Hi! Has anyone ever installed the Android GPS Car stereo? I want to buy one and install in my 300. How about the Seicane Android car stereo?
David Elliot
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I've owned several of them, and even had a double din installed in my Dodge Intrepid, which requires making a custom bezel to install it, since double dins will not fit into a stock Intrepid.
I've looked through the Seicane selection of Android headunits, and they were generally over priced and under powered.
I did a google search on them too, and Seicane had some horrible reviews, especially with quality, customer service and actually fulfilling warranty requests. It seemed they just ignored any requests for returning the product and getting a refund, most of the time.
Sound quality can be hit or miss. Most sound ok, but some are better than others. Only a few generally have the higher quality chips in their amplifiers.
Don't get me wrong, I am hooked on Android headunits, because they can do so much more than a normal stereo could do, and even Chrysler is now offering an Android headunit from the factory. I think Alpine makes their Android headunit.
Names like Kenwood, Pioneer and JVC have also jumped on using Android for an operating system, but they as yet rarely support the use of bluetooth OBD2 adapters, and generally want you to use your phones GPS for finding your way around.
The Android units found all over ebay and amazon almost always support both GPS and OBD2 adapters.
Any external drive you use, should be as fast as you can get, and not insanely large, because the drive can adversely effect boot time, also, do not get a headunit that is under powered for the version of Android it is running. Anything with android 5 and up needs more than 1 gig of ram, or it will be slow. I had a 240gb SSD in my Intrepid and it worked well, but hooking up a 1 tb drive made it take to long to boot.
You have to have the Android system format the SSD drive for it to work. For whatever reason, they never seem to like it when Windows formats the drive. You need to format, fat32, or Extended Fat32.
I suggest going to the XDA android forum and asking there for recommendations to find the unit that best fits your needs.
This is the one I am getting. It has been shipped, just waiting for DHL to deliver it.
It has no CD/DVD drive, but it supports storing music on flash drives, and, you could even install an SSD drive to store music and movies on. It does support USB CD/DVD drives, if one is needed. I can't even remember the last time I used a CD for music, so I will not miss it at all.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/QZ-...pvid=1656c1e2-9f76-4451-9f99-3458ee7fe3d5&transAbTest=ae803_5&priceBeautifyAB=0
I've looked through the Seicane selection of Android headunits, and they were generally over priced and under powered.
I did a google search on them too, and Seicane had some horrible reviews, especially with quality, customer service and actually fulfilling warranty requests. It seemed they just ignored any requests for returning the product and getting a refund, most of the time.
Sound quality can be hit or miss. Most sound ok, but some are better than others. Only a few generally have the higher quality chips in their amplifiers.
Don't get me wrong, I am hooked on Android headunits, because they can do so much more than a normal stereo could do, and even Chrysler is now offering an Android headunit from the factory. I think Alpine makes their Android headunit.
Names like Kenwood, Pioneer and JVC have also jumped on using Android for an operating system, but they as yet rarely support the use of bluetooth OBD2 adapters, and generally want you to use your phones GPS for finding your way around.
The Android units found all over ebay and amazon almost always support both GPS and OBD2 adapters.
Any external drive you use, should be as fast as you can get, and not insanely large, because the drive can adversely effect boot time, also, do not get a headunit that is under powered for the version of Android it is running. Anything with android 5 and up needs more than 1 gig of ram, or it will be slow. I had a 240gb SSD in my Intrepid and it worked well, but hooking up a 1 tb drive made it take to long to boot.
You have to have the Android system format the SSD drive for it to work. For whatever reason, they never seem to like it when Windows formats the drive. You need to format, fat32, or Extended Fat32.
I suggest going to the XDA android forum and asking there for recommendations to find the unit that best fits your needs.
This is the one I am getting. It has been shipped, just waiting for DHL to deliver it.
It has no CD/DVD drive, but it supports storing music on flash drives, and, you could even install an SSD drive to store music and movies on. It does support USB CD/DVD drives, if one is needed. I can't even remember the last time I used a CD for music, so I will not miss it at all.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/QZ-...pvid=1656c1e2-9f76-4451-9f99-3458ee7fe3d5&transAbTest=ae803_5&priceBeautifyAB=0
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Mine arrived today, will install and get pics of it tomorrow.
Weather and time permitting.
Weather and time permitting.
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The seller was very helpful getting it going.
I had to disconnect the battery for the system to reset so that the headunit and the amp would work together.
It is very responsive.
All 7 speakers, and the factory sub are working, along with steering wheel controls for volume and the forward and back buttons.
![Image]()
I had to disconnect the battery for the system to reset so that the headunit and the amp would work together.
It is very responsive.
All 7 speakers, and the factory sub are working, along with steering wheel controls for volume and the forward and back buttons.
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I've known other people who have had android headunits in colder climates that never had a problem with the cold.
It does work with the factory Boston Acoustics Amp. fader no, Balance does work.
It supports steering wheel controls for forward and back, play/pause and volume up and down.
I have evic. The info the radio sent to it is no longer updated, so it does not appear to support Evic, unless there is a setting in the headunit that would support it that I have missed.
It is about 20 to 30 seconds from a cold start, but that time can increase if you load it down to much with different apps.
It will start playing the radio, if the last thing you had running was the radio, while it is booting up.
It will also display that a door is open on the screen.
I'm still messing around with it as time allows to see what else it will do.
I do think that it is worth the price.
Oh, make sure that you disconnect the battery while installing it. If you do not disconnect the battery, the amp will not work with that headunit, until you have disconnected the battery, and reset the system, so that the two can talk to each other.
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Dash command is very picky about what obd2 adapters that it will work with. I tried several cheap ebay ones before I said screw it, and bought a good one for about 50 bucks that worked with it.
Check the XDA forum for android users. Someone there may have gotten it to work on a pioneer.
It looks like they figured it out.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/android-auto/android-auto-general/obd-apps-android-auto-t3571912
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Bo Denmark;2763529]I am so inspired by this thread - and I really like to say to Bilitheaxe that I am so very glad for your posts. I think you have saved me a lot time and money ::biggrin:: THANKYOU!!! ::wink::
1) The bezel..
I put some small strips of velcro on the back of the bezel to help secure it in place, because the mounting did not seem secure enough for me.
(UPDATE) If the fit is loose, check dash mounting points for damage. Chrysler used plastic that did not age well. Repair instructions on page 4.
You would have to modify the bezel that comes with it to add the rear wiper switch. It should not be to hard to make a template of that switches mounting hole, and cut it with a dremel. Attaching it, would require gluing the switch into place, or gluing something to the back, that the switch can be screwed into. I suggest going for gluing a piece of plastic in place that you can then mount the switch in place with screws, in case the switch ever needs to be replaced. It should not be hard to do at all.
I suggest, Loctite Epoxy Plastic Bonder for the epoxy, because it does work with automotive plastics, whereas many others will not, and the other glues fail after a couple of months. I made a custom bezel a few years ago with that stuff and it is holding up great.
Mark out the opening for the switch on the new bezel, and cut just inside the lines, and use a small fine file to finish the opening. That will be much neater. and easier to do without making mistakes, since a file is much easier to control than a dremel.
2) Microphone for the phone
Have not tried the mic, yet, nor have I tried connecting a phone, because my phone is turned off when I get into the car.
In fact, my phone is always turned off, unless I need to use it.
3) Night light
The map app Sygic has an automatic day and night mode, also there is a setting that will allow the headunit to brighten or dim the lights depending on the status of driving at night or in the day.
![Image]()
I did about two months of research and the one I bought had the best features, and performance. As I said before, it has no CD/DVD drive, but external ones do work if they are needed.
1) The bezel..
I put some small strips of velcro on the back of the bezel to help secure it in place, because the mounting did not seem secure enough for me.
(UPDATE) If the fit is loose, check dash mounting points for damage. Chrysler used plastic that did not age well. Repair instructions on page 4.
You would have to modify the bezel that comes with it to add the rear wiper switch. It should not be to hard to make a template of that switches mounting hole, and cut it with a dremel. Attaching it, would require gluing the switch into place, or gluing something to the back, that the switch can be screwed into. I suggest going for gluing a piece of plastic in place that you can then mount the switch in place with screws, in case the switch ever needs to be replaced. It should not be hard to do at all.
I suggest, Loctite Epoxy Plastic Bonder for the epoxy, because it does work with automotive plastics, whereas many others will not, and the other glues fail after a couple of months. I made a custom bezel a few years ago with that stuff and it is holding up great.
Mark out the opening for the switch on the new bezel, and cut just inside the lines, and use a small fine file to finish the opening. That will be much neater. and easier to do without making mistakes, since a file is much easier to control than a dremel.
2) Microphone for the phone
Have not tried the mic, yet, nor have I tried connecting a phone, because my phone is turned off when I get into the car.
In fact, my phone is always turned off, unless I need to use it.
3) Night light
The map app Sygic has an automatic day and night mode, also there is a setting that will allow the headunit to brighten or dim the lights depending on the status of driving at night or in the day.
I did about two months of research and the one I bought had the best features, and performance. As I said before, it has no CD/DVD drive, but external ones do work if they are needed.
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I just found out something nice about my android head unit.
It works with the Cobra iradar radar detector.
It displays what band the radar is using on the screen, and using google maps (internet connection required) it will display where police have been reported recently, and any issues like traffic jams.
The iradar device is smaller than a regular radar detector, and works with most android devices. (It didn't work with my old cars android head unit, though.)
Iradar will work for most of its features even without the iradar device, using data received from other users.
Oh, and if you keep it set on highway mode, it will also locate liquor stores for you.
It works with the Cobra iradar radar detector.
It displays what band the radar is using on the screen, and using google maps (internet connection required) it will display where police have been reported recently, and any issues like traffic jams.
The iradar device is smaller than a regular radar detector, and works with most android devices. (It didn't work with my old cars android head unit, though.)
Iradar will work for most of its features even without the iradar device, using data received from other users.
Oh, and if you keep it set on highway mode, it will also locate liquor stores for you.
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I do remember something being displayed on the main screen about no Ipod being detected when I first installed the head unit.
There had been an adapter in my car for connecting an Ipod, but since I had no intention of ever hooking one up, I took it out of the car.
Trust me, you will never need the Ipod. All you need is a USB flash drive with all of your movies and music and you can play them with the head unit.
Just plug the flash drive into one of the two USB ports. Format the drive fat32 or extended fat32.
I have a 128Gb usb flash drive hooked up to mine, and it works great.
I had hard drives hooked up to my old one, but for some of those drives to work, required a 12volt USB hub for powering those drives.
(UPDATE) NO USB HUB NEEDED TO USE SSD DRIVES WITH THIS HEAD UNIT) just hook them up with a sata to usb adapter, and they work fine.
Regular hard drives in a car are not a great idea because of internal moving parts, but SSD drives have no moving parts.
Flash drives should be all you ever need though.
Get a fast USB drive, like one that is USB3 compatible for faster read/access times.
There is an adapter for plugging in Ipods to aftermarket stereos that may work, if you really need the Ipod.
Instructions for backing up ipod music files.
This way is only available for iPod, but not iPhone and iPad.
If you want, you can do things the old-fashioned way and manually transfer your music from iPod to your flash drive. This only works if you want to transfer all of your music, though. Here is how you do it:
Step 1 Connect your iPod to your computer. Using the cable that came with your iPod, connect your iPod to your computer. ...
Step 2 Connect your USB flash drive to your computer. ...
Step 3 Display hidden files. ...
Step 4 Copy the music files. ...
Step 5 Paste the music files to your USB flash drive .
Here is a program that can also do it for you.
https://www.coolmuster.com/idevices/transfer-music-from-iphone-ipad-ipod-to-usb-flash-drive.html
There had been an adapter in my car for connecting an Ipod, but since I had no intention of ever hooking one up, I took it out of the car.
Trust me, you will never need the Ipod. All you need is a USB flash drive with all of your movies and music and you can play them with the head unit.
Just plug the flash drive into one of the two USB ports. Format the drive fat32 or extended fat32.
I have a 128Gb usb flash drive hooked up to mine, and it works great.
I had hard drives hooked up to my old one, but for some of those drives to work, required a 12volt USB hub for powering those drives.
(UPDATE) NO USB HUB NEEDED TO USE SSD DRIVES WITH THIS HEAD UNIT) just hook them up with a sata to usb adapter, and they work fine.
Regular hard drives in a car are not a great idea because of internal moving parts, but SSD drives have no moving parts.
Flash drives should be all you ever need though.
Get a fast USB drive, like one that is USB3 compatible for faster read/access times.
There is an adapter for plugging in Ipods to aftermarket stereos that may work, if you really need the Ipod.
Instructions for backing up ipod music files.
This way is only available for iPod, but not iPhone and iPad.
If you want, you can do things the old-fashioned way and manually transfer your music from iPod to your flash drive. This only works if you want to transfer all of your music, though. Here is how you do it:
Step 1 Connect your iPod to your computer. Using the cable that came with your iPod, connect your iPod to your computer. ...
Step 2 Connect your USB flash drive to your computer. ...
Step 3 Display hidden files. ...
Step 4 Copy the music files. ...
Step 5 Paste the music files to your USB flash drive .
Here is a program that can also do it for you.
https://www.coolmuster.com/idevices/transfer-music-from-iphone-ipad-ipod-to-usb-flash-drive.html
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It took time for mine to arrive too.Hi Bili
I am sorry for my very late respons - I did read your post right away, but from a computer where I did not had my code for this page...
So again thank you very much for all your info. You are really helpful!
I did not think it was possible to hook up anything with so many GB - thats really great because my collection of music is quite large
I will buy a SSD USB drive - but I will wait till I get the unite since I am begning to wonder if it will ever come... Patience...argh.
I guess thats also the best to use a drive instead of trying to connect to my old Ipod since - If I understand you right - its also possible to get all the metadata with the music, so the headunite can show whats beeing played. Thats a huge upgrade from my old nav-unite, where I could only see the letters "VES" when I played music from the Ipod ;-)
I will try to use the program you linked to when I get that far - because I am only interested to have part of my music with me in the car.
Still hoping to be able to poste pictures really soon...
Bo
Thank again
I think they assemble them as they are ordered, so assembly time makes it take a bit longer.
Yes, it shows album info, song title and such on the screen.
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It is really easy to install.
It comes with everything you need.
You just plug everything in.
You may want to add a couple of thin strips of heavy duty velcro to the back of the dash bezel that comes with it to help hold it in a little tighter.
Disconnect the car battery while installing.
Installation only takes minutes.
It comes with everything you need.
You just plug everything in.
You may want to add a couple of thin strips of heavy duty velcro to the back of the dash bezel that comes with it to help hold it in a little tighter.
Disconnect the car battery while installing.
Installation only takes minutes.
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458 Posts
Update.
I had noticed when I installed mine that the fit in the dash was a little loose, so I added velcro to help hold it in tighter.
It turns out that the looseness was caused by the cars dash having a damaged hole where the top bezel clip goes through. What was still there was just flexible material that covers the dash, with no support behind it.
I cut a piece of aluminum about 1/16th inch thick, 1/2 inch wide, and about 2 inches long, and cut a rectangular hole, of the size needed for the mounting clip on the back of the bezel, in the piece of aluminum. Then I epoxied it in behind the flexible material. There was enough left of the original mounting hole still there for the aluminum to be solidly epoxied in place.
I have removed the stereo several times since fixing that, and there have been no issues with the repair failing.
It is a nice and solid fit now.
Chrysler just used a plastic that did not age well when it was built.
This is a pic of the repaired mounting point.
![Image]()
I had noticed when I installed mine that the fit in the dash was a little loose, so I added velcro to help hold it in tighter.
It turns out that the looseness was caused by the cars dash having a damaged hole where the top bezel clip goes through. What was still there was just flexible material that covers the dash, with no support behind it.
I cut a piece of aluminum about 1/16th inch thick, 1/2 inch wide, and about 2 inches long, and cut a rectangular hole, of the size needed for the mounting clip on the back of the bezel, in the piece of aluminum. Then I epoxied it in behind the flexible material. There was enough left of the original mounting hole still there for the aluminum to be solidly epoxied in place.
I have removed the stereo several times since fixing that, and there have been no issues with the repair failing.
It is a nice and solid fit now.
Chrysler just used a plastic that did not age well when it was built.
This is a pic of the repaired mounting point.
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I finally got around to mounting my USB hub.
The glove box turned out to be the best place to mount it.
If I decide to switch back to using an SSD drive, there is a convenient place for it, right next to the hub.
For power to the hub, I tapped into the positive and negative wires for the cigarette lighter.
I drilled two holes to accommodate the power plug and the USB cable in the glove box.
![Image]()
This is the head unit installed.
![Image]()
The glove box turned out to be the best place to mount it.
If I decide to switch back to using an SSD drive, there is a convenient place for it, right next to the hub.
For power to the hub, I tapped into the positive and negative wires for the cigarette lighter.
I drilled two holes to accommodate the power plug and the USB cable in the glove box.
This is the head unit installed.
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458 Posts
The Navigation software works very well. I use Sygic and it has never given me a problem, and is easy to see day or night.
Everything that you need is included.
Adapter for steering wheel controls, Bezel, antenna adapter, and GPS antenna and wifi antenna.
I swapped out the wifi antenna for one with a higher DB rating than the factory one, for better range.
It is literally a plug and play install, but if you notice any looseness at the top during install, a factory mounting point on the car has failed.
Instructions for how to fix the mounting point are above this post.
A couple posts up.
The plastic Chrysler used was too brittle for the job and got weaker with age.
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I discovered something nice about this head unit that was completely different from previous android head units I have owned in the past.
NO USB HUB IS NEEDED TO CONNECT AN SSD DRIVE!
Every Android head unit I have owned in the past needed the hub for power for an SSD drive to work, but this one works great without the hub, and access time is extremely fast.
The head unit starts playing the last song you had loaded from the beginning, as soon as the operating system has loaded.
I now have an Intel Gen3 180Gb SSD connected for music storage.
With torque automatically starting for gauges, and other apps loading, it took 35 seconds from turning the key for music to start playing off of the SSD.
This is the adapter I am using.
https://www.officedepot.com/a/produ...1670&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8cv-qLuS2wIVl_hkCh3Btw9DEAQYBSABEgLRefD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
I can still use the hub for people to charge cell phones and tablets, so it is still useful.
NO USB HUB IS NEEDED TO CONNECT AN SSD DRIVE!
Every Android head unit I have owned in the past needed the hub for power for an SSD drive to work, but this one works great without the hub, and access time is extremely fast.
The head unit starts playing the last song you had loaded from the beginning, as soon as the operating system has loaded.
I now have an Intel Gen3 180Gb SSD connected for music storage.
With torque automatically starting for gauges, and other apps loading, it took 35 seconds from turning the key for music to start playing off of the SSD.
This is the adapter I am using.
https://www.officedepot.com/a/produ...1670&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8cv-qLuS2wIVl_hkCh3Btw9DEAQYBSABEgLRefD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
I can still use the hub for people to charge cell phones and tablets, so it is still useful.
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The sound issue may be the speakers.
I have the same factory speaker setup, and had noticed things seemed to be missing from different songs.
Mostly the issue was with high frequency things, so I threw in a set of JBL tweeters I had in a box, and the music came alive.
The main complaint about the factory Boston Acoustics system is the mushy sound quality with poor high frequency performance..
Walmart has tweeters in stock that should help out for about 8 bucks or just replace the speakers.
I added the tweeters to the system, and left the factory speakers in..
If you replace the speakers, use 2 ohm speakers only, not 4 ohm.
If you replace the dash speakers, Infinity Kappas are a good choice, and disconnect the useless center speaker.
The high frequency sounds come from the dash speakers.
I have the same factory speaker setup, and had noticed things seemed to be missing from different songs.
Mostly the issue was with high frequency things, so I threw in a set of JBL tweeters I had in a box, and the music came alive.
The main complaint about the factory Boston Acoustics system is the mushy sound quality with poor high frequency performance..
Walmart has tweeters in stock that should help out for about 8 bucks or just replace the speakers.
I added the tweeters to the system, and left the factory speakers in..
If you replace the speakers, use 2 ohm speakers only, not 4 ohm.
If you replace the dash speakers, Infinity Kappas are a good choice, and disconnect the useless center speaker.
The high frequency sounds come from the dash speakers.
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458 Posts
On the harness that came with the radio, move the white wires to where the violet wires are. Just cut and splice. Match striped wire with striped wire.
That is how mine is wired, and I have confirmed that I have true stereo.
The green wires should be right next to them.
Leave the green wires where they are.
Ozzy Osborne, Crazy Train, is great for testing stereo imaging. The beginning of the song goes back and forth from side to side.
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Opps that was a typo, Fader does not work.
Only the green and white wires are being used.
White instead of the violet like I have found that some people have.
The only way to get fader to work, would be to switch to an aftermarket amplifier.
When I added the tweeters to mine, it brought out high notes that the factory speakers completely lost, due to their poor performance with high frequency sound.
If the kids are playing games on their phones, get them headphones.
Only the green and white wires are being used.
White instead of the violet like I have found that some people have.
The only way to get fader to work, would be to switch to an aftermarket amplifier.
When I added the tweeters to mine, it brought out high notes that the factory speakers completely lost, due to their poor performance with high frequency sound.
If the kids are playing games on their phones, get them headphones.
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