Andream Head Unit that is NOT Android Based

elTanqueAU · 12-30-2022, 12:26 PM

Hi all,
So grateful I found this thread as I thought the unit I was looking at was an MMI box. Clearly a different product that seems to match and simplify the MMI concept. The way I see this is that the screen is actually the MMI box with a couple of features missing (screen mirror for example).
I'm an Android user so looking at some feedback from Android users. I've gone through the whole thread and there's plenty of info, but I need a bit more "for dummies" 😀
Main questions are around the audio setup. Most worried about the quality of the aux input/output. What are the different setups and how is it configured?

elTanqueAU · 01-19-2023, 11:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by parps

I have the 10.25" unit in my F30 and Wireless Android Auto works..

How do you connect? I've a note 20 ultra 5G that won't connect wirelessly
Also tried with an S9+

trumani · 01-20-2023, 06:44 PM

Hi All! For those that are having issues with wireless carplay autoconnecting, frustrated with the audio quality via aux, and own an iphone, I came up with the following automation to work for me. The automation also automatically switches the playback to via the car bluetooth which is much much better sound quality than the head unit's aux audio!!

note: my automation has it shuffling a specific playlist because every once in a while, if I haven't played music in a while whether in car or not, the iphone loses track of song played and then instead of just resuming play, it automatically plays the first song in your entire itunes music album.

Step 1: In settings app, Go to your bluetooth menu, tap on the "i" to the right of your bmw bluetooth device and make sure device type is set to "car stereo" See "Bluetooth" photo attached

Step 2: In settings app, Go to Focus. Then change driving focus to turn on automatically to "when connected to car bluetooth". Make sure "activate with carplay" is off. See driving focus photo attached

Step 3:
3a: open up shortcuts app
3b: tap on automations at bottom of app
3c: tap on the + button on top right
3d: tap on "create personal automation"
3e: Scroll down until you see the focus section and tap on "Driving"
3f: tap next

Step 4: use the search for apps and actions to add the actions that you see in the automation 3 and automation 4 screenshots attached. The items in blue boxes will show something else initially. tap on them to edit the values to match the screenshots. The wait x seconds you may need to play with. I put them in to ensure the head unit "loads" before running the next automation action. yours may load quicker/slower than mine.

step 5: this is the tricky part: in order to set the playback destination to your bluetooth devices, you need to have your car on, then when you tap you'll get the choice of the bluetooth devices. the head unit bluetooth is the trickiest. you have to open up the bluetooth menu, tap on the bluetooth device, then quickly switch back to the shortcut app and tap on the blueooth device.

step 6: tap on "edit automation" on top left of screen

step 7:uncheck "ask before running"

step 8: check "notify when run"

step 9: check "done"

After all this, the next time you turn on your car, it should run thru these steps and then you have wireless carplay automatically connecting, playing any playlist you want, and also playing it thru bluetooth.
If you're already have carplay automatically connect, you can use the portion of this automation that switches the audio to play thru your bluetooth, which was the other pain point I had with this head unit.

I'm sure I missed some things and will edit based on the questions any of y'all have.
Cheers!

FastFrog · 01-23-2023, 12:48 PM

Thanks for the time & efforts! I don't use an iPhone as personal phone for the time being, but I keep your post in mind, because, it looks to be spot on

niallt · 01-28-2023, 03:16 PM

I recently purchased and installed one of these 10.25" units and overall I'm happy with it.

My car has a slightly unusual configuration, an Aug 2013 F31 (UK) with an Alpine head unit which according to this page is a CHAMP2 unit, similar in size to the HU_ENTRY but with a combox in the boot. Bimmercode has shown it as HU_CIC and previously as HU_CICHB when trying to code it.

Installation
Installation was relatively easy and took around 2 hours. The smaller size of the Alpine head unit allowed space for the piggyback wiring loom so routing the wiring wasn't as much of a headache for me as it might have been for others.

I noted in particular that my Andream unit came with a dedicated Wifi antenna which was labelled as "5G Wifi" presumably to improve the performance of wireless CarPlay/Android Auto with a 5ghz wifi connection? It looked like this, with a Fakra connector on the end which connected into a dedicated port on the Andream unit. This appears to be a new addition as installing it isn't mentioned in any of the usual install videos or Andream's own instructions linked earlier in this thread (the port on the unit is new also). So in addition to the video cable from the iDrive HU, the cabling from the piggyback loom and the USB cable plugged into the Andream unit, this antenna is also routed up to the top of the dash and plugged in.

I mounted it with the 3m tape to the bottom of my iDrive head unit (being careful to not block any vents), which would be directly above the centre console/cupholders. I must check the Wifi connection it puts out to see if it is 5ghz but the performance of it so far has been great.

I had to run the aux cable into my centre console because with the configuration of my car noted above (CHAMP2 unit with combox in rear) the coding which others have used to disable the centre console AUX and force the car to use the HU AUX didn't work for me. This was a bit disappointing and added another 15 mins or so to the job to route the cable, but it's simple enough to run it down to the footwell trim behind the head unit, then behind the trim up into the centre console, completely hidden.

I did route the female USB connector down the centre trim also, so it comes out in the driver's footwell (around where my shin is when sitting in the driver's seat) and is held in place just by the trim - I haven't had to use it yet for Android Auto however (see below).

Performance
Overall I'm very happy with how the unit is performing over the past ~2 weeks it has been installed.

Despite having to use the AUX cable through the centre console I haven't noticed a very perceptible drop in sound quality, which was one of my concerns before buying. Maybe they have improved the DAC in the recent revisions of the unit, or maybe I am just not picky but I honestly can't say it sounds any better or worse than music through Bluetooth which I used before.
Keeping the AUX volume on the iDrive setting at 50% or close to helps, as well as adjusting the Equaliser (which for me came from factory with settings set which might also have helped)

Wireless performance has been great. I use Android Auto wirelessly on a Samsung S21 and it has been near faultless at connecting. I note from this thread that previous versions of the unit did not have wireless AA or there were intermittent issues with it.

Mine has connected automatically every time I start the car. Usually around 10 seconds for unit to boot and AA notification to pop on my phone. Only twice has it failed to connect, I think this may have been related to me engaging reverse while the unit was booting and it having to swap quickly to the PDC screen.

Performance of the unit day to day is good. I haven't used the touchscreen much but it's responsive and I haven't noticed much jerkiness/slowness. Some bugs I thought were issues with the Andream unit are current Android Auto bugs (see below).

The 10.25" screen is a great upgrade from the 6.5" screen I had, which only really was useful when picking an FM/DAB station or for displaying Bluetooth track information. I barely ever used the BMW nav.
My original iDrive system didn't have an 8" screen option so resolution can't be changed, but the split-screen workaround they have when going back to original iDrive menus is fine to me, better than stretching the image and I don't look at it much at all anymore.

Steering wheel controls work on my car! (I saw other posters saying they don't). At the very least I can use the right-hand scroll wheel to skip forward/back tracks, which I couldn't on the normal iDrive using BT audo. That in itself is a massive bonus for me.

Cons
The mic quality is the big downfall of this device. I haven't made many calls with it, but the people on the other end definitely noticed I was harder to make out. I think it gets worse with road noise.

I tried using the workaround earlier in this thread of having both bluetooth connections live (car & head unit) but I couldn't force it to use the BMW phone system, Android Auto kept capturing the call and keeping it within that system. The call doesn't show on my phone either, only showing on AA so I can't force it to change to a different bluetooth connection. Maybe this is a recent change to Android Auto i.e. the call isn't shown at all on the phone and kept within the AA device. I unpaired the BMW bluetooth connection since.

Using the mic for Siri/OK Google is touch and go - leaning into the device and speaking as clearly as possible is required. For speech input I definitely need to be picked up correctly I use my phone (such as addresses etc). It isn't going to be reliable for replying to text messages by voice.

As noted above the device didn't connect wirelessly to AA for me once or twice. The only way to fix it was to turn the car off for ~20 seconds to power cycle the Andream unit. Trying to connect to AA by USB cable when it has failed to connect wirelessly doesn't work.

>What I would say though is that after a reboot it connected straight away
>This is a much better success rate than by BMW Bluetooth, which failed to connect to my phone probably 1 in every 10 drives, and there was no way to reboot the iDrive to fix it (power cycling would be like 10 mins)
>On this note if anyone knows how to force reboot the Andream unit let me know, I had seen holding Back on iDrive controller for 10 seconds but long holding on any button doesn't seem to reboot it

Some bugs I have noticed (but I think these are with Android Auto itself). Big one is Google Maps ignoring the day/night/auto setting for map darkness, it's incredibly bright at night when it starts up on day colours - have to go into the setting each time. This definitely appeared to be a bug in AA which is being worked on.

The glare of the screen I haven't noticed myself much as yet, but it's winter here so I have been driving at night and not in direct sunlight yet. This might be an issue in the summer.

The unit did seem to get very hot at one point when I first used it, however I was running my climate control at 28 celcius lol. Probably that.

One small gripe is that the splash logo on boot is no longer BMW branded, it's a basic looking car silhoutte image which is a bit aftermarkety looking. They probably got a cease & desist from BMW. I don't think this is customisable, and I don't fancy messing with any firmware updates just yet.

Overall I'm glad I installed this and it has really modernised the interior of my 2013 F31. Having Carplay/AA is so much better than the ancient and function-lacking iDrive system, and will be updated as time goes on as well. I can look past the poor mic as I don't make a lot of calls while driving and the other functions are enough of a benefit to me to justify it (even just having a bigger screen, displaying album art and being able to browse YT music while driving is worth the price of the unit for me!)

Mooney6959 · 02-28-2023, 01:27 PM

A quick question for the masses in this group.

I want the 8.8 to replace my stock 8.8 (I've had a 10.25 and didn't like it), and it seems Andream is the only one who sells that size.

My question to the group is has anybody tried to return your unit to Andream? If this thing has serious issues, I'm not interested in diagnosing it, nor do I want to be out $300.

BugginCarlos · 03-01-2023, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mooney6959

A quick question for the masses in this group.

I want the 8.8 to replace my stock 8.8 (I've had a 10.25 and didn't like it), and it seems Andream is the only one who sells that size.

My question to the group is has anybody tried to return your unit to Andream? If this thing has serious issues, I'm not interested in diagnosing it, nor do I want to be out $300.

I have an issue with my Andream always starting in Day mode and not responding to Auto mode. After many emails they only offered excuses and no resolution. I left an honest but negative review and they just muted it.

Don't give them your money....

BugginCarlos · 03-01-2023, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by niallt

I recently purchased and installed one of these 10.25" units and overall I'm happy with it.

Some bugs I have noticed (but I think these are with Android Auto itself). Big one is Google Maps ignoring the day/night/auto setting for map darkness, it's incredibly bright at night when it starts up on day colours - have to go into the setting each time. This definitely appeared to be a bug in AA which is being worked on.

I have this issue with my 10.25" Andream unit but do not have the same issue with Android Auto in my Acura. Have you tried AA in any other vehicles?

Homersbud · 03-05-2023, 08:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zoom245290

Can someone help me on the Andream CarPlay not showing up on my Bluetooth or WiFi all of the sudden, I have tried several phones and it dose not appear, a day ago it was perfectly fine connected and the next day I turn on the car it dose not connect back to my phone. I have restarted my phone, disconnected the CarPlay from Bluetooth and WiFi but nothing happen. Can someone help me on what to do. Thanks!

so you post your problem in two different threads that are completely different from one another? geez, dude. you provide zero info as to what you even have and you just expect people to help?

devioushaikuzero · 03-22-2023, 09:50 AM

So, I bought an f30 with the andream non-android 10.25" installed.

The audio quality is so bad. I find it unbearable, it kind of ruins the car for me. I figure it is 80% the shitty DAC/AUX system from Andream and 20% that the HiFi speakers and amp are subpar.

I have a couple of questions:
1.) Does anyone have any recommendation on improving the audio quality? The distortion is so intense. It sounds like the integrated loudness on the head unit is maxed out. I feel that, regardless of EQ or audio settings, the distortion is substantial and unavoidable.

2.) If I were to replace this unit, either with an aftermarket or EVO hardware, which has the best audio quality? I want loud, vibrant, clear, and fantastic sounding music. I would even forgo android auto just so I can listen to music without wanting to jab my eardrums out with a spoon. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Edit: I have a 2013 328 with CIC unit.

FastFrog · 03-25-2023, 04:02 PM

If you have an iPhone, you should be able to avoid using the unit's DAC, see Terto's post above in this thread.

I have an Android phone, and ended up accepting the sound for a daily use, because I also have a "high quality music" setup for the car, consisting in sending the digital signal straight to the Matchup amp through an optical connector. This way, the screen (and entire iDrive either) is not used. It is direct digital stream from the phone to the amp, then back to the speakers.

plantseed · 03-30-2023, 03:59 PM

Is there anyway to code out the CD player from the iDrive system? Sometimes the default car system picks CD Player instead of AUX and i will have to go out of the CarPlay with the menu button to pick AUX, its a small matter but if there is something that can be done it would be better.

devioushaikuzero · 03-30-2023, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FastFrog

If you have an iPhone, you should be able to avoid using the unit's DAC, see Terto's post above in this thread.

I have an Android phone, and ended up accepting the sound for a daily use, because I also have a "high quality music" setup for the car, consisting in sending the digital signal straight to the Matchup amp through an optical connector. This way, the screen (and entire iDrive either) is not used. It is direct digital stream from the phone to the amp, then back to the speakers.

OK, I am down for this. I don't use CD or Radio. Do you have a guide or way? Would it be worth upgrading the amp while I do this? How do you send optical from your phone: through a bluetooth->optical, usb-c to optical or just 3.5mm to optical?

Tina* · 04-06-2023, 04:14 AM

I installed and tried it for about 3-4 days,it looks good for the price.
https://www.ewaying.de/collections/f...android-system

The unit works well, switching between the NBT and the carplay system works smoothly. The volume is more than enough to play music loudly. I was worried about noise, but it came out well.

Google Assistant/Siri is accessible from the steering wheel button. Other features are accessible via either touchscreen or the iDrive button (you pick).
The split screen functionality is really cool so you can navigate with Google maps and have Spotify on the right to easily check and manage your music.

The camera and screen both work really well, the tablet is performant and doesn’t struggle or stutter and the camera framerate and low-light performance is decent. The physical fitment is perfect, it looks OEM and with some research the installation looks and works really well.

As for cons: there is a 1-2s audio delay present when connecting via wireless carplay, some delay is expected when using bluetooth but it is very noticeable. The iDrive controller functionality, at least for the pre-LCI controller is limited. The cardinal directions do not function, but the scrolling and pressing functions work both in the custom UI and CarPlay.

My experience is with a 2012 F30.

Sally63 · 04-06-2023, 10:38 PM

I can recommend this product, as it works really good in my BMW F30, and it's affordable. Only thing that I had to activate my AUX..Because the product can only transmit sound through AUX. I think it would be even better if it could also be via bluetooth.

When I was on the phone, the sound quality wasn't ideal, but at least it was clear for normal conversations. I bought it elsewhere before and couldn't hear it at all on the device, which sucks.

The seller is very responsive and good to deal with, plus fast shipping. They helped me quickly when I had problems installing. CarPlay works fine, connected with my iPhone when i start my car. The original Rear Camera works also perfekt and the PDC, all Signals wokrs fine.

Overall, a good experience.

Ryval1224 · 04-07-2023, 10:25 AM

everything I have set up works great expect for sound. I have both bluetooth connections hooked up but the one for android Auto doesn't have sound. I've tried using one or the other and nothing seems to work. When I use the original BMW bluebooth I can listen to Pandora on my phone through the bluetooth no problem. Do I need to update. I am currently using bmwlzhd2021 code firmware.

Tina* · 04-08-2023, 04:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryval1224

everything I have set up works great expect for sound. I have both bluetooth connections hooked up but the one for android Auto doesn't have sound. I've tried using one or the other and nothing seems to work. When I use the original BMW bluebooth I can listen to Pandora on my phone through the bluetooth no problem. Do I need to update. I am currently using bmwlzhd2021 code firmware.

Have you set the AUX output on the original car? There are also fiber optic cables to be connected.

This forum makes it very clear.
https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1675929

der_schmidt · 04-08-2023, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by niallt

I had to run the aux cable into my centre console because with the configuration of my car noted above (CHAMP2 unit with combox in rear) the coding which others have used to disable the centre console AUX and force the car to use the HU AUX didn't work for me. This was a bit disappointing and added another 15 mins or so to the job to route the cable, but it's simple enough to run it down to the footwell trim behind the head unit, then behind the trim up into the centre console, completely hidden.

niallt I have the same configuration (F31 2013 with CHAMP2) and I remember having the same problem at first. After coding my HU AUX still didn't want to play audio from the Andream screen. But in the center console USB and AUX port there was still my old audio splitter y-cable plugged in. Once I removed that and restarted my iDrive it took a couple of minutes and suddenly it worked and the sound was playing. I remember that I was surprised that it didn't worked straight away. Since then I had no problems. Sound always played without an extra AUX cable.
It may be a silly question, but did you change / swap the optical cable?
This is what I coded to make it running:
CDMM_AUX_HU: active (was not active)
CDMM_USB_AUDIO_SINGLE: not active (was active)
CDMM_USB_AUDIO_DOUBLE: not active (was not active)

FastFrog · 04-13-2023, 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by devioushaikuzero

OK, I am down for this. I don't use CD or Radio. Do you have a guide or way? Would it be worth upgrading the amp while I do this? How do you send optical from your phone: through a bluetooth->optical, usb-c to optical or just 3.5mm to optical?

Sorry, I didn't notice your post.
So, all it takes is:
- An amp with an optical input, such as the Auditech Match Up 7BMW

- A roughly 5-meters-long optical cable, fed from the amp location (left side of the trunk) to the front under carpets and trims
- A crazy cheap "USB to optical signal converter" such as

https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/33028987912.html

Then, you simply connect your phone to USB-side of this small device through an OTG USB adapter. The optical cable brings the digital sound straight to the amp.

From there, your amp has a dual input :
- High level analog coming from the iDrive (in our case, Andream Screen uses the "line" channel of the iDrive, after a pretty harsh Digital to Analog conversion)
- SPDIF digital input directly coming from your phone, without any conversion (hence loss), be it digital to analog or analog to digital.

The amp picks the signal according to the priority you define in its settings. In my case, priority to analog input (iDrive and car system sound). As a result, I need to mute the iDrive sound in order to play SPDIF music. This allows to give the priority to any system sound (PDC, warnings...), which will cute off the digital sound.

Recenlty, I've integrated both USB cables (the one to the screen and the one to the optical input) in the small driver-side glovebox. All works perfect!

FastFrog · 04-13-2023, 08:38 AM

On an other note, I recently experienced GPS loss when using google maps on the screen. (I prefer Maps over Waze). The GPS signal couldn't seem stop from being found and lost again, pretty annoying.
I'm not sure where the issue comes from, but it seems like I got it fixed by setting the position permission to "always" instead of "when the application is in use" on maps. In case it can help someone here...

yrxe · 04-13-2023, 11:54 PM

Hello,

I have just installed on my BMW 4 series Cabrio (F33) this Linux android auto head unit yesterday evening and had only one ride, so I will post long use review later.
First impression.
I was fearing to deal with low sound quality as in posts above and to my surprise so far I havent really noticed any change at all. head unit had even selection for what unit audio equipment I have and I selected the correct one Harman Kardon. Which shouldn't really impact anything as audio connector to the car is still through AUX.
Also had few calls when testing and I got no comments about low sound or bad quality.

Other things.
Android Auto wired works flawlessly
Android Auto wirelless sometimes wasnt able to connect but could be due to I was connecting back and forward many times during install. Need to test more.

A little bit on the down side is the screen resolution and how the original UI looks. It feels a bit outdated due to UI is simply scaled up for the bigger screen with huge texts.
One more thing that I will keep digging in is car original control buttons. So far all those work and respond while you are in linux headunit menu once you switch to Android Auto those become mostly useless. In example when I press phone button it doesnt open Android Auto dialer. Or if I am in Android Auto menu and press Nav button it doesnt switch to Navigation (waze or g.maps). Is it the same for others also?
One more tricky was the main cable connector that is going to the screen supper hard was to squeeze it in as the unit main board was even bending when trying to pry it in, but finally all worked.

One more thing I wasnt expecting is the integration for climate control or door open/close animations, nice touch on this.

Unit that I bought has EU shipping warehouse and it cost me only 224.99 eur
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005...21ef1802qa9oW0

short video:
https://youtu.be/b_XkGmJHA4Y
few photos:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/aHoyjsncsMR5RDxB8

Overall so far I am more happy then I was expecting from cheap aftermarket solution.

if someone will look for factory menu sharing that it has two entries, one with pin '0000' and the more extensive with '8866'

Sally63 · 04-14-2023, 01:30 AM

Neulich habe ich meinem Freund empfohlen, seinen E60-Android-Bildschirm zu kaufen.
Insgesamt ist es in Ordnung. Aber auch einige kleine Probleme aufgetreten. Es kann beim Telefonieren nicht klar hören, vielleicht ist es ein Mikrofonproblem, der Ton muss natürlich immer noch über AUX ausgegeben werden, okay. . Es läuft ziemlich flüssig. Bisher ist mein Freund damit ganz zufrieden und ich hoffe, dass es in Zukunft keine Probleme geben wird.
Bisher empfehle ich ihre Produkte immer noch.

12-30-2022, 12:26 PM	#221
elTanqueAU Registered 0 Rep 3 Posts Drives: BMW 320D M Sport Join Date: Dec 2021 Location: Australia iTrader: (0)	Hi all, So grateful I found this thread as I thought the unit I was looking at was an MMI box. Clearly a different product that seems to match and simplify the MMI concept. The way I see this is that the screen is actually the MMI box with a couple of features missing (screen mirror for example). I'm an Android user so looking at some feedback from Android users. I've gone through the whole thread and there's plenty of info, but I need a bit more "for dummies" 😀 Main questions are around the audio setup. Most worried about the quality of the aux input/output. What are the different setups and how is it configured?
	Appreciate 0 Quote

01-20-2023, 06:44 PM	#223
trumani New Member 11 Rep 25 Posts Drives: 2014 BMW 335i xDrive Msport Join Date: May 2019 Location: Chicago, IL iTrader: (0)	Hi All! For those that are having issues with wireless carplay autoconnecting, frustrated with the audio quality via aux, and own an iphone, I came up with the following automation to work for me. The automation also automatically switches the playback to via the car bluetooth which is much much better sound quality than the head unit's aux audio!! note: my automation has it shuffling a specific playlist because every once in a while, if I haven't played music in a while whether in car or not, the iphone loses track of song played and then instead of just resuming play, it automatically plays the first song in your entire itunes music album. Step 1: In settings app, Go to your bluetooth menu, tap on the "i" to the right of your bmw bluetooth device and make sure device type is set to "car stereo" See "Bluetooth" photo attached Step 2: In settings app, Go to Focus. Then change driving focus to turn on automatically to "when connected to car bluetooth". Make sure "activate with carplay" is off. See driving focus photo attached Step 3: 3a: open up shortcuts app 3b: tap on automations at bottom of app 3c: tap on the + button on top right 3d: tap on "create personal automation" 3e: Scroll down until you see the focus section and tap on "Driving" 3f: tap next Step 4: use the search for apps and actions to add the actions that you see in the automation 3 and automation 4 screenshots attached. The items in blue boxes will show something else initially. tap on them to edit the values to match the screenshots. The wait x seconds you may need to play with. I put them in to ensure the head unit "loads" before running the next automation action. yours may load quicker/slower than mine. step 5: this is the tricky part: in order to set the playback destination to your bluetooth devices, you need to have your car on, then when you tap you'll get the choice of the bluetooth devices. the head unit bluetooth is the trickiest. you have to open up the bluetooth menu, tap on the bluetooth device, then quickly switch back to the shortcut app and tap on the blueooth device. step 6: tap on "edit automation" on top left of screen step 7:uncheck "ask before running" step 8: check "notify when run" step 9: check "done" After all this, the next time you turn on your car, it should run thru these steps and then you have wireless carplay automatically connecting, playing any playlist you want, and also playing it thru bluetooth. If you're already have carplay automatically connect, you can use the portion of this automation that switches the audio to play thru your bluetooth, which was the other pain point I had with this head unit. I'm sure I missed some things and will edit based on the questions any of y'all have. Cheers! Attached Images Last edited by trumani; 01-20-2023 at 06:46 PM.. Reason: try again to attach photos
	Appreciate 4 FastFrog143.50 Mooney695921.00 RyanCawdor4.50 Saito1.50 Quote

01-23-2023, 12:48 PM	#224
FastFrog Private First Class 144 Rep 171 Posts Drives: 335i N55 E91 / 340i B58 F30 Join Date: Aug 2019 Location: France iTrader: (0)	Thanks for the time & efforts! I don't use an iPhone as personal phone for the time being, but I keep your post in mind, because, it looks to be spot on
	Appreciate 0 Quote

01-28-2023, 03:16 PM	#225
niallt Registered 2 Rep 4 Posts Drives: F31 330d Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Ireland iTrader: (0)	I recently purchased and installed one of these 10.25" units and overall I'm happy with it. My car has a slightly unusual configuration, an Aug 2013 F31 (UK) with an Alpine head unit which according to this page is a CHAMP2 unit, similar in size to the HU_ENTRY but with a combox in the boot. Bimmercode has shown it as HU_CIC and previously as HU_CICHB when trying to code it. Installation Installation was relatively easy and took around 2 hours. The smaller size of the Alpine head unit allowed space for the piggyback wiring loom so routing the wiring wasn't as much of a headache for me as it might have been for others. I noted in particular that my Andream unit came with a dedicated Wifi antenna which was labelled as "5G Wifi" presumably to improve the performance of wireless CarPlay/Android Auto with a 5ghz wifi connection? It looked like this, with a Fakra connector on the end which connected into a dedicated port on the Andream unit. This appears to be a new addition as installing it isn't mentioned in any of the usual install videos or Andream's own instructions linked earlier in this thread (the port on the unit is new also). So in addition to the video cable from the iDrive HU, the cabling from the piggyback loom and the USB cable plugged into the Andream unit, this antenna is also routed up to the top of the dash and plugged in. I mounted it with the 3m tape to the bottom of my iDrive head unit (being careful to not block any vents), which would be directly above the centre console/cupholders. I must check the Wifi connection it puts out to see if it is 5ghz but the performance of it so far has been great. I had to run the aux cable into my centre console because with the configuration of my car noted above (CHAMP2 unit with combox in rear) the coding which others have used to disable the centre console AUX and force the car to use the HU AUX didn't work for me. This was a bit disappointing and added another 15 mins or so to the job to route the cable, but it's simple enough to run it down to the footwell trim behind the head unit, then behind the trim up into the centre console, completely hidden. I did route the female USB connector down the centre trim also, so it comes out in the driver's footwell (around where my shin is when sitting in the driver's seat) and is held in place just by the trim - I haven't had to use it yet for Android Auto however (see below). Performance Overall I'm very happy with how the unit is performing over the past ~2 weeks it has been installed. Despite having to use the AUX cable through the centre console I haven't noticed a very perceptible drop in sound quality, which was one of my concerns before buying. Maybe they have improved the DAC in the recent revisions of the unit, or maybe I am just not picky but I honestly can't say it sounds any better or worse than music through Bluetooth which I used before. Keeping the AUX volume on the iDrive setting at 50% or close to helps, as well as adjusting the Equaliser (which for me came from factory with settings set which might also have helped) Wireless performance has been great. I use Android Auto wirelessly on a Samsung S21 and it has been near faultless at connecting. I note from this thread that previous versions of the unit did not have wireless AA or there were intermittent issues with it. Mine has connected automatically every time I start the car. Usually around 10 seconds for unit to boot and AA notification to pop on my phone. Only twice has it failed to connect, I think this may have been related to me engaging reverse while the unit was booting and it having to swap quickly to the PDC screen. Performance of the unit day to day is good. I haven't used the touchscreen much but it's responsive and I haven't noticed much jerkiness/slowness. Some bugs I thought were issues with the Andream unit are current Android Auto bugs (see below). The 10.25" screen is a great upgrade from the 6.5" screen I had, which only really was useful when picking an FM/DAB station or for displaying Bluetooth track information. I barely ever used the BMW nav. My original iDrive system didn't have an 8" screen option so resolution can't be changed, but the split-screen workaround they have when going back to original iDrive menus is fine to me, better than stretching the image and I don't look at it much at all anymore. Steering wheel controls work on my car! (I saw other posters saying they don't). At the very least I can use the right-hand scroll wheel to skip forward/back tracks, which I couldn't on the normal iDrive using BT audo. That in itself is a massive bonus for me. Cons The mic quality is the big downfall of this device. I haven't made many calls with it, but the people on the other end definitely noticed I was harder to make out. I think it gets worse with road noise. I tried using the workaround earlier in this thread of having both bluetooth connections live (car & head unit) but I couldn't force it to use the BMW phone system, Android Auto kept capturing the call and keeping it within that system. The call doesn't show on my phone either, only showing on AA so I can't force it to change to a different bluetooth connection. Maybe this is a recent change to Android Auto i.e. the call isn't shown at all on the phone and kept within the AA device. I unpaired the BMW bluetooth connection since. Using the mic for Siri/OK Google is touch and go - leaning into the device and speaking as clearly as possible is required. For speech input I definitely need to be picked up correctly I use my phone (such as addresses etc). It isn't going to be reliable for replying to text messages by voice. As noted above the device didn't connect wirelessly to AA for me once or twice. The only way to fix it was to turn the car off for ~20 seconds to power cycle the Andream unit. Trying to connect to AA by USB cable when it has failed to connect wirelessly doesn't work. >What I would say though is that after a reboot it connected straight away >This is a much better success rate than by BMW Bluetooth, which failed to connect to my phone probably 1 in every 10 drives, and there was no way to reboot the iDrive to fix it (power cycling would be like 10 mins) >On this note if anyone knows how to force reboot the Andream unit let me know, I had seen holding Back on iDrive controller for 10 seconds but long holding on any button doesn't seem to reboot it Some bugs I have noticed (but I think these are with Android Auto itself). Big one is Google Maps ignoring the day/night/auto setting for map darkness, it's incredibly bright at night when it starts up on day colours - have to go into the setting each time. This definitely appeared to be a bug in AA which is being worked on. The glare of the screen I haven't noticed myself much as yet, but it's winter here so I have been driving at night and not in direct sunlight yet. This might be an issue in the summer. The unit did seem to get very hot at one point when I first used it, however I was running my climate control at 28 celcius lol. Probably that. One small gripe is that the splash logo on boot is no longer BMW branded, it's a basic looking car silhoutte image which is a bit aftermarkety looking. They probably got a cease & desist from BMW. I don't think this is customisable, and I don't fancy messing with any firmware updates just yet. Overall I'm glad I installed this and it has really modernised the interior of my 2013 F31. Having Carplay/AA is so much better than the ancient and function-lacking iDrive system, and will be updated as time goes on as well. I can look past the poor mic as I don't make a lot of calls while driving and the other functions are enough of a benefit to me to justify it (even just having a bigger screen, displaying album art and being able to browse YT music while driving is worth the price of the unit for me!) Attached Images Last edited by niallt; 01-28-2023 at 03:28 PM..
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02-28-2023, 01:27 PM	#226
Mooney6959 Private 21 Rep 99 Posts Drives: 2015 435xi Convertible Join Date: Oct 2022 Location: Apex, NC iTrader: (0)	A quick question for the masses in this group. I want the 8.8 to replace my stock 8.8 (I've had a 10.25 and didn't like it), and it seems Andream is the only one who sells that size. My question to the group is has anybody tried to return your unit to Andream? If this thing has serious issues, I'm not interested in diagnosing it, nor do I want to be out $300.
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03-22-2023, 09:50 AM	#230
devioushaikuzero Private 4 Rep 77 Posts Drives: 2013 328i Join Date: Mar 2023 Location: Michigan iTrader: (0)	So, I bought an f30 with the andream non-android 10.25" installed. The audio quality is so bad. I find it unbearable, it kind of ruins the car for me. I figure it is 80% the shitty DAC/AUX system from Andream and 20% that the HiFi speakers and amp are subpar. I have a couple of questions: 1.) Does anyone have any recommendation on improving the audio quality? The distortion is so intense. It sounds like the integrated loudness on the head unit is maxed out. I feel that, regardless of EQ or audio settings, the distortion is substantial and unavoidable. 2.) If I were to replace this unit, either with an aftermarket or EVO hardware, which has the best audio quality? I want loud, vibrant, clear, and fantastic sounding music. I would even forgo android auto just so I can listen to music without wanting to jab my eardrums out with a spoon. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Edit: I have a 2013 328 with CIC unit. Last edited by devioushaikuzero; 03-22-2023 at 09:53 AM.. Reason: updated which unit I have.
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03-25-2023, 04:02 PM	#231
FastFrog Private First Class 144 Rep 171 Posts Drives: 335i N55 E91 / 340i B58 F30 Join Date: Aug 2019 Location: France iTrader: (0)	If you have an iPhone, you should be able to avoid using the unit's DAC, see Terto's post above in this thread. I have an Android phone, and ended up accepting the sound for a daily use, because I also have a "high quality music" setup for the car, consisting in sending the digital signal straight to the Matchup amp through an optical connector. This way, the screen (and entire iDrive either) is not used. It is direct digital stream from the phone to the amp, then back to the speakers.
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03-30-2023, 03:59 PM	#232
plantseed Registered 0 Rep 4 Posts Drives: F30 Join Date: Oct 2022 Location: Indiana iTrader: (0)	Is there anyway to code out the CD player from the iDrive system? Sometimes the default car system picks CD Player instead of AUX and i will have to go out of the CarPlay with the menu button to pick AUX, its a small matter but if there is something that can be done it would be better.
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04-06-2023, 04:14 AM	#234
Tina* New Member 5 Rep 6 Posts Drives: BMW F30 Join Date: Apr 2020 Location: Germany iTrader: (0)	I installed and tried it for about 3-4 days,it looks good for the price. https://www.ewaying.de/collections/f...android-system The unit works well, switching between the NBT and the carplay system works smoothly. The volume is more than enough to play music loudly. I was worried about noise, but it came out well. Google Assistant/Siri is accessible from the steering wheel button. Other features are accessible via either touchscreen or the iDrive button (you pick). The split screen functionality is really cool so you can navigate with Google maps and have Spotify on the right to easily check and manage your music. The camera and screen both work really well, the tablet is performant and doesn’t struggle or stutter and the camera framerate and low-light performance is decent. The physical fitment is perfect, it looks OEM and with some research the installation looks and works really well. As for cons: there is a 1-2s audio delay present when connecting via wireless carplay, some delay is expected when using bluetooth but it is very noticeable. The iDrive controller functionality, at least for the pre-LCI controller is limited. The cardinal directions do not function, but the scrolling and pressing functions work both in the custom UI and CarPlay. My experience is with a 2012 F30.
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04-06-2023, 10:38 PM	#235
Sally63 New Member 2 Rep 15 Posts Drives: BMW f30 Join Date: Mar 2023 Location: Berlin, Germany iTrader: (0)	I can recommend this product, as it works really good in my BMW F30, and it's affordable. Only thing that I had to activate my AUX..Because the product can only transmit sound through AUX. I think it would be even better if it could also be via bluetooth. When I was on the phone, the sound quality wasn't ideal, but at least it was clear for normal conversations. I bought it elsewhere before and couldn't hear it at all on the device, which sucks. The seller is very responsive and good to deal with, plus fast shipping. They helped me quickly when I had problems installing. CarPlay works fine, connected with my iPhone when i start my car. The original Rear Camera works also perfekt and the PDC, all Signals wokrs fine. Overall, a good experience.
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04-07-2023, 10:25 AM	#236
Ryval1224 Registered 0 Rep 1 Posts Drives: 2013 328i Join Date: Apr 2023 Location: AZ iTrader: (0)	Android Auto Sound everything I have set up works great expect for sound. I have both bluetooth connections hooked up but the one for android Auto doesn't have sound. I've tried using one or the other and nothing seems to work. When I use the original BMW bluebooth I can listen to Pandora on my phone through the bluetooth no problem. Do I need to update. I am currently using bmwlzhd2021 code firmware.
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04-13-2023, 08:38 AM	#240
FastFrog Private First Class 144 Rep 171 Posts Drives: 335i N55 E91 / 340i B58 F30 Join Date: Aug 2019 Location: France iTrader: (0)	On an other note, I recently experienced GPS loss when using google maps on the screen. (I prefer Maps over Waze). The GPS signal couldn't seem stop from being found and lost again, pretty annoying. I'm not sure where the issue comes from, but it seems like I got it fixed by setting the position permission to "always" instead of "when the application is in use" on maps. In case it can help someone here...
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04-13-2023, 11:54 PM	#241
yrxe New Member 2 Rep 6 Posts Drives: bmw 420d cabrio Join Date: Dec 2022 Location: Lithuania iTrader: (0)	Hello, I have just installed on my BMW 4 series Cabrio (F33) this Linux android auto head unit yesterday evening and had only one ride, so I will post long use review later. First impression. I was fearing to deal with low sound quality as in posts above and to my surprise so far I havent really noticed any change at all. head unit had even selection for what unit audio equipment I have and I selected the correct one Harman Kardon. Which shouldn't really impact anything as audio connector to the car is still through AUX. Also had few calls when testing and I got no comments about low sound or bad quality. Other things. Android Auto wired works flawlessly Android Auto wirelless sometimes wasnt able to connect but could be due to I was connecting back and forward many times during install. Need to test more. A little bit on the down side is the screen resolution and how the original UI looks. It feels a bit outdated due to UI is simply scaled up for the bigger screen with huge texts. One more thing that I will keep digging in is car original control buttons. So far all those work and respond while you are in linux headunit menu once you switch to Android Auto those become mostly useless. In example when I press phone button it doesnt open Android Auto dialer. Or if I am in Android Auto menu and press Nav button it doesnt switch to Navigation (waze or g.maps). Is it the same for others also? One more tricky was the main cable connector that is going to the screen supper hard was to squeeze it in as the unit main board was even bending when trying to pry it in, but finally all worked. One more thing I wasnt expecting is the integration for climate control or door open/close animations, nice touch on this. Unit that I bought has EU shipping warehouse and it cost me only 224.99 eur https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005...21ef1802qa9oW0 short video: https://youtu.be/b_XkGmJHA4Y few photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/aHoyjsncsMR5RDxB8 Overall so far I am more happy then I was expecting from cheap aftermarket solution. if someone will look for factory menu sharing that it has two entries, one with pin '0000' and the more extensive with '8866'
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04-14-2023, 01:30 AM	#242
Sally63 New Member 2 Rep 15 Posts Drives: BMW f30 Join Date: Mar 2023 Location: Berlin, Germany iTrader: (0)	Neulich habe ich meinem Freund empfohlen, seinen E60-Android-Bildschirm zu kaufen. Insgesamt ist es in Ordnung. Aber auch einige kleine Probleme aufgetreten. Es kann beim Telefonieren nicht klar hören, vielleicht ist es ein Mikrofonproblem, der Ton muss natürlich immer noch über AUX ausgegeben werden, okay. . Es läuft ziemlich flüssig. Bisher ist mein Freund damit ganz zufrieden und ich hoffe, dass es in Zukunft keine Probleme geben wird. Bisher empfehle ich ihre Produkte immer noch.
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