Dasaita Android Headunit Installed

Same here. I like the flexibility you have. I even stopped using CarPlay as much. Just thought I’d give the Car Launcher a try. It looks ok, but it just ties you down. Unless I discover something that just blows it away, thinking of shutting it down. Sorry I didn’t get back to you, but while the wife was gone, I developed a fever and am now quarantining for the Rona. Can’t get tested around here as no one has any tests available. So gotta treat it as if I have it.

 

It’s actually very responsive. No issues that I’ve noticed. The amp is the only place I’ve noticed that issue, but it’s more of you gotta hit the button on the right spot when switching the preselected setting like rock, jazz, Latin, etc.

 

Thanks for this. I pulled the trigger any way. I'll post back with my impressions after install and getting it stable working.

 

Just remember, it’s basically an android tablet, so you might have to mess with stuff here or there. Mine worked great out of the box, except for a system update I had to perform due to a pink screen. I think I was one of the first to buy a Dasaita. Got it in July of 2020, so it’s going on its second year and haven’t had any major issues that a restart didn’t take care of. If you haven’t come across my video, here’s a link to it. It’s more of a showing it off video, nothing to do with install. https://youtu.be/BjgH3wWr5f0

 

Cool! thanks! Yeah, I'm pretty comfortable with the android OS, and knew well what I was getting into with this. If it requires tinkering, I'm up for it.

 

I went and ahead and got Dasaita's TPMS external system and ELM 327 OBDII bluetooth adapter. I figured do it now while the head is being installed, especially for the TPMS. That's just too damned useful.

 

Just installed it tonight. Plug and play. What a stellar upgrade. I've not spent enough time to find the quirks, but on the surface -- backup cam works out of the box, everything on the steering wheel works, albeit not everything is mapped optimally.

It detects climate controls, bonus -- didn't expect that. It just says 75 degrees, I don't know if that changes, if it does - great, if it doesn't - great. You cannot interact with the popup climate stuff, obviously, it's an analog system. But it shows you information, good enough.
Detection of doors ajar, bloody amazing.

This thing doesn't just look oem, it's surprising me with the oem'ness of integration too. It surpasses entune in that regard.
The builtin DSP, which I'm guessing is mostly software rather than a DAC, actually surprised me. You depress the right knob to change bands. I was banging out some metal and drastically improved audio quality by changing to rock band. Seriously not bad.

I went with the black against a majority of silver. It takes the cake. I mean it really makes the vehicle looks better than anything Toyota does OEM, including the 2022s -- I have a 2014. I think i'm going to gut the middle plastics for black, if I can find them in matte. If not, i'll have to plastidip.

Wonderful upgrade. Again, I thank this forum post for pushing me over the edge. I'll join the ranks of helping , posting updates, and influencing others to take the jump.

Cheers!

 

Thanks for sharing! I’m also on the fence about upgrading my head unit and this is on my radar. Looking forward to hearing more about the install and any feedback once you’ve had it for a while.

 

Regarding the dimness of the display, as set to auto with the headlights on:

I've found that the dimness isn't sufficient enough at night. Fumbling with the sliding brightness control on rough roads, or even city driving isn't ideal. I found "Screen Filter" on the Google Play store. It's free, no adds, only works with older android systems (like our units) and provides a widget for one touch on/off screen dimness. Screen dimness factor is set by the pull down menu once it is "active".

It appears to work as an overlay over all apps I've tried so far, which is good as I want the screen dim for night driving all the time, not just on certain apps. It's not as great as a complete headlight auto integration could be, but for a one touch on/off, this works ideal.

 

I accomplish the same with an app called twilight! Agreed entirely that it is too bright at night (unless you go crazy with the factory settings).

 

I had a look at twilight and I thought it had adds? Anyways, two viable options is good to see!

 

I have not seen any. I don't have to use it much but have not had any adds pop up on me yet. Probably not possible since I don't have it connected to the internet and really am only using car play with Twilight occasionally as overlay

 

Just installed it this week and all I can say is I am impressed. The only issue I am having is installing certain apps (NetFlix, Disney+). Has anyone else run into this?

 

Yeah same

 

It’s some sort of protection to keep them from working on unauthorized devices, so they won’t work. I’ve seen this discussed in the T9/T10 boards. YouTube TV works though. I have it on mine and no issues so far.

 

Now that is genius. Now I can remove one of the two leeches lol

 

Same here wife has unlimited SiriusXM and I run the app on mine.

 

Thanks to all for sharing very helpful information. I’m getting ready to purchase Dasaita head unit. Thought I would share my notes. Most are from looking thru Dasaita.com.

I contacted Dasaita and no new hardware release for the 4Runner in the near future. [correction 1.25.22, This MAY not be true. Possible Android 11 in the future] I asked for my 2014 4Runner. I didn’t expect any but wanted to ask. Specifically I asked about Android 11 for my 2014 4Runner. With the language challenges I thought this was a good easy to comprehend question concerning hardware updates.

HA2179B-MAX10-CP-HD
I believe HA21179B is software version
MAX10, Vivid10, Scout10 is launcher + Android version. Same hardware regardless of launcher (PX6 4G+64G) [correction 1.25.22, WiFi is different; Max10 2.4 GHz, Vivid10 & Scout10 have dual band 2.4/5 GHz WiFi] Launchers are interchangeable via flash.
CP indicates Car Play.
HD indicates 1280 x 720. 1280 x 480 if HD is not indicated.

MAX appears to be the original launcher.
“Vivid offers Versatile In-Vehicle Infotainment Design for a truly safe driving experience.”
“Scout, your safe driving companion that lets you access Navigation, Music, andPhone without App-Hopping.”

2010-2013 CB005-1+DYX004 harness kits
2014-2018 CB004 harness kit

I found an interesting head unit in preproduction but I’m going with Dasaita. https://phoenixautomotiveinc.com At first I was intrigued by a 16” vertical screen but the company never replied to my messages and the screen is too low. Also I question the four wheel drive selector clearance.

Finally, appears Dasaita MAY have a storefront on eBay with lower prices than Amazon. I’m still investigating if this is legit.

 

So I've had mine for about a week, took it on a road trip last night for the first time. No huge complaints. I agree that dimming requires an app that's been discussed extensively here, albeit I've not tried it.

One note that I want to bring up. Once you get CarPlay working, don't fuck with it. Setting up is a cakewalk. I wanted to try and hotspot utilizing my iphone, which doesn't seem to work anyways (seems to be common amongst android headunits). Don't disconnect the wifi, forget the connection, whatever. My thoughts are this:
It's not the Dasaita unit, it's iOS bluetooth software relating the carplay profile to the connection. If for whatever reason you get your iPhone to forget CarPlay on the carkit bluetooth connection, you will have one hell of a time getting carplay to link back up. What I suspect is happening is that the even though the connection is forgotten in the user interface, there are still remnants of the connection in the back end of the software. Therefore, your phone won't try and reestablish connection because It doesn't think it needs to. Getting your phone to completely rinse and repeat is a nightmare.

It's fine and works solidly, just don't mess with the carplay connection after its established. I promise you'll hate it. The head unit other wise is solid. I totally recommend it. I'm still apart of the t10 group on Facebook and see a couple of times a week someone posting about the screen slowly detaching at the edges, with comments of 5+ people saying "following, happening to me too". The build quality of the Dasaita seems night and day better.

 

Has anyone found a decent hotspot they use with this head unit?

I kind of want a dedicated one to keep in the truck for use with the headunit and for maybe having a secondary connection for other devices when we're in the mountains. I have verizon currently, so something not on that network would be ideal. I was softly researching satellite hotspots but those seem wicked expensive and I got a feeling those aren't amazing.

 

Yeah, I didn't find discernible differences when side by side comparing the HD vs non HD version. Good catch on the launcher, I suspected the same. I went with Amazon with the same thoughts as the OP, get Amazon's backing and for 70$ you get 3 years of no questions asked warranty. Seemed like the safest bet on a somewhat unsure market item.

did you get an answer on future Android updates?

 

I tried a 4g dongle and did not have any success. First time I played with one so I might not have been setting it up properly.

Now I’m just using my Verizon mifi when I want to stream on the HU. One thing I have to do is go into my phone and switch off the CarPlay in order for the HU to pick up the mifi.

 

Yes. I received two replies, see below. I took the replies as no hardware/software change in the near future. I just didn’t want to buy the head unit then a month later new hardware is available. I highly doubted this was the case since the HD version was just released last year but asked anyway.

“Sorry”
“we will put forward 11 in the future”

 

I bought mine through eBay. It was the only place that had it available at the time I bought it.

 

I ordered this unit today and have one question, and it's probably a dumb question, but I'm not tech-savvy at all. It's for my 16 year old's '16 SR5 and I want it for the CarPlay and the Google maps, mainly. Does she have to always be running her hotspot to get these two apps to work? She currently uses her aux cord for everything, so I assume this unit will eliminate the need for the cord? Anything else I need to know or consider?? I have read this entire thread today and appreciate all the time everyone has put into this discussion.

 

No she doesn’t need to be running a hot spot. Apple CarPlay will automatically connect once set up and she will have access to both Apple Maps and Google maps.

 

Thanks. One more question..... We use XM, but I saw people talking about using the app. Does the unit have an XM receiver, or can it only be run through the app?

 

It doesn’t have a XM tuner or away to connect your existing one so people use the XM app on their phone. Myself my wife has the package that comes with streaming so I cancelled mine and stream using the app.

 

Makes perfect sense. One less monthly XM subscription in my future.

 

Here is a good Dasaita head unit install video by John Nguyen. He has a 2011 Limited with JBL. I see he doesn’t lose his instrument panel compass. Not sure why. Has anyone lost their compass on a 2010-2014? As most of us are aware of, 2010-2013 is the start of the 5th gen 4Runner and 2014 is the first year of the mid model refresh. All of these years had an instrument cluster above the head unit which included a compass. 2015 - current, only a clock is present above the head unit. The compass moved to the center instrument cluster.

https://youtu.be/H_53JrmomZI