Ford Sync2 System Wireless CarPlay & Android Auto

Says its in customs in Berlin still

It still haven't arrived

It’s been 14 days and I still have not received it, so I’m not sure why I got sent a form to fill out a review on something I don’t have

When I got my Ford Explorer 2016 a couple years back it sucked that it didn't have Android Auto because it was Sync 2. I moved on, rather dissatisfied. However, a few weeks ago, I stumbled on an article talking about after-market alternatives, that's where I found out about Carabc. Ended up making an order a few moments later, I'll be summarizing my experience with the points below:

1. Delivery time was pretty spot on, just like the duration mentioned in the website. I was able to track the shipment from source to destination using the 'shop' app. Device came in one piece, not damaged.

2. Waited a week before the install. Reason was that I watched a couple Youtube videos and read review comments from past buyers. I can guarantee that it helps a lot with the install.

3. During install, I found out that the stuck board in my vehicle had 4 screws instead of the 3 mostly shown in the videos. Additionally, position of the ribbon cables also looked completely different, I had to be creative to make it work. Keep that in mind, yours may be different, expect surprises. Also found out that the screws provided for both stock and daughter board was too small, ended up using the factory screws, surprisingly it worked.

4. Test run worked as it should, but the screen pixel quality looked a bit off when in Andriod Auto mode. Realized I had screwed the screen back too tight during the final coupling, I had to decouole it again and loosened both lower screws a bit to get it back to normal.

5. As other people have mentioned, audio quality was low or non existent when in Andriod Auto mode, but I was already prepared for this. The work around is, unpair your phone, go back to the main menu, scroll to the right to 'Setup', change audio source to 'use car original BT stereo', the system reboots afterwards. Go back to the Andriod Auto, and repair your phone, audio is fixed.

6. I was unable check the reverse camera function because I recently had issues with the rear camera, will find that out when I have the camera fixed. Shouldn't be a big deal.

7. In Android Auto mode, when you fiddle with the climate control and other functions, it temporarily takes you back to Sync 2 to actually see whats happening, and automatically takes you back to Andriod Auto when you are done. You can even listen to the radio from Sync while your mode is on Andriod Auto.

8. They can do better with the instructional manuals, its rather basic; and the audio (for those who don't want the extra effort of the workaround).

In conclusion, I'd give it a 5 star because it met my need, although it was partly because of the effort invested in research on my part. I'd also recommend reading reviews and watching videos so it a functional device for you. What else can I say, I'm longer the dissatisfied guy with Sync 2 a couple years ago.

I tried to contact the company, but did not get a reply. It was expensive, 300 dollars. The interface has a lot of strange apps and the mirroring app autoplay is super sketchy, it tells you that if you use it, it will record everything it sees. Also no wireless mirroring for android, like it was supposed to have. There are the apps carlife and hicar that I did not expect to see on this device, all very unwanted. The interface does not look like the one in the online ad, or what is depicted in the manual. I would like to delete all these apps from this device besides android auto and airplay, and install some new ones for mirroring, but there is no way it seems. So I really don't like that about it. Send me a way to root this please so that I can customize.

The USB input does not seem to have much use except for wired carplay/AA and the sketchy mirroring /spy software. It does not play music and videos like the ad claims that it will. A box like this should let you play movies and whatever, there should be apps like VLC media player and stuff on this, not HIcar.

The system does not recognize my onboard mic no matter what I try. I have not tried the included mic yet since I did not want to run new wires in my truck. Android Auto wireless works very well though, and if I put my truck in bluetooth mode, I get all the sound, and can use the music settings in Android auto. I also hear the voice when using navigation, but I have no use of voice at all, so no texts or asking to look up an address. I imagine that if I put in the other mic, it will hear me when I speak at least.

Backup camera works well, and android auto works as it should. The quality of the graphics is ok, but like others have said, the colours and contrast are off. But we are using an old screen in the first place after all.

There are some strange occurrences sometimes, like when I start the truck, and music is playing in synch 2, when the box connects android auto wireless, the music often stops and I have to press pause and play for it to resume. Other times I don't notice this happening. The box seems to stay on for quite a while after I shut off the truck. I saw android auto connected for several minutes after the truck is off, so I wonder about battery drain. Sometimes I will come home and have android auto on the screen, I will shut off the truck, it switches back to synch2 screen and goes dark as usual, then the android auto screen pops back on and stays on for some time even after I am outside the vehicle. So it is not a super smooth, bugless item.

I would give it 3.5 stars if the mic worked like it promised, and 5 if I could get more control over the interface and what apps are on it. I am surprised that it is so limited. Dear Carabc, please help me customize this box into a really great product!