Android auto retrofit with just PnP device?

[Chappers]

Well it was worth a try thanks for trying it out, I was just about to purchase one to test

Sponsored

 

[Howzer73]

Update: doesn't seem to work According to manual it should connect after plugging it into the USB and connecting your phone to the carplay box's bluetooth, but that didn't work.

Thanks for letting us all know. I have the unit so will try anyway nothing to lose. I also have Bimmercode so going to play about with the media file and input and video play settings just to see if there is any hack to make it work. Likely not based on your post but good to cover all angles before I send it back.

 

[Howzer73]

Thanks for letting us all know. I have the unit so will try anyway nothing to lose. I also have Bimmercode so going to play about with the media file and input and video play settings just to see if there is any hack to make it work. Likely not based on your post but good to cover all angles before I send it back.

Definitely does not work with the Supra - just states USB device not found and I have messed with all the expert settings around inputs for the head unit module. So will be sending mine back.

 

[mack73]

The holy grail has arrived. There is a box now that will do the AA > Carplay conversion wirelessly. Full Android Auto integration is now possible!

TLDR: This box is amazing and works extremely well

I refuse to use an iPhone and I wanted as much OEM integration as possible (touch screen, button functions, etc). After a lot of research this now exists and I have tested it with my Supra.

This is the unit I bought: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H39BDXSX . Amazon seems out of stock but you can buy it direct from the company: https://www.yolanautocarplay.com/products/08-carplay-ai-box-for-bmw

The unit is basically an android computer. It is running Android 13. It can do a bunch more than I care about, like you can watch videos, put in a SIM card and get basic computer functionality on the headunit. The box does have a small fan and while pretty dang quiet, it technically is audible if the engine and music isn't running. I plugged it into the USB with the included cable and velcro'd it below the buttons. Pic below.

This device sits between your phone and the headunit. You connect to the box using Android Auto (wifi + bluetooth). You will not be bluetooth connected to the OEM headunit. The phone connects wirelessly to the box and it translates AA to Carplay. To the car, there is a phone connected talking Carplay. This means all the OEM functionality you get with Carplay exists here. All buttons work, touch screen, rotary dial all works, etc.

I have only played with it for a couple hours and a couple drives, but I will say it works pretty dang flawless. Start up the car, wait for everything to connect and boot up. You can continue to listen to FM through the headunit, then switch to Carplay when you want. I have the default to NOT automatically play music so it keeps the radio running till you play any media through AA. There is a bit of lag when clicking/dragging the screen - a bit more than native Carplay again. Totally acceptable level, not really a problem for me.

2 things: 1) If you switch back from playing audio through AA and select FM it sometimes jumps back to AA and plays the music, but selecting it twice always goes back to FM.
2). If you are listening to FM and hit mute (push radio button), when you unmute it goes back to AA music instead of FM.

For both of these, I'm not sure if this is actually how a carplay phone would work - this just might be how the car handles the connections and isn't an issue with the box integration.

Music quality is slightly worse than native Carplay. Its better than FM and sounds great to my non-audiophile ears. Phone call quality again is quite good, perhaps not as good as native carplay, but good overall

There is quite a bit of configuration in the box, I set it to auto start the AA app as you will see in the video. But you can configure this, change the wallpaper, dark/light mode, mess with a bunch of Android settings and such. The box has a LED light but this can be disabled via an app on it.

Sample video of playing with it (ignore the GPS freaking out on the map, not a good signal in my garage). You can also see a small white dot appearing when I touch the screen, this is an on screen pop up menu where you can get controls to go to 'home' on Android or do splitscreen and other functions

Photo of the install

 

[Ecom]

That is Awesome. I'm assuming it doesn't work with the heads up display but still seems worth it

 

[mack73]

That is Awesome. I'm assuming it doesn't work with the heads up display but still seems worth it

Heads up display I'll have to check as I didn't do too much here - I'm not 100% sure what the carplay experience is like, but it does pop up and say carplay and I can skip a track using the steering controls. I'll do some testing today

 

[ChrisRay]

Thanks man for your write up. I just ordered one. I'm going to try it on my wife's BMW first because we have a module that's a piece of crap that you have to use the wheel and not the touch screen. If it works for her BMW I'm going to order a second one for my Supra, if not then I'll just use it for the Supra.

Sponsored