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It sounds like it is, or at least I swear it is.... but memory fails me. It sounds louder both using Plex Amp and Apple Music. The ground loop and CEM noise is still there though, so YMMV.
Android Auto / CarPlay retrofit - prior to 2015.5 model years
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I'd have to go back out and check, but it was indeed 2.06.xxxxxxxx
i just removed one of the 4 screws holding down the box cover.. made a quick ground wire with a loop end and reattached the screw… stumbled on this quite by accident.. my box is sitting in the footwell under the carpet. been too lazy to try and get it into the glove compartment. i had the engine on and music playing and was shifting the box around to see if part of the noise was due to wires being bunched up together… while moving it around the car touched one of the bolts for the center stack and the whining disappeared. the moment the case was no longer touching the bolt, whine came right back, i knew at that point it was a ground issue …
Nice, I might try that out this weekend. Assuming I forget what happened last time I tried to improve this setup
Checkout what your version number for the blue arrow below is. This is what I have been calling software/firmware as I assume it's the core OS/drivers for box. I've got zips of 3.9.XXX and 3.16.XXX non DSP, and 3.16.XXX DSP.
I think the MCU is fairly universal for any version of the box and seems to just handle the car specific stuff.
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Exactly the same as yours, minus mine saying 5G vs yours DSP.Nice, I might try that out this weekend. Assuming I forget what happened last time I tried to improve this setup
Checkout what your version number for the blue arrow below is. This is what I have been calling software/firmware as I assume it's the core OS/drivers for box. I've got zips of 3.9.XXX and 3.16.XXX non DSP, and 3.16.XXX DSP.
I think the MCU is fairly universal for any version of the box and seems to just handle the car specific stuff.
View attachment 180234
Yeah I would probably leave as is.
I was going to try adding a ground cable today, but my bundle of random AliExpress stuff arrived so I ended up trying something else.
TLDR: I installed the KSmart USB audio converter which hijacks the iPod interface instead of hijacking the Aux and it provides dramatically better audio and completely eliminates the electrical whine noise.
1. I swapped what I assume is the audio output cable from the box's stock bundle over to the USB kit.
![Finger Electrical wiring Vehicle door Gas Cable]()
2. I ran the length of the cable out the bottom of the glovebox and along the carpet/center console seam. If you remove the plastic plate it's super easy to get it nestled in there.
![Vehicle Motor vehicle Automotive design Car Hood]()
3. I loosened the T25 screws in the base of the compartment so I could stash the end of the cable here and run it up inside.
![Automotive tire Automotive design Grey Auto part Automotive wheel system]()
![Automotive tire Hood Automotive design Automotive lighting Automotive exhaust]()
4. Now just select the iPod interface. I found the audio quality was shockingly superior. Sounds identical to the stock interface.
![Radio Satellite radio Car Vehicle Gear shift]()
TLDR: I installed the KSmart USB audio converter which hijacks the iPod interface instead of hijacking the Aux and it provides dramatically better audio and completely eliminates the electrical whine noise.
1. I swapped what I assume is the audio output cable from the box's stock bundle over to the USB kit.
2. I ran the length of the cable out the bottom of the glovebox and along the carpet/center console seam. If you remove the plastic plate it's super easy to get it nestled in there.
3. I loosened the T25 screws in the base of the compartment so I could stash the end of the cable here and run it up inside.
4. Now just select the iPod interface. I found the audio quality was shockingly superior. Sounds identical to the stock interface.
Thanks for the detailed information on AUX to USB convertor.
Did it improve the phone audio quality during calls as I am disappointed with the current setup using AUX?
Also I have a 2016.5 XC60 and have separate USB and iPod options in the Media menu, so assume it would work with either.
Cheers Andy
I haven't tried phone call audio. I can test that.
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Yeah if everything works the same, but improved audio and no ground noise, I'm ordering one of those converters today.
Steering wheel absolutely works the same.
I installed MCU 2.0.6 yesterday over 2.0.1 that I had installed. I lost what I thought was the nice feature of being able to touch the “my car” button to go back and forth from OEM to iOS Carplay interface.
Anyone know what improvement came from 2.0.6 over 2.0.1 or 2.0.3? I may revert to 2.0.3 to see if the “my car” button works the same as in 2.0.1.
I wish there was a setting to control how the buttons work.
Anyone know what improvement came from 2.0.6 over 2.0.1 or 2.0.3? I may revert to 2.0.3 to see if the “my car” button works the same as in 2.0.1.
I wish there was a setting to control how the buttons work.
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I like the new function because the previous My Car function was so unpredictable. If you wanted to get into My Car it took a lot of work. Now, a simple touch of my car drops you into Volvo menus instead of having to hold down exit for two seconds. As far as a change log for what else is different, I’m not sure.
Interesting. My experience was different. It was so seamless in 2.0.1 for me. One click of the “my car” button while incarplay And I was at the “my car” OEM screen.A second click of the “my card” button and I was back in carplay. Much prefieres it to having to hold the exit button down for two seconds.
My car is a 2015.5 model year xc60.
2.01 introduced the temp display overlay for a few cars, also introduced the no delay mycar/carplay switching… 2.03 fixed the temp overlay to display on all cars, immediate disconnect of wifi to carplay connection upon engine shutoff and driver door open, keep the no delay mycar/carplay switching, however temp display was wonky for fahrenheit unit… 2.06 fixed the fahrenheit display and went back to the original method of delayed mycar/carplay switching..
To be honest, i hated the new style of quick switching , as p.rico said it was unpredictable.. however after figuring out how to navigate around it I actually preferred the quick switching … i may roll back to 2.03 to get it back as i don’t see anything in 2.06 that would benefit my use case
To be honest, i hated the new style of quick switching , as p.rico said it was unpredictable.. however after figuring out how to navigate around it I actually preferred the quick switching … i may roll back to 2.03 to get it back as i don’t see anything in 2.06 that would benefit my use case
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The problem is that the button took you to the last menu you were previously on, not just to My Car. Due to playing USB files from the car interface, I am generally on my USB screen; if I press My Car it takes me to that USB menu (which is nice), but then when I press My Car button again, it takes me back to CarPlay and not My Car (if I was actually trying to get to My Car). It worked great when I wanted to switch to USB and back, but anything else took playing with buttons or doing the long press on the EXIT button to get the side menu to pop up.
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Ordered one as well, just have to wait about a month for it... I should check the firmware version I'm running, it's not one of the recent ones, but honestly, I've got no pressing desire to update it either and if this aux to USB gets rid of electrical whine and improves the audio, I doubt I'll update firmware anytime soon.
Interesting yeah that would be annoying.
but I swear that for me the my car button took me to the mycar screen 100% of the time. I only ever used the radio from the OEM interface though.
I’m keeping 2.0.6 for now. Need to check next time I drive if the Fahrenheit bug with the temp display was fixed.
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