Over the last six months, I have thoroughly investigated different options to modify my car so that I have full screen CarPlay. I have decided to purchase from Mr. Max at EleBest. I will update this thread on my progress. I am very conservative but I believe that Max is honest and his option is best.
Max and I exchanged comments on another thread but it is so long that I am starting this new thread for the purpose of sharing my efforts and experience.
Max please tell me WhatsApp how to [pay you and I will remit my payment.
To save time here is the text from the 79th entry to that post: entry I made Max's answer in bold:
Dear Max at Elebest.
I have decided that I will buy your product and install it. After I install it, I will write a detailed review. From our various conversations, I believe that these are the following steps:
1. I must purchase certain products from you, the radio module and some sort of cable to connect to my computer:
A1: W213 MBUX head unit High Spec USA Version, original Mercedes, Brand new.
2. Is there anything else I need to buy? enet cable: if you don’t want anything else like ILS+ coding or auto start stop coding
openport 2.0: if you need some extra coding.
3. I do not have a PC computer, can you work with a Mac or do I have to burrow a PC?
Remote work is available on PC only, we don’t have way to get it done in Mac. So you need borrow one or buy one.
4. Once I receive your products, I will take apart the dashboard and exchange the module. You will provide me with the link to the video explaining to me how to do that.
yes, I suggest you find a helper, this job might not be easy for you(according to our chatting). But don’t need to touch dashboard. Just open the center console panel like the video I sent to you. Difficult level is low if you compare same job of all other car models like GLE GLS A B GLA GLB.
5. Once the module is installed, I connect to the port under the steering wheel with the cable that I described above, which I will purchase from you. The other end of the cable is connected to the computer, and the computer is connected to the Internet. 4. You will provide me with web address that I connect to so that you can connect to my car and "code" the car in someway.
yes.
6. I can keep the old module.
yes.
7. If for some reason, I have problems with module in the future you agree to help me to diagnose and if possible resolve the problem at no charge. If parts are required I will be responsible.
Yes. 1 year wrty.
8. Do you offer a warranty on the products you are selling to me?
1 year.
Please correct me if i am wrong about anything and let me know how to pay you.
Thank you.
phil
__________________ MB Original upgrade and retrofit, Coding and Programmer: Whatsapp: +6597335000
I sent my payment last Friday and Max sent me a airway bill link on Tuesday so I’m impressed with that speed of turnaround but so far when I check the airway bill it doesn’t show a delivery date so I’m not sure how long it’s going to take. Max mostly answers all of my questions, but I have the feeling that he will focus most of his energy on the installation. It seems that I connect a device to my car to connect a computer and then I opened something called team viewer and somehow Max connects to my car and enables a new device. It will be interesting for me to see how this works and I will report.
TeamViewer is a Microsoft Windows app that allows remote access and control of a computer. It is widely used for remote maintenance by organizations. It is free for non-commercial use.
TeamViewer is a Microsoft Windows app that allows remote access and control of a computer. It is widely used for remote maintenance by organizations. It is free for non-commercial use.
There are a lot of moving parts to this process. I am doing my best to work through it. I think I am following the instructions he gave me. Our customer service people share screens So does Apple and Microsoft. I am hoping Max can do that.
Hello everyone, I'm sorry. I've been down periscope with some personal business. I'm going to make two posts. This first one is from 5000 feet in the air. The AI version is that I am 95% satisfied and I would buy from Max again. I am glad I mad the purchase and I think Max is a good guy and trustworthy. In November I paid Max for the module and he sent it within two days. I was busy because my wife was in the hospital, but eventually I got around to installing the module. I paid a Mercedes mechanic to install the unit even though Max said I could do it.
Max helped me remotely. I'll bet I sent him 50 WhatsApp messages and every time he answered me promptly. His answers were succinct and helpful. I am writing report explaining how to take full advantage of Max's offering. It's all about the configuration. I am also working on a quick guide for Max to use. I'm reviewing and sharing with Max and I hope to upload it before the new year. I've spent hours experimenting with different configurations to see how the system reacts, depending upon how you configure your telephone and configure your CarPlay. Some of my contracts are 1000 pages, I am very careful about checking and double checking my work.
That is my posting for today, Here is a photo of my screen which I sent to my
Mercedes service advisor because he told me I would never make it work!
Here is my report on the use and install of the "The EleBest CarPlay Solution".
If you reply PLEASE do not copy the whole message as it will take up a lot of space in the thread.
My experience is with iPhone 15, CarPlay, MBUX NTG 6 in a 2021 Mercedes W213 E Class. I do not know the process for Android Auto or other cars
This solution offers full screen CarPlay but there are minor compromises. At the same time there are several major improvements over MBUX 6 which is the default in my car.
One obvious improvement is having full screen CarPlay. This is a big improvement.it is like having a 24 inch computer monitor over a 12 inch. I am VERY happy with the added real-estate.
Another improvement is that this package offers wireless CarPlay. When I start the car, I immediately have CarPlay. No wait time, no need to plug in. That is a big improvement and very nice.
Max is a good and honest guy and he is very helpful. I am glad I bought from him.
The Compromises:
If you play the radio the navigation instructions do not mute the radio and are not heard through the car radio. You can however, set it up to announce directions to the phone. To me this is a minor compromise. I solve this by using Apple Music to listen to radio stations.
Receiving texts and asking Siri to read them is slower. When you receive a text Siri will not ask you if you want to hear the text as with MBUX. A notification pops up on the screen, and you must touch the notification before it goes away and then Siri will ask you if you want to hear the text. Siri will also ask you if you want to reply.
This It seems like a small inconvenience, but it means you must take your eyes off the road and your hands off the wheel. If you don’t catch the notification in time, then you must press the icon in CarPlay to show the home screen. Then you click on the messages icon and then touch the person who sent you the text.
You can ask Siri to read the texts you received but it will read all the texts you received including all your unread texts even the ones you would normally ignore.
I haven’t figured out if there’s a way to ask Siri if she can read ONLY the latest text you received. There may be a Siri command for this,
If you were driving alone, you can turn on “Announce Notifications” in the settings of your iPhone and then when you receive a text, the text Siri will read the text through your radio without asking. I say that when you’re driving alone because if you have a business associate in your car, you may not want them to hear the message.
If you want to listen to the radio, you press the home button on the steering wheel, navigate to and select radio. If you want the navigation instructions to be announced through your phone. You must press the home button on the steering wheel twice an unselect your phone. When you are ready to go back to media, you press the home button on your steering wheel and navigate to media and be sure that your phone is selected.
These are the only differences I found with the EleBest solution.
If you have an issue, where things do not work, check steps nine to 11 below and confirm the system is properly configured. If all else fails, I suggest you disconnect the dongle, turn off the car, let it sit for two minutes and then plug the dongle back in and start from scratch following the steps nine to 11 below. . It’s not very hard and only takes a few minutes.
To help you know what to expect during the install here are the install steps:
Step one:
You install a program called TeamViewer on your PC. You install the free version. To get TeamViewer click the link below.
Once you run Team Viewer, take a photo of the page with the ID and password and send that photo to Max.
.
Step four:
Max connects to your computer and then connects via the OBD port to your radio head unit and copies the configuration of your current head unit.
Step five:
You or someone, must install the new head unit. I paid a Mercedes mechanic to do this.
Step Six.
Max uses TeamViewer again to update the software on the replacement head unit and he reloads the configuration he copied in step four.
Step seven:
You need to upload the most current map software.
Step eight:
Max will also send you a USB A dongle and a USB A to USB C connector. Plug the dongle into the USB C port in the cup holder where I would normally plug wired CarPlay.
Step Nine:
Turn on your Bluetooth and Wifi.
Connect to “Smart Box” via Bluetooth.
Almost instantly Smart Box will disconnect from Bluetooth and connect to Wi-Fi.
Step 10:
Open Bluetooth and connect to your phone.
Step 11:
Touch the Home button on your steering wheel and navigate to Media. Touch Home again and be sure you select your phone, which is also the phone you connected to in step 10.
At this point you are finished. Each time you get in the car and start it Car Play will launch.
Here is my report on the use and install of the "The EleBest CarPlay Solution".
If you reply PLEASE do not copy the whole message as it will take up a lot of space in the thread.
My experience is with iPhone 15, CarPlay, MBUX NTG 6 in a 2021 Mercedes W213 E Class. I do not know the process for Android Auto or other cars
This solution offers full screen CarPlay but there are minor compromises. At the same time there are several major improvements over MBUX 6 which is the default in my car.
One obvious improvement is having full screen CarPlay. This is a big improvement.it is like having a 24 inch computer monitor over a 12 inch. I am VERY happy with the added real-estate.
Another improvement is that this package offers wireless CarPlay. When I start the car, I immediately have CarPlay. No wait time, no need to plug in. That is a big improvement and very nice.
Max is a good and honest guy and he is very helpful. I am glad I bought from him.
The Compromises:
If you play the radio the navigation instructions do not mute the radio and are not heard through the car radio. You can however, set it up to announce directions to the phone. To me this is a minor compromise. I solve this by using Apple Music to listen to radio stations.
Receiving texts and asking Siri to read them is slower. When you receive a text Siri will not ask you if you want to hear the text as with MBUX. A notification pops up on the screen, and you must touch the notification before it goes away and then Siri will ask you if you want to hear the text. Siri will also ask you if you want to reply.
This It seems like a small inconvenience, but it means you must take your eyes off the road and your hands off the wheel. If you don’t catch the notification in time, then you must press the icon in CarPlay to show the home screen. Then you click on the messages icon and then touch the person who sent you the text.
You can ask Siri to read the texts you received but it will read all the texts you received including all your unread texts even the ones you would normally ignore.
I haven’t figured out if there’s a way to ask Siri if she can read ONLY the latest text you received. There may be a Siri command for this,
If you were driving alone, you can turn on “Announce Notifications” in the settings of your iPhone and then when you receive a text, the text Siri will read the text through your radio without asking. I say that when you’re driving alone because if you have a business associate in your car, you may not want them to hear the message.
If you want to listen to the radio, you press the home button on the steering wheel, navigate to and select radio. If you want the navigation instructions to be announced through your phone. You must press the home button on the steering wheel twice an unselect your phone. When you are ready to go back to media, you press the home button on your steering wheel and navigate to media and be sure that your phone is selected.
These are the only differences I found with the EleBest solution.
If you have an issue, where things do not work, check steps nine to 11 below and confirm the system is properly configured. If all else fails, I suggest you disconnect the dongle, turn off the car, let it sit for two minutes and then plug the dongle back in and start from scratch following the steps nine to 11 below. . It’s not very hard and only takes a few minutes.
To help you know what to expect during the install here are the install steps:
Step one:
You install a program called TeamViewer on your PC. You install the free version. To get TeamViewer click the link below.
Once you run Team Viewer, take a photo of the page with the ID and password and send that photo to Max.
.
Step four:
Max connects to your computer and then connects via the OBD port to your radio head unit and copies the configuration of your current head unit.
Step five:
You or someone, must install the new head unit. I paid a Mercedes mechanic to do this.
Step Six.
Max uses TeamViewer again to update the software on the replacement head unit and he reloads the configuration he copied in step four.
Step seven:
You need to upload the most current map software.
Step eight:
Max will also send you a USB A dongle and a USB A to USB C connector. Plug the dongle into the USB C port in the cup holder where I would normally plug wired CarPlay.
Step Nine:
Turn on your Bluetooth and Wifi.
Connect to “Smart Box” via Bluetooth.
Almost instantly Smart Box will disconnect from Bluetooth and connect to Wi-Fi.
Step 10:
Open Bluetooth and connect to your phone.
Step 11:
Touch the Home button on your steering wheel and navigate to Media. Touch Home again and be sure you select your phone, which is also the phone you connected to in step 10.
At this point you are finished. Each time you get in the car and start it Car Play will launch.
If you have questions let me know.
thanks phil
Fantastic Phil, great documentation and accolade regarding Max,
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