New Android Head Unit - Success

[ddruker]

Wanted to share success installing a brand new Android head unit into my 2001 Boxter S. I am very happy with the results.

First I did the usual sound system upgrades. I installed rear speakers in the back shelf using the kit from eBay and 3.5" pioneer speakers from Amazon. Then I swapped in a used six-channel amp from a wrecked 911 Cabriolet that I bought on ebay so I had full sound to all speakers.

I removed the useless cup holder and the CD storage in the main console. I replace the CD storage with a cubby. Removing the cup holder and the factory head unit left me with a double-din opening.

The Android head unit I chose was from Joying. They have good support and this is their newest unit based on Android 8.0. It basically acts almost exactly like an android tablet, with the addition of a radio. For Internet, it connects either to my phone's hotspot, or to my home wifi or work wifi or any other wifi hotspot.

The unit installs with the standard after-market adapters and harnesses for double-din radios for the 986. There is a little bit of filing required to get the joying unit to fit perfectly in the double-din dash adapter, and then a little bit of cutting of the dash opening to get the double-din adapter to fit into it. But not a big deal - about 30 minutes of careful trimming all together.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007WQ8XY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007WW64O/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N3T0ZBW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It turned out great. It's all touchscreen, and now I have several thousand audio files on a USB stick, plus Google maps, Waze, Torque, Bluetooth and internet streaming music and any other apps you can think of that runs on an android phone. I've even done a video conference from the car! You can stream video if you so desire. Or you can go old school and listen to the radio. The phone also works pretty well, though people can't hear me perfectly with the top down at freeway speeds. I might install a backup camera, but the Boxster is so small I don't really think I need it. The unit also supports a DVR app with a front-facing camera for continuous recording of traffic in front of you.



Happy to answer any questions - this was a worthy upgrade.

[adamsmith7773]

Do you have Hi-Fi system with fiber optic? I got one from pumpkin but I am stuck on what to do with the Fiber optic cable.

[obthomas]

Fiber optics shows up and complicates things about 2002-3

[adamsmith7773]

Originally Posted by obthomas

Fiber optics shows up and complicates things about 2002-3

I have a 2004 and it has fiber optic. I was planning to get this fiber optic decoder unit, do you know if this will work?

https://www.amazon.com/XTRONS-Optical-Replacement-Decoder-Mercedes-Benz/dp/B071DHTXR6

[gonzzo]

Great post!....

May I have the radio model number?....

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[Cunningr]

Nice looking install.

[ddruker]

Originally Posted by gonzzo

Great post!....

May I have the radio model number?....

Sent from my MHA-L29 using Tapatalk

The model number of the joying head unit I purchased is JY-UO128P4

Strong recommendation if you are considering a Joying head unit is to buy models with part numbers ending in P4, and avoid models ending in PX5. Long story.

[mikomiles]

If you have the MOST fiber system in your 986 and want to add a double DIN android unit I recommend moving both the factory radio (CDR-23) and HVAC controls to the lower to console slots. Radio above AC so that an ejected CD doesn't interfere with the shift lever. Then get a MOST aux interface like the ones sold by Mr. 12v. You can find them on Ebay for about $150 USD (a lot less than the $600+ for other units by Dension or NAV-TV). This adds a stereo AUX input to the CDR-23 (along with Bluetooth, USB and SD card inputs that you don't really need depending on your android unit). It connects to the MOST loop so super clean audio and spoofs a CD changer, so if you don't have a changer in your car you'll need to have the dealership program the CDR-23 to look for one. If you have an existing changer, it will no longer be available, but no big loss since you can just rip all those CDs to MP3s and load them into your new android unit. Now your new android unit preamp L/R outs will feed into the AUX input and directly into your MOST bus. Alternately, if your android unit allows you to pair with external bluetooth speakers, you can pair that to the Mr. 12v adapter and might be able to see track data from displayed on the CDR-23 and dash display, but I haven't tested that yet.

The advantage of this setup is you will still be able to fade sound front to back using the CDR-23 controls. If you get rid of the radio, you will lose that ability. Also, if your car has dynamic volume control (turns up when it gets loud in the car) this will still happen when listening to the android unit. Finally, if you got an android unit without a disc player and for some reason in 2019 you still want to play a CD, the CD player in the CDR-23 will still work. Your whole console will be bristling with working devices and no blank pockets just like newer models.

Note: If you have the thin cup holder system just below the air vents in your car, the Metra 2DIN kit doesn't fit right. Its face is convex to match the other design where the bottom of the vents aren't flat and will stick out from the console. You'll have to spend the extra money to get the kit from Euro Motorspeed. Make sure it's the updated kit from them (it will say so on Ebay) which allows precise adjustment of the depth of the android unit so it will be flush with the bezel.

Also, so you can stream content on the go, either tether the android to your smartphone wi-fi hotspot or you can get the Harmon Spark from AT&T which plugs into your OBD port and creates a hotspot for anything in your car with unlimited data for $35 USD/Month. That unit also sends some of your car's diagnostic information to an app that you can load into the android head unit and your smartphone. Not sure if it connects to the Torque App, but it will still give you a connected car experience like new cars have.

[M9G]

for your harnesses with or without fibre then go to www.connects2.co.uk, they do everything you need, I've used them a few times for android conversions and they are superb with customer support as well. They also sell a superb perfect fit facia that comes with the CC facia as well.

[BoxMann]

Originally Posted by obthomas

Fiber optics shows up and complicates things about 2002-3

I believe it's 2003-2004

[rflores2323]

I have a joying unit also. Works great and joying support is good. Have you updated to latest firmware?

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