Avin Avant 4 Headunit users?

[Steven Mazza]

To answer your question, the install is pretty straight forward. My 2005 m3 had the factory satnav and hk speakers etc so I had to run an extension harness to the boot (trunk)

To do this I basically took out the passenger seat (our cars are rhd here in oz), rear seats, rear lhs trim panel and boot lining and then removed the factory cd stacker, bluetooth module, DVD drive etc.

From there its all pretty much plug and play.

With my particular install I opted to order the extension cables to use the factory aerial and factory gps sensor as both of these connections are in the boot.

After testing the gps with the extension lead I couldn't get a lock onto gps signal, so I tried the one included with the unit and it worked fine. (My oem gps was working flawlessly with the factory setup) I eventually just gave up on the extension and used the one supplied by avin which locks on instantly and seems to be reliable so far.

I ordered the avin avant 4 px6 with the following addons:

Ibus adapter
Elm327 bluetooth adapter
igo maps on sd card
gps extension cable
Aerial extension cable
phone microphone

Ibus adapter : very easy to install, just plug one end into the supplied wiring harness labelled ibus and the other end into one of the 3 available usbs. The app comes preinstalled just make sure avin forward your vin to them so you can unlock it and access all of its features. They forgot to forward my vin but an email and a day later it was sorted.

I won't touch on what the ibus app does Im sure you already know.

elm327 obd2 bluetooth adapter : for some reason my avin unit cant even detect it in bluetooth. Its been about a week with avin support emailing back and forward with no luck yet.

Igo maps: works brilliantly.

phone mic: I installed this in the factory location up in the head liner and ran the cable down the drivers side a pillar to the unit. From testing im told the person on the other end of the call can hear me clearly.

Sound quality is just as good if not better than oem.

the unit looks good, seems nice and responsive and smooth. There's a plethora of settings to go thru and tweak to set it up how you like.

Edit: just want to add avin support is hit and miss, they have a support page you can login to but the info there is limited still. The unit doesnt come with install instructions either.

Avin support is killing me.... just going through this now. I have NAV too. I have zero sound from the speakers. Did you have to do anything else for sound besides plugging in the 40 pin fakta harness in the trunk? My understanding is that power and audio are plug and play with the one 40 pin. Thanks... hope you get this.

[bloung5]

Do you see that the Wireless CarPlay Adapter (WCPA) all of a sudden disconnects from the head unit and you see a “please connect” message on the AutoPlay app?

I haven't had that particular issue. Carplay is great when it works, for reliability bluetooth app is better. Either way, this isn't my everyday car so I guess i can live with it..

[HanSooloo]

i have an avin avant 4 and wouldn't call the carplay smooth at all. I constantly get skipping when i first start up and it lasts a while. Also get a stupid car icon as if the hood latch is open but it definitely is closed and have verified this multiple times. It's meh honestly. The bluetooth A2DP is pretty reliable, carplay for me kind of sucks .

Do you see that the Wireless CarPlay Adapter (WCPA) all of a sudden disconnects from the head unit and you see a “please connect” message on the AutoPlay app?

[bloung5]

I was thinking is the IBUS app worth it? Also is the Bluetooth auto CarPlay smooth? I’d like to keep the look as stock as possible so I didn’t want to get the wired dongle

i have an avin avant 4 and wouldn't call the carplay smooth at all. I constantly get skipping when i first start up and it lasts a while. Also get a stupid car icon as if the hood latch is open but it definitely is closed and have verified this multiple times. It's meh honestly. The bluetooth A2DP is pretty reliable, carplay for me kind of sucks .

[HanSooloo]

Has anyone else ran into Wi-Fi connectivity issues with the Avant4? Mine seems to be around 2 areas:

1. After upgrade to iOS 15, Avant4 cannot connect to Personal Hotspot. iOS 14.x and below work fine. I opened a case with Avin, but have not seen a fix from their end yet.
2. Generally speaking, Wi-Fi reception is very weak. When my car is parked on the driveway, I can get full or bit worse signal on my phone. But Avant4 gets no signal or just barely any, and can't get any data through even if it connects.

For #2, I am hoping to install an external antenna .. something like this: https://www.amazon.com/SCS-Enterpris.../dp/B019FUHAU8. I will have to open the unit up to see if it is possible.

[Chanman1029]

The most useful thing avin can do is probably software optimizing. Avant 4 works well enough but there is a certain learning curve in using the os mostly because of minor bugs for which they dont give enough support

Just received this from them. I wonder how much faster it would actually run, and if it would be worth it if its only a CPU upgrade.

maybe I should just go with the avant? After all, I really only want it for carplay, and maybe a back up camera.

[yhp2009]

Thats what I’m wondering. I dont have one personally, but watching video reviews, I’m not really sure what else could be added onto the 5 that would make it worth the extra money when compared to the avant 4. This is truly a hard decision to make

The most useful thing avin can do is probably software optimizing. Avant 4 works well enough but there is a certain learning curve in using the os mostly because of minor bugs for which they dont give enough support

[Chanman1029]

Depends on the price too. If they offer steep discounts to avin 4 when the 5 comes out could be a good deal. Avin 4 works quite well once you tweak things your to preference

Thats what I’m wondering. I dont have one personally, but watching video reviews, I’m not really sure what else could be added onto the 5 that would make it worth the extra money when compared to the avant 4. This is truly a hard decision to make

[Obioban]

this is good to hear, my Avin3 crashes my android phone every time I try to connect to android auto. customer support has had little interest in resolving the case, they said all i can do is undo the latest security update to the phone (no thanks)

That sounds like a phone issue more than an Avin issue...

[usdmej]

Also to note, I’ve gotten confirmation from a representative at Avin that they will be releasing an avant 5 this week or next week.

this is good to hear, my Avin3 crashes my android phone every time I try to connect to android auto. customer support has had little interest in resolving the case, they said all i can do is undo the latest security update to the phone (no thanks)

[yhp2009]

Also to note, I’ve gotten confirmation from a representative at Avin that they will be releasing an avant 5 this week or next week. Now the question is, should I go ahead and buy the 4, or wait for the 5?

my only concern is buying something new that may have bugs that haven’t been worked out yet, versus the avant 4 which has been tried and true.

thoughts?

Depends on the price too. If they offer steep discounts to avin 4 when the 5 comes out could be a good deal. Avin 4 works quite well once you tweak things your to preference

[Chanman1029]

Also to note, I’ve gotten confirmation from a representative at Avin that they will be releasing an avant 5 this week or next week. Now the question is, should I go ahead and buy the 4, or wait for the 5?

my only concern is buying something new that may have bugs that haven’t been worked out yet, versus the avant 4 which has been tried and true.

thoughts?

[Chanman1029]

Steering wheel controls still work, either way.

I use a wireless charging pad (from inductiv) for charging. If I'm going on a short drive, phone stays in the pocket. If I'm going on a longer drive, I throw it on the charging pad.

My M3 wagon (armrest normally covers it, but so you can see what the charging pad looks like:

Thanks, very nice setup btw.

[Obioban]

I saw someone mention that steering wheel controls still work with the wireless carplay. I’m not so much interested in wireless since I would like my phone to charge while it plays. That being said, do all the steering wheel functions still work on a wired Carplay connection, or even the radio for volume?

Steering wheel controls still work, either way.

I use a wireless charging pad (from inductiv) for charging. If I'm going on a short drive, phone stays in the pocket. If I'm going on a longer drive, I throw it on the charging pad.

My M3 wagon (armrest normally covers it, but so you can see what the charging pad looks like:

[Chanman1029]

I saw someone mention that steering wheel controls still work with the wireless carplay. I’m not so much interested in wireless since I would like my phone to charge while it plays. That being said, do all the steering wheel functions still work on a wired Carplay connection, or even the radio for volume?