I've been Trying to decide between the Grom Vline2 or the Naviks units. I'm just now finding this AliExpress version.
If the AliE unit does not do wireless Android Auto, it's an immediate pass for me.
From my understanding the Grom VL2 has it's own operating system running android and can run it's own applications without a phone connected. While the Naviks and the AliExpress require a connected phone to make use of the features.
Does anyone know what happens to the Naviks or AliE unit when there's no phone connected?
It seems the Grom routes its connection including audio through the ipod port while the Naviks and AliE options use the AUX or you connect to the car with Bluetooth. Anyone else have issues with the AUX buzzing?
From the looks of it, the Naviks and AliE seem to be pretty close to identical, So I have some questions.
Does the AliE version require any external microphone or other additional hardware?
Is the USB port still functional?
When an incoming call or notification comes through, does it swap the screen to Honda or does Android Auto handle it?
I saw mention of having double Bluetooth connections I'm assuming one for Audio to the vehicle, and one for Android Auto/Carplay. If the update makes it connect with Wifi, can I still hotspot my phone? I have a google chromecast connected for my RES and I hotspot my phone to the device.
In my opinion I do think that the grom is likely a better product than the aliexpress unit so if price is not a significant differentiator for you then the grom is better for AA because it has the ipod connection so you are guaranteed no buzzing or static noise issues, it also has an hdmi connection if you have a phone that supports that and you desire that feature.
For me I just wanted to get waze and google maps displayed on the stock screen for my wife because that screen is in a good position and works with polarized sunglasses. I did not want to lose the stock backup and blindside cameras. I did not want to invest alot of money into modernizing an older used vehicle and I think if i remember correctly the grom was around $659 at the time I was looking, maybe could have monitored and got a discount down to $550 but that was way more than I wanted to spend just to get maps on the nav screen.
That is when I found the aliexpress option from all the acura guys and after researching what I could I decided it was worth the risk that I could make it work on the odyssey. I have found all sorts of great info on this forum to help me maintain and repair my van so when I couldn't find much good information about this topic on the forum I decided to give back to the community by providing what I learned from my experience in hopes it might help others who want to modernize thier odyssey for the lowest possible price point.
To your specific questions-
If you do not have a phone connected then you will have the honda stock screen and functions. You would also have some Linux based software running on the box that supports any aftermarket cameras added to the vehicle and a usb music player that would function without a phone connected. AA and carplay require a phone to be connected for computing, data, GPS etc, this is true for all AA and carplay units this is inherent to the application.
From what I could tell Naviks and AliE are basically the same units. I found alot of unhappy Naviks and Navtool reviews about customer service and delivery on other forums for other model vehicles so when I found the AliE option that appeared to be basically the same unit and was cheaper I decided to cut out the middleman.
AliE requires no additional hardware, it is all plug and play
Yes the dash USB still works as normal for playing music files or charging a USB device however if you switch the radio to usb input then you will not hear any directions, phone calls, or media sent thru the aux connection if you are running AA. Carplay might be ok for phone calls since it runs thru the BT I am not sure. The dash USB will not connected to the carplay box after installation so if you want to use that dash USB as a wired connection for your phone to be connected for wired carplay or wired AA transmission after installation then you would need to buy an additional USB harness that creates a specific Y split and connect it to the wire harness and to your dash usb behind the trim. You can buy this harness from Naviks, Navtool, Grom, and probably other sellers if you really wanted this functionality.
The phone call handling will depend how you set it up. For carplay I have heard it works great thru the honda BT and maintains all steering wheel controls. Unfortunately google does not allow for this functionality with AA so I found what worked best for me was to only connect to the AliE box and handle all calls thru AA. I deleted the connection to the honda bluetooth due to echo and weird call handling simultaneously. I do think the honda bluetooth had better call sound quality than the AliE provides with AA but it is usable. I found the AAwireless dongle for a discounted price at $59 so I am going to test it by using the device app to divert all audio from the phone directly to honda bluetooth and eliminate the aux connection for AA by 'disabling audio sink' which is a feature available in this dongle, if you are interested in this option refer to a different reply in this thread where I detailed more information about this as an option.
I have not tried to Hotspot concurrently with a chromecast, I would suspect it is not possible while running AA for a variety of reasons including that AA using the casting protocol when running AA and also when AA is running google restricts the use of many apps on your phone in the name of safety so it is inherent in the AA program regardless of your hardware. To be clear, I do not know the answer to chromecast and AA simultaneously to be able to answer your question definitively.
The only way I found that I could use AA without restrictions was to to purchase the Headunit Reloaded app and use it on a seperate tablet as your display. I was intrigued by this option because of the additional functionality the developer provides amd the ability to run restriction free but in the end I could not find a tablet that would run without a battery connected and leaving a tablet with a battery installed permanently in the car here in the Texas heat was a no go so I suspended my research into this option and went for the AliE limcet box and I am satisfied with its performance vs. it's price point.
I replied later in this thread on some options I discovered for managing the buzzing or static noise when using Android in case that affects you or others.
