Ive had this unit for about 2 months now. Purchased it from the US seller on amazon. It shipped within 24hrs from NY. Arrived in Florida in about 4 days.
It arrived in the typical plain white box, no thumbdrive with this one, no sd card. Not a big deal as i have plenty of both. Well packaged and un damaged.
The vehicle i installed it into is a 2016 Mustang GT, base model with the 4" screen and abomination that Ford likes to call "sync".
Without getting into why, I wanted a head unit that would have navigation and run apps without all of the nanny controls you find on the more common units, and did NOT retain ford sync. If anyone has ever been on a mustang forum, you will see half the threads are complaints about the factory sync, or people testing out various Chinese replacements for the base system. None of these options interested me as i would be still stuck with sync. So i discovered these types of android head units first on ebay, then some research on youtube lead me to the "Joying" brand. Some pretty favorable reviews here so i decided to take the plunge on this unit: h t t p s :// w w w .carjoying.com/android-5-1-car-stereo/android-5-1-car-stereo-2din/newest-joying-2016-automotive-lollipop-android-5-1-1-universal-7-inch-car-head-unit-double-2-din-autoradio-gps-navigation-system-quad-core-hd-1024-600-radio-stereo-audio-16gb-support-revers.h t m l
I figured it was more money than the typical china mustang screen upgrades, but less money than i would spend on an alpine or pioneer that still would not do what i wanted.
Contrary to what most people told me, there was plenty of room behind the dash, as long as you use a bezel from a premium model. I was able to complete the install to this point without cutting ONE SINGLE WIRE thanks to a member on mustang6g forum who made me a custom harness. In fact, Joying didnt even want to sell me the unit as they said it would not fit, despite my sending them pictures showing it would. It was as if the world wants you to suffer with a garbage radio if you own a 16 mustang lol.
So far this uint has performed nearly flawlessly. It has never frozen on me, or even slowed down on me for that matter. I am able to run pandora, spotify-yes spotify! waze, google maps and navigation, chrome, even netflix. I was rather surprised just how well all the apps run on it as ive read threads on here where people have had issues with some of these apps, but it runs just as fast or faster than my galaxy s5. The only thing ive seen happen is if you try to run apps as its still booting up it will bog down.
The sound quality of the built in speaker level amp is very good. much better than stock. I have not tried using the pre-amp outputs yet or the sub output. The factory equalizer does its thing, has a fader but not a spacializer. It appears to be able to use the steering wheel controls but i have not tried to tackle that yet. Also, there is an area where it appears you can read the vehicle can bus, but i have no idea how to connect that as there is almost nothing on the market for the 15-16 mustang yet.
Here is a bad video i made of it lol: h t t p s :// youtu.be/VDxKmkw_as8
If anyone on this forum can point me in the right direction as far as steering wheel controls or can bus connection I would really appreciate it, and of course ill try my best to answer any questions about my experiences with this unit.
Also, i thought i saw there is a contact for JoyingUSA on this forum? Maybe he could offer some guidance.
Thanks
Nick
doctorman is the Joying guy.
Glad to see a good review
Interesting to read the unit works fine for you. I got the equivalent for Volkswagen (EU-JY-VQ125) and got some issues:
The radio app often forgets station names, but at least it refreshes them later during operation.
The radio reception and sound quality is quite bad (with dual aerial + amplifier built in car) compared to OEM.
The "Media" (Music) app has problems with MP3 tracks (on SD card): often it takes a lot of fiddling to get the tracks list (it takes a lot of time after inserting the SD card, occassionally no storage type (internal, SD) is listed at all), often the tracks cannot be changed by tapping on the new directory in the tracks list - the GUI returns to the main app screen, but the original tracks continue to play and the new selection is completely ignored). It is pretty dangerous to operate the HU while driving...
The "Media" button cannot be assigned to a different Music app and even if it can be, the other apps do not work well with the system (e.g. you easily get both Radio and MP3 playback simultaneously).
A note on the 3rd party app Waze: The GUI has always been bad for landscape mode, but since the version 4, Google really screwed it. In navigation mode, the half top of the screen is used by driving directions and notifications and as a result, it is unusable for navigation because there is not enough map shown in front of the car symbol.
CadillacMike said:
doctorman is the Joying guy.
Glad to see a good review
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey CM, I just bought a Joying in 5.1.1 and of course mining all I can before the install. I was wondering if you have already put one of these in your Caddy? I have a CTS w/o amp or at least I don't think it has an amp since its not a Bose system. Hudson has a vid on YouTube showing cutting into the middle plug on the DIC unit with RCA plugs......... how would that work w/o an amp? Also I'm reading these units are a tad bigger than American uints.... how much I tad?
By the way, I'm just across the river from you....
garythompson said:
Hey CM, I just bought a Joying in 5.1.1 and of course mining all I can before the install. I was wondering if you have already put one of these in your Caddy? I have a CTS w/o amp or at least I don't think it has an amp since its not a Bose system. Hudson has a vid on YouTube showing cutting into the middle plug on the DIC unit with RCA plugs......... how would that work w/o an amp? Also I'm reading these units are a tad bigger than American uints.... how much I tad?
By the way, I'm just across the river from you....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no sorry, I'm actually no longer a Cadillac man, I traded it in on the Jeep Wrangler I have. I previously had a 2011 CTS, with the pop up Nav screen, and I dont know how you'd get one of these to work in it.
cogano said:
Interesting to read the unit works fine for you. I got the equivalent for Volkswagen (EU-JY-VQ125) and got some issues:
The radio app often forgets station names, but at least it refreshes them later during operation.
The radio reception and sound quality is quite bad (with dual aerial + amplifier built in car) compared to OEM.
The "Media" (Music) app has problems with MP3 tracks (on SD card): often it takes a lot of fiddling to get the tracks list (it takes a lot of time after inserting the SD card, occassionally no storage type (internal, SD) is listed at all), often the tracks cannot be changed by tapping on the new directory in the tracks list - the GUI returns to the main app screen, but the original tracks continue to play and the new selection is completely ignored). It is pretty dangerous to operate the HU while driving...
The "Media" button cannot be assigned to a different Music app and even if it can be, the other apps do not work well with the system (e.g. you easily get both Radio and MP3 playback simultaneously).
A note on the 3rd party app Waze: The GUI has always been bad for landscape mode, but since the version 4, Google really screwed it. In navigation mode, the half top of the screen is used by driving directions and notifications and as a result, it is unusable for navigation because there is not enough map shown in front of the car symbol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry you are having issues with yours, im still really please with mine.
Re the fm radio i so rarely use fm radio i would not even really notice if it was gone completely lol. but i will say after reading this i checked and the reception is weaker than stock.
ill have to try playing off the sd card.
ill take a shot of waze, i use it very often and have had no issues with that app.
jekyllrider said:
Sorry you are having issues with yours, im still really please with mine.
Re the fm radio i so rarely use fm radio i would not even really notice if it was gone completely lol. but i will say after reading this i checked and the reception is weaker than stock.
ill have to try playing off the sd card.
ill take a shot of waze, i use it very often and have had no issues with that app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here is the answer concerning SWC: http://mustangforums.com/forum/2005...in-factory-steering-wheel-audio-controls.html
Hi everyone.
I've been looking into head units and came across this forum. I've spent many hours scouring through the threads here. This is an awesome place!!
I wanted to ask a couple of questions that I haven't found solid answers for as yet.
I'm looking at this unit - JY-NM124N2 as it is supposed to suit my Nissan. Should I be looking at something else or would this be a decent choice?
Question 1 is how well do they "plug & play" with the original equipment?
Question 2 regards the boot up time. If I turn the car off for the night. When I start it in the morning (10 hours later), will it be a 15 second boot or just a 2-3 second boot? I've read conflicting answers. (e.g. Does the unit shut down or just sleep?)
Questing 3 regards Google Maps. I know on a phone, you can download maps for offline use, but they get deleted after 30 days I think. Can maps be downloaded permanently for these units as I won't have internet on this thing most of the time.
Cheers for your time.
Hoffy.
Hoffy76 said:
Hi everyone.
I've been looking into head units and came across this forum. I've spent many hours scouring through the threads here. This is an awesome place!!
I wanted to ask a couple of questions that I haven't found solid answers for as yet.
I'm looking at this unit - JY-NM124N2 as it is supposed to suit my Nissan. Should I be looking at something else or would this be a decent choice?
Question 1 is how well do they "plug & play" with the original equipment?
Question 2 regards the boot up time. If I turn the car off for the night. When I start it in the morning (10 hours later), will it be a 15 second boot or just a 2-3 second boot? I've read conflicting answers. (e.g. Does the unit shut down or just sleep?)
Questing 3 regards Google Maps. I know on a phone, you can download maps for offline use, but they get deleted after 30 days I think. Can maps be downloaded permanently for these units as I won't have internet on this thing most of the time.
Cheers for your time.
Hoffy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mostly plug and play. You mentioned a brand and not a specific model etc so its hard to tell. Many of these units don't need anything extra to interface with steering buttons etc. If you have an external amp you may need to obtain a wiring harness made for that to mate to the unit. Not always though since Joying does have some model specific wiring harnesses.
If things are working there should be a short boot most of the time.
I personally don't know about google map offline map expiration, but 30 days seems acceptable. You can use a hotspot on your car or pull up to a cafe with wife and not even get out of the car. I use Here maps which does a great job with offline maps and offline mode, but its a personal preference.
Thanks for the quick reply.
The boot time is the most important detail I was trying to confirm.
I guess there are other Navi apps that include offline maps that I could buy if Google maps isn't useful to me.
Would be keen to hear others experience with boot times too.
Cheers.
Hoffy76 said:
Thanks for the quick reply.
The boot time is the most important detail I was trying to confirm.
I guess there are other Navi apps that include offline maps that I could buy if Google maps isn't useful to me.
Would be keen to hear others experience with boot times too.
Cheers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you switch the unit to Dormancy on, it will take 1-3 seconds. After 72 hours (or so), it will go to deep sleep and it will take slightly longer.
If you really switch it off it has to completely boot which will take longer.
Google maps has this 30 policy. It has absolutely nothing to do with Joying, or Witson, or Samsung or Lenovo/Motorola or whatever brand.
So of course this same 30 day policy is also applicable for the joying.
Hoffy76 said:
I'm looking at this unit - JY-NM124N2 as it is supposed to suit my Nissan. Should I be looking at something else or would this be a decent choice?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My opinion is that the Joying Intel Sofia it's best at the moment hardware wise... maybe not so good software wise but it's mode then adequate with the mods that we have right now.
Hoffy76 said:
Question 1 is how well do they "plug & play" with the original equipment?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For my Ford was plug and play with some minor nodifications.
Hoffy76 said:
Question 2 regards the boot up time. If I turn the car off for the night. When I start it in the morning (10 hours later), will it be a 15 second boot or just a 2-3 second boot? I've read conflicting answers. (e.g. Does the unit shut down or just sleep?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My experince : it maintains sleep mode for 3 days.... 72 hours... after that it shutsdown and the startup is 50-60 seconds boot up. More then adequate for daily use.
Hoffy76 said:
Questing 3 regards Google Maps. I know on a phone, you can download maps for offline use, but they get deleted after 30 days I think. Can maps be downloaded permanently for these units as I won't have internet on this thing most of the time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google maps is the same app no matter if it's on the phone of the headunit... same rules... 30 days. You can install other navigation apps with offline maps like Here We Go.
For more information about the Joying read my extensive Q&A from my signature.
Awesome. Thank you all for the great input.
You've convinced me this is the unit to buy. Will be getting one soon and will do some of the mods you guys have created. Hopefully, all goes well.
Keep up the great work.
Joying is pretty great
Hoffy76 said:
Hi everyone.
I've been looking into head units and came across this forum. I've spent many hours scouring through the threads here. This is an awesome place!!
I wanted to ask a couple of questions that I haven't found solid answers for as yet.
I'm looking at this unit - JY-NM124N2 as it is supposed to suit my Nissan. Should I be looking at something else or would this be a decent choice?
Question 1 is how well do they "plug & play" with the original equipment?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no such thing as "plug & play" when it comes to cars. You will need a dash kit, and you will need to either do some wiring, or buy a special wire made for between that radio and your car. Aftermarket radios don't even standardize amongst themselves.
Question 2 regards the boot up time. If I turn the car off for the night. When I start it in the morning (10 hours later), will it be a 15 second boot or just a 2-3 second boot? I've read conflicting answers. (e.g. Does the unit shut down or just sleep?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no boot up the next morning. When you turn on the ignition key, what it does is equivalent to turning the screen back on on your smartphone.
There is also nothing anywhere in it that is "15 seconds". If it has to do a full bootup, it takes a heck of a lot longer than 15 seconds.
Questing 3 regards Google Maps. I know on a phone, you can download maps for offline use, but they get deleted after 30 days I think. Can maps be downloaded permanently for these units as I won't have internet on this thing most of the time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure, just not with google maps. Try Alk Copilot.
luciusfox said:
There is no such thing as "plug & play" when it comes to cars. You will need a dash kit, and you will need to either do some wiring, or buy a special wire made for between that radio and your car. Aftermarket radios don't even standardize amongst themselves..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
normally I would agree with you, but Joying does make some things pretty close to plug and play. For my first Joying that was Jeep specific, it was plug and play.
I'm in the market for an Android head unit, but most reviews and posts are from people who have had problems. It would be helpful if people who have had good experiences with their units could let us know what they like and what units they chose. There are numerous complaints about lots of different tech from phones and tablets to washing machines. I know from experience that this can give a really lopsided view of a device or brand that isn't always accurate.
Like most people I would like an all singing, all dancing car radio (dab, sat nav, bluetooth hands-free), but can't justify lashing out loads of money on the big names. So what brands and models are actually worth taking a punt on. Surely all generic, Android units can't be bad?
I'd certainly appreciate hearing about the success stories.
Thank you.
@Rottgrub can you tell me what canbus adapter you used to make dasaita compatible with fender system ?
Recently bought a Owtosin PX6 720p head unit from AliExpress. While it's an not too bad I wished I would have bought an head unit from a well known manufacturer and a "real" seller.
The best system for a head unit is in my opinion Apple CarPlay. It's also more supported with updates then Android Auto. But an Sony/Kenwood/Pioneer or other known brand with Android Auto would probably been a better choice than this Chinese Android head unit.
Listing all pros and cons would be a really long post so I will try to do a shorter summary.
Support / warranty is almost non existing as soon as it's not possible to make a complaint to AliExpress anymore.
There is a lot of small and bigger bugs that can be frustrating and irritating, and they will probably never get fixed.
Handsfree sound quality is quite bad, both ways.
Reverse cam is unreliable.
Fading setting is not possible if you use your cars oem amplifier.
When using Android Auto (USB connection) the phone will draw more power than the head unit will provide. The fast charging USB port is not compatible with Android Auto.
No automatic brightness! On max brightness it's a little to dark a sunny day but way too bright on evenings and nights.
And more things that's irritating you almost every day.
iwl said:
Google Speech Recognition works not to bad even with laud background music so I hope it will work when driving.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
may i ask which units are capable of speech recognition and how to enable it (i have a Pumpkin PX5 CSN2)?
just in case my unit already has it, does it work without an internet connection? What can i do with it?
For the 300 Euros I paid mine is not to bad, even I haven't installed it in the car yet, but test it in my "lab", but hopefully it will fit, wiring problems I can solve sooner or later.
I bought it wanting the flexibility of an computer and know there is more to fiddle with for that.
Wanting that flexibility I'm most disappointed with the limited options for configuration.
E.g. mine switches of with Ignition off and there is no option to change that, like asking or after 30 min of inactivity, it should even not be a problem to monitor the Voltage and warn and switch off when the Battery gets low.
There seems to be no open interface to the CAN-Bus and so there are only few apps for advanced car control hacked somehow.
There also seem to be no proper official firmware support / update websites.
I only have my unit and be in the topic for one week now and looks like I have to invest more time to get it working the way I like.
Google Speech Recognition works not to bad even with laud background music so I hope it will work when driving.
Unfortunately Google Speech Recognition still misses some essential features like correcting if it doesn't understand spell, by nato alphabet, I say again.., correction... You can start a song by play singerxyz songxyz but you can't stop the music music stop, stop playing, I tryed a lot.
Radio receiving with some old wire only is quite good also the sound with some speakers I found somewhere for testing.
Some thoughts after owning a Joying JY-VM130N2D for a few weeks (installed in a Golf mk6):
Sound quality is at least as good as the original device (RCD310 in my case).
FM Radio app works ok.
IGo navigation and GPS works fine.
Interacts well with the cars air condition unit, i.e. a display pops up when temps, fanspeed etc. changes.
Car info works well except handbrake alert which seems to have an inverted logic.
The apps I use for music etc. works fine (Spotify, Netflix). Basically it is a working tablet in my car. Browsing the web is a bit slow.
Drawbacks:
There is no proper documentation with the unit. I especially miss explanation of the settings in the "Car settings" menus.
Dab+ reception with the supplied antenna (and DAB+ dongle) is really poor..
The supplied Dab+ app is very basic.
The supplied Bluetooth app is missing lots of functionality (imported contacts with multiple phone numbers only shows the first number, no favorites category, etc, etc).
But the really annoying drawbacks (In my opinion) are these:
Screen brightness is too high in darkness. You can work around this by installing e.g. LUX lite, but this means you have to run that program and manually adjust the brightness when needed.
The unit sometimes reboots when turning on the ignition (instead of waking up from sleep mode). There is no logic to when it boots and when it wakes from sleep. When it reboots you will have to restart any apps you had running the last time.
If I power off the unit (by pressing the power button for a few seconds) it will power off, however it does not "remember" this state the next time I start the car but pops to life with the volume and apps I had going before. This behavior is almost killing my wife...
I see some big security issues if you log on services like mail, goolge play etc. and the car/unit is stolen...
I am actually happy with my Ownice c500 Octacore
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I've owned four different units (Ownice C500, Joying SOFIA, Umecity, and Dasaita PX5), and I have to say that they are all decent units. Each has areas where they are very good, and areas where they are quirky. I think being happy is really going to depend on your individual expectations.
For me, I needed something both compatible with my car's Fender Amplifier, and that had instant-on backup camera functionality. The Dasaita PX5 was the only unit that gave me that. Everything else was gravy.
I play all of my media through Android applications (PowerAMP, XIIA, Google Music, Audible, etc). I handle my calls through Hangouts Dialer, and Google Voice directly on the head unit. I don't use Bluetooth at all, since it's both buggy on these units, and sounds crap even when it works properly. That means I don't bother trying to piggy back anything off my phone (Android Auto, etc), and therefore don't have to worry about any radio/phone compatibility issues.
All in all, I'm quite happy with the Dasaita V600 PX5 unit I have now. Works great without a lot of fussing with it.
I am on my 4th chinese unit. 2 with WinCE, 1 Witson dual core with android 4.4.2 and a Joying Intel Sofia (not the latest version with the fancy AMP) with android 6.
Out of the box they do work but all of there were far from ok.... at least for me. The Android ones were the ones that could be improved via software so I spend a lot of time making them work as best as possible. If you want to have a good Chinese Android headunit you need to mod them and you need to learn how to do it.... and you need to perform a lot of testing.... so overall you can have a good, stable, functional unit but you need to put in a lot of work.
Right now I am happy with my Joying.... it still has a few bugs that I hope someone will address them eventually...
After reading a lot on XDA I came to the conclusion that right now Joying is the way to go... there isn't a better alternative... at least for now...
velocity4 said:
I am actually happy with my Ownice c500
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it a quad or a octa core?
What for cpu brand is that quad core MT3561 and the octa core MT3562? It seems nobody knows who produce this cpu's.
edit said:
If you want to have a good Chinese Android headunit you need to mod them and you need to learn how to do it.... and you need to perform a lot of testing.... so overall you can have a good, stable, functional unit but you need to put in a lot of work.
Right now I am happy with my Joying.... it still has a few bugs that I hope someone will address them eventually...
After reading a lot on XDA I came to the conclusion that right now Joying is the way to go... there isn't a better alternative... at least for now...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you go for a Sofia 3GR unit, go for the Joying. As @edit mentions you still need to put quite some effort in it, but that's also due to the relatively new 6.0.1 android. I guess we will see a few more firmware updates before development slows down. Once it is stable you make the final changes and you do not need to touch it for a very long time and have a solid, rock-stable unit (maybe still with some quirks).
Sofia 3GR will be a dead platform "some time in the future" as the chipset is no longer actively developed.
Joying did show a 7.1 Android version video on Youtube and their site, but on one of their old PX3 models. My personal guess is that we will not see it on Sofia 3GR (but I have been wrong before and hope I'm now as well.)
Or you go for a PX5 MTCD. Choose a brand, not a "no-name" unit. Not because that guarantees a better unit, but hopefully (slightly) better support in case you need it.
Malaysk is a very active modder who created a nice Custom ROM for the PX5. PX5 will be expanding the coming months, whether you consider it a real improvement or not.
Don't go for an "old" PX3 even though they come already with Android 7.1. The PX3 is too old and slow, having not enough memory making it even slower.
But in the end you judge for yourself.
Flemischguy said:
Is it a quad or a octa core?
What for cpu brand is that quad core MT3561 and the octa core MT3562? It seems nobody knows who produce this cpu's.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's Octa. I can't look for a while.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I don't agree that you have to do extensive modding to have a decently working Android radio, though it does seem to apply to the Joying Intel units. I felt that this platform was very solid under 5.1.1, with a few simple scripts to add optional functionality or root. It's only been since the unstable release of 6.0.1 that it requires a lot of manual patching and maintenance.
So far, the Dasaita (Hotaudio) PX5 has regular firmware updates that actually seem to address problems that the community finds. Aside from updates, I've chosen to root, and remove what I felt is a questionable apk. Neither were game changing alterations, or even necessary.
Rottgrub said:
I don't agree that you have to do extensive modding to have a decently working Android radio, though it does seem to apply to the Joying Intel units.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did say that, but there are indeed a lot of users who don't do any modding at all and enjoy their Joying as a good unit. The point is maybe that some users want to do more with those units where they were not designed for.
Joying has released 5 official 6.0.1 ROM firmwares so far and at least one intermediate version that was delivered with their units between releases.
The last 2 versions still have some bugs but are generally good and stable: no modding necessary.
Real issues are:
the main "all connecting" server apk limits the use of navigation apps. I have mentioned that a dozen times but they don't seem to want to understand. (several mods available)
Another issue is that they do not allow USB-UVC cameras apart from their own cameras. It is hardcoded into the kernel.
Their bluetooth connection is also crippled in that they only allow phones and odbd plugs to connect (mod available)
Finally: RDS functions in the radio app are crippled. RDS-RT is hardly working. RDS-AF is completely incorrect implemented (seem to be general to chinese radio apps).
2nd and 3rd are not bugs but deliberately programmed limitations to promote sales of their own accessories.
But if you only use Google Maps or iGo, your phone over BT, and no accessories, you have a good working unit. Of course not having RDS AF in Europe sucks. I know Asia and USA don't care about that as they don't know/have the immensely dense populated and fragmented frequencies in those many small regions per country with other frequencies per region.
Rottgrub said:
I don't agree that you have to do extensive modding to have a decently working Android radio, though it does seem to apply to the Joying Intel units. I felt that this platform was very solid under 5.1.1, with a few simple scripts to add optional functionality or root. It's only been since the unstable release of 6.0.1 that it requires a lot of manual patching and maintenance.
So far, the Dasaita (Hotaudio) PX5 has regular firmware updates that actually seem to address problems that the community finds. Aside from updates, I've chosen to root, and remove what I felt is a questionable apk. Neither were game changing alterations, or even necessary.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you want to make the best of your unit, you need to put in the work. Think that these units are bought by a lot more people than the ones that come in here... most don't have a clue about programming, adb, dos commands, scripts, permissions, folders, root. Let me explain a bit more :
1. Intel Sofia and PX5 - Because the default EQ is poor if not rubbish for many you need to install in a custom way not the way people are used to the Viper4Android that is one of the best if not the best software EQ solution to enhance the sound quality of the units (especially on the bass side of things). To be able to install the Viper4Android you need to root the unit and it's another thing that it's not for everyone.... so you need to learn how to do it...
2. out of the box you can BT tether on the Intel Sofia... again... you need to read, find the proper software, learn how to use the root explorer, make folders, copy, give permissions, setup, test it... again... it's not for everyone.
3. because the default music players are very poor in features and known formats you need to find the apps that offer you the best experience... not that complicated but involves a lot of testing and it's time consuming
4. out of the box the Intel Sofia kills all the apps on shutdown so every time you start the unit you need to start the apps, in some cases load the playlist and make sure it does not start each day with the same song... time consuming.
to fix it you need to install a mod... involves ADB, dos commands... again... not very complicated but not a piece of cake either for the vast majority...
5. you need to redefine what hard buttons do, what apps they launch.... you need to mod a script... this is very complicated to learn if you are not into programming... again... lots of work till you figure out but most will skip this one
6. your unit overheats and you need to mod it with proper heatsink, fan... involves a tiny bit of electronics, some basic cooling knowledge... again... not for everyone and involves time to study
I can put in a lot more but I think It's enough for everyone to figure out what means work. Yes, I guess some could live with the poor default EQ, some could live without the automated BT tethering and toggle an phone Wi-FI hotspot each time they get into the car till they get sick of it, some could live starting the apps day after day because the Sofia Server kills then every time till they get sick of it... BUT if you want to have a great unit with all the possible problems removed... you NEED to put in the work, search, read, study, learn, ask, mod.
edit said:
If you want to make the best of your unit, you need to put in the work. Think that these units are bought by a lot more people than the ones that come in here... most don't have a clue about programming, adb, dos commands, scripts, permissions, folders, root. Let me explain a bit more :
1. Intel Sofia and PX5 - Because the default EQ is poor if not rubbish for many you need to install in a custom way not the way people are used to the Viper4Android that is one of the best if not the best software EQ solution to enhance the sound quality of the units (especially on the bass side of things). To be able to install the Viper4Android you need to root the unit and it's another thing that it's not for everyone.... so you need to learn how to do it...
2. out of the box you can BT tether on the Intel Sofia... again... you need to read, find the proper software, learn how to use the root explorer, make folders, copy, give permissions, setup, test it... again... it's not for everyone.
3. because the default music players are very poor in features and known formats you need to find the apps that offer you the best experience... not that complicated but involves a lot of testing and it's time consuming
4. out of the box the Intel Sofia kills all the apps on shutdown so every time you start the unit you need to start the apps, in some cases load the playlist and make sure it does not start each day with the same song... time consuming.
to fix it you need to install a mod... involves ADB, dos commands... again... not very complicated but not a piece of cake either for the vast majority...
5. you need to redefine what hard buttons do, what apps they launch.... you need to mod a script... this is very complicated to learn if you are not into programming... again... lots of work till you figure out but most will skip this one
6. your unit overheats and you need to mod it with proper heatsink, fan... involves a tiny bit of electronics, some basic cooling knowledge... again... not for everyone and involves time to study
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I don't disagree. There is a lot that can be done with these units. I'm sure it's the main reason that we are all here. =) Having owned four of these current units, I just feel that there are solutions out there for most people that don't entail a lot of configuration. Again, it really depends on your individual needs. I hate to scare people off, thinking that all of these mods are required, when they really aren't for most people.
Responding to your points:
1: Since my car has an OEM amp, I think I may not hear some of the problems that a lot of users encounter with the EQ. With the VW Fender amplifier, the audio with both the Joying and Dasaita has been clean and strong. The basic EQs were sufficient to produce great sounding audio. I imagine that if you are relying on the various built-in amplifier chips, then this may be a vastly different experience.
2: It's cool that Joying made the BT stack available to Android, but I kinda feel like even at the best of times, Bluetooth is... not great. =) It's designed as a low bandwidth protocol, so pushing hi-def music, or other streaming data across it just doesn't seem worth the effort.
3: Definitely agree that the default apps are junk. That said, playing with all the different apps on the Play Store is half the fun with these units.
4: I'm really not sure why Joying uses these kill scripts. Android is built from the ground up to handle power management and deep sleep. That said, there are workarounds. For instance, Automate launcher can reload your media app, even after a full power outage. Either that, or use a different vendor.
5: There is an app for this on Dasaita units. I haven't played with it much, but it seems to work well enough. Can map both short and long presses of the SWC buttons, and panel buttons.
6: Haven't had any overheats on any of the units I've been using, but can see this being potentially being an issue even with big name commercial units.
edit said:
I can put in a lot more but I think It's enough for everyone to figure out what means work. Yes, I guess some could live with the poor default EQ, some could live without the automated BT tethering and toggle an phone Wi-FI hotspot each time they get into the car till they get sick of it, some could live starting the apps day after day because the Sofia Server kills then every time till they get sick of it... BUT if you want to have a great unit with all the possible problems removed... you NEED to put in the work, search, read, study, learn, ask, mod.
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Click to collapse
These sound like really annoying problems, I feel kinda bad since I don't really encounter them. =) EQ issues aren't evident with my OEM amplifier. I don't like the audio quality over Bluetooth, so I don't use it. My Mobley hotspot starts with my car, and my calls go through Google Voice. I haven't noticed my apps being killed when I leave the car, so no issue with that either.
I have had mine for just under a year now, and I enjoy mine very much. It is a huge upgrade on the stock head unit (MP3CD), but that is not to say that it has been plug and play. It takes quite a bit of tweaking to get it how you like it. Support is patchy at best (apart from on XDA ofc!). The system is locked down to a certain degree, sometimes with odd choices (looking at you Bluetooth connection!).
I would def recmnd looking at rooting and cfw.
Certain things are frustrating (trying to get Tomtom to work, although that is more TomTom's fault), and the HU can be inconsistent in how it operates.
But.... when it all works, and you find the software that suits you, it is a pleasure to use. The good most certainly outweighs the bad.
So, am I happy with mine? Yes! Has it been easy? No, but the result feels better because I had to work for it, and now have a better understanding of what is underneath!
If you are tech savvy and not afraid of getting your hands dirty getting it to work, I would highly recmnd one!
surfer63 said:
I did say that, but there are indeed a lot of users who don't do any modding at all and enjoy their Joying as a good unit. The point is maybe that some users want to do more with those units where they were not designed for.
Joying has released 5 official 6.0.1 ROM firmwares so far and at least one intermediate version that was delivered with their units between releases.
The last 2 versions still have some bugs but are generally good and stable: no modding necessary.
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I'm very glad to hear that Joying is finally releasing stable 6.0.1 updates. The instability of Marshmallow was one of several deciding factors for me selling the unit. Others were lack of Fender amp support, and my wife complaining about the lack of volume buttons on the 9" bezel.
surfer63 said:
Of course not having RDS AF in Europe sucks. I know Asia and USA don't care about that as they don't know/have the immensely dense populated and fragmented frequencies in those many small regions per country with other frequencies per region.
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Be happy that you have radio worth listening to in Europe. =) In the US, most radio stations are so commercialized that it's not worth it. 10-15 minutes crappy, corporate sponsored and approved "music", 20 minutes of commercials at twice the volume, and then another 5-10 minutes of dumb shock jocks. Bleh... pass.
Rottgrub said:
I don't disagree. There is a lot that can be done with these units. I'm sure it's the main reason that we are all here. =) Having owned four of these current units, I just feel that there are solutions out there for most people that don't entail a lot of configuration. Again, it really depends on your individual needs. I hate to scare people off, thinking that all of these mods are required, when they really aren't for most people.
Click to expand...
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I want people to know the truth so I rather scare them a little then painting a pretty picture on how simple it is to mod this units, especially for people that lack the IT background.
Responding to your points also
1. My car does not have an amplif but has good speakers, above average. I was mainly disappointed with the bass these (android based) units put out... Viper was the only EQ app that made the sound a lot better... a lot closer to the original car headunit that had very good sound quality output.
2: I think you misunderstood me a bit here. When I was referring to BT tethering I was referring to connecting the headunit to the internet via bluetooth. I like this method because it drains a lot less battery from my phone, it's automated (each time the phone connects to the unit, you have data).
Wi-Fi is a lot faster, I know, but I found bluetooth tethering speeds to be quite decent for for Waze/Google Maps data and streaming some music, podcasts or radio.
5. An app would have made things a lot better but unfortunately we don't have skilled people willing to write such an app... and the only way you can do it is to modify a script... Script that took me quite some time to figure out because I have zero programming skills... but took it as a challenge and with a lot of hard work I managed in the end to customise it to my liking.
6. I alot of people did not know that the MTCD units (octa core) overheat also because many could not read the CPU temp... but lately I read that a lot of people start complaining of the high CPU temp and throttling.
It's true that there are a lot of variables involved, like the unit positioning in the dashboard, the country you live in, the weather, where you park your car (underground or in the sun) and so on....
The upside is that can easily be addressed but you risk loosing the warranty.... depending how much you decide to mod it.
The Joying has good hardware, in my opinion the best hardware at the moment, it only lacks a skilled guy that can build an clean and simple custom ROM.
I would probably live without a custom ROM as long as the GPS speed bug is solved
Has anyone figured out a solution to lack of video out on a Joying unit? This seems like a fairly obvious oversight and is the only thing preventing me from picking one up...
I have to admit the main thing I don't like about my Ownice is he EQ, it's totally crap. However without rooting, poweramp pretty much fixes that, though obviously not for the radio which I don't use much anyway. I am also running the preamp outputs to good amplifiers so my SQ is pretty good I think.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I installed a Panlelo PA-09YZ16 last week which is just a quad core ARM processor powered 5.1 device. I have been mostly happy with it.
Pros
+Sound quality is better than Subaru's stock crap head unit
+ It responds faster to touch inputs
+ I can customize it any way I want
+ Stock Radio app is really good
+ back up camera is instant even when the device is booting up
Cons
- Stock audio player did not have a play list option (installed Power Amp)
- Stock audio player also did not recognize most of my album art (Power Amp also fixed this)
- required some tweaking via a new launcher to get a good look (installed Car Launcher Pro)
- no Satellite radio feature
- couldn't get the stock steering wheel controls to work
surfer63 said:
I did say that, but there are indeed a lot of users who don't do any modding at all and enjoy their Joying as a good unit. The point is maybe that some users want to do more with those units where they were not designed for.
Joying has released 5 official 6.0.1 ROM firmwares so far and at least one intermediate version that was delivered with their units between releases.
The last 2 versions still have some bugs but are generally good and stable: no modding necessary.
Real issues are:
the main "all connecting" server apk limits the use of navigation apps. I have mentioned that a dozen times but they don't seem to want to understand. (several mods available)
Another issue is that they do not allow USB-UVC cameras apart from their own cameras. It is hardcoded into the kernel.
Their bluetooth connection is also crippled in that they only allow phones and odbd plugs to connect (mod available)
Finally: RDS functions in the radio app are crippled. RDS-RT is hardly working. RDS-AF is completely incorrect implemented (seem to be general to chinese radio apps).
2nd and 3rd are not bugs but deliberately programmed limitations to promote sales of their own accessories.
But if you only use Google Maps or iGo, your phone over BT, and no accessories, you have a good working unit. Of course not having RDS AF in Europe sucks. I know Asia and USA don't care about that as they don't know/have the immensely dense populated and fragmented frequencies in those many small regions per country with other frequencies per region.
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Not so sure that your phone over BT is usable, not for me anyhow, or I am missing something as seems I am the only one complaining about this. If you connect to your phone with BT and download your contacts, it will not download the international dial + digit. Even my Local numbers on my phone have the + followed with the country code, otherwise WhatsApp don't recognize them on my phone. If one could add Contacts or edit them, then I can live with that. Maybe someone know where the contacts list is store in the directory.
Hey everyone, I just installed an android head unit in my car and i'm having an issue I can't seem to resolve. Its generic, so not sure of the brand, here are the specs.
✔LASTEST ANDROID 7.1 OS + POWERFUL HARDWARE: Build-in QUAD-CORE T3 K2001M(ARM COTEX-A7=high effect and low consumption version of ARM Cortex-A15, much better than COTEX-A9 ) 1.6 GHz CPU,1GB DDR3 RAM,16GB NAND Memory and Wifi,Bluetooth,GPS module
it says its 7.1, but my son said its actually 6.1 renamed as 7.1 as its still running marshmallow.
heres whats going on. any app that has sound, except the defult player, will autoclose when I leave the program. If i go to spotify, it will have the icon on the top, when i go back to my home screen, it will continue to play for 5-10 seconds, then go away and the music will stop. I'm completly new to android (switched from iphone and macbooks yesterday), and trying to get over this learning curve. any help would be appreciated!
It's probably the lack of RAM. You've only got 1 GB. The Android system uses a large portion and Google and its services (running in the background) also use a large amount. Then you've got Spotify running which is a huge memory consumer. The system just doesn't have enough to keep all programs fully running in the background. When an app is put on the foreground it has to reinitialize
This is common for 1 GB devices, be it tablet, phone or head unit. Over the years Google memory consumption has grown significantly. That is combination with Spotify is not ideal. If you can live without Google helping you, you could try stopping (freezing) most of its services. Also use a decent audio player like PowerAmp
This is definitely a RAM issue. As android runs out of RAM it will close off non essential apps running in the background.
thats what i was thinking, thanks for the help. How much ram is recomended for when I purchase my next one?
also, can more ram be added to these units? Also it won't let be disable apps, only force stop them.
dustrock said:
also, can more ram be added to these units? Also it won't let be disable apps, only force stop them.
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Unfortunately, No. RAM is soldered directly on the motherboard.
How much RAM in a new unit then? Well, better to be save than sorry. Current mainstream head units, based on the PX5 (sold around $300), are equipped with 4 GB of internal RAM, which should be more than enough. Cheaper models have around 2GB, which should be good now but certainly is not future proof.
Depending on the Android version and/or firmware used can choose between 'Force stop' and 'Disable'. Disable prevents the app from being restarted at boot.
However, the system can prevent you to do this. If that's the case, you'll need to 'Root' (jailbreak in apple terms ) your device. Only then you'll have permission to disable a (system) app/services or delete it altogether.
thanks for the help! I just bought this unit to replace the broken factory stereo in my beater to see if I wanted to purchase one for some of my other cars. I guess I'll have to step up and get get one with some more ram.........and a damn volume knob. lol
I have a unit with 2 GB and I also have the same issue. In the past I had a head unit which also had 2GB of memory and did not face this issue. Is there any other solution for this?
I have recently purchased three Alps FF5000 units sold under the name of Ossuret AD907032. These seem very capable units and don't seem to suffer many of the problems I see written about here however the seller, despite being called 'Ossuret Factory Store' seems to know very little about them and either can't or won't answer questions sensibly. I have several questions but I'll keep to one per thread for simplicity.
My first one is that these come with Toppal Service installed (the basic version with an offer to upgrade to the professional version) but my question is can this Toppal thing be removed completely without breaking anything else as it is just a nuisance? It just appears from time to time and it can be difficult to get it to go away.
Hi, if bought from Chinese you can expect an underperforming unit specially ALPS one. ALPS FF5000 models have 8227L chipset and are full of bugs. For this firmware of yours installed I don't know but it seems to me that resellers are puting/programing their own firmware versions and then brand them before sale. This makes them totally not user friendly and can't do anything with it not even install a new update on it. They are designed that way so only sellers can provide you with update (probably you'll pay for servicing and updating - like Microsoft is done in past and doing now).
Hi Anton.
I don't know why you make that comment, I already said these seem very capable units and after reading this forum extensively over the last several weeks I note that this particular version does not have all the issues other people have mentioned, for example the bluetooth hands-free phone is excellent contrary to what everyone seems to say. The launcher is fine and totally able to be customized, all functions work. They're advertised as Android 10, the unit itself says Android 11 but as we know it will be 8.1 or 9, I haven't found anything that actually reports it truthfully but who cares what version it is if it works fine?
This seller seems to have software that does have some limitations, but no actual bugs that I've found so far, they just don't know anything about their product and I've learnt more from reading here than they could tell me.
Mr.TT_NZ said:
Hi Anton.
I don't know why you make that comment, I already said these seem very capable units and after reading this forum extensively over the last several weeks I note that this particular version does not have all the issues other people have mentioned, for example the bluetooth hands-free phone is excellent contrary to what everyone seems to say. The launcher is fine and totally able to be customized, all functions work. They're advertised as Android 10, the unit itself says Android 11 but as we know it will be 8.1 or 9, I haven't found anything that actually reports it truthfully but who cares what version it is if it works fine?
This seller seems to have software that does have some limitations, but no actual bugs that I've found so far, they just don't know anything about their product and I've learnt more from reading here than they could tell me.
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I have ALPS FF5000 device similar to yours and with 8227L chipset like any of ALPS devices.
It has also many bugs that I'm resolving still today after ayear and a half in possesion. Over time device has also misconfiguring problems, due to Chinese messing with ROMs and installing aftermarket softwares on them.
Try to understand that this (my) conclusions are written by my understanding and experimenting with this device.
I have no objections in overall functioning of device, mostly it works fine, but Chinese merchants are making it underperforming and full of bugs.
For comparison, give a Xiaomi device to Americans, to Bill Gates, and he will also change overall design of device to his needs and install whatever he thinks is good for device and re-sell it, ignoring the bugs and problems in process.
I also learned a lot from my device and from forum posts here. All best solutions for various devices are written here on XDA forum. I thank them for that!
If this forum wouldn't exist you and me wouldn't be able to tweek or change anything on these devices. Just send them back to sellers to servicing. Period.
OK I understand where you're coming from, but my needs are simple and this particular seller's version seems to be very satisfactory.
Could we please look at an answer for my actual question? I assume that some of you software experts are familiar with Toppal Service (voice activation software) as it seems to be installed on several sellers' units, sometimes under a different name, I want to know if there is a way to uninstall it completely without causing other problems.
If I understood correctly what you are asking to do, you can just simply enable/disable Toppal service in apps section of infotainment.
First press FORCE STOP and then DISABLE/ENABLE APP, remove any CACHE of app in process (down in section storage). - this is for units that has preinstalled apps , you can't uninstall preinstalled apps, just disable them.
With rooting of device you can be able to remove it but rooting is serious problem for some devices and can make units to be dead/unbrickable/unrecoverable. Rooting device is good but if not done properly you will loose your device or make it unusuable.
Yes I was really meaning total removal rather than just stop. I suspect it would do more harm than good so I'll leave it alone and hope it doesn't prove too much of an annoyance, it's just one of many things that automatically load at startup which drag out the start time but won't ever be used.
The original Japanese nav unit was fully operational within about 10 seconds of power-up, this thing with its spinning wheels needs over a minute by which time you're already a couple of blocks away from home.
Mr.TT_NZ said:
Yes I was really meaning total removal rather than just stop. I suspect it would do more harm than good so I'll leave it alone and hope it doesn't prove too much of an annoyance, it's just one of many things that automatically load at startup which drag out the start time but won't ever be used.
The original Japanese nav unit was fully operational within about 10 seconds of power-up, this thing with its spinning wheels needs over a minute by which time you're already a couple of blocks away from home.
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You can always update or change your ffirmware version.
Some firmwares from XTRONS units and JUNSUN units that has similar 8227L chipsets work fine for ALPS device. You can try to install that alternatives in order to get rid of this service.
XTRONS UI is different and has its own set of preinstalled apps and JUNSUN also too.
Find best software match in https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/...head-units-help-with-firmware.4167669/page-11
Scroll thru pages in that thread, there are all 8227L based firmwares (some with images of UI - interfaces with icons of apps).