Adding Android system to Volvo V50

[Whiffle]

Hi there.

I am looking to try and upgrade the standard sound system in my Volvo V50 and would be really grateful for some advice.

The current stereo is really basic - just has an FM stereo, CD player and auxiliary in.

I have an old Amazon Firetablet 8 (7 gen) that I had a go with, first but ran into a few initial problems:

1. That tablet cannot tether data via Bluetooth. No problem, I thought, tether it via wifi instead.

2. Need a launcher to give me a proper car experience - forgot that Amazon does not Play so had to sideload that.

3. Lots of the expected Launchers did not show up as available - realised that this is because the tablet was really old and uses Android 5!!

4. Found a couple of launchers that would work but was not impressed - seemed really clunky. Furthermore, realised that the tablet does not have its own GPS so Google Maps didn't work properly.

5. Realised that the lack of Ram (1GB) and poor CPU on the tablet probably contributed to a really poor experience.

6. I decided to try and use my Android phone, instead - my thinking being that if I could mirror and control the screen on a much larger 7" screen, things would be better. Unfortunately not - I used AirDroid and it was so laggy that it was unusable. I really didn't want to go down that route in the first place, either - if I leave the car and take my phone with me, the passengers are stuck without any media.

Any advice on what to do would be much appreciated.

I did look at an official Volvo Android stereo upgrade but that costs over £600.00.

One other quick thing - maybe I am asking for too much, but if I could somehow add a dashcam and reversing camera to the mix, that would be even better.

 

[d_brennen]

There's infinite Android Auto screens on Amazon etc. that'll do your job. Trick is finding one that is any good. Reviews can't really be trusted these days either... It might be worth seeing if you can get the OEM kit from a breakers and retrofit it

 

[Whiffle]

There's infinite Android Auto screens on Amazon etc. that'll do your job. Trick is finding one that is any good. Reviews can't really be trusted these days either... It might be worth seeing if you can get the OEM kit from a breakers and retrofit it

Thanks for that, Soldato.

Having looked, there are indeed loads of Android Auto screens and some have a hardwired reversing camera (which is perfect).

I am bit confused, however, as to what these are. Are they basically tablets that have been stripped down and had an Android Auto OS added to them?

I note that they do not have GPS so cannot quite work out how they use that of the connected phone.

Also, am I correct in thinking, therefore, that if your mobile phone (which is providing data via tethering) goes down, the screen loses lots of its functionality?

I was assuming that I would have to buy a dedicated tablet for all this, but those screens have got me really interested now - I supposed the only drawback is that if you stall the car and restart, the system reboots (I assume that they have no backup battery).

 

[d_brennen]

Thanks for that, Soldato.

Having looked, there are indeed loads of Android Auto screens and some have a hardwired reversing camera (which is perfect).

I am bit confused, however, as to what these are. Are they basically tablets that have been stripped down and had an Android Auto OS added to them?

I note that they do not have GPS so cannot quite work out how they use that of the connected phone.

Also, am I correct in thinking, therefore, that if your mobile phone (which is providing data via tethering) goes down, the screen loses lots of its functionality?

I was assuming that I would have to buy a dedicated tablet for all this, but those screens have got me really interested now - I supposed the only drawback is that if you stall the car and restart, the system reboots (I assume that they have no backup battery).

They are basically an Android tablet with the Android Auto/Apple Car Play apps installed. They run Android natively and have Play Store* so you can install other apps like Spotify, Netflix ect. All internet connectivity and GPS is usually* handled by the phone plugged in or tethered wirelessly*. I've looked into the same for my car, I can get an OEM head unit used, installed for about £350. My car doesn't have a standard stereo din slot so it's ether the manufactures one or something stuck on the already small dash.

EDIT: Re your question, I can't remember the last time I stalled my car You can wire most of them in via the fuse box so they have a always on feed that can tell the unit if the motor is running/key in accessory position etc. My dash cam is hard wired in like this via a piggyback fuse holder.

*all these features may vary, YMMV!

 

[Funky-Melon]

I did this on my C30 (same interior and dash as S40 V50).

What have you done to your car today?

Just remember to be cautious with the magic sponges, they are effectively sandpaper. Use light pressure - and don't use them often.

forums.overclockers.co.uk

Works nicely for the £40 it cost and looks pretty OEM IMO

 

[Whiffle]

They are basically an Android tablet with the Android Auto/Apple Car Play apps installed. They run Android natively and have Play Store* so you can install other apps like Spotify, Netflix ect. All internet connectivity and GPS is usually* handled by the phone plugged in or tethered wirelessly*. I've looked into the same for my car, I can get an OEM head unit used, installed for about £350. My car doesn't have a standard stereo din slot so it's ether the manufactures one or something stuck on the already small dash.

EDIT: Re your question, I can't remember the last time I stalled my car You can wire most of them in via the fuse box so they have a always on feed that can tell the unit if the motor is running/key in accessory position etc. My dash cam is hard wired in like this via a piggyback fuse holder.

*all these features may vary, YMMV!

I did this on my C30 (same interior and dash as S40 V50).

What have you done to your car today?

Just remember to be cautious with the magic sponges, they are effectively sandpaper. Use light pressure - and don't use them often.

forums.overclockers.co.uk

Works nicely for the £40 it cost and looks pretty OEM IMO

Thanks guys - really good point about stalling. The only time I ever stall is when reversing up my drive - for some reason, my Volvo really struggles with that one task.

That product that you linked looks absolutely perfect.

Podofo 10.26

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

I can tell, from the bezel on your dashboard, that you went for either the 10.26 or 9.3 inch version. Which one was it?

Ideally, I would really love the reversing camera, big screen and a dashcam but it seems that I cannot have all those things and will have to sacrifice one.

I take it that your C30 has native Bluetooth (or did you upgrade this, beforehand)?

 

[Funky-Melon]

Thanks guys - really good point about stalling. The only time I ever stall is when reversing up my drive - for some reason, my Volvo really struggles with that one task.

That product that you linked looks absolutely perfect.

Podofo 10.26

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

I can tell, from the bezel on your dashboard, that you went for either the 10.26 or 9.3 inch version. Which one was it?

Ideally, I would really love the reversing camera, big screen and a dashcam but it seems that I cannot have all those things and will have to sacrifice one.

I take it that your C30 has native Bluetooth (or did you upgrade this, beforehand)?

I got the 10.26" one. It does everything I want it to do really well, only complaint I have is it doesn't have auto brightness so I needed to manually adjust it in the early mornings/evenings of winter but it's quick and easy enough to do.

It's a generic brand device so you may be able to find similar online with different software features.

My C30 didn't have bluetooth so I got one of these and plugged it inside the AUX and USB in the armrest.

https://amzn.eu/d/7lP68Qu

 

[Whiffle]

I got the 10.26" one. It does everything I want it to do really well, only complaint I have is it doesn't have auto brightness so I needed to manually adjust it in the early mornings/evenings of winter but it's quick and easy enough to do.

It's a generic brand device so you may be able to find similar online with different software features.

My C30 didn't have bluetooth so I got one of these and plugged it inside the AUX and USB in the armrest.

https://amzn.eu/d/7lP68Qu

Thanks very much for that.

Nice upgrade on the Bluetooth - I completely get how your system works now (you indeed have exactly the same set up as me).

Having done a bit more reading, it does seem that the reversing camera is available as an optional extra that you can also buy (and will work with both the screens). You seem really pleased with the device, so I think I am going to follow suit.

I am still not entirely sure as to all the differences between the 10.26 and 9.3 - the website could be a little bit clear to use!

 

[jpaul]

EDIT: Re your question, I can't remember the last time I stalled my car You can wire most of them in via the fuse box so they have a always on feed that can tell the unit if the motor is running/key in accessory position etc. My dash cam is hard wired in like this via a piggyback fuse holder.

I thought stop-start cars could still give some irregularities on power supply ... at least honda cars inbuilt radio have a special 'ups' unit (big cap I guess)


(..
I'd looked at redeploying a tablet, too, with inbuilt sim/4g, which might present option of having better sound quality via a separate usb dac into cars radio aux, rather than BT audio.
one of the concerns, in car, was powering the tablet faster than it was discharging through use
)

 

[Gouty]

I did this on my C30 (same interior and dash as S40 V50).

What have you done to your car today?

Just remember to be cautious with the magic sponges, they are effectively sandpaper. Use light pressure - and don't use them often.

forums.overclockers.co.uk

Works nicely for the £40 it cost and looks pretty OEM IMO

That looks really clean. I have an S40 and the same Android Auto unit. Would you be willing to share the 3D files for the mount? I found this but I don't think the angle on the dash would allow for as good a finish as it does with yours.

I was using a face plate with a phone holder that I adapted the design of and printed but the clips kept snapping, and the finish was... not so OEM!

 

[Gouty]

Finished fitting it today (ignore the plastic on the screen, I promised my partner they could remove it!)

It works really well. The only thing I don't like about it is once it's booted it makes a god awful chime that can't be turned off (which can be heard here). I will probably physically block up the speaker holes or disconnect the speaker if it continues to bother me.

You can update the boot logo to something more suitable by putting a 1600x600 pixel jpeg called "boot_logo.jpg" and a zip of it called "boot_logo.zip" onto an SD card and plugging it in when the unit is powered on. The process is described in more detail in the comments of this reddit post. I made a simple one.

To power the screen I used a generic 12V to 5V 3A USB C converter and plugged it into a switched 12V accessory power cable. The USB C cable comes up behind the hazards switch and between the vent and dash (you have to at least partially remove the vent to do this)

I wouldn't recommend using the radio broadcast for audio. You could use any Bluetooth receiver plugged into the aux. I used one of these that you plug in behind the radio, unfortunately the Bluetooth receiver is powered by a wire that is constantly 12V even when the car is off. So you will have to cut that wire and also use it with accessory power.

I designed a little mount for it in fusion 360 and got it printed it in ASA, It uses the spare adhesive pad that the screen comes with but the curve isn't perfect and I'm not sure how well it's going to hold. I've bought some 3M VHB tape to try and mount it a little better.

I put it on thingiverse but new accounts can't add anything for 24 hours, I'll post tomorrow with a link.

 

[Gouty]

Thingiverse page here