Please keep us all apprised, thanks!

 

Received the finished AAWireless product earlier this week. It has been a long wait but well worth it!

What it is: a reverse-engineered product acting as an intermediary between any head unit capable of wired Android Auto and Android phones capable of wireless Android Auto. It is a 2" x 2" x 0.5" puck, with a USB-C port for power/data. Once plugged in, it stays inside the console.

How it works: Initial configuration is done over Bluetooth and subsequently it communicates with Android phones over 5GHz WiFi. If you are using the AT&T hotspot feature in your Elite/Touring, this means your phone gets disconnected from the van's hotspot and ends up using its own data plan. This is not a problem for me, but YMMV. Developer has confirmed that after with upcoming OTA update it will be able to connect to the vehicle's WiFi hotspot and use that to communicate with the phone. But most vehicle's onboard hotspot operates on 2.4GHz (as is the case with Odyssey), while officially Google's wireless Android Auto specification requires the 5GHz band), so there could be some pitfalls there.

Last summer with great interest I followed a thread on this forum that discussed replacing the bezel around the charging pad with a part in newer Odyssey that provides a cable pass-through. But as you can see my Galaxy Note 10+ is so wide that with the OtterBox case attached it is not going to fit with the cut-outs added for the pass-through, that turned out to be a blessing though because it led me to the AAWireless project. I contributed $55 plus $20 shipping in September.

One of the experimental features is to change "DPI" values. Final output to the touchscreen is the same, at 1280x720, but it changes how big the buttons and texts are rendered. When left untouched it is the exact same look as wired Android Auto; when set to something lower it seems to trick Android Auto into thinking the display is one of the newer vehicles with a screen wider than 16:9 and moves the buttons from the bottom to the left, and displays the current audio app on the same screen alongside the navigation app.

I am enjoying the wire-free experience without sacrificing audio quality - I have all my CDs stored on my phone in FLAC files, Android Auto delivers them in full PCM glory to the head unit.

 

If you are using the AT&T hotspot feature in your Elite/Touring, this means your phone gets disconnected from the van's hotspot and ends up using its own data plan. This is not a problem for me, but YMMV. Developer has confirmed that after with upcoming OTA update it will be able to connect to the vehicle's WiFi hotspot and use that to communicate with the phone. But most vehicle's onboard hotspot operates on 2.4GHz (as is the case with Odyssey), while officially Google's wireless Android Auto specification requires the 5GHz band), so there could be some pitfalls there.

Any news on this front?

I have the AT&T hotspot feature (at least for now, anyway). Although I don't care about the data consumption issue (using my phone's unlimited T-Mobile connection vs. the unlimited AT&T hotspot), I'd prefer not to have two different WiFi environments in the same car just to avoid congestion.

 

Thank you so much for the info. I, too, purchased one from their Indigogo campaign. Delivery date for me is May. I hope it comes sooner soI can play around with it.

Please let us know if you run into any issues or bugs. I know that many people have tried wireless Apple CarPlay dongles and ran into many connectivity issues.

 

Thanks for the review. I am one of the early backers on this project.
My unit has shipped and hasn't moved post ehe "Cleared Customs" state of shipping since Mar 26th.

Frustrating. Going on a long road trip tomorrow and would have loved to use it.

 

I definitely want this, but I'm hesitant to back a Kickstarter type project versus buying a ready made, currently available item. Makes me wonder why this type of device isn't more widely available.

 

The cost is modest, especially if you have one of the earlier model year Gen 5 Odyssey which doesn't have a pass-through for the USB cable, buying the trim piece on the refreshed design that has the cut-outs and spending time to install it would be more than the cost of this device, not to mention that replacing the trim only addresses the challenge of closing the console without pinching the cable and does not improve usability.

As always there are inherent risks involved with any crowdfunded projects, there is no guarantee that it will lead to a viable product. I jumped in right away because of the developer's track record of building Android apps that work with AA, and I am glad that I did. Through out the process timely and detailed updates were provided and I am very pleased with the finished product. One thing that some were concerned with was start-up time, but in reality it would matter only if it was unreliable and one might need to fiddle with the connection. After 10 days of usage, involving multiple engine starts/stops per day, it has never failed the establish the connection. Most of the time AA was already up and running by the time everyone got into the van and was ready to hit the road, the rest of the time I just drove as soon as the engine started and often forgot I had wireless AA at my disposal until the screen showed up (in AA developer settings I enabled "request video focus on start" so my van's head unit would automatically switch to the AA screen when the phone connects).

All the hardware required for wireless AA and CarPlay is already in the van, but I never expected Honda to add the feature via an OTA update.

 

Kickstarter certainly has its risks I had a few failed projects that never delivered.
This however is as safe a bet you can make on there.
The product exists - I had it delivered - works flawlessly and they have strong commitments to meet demand and very good communication.

I don't think this will be available outside of KS for an while, I'd recommend taking the plunge

 

My tracking number was setup this week. Can't wait for wireless AA.

@Accord07 How does it handle multiple devices? Does it remember the connections and switch automatically? What happens if both are in the car at once?

 

Dont pay any attention to the tracking. Youll go crazy
I got the tracking # and then nothing for weeks, tracking only updated after i had the device....

I have no problems with multiple devices, got my phone and my wifes phone registered.
If both phones are present when you turn the car on it will connect to the last phone it was connected to. Works every time.
You can then manually switch.

 

Awesome! Can't wait. And yeah DHL tracking is the worst of them all.

 

AA wireless setup yesterday! Very cool so far.
Only issue i have is that my wifi turns off when i leave home, and it needs to be on to work. But the app's prompt to turn it on freezes the system UI.

 

Just received mine today. Can't get it to connect. Any advice? 2020 Ex.

AA fails to load.

EDIT: Finally got it. Required the passthrough option in the AA app.