E220 2005 phone / radio question.

[Elsaetka]

Hi, I new to the forum and new to Mercedes as this is my first, so here goes with a first post as I'm completely stuck.

I have an E220 Avantgarde and am trying to connect my Android phone to the standard original Mercedes factory fit car radio. I can't make head nor tail of the book pack instructions and every time I search on the net the info doesn't apply to my car. For example, look in the centre console for the Bluetooth adapter, (there's nothing there ). Other instructions say 'press the phone button', unfortunately nothing happens other than the radio reading 'no phone', or words to that effect.

If a Bluetooth adapter is required, or another bit of kit, I would appreciate recommendations (that work). I am assuming the radio is not DAB? I would imagine a full radio upgrade is not recommended as it would make the dash look awful.

Many thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Blobcat]

Hello and welcome

A W211 E Class (what you have) should have a connector in the center armrest that a Bluetooth adapter plugs into. You can get them on Ebay but they're not cheap these days.

 

[AnthonyUK]

I would imagine a full radio upgrade is not recommended as it would make the dash look awful.

Unless you get one that looks similar

Example - https://xtrons.co.uk/mercedes-benz-various-android-10-octa-core-4gb-ram-64gb-rom-pbx70m211

 

[V6Matty]

The question here is did the car come with telephone pre wiring and therefore only need the Bluetooth adapter adding, reading the OP’s post it might suggest there is no plug for the cradle in the armrest which would indicate it didn’t have pre wiring installed. No pre wiring no Bluetooth built in unles you go with something like parrot or updated head unit

 

[Flyinspanner]

Yes if there is nothing in the armrest, then your car wasn’t wired for it.
Buttons on the steering wheel /Comand, are just standard fit items and won’t be connected to anything. It would be expensive to get MB kit retrofitted, you may well be better of going another route like parrot.
(Or complete head change to XTRONS which would give you much more functionality, (current)

MF refit would still be 15year old technology....

 

[Elsaetka]

Many thanks for the replies, it's great to be pointed in the right direction.

Replies lead me closer to a solution so if you could give me your thoughts...

Reading the messages I would be inclined to say the car isnt wired for it, I guess fitting an adapter from Ebay etc (assuming I can spot the right one), would leave me no further forward if the wiring is missing.

In light of the advice I would be inclined to go for a Parrot, Ive had them in different cars for years so I guess its just a case of buying a radio adapter to plug into the back of the radio and connect up a Parrot. What model radio was fitted as standard to a 2007 220 Avantgarde (211).

Cheers.

 

[AnthonyUK]

What is it want to achieve? Is it just make handsfree phone calls or do you want that and be able to stream music from your phone, DAB+, modern navigation maps e.g. Google maps or Waze, reversing cam, Spotify etc,etc which the replacement Android systems do.
They are also plug and play and maintain steering wheel control and OEM looks.
What do you have fitted at the moment A double DIN CD/Radio e.g. audio 20 or COMAND?

 

[V6Matty]

Standard radio on that car would have been Audio20, I had the parrot mki9000 and unika kit fitted to my 2003 211 with Audio20 and worked well for many years, I had a tomtom for satnav when I didn’t know the area I was going to (not that often but I was still doing around 35k miles a year at that time).
As above those the ersin units are very good android devices and for a couple of hundred pounds you get the oem look but functionality of more modern systems,

 

[Elsaetka]

I started the thread main!y focussing on phone connections but seeing I have been spoilt by the fact my last car had been upgraded with a new Kenwood DAB unit, the basic Audio 20 in my Mercedes feels like a real step back in time. I could fit a Parrot but I'm really going to miss DAB too.
I am edging towards an upgrade that's a close match and would probably go for the one recommended in the link earlier reply. I did a bit of research and other alternatives have absolutely shocking feedback. To be honest I after reading the replies and being given good info I just need a good quality replacement DAB / Bluetooth upgrade that's a good match with the car. The recommended one is packed with more features than I need but better to go for forum users recommendation rather than a cheap alternative.
If anyone does recommend a good DAB / Bluetooth unit with more limited features it would be appreciated, if not I will bite the bullet. Thanks again, massive help. One last point, I've never seen a replacement by a brand I'm familiar with, nothing from Alpine, Kenwood etc.

 

[Blobcat]

You could add a Nextbase DAB into the aux input... they do a DAB only 250 and a Bluetooth 350.

 

[AnthonyUK]

I've never seen a replacement by a brand I'm familiar with, nothing from Alpine, Kenwood etc.

Yeah. It is an issue. Choose a reputable brand albeit with a much higher price and have it look totally out of place in an older MB or go for a pretty much unknown Chinese unit with a large feature set with unknown reliability.
For the price, the Chinese units are very good but I would order from a UK distributer in case of issues.
If you go for the better spec units you shouldn’t have any issues.

You do need to look at reviews a little closely and consider what spec unit did they buy as ‘Chinese android headunit’ covers a vast range of price and quality.
There are some that start at crazy low prices and you do get what you pay for it seems.

 

[Elsaetka]

Good advice, thanks, safest bet looks to be the XTrons unit linked to me (Cheers Anthony) earlier, have not looked at the Nextbase DAB convertor yet, looks like I would have to pull the radio out anyway to access an Aux Port, as there's nothing on the current radio.
Just speaking to family about it and the feeling is the Xtrons brings it right up to modern standards but looks like a good match. I wouldnt want a great radio that spoils the car's look, it would 'do my head in'.

 

[Elsaetka]

Appreciate the heads up re two different sizes, I would have never known that without forum assistance. Out with the tape measure tomorrow to ensure I identify the right one. No-one ever said it was going to be easy

 

[Flyinspanner]

Actually not sure about differing sizes on E class, though it is an issue on the CLK models.