Been connected via the NP Bluetooth since unit was installed per the instructions, still no wireless CarPlay.
CarPlay works in a 2020 Land Cruiser (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Eric Sarjeant
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NP specifically told me that it was the GVIF video cable that goes into the back of OEM screen that they were referring to, not the hdmi that connects the two units.
One last thing to try if you haven’t already…”forget” your current BT connection, re-pair, and see if you then get a wireless network. Also see post above about wireless being turned on.
Have done this many times, was the first thing NP told me to do. Have also confirmed many times that the factory setting for CarPlay is set to 'wired and wireless'.
Emailed them again and and told them the netplay unit is bad, they are going to ship me a replacement with a deposit, refunded upon them receiving my bad unit. Ordered the whole thing 6 weeks ago for an early August road trip, too bad for me I guess.
Glad you got it sorted with them.
I didn't have as many issues as it sounds like you are having. I could not get NP to work with the bluetooth connection so it always connects via wireless network. It's worked great 90% of the time. Occassionally I get a black screen and can't get it to work at all. I contacted naviplus and they are also sending me a new netplay unit. We'll see if that solves the problem. Although since I emailed them for the replacement it has worked flawlessly since.
Happy to report that despite my setbacks, I received the replacement netplay unit from naviplus, plugged it in yesterday and boom, wireless carplay works as advertised.
I gotta say that when its all working it's a pretty solid system. I've had carplay in a few cars but never had wireless, it's pretty great. I get in the truck and by the time I get around to pressing the nav button for 2 seconds, carplay is up and running and ready to roll. It's kinda slick.
Perfect? Nope, there are compromises. The phone call quality absolutely sucks. I know it's supposed to use the factory mic for those but something in the way the unit processes the call just sounds like ass. I have even upgraded the mic to the Kenwood T9B-0066-00 and it still sounds like ass from a well. So be it, I like the rest of it.
I took NPs advice and separated their 2 units with a piece of cardboard, the OEM NAV is no longer off, maybe that fixed it. I'll include a pic below.
And finally I ended up adding a super simple but highly effective (for my needs) mod that I'll pass along here.
So, when you install NP unit it wants you to add in a female USB port for wired carplay. Seems like a lot of installs put the port to the right of the steering wheel in the factory blank spot. I tried that, didn't like the cord placement at all so I ended up putting it where the OEM usb/aux input, top right of the shifter.
Here's a note for future NP installers. If you put the USB in this OEM spot and end up pushing the OEM usb/aux under the console, DON' UNPLUG THE OEM INPUT. If you do the head unit no longer reads the AUX input which is nec. for the NP unit to work.
So, I had the OEM usb input sitting under the console and it occurred to me that it is a powered usb and maybe I could add a little bus powered hub and have a few powered slots instead of one. Ordered the hub and some extensions. Was originally thinking of running it to the center console, maybe inside wall of compartment.
However, ended up installing it behind the little door to the wireless charger. The wireless charger has never worked correctly for me. It'll come on then go off 30s later and stop charging. And it turns out the USB hub I ordered randomly fits perfectly across the opening and I didn't need a USB extension wire to place it there. I put some heavy duty cardboard and double sided tape behind it to keep it in place.
All 4 slots work for charging, I'm pretty happy with it. So, at the end of the day, the NP unit works as advertised, which is pretty well and I have multiple USB charging options now, good stuff all around.
I gotta say that when its all working it's a pretty solid system. I've had carplay in a few cars but never had wireless, it's pretty great. I get in the truck and by the time I get around to pressing the nav button for 2 seconds, carplay is up and running and ready to roll. It's kinda slick.
Perfect? Nope, there are compromises. The phone call quality absolutely sucks. I know it's supposed to use the factory mic for those but something in the way the unit processes the call just sounds like ass. I have even upgraded the mic to the Kenwood T9B-0066-00 and it still sounds like ass from a well. So be it, I like the rest of it.
I took NPs advice and separated their 2 units with a piece of cardboard, the OEM NAV is no longer off, maybe that fixed it. I'll include a pic below.
And finally I ended up adding a super simple but highly effective (for my needs) mod that I'll pass along here.
So, when you install NP unit it wants you to add in a female USB port for wired carplay. Seems like a lot of installs put the port to the right of the steering wheel in the factory blank spot. I tried that, didn't like the cord placement at all so I ended up putting it where the OEM usb/aux input, top right of the shifter.
Here's a note for future NP installers. If you put the USB in this OEM spot and end up pushing the OEM usb/aux under the console, DON' UNPLUG THE OEM INPUT. If you do the head unit no longer reads the AUX input which is nec. for the NP unit to work.
So, I had the OEM usb input sitting under the console and it occurred to me that it is a powered usb and maybe I could add a little bus powered hub and have a few powered slots instead of one. Ordered the hub and some extensions. Was originally thinking of running it to the center console, maybe inside wall of compartment.
However, ended up installing it behind the little door to the wireless charger. The wireless charger has never worked correctly for me. It'll come on then go off 30s later and stop charging. And it turns out the USB hub I ordered randomly fits perfectly across the opening and I didn't need a USB extension wire to place it there. I put some heavy duty cardboard and double sided tape behind it to keep it in place.
All 4 slots work for charging, I'm pretty happy with it. So, at the end of the day, the NP unit works as advertised, which is pretty well and I have multiple USB charging options now, good stuff all around.
Bumping this thread for a quick question. I am close to pull the trigger on the Beatsonic unit. After reading all comments here, it looks like the "bang for your buck" aspect with Beatsonic is the best and it does not look like their unit has too many issues like the EC Offroad and NP (maybe because it is simpler). I do not care for wireless CP. Plug the wire works fine for me and also charges the phone (although not super fast). So, my question is: Am I missing something here? If I do not care for wireless and will mostly use CP, isn't Beatsonic the better option, since it is almost half price when compared to the others?
PS. I have had Beatsonic in my previous car - 4runner and it worked relatively ok. Once in a while a bug and I had to unplug and plug it back. The mic was terrible too, but still worked.
Thanks you all.
PS. I have had Beatsonic in my previous car - 4runner and it worked relatively ok. Once in a while a bug and I had to unplug and plug it back. The mic was terrible too, but still worked.
Thanks you all.
CharlieS
GOLD Star
For anyone that wants to try out CarPlay or Android Auto with relatively low buy in, I've got my older ('20) naviplus unit for sale in the classifieds. It is not the new Naviplus, it is more like the current EC Offroad solution (Lsailt box). Works fine with CarPlay, I've documented my likes/dislikes here on 'mud.
greynolds
SILVER Star
The EC Offroad unit really doesn't have many issues, especially if you're only using it for CarPlay (most of the issues we have discussed in the thread are centered around limitations in the native Android feature set). My take on wireless vs wired CarPlay is that once you get used to wireless, especially for short trips, there's no going back to wired. There are so many ways you can handle charging the phone for longer trips and all of them do a much better job of actually charging the phone than plugging it into the wired CarPlay USB port on any of these units. Has anybody posted a successful install of the Beatsonic unit in a Land Cruiser? If not, that's something to take into consideration as well as there a number of people who have installed the EC Offroad and Naviplus units.
I have wireless CarPlay on the Naviplus but have actually disabled it. I prefer to use the Toyota system and only use CarPlay really when I need Google Maps for navigation. Otherwise, you have to worry about calls and other things switching between the Toyota system and CarPlay and it just is too much to deal with in my opinion.
Can’t you take calls in CarPlay using the Naviplus? I see y’all’s points but the price difference is substantial and, like I said, my experience with Beatsonic in the 4Runner was great. If just for wireless I would rather save some money. Another advantage for beatsonic is that you don’t have any additional things to install like mics or antennas. It is really the closest to oem IMO and I am a sucker for staying as clean and oem as possible. Probably my OCD.
Ps. Just to be clear I have no affiliations or commercial interests with beatsonic.
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Trollhole Cruisers did a fantastic job installing the NaviPlus system for me recently. Top-notch professionals with fantastic service. Knocked this out and my new budbuilt sliders on the same day. So far the NaviPlus performing nearly flawlessly.
My Naviplus is down again. Holding down the Nav button doesn’t bring up the CarPlay screen. I opened up the dash and checked the dip switch per their tech support. The switches were correct. Once I reinstalled the unit it worked again for a while. Thought maybe the reboot helped. Tried the disconnect the battery forced,reset. No,effect. I’m more than a little annoyed by their one sentence replies about non functional units.
Considering tossing this unit and going EC Off-road. Hoping that will cure my issues-
1. Wireless CarPlay phone calls are so poor the other party usually ends the call.
2. Skipping tracks with the steering wheel button shows the next stack and then jumps back to the beginning of the track I’m on.
3. I can see nav updates popping up on the top of the screen when on the CarPlay screen
4. Switching to CarPlay works sporadically.
5. I’m often unable to switch for days and weeks.
Considering tossing this unit and going EC Off-road. Hoping that will cure my issues-
1. Wireless CarPlay phone calls are so poor the other party usually ends the call.
2. Skipping tracks with the steering wheel button shows the next stack and then jumps back to the beginning of the track I’m on.
3. I can see nav updates popping up on the top of the screen when on the CarPlay screen
4. Switching to CarPlay works sporadically.
5. I’m often unable to switch for days and weeks.
The nav part of the top of the screen is just part of the deal.
I agree with the phone call quality being poor through Naviplus.
I have not had the other issues.
It does seem like I’m having more trouble than most.
I have no experience with the NaviPlus but the EC Phone calls have been terrible for me. If the OEM system doesn’t pick up the call I manually select it on my phone.
To get around the _horrible_ call quality on NaviPlus, I do not pair my phone to the NP unit. I only pair it to the LC native interface. This works out because I can still answer the phone in the native LC interface, from the steering wheel, and I can answer in the Android interface, as it still shows an incoming call. This still allows audio through the Android Auto interface and I can still "talk" to Google Assistant through the NP's included mic. I haven't had any issues with this config.
Installed the Beatsonic unit this weekend in my 2018 200 series. It was a f...pain to remove all panels and vents. There is a reason why these cars do not have rattles or squeaks. Everything is reeeeally tight. Took me almost 5 hours, but I took my time with instructions from their Youtube video. Did not cut corners.
Happy to report that after a few hiccups with configuration, the unit functions great. I will post pictures later.
Yes, it is a wired solution, so if you only want wireless this is not for you. I really do not care and actually like the fact that my phone is always charged. What I love most is that this solution keeps your car absolutely OEM. By that I mean, no external clunky mics that you need find a weird place to locate. It uses the factory mic. I tested calls with my wife and she heard me perfectly and vice-versa, just like before.
To me this unit is a no-brainer from a pricing standpoint. It is half the price of the EC Offroad and Naviplus and works the same (except it is wired). I will update regularly how it performs.
Happy to report that after a few hiccups with configuration, the unit functions great. I will post pictures later.
Yes, it is a wired solution, so if you only want wireless this is not for you. I really do not care and actually like the fact that my phone is always charged. What I love most is that this solution keeps your car absolutely OEM. By that I mean, no external clunky mics that you need find a weird place to locate. It uses the factory mic. I tested calls with my wife and she heard me perfectly and vice-versa, just like before.
To me this unit is a no-brainer from a pricing standpoint. It is half the price of the EC Offroad and Naviplus and works the same (except it is wired). I will update regularly how it performs.
greynolds
SILVER Star
So does it fast charge your phone? That has been a problem with the other units where the USB port doesn’t provide enough power to keep the phone fully charged to keep up with the battery drain from use for CarPlay or Android Auto.
