Modernize the infotainment without hacking :P

[TheWidup]

Hey all - I keep seeing all these 3rd party options to rip and replace the infotainment system, screens, etc. There's always this fear of "what am I doing to ruin my ride?" thought that grips me when I look at any of these products. I've been using a vent mounted phone charging holder for awhile now and really tired of that experience. It's always bouncing and getting in the way of things.

So I came up with the hacky stupidly cheap solution. It's a Samsung Galaxy Fold 4 mounted in landscape with no modifications other than two safety razors slipped into the gap behind the trim piece in front of the screen. It's not perfect because it blocks the main screen while it's there but the only time I see that being an issue is if I need to change inputs or see the backup view. In those cases you can simply lift the phone out of the way (it also fits nicely below the climate controls).

It's not for everyone but it's a path to doing an update without having to really modify anything.

 

[Nechaken]

Ha, I've occasionally thought about slapping an ipad mini up there to do "carplay." You could 3d print a little bezel and it wouldn't look any different than any MB made in the last 7 years

 

[TheWidup]

Ha, I've occasionally thought about slapping an ipad mini up there to do "carplay." You could 3d print a little bezel and it wouldn't look any different than any MB made in the last 7 years

I did that a few years ago before giving up on it. My issue is the iPad Mini just can't handle everything as expected and even split screen would crash. It would struggle running music and maps at the same time so I gave up on that.

Here's the link to the iPad Mini Post I did: https://www.landroverworld.org/threads/working-on-an-“infotainment”-upgrade.41578/

 

[DiscoLR4]

Here's my "solution". I wanted Android auto (carplay works as well), without interfering with current setup and it's old school charm. I also did not want to leave marks on leather, or do major operation to install/uninstall.

 

[TheWidup]

Here's my "solution". I wanted Android auto (carplay works as well), without interfering with current setup and it's old school charm. I also did not want to leave marks on leather, or do major operation to install/uninstall.

I saw your post about this and wanted to do the same but the caveats you named about no Bluetooth, volume issues, etc had me thinking there must be better. The Fold 4 is a powerhouse and no need to have android auto as it just works natively.

 

[DiscoLR4]

I saw your post about this and wanted to do the same but the caveats you named about no Bluetooth, volume issues, etc had me thinking there must be better. The Fold 4 is a powerhouse and no need to have android auto as it just works natively.

That's fair. Im not in love with the carpuride system. There are small issues here and there, hate not having steering control for next song, or launching "hey Google". I'm using Aux, happy with that, don't notice sound quality issue, but now I'm having difficulty with calling. On top of that, my phone gets really warm and loses battery fast while wirelessly connected. (That may be my phone, it's 3yrs old). The dream of a perfect system is remains unfulfilled, though I feel like all of these things can be achieved if tinkered with enough... Oh well.

Although, I'm making the case for the docking system using these cheap docks I got from Alibaba. U can place anything there (I still hope for a carpuride type widescreen system without the issues I listed above), or tablet. Plus, no need to move it when you need back up screen or 4x4 or whatever other need for original screen you may have.

 

[powershift]

Here's my "solution". I wanted Android auto (carplay works as well), without interfering with current setup and it's old school charm. I also did not want to leave marks on leather, or do major operation to install/uninstall.

It looks good. Where did you buy the fan vent brackets?

 

[powershift]

Hey all - I keep seeing all these 3rd party options to rip and replace the infotainment system, screens, etc. There's always this fear of "what am I doing to ruin my ride?" thought that grips me when I look at any of these products. I've been using a vent mounted phone charging holder for awhile now and really tired of that experience. It's always bouncing and getting in the way of things.

So I came up with the hacky stupidly cheap solution. It's a Samsung Galaxy Fold 4 mounted in landscape with no modifications other than two safety razors slipped into the gap behind the trim piece in front of the screen. It's not perfect because it blocks the main screen while it's there but the only time I see that being an issue is if I need to change inputs or see the backup view. In those cases you can simply lift the phone out of the way (it also fits nicely below the climate controls).

It's not for everyone but it's a path to doing an update without having to really modify anything.

How do you connect the Galaxy to the built-in sound system or is it independent?

 

[powershift]

I've been thinking about a car PC setup with this as a capacitive touch monitor. I'm not sure how to integrate it into the sound system though. My '12 LR4 is shipping tomorrow, not sure if it has bluetooth features or not but I'd like to hard wire audio out from the PC and into the factory setup.

 

[DiscoLR4]

It looks good. Where did you buy the fan vent brackets?

AliExpress