My IDCore adventures
Discussion
A quick post for anyone who happens to be in the same AM niche as I am ... I have a 2013 V12V with Garmin sat nav. Shortly after I got the car I took AM up on the offer of upgrading the Bluetooth stack so it supported full audio streaming (as opposed to just phone). But having experienced Android Auto in other cars, and my maps now well out of date, I really wanted to see if I could get this somehow.
There seemed two main options, and having procrastinated for some time about whether to go IDCore or Aston Installations I ended up being swayed by the former and its claim of "plug and play" and using the cars joystick instead of needing dashboard mods. The "swaying" was Unique Auto Developments having a Black Friday sale on and selling the units at a healthy discount - 750 quid if I could fit myself versus a few grand for the pros to fit something.
The unit arrived. After much swearing I managed to fit the "daisy chain" loom to the Garmin unit and plug the IDCore in. Went excitedly to the car, turned it on and ... the sat nav wouldn't respond to any buttons and the IDCore wouldn't display. Panic set in. Tried many things. Removed the unit and reset everything. Car back to normal, phew.
By agreement I sent the unit back for checking and they confirmed it was dud and sent me a new one. That sat on a shelf for a few months whilst I built up courage to try again.
With bravery pills consumed I had another go and this time, bingo, it worked. Initially I trailed USB and Aux leads from the boot over the parcel shelf, all very messy. But the unit was operational. Next step, get it all wireless.
The trick here is a setting on the IDCore under Smartphone - you can tell it to use the phones audio instead of IDCore. With this set you can wirelessly connect to Android Auto and the audio will go over the car's Bluetooth connection. This has two advantages: better audio quality (the Aux connection isn't great) and no wires to mess with. Yes you can go for a more integrated install by taking the interior apart, but I wanted to avoid it.
I've used it a couple of times now and it seems to work great. The only negative I can find is the unit comes on as soon as you unlock the car, but because it isn't yet connected to the car's Bluetooth it starts playing music direct from the phone. So you look a bit of a clown show getting into the car with pop music coming out of your pocket.
I should also say many thanks to John (Go60 Jay) for encouragement along the way!
There seemed two main options, and having procrastinated for some time about whether to go IDCore or Aston Installations I ended up being swayed by the former and its claim of "plug and play" and using the cars joystick instead of needing dashboard mods. The "swaying" was Unique Auto Developments having a Black Friday sale on and selling the units at a healthy discount - 750 quid if I could fit myself versus a few grand for the pros to fit something.
The unit arrived. After much swearing I managed to fit the "daisy chain" loom to the Garmin unit and plug the IDCore in. Went excitedly to the car, turned it on and ... the sat nav wouldn't respond to any buttons and the IDCore wouldn't display. Panic set in. Tried many things. Removed the unit and reset everything. Car back to normal, phew.
By agreement I sent the unit back for checking and they confirmed it was dud and sent me a new one. That sat on a shelf for a few months whilst I built up courage to try again.
With bravery pills consumed I had another go and this time, bingo, it worked. Initially I trailed USB and Aux leads from the boot over the parcel shelf, all very messy. But the unit was operational. Next step, get it all wireless.
The trick here is a setting on the IDCore under Smartphone - you can tell it to use the phones audio instead of IDCore. With this set you can wirelessly connect to Android Auto and the audio will go over the car's Bluetooth connection. This has two advantages: better audio quality (the Aux connection isn't great) and no wires to mess with. Yes you can go for a more integrated install by taking the interior apart, but I wanted to avoid it.
I've used it a couple of times now and it seems to work great. The only negative I can find is the unit comes on as soon as you unlock the car, but because it isn't yet connected to the car's Bluetooth it starts playing music direct from the phone. So you look a bit of a clown show getting into the car with pop music coming out of your pocket.
I should also say many thanks to John (Go60 Jay) for encouragement along the way!
Edited by scampbird on Thursday 23 April 12:03
Edited by scampbird on Thursday 23 April 12:04
Hi,
It’s nice of you to mention me there, but it’s you who did the hard work. Hopefully you’ll take another dose of bravery pills and route the cables away, lol.
I’m glad it’s all working for you now, although your phone playing as you unlock the car is a bit annoying. I have an iPhone and it doesn’t do that, but I may also have a slightly different setting.
I’m sure the more you use it, the more you’ll appreciate it. I was lucky enough to do do an Aston Martin trip from Kent to wales just a few days after I installed it, so immediately appreciated how good it works. I also didn’t have the grief of a faulty unit originally, which is a shame.
Well done for persevering with it.
Kind regards,
John
It’s nice of you to mention me there, but it’s you who did the hard work. Hopefully you’ll take another dose of bravery pills and route the cables away, lol.
I’m glad it’s all working for you now, although your phone playing as you unlock the car is a bit annoying. I have an iPhone and it doesn’t do that, but I may also have a slightly different setting.
I’m sure the more you use it, the more you’ll appreciate it. I was lucky enough to do do an Aston Martin trip from Kent to wales just a few days after I installed it, so immediately appreciated how good it works. I also didn’t have the grief of a faulty unit originally, which is a shame.
Well done for persevering with it.
Kind regards,
John
Very interesting, thanks for sharing your experience and the frustrations along the way.
So going wireless is really plug and play? And that’s presumably just a case or plugging the ID Core box in the boot compartment?
It’s on the list. I’ve been discussing with a main dealer who will sell the unit on its own for a self install.
It s the screen resolution acceptable?
So going wireless is really plug and play? And that’s presumably just a case or plugging the ID Core box in the boot compartment?
It’s on the list. I’ve been discussing with a main dealer who will sell the unit on its own for a self install.
It s the screen resolution acceptable?
V8VS said:
Very interesting, thanks for sharing your experience and the frustrations along the way.
So going wireless is really plug and play? And that s presumably just a case or plugging the ID Core box in the boot compartment?
It s on the list. I ve been discussing with a main dealer who will sell the unit on its own for a self install.
It s the screen resolution acceptable?
So long as you have the ability to stream music to your cars bluetooth, yes, it really is plug and play. I did initially plug the phone into the USB cable on the IDCore to get it registered with the box - it just saves faffing. I have USB and AUX cables stuffed into the garmin boot compartment, so I have them if I need.So going wireless is really plug and play? And that s presumably just a case or plugging the ID Core box in the boot compartment?
It s on the list. I ve been discussing with a main dealer who will sell the unit on its own for a self install.
It s the screen resolution acceptable?
Screen resolution is more than acceptable, actually surprisingly good.
Oh one other caveat that I should mention, in case its not obvious - to get audible Google maps nav instructions you have to be on the bluetooth channel on the audio. So you couldn't, for example, listen to the radio and have audible instructions. It's not a biggie for me, I could use BBC Sounds, or just rely on the screen for nav.
Edit: and another caveat - all my experiences relate to Android Auto. I think John uses his for Apple Carplay.
Speaking of main dealers: I asked two if they would fit mine for me. Neither of them bothered to return my calls.
scampbird said:
- - Initially I trailed USB and Aux leads from the boot over the parcel shelf, all very messy. But the unit was operational. Next step, get it all wireless. - -
I know little about what you have described.
My V8V has remains an end of era time warp. The car even permits me to change gear, turn on headlights, operate wipers and navigate with a paper road atlas. What a lovely contrast to my DD, which occasionally does emergency stops when not necessary.
To go from DD wired to wireless, I simply plugged in one of these. It has worked seamlessly for 2 years now.
.....................................
Perhaps it is not applicable to your installation, but I just mention it in case it might be of use.
I see that it states unavailable, but other firms might sell it.
The IDCore is wireless capable out of the box, no dongles necessary. The advantage of wiring in the USB cable would be that it can charge the phone whilst using AA/Carplay. Not sure I'm seeing any great advantage to wiring in the Aux, other than if your car doesn't support bluetooth streaming.
scampbird said:
V8VS said:
Very interesting, thanks for sharing your experience and the frustrations along the way.
So going wireless is really plug and play? And that s presumably just a case or plugging the ID Core box in the boot compartment?
It s on the list. I ve been discussing with a main dealer who will sell the unit on its own for a self install.
It s the screen resolution acceptable?
So long as you have the ability to stream music to your cars bluetooth, yes, it really is plug and play. I did initially plug the phone into the USB cable on the IDCore to get it registered with the box - it just saves faffing. I have USB and AUX cables stuffed into the garmin boot compartment, so I have them if I need.So going wireless is really plug and play? And that s presumably just a case or plugging the ID Core box in the boot compartment?
It s on the list. I ve been discussing with a main dealer who will sell the unit on its own for a self install.
It s the screen resolution acceptable?
Screen resolution is more than acceptable, actually surprisingly good.
Oh one other caveat that I should mention, in case its not obvious - to get audible Google maps nav instructions you have to be on the bluetooth channel on the audio. So you couldn't, for example, listen to the radio and have audible instructions. It's not a biggie for me, I could use BBC Sounds, or just rely on the screen for nav.
Edit: and another caveat - all my experiences relate to Android Auto. I think John uses his for Apple Carplay.
Speaking of main dealers: I asked two if they would fit mine for me. Neither of them bothered to return my calls.
Great news re screen resolution, thanks.
Like you say, no biggy re audible nav instructions.
I think it was AM Bristol I spoke with as they advertised the offer. Whichever dealers you spoke with though, sounds like their loss is your gain. As much as the dud unit is frustrating initially. Once you had a replacement it sounds straightforward and saved you the install costs.
scampbird said:
Oh one other caveat that I should mention, in case its not obvious - to get audible Google maps nav instructions you have to be on the bluetooth channel on the audio. So you couldn't, for example, listen to the radio and have audible instructions. It's not a biggie for me, I could use BBC Sounds, or just rely on the screen for nav.
The workaround for this - at least for an iPhone - is to download a silent track from Apple Music, and then add an automation routine on your iPhone that automatically plays this silent track upon connection to the car's bluetooth. You can then hear your CarPlay's sat nav without needing to listen to media output or the radio. Works a treat.Octavarium said:
scampbird said:
Oh one other caveat that I should mention, in case its not obvious - to get audible Google maps nav instructions you have to be on the bluetooth channel on the audio. So you couldn't, for example, listen to the radio and have audible instructions. It's not a biggie for me, I could use BBC Sounds, or just rely on the screen for nav.
The workaround for this - at least for an iPhone - is to download a silent track from Apple Music, and then add an automation routine on your iPhone that automatically plays this silent track upon connection to the car's bluetooth. You can then hear your CarPlay's sat nav without needing to listen to media output or the radio. Works a treat.V8VS said:
That s a good point re the Bluetooth streaming, and I missed that. I currently have a Bovee / Tune2Air Bluetooth device connected to the centre armrest iPod adapter to allow wireless streaming. So I might need to check that bit, thanks.
Great news re screen resolution, thanks.
Like you say, no biggy re audible nav instructions.
I think it was AM Bristol I spoke with as they advertised the offer. Whichever dealers you spoke with though, sounds like their loss is your gain. As much as the dud unit is frustrating initially. Once you had a replacement it sounds straightforward and saved you the install costs.
I have a bovee in my 2012 V8VS and works along side my IDCore unit, without issue. So I have guidance and music working seamlessly. Great news re screen resolution, thanks.
Like you say, no biggy re audible nav instructions.
I think it was AM Bristol I spoke with as they advertised the offer. Whichever dealers you spoke with though, sounds like their loss is your gain. As much as the dud unit is frustrating initially. Once you had a replacement it sounds straightforward and saved you the install costs.
I don’t use the FM player in my car, as I use Apple Music to stream everything from albums to normal radio. It’s like having DAB in the car, and I can just ask Siri to play the station I want. No need to hold the phone. The same with navigation. I just ask Siri to navigate home, any saved addresses, road name or businesses etc and it does it automatically.
I also installed a wireless charger in the centre armrest, so I don’t need to worry about battery drain on long journeys. I’ve also left a charging cable in the centre console plugged in to the IDCore unit, so I can charge 2 phones at once.
I hope this helps,
John
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