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Just tried the installation the second time. still mixed results.
With the passcode to access the android setting, I was able to make these progress:
- Got OEM screen working
- Got audio via Aux working (the audio quality is not as good, but I can live with it)
But I still can't get backup camera working. it shows a black screen with some overlay and text "No signal" even though the OEM screen works. unfortunately this is a deal breaker, can't live without.
-- I had same issue and its just matter of selecting right display screen.
After entering factory code, from left select "Car Display" and select NTG4.5_400X240_5.8(2013-2015)
-- Also under camera selection, make sure you have selected 360 camera (or try selecting OEM)
My car is outside and its cold , if need more help, I can make some live screen shots. Let me know
Originally Posted by hovr
Just tried the installation the second time. still mixed results.
With the passcode to access the android setting, I was able to make these progress:
- Got OEM screen working
- Got audio via Aux working (the audio quality is not as good, but I can live with it)
But I still can't get backup camera working. it shows a black screen with some overlay and text "No signal" even though the OEM screen works. unfortunately this is a deal breaker, can't live without.
Last edited by geekoncall; Apr 10, 2021 at 02:05 AM.
@geekoncall Thank you for offering help!, I had the 'Car Display" settings adjusted already that's why I got OEM screen working, I just found another youtube video on the camera setting and I found mine was set on aftermarket camera, after I corrected that everything worked!
One thing really bugs me is that I can't find a good way to switch from Android screen directly to OEM screen, the best way I found is the 'CLR' button next to the center console knob would bring me from any android app to the android Home screen, then I had to move the NTG menu, but that's too much work. do you know a better way?
Thanks again!
@geekoncall Thank you for offering help!, I had the 'Car Display" settings adjusted already that's why I got OEM screen working, I just found another youtube video on the camera setting and I found mine was set on aftermarket camera, after I corrected that everything worked!
One thing really bugs me is that I can't find a good way to switch from Android screen directly to OEM screen, the best way I found is the 'CLR' button next to the center console knob would bring me from any android app to the android Home screen, then I had to move the NTG menu, but that's too much work. do you know a better way?
Thanks again!
I honestly dont even remember when was the last time I use OEM menu. When I was setting it up, I would just swipe with my finger down (from top left of screen, just like a phone) and select home. I have assigned my backup camera to one of favourite around Knob. See if you can assign OEM screen to one of that favourite? in this way, you will just hit favourite button and it will bring back OEM screen.
Just out of curiosity, why would you use OEM screen menu for? My Car play starts as soon as I start the car. I have also paired Phone with Car bluetooth so when playing music etc on Phone, I select Car bluetooth from Phone lock screen instead Car Play. I decided not to use AUX.
I honestly dont even remember when was the last time I use OEM menu. When I was setting it up, I would just swipe with my finger down (from top left of screen, just like a phone) and select home. I have assigned my backup camera to one of favourite around Knob. See if you can assign OEM screen to one of that favourite? in this way, you will just hit favourite button and it will bring back OEM screen.
Just out of curiosity, why would you use OEM screen menu for? My Car play starts as soon as I start the car. I have also paired Phone with Car bluetooth so when playing music etc on Phone, I select Car bluetooth from Phone lock screen instead Car Play. I decided not to use AUX.
@geekoncall I use it mostly for radio, but just realized with NPR One and Audible, I won't be using radio as much. BTW, how do you automatically starts carplay when car starts? I can't seem to find any settings except assigning zlink as navi app for navi button.
@geekoncall I use it mostly for radio, but just realized with NPR One and Audible, I won't be using radio as much. BTW, how do you automatically starts carplay when car starts? I can't seem to find any settings except assigning zlink as navi app for navi button.
that Zlink/Phone link is useless, even though officially instruction also recommended using that app, I found them slow and sluggish. Click on Android apps, that will bring all app screen. You see now one app name SpeedPlay? Thats car play. Remove previously bluetooth pairing and then launch speedplay, connect using bluetooth and wait until it pairs. Now you carplay is setup. It might be a bit slow at first 1,2 launches but eventually it will settled down.
that Zlink/Phone link is useless, even though officially instruction also recommended using that app, I found them slow and sluggish. Click on Android apps, that will bring all app screen. You see now one app name SpeedPlay? Thats car play. Remove previously bluetooth pairing and then launch speedplay, connect using bluetooth and wait until it pairs. Now you carplay is setup. It might be a bit slow at first 1,2 launches but eventually it will settled down.
oh man. Can you connect screen to wifi and try to find on playstore?
Or maybe contact customer support where you bought this device? I bought it from Aliexpress and app came as pre-installed/registered version.
@geekoncall I sent my previous comment while on my way out and should have included a bit more info - I have searched Playstore and this app isn't available there. I also tried to find it from apk download sites but couldn't find anything that I can trust. This app likely requires elevated permission that Google do not want to endorse, and downloading from untrustworthy sites can be fairly dangerous. I have a android phone with no sim card and no personal information on it, which I can afford to put any apk, but this is a head unit that takes a lot effort to install/uninstall and I am not ready to take this kind of risk
It's been 2 days since I had the android screen installed, want to share some experience of the installation and hopefully it would help folks that going though this in the future.
1. Remove old display. This is relatively easy, plenty of videos on how to do this. the most difficult step is removing the vent cover. you need some patience and try to remove the metal and plastic parts together, don't pry the metal part away from the plastic ones.
2. Mic - after reading some other thread on this topic, I decided to install an external mic to improve call quality. I installed the mic on steering wheel behind the wiper level. There is a small opening at the bottom of the leather boots, you can use a more rigid wire to fish the 3.5mm plug from that opening to the HU bay. I tested the mic and verified sound quality was decent on both end of the call.
3. Aux cable and USB cables, I have decided to run aux cable to the center console aux plug. the center console isn't hard to remove, there are 8 screws to loosen, most difficult one is the ash tray one, the process is already covered in many other places so I won't repeat it here, one tip I came up with is the to use a very thin putty knife to push into the top of half opened tray, this creates a 'ramp' for the plastic tab, so you can pull the tray all the way out easily without the risk of breaking the tab.
4. I also ran the 2 USB cables to the center console, in case in the future I need to use a wired solution for Android Auto or whatever. I just don't want to go through the HU removal/replace process again. I used a 2 port USB 3.0 flush mount extension and cut an openning below the AMI plug. (see attachment)
5. While I was at adding 2 new USB ports, I spliced 2 wires from the 12v socket at the back of the center console and put a new 12v socket inside the center console, this allow me to get a QC3.0 charger there and charge my phone much faster. I think this is needed as I will be using Carplay a lot and it drains battery fairly fast. I could use the cigarrette lighter socket at the front, but I want to have the cup holder bay closed when they are not in use, just to keep things tide up.
6. The "No signal" problem. there are 3 different type of "no signal" problem. a), the OEM screen one, this has been covered everywhere, you just need to select proper NTG display in factory settings. b) reverse camera no signal problem - also under settings (but not factory settings) you need to select the OEM camera - mine was set to aftermarket camera. c) This one I was not able to figure out, but hopefully I don't see it often - basically while I was playing Spotify with Carplay, suddenly the screen went black with "no signal" displayed off center (in top right quadrant of the screen). music still plays, but screen no longer responded to anything I do. eventually I had to turn off the key and let it reboot.
Overall it's a huge improvement over the stock COMAND system, I have 3 navi/map systems in car play, any of these are light years ahead of MB's map. I also have Spotify, Audible, NPR One, which is much better than using the apps on the phone. (somehow my Bluetooth audio streaming isn't reliable, I often had to recycle bluetooth connection, hope that's a thing of pass with this.
But it's not without cons. here are a few so if you are considering this, you get the no-so-rosy side as well.
1. Overall the system isn't engineered to be as reliable as MB's system, this should not surprise anyone. in 2 days of use I ran into that black screen (no signal) once, which is a clear indication of that. I hope that's a rare case. and I will update this thread in a couple of month.
2. Sometimes the knob doesn't work to control the android screen - this happens every time I starts the car, it seems like the android screen has no UI focus - I have to touch a button for it to gain the focus, then I can use the knob to move back and forth. Not a big deal.
3. Carplay sometimes stutters - not as often as bring super annoying, but you will notice it. I think it's probably because it's over wifi. That's also the motivation for me to add that 12v socket.
4. Carplay in this unit is done through an app called zlink, but it's kind of a long wait from you turning the car key to a carplay screen is fully presented to you.
5. Audio quality over Aux isn't as good as bluetooth. feels more like FM.
It's been 2 days since I had the android screen installed, want to share some experience of the installation and hopefully it would help folks that going though this in the future.
1. Remove old display. This is relatively easy, plenty of videos on how to do this. the most difficult step is removing the vent cover. you need some patience and try to remove the metal and plastic parts together, don't pry the metal part away from the plastic ones.
2. Mic - after reading some other thread on this topic, I decided to install an external mic to improve call quality. I installed the mic on steering wheel behind the wiper level. There is a small opening at the bottom of the leather boots, you can use a more rigid wire to fish the 3.5mm plug from that opening to the HU bay. I tested the mic and verified sound quality was decent on both end of the call.
3. Aux cable and USB cables, I have decided to run aux cable to the center console aux plug. the center console isn't hard to remove, there are 8 screws to loosen, most difficult one is the ash tray one, the process is already covered in many other places so I won't repeat it here, one tip I came up with is the to use a very thin putty knife to push into the top of half opened tray, this creates a 'ramp' for the plastic tab, so you can pull the tray all the way out easily without the risk of breaking the tab.
4. I also ran the 2 USB cables to the center console, in case in the future I need to use a wired solution for Android Auto or whatever. I just don't want to go through the HU removal/replace process again. I used a 2 port USB 3.0 flush mount extension and cut an openning below the AMI plug. (see attachment)
5. While I was at adding 2 new USB ports, I spliced 2 wires from the 12v socket at the back of the center console and put a new 12v socket inside the center console, this allow me to get a QC3.0 charger there and charge my phone much faster. I think this is needed as I will be using Carplay a lot and it drains battery fairly fast. I could use the cigarrette lighter socket at the front, but I want to have the cup holder bay closed when they are not in use, just to keep things tide up.
6. The "No signal" problem. there are 3 different type of "no signal" problem. a), the OEM screen one, this has been covered everywhere, you just need to select proper NTG display in factory settings. b) reverse camera no signal problem - also under settings (but not factory settings) you need to select the OEM camera - mine was set to aftermarket camera. c) This one I was not able to figure out, but hopefully I don't see it often - basically while I was playing Spotify with Carplay, suddenly the screen went black with "no signal" displayed off center (in top right quadrant of the screen). music still plays, but screen no longer responded to anything I do. eventually I had to turn off the key and let it reboot.
Overall it's a huge improvement over the stock COMAND system, I have 3 navi/map systems in car play, any of these are light years ahead of MB's map. I also have Spotify, Audible, NPR One, which is much better than using the apps on the phone. (somehow my Bluetooth audio streaming isn't reliable, I often had to recycle bluetooth connection, hope that's a thing of pass with this.
But it's not without cons. here are a few so if you are considering this, you get the no-so-rosy side as well.
1. Overall the system isn't engineered to be as reliable as MB's system, this should not surprise anyone. in 2 days of use I ran into that black screen (no signal) once, which is a clear indication of that. I hope that's a rare case. and I will update this thread in a couple of month.
2. Sometimes the knob doesn't work to control the android screen - this happens every time I starts the car, it seems like the android screen has no UI focus - I have to touch a button for it to gain the focus, then I can use the knob to move back and forth. Not a big deal.
3. Carplay sometimes stutters - not as often as bring super annoying, but you will notice it. I think it's probably because it's over wifi. That's also the motivation for me to add that 12v socket.
4. Carplay in this unit is done through an app called zlink, but it's kind of a long wait from you turning the car key to a carplay screen is fully presented to you.
5. Audio quality over Aux isn't as good as bluetooth. feels more like FM.
Thanks for your feedback. Mine was delivered today but I'm just going to return it to them for a full refund. I think there are just too many compromises/annoyances for me. I have carplay in my oem screen and use it the most, it will drive me nuts if it's stutter, also sound quality is really important to me so it sounding like FM would drive me nuts. There are just too many querks for my liking. They told me they wouldn't charge me a restocking fee because I'm not even opening the main box. I did open the shipping box just to see what it was (I get a lot of deliveries) So I plan on taping thw box back up and sending it back on Wednesday.
If you already have carplay with OEM screen, then there really isn't a compelling reason for this mod, For me the carplay really worths the compromise, I have owned the car for 7 years, the only time I used its gps nav was on dealer's lot. So it's really a day a night difference. Yesterday I drove the car to a restaurant to pick up some food, the stutter didn't happen but I had the phone plugged in the new 12v charger so that probably boost wifi signal strength.
If you already have
carplay with OEM screen, then there really isn't a compelling reason for this mod, For me the carplay really worths the compromise, I have owned the car for 7 years, the only time I used its gps nav was on dealer's lot. So it's really a day a night difference. Yesterday I drove the car to a restaurant to pick up some food, the stutter didn't happen but I had the phone plugged in the new 12v charger so that probably boost wifi signal strength.
For the sound, I am not using aux at all. I connect bluetooth from phone to native car bluetooth and use car play for navigation etc. It gives me original sound quality. I am surprised why 4X4 guys dont have SpeedPlay app integrated while most units on aliexpress being sold do have. I assume they all coming from China?
Thanks, once I figure out everything I will definitely try that. I used to have BT with OEM HU work together flowlessly, but since last year, maybe it's the new IOS upgrade, I can stream audio for about 20 minutes, then BT stopped working. I had to reboot my phone to get BT back, That's why I want to make sure aux is installed properly. I have also messaged 4x4 to check if they have SpeedPlay.
Yesterday I also tried the USB port I installed with wired Android Auto, it worked, so I will get roughly the same experience if I switched to Android, that's a plus.
Originally Posted by geekoncall
For the sound, I am not using aux at all. I connect bluetooth from phone to native car bluetooth and use car play for navigation etc. It gives me original sound quality. I am surprised why 4X4 guys dont have SpeedPlay app integrated while most units on aliexpress being sold do have. I assume they all coming from China?
Thanks, once I figure out everything I will definitely try that. I used to have BT with OEM HU work together flowlessly, but since last year, maybe it's the new IOS upgrade, I can stream audio for about 20 minutes, then BT stopped working. I had to reboot my phone to get BT back, That's why I want to make sure aux is installed properly. I have also messaged 4x4 to check if they have SpeedPlay.
Yesterday I also tried the USB port I installed with wired Android Auto, it worked, so I will get roughly the same experience if I switched to Android, that's a plus.
Most of your problems with the Android side of the unit would be solved by downgrading to a more stable (Blue) FW and using a custom car launcher. If your AUX sound quality is bad, then something is wrong. Possibly ground loop noise isolator. It's a wired stereo connection -- it should have no quality issues. As for the external mic -- this is a bad idea, just my two cents. The way the Android side of the unti works for the phone is to only use the driver speaker, versus COMAND BT phone calls utilizing all speakers in the car, and the specifically designed and engineered mic with noise canceling built it. The phone side of the Android screen is the absolute f*ing worst.
Personally, the stable set up I have, that has been working for almost 2 years without any of the BS you read about in terms of feedback around here is this.
1. Downgrade to UI 2 (the blue interface, and STABLE).
2. Use Carlauncher Pro to design custom home screen with apps you can actually move around
3. Use Macrodroid (if using android phone, find equivalent on iOS) to trigger mobile hotspot on phone when pairing with MB-Bluetooth to enable tethering for the Android side automatically when turning on car (and reverse for shutdown of car)
4. Install the apps you need instead of the shi**y carplay/z-link solutions that never work (Waze, Spotify, Podcasts etc).
5. Stream music through BT side of COMAND
6. For Music apps on Android side, if using this UI and Engineering Mode is configured correctly, when sound is trigger by an app on the Android side of screen, unit automatically switches COMAND input to AUX.
7. For switching back and forth between COMAND and Android side, tap "Back" button on joystick twice.
All of this had led to a painless and seamless experience of getting the bigger screen, modern apps when I need them, and not sacrificing the quality of BT streaming, of BT calls through the COMAND side of the system.
Installed mine a few days ago. Its the N600 Snapdragron 625 from Navifly on ALi, Same one sold by 4x4 but saved 200$ and only paid 21$ custom because I ask them to not declare over 100$.
I have no sound from the unit because I have AUX issue but it had nothing to do with the unit, I made a post asking for help. https://mbworld.org/forums/m-class-w...-no-sound.html
So far here's my review, the unit boot up in less then 20 second, I even change the boot up logo.
Android Car (Carplay) work great once you have it setup.
Original NTG fully accessible, 360 backup camera work but it's less bright for some reason.
4G SIM and hotspot for the kids work flawlessly. I put the antenna under the dashboard just behind the screen and always have full bars
GPS works also, I have the antenna on the dash on the corner of the driver side, pass the cord along the edges, in dash by the side panel all the way to the unit.
I have a GPS splitter coming because at first I wanted to use the OEM antenna but I don't know anymore since it's working fine. will see in future.
I also bought a DVR camera for ADAS that should arrive within a week, I ran the USB 1 of the unit over the glove compartment in the dashboard up to the side panel where the fuse box is. will use it for the DVR camera. USB 2 I put in the glove compartment.
I ran AUX out under the center console coming out from under the central compartment.
Very happy with the Unit and fairly easy to install after viewing a few videos and I'm no mechanic.
My only CON, it's that there's no instructions at all, not for installation and not for settings configuration.
Thx to the help of the community there's some great videos for the installation.
For the configuration, so many options in the setting that I have no clue what they are for and if I should use them.
Ive had the android 7 and 8 versions of this interface and my 8 is startingto get quirky. I really hate the Bluetoothsound from the unit didnt come back like the android 7 version had. That allowed you to not run any wires to the center console. You all are making me think hard of upping to the android 10 OS. .
[
QUOTE=ralph69;8317293]Hi
Installed mine a few days ago. Its the N600 Snapdragron 625 from Navifly on ALi, Same one sold by 4x4 but saved 200$ and only paid 21$ custom because I ask them to not declare over 100$.
I have no sound from the unit because I have AUX issue but it had nothing to do with the unit, I made a post asking for help. https://mbworld.org/forums/m-class-w...-no-sound.html
So far here's my review, the unit boot up in less then 20 second, I even change the boot up logo.
Android Car (Carplay) work great once you have it setup.
Original NTG fully accessible, 360 backup camera work but it's less bright for some reason.
4G SIM and hotspot for the kids work flawlessly. I put the antenna under the dashboard just behind the screen and always have full bars
GPS works also, I have the antenna on the dash on the corner of the driver side, pass the cord along the edges, in dash by the side panel all the way to the unit.
I have a GPS splitter coming because at first I wanted to use the OEM antenna but I don't know anymore since it's working fine. will see in future.
I also bought a DVR camera for ADAS that should arrive within a week, I ran the USB 1 of the unit over the glove compartment in the dashboard up to the side panel where the fuse box is. will use it for the DVR camera. USB 2 I put in the glove compartment.
I ran AUX out under the center console coming out from under the central compartment.
Very happy with the Unit and fairly easy to install after viewing a few videos and I'm no mechanic.
My only CON, it's that there's no instructions at all, not for installation and not for settings configuration.
Thx to the help of the community there's some great videos for the installation.
For the configuration, so many options in the setting that I have no clue what they are for and if I should use them.
Yesterday I was very frustrated but I want to be fair to 4x4shop.ca, the shipping was pretty fast, and I emailed them a couple of times about GPS antenna and they seemed to be responsive. since I need the car today, early in the morning before I got your comment about password I already put factory screen back in. so I can't try it for a few days (want to get all my questions answered before try it again)
In general if I get everything working, I would rate the product 8/10. and I rate MB's COMAND 3/10.
- On the mic - yes, I read somewehere that you need to poke a small hole on the faux leather covers the steering wheel, and run mic wire from there, this doesn't bother me to be honest. I have read from this forum that someone had very good quality call with this set up.
- On the GPS - No you don't have to use their GPS antenna (have that ugly thing on dashboard is UNACCEPTABLE), you can use the following adapters so the android unit and the COMAND unit can share MB factory GPS antenna.
Here is the factory connection:
Factory GPS antenna (Fakra female) -> COMAND unit (Fakra male)
Here is how you share the antenna:
Factory GPS antenna(Fakra female) -> splitter in (Fakra male). -> splitter out 1(fakra female) -> COMAND unit (Fakra male *)
splitter out 2 (fakra female) -> fakra to twist adapter(fakra male) -> twist connector -> android screen (twist connector)
* Note that the fakra male connector on MB COMAND unit has 2 'tongues' that are aligned with the grooves on female connector, but one of the tongues doesn't align with the one I got from Amazon, so I had to use a knife to remove it from the 2 male connectors. The one on COMAND unit is a bit tricky, as I only have a utility knife, but I managed to get it removed after about 5 minutes. and I tested it with google map and it worked fine.
- You also need to run audio cable from the head unit to your center console AMI plug, this is probably the most difficult one for me (haven't done it yet) but I think this should be a piece of cake for professionals that does this on regular basis.
One thing that really concerned me though, yesterday I had everything connected, and was trying to figure out the password issue, I left the unit connected for about 2 hours with the overhead led light on, at the end I found my battery was drained to the point that my car wouldn't start and I had to jump it.
do you have a picture of the GPS cable?
which one is it?
i have the splitter from amazon.
also password for andorid factory mode
666666
or
190627
Ive had the android 7 and 8 versions of this interface and my 8 is startingto get quirky. I really hate the Bluetoothsound from the unit didnt come back like the android 7 version had. That allowed you to not run any wires to the center console. You all are making me think hard of upping to the android 10 OS.
You don't need to run AUX in the center console anymore with the new unit. With the cable harness that comes with the unit there's a AUX female you can use.
I found out because I had no sound from AUX when testing the unit with the AUX from center console, even the vendor didn't know.
I saw the one from the cable harness and EUREKA!
Yesterday I was very frustrated but I want to be fair to 4x4shop.ca, the shipping was pretty fast, and I emailed them a couple of times about GPS antenna and they seemed to be responsive. since I need the car today, early in the morning before I got your comment about password I already put factory screen back in. so I can't try it for a few days (want to get all my questions answered before try it again)
In general if I get everything working, I would rate the product 8/10. and I rate MB's COMAND 3/10.
- On the mic - yes, I read somewehere that you need to poke a small hole on the faux leather covers the steering wheel, and run mic wire from there, this doesn't bother me to be honest. I have read from this forum that someone had very good quality call with this set up.
- On the GPS - No you don't have to use their GPS antenna (have that ugly thing on dashboard is UNACCEPTABLE), you can use the following adapters so the android unit and the COMAND unit can share MB factory GPS antenna.
Here is the factory connection:
Factory GPS antenna (Fakra female) -> COMAND unit (Fakra male)
Here is how you share the antenna:
Factory GPS antenna(Fakra female) -> splitter in (Fakra male). -> splitter out 1(fakra female) -> COMAND unit (Fakra male *)
splitter out 2 (fakra female) -> fakra to twist adapter(fakra male) -> twist connector -> android screen (twist connector)
* Note that the fakra male connector on MB COMAND unit has 2 'tongues' that are aligned with the grooves on female connector, but one of the tongues doesn't align with the one I got from Amazon, so I had to use a knife to remove it from the 2 male connectors. The one on COMAND unit is a bit tricky, as I only have a utility knife, but I managed to get it removed after about 5 minutes. and I tested it with google map and it worked fine.
- You also need to run audio cable from the head unit to your center console AMI plug, this is probably the most difficult one for me (haven't done it yet) but I think this should be a piece of cake for professionals that does this on regular basis.
One thing that really concerned me though, yesterday I had everything connected, and was trying to figure out the password issue, I left the unit connected for about 2 hours with the overhead led light on, at the end I found my battery was drained to the point that my car wouldn't start and I had to jump it.
Thank you! This is my looking for answer of GPS splitter.
Weird that your aux sound quality is bad. Definitely a problem. Should be way better than Bluetooth quality because Bluetooth bitrate isn’t that great. If you want to play lossless music from Apple Music then you need that aux connection for higher quality because Bluetooth can’t stream lossless quality. That would be a huge deal breaker for me. FM radio quality isn’t acceptable with todays technology, unless high only have the base stereo system and not the HK system.
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
Slideshow: A one-of-one U.S.-spec Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster became even rarer after a factory-backed transformation at McLaren's headquarters.
, if need more help, I can make some live screen shots. Let me know
