Originally Posted by
MrAdventure
So, 10 months in, and I just wanted to provide an update.
I purchased Eonon's OBD II Bluetooth device, and it works better than the generic one I had previously. It syncs up fairly quickly and Torque is rather good. Sound is still resonable. I installed the front camera when I wired my car for my V1 remote display. Camera records 10minutes of video before saving and then starts up a newer file. I never installed the rear camera.
issues:
-I run A2DP almost exclusively. You can't cycle to it via the 'band' source button. If you had it running and then restarted your car, the display goes back to the Bluetooth device screen, and you have to fiddle with the controls to get back to the A2DP player
-every time after starting the car, it takes 1-2 minutes to be read, and then another minute for Bluetooth
-Bluetooth connectivity randomly stops working to my iPhone 6S, and the only way to reconnect is to power off the unit, disable/re-enable Bluetooth on the phone.
-AM radio tuning isn't precise enough. I can't seem to tune to specific frequencies (1010 results in 1006, 1130 latches in poorly on 1124). I know that radio stations wander in frequency slightly, but it's annoying
-Haven't figured out where to find and provide maps via an SD card, so GPS won't work. Can't get GPS coordinates out because there are no maps loaded (catch-22). I don't plan on buying their map card.
-Eonon seems more interested in releasing newer units than updating firmware on old units - since mine, first released about a year ago, they've released the GA6150F, GA7150 and GA7150A for the e46. Do they ever stop to catch a breath? Does anyone know any sites that have firmware?
As I said previously, it works well enough that I'll probably just keep this until someone sells a unit that'll fit and do Apple CarPlay. sigh.
I've had the GA7150A for a few months now and share similar disappointments. I don't use bluetooth for music, I use Spotify Premium in the headunit.
Data:
I cannot get the 3G/4G working yet and I don't think I will. There are no settings to manually change the APN/User/Password for the 4G dongle. It seems it will only work if your 4G dongle is plug n play. That may be because I'm using a data-only SIM from Google Fi. I've tried 2 different 4G dongles and neither work on the headunit. Others' experience may vary.
Maps:
You can download areas through the Google Maps app when you're on WiFi. However the Nav will not work unless you have an active internet connection (4g or Wifi, etc). I think the SD card is just general extra storage.
Firmware:
I haven't looked for any firmware updates.
Other notes:
Sound is OK. More tunable than the stock headunit at least.
Steering Wheel Buttons app doesn't work so I can't remap them. The volume/track buttons work, but the other two buttons functions are useless to me.
Speed is pretty good, no complaints. Startup time is perfectly fine.
It also will randomly change startup behavior, i.e. it will sometimes load the home page, sometimes the bluetooth screen, most of the time Spotify.
The hard button layout is fucking stupid. There's a hard button to change the radio band but no App Switch hard button.
The only way this headunit works as expected is if I turn my phone into a WiFi hotspot. Even then it's not perfect because my Spotify thinks this is a home WiFi connection and will use my phone data to download playlists. Not to mention the whole point of buying this headunit was to not have to take my phone out of my pocket.
If you don't have an active data connection, many of the android functions don't work and apps will crash. Nav will not reroute and sometimes crash, Google Assistant will timeout when you ask it something.
FYI, I think this headunit is referred to as a "white-label" product from China, meaning it's produced unbranded in batches then other brands can slap their name on them and sell them. There are other almost identical units from Seicane that have better button layouts. I don't think Chinese products are up to the western level of branding and support yet. They just sell a batch of products they didn't make with their name on it, then move on to another batch. I don't expect to ever see a firmware update. Our best hope is if an android coder jailbreaks it with custom software.
I rate it 3/5 at best.
2004 330Ci ZHP Mysticblau
RIP 1991 E30 325i Cabriolet