GROM VLine - Google apps/Android&iPhone integration

[MastiffDad14]

Got it working, little slow to load apps and the navigation doesn't seem to work properly.

The map never updates, just stays where you first input the destination. Hopfully just a minor speed bump. Having Spotify on screen is a huge plus.

 

[charlesrg]

The old cables have a thick connector, just look at the pins, if they are big it's the wrong cable. all the white connectors should have the same type of pins. That's what it is for my 2007 LX 470. You can always pop the radio off and check. Didn't have much trouble getting mine out and last time I worked on any car stereo was over 10 years ago.

 

[nashvilleGX]

Man this VLINE install has not gone well. I have a 2004 gx470 and got the vline in the mail last week. I went to install everything last Friday and found that I had the wrong display cable. After sorting that out with GROM, they quickly sent me the right cable. So last night, I went to reinstall it and all I got was static on the screen after going through an ignition cycle. All of my regular factory screens were working correctly but when I tried to toggle through to get to the VLINE interface, nothing but static. I tried messing around with the connection on the VLINE unit, and got it to work briefly enough to connect to the internet, but shortly thereafter, static again. And in the time that it was working, I couldn't get any music to play via bluetooth, spotify, etc.. it showed me that it was playing a track but I could only get the CD or Radio to come out of the speakers.

I know I installed it properly, but I'm thinking that the wire harnesses for the male end that goes into the VLINE are cheaply assembled. In fact, while trying to route the GPS antenna, the wires actually came out of the harness after getting just slightly tugged on. So I was not able to connect the GPS antenna. Not sure if this is what is causing the display/static issues - i'd highly doubt that.. but man.. I'm thinking I might have to to return this thing and call it a loss.

Anyone here have similar problems? Or can anyone offer a solution? Thanks a bunch,

(Also, this is my first post on the forums here after being an active reader for the past month or so.. Happy to be here.)

 

[oftpiste]

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but what are you fellers doing about the need for the always-on wifi to make any of the functions work?

Thanks!

 

[jLB]

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but what are you fellers doing about the need for the always-on wifi to make any of the functions work?

Thanks!

I haven't quite gotten that far yet, but was leaning towards adding something like the AT&T ZTE Mobley to my mobile plan for the V-line to use.

 

[WaterCruiser]

Man this VLINE install has not gone well. I have a 2004 gx470 and got the vline in the mail last week. I went to install everything last Friday and found that I had the wrong display cable. After sorting that out with GROM, they quickly sent me the right cable. So last night, I went to reinstall it and all I got was static on the screen after going through an ignition cycle. All of my regular factory screens were working correctly but when I tried to toggle through to get to the VLINE interface, nothing but static. I tried messing around with the connection on the VLINE unit, and got it to work briefly enough to connect to the internet, but shortly thereafter, static again. And in the time that it was working, I couldn't get any music to play via bluetooth, spotify, etc.. it showed me that it was playing a track but I could only get the CD or Radio to come out of the speakers.

I know I installed it properly, but I'm thinking that the wire harnesses for the male end that goes into the VLINE are cheaply assembled. In fact, while trying to route the GPS antenna, the wires actually came out of the harness after getting just slightly tugged on. So I was not able to connect the GPS antenna. Not sure if this is what is causing the display/static issues - i'd highly doubt that.. but man.. I'm thinking I might have to to return this thing and call it a loss.

Anyone here have similar problems? Or can anyone offer a solution? Thanks a bunch,

(Also, this is my first post on the forums here after being an active reader for the past month or so.. Happy to be here.)

it sure sounds like a poor connection. if you have an ohmmeter you could quickly check if the cable/connectors are intermittent by gently wiggling them. if they all show solid continuity, plug everything back in & turn the system on, then repeat the wiggle test to isolate something that's marginal

 

[SoCal_80]

it sure sounds like a poor connection. if you have an ohmmeter you could quickly check if the cable/connectors are intermittent by gently wiggling them. if they all show solid continuity, plug everything back in & turn the system on, then repeat the wiggle test to isolate something that's marginal

Really hoping the vline works as described and they are able to enable apple CarPlay. Eagerly waiting for some positive responses!

 

[nashvilleGX]

I ended up getting it to work.. checked the connections and found that if i put the right pressure and wiggled it right where the display cable harness met the vline port it would work. So I put a tiny bit of electrical gel in the harness to help secure the connection. From that point on it was working as designed.. Hopefully it continues to.

And as I wasn't able to get the audio to work, The chat support at GROM about it told me that I probably needed to disconnect the CD changer for the audio to work properly.. so I did that and the audio worked as well. Kinda miffed though as that was one of the biggest reasons I got this and not their standard bluetooth connection. Not sure if this is due to my specific stereo model not being compatible with their system or what..

Anyways.. Im glad it's finally working though and will continue to let yall know any updates or issues that I run into with this.

 

[MastiffDad14]

Let me know if you can get your Google maps to work properly. I can Input an address but the map never physically updates, (move with the truck ect.)

Also I was so bummed it doesn't offer hands free calling, I assumed it did. I almost wish I saved money and went with a basic grom Bluetooth set up. Besides having Spotify on screen what does this really do.

I ended up getting it to work.. checked the connections and found that if i put the right pressure and wiggled it right where the display cable harness met the vline port it would work. So I put a tiny bit of electrical gel in the harness to help secure the connection. From that point on it was working as designed.. Hopefully it continues to.

And as I wasn't able to get the audio to work, The chat support at GROM about it told me that I probably needed to disconnect the CD changer for the audio to work properly.. so I did that and the audio worked as well. Kinda miffed though as that was one of the biggest reasons I got this and not their standard bluetooth connection. Not sure if this is due to my specific stereo model not being compatible with their system or what..

Anyways.. Im glad it's finally working though and will continue to let yall know any updates or issues that I run into with this.

 

[xswl]

Don't hold me to it with out showing me the pins but that looks identical to the one I have that does not fit my 05 LX

I contacted Grom and they agreed it's not the right one and sending me correct one.

 

[charlesrg]

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but what are you fellers doing about the need for the always-on wifi to make any of the functions work?

Thanks!

For music I use google play, so I can cache my entire playlist. To get it up I will be either using my phone as a hotspot later I might get a MiFi for the car. I saw on ebay $5 for unlimited 3G. 3G would be enough for music and maps.

 

[SoCal_80]

For music I use google play, so I can cache my entire playlist. To get it up I will be either using my phone as a hotspot later I might get a MiFi for the car. I saw on ebay $5 for unlimited 3G. 3G would be enough for music and maps.

What is the $5 3G service?

 

[charlesrg]

What is the $5 3G service?

I saw on ebay $5 for unlimited mobile 3G service. What's the question ?

 

[SoCal_80]

I saw on ebay $5 for unlimited mobile 3G service. What's the question ?

Hey. Was just hoping for the details or maybe the link to the item on eBay as it sounds like a great deal. I hope to get the grom solution and will need something(hopefully other than my phone) to provide it data. Thx!

 

[deanfun]

Received mine today. The power cable supplied was correct for my 2007.

I installed it temporarily to check out functionality and... it's got some issues.

I was able to pair the device with my iPhone 6, however my iPhone would never actually connect via bluetooth. Trying to connect via my phone would tell me that vline is not in range. I did this with unit on the bluetooth settings page (ie. discoverable). I tried multiple times with no success. Fail.

I was able to join one of the wifi networks in my house with reported decent speed (72Mbps), however actually using that connection resulted in failure. I was able to log on to spotify, but not actually stream music. I did get music via the web radio app... for about 30 seconds. Attempting to check for an over-the-air update did not work... except for the one time it did discover an update, only to sit there for 5 minutes without the status bar moving at all. Fail.

I have another wifi network in the house that I am able to connect to on my phone and MacBook while inside the truck that the unit could not see at all. Fail.

I attempted to join my phones wifi hotspot. The hotspot showed up on the unit and would occasionally join it, but would not do anything once connected. Fail.

So... all in all not a great start.

 

[charlesrg]

Hey. Was just hoping for the details or maybe the link to the item on eBay as it sounds like a great deal. I hope to get the grom solution and will need something(hopefully other than my phone) to provide it data. Thx!

Sure, here is the link however I haven't bought any yet and don't know how well they work.
So far I used my phone hotspot and I got lots of apps installed. I will download the google maps cache for my area and my google play playlists.

 

[charlesrg]

I got a chance to test my Vline today. So far I'm satisfied.

Few items I tested:
Steering wheel control works
Climate works just as before.
I can turn the car off, and then start again and the Vline stays on. This is a major plus.
Start time is not bad.
Installation was easy
Audio quality fidelity was good
Youtube playback, Google Maps, Google Play, Waze all installed and working with text to speech navigation
The voice recognition also works well but should be more flexible and listen to commands like PLAY METALLICA instead of WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO.


I didn't test the GPS as I was in the garage the whole time

Few improvement items:
I would prefer it to be fanless.
It definitely should be smaller so I could hide right together with the current radio.
It should be recognized as a handsfree bluetooth for the iphone so calls can be made using it
Connectors on the Vline side should be improved and the cable harness could have been of a shielded cable

Here a video for you guys just to have an idea:


TODO:
Test GPS
Hide it somewhere and free the glove compartment
Add a bluetooth OBD2 module.

 

[abuck99]

I got a chance to test my Vline today. So far I'm satisfied.

Few items I tested:
Steering wheel control works
Climate works just as before.
I can turn the car off, and then start again and the Vline stays on. This is a major plus.
Start time is not bad.
Installation was easy
Audio quality fidelity was good
Youtube playback, Google Maps, Google Play, Waze all installed and working with text to speech navigation
The voice recognition also works well but should be more flexible and listen to commands like PLAY METALLICA instead of WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO.


I didn't test the GPS as I was in the garage the whole time

Few improvement items:
I would prefer it to be fanless.
It definitely should be smaller so I could hide right together with the current radio.
It should be recognized as a handsfree bluetooth for the iphone so calls can be made using it
Connectors on the Vline side should be improved and the cable harness could have been of a shielded cable

Here a video for you guys just to have an idea:


TODO:
Test GPS
Hide it somewhere and free the glove compartment
Add a bluetooth OBD2 module.

That's good news you have had a relatively positive experience so far. Could we get a picture of the glovebox install? Hoping this can be tucked away somewhere else.

 

[abuck99]

Got everything pulled out and ready to plug in my Vline and the supplied display harness VTOYA3 cable does not fit any connector on the back of my display. The instructions for connecting the video display port also show 4 connection ports on 1 row, Ive got 3. Wondering if the Lexus is different than the LC?

EDIT:12-20 Even though I entered my correct vehicle info, there are 2 different wiring kits for 2005 models: you either fall under the 2003-2005 LEX3VL1 or the 2004-2006 LEX4VL1. After providing this MFD picture to Grom, they told me I needed the wiring kit from the LEX4VL1 which they are priority mailing to me. Hopefully that covers it. Grom has been very responsive thus far.

 

[deanfun]

I am going to be returning my unit to Grom for a refund. Wifi and bluetooth connectivity doesn't work, there's minor video interference in all modes (OEM and Vline) and to top it off, the gps antenna wiring simply broke while carefully trying to remove the plug from the back of the unit. At 22 gauge or less, the wiring isn't going to hold up with any flexing over time.

I'll keep an eye on the unit to see if they get better over time, but as it stands I don't think this is ready for prime time. I'll be doing some reading to see which unit provides the best bluetooth audio A2DP connectivity as the Audiovox unit I have now is subpar.