GROM VLine - Google apps/Android&iPhone integration

[jLB]

Are you okay with loosing the glove box ? I'm looking to find a mount so I can hide mine in a place that won't bother and won't be seen. I really need the glove box.

I would really prefer another option (like under the passenger seat).

 

[charlesrg]

I would really prefer another option (like under the passenger seat).

We will need a longer wiring harness for that and a bit more work. Do you think Grom could provide us a longer wiring harness that won't degrade the video quality even further ?

 

[jLB]

We will need a longer wiring harness for that and a bit more work. Do you think Grom could provide us a longer wiring harness that won't degrade the video quality even further ?

Yes, the provided cables limit the install to the dash/glovebox area. While mine has shown interesting promise, it has not demonstrated enough stability for me to pursue a more permanent mounting solution just yet.

 

[abuck99]

Are you okay with loosing the glove box ? I'm looking to find a mount so I can hide mine in a place that won't bother and won't be seen. I really need the glove box.

You don't loose the entire space of the glove box- just a portion of the left side of it. Not much space anywhere else for it to live with out rearranging fixed wire and cable looms. I'm hesitant to rearrange much behind the nav unit- there are strands x 10 of delicate 20 or 22 awg wires that could easily be boogered up or pulled from a connector.

 

[LexandRex]

When I first got the vline in early Dec I was ready to ship it back within a few days because it would only turn on and work correctly less than half of the time. Update 6 fixed the turning on issue but the U/I was incredibly clunky and slow. Update 7 that came out right before Christmas made it so much better but still a pain to have to connect it to your wifi hotspot from the phone to get full use out of the system for spotify, maps, other apps etc. Thanks to the earlier post on here about how to get CarPlay to work now all I have to do is plug in my phone via the lightning cable and I'm set for Spotify and Maps (even though apple maps is not nearly as good as Google) without having to turn on my phones hotspot. The CarPlay U/I is smooth, quick and doesn't lag at all. At this point I'm going to keep the system and say it's worth every penny of 299 considering our options are next to nothing for updating the 100s front screen. I think it will only get better as more vline updates come out as well. Not sure I'd pay 499 for it though...

 

[charlesrg]

Well, I finally got to use the Vline for a couple hours and now I can give some feedback.
While traveling with the car this weekend I noticed several issues that didn't show on my previous 5 minutes tests.
Some are:

• Slow response / Lots of lag to update the screen.
  
• Unit restarted itself several times on it's own. I checked temperature and it seemed fine.
  
• Once the unit did not work well, it keept restarting itself and showing lines on the screen until I turn off the car, waited and turned on again.
• When certain apps show a full screen message window. it's a pain to figure how to get it out. Happened to me with Google Maps and Waze. Looks like a problem with the overlay as apps are designed for full screen.
  
• Google Maps crashed and stopped working. I already tried clearing cache/data and even removing and re-installing it, without success
• While I was trying Carplay, many times, as soon as I connected my iPhone the unit reset.
• It Froze one time, while using Waze the maps stopped ans the screen didn't update.

The idea and the intention are great. Being able to run Android apps in the car is a neat feature. However it feels like Android OS demands more CPU than the device has. The resets are very annoying and it seems to be related to CPU load.

I wish Grom Vline had one of the latest CPUs and the system was polished more.

I'm also debating into returning my unit becasue I can't deal with the buggy system. For me the pain outgrow the features.
If my wife is driving and the unit resets while she is using it for navigation, she would completely give up on it and just use her phone.

Would I recommend ? Not at this time. Lots of issues for Grom to clear before.

I wish I had more options. If the Chinese Canavie Android screen functions similar I would rather have it because of the larger screen. I will probably give a try on that one.

By the way, I had a dedicated MiFi hotspot dedicated for the Vline WIFI all the time.

 

[MastiffDad14]

I'm getting tired of using my phone as a Hotspot for the Vline when I feel like using maps or Spotify. I know others have recommended a 3G dedicated Hotspot for the Vline.

Will Spotify work with a 3g connection or will I be stuck waiting for songs to buffer?

 

[abuck99]

I just finished installing my Vline. Initial test drive went pretty good. Sync'd up with my Iphone and I was playing my Sirius app directly from the iphone. Grom Wifi connected quickly ( to the house, from the basement to the garage) and pulled a nice strong signal. Connecting to internet was fast, and downloading/browsing wasnt blazing fast but pretty quick, and acceptable. I downloaded the latest Grom update Dec. 1 (1.1) and it took 2 min to download, then about another 5 min to initialize, go through the black screen update and get back to the Vline Screen.

I have not added Google play yet. The disclaimer from Grom in the instructions notes to expect a longer start up/initializing time with GAPPS installed. There are some app's I would like to have, but I will add those later. I was able to connect to the webradio app, quickly search for (a long lost favorite radio station in Chicago- WXRT) added it to favorites and was listening to some choice music.

That is as far as I have gotten. My goals were to have an conectivity for using my iphone with sirius, web radio etc through my MFD. The pre-sale price of $299 (shipping included )seemed a fair price, considering the Vais SL3B was $230 and has a fraction of the capability/potential of the Vline. So far other than getting wrong cables, I haven't experienced the downsides that others have. We'll see how it behaves as I add GAPPS, and eventually Apple Car Play. I am willing to patiently wait on the updates to smooth out any OS issues.

At the current price of $499 I would probably not be a buyer of the Vline however, as my needs are pretty simple and could have been achieved with lower cost technology from Grom or Vais. Early adopters maybe disadvantaged with the Vline, and Since Grom is still working through some issues (we are the Beta testers), the price should still be $299 until the product delivers on expectations.

As for mounting location: I think that grom could put some additional thought plug in options for the 100 series ( like in the console disc changer or to the DVD player in the back) The glove box location isnt a bad spot ( doesnt take up too much room) but I prefer it hidden away. As for routing the wires to the glove box, pull the plastic liner that the airbag sensor is connected to, and route the wires along the left side of the glove box and then towards the front. This allows the glovebox door to close with out binding the hinges or the cables.

 

[charlesrg]

I'm getting tired of using my phone as a Hotspot for the Vline when I feel like using maps or Spotify. I know others have recommended a 3G dedicated Hotspot for the Vline.

Will Spotify work with a 3g connection or will I be stuck waiting for songs to buffer?

Just for reference, I've got up to 2.5Mbps on my 3g mifi. A song in very high quality will need 256Kbps. So you can download the entire song much faster than you can hear it.

 

[jLB]

My little bluetooth ELM327 showed up today, so I got a chance to try:

• the OBD2 splitter with the ELM327 & Mobley dongles
• the Torque (lite) app on the Vline

Both seemed to work just fine other than fighting the screen orientation a bit on the Torque app at startup.

 

[jLB]

So far, I’m still enjoying the vline box.

Software/Firmware updates seem to have fixed or reduced the number of crashes/reboots while driving.

Software/Firmware updates do not seem to have fixed the occasional “boot loop” on startup. Seems to happen about 20% of the time. Seems more frequent when I start the car and immediately put it in reverse and start driving. (Have a ticket opened with Grom)

Sometimes I get a (factory) backup camera, sometimes I get the vline screen in its place.

 

[kennethdart]

Just a quick update...

I'm very disappointed in this product so far. Grom support may be satisfactory but they released this product way too soon. I'm still having a lot of the same issues as stated originally on this thread as well as to GROM support. Their response hasn't been that great for me (it used to be great but it's becoming worse and that's partly because they put out a product like this without proper and extensive beta testing). My device only boots up around half the time or less and suffers from the same loop reboot issue as others have described. i simply cannot understand how they can sell a product for $500 with issues like that. Even simple things like the reverse track button doesn't work with BT streaming--it did at the beginning and then stopped, it worked intermittently a week ago for about one day and then stopped ever since. My phone connects via BT and the display shows it connected but Audio doesn't play until I go to the home screen and then back into the BT streaming app--and that sequence only works half the time. The other half the time I have to turn BT off and back on, select the vline to pair and then open up the BT app. This thing has serious bugs. I keep a running list of them and it's about 20 issues deep, and those are the ones that I remember to write down. Often times I'm driving, reach my destination and forget to write them down,

I highly recommend other users to wait before purchasing until many of these issues are resolved.

 

[jLB]

I’d agree that the cold boot time can be a little painful and I’d agree the the boot loops are pretty annoying. I’d argue that with the pre-order pricing, some of this pain is to be expected. I’d also agree that I’d be reluctant to recommend this to someone at full retail price, until some more of the bugs are worked out on it.

I am somewhat curious as to why you and I are seeing similar but slightly different results.

Over the weekend, with lots of short trips (stops and starts) I was seeing boot loops on about 20% of the cold starts.

Before I upgraded the firmware I was seeing some processes hang (and die) which would cause the GUI to freeze, but after updating while I wouldn’t call the device “super snappy”, I haven’t been yearning for a CPU upgrade either.

I haven’t really noticed any issues with A2DP/BT streaming. Skip forward and back seem to work. Artist/title/album/cover art
seem to be properly displayed (when available). I do seem to have to hit “play” on the nav/Grom screen when the car is started, but no manual pairing is required.

Web radio seems to pickup where it left off (after it starts buffering the stream).

Is the difference due to phone, Internet access, hardware, software, usage or perception?

One possibility is that you’ve had about 2 months for the problems to grate on your nerves, and I’ve only had about 2 weeks and I’m still somewhat optimistic.

Since your 1st post was on 11/4, I’m assuming that you’re running one of the Gen5 units, while I’m running one of the Gen4 units.

Mine is in an 06 LX470, what Toyota/Lexus vehicle do you have yours installed in?

I’m on 1.1.0.0/90.8, what vline software/firmware are you running?

You seem to be using an Android phone, while I’m using an iPhone.

I’m using a ODB2 based wifi hotspot, what are you using for Internet access?

What applications are you running/using?

I’ve primarily used these:
Music: A2DP, Web radio, CarPlay via lightning cable.
Navigation: I started with Waze, but after a number of crashes under version 6 firmware and half my screen eaten up with a "photo demand" from Waze that doesn't seem to be able to be dismissed or turned off, I shifted to Google Maps

I’ve dabbled with these a bit:
Torque
Sygic
CaroO
Scanner Radio
(and a few other items)

I haven’t used:
Local Music
Spotify

 

[yzyssn]

I’d argue that with the pre-order pricing, some of this pain is to be expected. I’d also agree that I’d be reluctant to recommend this to someone at full retail price, until some more of the bugs are worked out on it.


I’ve primarily used these:
Music: A2DP, Web radio, CarPlay via lightning cable.
Navigation: I started with Waze, but after a number of crashes under version 6 firmware and half my screen eaten up with a "photo demand" from Waze that doesn't seem to be able to be dismissed or turned off, I shifted to Google Maps

I’ve dabbled with these a bit:
Torque
Sygic
CaroO
Scanner Radio
(and a few other items)

I haven’t used:
Local Music
Spotify

I agree with you about paying preorder price vs retail price. I paid $300 and am happy as a clam with my VLINE even with the few hiccups over the last 3 weeks since installing it, I won't get into them bc they have all been discussed in these forums and mostly have been resolved by Grom.

The one issue I'm still having, is I cannot use Google Maps to navigate while I'm online/connected to my hotspot. The Google Maps app crashes as soon as I input a destination. Do you have this problem, or what have you done to make Google Maps stable and usable as your only nav?

 

[jLB]

I've done a number of sample runs with Google Maps, and I don't recall having seen this issue. Let me exercise Google Maps again, on the route home from work tonight just to verify.

 

[kennethdart]

I’d agree that the cold boot time can be a little painful and I’d agree the the boot loops are pretty annoying. I’d argue that with the pre-order pricing, some of this pain is to be expected. I’d also agree that I’d be reluctant to recommend this to someone at full retail price, until some more of the bugs are worked out on it.

I am somewhat curious as to why you and I are seeing similar but slightly different results.

Over the weekend, with lots of short trips (stops and starts) I was seeing boot loops on about 20% of the cold starts.

Before I upgraded the firmware I was seeing some processes hang (and die) which would cause the GUI to freeze, but after updating while I wouldn’t call the device “super snappy”, I haven’t been yearning for a CPU upgrade either.

I haven’t really noticed any issues with A2DP/BT streaming. Skip forward and back seem to work. Artist/title/album/cover art
seem to be properly displayed (when available). I do seem to have to hit “play” on the nav/Grom screen when the car is started, but no manual pairing is required.

Web radio seems to pickup where it left off (after it starts buffering the stream).

Is the difference due to phone, Internet access, hardware, software, usage or perception?

One possibility is that you’ve had about 2 months for the problems to grate on your nerves, and I’ve only had about 2 weeks and I’m still somewhat optimistic.

Since your 1st post was on 11/4, I’m assuming that you’re running one of the Gen5 units, while I’m running one of the Gen4 units.

Mine is in an 06 LX470, what Toyota/Lexus vehicle do you have yours installed in?

I’m on 1.1.0.0/90.8, what vline software/firmware are you running?

You seem to be using an Android phone, while I’m using an iPhone.

I’m using a ODB2 based wifi hotspot, what are you using for Internet access?

What applications are you running/using?

1. I should have prefaced that I have some experience with rooting Android phones as well as using custom ROMS on Android phones from the past. Because of this, I know that doing a clean install of any updates to Android is the best method for long term use. So with any updates, my typical process is to wipe my device clean, perform the update and then wipe it again. This ensures so residual cache left behind to slow things down long term--I've always had luck with this method on my Android phones so I've applied this method to the vline since it's Android based.
2. I have three phones I've tried to work with this device: Note 5, S6 and S7. None of them appear to make the system run any better than the other.
3. Ever since the loop reboots, I did another reset of the system and since then I have only ran the vline as completely stock except for pairing to my phone with BT. I'm not even hotspotting--when I do hotspot, it's through my phone's hotspot or through the BT tether; I found BT tether to be more consistent and quicker to connect than hotspot.
4. I'll have to double check the software/firmware but I ran a "check updates" around 4 days ago so software was up-to-date.
5. I have mine installed in a 2008 RX400h.
6. What OBD2 Device are you running and what provider are you using? That's an interesting idea.
7. At the moment I am running absolutely no apps, not even GApps.

 

[jLB]

What OBD2 Device are you running and what provider are you using? That's an interesting idea.

I'm running a little ZTE Mobley on AT&T, (pulling from the same data pool as my phone) but I'm sure that there are equivalent devices on other carriers.

 

[jLB]

The one issue I'm still having, is I cannot use Google Maps to navigate while I'm online/connected to my hotspot. The Google Maps app crashes as soon as I input a destination. Do you have this problem, or what have you done to make Google Maps stable and usable as your only nav?

I was able to get it to do this once, "Settings (from the DashlinQ menu) --> Apps --> Maps --> Clear Cache & Clear Data" seemed to get it working again (for the moment).

"only nav?" Do you mean between 3 nav apps on the vline, the factory nav, and the nav applications on my phone?

 

[abuck99]

@kennethdart

"5. I have mine installed in a 2008 RX400h."

This explains a few things.

Help us understand how your 2008 RX400 is relevant to the 100 series discussion on V-line integration with the 100 series MFD?

There maybe bugs or performance efficiencies that don't migrate across vehicle platforms- so your comments could be misinterpreted as 100 series issues.

 

[kennethdart]

@kennethdart

"5. I have mine installed in a 2008 RX400h."

There maybe bugs or performance efficiencies that don't migrate across vehicle platforms- so your comments could be misinterpreted as 100 series issues.

You're absolutely right that not all issues will translate over to 100 series--they would probably be closer to the 150- and 200-series. I'd edit my previous posts to reflect this but how do you edit previous posts? I still think that some or most of my discussion is highly relevant since it's concerning GROM and the vline product but I will definitely hold more discretion as to how it might relate to the 100-series so as to not confuse other readers.