Pioneer Apple Car Play

Pioneer Apple Car Play

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Discussion

Yidwann

Original Poster:

1,872 posts

209 months

Monday 30th March 2015
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I would assume it would require a different antenna too, but then I scratch my head and think... would it? Alas I don't know, hence making this post pretty pointless, I hate it when that happens. But when you listen to some things that are Digital Only or on MW/LW... DAB is a god send, but TuneIn works with the CarPlay.... best go finding a SimOnly deal with Unlimited Data...

kingston12

5,473 posts

156 months

Tuesday 31st March 2015
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Modificata said:
Good timing this thread. I have a Pioneer Head unit being fitted into my 2004 Cayenne Turbo on Wednesday. I spent a lot of time looking into this and watch many many videos and it looks great! Not the perfect solution but I am sure with software upgrades it will get there.

My main boxes Im looking to tick are:
Phone connectivity (bluetooth and wired)
Better Navigation - PCM2 is rubbish
Phone charging
Voice activation (through SIRI)
Ipod connectivity

For me other bonuses are Messages, and being to duplicate the phone screen for browsing (not see this in action yet).

Its not a perfect solution and someone mentioned Spotify. I dont use that app so nothing lost for me.

Cost I've been quoted is:
Head Unit: £350
Cables + Fitting aprox: £250
Total £700

Also might plan on getting a reversing camera fitted for £50 + £175 fitting but that will be a step 2. Cant wait to get it done, but in time for a 2500 mile easter trip!
Let us know how this goes. Do you have Bose in your Cayenne? If you do that seems like a cheap price for the installation.

My own installation has been a bit delayed. Looking on the web, there is quite a lot of ambiguity as to whether the Connects2 CTSPO003.2 adaptor will actually work.

Connects2 themselves say that it won't as it is specifically for a Cayenne. They have a new Boxster/Cayman version (CTSPO005.2) but it is not yet in the distribution channels. On the other hand, there are several people who have got their installations working with the Connects2 adaptor which would be a bit difficult if the right one is not out yet!

I don't want to take it apart and find I have the wrong one, so I will wait for the Boxster/Cayman one to become available. A bit disappointing as I had Good Friday earmarked to install it, but at least it gives me time to wait on the HU coming from Amazon.it where it is about £50 cheaper than .co.uk!

edc

9,231 posts

250 months

Tuesday 31st March 2015
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If you have a 987 Boxster and Bose keep an eye on boxa.net There is a forum user there who is acting as the Connect2 guinea pig.

Emeye

9,773 posts

222 months

Tuesday 31st March 2015
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I've had a Pioneer Appradio4 SDA-120 carplay unit in my E92 BMW since they came out in the UK - I fitted it myself with a connect2 adapter- it is worth considering that a new model may be out soon that will support both carplay and android car. The Appradio4 will not support either Android Auto or wireless carplay when it is released.

The headunit is a good sounding, powerful headunit, but carplay still feels like a beta release and hasn't got any better in 8 months -there are hardly any apps that support it, and those that do are buggy as hell- iOS 8.3 is rumoured to introduce wireless carplay and improve things!

Apple maps works well - Siri drives me nuts.

Here is the thread I started on E90forum. http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=104...


kingston12

5,473 posts

156 months

Tuesday 31st March 2015
quotequote all
Emeye said:
I've had a Pioneer Appradio4 SDA-120 carplay unit in my E92 BMW since they came out in the UK - I fitted it myself with a connect2 adapter- it is worth considering that a new model may be out soon that will support both carplay and android car. The Appradio4 will not support either Android Auto or wireless carplay when it is released.

The headunit is a good sounding, powerful headunit, but carplay still feels like a beta release and hasn't got any better in 8 months -there are hardly any apps that support it, and those that do are buggy as hell- iOS 8.3 is rumoured to introduce wireless carplay and improve things!

Apple maps works well - Siri drives me nuts.

Here is the thread I started on E90forum. http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=104...
Good points and useful info on that thread, thanks.

I can't see myself changing from Apple to Android in the near future, but wireless Carplay really appeals as I do wonder if I will end up getting tired of getting my phone out of my pocket to connect it each time (lazy I know!). It is a shame if the current unit will not be able to do this.

I am a little bit concerned about how buggy/beta release CarPlay seems to be, and even more surprised the Apple hasn't really got behind it. Apple have messed up a lot of things in the past, but at least they usually sort them out quickly.

The main thing for me is that I will be coming to it from the outdated Porsche PCM2.1, and I still think that the UI will be excellent compared to that. If I was coming to it from a range topping £1k Pioneer/Kenwood/Alpine unit, I am sure I'd be disappointed.

Edit to add: Reading your BMW thread a bit more, it appears that you often use USB mode for music with the phone connected by Bluetooth for calls, and I think this is what I'd do for shorter journeys as well. How easy is it to switch? If you plug the Lightning cable in when you are in that mode, does CarPlay automatically start up and vice versa?

Edited by kingston12 on Tuesday 31st March 17:28

Modificata

531 posts

245 months

Wednesday 1st April 2015
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My car is still at Porsche West London, so I've pushed my installation to next week. Frustrating as I was hoping to have a new toy to play with over Easter!

Emeye

9,773 posts

222 months

Wednesday 1st April 2015
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There are two USB sockets on the Appradio4 - One has the lightening connector in, the other has a USB stick. The old Appradios couldn't play from USB sticks. I've never even tried streaming via Bluetooth - you can still use the Pioneer interface to play music from the Iphone when it is plugged in and not need to go into carplay. I used the extension leads the unit comes with to put them in the glovebox, then from one of them I run the iphone lead to a brodit mount that the lightening socket clips into that sits to the left of the steering wheel - you even get a dual display in Apple Maps - the turn by turn directions are shown on the phone. Also, if you have the iphone within reach, you can launch and control other non-carplay apps and the audio will come out through the unit.

The concept is pretty good and if the can get the bugs sorted out it has lots of promise. Things are getting slightly better - I moved from Spotify to Rdio, the only two supported streaming apps as it seemed to work a bit better yet was still buggy - the steaming apps work better if you put the app on the phone into offline mode and just play the tunes you have downloaded, but the latest update to Rdio is working a lot better in online mode.

There is also a new radioplayer app that works well - about bloody time! Some apps are US only.

kingston12

5,473 posts

156 months

Wednesday 1st April 2015
quotequote all
Emeye said:
There are two USB sockets on the Appradio4 - One has the lightening connector in, the other has a USB stick. The old Appradios couldn't play from USB sticks. I've never even tried streaming via Bluetooth - you can still use the Pioneer interface to play music from the Iphone when it is plugged in and not need to go into carplay. I used the extension leads the unit comes with to put them in the glovebox, then from one of them I run the iphone lead to a brodit mount that the lightening socket clips into that sits to the left of the steering wheel - you even get a dual display in Apple Maps - the turn by turn directions are shown on the phone. Also, if you have the iphone within reach, you can launch and control other non-carplay apps and the audio will come out through the unit.

The concept is pretty good and if the can get the bugs sorted out it has lots of promise. Things are getting slightly better - I moved from Spotify to Rdio, the only two supported streaming apps as it seemed to work a bit better yet was still buggy - the steaming apps work better if you put the app on the phone into offline mode and just play the tunes you have downloaded, but the latest update to Rdio is working a lot better in online mode.

There is also a new radioplayer app that works well - about bloody time! Some apps are US only.
Thanks for the info. It sounds like just what I am looking for. I am assuming that the Pioneer interface would still be miles better than the PCM2.1.

It won't cost me that much to change because I should get back more from selling my Dension 500 than I will have to pay for the MOST adaptor when eventually available. If I sold the PCM2.1 as well it would be cost neutral for the upgrade, but I am not going to do that.

I would like it if I could use the TomTom app or equivalent with CarPlay. The Apple Maps solution sounds like it works well, but map download is obviously reliant on my data reception - the Porsche maps may be a bit basic/out of date, but at least they are right there in the DVD drive so always available.

edc

9,231 posts

250 months

Wednesday 1st April 2015
quotequote all
In previous Pioneer appradio incarnation there were a variety of other sat nav apps you can use, many of which were downloadable to your device so no reliance on signal. I used nav free, simply because it was free and all I needed for the odd occasion.

Emeye

9,773 posts

222 months

Wednesday 1st April 2015
quotequote all
The only option is Apple Maps, unless you use Appradio mode which involves extra cables and an Apple HDMI adapter.

Apple Maps is pretty good with carplay - in the morning it guesses you are going to the office and guesses you are going home in the evening. The traffic information is pretty good.

Ignoring the carplay, it is a good headunit - nice to use - just treat carplay as satnav and a few apps and it's ok. Things may improve soon with iOS 8.3.

A lot of car manuafacturers have signed up for carplay integration, so Apple much be promising to improve it!

kingston12

5,473 posts

156 months

Monday 13th April 2015
quotequote all
Ok, I actually got around to installing this on the weekend, and thought I'd give some feedback for those looking to do the same.

The install is actually very easy but a couple of points:

1. The Connects2 CTSPO003.2 definitely works in 987s WITHOUT steering wheel controls. These harnesses have the dual purpose of retaining the Bose amplifier and connecting the steering wheel controls. This model has the same Bose connector as all of them, but the steering wheel controls are for a Cayenne. The CTSPO005.2 is the same product optimised for the Boxster wheel, but is a brand new model and seems impossible to get hold of.

2. Porsche does not provide a switched 12v feed to the PCM, so I tapped into one feeding the aircon unit directly below. You could run from the fuse box if you prefer.

3. Once installed with the illumination switched to white and the Porsche splash screen image from the PCM enabled, I actually think it looks better than the PCM rather than too flashy and aftermarket as I thought it might. The Connects2 fascia helps with this as it is very close to the original finish. If you look at it in sunlight, it is very slightly smoother and very slightly lighter in colour, but I don't notice it at all in use and I am fussy about that stuff.


Onto the unit itself:

1. The sound quality actually seems better than the PCM, which I wasnt really expecting given that it is only giving a preout to the same amp and speakers.

2. CarPlay is already a massive improvement on the PCM for music, phone and messages.

3. I can't get Maps working properly. I have seen reviews stating that you can get a keyboard up to input your destination, but I can't find this. Siri is NOT good enough in this app to get the destination input correctly. Once up and running it is ok, but I might have to investigate one of the third party ones until they improve this.

4. Siri is excellent in the other apps, but I cannot seem to activate it from the home screen as it suggests you can.

5. Brightness does not dip with headlights, which I was surprised about. I have not used it at night yet, but I expect that this might mean needing to turn the screen off.

6. There does not appear to be any controls for brightness, contrast etc. One reviewer mentioned he set it up with a THX app, but I can see no way of doing this. The only problem this causes is that the album art isn't properly visible when in CarPlay mode.

7. Switching between CarPlay and AppRadio is much more seamless than I thought it would be, but I have not really used the latter much as yet.

I think I will be really pleased with this once Maps is sorted out, or I get a new sat nav app.

Emeye

9,773 posts

222 months

Monday 13th April 2015
quotequote all
Check you are on the latest pioneer app radio4 firmware and also upgrade your iPhone to 8.3 as it has just been released.

To get the map keyboard, go into the maps app, press destination then press the search icon and a keyboard icon should appear in the top right. Press this for the keyboard.

To get Siri to activate, hold down the home button on the pioneer screen for a short while the same as you would on the iPhone. You can also use the iPhone screen and button at any time, but if you change app on the iPhone the appradio screen will change too. If the app is not carplay compatible the appradio will just go to the home screen.

kingston12

5,473 posts

156 months

Tuesday 14th April 2015
quotequote all
Emeye said:
Check you are on the latest pioneer app radio4 firmware and also upgrade your iPhone to 8.3 as it has just been released.

To get the map keyboard, go into the maps app, press destination then press the search icon and a keyboard icon should appear in the top right. Press this for the keyboard.

To get Siri to activate, hold down the home button on the pioneer screen for a short while the same as you would on the iPhone. You can also use the iPhone screen and button at any time, but if you change app on the iPhone the appradio screen will change too. If the app is not carplay compatible the appradio will just go to the home screen.
I don't get the keyboard icon on mine. Googling this seems to suggest that it might be disabled because I haven't bypassed the handbrake sensor.

This is stange, firstly because I thought I had done that (by tapping the green wire into the ground cable on the harness) and secondly because the same comment says that the phone keypad entry would also be blocked in this case - it isn't.

More investigation required, but I need to pull the head unit back out to put in an aerial adaptor anyway, so no problem.

Thanks for the advice on Siri, I will try this tonight.

Greshamst

2,028 posts

119 months

Tuesday 14th April 2015
quotequote all
Modificata said:
Good timing this thread. I have a Pioneer Head unit being fitted into my 2004 Cayenne Turbo on Wednesday. I spent a lot of time looking into this and watch many many videos and it looks great! Not the perfect solution but I am sure with software upgrades it will get there.

My main boxes Im looking to tick are:
Phone connectivity (bluetooth and wired)
Better Navigation - PCM2 is rubbish
Phone charging
Voice activation (through SIRI)
Ipod connectivity

For me other bonuses are Messages, and being to duplicate the phone screen for browsing (not see this in action yet).

Its not a perfect solution and someone mentioned Spotify. I dont use that app so nothing lost for me.

Cost I've been quoted is:
Head Unit: £350
Cables + Fitting aprox: £250
Total £700

Also might plan on getting a reversing camera fitted for £50 + £175 fitting but that will be a step 2. Cant wait to get it done, but in time for a 2500 mile easter trip!
What pioneer headunit are you using?


Also where are people getting these fitted? I'm interested in doing this as well, but would rather go somewhere that has been tried and tested...

Yidwann

Original Poster:

1,872 posts

209 months

Tuesday 14th April 2015
quotequote all
Think he has opted like me to go for the Pioneer SPH-DA120, which is the same as in the 2nd post I found, looks very slick in the car.

Acutek in Winchester will be fitting mine, they have come recommended http://www.accutek.co.uk/

Tom

kingston12

5,473 posts

156 months

Tuesday 14th April 2015
quotequote all
Greshamst said:
What pioneer headunit are you using?


Also where are people getting these fitted? I'm interested in doing this as well, but would rather go somewhere that has been tried and tested...
I think it is the SPH-DA120, which is the most CarPlay focused of the range. The others include things like built-in Nav or DAB.

Wherabouts are you in the country? I'd only go with somebody who has fitted these units into Porsches as I found the lack of understanding about the requirements a bit shocking from most.

I put my own in, but could recommend two fitters in SW London and Surrey who gave me the correct advice and parts along the way!

Greshamst

2,028 posts

119 months

Tuesday 14th April 2015
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Based in the South East, Hertfordshire, so both those fitters would be of interest to me.

kingston12

5,473 posts

156 months

Tuesday 14th April 2015
quotequote all
Greshamst said:
Based in the South East, Hertfordshire, so both those fitters would be of interest to me.
Dynamic Sounds in Wandsworth and Cartronics in Byfleet, Surrey.

I was in touch with both of these two and they really gave me confidence that they knew what they were doing with Porsche, both in terms of taking the dashboard apart and the wiring requirements.

My main concern with this stuff (and the reason I haven't done it before) is that something else gets broken and, being Porsche, ends up costing more to fix than the job in the first place.

I can't give a full recommendation unfortunately as I did the job myself in the end.

Emeye

9,773 posts

222 months

Wednesday 15th April 2015
quotequote all
kingston12 said:
I don't get the keyboard icon on mine. Googling this seems to suggest that it might be disabled because I haven't bypassed the handbrake sensor.

This is stange, firstly because I thought I had done that (by tapping the green wire into the ground cable on the harness) and secondly because the same comment says that the phone keypad entry would also be blocked in this case - it isn't.

More investigation required, but I need to pull the head unit back out to put in an aerial adaptor anyway, so no problem.

Thanks for the advice on Siri, I will try this tonight.
I don't think you can earth the handbrake lead to bypass it - as remember reading they have changed things so you have to pull the handbrake on and off twice.

I have not bypassed my handbrake cable. My keyboard icon comes on when driving - there is an option within the menus - can't remember the exact name that is a safety option - make sure this is turned off!

kingston12

5,473 posts

156 months

Thursday 16th April 2015
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Emeye said:
I don't think you can earth the handbrake lead to bypass it - as remember reading they have changed things so you have to pull the handbrake on and off twice.

I have not bypassed my handbrake cable. My keyboard icon comes on when driving - there is an option within the menus - can't remember the exact name that is a safety option - make sure this is turned off!
Thanks. If you get a chance would you mind checking the firmware on yours as I seem to have a few differences. Mine is running 1.08, so perhaps not the latest?

As well as not seeing the keyboard in Maps, the Bluetooth icon was greyed out in the Pioneer screen even when my iPhone was unplugged from the Lightning cable.

I couldn't find anything in the menus, so I pulled the unit out again, only to find that the earth wire had slipped from where I had spliced it with the handbrake cable.

When I reconnected it, Bluetooth and the Maps keyboard are now both working.

Still more to do, though! I bought the adaptor to convert the Porsche radio antenna to the Pioneer connection, plugged it in and I get no reception at all. I am going to plug the PCM2.1 back in to test this as I had the windscreen replaced last year and have not used the radio since then, so the antenna may have been broken at that time.

Not a massive issue as I never use the radio, but it does appear that this unit gets it's time/date settings from the radio signal, unless that is another menu I am missing!