[Pro-Owner]

Hi everyone,

I started off by reading some experiences in this thread https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1639676, but i still have quite a few questions that I think others may find useful as well. I'm going to try to be as methodical as possible, so here goes. (The questions are in bold, I'll add responses in regular text to this post along the way).

1. What is the boot time for these headunits, and when does the boot start (when unlocking, or when starting the car)?

Originally Posted by lehtee

1. According to reviews I've seen, boot time is something like 15-30 seconds. But someone who owns an unit will know better.

2. How do these units hold up in cold humid weather?

3. How is the brightness compared to the original, especially during bright sunny days?

4. I know the new chips (qualcom) have good audio quality, but what about volume, the difference between Bluetooth and radio is very noticeable on the original radio, is it the same with this (i.e. Android part lower volume than iDrive radio)?

5. Are these devices rooted?

Originally Posted by lehtee

5. The devices are not rooted by default and it is quite hard to root them. Some people have succeeded on rooting their unit on the android 7.1/8 models but I haven't seen a 9.0 root yet.

6. Does anybody have a 1920x720 (or close to this) version, with a qualcom 8 core cpu, 4gb ram, 64gb rom and anti glare screen with good brightness? If so, where can I find it?

Originally Posted by lehtee

6. I have searched a lot and came to conclusion that there is no model with 1920x720 screen AND snapdragon. It's either 1280x480 screen + Snapdragon or better screen with PX6

7. Does sound from the android part, for example spotify, stop when accessing the iDrive part for for example vehicule info?

8. Is the dashboard (rpm , speed, fual level etc.) still as choppy as in the videos from the android 7 & 8 versions?

9. Can the buttons on the radio fascia still be used to add shortcuts like it does on the iDrive?

10. Which buttons on the controller & steering wheel don't work with the adroid unit, or do something weird? (like on the original radio, the steering wheel scroll can't skip songs over bluetooth)

11. Is there a difference between i.e. AVIN units and the aliexpress ones, even though they look the same?

Originally Posted by lehtee

11. No. The products are same, the difference between sellers is in after sales support. However you may be able to add some (costly) extras to your unit (built in carplay for example) with some sellers but not all.

12. For europeans, supplier ewaying seems to be a good option due to the german warehouse, can anybody confirm if their products are as good as the others?

Originally Posted by lehtee

12. See #11, I'm sure there's maybe 1-2 factories all units come from. Ewaying is the same products, but I have noticed they don't have the latest models available (at least for F20).

13. When adding the optional DAB+ dongle, can you somehow avoid having to add the external antenna (by splitting the regular antenna cable for example)?

14. Does it remember on startup, where it left off last time, if you had a specific app open, does it restart that app?

15. There are a few optional bits and pieces with these units, like the DAB+ dongle etc. Is there anything you really recommend getting?

16. Is there anything you think I really should know about these headunits?

Thanks in advance!

[Hopfinger]

Great idea to start a second thread!

[Pro-Owner]

Originally Posted by Hopfinger

Great idea to start a second thread!

Thanks! Was debating about splitting every question in a post so I can start a 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc as well.

Now without sarcasm, The one I referenced was a "share your experiences" thread. Sure i can ask questions there, but it's not the point of the thread. And even if I do ask information there (which I have already done), the questions won't all be answered because it's difficult to keep track on what's been answered and what not. I get the frustration when creating double threads about the same thing. But this seems different enough to me, to validate the separate thread.

If it really bothers everyone that much i'll just delete it.

[lehtee]

Originally Posted by Pro-Owner

Hi everyone,

I started off by reading some experiences in this thread https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1639676, but i still have quite a few questions that I think others may find useful as well. I'm going to try to be as methodical as possible, so here goes. (The questions are in bold, I'll add responses in regular text to this post along the way).

I don't have the unit yet, but I can answer some questions already;

1. According to reviews I've seen, boot time is something like 15-30 seconds. But someone who owns an unit will know better.
5. The devices are not rooted by default and it is quite hard to root them. Some people have succeeded on rooting their unit on the android 7.1/8 models but I haven't seen a 9.0 root yet.
6. I have searched a lot and came to conclusion that there is no model with 1920x720 screen AND snapdragon. It's either 1280x480 screen + Snapdragon or better screen with PX6.
11. No. The products are same, the difference between sellers is in after sales support. However you may be able to add some (costly) extras to your unit (built in carplay for example) with some sellers but not all.
12. See #11, I'm sure there's maybe 1-2 factories all units come from. Ewaying is the same products, but I have noticed they don't have the latest models available (at least for F20).

[adrien78]

why starting a second thread... it will become the same as HU 7.1 ... you can just contact the guy that did the 1st one to add you questions in his post

[Pro-Owner]

Originally Posted by adrien78

why starting a second thread... it will become the same as HU 7.1 ... you can just contact the guy that did the 1st one to add you questions in his post

Fair enough, i'll post it in the other thread, the owner of the thread can then decide if it's worth merging them.