Android head unit replacement

[pgh13]

So, a couple of months ago, audio system stopped. Did some research and then did the 3 fuse removal, left it for an hour; replaced fuses, switched on; same result...... Merc logo then off.
Did what one always does when the matter plan fails.... Make a brew!
An hour later, come to the car to go out, start engine, radio burst into life. Happy days.
Slight snag.... The Kufatec Bluetooth no longer recognised - need Star to reconfigure.
Glad I didn't because 4 weeks on it stopped again. The fuse trick didn't work this time.
So, I'm thinking.... Get an Android head unit.
I think I need the head unit, fibre optic adapter plus DAB, if I want it ,

Any thoughts? Do I need a new mic or will existing mic be ok? Etc

 

[Alfie]

Do a lot of research before commiting to this. There are a lot of horror stories about Android replacement head units and a few success stories. Personally I wouldn't touch them. I've been asked to stock/supply them by various companies from China and always decline. Quality is just not up to it and they rarely work as expected.

 

[AnthonyUK]

If you would like an analogy I see it like this.

The Mercedes system is similar to Apple in that it is a closed system and the software has been tailor made for the hardware and configured for a very specific purpose e.g. your E class.
Android is very much open like Linux and has no vehicle specifics built in so you have to do this yourself which if you have the ability and inclination is fine.

This 'openess' can be seen positive if you want customisation or fill you with dread if this is outside of your ability comfort zone.
Long story short - the days of plug and play are over when you fit what is basically a computer as ICE.

As Alfie mentions, do your research. For what the Chinese units cost they are unbeatable in price/performance but you do have to commit to them and thankfully there are many guides available. XDA dev is a good starting point but tech heavy - https://forum.xda-developers.com/android-auto

If you need something a bit better supported there are double DIN Android units from Pioneer/Kenwood/Sony etc with more specialised builds but without the vehicle specific form factors of the Chinese units.
.
If you have fibre optic that can be problematic. Is it HK or Bose based?

For me I find the audio quality on par with what it replaced (audio10/COMAND 2.0) and functionally blows it away.

 

[pgh13]

Ok, thanks; I'll ponder some more

 

[400ixl]

Android head units have come a long way in the last couple of years. Perfectly happy with mine and makes Comand look like a dysfunctional archaic 80's solution.

Research and picking the right one is key.

 

[pgh13]

Android head units have come a long way in the last couple of years. Perfectly happy with mine and makes Comand look like a dysfunctional archaic 80's solution.

Research and picking the right one is key.

Agreed, re Command. How do you research these? The ones that I see advertised seem to be unbranded - maybe I'm looking in the wrong place?

Ant recommendations on where to buy?

 

[AnthonyUK]

Ant recommendations on where to buy?

For the Chinese ones it is very difficult to know what you are buying as the brands are only really assemblers.
They buy boards from a small selection of manufacturers and put them into cases.
The current best spec use an octacore PX5 CPU, 32gb rom and 4gb ram. If you can find one with a DSP they are meant to offer better sound quality.

When you have the unit you can look at the MCU details in the menu to find who actually made it but it is pretty academic as one is not necessarily better than any other.

So I would base my decision on a supplier that has UK stock and support with Seicane, Erisin and Xtrons being ok brands.
I bought mine on ebay from a store with uk stock and I am happy with the performance and quality.

 

[mercmancdi]

I used to have one in an e class , bought the lot t v etc.
It was Chinese but a uk seller with an advice tel no , ( can’t remember where from ) but was a fantastic unit all bells and whistles and all worked great ,no problems at all with steering wheel button controls working perfect
fitted myself in couple of hrs hardest bit was running my tv antenna to the rear as wanted it at back. It was all plug and play with a £19 harness supplied as an extra , they even told me what wire to cut and rejoin to run tv and videos all the time , as that was my choice at the time.

 

[pgh13]

.
If you have fibre optic that can be problematic. Is it HK or Bose based?

For me I find the audio quality on par with what it replaced (audio10/COMAND 2.0) and functionally blows it away.

I went looking and found fibre optic going to a module behind the left hand panel in the luggage area; is that the audio gateway? I don’t think it’s HK, does that mean it’s Bose?

The symptom is that when you try to switch on, the Mercedes logo comes on for the self test period then shuts off. In this state is there any way to make it eject CDs from the multi changer? Or, does the non responsive CD point to this as the faulty unit?

 

[AnthonyUK]

You should be ok. The fibre optic is an issue if that is the link to an amp and all speakers are cabled to that rather than to the head unit.
You should be able to junk all the other bits but I'm not sure so it's better to check with someone who's done it.

 

[solidamber]

I've just fitted an erisin to my cls w219 got it from an ebay seller that only sells erisin products, he's in HK but the unit is in stock in the UK, took 2 days to arrive!. Has brought my car bang up to date, sat nav, reverse camera, I've downloaded the waze and tune in app now can listen to any worldwide radio station, and get live traffic updated sat nav
the HU is designed to look like the stock radio, and was just plug and play. One problem was the reverse camera went black screen when the engine was on. this was cured by buying an inline filter for the camera power lead, it was only a cheap camera that replaces the number plate light.steering controls still work but functunality is reduced.

 

[mercmancdi]

I've just fitted an erisin to my cls w219 got it from an ebay seller that only sells erisin products, he's in HK but the unit is in stock in the UK, took 2 days to arrive!. Has brought my car bang up to date, sat nav, reverse camera, I've downloaded the waze and tune in app now can listen to any worldwide radio station, and get live traffic updated sat nav
the HU is designed to look like the stock radio, and was just plug and play. One problem was the reverse camera went black screen when the engine was on. this was cured by buying an inline filter for the camera power lead, it was only a cheap camera that replaces the number plate light.steering controls still work but functunality is reduced.

We photos would be appreciated

 

[pgh13]

I've just fitted an erisin to my cls w219 got it from an ebay seller that only sells erisin products, he's in HK but the unit is in stock in the UK, took 2 days to arrive!. Has brought my car bang up to date, sat nav, reverse camera, I've downloaded the waze and tune in app now can listen to any worldwide radio station, and get live traffic updated sat nav
the HU is designed to look like the stock radio, and was just plug and play. One problem was the reverse camera went black screen when the engine was on. this was cured by buying an inline filter for the camera power lead, it was only a cheap camera that replaces the number plate light.steering controls still work but functunality is reduced.

Did you connect by the fibre optic or the long speaker cables?

 

[solidamber]

It was just plug and play just the multi plug, antena, gps antenna and mike and camera just plug in. I havent got optical.

 

[mercmancdi]

It was just plug and play just the multi plug, antena, gps antenna and mike and camera just plug in. I havent got optical.

Thanks , looks very original , good match , and you are still happy no problems.

 

[solidamber]

Thanks , looks very original , good match , and you are still happy no problems.

A few glitches and reboots, had to set time tone as gmt+2 to get the time correct, but generaly pleased a big step up from the MB audio 20

 

[Richie Livo]

Hi there,

I’m new and looking for my R230 2006 Sl350.. do you have a link I could follow as I would like to purchase?

 

[Devonian]

I recently replaced the command in my 2006 R230 with a pioneer head unit. Removed the head unit, audio gateway and cd changer. Took ages to do as you have to rewire the speakers and aerial from behind the passenger seat up to the new unit- not a job for the faint hearted. At the same time I also fitted a sub woofer, reversing camera and DAB aerial. Although a long job was well worth it


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