba. Roadtop creates quite a few aftermarket screens for a variety of brands and I've seen their devices on this forum, so I felt comfortable purchasing their product. An integrated Android screen might be a more complete option, however I didn't like the idea of removing the dash and I wanted to keep the car OEM as possible. If anybody is looking to add Carplay to their car, give this a look!

Pic of my car below, at good old Canadian Tire.

ds1jwl

Is there a road top 8.8 firmware update. I cannot find it? Need a bit of help!