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Got mine shipped last week! Sorry for the elemntary questions, but I plan to install with a buddy once I can find a free weekend.
1) Where did you place the boxes? Gear shifter area? Did you have to use Velcro or anything like that to prevent rattling?
2) Where in your center console did you put that antenna? Want to make sure I do it the same as you since you aren't having any issues.
3) Did you a run an iphone cable anywhere else to elect for a "wired" option if you wanted to charge your phone, etc?
I will update my Beat-Sonic review and installation post also, but today I installed my wireless Android Auto/Apple Carplay module from Beat-Sonic. So I already had the wired version installed for a year. I heard that Eric was releasing a wireless version. Turns out he offers a trade-in so I sent him my "plastic box", paid $200, and he shipped me the new box which, as noted above, is metal. It is a one for one swap for the old box. It did not come with a remote antenna as Bob mentioned above, but it all seems to work quite well so far. My phone sits so close to where I have installed the metal box (under the cup holder) that maybe it doesn't need the external antenna.
As always, Eric is very responsive and reasonable. Very impressive.
Well, I got the Wired USB Audio /Charge adapter today and I will name this post "Bob Versus Chinesium". Spoiler alert: Bob won.
Here is the aftermarket "For Toyota" switch I received.
Crushed Chinesium box looks promising, eh?
Ok, That looks ok! Just one problem. It did not work. After I wired it I could only get intermittent charge on the charging port and the CarPlay did not recognize the audio port at all. The usb connection cable to the Beat Sonic was really thin and cheap looking and feeling. I don't know if the unit was just not working as designed or just total crap from the jump. I'm inclined to think the latter. I did retest the wired CarPlay function on the Beat-Sonic with their included high quality usb cable. Of course, it worked.
So now I'm pissed but I remember the *wrong* sized adapter that I bought and looked at them closely. It occurred to me that I could just pop the mounting face plate off the broken right sized outlet and put it on the wrong sized outlet. After testing that the wrong sized outlet worked *before trying to install it, this time* I set to making the conversion. Unfortunately the faceplates had different faceplate mounting tab depths. By then I was really angry and said "screw it!" I'm taking both of these totally apart and hope for the best. I took the guts out of the wrong outlet and installed them in the good sized outlet. It worked! I have never messed with anything like these and was "surprised" by how cheaply and simply they are made and assembled. I do not know why I was surprised. Maybe I assumed it was magic. Nope. Just Chinesium. I did not take any pictures of the conversion process. I was too angry.
In any event, here's where we were at this point.
And here is the result...
Wired CarPlay working and charging my phone.
And Wireless CarPlay working and my wireless mount is charging my phone.
Sorry for the final result pic quality. I had to take them with my iPad Mini4 and I'm in my garage where the lighting for photos is suboptimal.
I am totally satisfied. As good as I have gotten at disassembling the center console, at will, I am glad that I won't (knock on wood) have to do it any more.
@bob58 Thanks for the heads up on the new unit. I assume it's running android as the OS. What version android does it have? For some reason Beatsonic doesn't advertise that.
Unlike the Grom V-Line, Lsailt, "Tesla screens" and other units you see on AliExpress etc, this Beat-Sonic is *ONLY* a CarPlay and Android Auto interface.
That means that it seems pricey for what does but it's the only thing that does what it does with perfect simplicity, perfect integration, demonstrated stability and first rate U.S. customer service and support.
If you want the other features that Grom advertises, this will NOT work for you. If you want the best CarPlay experience you can get on a LEX8 system, this is it. Now that it has wireless connectivity too, it's a no brainer.
Got mine shipped last week! Sorry for the elemntary questions, but I plan to install with a buddy once I can find a free weekend.
1) Where did you place the boxes? Gear shifter area? Did you have to use Velcro or anything like that to prevent rattling?
2) Where in your center console did you put that antenna? Want to make sure I do it the same as you since you aren't having any issues.
3) Did you a run an iphone cable anywhere else to elect for a "wired" option if you wanted to charge your phone, etc?
Thanks!
Sorry I missed this one.
1) I highly recommend that anyone considering buying this (or any other similar unit) watch Eric's installation video.
Here is the original that I used. WATCH THIS ONE FIRST (he goes slower on panel removal):
You'll see that there is plenty of room forward of the shifter to stack the boxes and accommodate the cables. I did not use velcro or anything. No rattles or problems at all.
2) 2 years ago, I added 12v usb 3.0 outlets in the rear of my center console and inside the center console. Link to that thread in my OP.
I have a wireless charging puck on a shelf I made inside the console and when I later added the Spiegel MagSafe charging mount on my dash, I drilled a hole in the lower passenger side front of the console box to feed the usb plug for that mount. Since I already had that hole I ran the external antenna wire through that hole and mounted the antenna inside the console box on the back passenger side vertically. You can see it circled in red in one of the pictures I posted. It mounts with 3m tape already attached. I have not had any issues with it there. It's hidden. Out of the way and seems to work perfectly. I can always reposition it if I have any issues.
3) See my latest update. Honestly, I got it to work. It seems to be working fine. If you need the OEM finished look that I wanted, I would buy the crappy one in my post AND this better one
that does not fit and swap the guts. It is unbelievably easy.
If you do not care about the clean OEM look and just want perfect functionality do what Eric recommends in the new wireless installation video. Their included cable is very high quality and will definitely give you the best performance without unnecessary headaches.
Looks like it's not available for 2010-14 Models, what's the difference in the Lexus infotainment from earlier models to 14'+?
The entire head unit, hardware and software are different, resulted with different harnesses and control SW and different set of CAN communication commands.
The entire head unit, hardware and software are different, resulted with different harnesses and control SW and different set of CAN communication commands.
I finally received this kit from Beat-Sonic and took me about 2 hours to install it by using their video on youtube.
So far Apple Carplay works perfect. I have not tried Auto Android yet.
I’ve had mine for 2 months now and I have been thrilled with it.
It just works. Even with the limitations of the low res, resistance LEX8 touch screen display, it just works.
The only infrequent issue I have had is no CarPlay audio on aux input after automatic wireless connection on start up despite a music app clearly playing music. Turning Wi-Fi off and back on on my iPhone corrects the problem.
Now that the Beat-Sonic unit is wireless, I can’t recommend it strongly enough for those wanting CarPlay. It’s worth every one of those many pennies.
I had mine installed last week and I do love it. I have noticed, though, that when I receive a text, the voice is really quiet. The navigation voice is perfect, but the text volume is really low. I have tried going into the settings and adjusted all the volumes to the max (as per Beat Sonic customer service) but it has not corrected the problem. Has anyone else had this issue? (I have an android phone, by the way.)
09-13-22, 12:59 PM
