CarPlay works in a 2020 Land Cruiser

[greynolds]

If all you care about is CarPlay, the current EC Off-road unit automatically starts CarPlay (or Android Auto if you have an Android phone) every time you start the car. Unfortunately, there’s no way to override it to start up with the factory infotainment for when you’re taking the LC in for service, for example.

Keep in mind that @CharlieS has an early Naviplus, so some of the functionality may behave differently on new units,

 

[hendooman]

If all you care about is CarPlay, the current EC Off-road unit automatically starts CarPlay (or Android Auto if you have an Android phone) every time you start the car. Unfortunately, there’s no way to override it to start up with the factory infotainment for when you’re taking the LC in for service, for example.

Keep in mind that @CharlieS has an early Naviplus, so some of the functionality may behave differently on new units,

Don't want to de-rail this thread as I have done a lot of reading on your research of the Navi but has anyone tried the fitting bay unit? I dont see any threads on it.

 

[CharlieS]

Question for you. As I have thought about buying this the EC or the Fitting Bay for weeks. Is your main issue the Gaia interface and the plan in the are it is to get going or is it everything in general. Lets say I am interested in Apple CarPlay Wired/wireless, is that pretty straightforward and simple to use or is it just quirky all around? Thanks, Jeff

Caveat, as @greynolds says, I have an older (mid 2020) Naviplus, so you may have a completely different experience with newer units.

Ultimately what you have is an Andriod computer side jacked in between the factory control head and the display screen. It is clever enough to sense when you have an iphone or android phone connected (via usb) or nearby (if you have the right dongle). When it meets these conditions it jumps into CarPlay or android auto, if it doesn't meet that condition, it goes to the android user interface.

However, your factory stereo has no idea that the display screen signals are being intercepted. You have to trigger the Android box by long pressing (2sec) the Nav button, then it switches the screen to the Carplay/android auto/android display.

From there it works as you'd expect carplay to work.

Gaia gps just sucks on carplay. The maps are hard to read, you can basically only zoom in or out. Apple puts a ton of restrictions on apps run in carplay, and it makes the app useless.

The android version of Gaia gps is much more similar to the phone/tablet user experience, and has most, if not all, of the same features. But, to get there, you need to bump from carplay to the android ui, scroll several screens, select the Gaia app icon - half the time you need to hit the icon to reacquire location, and then click to full screen mode.

I am probably just going to get an ipad mini with a gps chip and use it for Gaia and/or OnX.

 

[sadovnik]

Question for you. As I have thought about buying this the EC or the Fitting Bay for weeks. Is your main issue the Gaia interface and the plan in the are it is to get going or is it everything in general. Lets say I am interested in Apple CarPlay Wired/wireless, is that pretty straightforward and simple to use or is it just quirky all around? Thanks, Jeff

I can answer part of that for you since I've had both the Naviplus and the EC Offroad. Getting to Apple Carplay is easier on the ECOR since it defaults to it when you start the car, so you don't have to do anything at all. The NP on the other hand requires you to press and hold the HOME button to get into the Carplay screen, which IMHO is kind of a pain in the butt since I'm always in a hurry. I'm sure someone else might prefer it the other way around, but at least for me the ECOR approach is more convenient.

 

[greynolds]

I can answer part of that for you since I've had both the Naviplus and the EC Offroad. Getting to Apple Carplay is easier on the ECOR since it defaults to it when you start the car, so you don't have to do anything at all. The NP on the other hand requires you to press and hold the HOME button to get into the Carplay screen, which IMHO is kind of a pain in the butt since I'm always in a hurry. I'm sure someone else might prefer it the other way around, but at least for me the ECOR approach is more convenient.

My only complaint with EC Offroad's approach to forcing CarPlay to start automatically is when taking the car in for service appointments. I would prefer that the people at the dealership just see the standard Toyota infotainment. But I must confess that it hasn't been an issue so far.

 

[LCNOLA]

If they forgot to send the cable with the original order, you shouldn‘t have to pay anything out of pocket. If it was an option you forgot to order, that would be different.

I agree. I opened the box on the tailgate when I did the install, there was no aux wire. However, NP seemed to disagree and so I just agreed to pay the shipping in an effort to just get it done and not spend time going back and forth.

 

[greynolds]

I agree. I opened the box on the tailgate when I did the install, there was no aux wire. However, NP seemed to disagree and so I just agreed to pay the shipping in an effort to just get it done and not spend time going back and forth.

Yeah, understood that you're just doing what you need to do to get the thing working, it just speaks VERY poorly of them as a company. Unfortunately, a lot of these (presumably) small businesses seem to have a good product, but no clue what customer service is or how word of mouth can hurt their business even more than it helps in cases like these.

 

[CWolg]

Yeah, understood that you're just doing what you need to do to get the thing working, it just speaks VERY poorly of them as a company. Unfortunately, a lot of these (presumably) small businesses seem to have a good product, but no clue what customer service is or how word of mouth can hurt their business even more than it helps in cases like these.

I'll offer a response in defense of NP. I installed my NP unit myself, with no experience other than swapping a stereo in a car 13 years prior. When I got it all in, it worked great - except that I lost use of the climate control settings. It turns out that one of the wires in the wiring harness wasn't seated properly, which very well could have been from my yanking and shoving on the wire harness to get everything installed. I emailed back and forth with them and sent pictures of how everything looked, and they always responded promptly to me and were soon able to tell me exactly which wire to check. I got that particular wire clicked back into place and everything has worked exactly as I would expect since then.
For the record, I have no affiliation with Naviplus, I'm just happy with the support they provided when I needed it.

 

[catastrofe]

I'll offer a response in defense of NP. I installed my NP unit myself, with no experience other than swapping a stereo in a car 13 years prior. When I got it all in, it worked great - except that I lost use of the climate control settings. It turns out that one of the wires in the wiring harness wasn't seated properly, which very well could have been from my yanking and shoving on the wire harness to get everything installed. I emailed back and forth with them and sent pictures of how everything looked, and they always responded promptly to me and were soon able to tell me exactly which wire to check. I got that particular wire clicked back into place and everything has worked exactly as I would expect since then.
For the record, I have no affiliation with Naviplus, I'm just happy with the support they provided when I needed it.

Same here. The only issues I had were operator error on my part.

 

[Noah Randall]

I had the EC Offroad unit installed today. I have a 15 year relationship with an audio shop here in georgia and plan to replace the stock speakers and amp so i wanted them to be involved from the start. This will be my fourth system with them. By the way the dash speakers are perfect for the mid on a 3-way component set up which i had in my 16' 4runner and the difference between 3-ways and 2-ways will ruin you forever. I had to go back to 2 ways on my 100. Same model speaker, amp, etc. and it was a world different.

I just picked it up but my initial impressions are it's surprisingly stable and quick. I have a pioneer nex 7200 in my 100 series which came with native carplay built-in and so far the EC Offroad unit is snappier and more stable than that unit, albeit the pioneer is dated at this point.

Admittingly, i am one of those people that the stock dated interface really bothered. Especially coming from my 100 that had carplay. I was spoiled by the convenience of it.

Thanks to everyone's help on this forum. I'll be sure to let y'all know if I experience any issues in the future. For now it has really brought the vehicle up to date and for me filled in the only gripe i had with the vehicle. I lived with a very similar interface with my 16' 4runner and it's really not that bad but once you have carplay it really spoils you.

I'm not an expert by any stretch but am happy to resource to anyone considering this upgrade. For me it was worth it but really depends on what your priorities are.

Best,
Noah

 

[Artie]

I had the EC Offroad unit installed today. I have a 15 year relationship with an audio shop here in georgia and plan to replace the stock speakers and amp so i wanted them to be involved from the start. This will be my fourth system with them. By the way the dash speakers are perfect for the mid on a 3-way component set up which i had in my 16' 4runner and the difference between 3-ways and 2-ways will ruin you forever. I had to go back to 2 ways on my 100. Same model speaker, amp, etc. and it was a world different.

I just picked it up but my initial impressions are it's surprisingly stable and quick. I have a pioneer nex 7200 in my 100 series which came with native carplay built-in and so far the EC Offroad unit is snappier and more stable than that unit, albeit the pioneer is dated at this point.

Admittingly, i am one of those people that the stock dated interface really bothered. Especially coming from my 100 that had carplay. I was spoiled by the convenience of it.

Thanks to everyone's help on this forum. I'll be sure to let y'all know if I experience any issues in the future. For now it has really brought the vehicle up to date and for me filled in the only gripe i had with the vehicle. I lived with a very similar interface with my 16' 4runner and it's really not that bad but once you have carplay it really spoils you.

I'm not an expert by any stretch but am happy to resource to anyone considering this upgrade. For me it was worth it but really depends on what your priorities are.

Best,
Noah

I’d like to know what shop you are talking about. I’m in Georgia as well and it’s always good to have a list trusted shops. Feel free to PM me if you don’t want to put them on blast.

 

[04UZJ100]

I had the EC Offroad unit installed today. I have a 15 year relationship with an audio shop here in georgia and plan to replace the stock speakers and amp so i wanted them to be involved from the start. This will be my fourth system with them. By the way the dash speakers are perfect for the mid on a 3-way component set up which i had in my 16' 4runner and the difference between 3-ways and 2-ways will ruin you forever. I had to go back to 2 ways on my 100. Same model speaker, amp, etc. and it was a world different.

I just picked it up but my initial impressions are it's surprisingly stable and quick. I have a pioneer nex 7200 in my 100 series which came with native carplay built-in and so far the EC Offroad unit is snappier and more stable than that unit, albeit the pioneer is dated at this point.

Admittingly, i am one of those people that the stock dated interface really bothered. Especially coming from my 100 that had carplay. I was spoiled by the convenience of it.

Thanks to everyone's help on this forum. I'll be sure to let y'all know if I experience any issues in the future. For now it has really brought the vehicle up to date and for me filled in the only gripe i had with the vehicle. I lived with a very similar interface with my 16' 4runner and it's really not that bad but once you have carplay it really spoils you.

I'm not an expert by any stretch but am happy to resource to anyone considering this upgrade. For me it was worth it but really depends on what your priorities are.

Best,
Noah

Would like to hear more about your aftermarket audio setup once installed

 

[joltman]

I was under the impression that you couldn't replace the stock amp as the 2016+ "headunit" doesn't use traditional line outs. There was another thread around here where someone had replaced the 2010 dash electronics with the LHD (Middle Eastern?) 200 series GX electronics. This enabled him to use an aftermarket head unit, new/standard amp and speakers. There was talk at the end of that thread that this _could_ be possible with a 2016+, but so far, no one had attempted it. You would most certainly lose the front/side/rear cam views, and most likely the specialized 4Lo camera views. Not to mention the "super helpful" maintenance reminders from the stock unit.

 

[LCNOLA]

**INSTALL ON A 2019 200**

This may turn out to be a SQOD thing but here goes. I'm having trouble figuring out the email messages from naviplus on how to get my wireless CarPlay unit working correctly. Maybe some of those more experienced w car audio can help me make sense of what they're telling me to do.

CURRENT STATUS: I've installed the unit myself, pretty straightforward. They didn't send the aux cable in the first package but sent it later and MOST is now working as it should. WIRED carplay works just fine, SWCs work well, again MOST is working as it should.

WHATS NOT WORKING:

1. Wireless CarPlay does not currently work. There simply is no wireless network for me to join and so it hangs on the 'connecting' screen. I've read all of the instructions (multiple sets) from this thread, I've programmed everything the way NP has specified ( SWC do work so I CAN follow instructions) and wireless CarPlay simply does not work.

2. I now have the 'displaced OEM Nav postion' bug as well. My OEM nav pings me a mile more or less from my current actual location.

I've written Naviplus about these issues and here's what they have responded:

'Please put some cardboard between two devices and put some aluminum foil on video cables.'

OK, I'm assuming that they mean to put some cardboard between the two NP units. I can do that. Will that signal shield? Is this what may be causing the OEM GPS bug? is it for heat dissipation? If it is for heat should I separate the two units as best I can so they don't burn out?

'Put some aluminum foil on video cables' - OK, they mean the GVIF cable that attaches to the back of the OEM screen, do I 'foil' the connection point? The entire length of the cable?

I have asked NP all of these questions but their response track record is usually one sentence stuff like above. I'm hoping someone here w/ more car audio experience than me can shed some light on exactly what NP is trying to ask me to do. Sorry if this is car audio 101 stuff that is super simple to some.

Her's some picture os my current config. I attached both NP units to the back of the OEM screen where they fit well.

 

[catastrofe]

**INSTALL ON A 2019 200**

This may turn out to be a SQOD thing but here goes. I'm having trouble figuring out the email messages from naviplus on how to get my wireless CarPlay unit working correctly. Maybe some of those more experienced w car audio can help me make sense of what they're telling me to do.

CURRENT STATUS: I've installed the unit myself, pretty straightforward. They didn't send the aux cable in the first package but sent it later and MOST is now working as it should. WIRED carplay works just fine, SWCs work well, again MOST is working as it should.

WHATS NOT WORKING:

1. Wireless CarPlay does not currently work. There simply is no wireless network for me to join and so it hangs on the 'connecting' screen. I've read all of the instructions (multiple sets) from this thread, I've programmed everything the way NP has specified ( SWC do work so I CAN follow instructions) and wireless CarPlay simply does not work.

2. I now have the 'displaced OEM Nav postion' bug as well. My OEM nav pings me a mile more or less from my current actual location.

I've written Naviplus about these issues and here's what they have responded:

'Please put some cardboard between two devices and put some aluminum foil on video cables.'

OK, I'm assuming that they mean to put some cardboard between the two NP units. I can do that. Will that signal shield? Is this what may be causing the OEM GPS bug? is it for heat dissipation? If it is for heat should I separate the two units as best I can so they don't burn out?

'Put some aluminum foil on video cables' - OK, they mean the GVIF cable that attaches to the back of the OEM screen, do I 'foil' the connection point? The entire length of the cable?

I have asked NP all of these questions but their response track record is usually one sentence stuff like above. I'm hoping someone here w/ more car audio experience than me can shed some light on exactly what NP is trying to ask me to do. Sorry if this is car audio 101 stuff that is super simple to some.

Her's some picture os my current config. I attached both NP units to the back of the OEM screen where they fit well.

View attachment 2734520

View attachment 2734521

View attachment 2734522

I did my own installation, also on a 2019. From my perspective, your wireless issue is due to the lack of a network. If the unit isn’t generating a network, you’re dead in the water for wireless. I didn’t need to separate the two modules with cardboard (in fact I stuck them together with a little VHB tape), nor did I need to use aluminum foil. I realize this probably isn’t very helpful, but it sounds to me like you have a defective unit. My NetPlay box was defective…they sent me a replacement and I sent the bad one back.

 

[LCNOLA]

I did my own installation, also on a 2019. From my perspective, your wireless issue is due to the lack of a network. If the unit isn’t generating a network, you’re dead in the water for wireless. I didn’t need to separate the two modules with cardboard (in fact I stuck them together with a little VHB tape), nor did I need to use aluminum foil. I realize this probably isn’t very helpful, but it sounds to me like you have a defective unit. My NetPlay box was defective…they sent me a replacement and I sent the bad one back.

Yea, I think you are right , it's likely just a bad unit. I may just take the whole thing out and return it, I'm kind of fed up with this process.

 

[greynolds]

For pairing your iPhone to CarPlay, you should be pairing it on the Bluetooth screen on your iPhone rather than looking for a WiFi connection. Open the iOS Settings app > Bluetooth and make sure it's on. Now look for the Naviplus device (I don't know what the name will be as I'm using the EC Offroad unit, but the pairing process should be the same) in the list of Bluetooth devices and tap on it. That should initiate the wireless CarPlay pairing. Once the pairing is complete, CarPlay uses a WiFi connection for the bulk (or perhaps all) of the data transfer. So looking for a WiFi connection to pair to isn't what you need to do. Also, once the initial pairing is complete, CarPlay should reconnect automatically every time the Naviplus unit turns on.

As far as the aluminum foil goes, there was some discussion of that previously and the recommendation was to wrap it around the HDMI cable, which would be the one with the blue connectors. If the HDMI cable isn't high quality, HDMI signals can definitely cause some interference with other things. I'm wondering how workable normal aluminum foil would be though as I would think it would tear and rip too easily.

 

[catastrofe]

For pairing your iPhone to CarPlay, you should be pairing it on the Bluetooth screen on your iPhone rather than looking for a WiFi connection. Open the iOS Settings app > Bluetooth and make sure it's on. Now look for the Naviplus device (I don't know what the name will be as I'm using the EC Offroad unit, but the pairing process should be the same) in the list of Bluetooth devices and tap on it. That should initiate the wireless CarPlay pairing. Once the pairing is complete, CarPlay uses a WiFi connection for the bulk (or perhaps all) of the data transfer. So looking for a WiFi connection to pair to isn't what you need to do. Also, once the initial pairing is complete, CarPlay should reconnect automatically every time the Naviplus unit turns on.

As far as the aluminum foil goes, there was some discussion of that previously and the recommendation was to wrap it around the HDMI cable, which would be the one with the blue connectors. If the HDMI cable isn't high quality, HDMI signals can definitely cause some interference with other things. I'm wondering how workable normal aluminum foil would be though as I would think it would tear and rip too easily.

Good points. The order of connection (BT first) is critical. IIRC, the NP instructions cover this.

 

[RobW0]

I did my own installation, also on a 2019. From my perspective, your wireless issue is due to the lack of a network. If the unit isn’t generating a network, you’re dead in the water for wireless. I didn’t need to separate the two modules with cardboard (in fact I stuck them together with a little VHB tape), nor did I need to use aluminum foil. I realize this probably isn’t very helpful, but it sounds to me like you have a defective unit. My NetPlay box was defective…they sent me a replacement and I sent the bad one back.

Forgive me if you have already done this but, make sure you have the wireless CarPlay turned on in the NP setup menu. You can set it for wired only, wireless only or wired and wireless.

 

[LCNOLA]

For pairing your iPhone to CarPlay, you should be pairing it on the Bluetooth screen on your iPhone rather than looking for a WiFi connection. Open the iOS Settings app > Bluetooth and make sure it's on. Now look for the Naviplus device (I don't know what the name will be as I'm using the EC Offroad unit, but the pairing process should be the same) in the list of Bluetooth devices and tap on it. That should initiate the wireless CarPlay pairing. Once the pairing is complete, CarPlay uses a WiFi connection for the bulk (or perhaps all) of the data transfer. So looking for a WiFi connection to pair to isn't what you need to do. Also, once the initial pairing is complete, CarPlay should reconnect automatically every time the Naviplus unit turns on.

As far as the aluminum foil goes, there was some discussion of that previously and the recommendation was to wrap it around the HDMI cable, which would be the one with the blue connectors. If the HDMI cable isn't high quality, HDMI signals can definitely cause some interference with other things. I'm wondering how workable normal aluminum foil would be though as I would think it would tear and rip too easily.

I've been connected via Bluetooth the entire time, just like the instructions say to do. Shows up and connects just fine, has the entire time it's been installed, first thing I did upon installation, still no wireless CarPlay.