yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Android Head-Units] slunat:
I think I'd rather it took my phone GPS tbh as it's a lot better than my cars. That being said, I didn't really have any major issues with my maps when I tested. It knocked me off route once but I was driving through a country road with not the best signal and my phone had lost complete signal as well at that point.
[Android Head-Units] Ben.suffolk:
It seems it uses a combination of both to enhance the accuracy.
[Android Head-Units] Ravijordan1:
Updated my iPhone to 12.3 today and I've noticed my Google maps gps has been working ok today with the wireless carplay,I had 1 disconnection and it still does not connect automatically but I'm happy with it now it does basically what it says on the box.

---------- Post added at 06:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:45 PM ----------

Just been in contact with carlinke and they said there is another update coming soon.
[Android Head-Units] Ben.suffolk:
What address are you using to email them? Would be good for us to pass back feedback and suggestions.
[Android Head-Units] Ravijordan1:
I just use the contact seller that's if you've bought from them on aliexpress and exchange messages that way
[Android Head-Units] Ben.suffolk:
Fair enough, I did. But I asked them about and address for sending feedback, and they ignored that request, and didn't suggest I should tell them and they would pass it on etc.

I'll wait for this next update you say is coming and gather some feedback together after that and send it.
[Android Head-Units] slunat:
Might be a good idea to send them a link to this forum as well so they can see what issues people are having when the post on here
[Android Head-Units] Ben.suffolk:
There is an update for wireless, not tried it yet but just got the following message:

Upgrade APK:

Need to delete existing APP, and reinstall the new one: http://121.40.123.198:8080/AutoKit/Beta/AutoKit-upgrade0516.rar

Upgrade firmware:

1.Format U-disk to FAT32

2. Put the Auto_Box_Update.img file in into U-disk (blank U-disk ) root directory (you don't bring folder into U-disk )

3. Insert the U-disk into the product's usb port

4. Upgrade automatically , press the reminder to dial the U disk (upgrade time lasts 2-3 minutes), do not power off during the upgrade process.

Function Description:

1. Bluetooth icon in the upper left corner of APP: click to connect manually

2. APP WIFI icon in the upper left corner: Click to enter the pairing list, long press the phone name to delete the pairing

3. Increase the setting of the Carplay disconnected by the APP (long press the back button to disconnect or disconnect through the suspension ball)

4. Increase automatic connection

5.16 version update:

1. solve the problem of some car machine sounds

2. solve the disconnection problem

3. suspension ball increase disconnect icon
[Android Head-Units] Ravijordan1:
Received it also will try it out later
[Android Head-Units] slunat:
I'll try it later, wish they'd just make use of the built in update function though, gotta find a USB to format now [emoji849]
[Android Head-Units] Ben.suffolk:
I have done the update, firstly there was no notification about the single upgrading, it just kept saying insert the product. So I just having it 5 mins and then pulled the usb drive out and after a reboot it showed the next version was installed.

I deleted my Bluetooth connection from the iPhone and repaired it. It finds my phone and pairs but never manages to connect via the WiFi. It gets into a loop of trying to connect then showing an error. Then trying again

Works fine on the cable. But nothing wireless. So do be wary of doing this upgrade.....

Will feedback to the company and see what they say.
[Android Head-Units] slunat:
****, thanks for testing, think I'll hold off. Are you at least able to get it working with the previous app version or is it the dongle firmware that's broken it?
[Android Head-Units] Ravijordan1:
Did you do update while the dongle was still connected to the HU?

It might be your update didn't install properly that's what happened to my last dongle so I usually get the dongle out and connect it to my Samsung tablet and install is a lot quicker that way.
[Android Head-Units] Ben.suffolk:
The only android device I have is the HU, but if all it needs is power to update and not the app running (since the app just says insert the product as soon as you plug the USB disk into it, I assume it stops talking to the app, so actually does not need the app to update). Then I could try it on a USB charger, or my mac laptop I guess.

When its trying to connect if I go into the wifi menu on the phone I can see a wifi network for the dongle, but its a protected network and so I can't join it as I don't know what the password is
[Android Head-Units] Bradsr12:
I have been unable to download from the address you have given, may I ask if you could please upload it to google drive?
[Android Head-Units] Ben.suffolk:
Personally as it didn;t work for me I'm not sure you should try the upgrade, but if you want to here is a link to the file https://www.dropbox.com/s/kpczdvkuvzpgd7l/AutoKit-upgrade0516.rar?dl=1

I have tried the original APK and same results, so its certainly a firmware issue. The APK is version 2019.05.16.1721 and the Box version is 2019.05.16.1719 and I'm using an iPhone X on ios 12.3 which was working fine on the previous box firmware version
[Android Head-Units] Bradsr12:
Bless you, thank you so much.. I will give it a try later.

I purchased 2 of these devices just in case! If one stops working I have the other until they further update again!

Many thanks again! ?
[Android Head-Units] dchuraman:
Hi all

following with interest, as I've just got a wireless CarPlay dongle too. I've install the apk above and it works ok, I initially had issues with it throwing up errors after the bluetooth connection but reconnecting again and closing the app worked fine, now reconnects automatically when I start the car etc, as it should I think.

But not sure how to update the box itself? Do I put the img on a usb disk as described, insert that as well as the dongle, and then open the app and it updates automatically? I.e it knows it's on the disk?
[Android Head-Units] Bradsr12:
With the non wireless unit I originally had, you started the app then plugged in the usb with the image file on it..

But to be honest I am not so sure on the new one!
[Android Head-Units] dchuraman:
Thanks, how can I tell the version that should be contained in the img file? To compare with what is currently on the box
[Android Head-Units] dchuraman:
I tried updating it as suggested above and the version number stayed the same, whether that means it didn't update or that I was already on the latest box version I don't know. I don't know how to find out what version number is contained in that img
[Android Head-Units] Bradsr12:
One question I have if anyone can help?

I’m running Android 8 on my head unit, and using AutoKit, when I change the volume the status bar comes down, does anyone else have this issue?

Many thanks
[Android Head-Units] dchuraman:
ok im an idiot. i was plugging the usb into the other headunit socket, not the dongle itself. idiot!
[Android Head-Units] Ravijordan1:
OK I have just updated my dongle it only took a few seconds to update connected to my Samsung tablet,

Then I found it would not wireless connect,so what I did was I unpaired the Bluetooth connection and then I paired it again and now it works,just need to test it on the road maybe tomorrow now and see how it goes.
[Android Head-Units] slunat:
One more issue I've just noticed. My in car microphone doesn't seem to work with this wireless dongle. Anyone else noticed this? Just made a call and they couldn't hear me at all through the car.
[Android Head-Units] Ben.suffolk:
Did it tell you it was updating? And when itnhad finished?

On my HU the only thing the app does when I plug the USB drive in is look like the dongle is not there. Just saying connect product
[Android Head-Units] Ravijordan1:
When you update on HU I find it is really slow and it crashes so that's why I do it on a tablet or Android device.

Yes it tells you that it is updating it took a few seconds and tells you its updated.
[Android Head-Units] onizuka007:
Same here, After update can‘t connect to wireless CarPlay anymore. :(

Already repaired bluetooth a few times. Seems phone can‘t connect to dongle wifi.
[Android Head-Units] Ravijordan1:
What I did was I deleted the Bluetooth setting then I paired it again and my wifi worked it worked for me just make sure Bluetooth and wifi are on and not connected to anything else
[Android Head-Units] slunat:
Have you tried removing the dongle from your phone as well and starting from scratch? Go to general>carplay> and click on the wireless dongle and "forget this car". Then try and repair from scratch. I've not tried it as I've not updated but just something I thought of yesterday when I was digging through settings
[Android Head-Units] Ben.suffolk:
I have tried multiple things, including this. I have also removed the app from the HU, removed any files I could find relating to it on the file explorer. Done a complete reboot, the re installed the app.

I have also tried it with my wife's phone, a phone that has never been used with carplay. Again it would pair but never completes the wifi connection part. Both phones work fine wired.

If I go into the wifi settings on the phone, I can see it connected to my home network, then when I open the APK and it finds my phone by bluetooth I can see it disconnect from the home network as its presumably tries to connect to the new wifi network I can see that from the dongle. So I know bluetooth and wifi are on as they should be.

I'm using ios 12.3 on an iPhone X and my wife's is ios 12.2 on an iPhone 6s+
[Android Head-Units] Bradsr12:
I did the firmware update yesterday, and at present have not found any problems...

I hope it stays that way!

The only very frustrating thing I have found is when I turn volume up or down, the status/navbar cowes down....

has anyone else found this problem on their head unit??
[Android Head-Units] Ben.suffolk:
Yes if I change the volume the status bar comes down for a few seconds and then goes back up.
[Android Head-Units] dchuraman:
Went on a long drive today with the updated dongle. Connects fine every time I get in the car but then starts disconnecting every 5 minutes or so. Reconnects itself but it doesn’t stop disconnecting. Needs a software update I guess to fix this. Any way to communicate to the developers?
[Android Head-Units] Bradsr12:
I find the volume problem very frustrating, and others seem to have a lot of other bugs!

The problem is the technicians that create the software and form only work on android 6, so I guess slot of the problem comes down to this!

---------- Post added at 10:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:32 PM ----------

That meant to say firmware not form! ?*♂️

---------- Post added at 10:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:33 PM ----------

You can email Alex and the Carlinke website! Whom customer service has been fantastic, they have been incredibly helpful to me, and it all gets passed on to the engineers, and I have been explaining that they need to get Android 8 on there systems, but as yet no word on that! Alex only has email contact to the engineers.
[Android Head-Units] slunat:
I don't see the volume thing as a huge problem lol, I'm barely ever looking at the screen to even notice the volume thing. Id rather they get the bloody thing working stable than focus on little issues that don't really take anything away from the experience.
[Android Head-Units] flykarlos:
Wireless carplay

Hi all

Guys, i have DIY head unit based on odroid SBC. Previously i had generation 4 carlinkit dongle, worked great. Few days ago I received Wireless one.

Same story as You, disconnections, problems with establishing connections. After Update of dongle slightly better, but still unstable.

I noticed that WiFi network created by dongle has very weak signal. I decided to make better anteena, especially that i am planning to put dongle inside metal enclosure of my head unit. I opened the dongle and saw two 2-3cm wires acting as antennas for wifi and bluetooth. They were very close to each other. So i put those wires outside using existing holes for LED status lights. Then i soldered extension cables, each ~7cm long. I am few hours after this procedure and it works better now, and what is more important- connecting to iphone without any struggle.

Warning- it does not mean that extending anennas will help with yours problem. REMEBER- opening dongle will void warianty!

Just to give you an idea, try to check wifi signal strength in wifi settings on iphone.

Both wifi and bluetooth works on 2.4GHz freq range, so placing very short antennas one very close to each other was (I think) bad idea of Carlinkit engineers.

I guess that next version of the dongle will have external antennas.

Cheers!
[Android Head-Units] Ben.suffolk:
I have been on a couple of long drives today and I can say that the wired connection on the wireless dongle is rock solid and gave me no troubles at all.
[Android Head-Units] Ravijordan1:
Has any anybody had any issues when after using dongle for awhile you start getting no signal on HU when trying to connect to dongle again
[Android Head-Units] Bradsr12:
May I ask what you used to make your Ariel extensions??
[Android Head-Units] flykarlos:
I used Just piece of good quality wire. Of course proper anteena should have specific length depending on wavelength of signal used for.

I think that when You try to use iphone in radius of one meter from carplay dongle Simple piece of wire is enough, However I am planning to modify dongle and use proper dipol antennas for wifi and blietooth. Those are very cheap, and I have some laying around. On pcb board of dongle there is soldering place for U.FL connectors, so i am planning to buy a set of u.fl connectors and make proper connections.
[Android Head-Units] slunat:
Keep us up to date with your progress and take pictures along the way if you can, I'm sure there will be others who will want to give it a go but have no idea what they're doing, myself included [emoji23]
[Android Head-Units] Ravijordan1:
This is the message I received from carlinke seller today for the wireless dongle:

Friend, I have read your message and thank you for your upgrade. there is a way to let the product works, you can delete the Apk, and re-install the first one ( the APK you install before the earliest) . please you try , thanks a lot
[Android Head-Units] Ravijordan1:
Guys there's another new software update out today I don't know why seller told me to install the old apk

Will try new update today first
[Android Head-Units] dchuraman:
Do you have a link for the new version?
[Android Head-Units] slunat:
Go to the settings within the app and "check for updates" you should be able to update from there. I'll give this one a go shortly. I'm not really using my carplay too much atm so I don't mind losing functionality for a couple of weeks if it all goes wrong
[Android Head-Units] dchuraman:
That's never worked for me, it certainly didn't update to the beta version that I had to manually install but I'll give it a try anyway
[Android Head-Units] slunat:
Yep you might be right, I've just tried the update on my phone and after downloading it says the application is abnormal and will quit. The main download URL for the app now has the new version, I've managed to update to the new version using that. http://121.40.123.198:8080/AutoKit/AutoKit.apk
[Android Head-Units] dchuraman:
I've just tried to update from the app and it actually updated the APK to the latest ok, but the box upgrade won't work. I can't find a link to download the latest img. The changelog for the img says it improves wireless stability so this will hopefully fix the issue I was having
[Android Head-Units] slunat:
The box update seems to be what broke it for a lot of people with the last updated to be honest, it was supposed to give better wireless stability but it completely broke it for some people. I'd hold off till the next firmware tbh
[Android Head-Units] Ben.suffolk:
Yes they suggested that to me, but I had already tried that and it made no difference. I have passed this info back to them that it did not restore functionality, but have not had a reply from them yet.

I have just tried the updated APK that was mentioned above, and having installed that it told me there was a new BOX version. I clicked upgraded and it upgraded the dongle and I now have wireless functions back :) No idea if it will disconnect as I have not been for a drive yet with it, but pleased its working again.

I now have APK version 2019.05.20.1041 and BOX version 2019.05.17.1321
[Android Head-Units] dchuraman:
Yep I’ve also just managed to update to both those versions now. Let’s see what the stability is like
[Android Head-Units] grzegorz914:
Here is the latest box image:

http://112.74.112.110/download/2019-05-20/
[Android Head-Units] dchuraman:
what's the difference between autoplaybox.apk and autokit.apk? Do they both work for the Carlinke box? And if this image the correct one for the Carlinke box? I get confused with the differences between the various software
[Android Head-Units] slunat:
Different dongles use different apps. My old white wired dongle used to use autoplaybox. The black wired ones I think used autokit and as far as I'm aware only autokit supports the wireless one. They're both pretty comparable in terms of features and customisations, but they don't both support everything. Since the manufacturers are using autokit for this, I don't think it'll ever change to autoplaybox tbh.
[Android Head-Units] dchuraman:
Thanks I thought that was the case, I wondered therefore if the img in that folder wouldn't be suitable for the black wired dongle or not. Either way, I am on the latest according to the guy at Carlinke who I spoke to earlier so need to go for a long drive to test out the stability
[Android Head-Units] slunat:
Yh you'd be better off sticking to the in app updates to make sure you're getting the correct versions as the last thing you want is to brick the dongle
[Android Head-Units] Ravijordan1:
Does anybody else find manually connecting wireless dongle is a bit more stable than automatically connecting it
[Android Head-Units] Ben.suffolk:
I seriously doubt that. From a software point of view there is not going to be 2 different connected methods, once the connection is triggered it’s going to be the same. There is clearly something causing the disconnects and I hope the developer figures it out. They seem to be doing quiet a few releases so are clearly finding things it could be.

That hardware suggestion about the antenna on the other hand could easily be part of the problem, so it will be interesting to see how the hardware mod works out on disconnecting issues.

I drove for only about 2. Ins today before I got a disconnection and then the head unit got itself in a right state and ended up up rebooting itself after making a lot of stuttering noises.

But after that it was fine for the rest of the journey and subsequent journeys after that.

In fact if I look back at the only 2 disconnects I have had, one on the original firmware, and the other on the latest, the common factor for me has been running Waze. All other times I have only been running the music player. So I wonder if it’s related to the amount of data being sent to update the video display.
[Android Head-Units] slunat:
Tbh I had a few disconnects the day I got the dongle and the dongle was literally within a couple of cm of my iPhone so I don't think it was the antenna. It was quite hot that day and the box was exposed to the sun so I feel overheating may have caused it to crash out a bit. Since that day I moved the box to my glovebox where it's cooler and I've not had a single disconnect since. I updated the app earlier and drove for about an hour and had no disconnects. I hav updated the box firmware but I haven't driven anywhere with it yet so I will find out tomorrow how stable that is, but so far it seems to be running nicely on the updated app and stock firmware. I also tend to test with maps and music playing to get loads of data flowing. In fact yesterday I had both Google maps and Apple maps navigating to different places with music playing and I was switching between the map apps but it was completely fine.
[Android Head-Units] Ravijordan1:
What HU firmware do you have in your car?
[Android Head-Units] slunat:
Android 7.1

The only thing not working for me right is the microphone. It's not picking up my head unit mic at all for some reason. I tried to switch the mic to use the dongle mic in the advanced settings but it said that feature isn't available on this dongle, so I'm not able to take calls when I'm driving currently. I don't get many phone calls anyway though tbh but it'd be nice if it worked for messages and stuff. Is anyone else having issues with the mic or is it just me?
[Android Head-Units] Ben.suffolk:
I’m on android 8, and the internal microphone seems to work ok as I was able to to tell waze where I wanted to go.
[Android Head-Units] dchuraman:
So went for a reasonably long drive yesterday, with the latest firmware and software. Not a single disconnect during the drive. If it stays like this then I’m happy. Still get the music skipping like I’ve have with all the dongles ive used though. And haven’t tried phone call yet to see what the microphone is like but it’s looking promising so far
[Android Head-Units] slunat:
Had a short drive to work today (<10 mins) and apart from having to manually repair the first time, it worked fine. My microphone also seemed to respond to Siri, so it may be ok now, I will have to test a phone call later and see if that's ok. I hope I don't need to repair manually everytime now but I will find out when I next go out.
[Android Head-Units] slunat:
Anyone else having problems with the wireless dongle causing the entire head unit to reboot? I think it may be maxing out RAM useage. I used it today for about an hour and just before I got to my destination it lost connection and the head unit rebooted. It then rejoined connection, dropped again two seconds later and rebooted the head unit again. It did this 3 times. Thankfully I was only 5 minutes away from my destination so I managed to get there without carplay. On my way home I tried again and it rebooted after 5 mins. I didn't want to take the risk as I needed my sat nav so I just used the wired connection on my way home. The only thing I can think of is RAM useage. It was flawless over wired connection, but whenever I have had reboots, it has been when I was using the wireless.
[Android Head-Units] Ben.suffolk:
I have been using it quiet a lot since I got it, and if all I’m doing is playing music or podcasts it’s rock solid, never looses a connection. Twice I have tried it whilst also running waze, on each occasion after about 3 to 5 mins it has lost the connection, done some stuttering audio and then rebooted the head unit. This is only since the upgrade, before that on the original software ware it lost the connection but did not reboot the head unit.
[Android Head-Units] techo91:
I have the same behavior with waze also.
[Android Head-Units] slunat:
I've been using it every day but only playing audio and for short trips to and from work and it's been fine. Today's the first day since the day I received it that I had the unit rebooted, but what worried.me is it rebooted the unit 3 times one after the other. For now I think I'll use the wired connection for long journeys but it seems to be fine for short trips and when not using nav. In a way I'm glad you are also experiencing this as there must be an issue with the dongle. I still think it's related to ram useage but maybe they need to optimise a bit so the app doesn't use so much. I'll be making the same trip I made today next week so I will retest with slightly different conditions and see if it reoccurs.
[Android Head-Units] techo91:
Were you able to verify the RAM usage of the app, how much does it use?
[Android Head-Units] slunat:
Nope never got chance, I was on the road driving when it happened so couldn't check it at the time.