AVIN ANDROID E39/E53 Multimedia Stereo/Navigation

[Pekelicious]

Basically yes.

If you want to use the nav offline you are best off getting an offline navigation app, there are a bunch of options in the google play store.

Google maps CAN cache a route but you still need to connect to create it and connect to reroute or modify it.

I have the D99+ and i use sygic for offline nav, it just downloads the map of my region and voila

[jeffb325]

Yes, an offline nav app is the way to go if you want conventional, non-internet connected navigation.

[jeffb325]

back in stock and shipping

[jicaino]

Any E39 installed pix? Thanks!

[Capo72]

I would like to see other people's installed pics as well. I have mine installed and I'm not real happy with the way it fits. My only other complaint at this point is the strength of the wi-fi antenna. Everything else is great so far.

[jicaino]

I would like to see other people's installed pics as well. I have mine installed and I'm not real happy with the way it fits. My only other complaint at this point is the strength of the wi-fi antenna. Everything else is great so far.

The top of the face digs in the dashboard line, right? That's why I haven't jumped on it. They make 2 different face shapes for the Dynavin N6, I guess that they got tired of us E39 owners on the Avin version
I guess I'll wait until the Avin comes in an E39 appropiate shape...

[kricker]

I've seen some photos of the Avant2 installed in e39s and it looks good. I hope to have one soon. If I do and remember I'll post some pics of it to installed.

[kricker]

I've seen some photos of the Avant2 installed in e39s and it looks good. I hope to have one soon. If I do and remember I'll post some pics of it to installed.

So I got my Avant 2 for Christmas from my wife. I was super excited and tried to get it to installed. I hit a few bumps along the way, but I am now really close.

Currently I have 2 install issues. First, the brackets do not line up with the mounting holes on the face of the unit. When the brackets are installed, the mounting holes for the unit are about a 1/4 higher than the hole on the unit. Looks like I will need to do some modifications. Did anyone else have this issue?

The biggest issue I currently have is the fit on the lower edge of the face. It has sharp corners and the dash has rounded corners. Even if I mod the brackets, this poses a problem. @Jeffb325, any idea how Dr3wX5 got his to fit so nicely on the lower edge? Right now this prevents the unit from fitting.

[jeffb325]

if you take out the screws that are behind the dash trim the lower part of the dash will come loose and give you some wiggle room.

[kricker]

I loosened the entire lower dash already. I had to do that to get the original radio bracket out. But there is no way those lower sharp corners are going to fit in the dashes rounded corners. In the pics you posted of Dr3wX5's install it appears he either has rounded corners on his unit or it is somehow behind the dash. My dash is solid all the way back so I don't see how that is possible.

[jeffb325]

First off those pics are in an X5 so its probably a little different. If you look closely at those pics you will see the corners are square and the unit is sitting slightly up from the bottom. There is a small gap underneath. I agree that a little rounding on those corners would fit a bit better but frankly in the year since its come out nobody has mentioned it so people are obviously making it work. I should probably leave it to them to discuss how the lower edges are working in their cars.

[kricker]

After some more working with it today I've realized two things. One, that lower edge with the sharp corners appears to be installed so that it sits outside of the dash. It is a thin lip. Behind it the corners are rounded to fit the dash. Two, the plug on the antenna adapter is too long. It causes the unit to stick out too far. Once I removed that plug, the unit slid in all the way. The thin squared lip sitting flush against the dash and no gaps, like it should. So now I need to find a low profile antenna adapter.

[kricker]

Anyone know where I can find a right angle fakra to BMW cable so I can hook up the tuner of my Avin? I'm scouring the web, but I am not quite sure which fakra type I need and what the female version of the BMW plug is called. I think I need a right angle fakra z to female RCA, but I am not positive. So many cable types and names....

[jeffrey bray]

Hi All
I am trying to find out how to connect and android dvd unit to my X5 E53 2006. The old unit has 2 x 12 pin sockets which are not compatible with the harnesses that came with the new unit.

[johnfredrickson]

Hey guys,
I love my Avin unit... I only really use it for Pandora. I have an AT&T hotspot in the glovebox, so internet is always constant. A few frustrations: I believe the design of the unit is for the curve of the X5 dash, not the flat 5-Series dash, you cannot customize the "Car Home" screen, it does not have accessibility settings to make the text larger (resolution is awesome, but not for text when you are trying to read what is playing), apps close when you shut the car off so apps like Pandora don't save your place in the song. I also get a little alternator feedback when the volume is on but no music playing. The issue isn't at the amp level, so I am guessing the headunit might not like the factory grounding.
ANYWAY, here are a few pictures in my E39!

[johnfredrickson]

Hey guys,
I love my Avin unit... I only really use it for Pandora. I have an AT&T hotspot in the glovebox, so internet is always constant. A few frustrations: you cannot customize the "carplay" screen, it does not have accessibility in settings to make the text larger (resolution is awesome, but not for text when you are trying to read what is playing), apps close when you shut the car off so apps like Pandora don't save your place in the song. I also get a little alternator feedback when the volume is on but no music playing. The issue isn't at the amp level, so I am guessing the headunit might not like the factory grounding.
ANYWAY, here are a few pictures in my E39!

[ojomo]

Set Up:
Avin Avant-2 HU
BSW Stage 1 Speaker Upgrade
G.A.S PCN
Sound Stream PN5.640D

Bought my gear through Jeff at J&T, easy guy to deal with and took care of me nicely after I initially bought a Dynavin N6 and was completely unsatisfied with its DSP integration.
Set up is pretty straightforward and not too hard as long as you pay attention and read the literature in multiple threads. I desoldered the connectors from the amp and used them for plug and play to the G.A.S PCN.

PROS: This HU is awesome. Catered for more tech savvy customer who wants more capability out of HU. Check email while stuck in traffic? No problem. Voice control? Browse the internet? No problem. Your choice of multiple navigation apps including googlemaps.
Using a torque enabled OBD scanner synced via bluetooth? No problem. Watch Netlflix/Youtube/Play Angry Birds? No problem. I was pretty happy with it. The screen is much more responsive and accurate than the Dynavins, think Iphone screen vs an old Garmin GPS from 2001
The speakers are ok, but next time I would just stick with stock.
PCN routes sound properly to all speakers and for the most part works as intended.

CONS: Weak FM reception. Non existant AM reception. This was most likely due to the class D amp mounted close to the antenna. Will relocate and update. The unit is not E39 specific, its built for a E53 so the face plate is curved. Still looks stock, except doesn't line up with dash trim.
Had to do some funky things with the low pass/high pass and EQ to get the sound right. People say its the PCN, and you need the FSM module G.A.S sells. Without the adjustments the highs are painful.
A couple days ago the Avin cut out mid song, looked down and it was powered off and would not come on. Fuses fine and power to harness fine. Unit comes with a one year warranty, but I'm five months over. *SIGH*
Not much Jeff can do since he's just a reseller and can't do repairs. Got into contact with Tommy at Avin, he offered to try and repair it to the tune of 250$, most of that is shipping it back to China. There is a catch though, if the problem is with the android board there is nothing he can do either because they have stopped taking supply of that part in preparation for the Avant 3 which should be coming out soon. Is slow and laggy running a super old version of android so anything released from the google store app wise wont be able to run, unless you find a super old version of the app.

Conclusion: Bought this HU with the intention of having it for many years to come for the life of the car. Wouldn't expect a $1000 HU to kick the bucket after a year and five months. If it can't be repaired it will be quite literally $1150 down the drain, with a lovely addition of a gaping hole and wires in my dash. I'm sure my experience is not indicative of the Avant customer base as a whole, but would definitely be wary of future products. Will update on the outcome when the unit is received by Tommy.

[ojomo]

Update: So after weeks of emails back and forth with Jeff@J&T and Tommy@AVIN, I'm pretty much done and the Avin will be going in the trash. Jeff was helpful and explained to me what might be wrong. Would buy from him again, just not anything Avin related.

Dealing with Tommy has been frustrating. Full disclosure, they took pics and video of the unit working after the "repair" and it was working as far as that showed. Immediately after picking it up I plugged it in and nothing. I've done everything to try and get it to work, took it to several audio shops to be bench tested, jumped the pins still nothing, the unit is clearly dead. The part that really ground my gears was his constant blaming the car and battery...saying that it needs 3 amperes to boot up...a quick crash course and googling into electronics showed that's not how electricity works. Seriously if my battery was the problem there'd be a lot more going on than my headunit not powering on lol....

Looking back its really not worth the price tag, its mass produced and different people slap their own software and name on it. Simply put I'd recommend to fellow E39'ers to stay away, "buyer beware", or you have the chance of ending up like me with $1300 down the drain. Lesson learned.

[jicaino]

Update: So after weeks of emails back and forth with Jeff@J&T and Tommy@AVIN, I'm pretty much done and the Avin will be going in the trash. Jeff was helpful and explained to me what might be wrong. Would buy from him again, just not anything Avin related.

Dealing with Tommy has been frustrating. Full disclosure, they took pics and video of the unit working after the "repair" and it was working as far as that showed. Immediately after picking it up I plugged it in and nothing. I've done everything to try and get it to work, took it to several audio shops to be bench tested, jumped the pins still nothing, the unit is clearly dead. The part that really ground my gears was his constant blaming the car and battery...saying that it needs 3 amperes to boot up...a quick crash course and googling into electronics showed that's not how electricity works. Seriously if my battery was the problem there'd be a lot more going on than my headunit not powering on lol....

Looking back its really not worth the price tag, its mass produced and different people slap their own software and name on it. Simply put I'd recommend to fellow E39'ers to stay away, "buyer beware", or you have the chance of ending up like me with $1300 down the drain. Lesson learned.

These headunits (Dyn and Avin) look like they could be something good someday, but they charge way too much (because BMW) the faceplate looks horribly wrong, and this kind of full disclosure is something you rarely see. Not many folks admit to having spent a whackload of cash into something that's not what they expected. I guess some folks are so desperate to "bring new features" to their cars that they put up with cheap plastics, wrong fascia shapes and unfullfilled promises.

Thanks for sharing the hard real life truth with us man, I'm sorry for your loss.

(BTW, not referring to Jeff when I comment on the product he sells, just referencing the makers)

[Da Beemers]

Sorry to hear that. I was on the fence for a while about the Avin, then about the N6. After waiting a while on my decision, I'm glad I did. Every time I check the thread they are always messing with tons of adjustments, and updates and whatever. I don't want to spend that kind of money for something that takes so much fine tuning and constant updates to fix bugs/glitches whatever. For what you spent it should have been good to go for a loooong time. Thanks for the update. I will just stay stock until they stop constantly screwing with it, I don't want all of the hassle it seems to provide. Bummer.

[scottbimmer]

You mention that you spoke to Tommy from Avinusa. Maybe you can help me, I have a 2001 e38, and just can't get Tommy response to my concern, that his E38 DIY that he put up, my E38 does not have the main square looking power harness

[scottbimmer]

Can you say if any installation was done on the E38 with Avin-3