Avin Avant 2: Probably the coolest Android head unit I've ever seen.

[IronCat21]

https://avinusa.com/avin-universal-avant2-full-android-gps-navigation-system.html

So recently purchased this head unit, the Avin Avant 2 android nav system for my 07 Charger. This has to be one of my favorite upgrades I ever put in a car. I never had an after market head unit, so I put alot of research into it and someone on here suggested I try this one. Wow, were they right!!! This thing has so many capabilities, I don't even know where to start. I'll mention the coolest things that set this thing apart

Of course, it has bluetooth. It hooked up right away to my Galaxy S4. No problems there. Since this is basically an android tablet in my dash, it can use Torque Pro. The first day I had the unit in, I actually had a code pop up, and I was able to diagnose it and clear it right from the head unit. As for making calls, the stock mic that it came with (its positioned in the radio) is top rate and I can be heard fine. As long as you don't have the sound turned up too loud while youre on the phone, there will not be an echo as well.

Next, this has a wifi receiver, so you're able to connect to any wifi router or hotspot. This is extremely cool, since I use the Waze traffic and fuzz buster app, and that would always kill my battery. Now, I plug my phone into the radio via a USB cord, just for power (it puts out enough power to charge my phone, which I was surprised), and turn on my wifi hotspot app so I could get Waze or any GPS app on the head unit screen. This radio does allow for Wifi, BT or USB cord tethering, but with Verizon and alot of other carriers, they don't allow any of it without paying a surcharge. Thankfully this is an Android device, so I went ahead and downloaded an app called FoxFi, which bypasses Verizon and allows a wifi hotspot, USB tethering, or BT tethering. Now, I have not been able to figure out the BT or USB tethering yet, I might not be able to use it with Verizon, but the wifi hotspot hooked up right away without much hassle.

This does not have an AUX chord, but it does allow for USB flash drives which I come to find are ALOT better. No unplugging or charging, I just plug in a tiny flash drive into a cord I ran into my glove box, and it plays on its USB music player. You CANNOT hook up your phone via USB to play music, it doesn't seem to recognize it. You need a flash drive to do it if the music isnt on your phone, or bluetooth it from your phone.

The touchscreen is extremely responsive. The whole system is extremely responsive, for that matter. It has a 1.78ghz processor, which allows for anything your phone can do. The home screen is very nice looking, I'll add some pictures from my phone after I post this. One of the COOLEST things I saw with it was that it allows you to mirror you phone screen onto the head unit. It was very responsive as well, all I needed was a USB cord.

The only thing I've had trouble with was the steering wheel controls :banghead:. The radio is compatible with them, but there are not instructions on how to get them going with radio. My radio guy asked my to come back once I had them though.

This is the best head unit I've ever seen. Keep in mind, there is a learning curve, but it is well worth the work to figure everything out. For the price, you can't beat it. I did have alot of questions, so I asked the owner, Tommy, on the website and he was more than happy to help me figure everything out.

All in all, 4.5/5 stars. If the instructions on the tethering were more indepth and the steering wheel controls were explained, it would definitely be a 5 star. Sorry for rambling, I just really like technology :thumbs_u:

 

[IronCat21]

Re: Probably the coolest Android head unit I've ever seen.

Pictures

Before..

After!

It's running 4.2 so you can get most apps.

Waze works great as long you have a data connection.

I've only tried YouTube once but it was very nice.

Lastly just a different option for your home screen.

 

[canawler]

Re: Probably the coolest Android head unit I've ever seen.

Ok I'm gonna pepper you with questions about this. I'm in the market for a new stereo for the wife's Xterra and I haven't exactly been blown away with what's available from the big names in my price range. I don't believe either of our phones are compatible with any of the screen mirroring formats so that leaves only Bluetooth which is pretty much limited to making calls, playing music on the phone, and Pandora; no Google Maps. The $100 units have Bluetooth functionality so without screen mirroring, there's no good reason to go up much higher end until you get into the Android Auto units. That's why I'm intrigued by these Android head units out there.

1. To use anything needing data like Google Maps you have to have your phone tethered via wifi or usb w/app, assuming our phones aren't Mirrorlink or MHL compatible?

2. I see a lot of these mention their own nav app using maps on a micro-sd card. I assume that would work without a data connection? Are their maps on card able to be used by any other apps like Google Maps or Waze?

3. Did it arrive in a decent time frame? I see some reviews saying they ship from China.

4. If no phone/data connection is available, the unit still has normal car stereo functions: radio, cd, mp3 through the usb or sd card?

5. I haven't messed with a hotspot before. Is the wifi connection automatic each time you get in the vehicle (after initial setup) or do you have to open the app and login each time?

6. Is the unit friendly to use for someone who's not as tech savy? Most of the time, my wife would just hop in the vehicle and use the radio or cd with no Bluetooth streaming. I'm sure she could handle the streaming use but I doubt she would want to mess with a wifi/data connection if it's not automatic.

7. Is the sound quality decent? I've read a lot of reviews mentioning static or poor fm reception. I assume they don't have things hooked up well but that does seem to be prevalent in the reviews...

8. I'm sure I'll come up with more after you answer these. ;-)

By the way, congrats on a good purchase and I hope you really enjoy it.

 

[IronCat21]

Re: Probably the coolest Android head unit I've ever seen.

1. This does have MirrorLink, but I'm not a fan of it since you need to keep your phone open the whole time. I was Wifi Tethering which works perfect.

2. Nope. You could download an app from the Google Play store that uses offline maps, just using GPS. I personally haven't tried it, but I know someone who has this unit who uses them and he has no complaints with it.

3. They are Chinese units, but they ship from California. It arrived in 4 days. You can't really tell it's a Chinese unit either. Some android units I was looking at had a weird translation problems, but this one is fine.

4. Yup no problem. I always use MP3s through USB. It does not have an accessible SD card slot btw. I haven't had any trouble with it in the two months. Everything works off USB.

5. You just have to open your wifi hot spot app and then the radio connects automatically. Unless you're paying for a wifi hotspot from your carried, you'll need an app like FoxFi which is free. You open the app, check a box to turn it on, then you get redirected to your hotspot settings and flip another switch and it's up. Takes like 15 seconds.

6. The only tough part was setting up all the settings and getting the apps ready to use, since it needs wifi or a data connection to download and update. The wifi hotspot isn't hard to set up, bluetooth connects automatically after you set it up the first time as well. Radio and MP3s are easy, just tap the tab and it turns on.

7. Sound quality is good, not great, but good for mp3s. It's not the best for radio though. you get some static if you're not in good signal areas for radio. I took mine to a professional and it's still staticy.

Ask away! I like the unit alot, especially for the price. 349 is great for a solid android head unit. I'd gladly pay that then the 600 for a pioneer unit that still runs a 3 year old android softwear.

 

[canawler]

Re: Probably the coolest Android head unit I've ever seen.

Wow! Thanks for the thorough answers.

I'm assuming there's no Sirius-XM control? My wife uses a small portable XM unit through the fm modulator now as we have no aux input in the factory radio. I was planning on getting a head unit with XM control and upgrading the satellite receiver but most of these Android head units have an aux jack we could use for the XM.

The radio reception strength could be an issue for us, thanks for the heads up.

 

[IronCat21]

Re: Probably the coolest Android head unit I've ever seen.

No problem. Unless you want to download the Sirius XM app, and use the wifi or USB
Tether, I don't think there is. Hmmm all I could think of for an AUX jack is that there may be a USB to AUX adapter? Not sure.

Yeah I know, it's rough. Maybe a better radio antenna? That's the thing with aftermarket radios, they never get good signal for radio for some reason. I had an little walmart Kenwood radio, 100 bucks, and it sounds the same. It's not horrible, just not as good as your original radio.

 

[canawler]

Re: Probably the coolest Android head unit I've ever seen.

Forgot a lot of the XM content is available online for an additional fee...
I could see this radio burning through a heck of a lot of data. .

The unit you linked to in the original post says it has an aux. jack. Must be off the back? I noticed most of the other Android radios online have various combinations of aux, usb, micro-sd, or sd ports on the front of the units. Some also have volume and tuning knobs instead of buttons and some advertise they're running 4.4 KitKat. I guess you can have any combo you're looking for if you shop around enough.

 

[IronCat21]

Re: Probably the coolest Android head unit I've ever seen.

Yep I'd think so. It's the same as Pandora or iHeart Radio. You just have to have a high enough data plan lol.

It does say that, but I don't know if I can. It has the option in the main menu. I'm actually going to email him and find out. Very curious now.

Yep you probably can. You get used to the tuchscreen after a while. I'd prefer knobs sometimes, but if you got steering wheel controls, it makes the volume up and down buttons unneeded on the radio.

Whatever radio you get, just make sure the processor and Android software is good. Don't skimp on that or else you'll have a slow unresponsive radio.

 

[mtucker]

Re: Probably the coolest Android head unit I've ever seen.

I bought the same radio (AVIN Avant 2 7" universal).... partially based on what I saw in this youtube video of someone with one in their Dodge Charger (perhaps you or someone you know?).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWYS6z21T-k

I have had it on my work bench hooked up to a power supply while playing and setting it up the last week. I have a few comments of my own. Later today I'm going to post some questions for you IronCat21.

• I have shared my phone's internet connection using both a wifi hotspot and USB tethering. I prefer USB tethering as it is easy to do and charges the battery at the same time. I leave the USB tethering option checked all the time on the head unit and then I just turn on the USB tethering on the phone when I plug it in to the USB connection.
• I tried a few free Navigation apps on my phone first to see what worked well. "Here" is pretty nice for free. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.here.app.maps&hl=en and lets you download maps so you don't need a data connection. Maps.me was also decent and have off-line maps. I decided on Copilot premium which was $7.99 and has nice off-line maps. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.alk.copilot.namarket.premiumusa&hl=en For longer trips, I will tether to my phone, but in a pinch I think it will be nice to have a Navigation program that doesn't need data.
• My radio was shipped from Hong Kong, but came fast. I ordered it late Thursday night and it came Tuesday before lunch.
• I connected a backup camera to the radio and it looks great.
• Regarding AUX inputs, my plan is to use the left and right RCA type audio inputs for AUX running using a RCA to 1/8" plug cable. I haven't tried this yet, but I did feed the backup camera into the video input (instead of the Rearview input) and I was able to select it using one of the apps that came on the Avant 2.
• Wifi signal strength is poor although not too much of a surprise since the wifi module is in a metal box. I noticed this since it is on my workbench in the garage. Cell phones get decent wifi out there, but the Avant 2 radio can't maintain a reliable connection. Not a big deal day to day, but something to know.
• I only have a small speaker on my workbench so I can't comment about sound quality yet, but there is a good video someone made for the Avant 2 series (the one in the video is for a BMW so it has knobs and fits the BMW dash, but it is an AVANT 2 so it is the same Software). He talks about the advance audio settings which are very powerful. The advanced settings seem to apply to music off the USB or apps (confirmed with Poweramp), but not with the radio. The basic EQ does work with the radio audio. Poweramp BTW looks really nice on the big screen with the cover art and background they apply based on the colors in the album art.
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJYwpkMiJ_Y
  
• I use a 64GB flash drive on one of the USB inputs. It works great. I put my music on there (about 30GB of mostly 256 kbps AAC) and some H.264/MPEG4 videos that came from my Tivo. Tommy (AVIN guy) told me the radio supports USB hubs and I have confirmed that. I had a flash drive plugged into one port of a hub and I was tethering my phone data connection to the radio via USB through the hub.
• The supplied powered GPS antenna does a good job of getting a lock quickly. Some GPS devices struggle when inside (in the garage).
• I couldn't find any pictures of the back of the radio or much information about the inputs/outputs before I bought it. Most of the information on the web is for the specialized versions (form fit for BMW, VW, Honda....) Here is a picture I took of the sticker on the top. Note the sticker is generic (talks about DVD player which it doesn't have), but the wire and RCA information is good.
  
  
  

I should have her installed by this weekend (2003 Toyota Tacoma). I won't be using the built in audio amplifiers.

 

[IronCat21]

Re: Probably the coolest Android head unit I've ever seen.

That might be the video that Avin put out, it looks similar to their videos on there website.

The wifi thing is spot on. You can't get very good signal unless you bring a wifi booster into your garage. I just use my data signal to update apps since all I need to an MP3 app and Waze.

You need to explain to me how you got the USB tethering to work! What carrier, phone, and app are you using?

I like the sound output. I think it's better than the stock radio when it's putting out sound from the USB.

I agree with everything you said. I need to get around to getting the off line maps. I'll try co-pilot like you did. Ask away! I really believe in this product and its producers.. It's a small company with great customer service.

Edit: I just received a reply from Tommy the owner. I asked him about the AUX cord option. Here's his reply:

Hi

Yes the red and white rca in the middle is the aux input.

Tommy

There ya go!

 

[mtucker]

Re: Probably the coolest Android head unit I've ever seen.

Tommy at AVIN is great about answering questions. I e-mailed before and after purchase and he always got back to me on the same day.

In the first video, the guy pulls up a Dodge charger manual on the Avant 2 using Adobe reader and I figured how many Dodge Charger owners have this exact same radio? More than I thought

For USB tethering, it may work for me because I use the stock built-in Android tethering function and you use Foxfi. I have a Nexus 6 (running Android 5.1) on AT&T. I am rooted and modified the build.prop file so the phone doesn't ask for tethering permission from the mother ship. It could be Foxfi doesn't talk to the built-in USB tethering function on the Avant 2. I can post details, but the basic setup is: Avant 2. Select the check box for enabling USB tethering under settings, more, tethering. I leave it checked all the time. Phone. Under the stock tethering section (settings, more tethering and portable hotspot, turn on USB tethering. The option is grayed out until I plug my phone into the Avant 2 and then the option is available. Right away a symbol shows up on the Avant 2 (along the top) that looks like a wifi symbol growing out of a USB symbol. Since you have wifi tethering, it probably isn't worth much time to get it to work.

Questions:

1. Mirrorlink (screen mirroring). I played with this quite a bit to try and get it going. I watched Youtube videos of it working for people. First thing I noticed was AVINcarlink app on my phone never gave me an option to scan the QR code on the Avant 2 for mirrorlink. Tommy told me the problem was you need a dedicated menu button on your phone so you can hit menu and then tell it to scan the QR code. My Nexus uses floating menu/back/home keys and the AVINcarlink app doesn't support the floating ones. I found an app that got me around that (floating button on the screen that I could access to get to a menu in any app). Scanning the QR code didn't do anything for me. Then I found the QR scan sets up your phone for a wifi hotspot with a certain SSID and password. So I manually did that, told both the phone and Avant 2 to connect and BAM I connected. However it was mirroring the Avant to the phone and not the phone to the Avant which isn't that useful to me. I never got the Avant to mirror the phone. I didn't NEED it to work so I moved on. Are you able to mirror either way? How do you tell the phone/radio which way you want to mirror?
2. You said your Avant 2 is running Android 4.2. I swear mine is 4.1.x. I'll check when I get home. Is yours definitely 4.2? If so, I will have to contact Tommy to see if there is an update I need to apply.
3. Has battery drain been a problem for you? Since I have been using the radio on a bench power supply, I can see how much current it pulls in normal operation and in sleep mode. With the Avant 2 on (display on and running) it is pulling 0.81A at 13.8V in (11.2 Watts). Not bad for running. If you just disconnect the red ACC wire like what happens when you turn off your car ignition, the current only drops to 0.72A (9.9 Watts). The benefit of high power sleep seems to be an almost immediate wakeup (don't want to wait 30 seconds for a boot after you run into the store). There are options in the menu for how long it will be in the high power sleep before truly turning off and needing a bootup (from a few hours to a day or so). 10W shouldn't cause problems for a healthy battery that gets charged/driven every few days, but I could see it being a problem for weekend cars especially in cold weather. There were a few complaints about battery draining in the BMW forums and I am curious if you have seen any problems?
4. The main screen has "buttons" to go to Radio, USB, Navigation.... In the options, I found a way to link a different Navigation app to the Navigation button, but not a way to link a different media player to the "USB" option. Hitting the USB option brings up the stock A/V browser player and I would love to have that button open up Poweramp by default. It isn't a big deal to hit one more button to get to the typical Android screen and select Poweramp, but it would be sharp if a shortcut was available.

I'm glad there is another Universal Avant 2 user out there to discuss the radio with.

 

[IronCat21]

Yep he's great. Who knows, that might be Jeepn, I think he made a dodge video like that.

That might be it. My phone isn't rooted. I didn't pay for the extra feature from Verizon but you got it from rooting.

Yes! I was able it to work very easily. I didn't have to use the QR code at all, all I needed was a USB cord. It showed my phones screen on the radio screen and was very smooth. I'll set it up tomorrow morning and send you a walk through if it's complicated. I remember the first thing I did though was that and it was very easy.
2. I might be wrong.. it may be 4.1... I just know it's a 4.x. I'll confirm that as well.
3. Honestly, I'm not sure. The start up time is only 30 seconds, which is how long I usually let my car warm up. I have my immediate set up to 30 minute stand by. I have yet to have any problems starting up my car. I've checked my battery level before I started up my car and it's charge is fine. I let it sit for about a week and a half and I had no problems starting it up.
4. Yeah I hear ya. It's an annoying extra step. Honestly I'd shoot Tommy an email and see if he could add it to an update. I mentioned the navigation customization and he said lots of people suggested it. I'll email him as well about it.

Yeah its great! After you turn yours off, and turn it back on before the stand by time ends, does yours ever mess with the USB app and just get set to play the album of the last song it was on? It was fixed slightly inthe last update for me, I'm not sure about you though?

Also, what year charger do you have??

 

[mtucker]

I think the problem with Mirrorlink is either my phone or Android 5.1, but I would love the exact steps you take to make your phone work with it.

I was thinking about only having my radio go into the deep sleep after 18 hours since I like the idea of instant wake up. I think my battery can take it. I did notice that the backup camera works within a few seconds of a cold boot. You don't have to wait for the radio to boot all the way up.... just a few seconds.

My radio has been on my bench while I play with it so I haven't had the chance to see any weridness with the USB app messing up if I turn off the ignition and turn it on before the deep sleep starts. I did do a test hookup in my truck last night (I don't own a Charger.... it is going in my Toyota Tacoma) and I noticed if I turn the ignition off (radio goes into light sleep) and then back on I wasn't getting any sound, but Poweramp continued to play (could see song timer going). I traced that down to the radio not turning my amplifiers on. ANTVVCC and Back-On should go high for the antenna and amplifier trigger, but they often stay low when the radio comes back on. Occasionally they go back high and turn on my amplifiers. I'll just tie my amp triggers to the ACC wire and have them come on with the ignition/key.

 

[canawler]

I keep reading online reviews saying all these units are oversize but the listed dimensions are 178x100mm. Standard double din (7x4") rounds to 178x102mm so I'm not getting it? Are the units larger than they say? Can you confirm how big they are?

 

[IronCat21]

I think the problem with Mirrorlink is either my phone or Android 5.1, but I would love the exact steps you take to make your phone work with it.

I was thinking about only having my radio go into the deep sleep after 18 hours since I like the idea of instant wake up. I think my battery can take it. I did notice that the backup camera works within a few seconds of a cold boot. You don't have to wait for the radio to boot all the way up.... just a few seconds.

My radio has been on my bench while I play with it so I haven't had the chance to see any weridness with the USB app messing up if I turn off the ignition and turn it on before the deep sleep starts. I did do a test hookup in my truck last night (I don't own a Charger.... it is going in my Toyota Tacoma) and I noticed if I turn the ignition off (radio goes into light sleep) and then back on I wasn't getting any sound, but Poweramp continued to play (could see song timer going). I traced that down to the radio not turning my amplifiers on. ANTVVCC and Back-On should go high for the antenna and amplifier trigger, but they often stay low when the radio comes back on. Occasionally they go back high and turn on my amplifiers. I'll just tie my amp triggers to the ACC wire and have them come on with the ignition/key.

Ugh it deleted my post when I tried to post a picture.. lemme retype it.

It's definitely 5.x. I've had no problems mirror linking it before. Heres the step by step. Set your phone to debugging mode in developers options. Plug it into the radio, open up mirror link, wait for it to do its loading process. Swipe left and right when it tells you to so it can sync up. Then you should be good!

Very good idea I think. I tried if at 12 hours. I checked my battery this morning in my dealer option menu (go dodge for including that) and it was at 12.1V. I started it up and it jumped up to 14.3V. It didn't have any problems starting up either.

Yep that's the bug I had. I've had no problems with it since he updated my radio. Very odd it did that though. Ahh my bad, I thought you had one too!

 

[IronCat21]

I keep reading online reviews saying all these units are oversize but the listed dimensions are 178x100mm. Standard double din (7x4") rounds to 178x102mm so I'm not getting it? Are the units larger than they say? Can you confirm how big they are?

The most exact measurement I can give you is 17.8X10cm. You have the right measurement on the website too. I think alot of it tends to be the double din kit was made poorly and has the wrong size. I bought an eBay kit, but I made sure it was only the 3rd cheapest one and not the cheapest one. They are all chinese, but mine ended up correct. Also check amazon for feedback, alot of the times you could match up the display pictures and vendors from eBay to amazon. I actually have about a centimeter of extra space on each side I believe.

 

[mtucker]

I keep reading online reviews saying all these units are oversize but the listed dimensions are 178x100mm. Standard double din (7x4") rounds to 178x102mm so I'm not getting it? Are the units larger than they say? Can you confirm how big they are?

Since mine is still on my bench, it is easy for me to measure it. I'll measure and post this evening.

I did a test fit in my Toyota Tacoma. I don't need a kit to mount mine. My stock radio came with two brackets mounted on the side. These brackets must be standard because the bolt pattern lined up with holes on the Avant 2.
After putting the brackets on, I bolted the bracket into my dash and put my large plastic piece that goes from the AC vents up top to below the radio. The radio stuck out about 5mm too far (the clips on the dash plastic piece wouldn't go in all the way). I opened up the holes in my stock bracket (made slots) so I could slide the radio back about 5mm more and all is good. In the picture you can see the modified stock mounting brackets on the Avant 2.

Here is a picture of the back of the unit (since there aren't any pictures on the AVIN website of the back).

It's definitely 5.x. I've had no problems mirror linking it before. Heres the step by step. Set your phone to debugging mode in developers options. Plug it into the radio, open up mirror link, wait for it to do its loading process. Swipe left and right when it tells you to so it can sync up. Then you should be good!
Very good idea I think. I tried if at 12 hours. I checked my battery this morning in my dealer option menu (go dodge for including that) and it was at 12.1V. I started it up and it jumped up to 14.3V. It didn't have any problems starting up either. Yep that's the bug I had. I've had no problems with it since he updated my radio. Very odd it did that though. Ahh my bad, I thought you had one too!

Thanks for the Mirrorlink steps. I have been in USB debug mode and I have seen the message about swiping to get it to sink. No love. I guess being on the bleeding edge of Android (5.1) has its drawbacks
So you must be running external amp/s if you saw the same problem. Did Tommy give you a file to flash/load and that took care of the amp trigger working every time? This morning I wired my amp triggers to the ACC wire so the amps will come on whenever the key is turned.
I came across a video of someone using Car Dash-droid (a nifty large button interface for tablet like devices in cars). https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...om.nezdroid.cardashdroid&hl=en&token=gaQojRub
It looks like a nice option for the Avant 2.
https://youtu.be/9dUBso0NXgM

 

[mtucker]

I keep reading online reviews saying all these units are oversize but the listed dimensions are 178x100mm. Standard double din (7x4") rounds to 178x102mm so I'm not getting it? Are the units larger than they say? Can you confirm how big they are?

I measured the front of the radio. It is 178mmx102mm. The widest/tallest part of the radio is 182x105 which is a few mm back from the face. In my last post that shows the side of the radio, you can see how the black plastic has a small step a little bit back from the front.

I confirmed that the RCA audio inputs work fine for an AUX input. I used a 1/8" to RCA cable plugged in between my phone and the Right/Left RCA inputs. Selecting the Aux In app that came with the radio switched it right over to those inputs and I could hear my phone playing music out the headphone jack.

 

[DefectiveWeeble]

This has been a great thread to read, since I've been looking for an aftermarket stereo for my husband's car. Can anyone post a picture zoomed out from the screen, so I can see what it looks like in the dash? Thanks!

 

[IronCat21]

Absolutely. Here's two.