Android Head Unit for 8V. Anyone got it already?

[dpmotley]

Hello everyone. Does anyone have a RSNav Android head unit on a 8V? Mind sharing your opinion? I have an android HU on my 8PA and I will miss it when I trade it for a 8V soon, so despite I'm not a 8V owner yet I'm looking for improvements for my next car already. Can anyone post a review?

[liljonny16]

What are the odds, I have one. Lol. So far I'm loving it. The guy who sells them, Daniel, is the man. Best customer support ever. The system is not 100% flawless yet but they're working on it. Here are a few issues I've had so far.

- While using Android interface the volume control sometimes stops working. So you will have to switch over to the Audi interface and adjust the volume. It's quite random when it stops working. Sometimes when I switch apps it might stop and then sometimes if I have to make a quick stop somewhere. When I return and start the car, the volume control might not work.

- The GPS and Cellular antennas aren't the best. I personally never had any issues with them but some people had issues according to their Wiki page. I just went ahead and bought some adapters on Amazon and use my stock antennas.

- Not an issue but it was problem for me. They state that the bundled mic has to be used and that is true. My audio kept sounding tiny, no low end. It turned out to be a short in the mic. So I bought one on Amazon and everything is working as it should.

- Don't bother buying that Screen Mirroring License, it doesn't work.

[mroberte]

What are the odds, I have one. Lol. So far I'm loving it. The guy who sells them, Daniel, is the man. Best customer support ever. The system is not 100% flawless yet but they're working on it. Here are a few issues I've had so far.

- While using Android interface the volume control sometimes stops working. So you will have to switch over to the Audi interface and adjust the volume. It's quite random when it stops working. Sometimes when I switch apps it might stop and then sometimes if I have to make a quick stop somewhere. When I return and start the car, the volume control might not work.

- The GPS and Cellular antennas aren't the best. I personally never had any issues with them but some people had issues according to their Wiki page. I just went ahead and bought some adapters on Amazon and use my stock antennas.

- Not an issue but it was problem for me. They state that the bundled mic has to be used and that is true. My audio kept sounding tiny, no low end. It turned out to be a short in the mic. So I bought one on Amazon and everything is working as it should.

- Don't bother buying that Screen Mirroring License, it doesn't work.

Does this allow full control via steering wheel and the center console controls? I currently have a no-name version and only touchscreen controls it.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[liljonny16]

Does this allow full control via steering wheel and the center console controls? I currently have a no-name version and only touchscreen controls it.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

It does not allow full control because all the audio is being piped through the Aux input. If they were to hi-jack the Bluetooth connection they could probably get full steering wheel controls. But I don't think anyone is going to do that.

[dpmotley]

What are the odds, I have one. Lol. So far I'm loving it. The guy who sells them, Daniel, is the man. Best customer support ever. The system is not 100% flawless yet but they're working on it. Here are a few issues I've had so far.

- While using Android interface the volume control sometimes stops working. So you will have to switch over to the Audi interface and adjust the volume. It's quite random when it stops working. Sometimes when I switch apps it might stop and then sometimes if I have to make a quick stop somewhere. When I return and start the car, the volume control might not work.

- The GPS and Cellular antennas aren't the best. I personally never had any issues with them but some people had issues according to their Wiki page. I just went ahead and bought some adapters on Amazon and use my stock antennas.

- Not an issue but it was problem for me. They state that the bundled mic has to be used and that is true. My audio kept sounding tiny, no low end. It turned out to be a short in the mic. So I bought one on Amazon and everything is working as it should.

- Don't bother buying that Screen Mirroring License, it doesn't work.

Thank you! Was it easy to connect to the OEM GPS antenna using the adapter?
As I understood from your post, this HU doesn't work with the OEM mic, does it? It uses its own built-in mic that isn't great, right?
Do all the Google Play apps work? I guess they do, but am asking anyway to be sure.

@mroberte, the seller states on his website that all the steering wheel buttons work as oem and with Android apps. I hope they do, let's wait for liljonny16 to comment.

[dpmotley]

It does not allow full control because all the audio is being piped through the Aux input. If they were to hi-jack the Bluetooth connection they could probably get full steering wheel controls. But I don't think anyone is going to do that.

Doesn't it play audio off a SD card or stream it from Spotify or Audible? Can you control volume and change tracks? That's all I need, honestly.

[liljonny16]

Thank you! Was it easy to connect to the OEM GPS antenna using the adapter?
As I understood from your post, this HU doesn't work with the OEM mic, does it? It uses its own built-in mic that isn't great, right?
Do all the Google Play apps work? I guess they do, but am asking anyway to be sure.

@mroberte, the seller states on his website that all the steering wheel buttons work as oem and with Android apps. I hope they do, let's wait for liljonny16 to comment.

It was super easy to connect to the OEM GPS antenna. You do need to shave off a piece of the adapter in order for it to fit but it affects nothing other than allowing it to fit.

Correct, it doesn't work with the OEM mic. I personally keep my phone's Bluetooth connected to the OEM system and not the Android one. I only use the Android mic for talking to Google on those rare occasions.

Every app I've tried works so far except for Netflix. It won't show up in the store. I haven't gotten around side loading it yet. But the head unit is essentially just an Android tablet.

[liljonny16]

Doesn't it play audio off a SD card or stream it from Spotify or Audible? Can you control volume and change tracks? That's all I need, honestly.

Yes, it plays audio off a micro sd card. It can stream whatever app is on Android. You can add a sim card to the head unit or use your phone as a hotspot. Android Auto works great with the optional dongle.


They mentioned on their website about the MMI controls working but they don't work, at least not yet. I know they're still working on a fixing a few things.

[NickBurns]

It does not allow full control because all the audio is being piped through the Aux input. If they were to hi-jack the Bluetooth connection they could probably get full steering wheel controls. But I don't think anyone is going to do that.

Wait... Aux Input? As in 3.5mm headphone jack????

I was going to write this EXACT post, but found this today.

I'm concerned for audio quality, but if I'm going aftermarket amps/speakers does that no longer apply (by using RSNav outs to the amps)?

3.5mm jack is a bad bottleneck to have for quality sound. Like... anything beyond "stereo".... I like my in-car surround sound. :)

Sent from my SM-G965U using Audizine mobile app

[NickBurns]

Hello everyone. Does anyone have a RSNav Android head unit on a 8V? Mind sharing your opinion? I have an android HU on my 8PA and I will miss it when I trade it for a 8V soon, so despite I'm not a 8V owner yet I'm looking for improvements for my next car already. Can anyone post a review?

Follow up question

Anyone go from the 5in to the 7in?
Anyone do the 8in?

Likes, dislikes?

Sent from my SM-G965U using Audizine mobile app

[dpmotley]

As long as we can continue using the oem BT, I'd rather use it instead of the aftermarket one. I can't do it on my 8P Android unit.

Can it play music off an Audi HU instead of the Android? Or Android music player is better?

It sucks that the MMI controls don't work. Don't they show the controls working in their video?

[liljonny16]

Wait... Aux Input? As in 3.5mm headphone jack????

I was going to write this EXACT post, but found this today.

I'm concerned for audio quality, but if I'm going aftermarket amps/speakers does that no longer apply (by using RSNav outs to the amps)?

3.5mm jack is a bad bottleneck to have for quality sound. Like... anything beyond "stereo".... I like my in-car surround sound. :)

Sent from my SM-G965U using Audizine mobile app

Aux audio quality isn't bad. It's a direct, pure connection. But you're right, you won't be able to get 5.1 or 7.1 out of it. That's what the aftermarket equipment is for, such as a DSP.

The way the RSNAV plays audio is no different than if you were to plug your phone up through the Aux input. Any EQ available on Android could be used. I'm sure there's probably something to "mimic" 5.1 though.

I have the 7" btw.

[liljonny16]

As long as we can continue using the oem BT, I'd rather use it instead of the aftermarket one. I can't do it on my 8P Android unit.

Can it play music off an Audi HU instead of the Android? Or Android music player is better?

It sucks that the MMI controls don't work. Don't they show the controls working in their video?

Yes. You can play music using the Audi HU instead.

Currently, I use the Audi HU and play my music off of the SD card. Until they implement MMI controls in Android, it's a whole lot easier to navigate with MMI controls while driving. I use the Android interface when I listen to Pandora or when I need to use Google Maps to navigate somewhere.

If you're looking for an aftermarket head unit for better sound, this isn't it. If you're looking to have what is basically an Android tablet integrated into your dash, then this is for you.

[NickBurns]

Yes. You can play music using the Audi HU instead.

Currently, I use the Audi HU and play my music off of the SD card. Until they implement MMI controls in Android, it's a whole lot easier to navigate with MMI controls while driving. I use the Android interface when I listen to Pandora or when I need to use Google Maps to navigate somewhere.

If you're looking for an aftermarket head unit for better sound, this isn't it. If you're looking to have what is basically an Android tablet integrated into your dash, then this is for you.

Yeah, that's too bad about the audio quality. It's not like we have a lot of options for head units in these cars... being that it's all split up and junk - something that kept me away from Audi/BMW for a long time.

If you guys know of another unit that would produce better sound and not leave me with a hole in my dash, I'm all ears!

Sent from my SM-G965U using Audizine mobile app

[liljonny16]

It looks like the only way to get better sound is to use a DSP. It won't leave you with a hole in your dash. This is pretty much gonna be the case going forward for almost every new car. Manufacturer's are integrating the head unit into the dash and making it an almost integral part of the car.

For me, it's a love hate relationship. I like that they're finally taking audio more seriously but I hate that they're leaving us without the option to upgrade. The stock head unit is pretty nice in the number of options we have, cd, 2 sd card slots, built in hard drive, MMI port with the option to add a usb port or aux, and Bluetooth. My only issue with the stock head unit is the fact that I haven't seen a hack to enable VIM. That is one of the main reasons why I went with the RSNAV head unit and for Android Auto of course. I actually liked the stock navigation, it worked great for me. But I'm out of the warranty period and I'm not longer able to receive the free map updates.

I would suggest looking for a JBL MS-8 on the Bay.