'11 Toyota Prius Two with Android 4.4.4 Kit Kat Head unit Upgrade!

How proprietary are these canbus connectors? Every ebay listing (like the CS-Z0002 canbus) says it for their specific radio. Is there a difference between all these different Chinese vendors? I thought they pretty much just rebranded the same radio, but I don't want to buy a harness that doesn't fit.

 

I was one that bought one of the units that the OP has. I got it off of EBay and later found out it was from someone on here. I really enjoyed it despite a few bugs. First was the radio would get static after listening a few minutes. This was remedied by turning off then back on. That usually worked the rest of the trip until recently and it started happening more often. Another thing that bugged me was it sometimes did not want to connect to my hot spot. I got better at tricking it to connect but the android unit I bought for my Suburban never had that problem. Recently the display has got harder to see. The final straw was my Wase app started locking up or failing to launch at all.

Looked around and settled on a replacement from Aliexpress. Got a version 5.1 for 282.00 delivered. It was supposed to be grey/silver but was black like the last unit. Was hoping the harnesses were the same to make for a super simple hook up but they were different. That might help the poster in front of me with the canbus question. It appears at least with the model I got this time that a canbus can be purchased that will allow the retention of the factory back up camera. Since I already had converted to an aftermarket 12 volt camera, I left it as it is. The new unit can project the marker lines that the factory camera is lacking.

The new one does not have a back button, just a place to tap on the screen. I decided to reprogram the mode button on the steering wheel to do that function.

Installed it yesterday so I still have a little "tuning" to get it set up like I want. One thing I can't figure out is how I got the old unit to open the Wase app when I hit the NAV button. I have tried on the unit in my Suburban and this new unit in the Prius with no luck.

 

I think I bought the same 5.1 unit that you did. I get some weird sound issues on Pandora for a few minutes while the system is still loading up when I start the car. It seems when my gmail messages load up that it finally stops, but that can take a song or two. I don't really listen to the radio, though, so I haven't tested that.

The seller REALLY doesn't want to tell me how to boot into recovery so if you know the trick I would appreciate the info. I tried holding down the reset button and the power button at the same time. It never beeps, but the buttons did flash a few times. However, it still booted up like normal.

I also can't get Easyconnect to work. The seller sent me a new apk to try but the install fails immediately. I would like to see how well screen mirroring works on these things. edit: Easyconnect autoupdated when I started it up the other day and it now works.

 

Are these units reliable. Has anyone had it for years without any issues? Does the steering wheel controls harness included with these units or has to be bought separetly?

 

I have purchased 2 of these and they both had all the wiring needed. You will need to program your buttons but you can set the up to do what you want them to. These are not for everyone. They may be a bit quirky, less reliable than a factory unit. That said I will not go back to the unit that the car came with.

 

I have only had mine a few months, and it did NOT come with the correct harness, but that is due to the Prius V with the JBL nav system. In fact, it was hard to find a dealer who would sell to me because of that. I had to buy another harness from Crutchfield and combine the two harnesses together. I had never done anything like that before and it was nervewracking, but it works except for the rear-view camera, which I could probably get to work but I am too lazy to take the unit out of my dash again. The only thing that doesn't work as well as the old radio is the actual radio. Reception is much worse, which is weird considering the radio antenna is the only plug that was the same in both units. But I haven't listened to the radio for years so I don't really care about that, but other people might so I try to make it a point to mention that.

I showed it to my brother and he thought it wasn't as snappy as the stock head unit on his Kia Forte, but this thing does so much more and looks so much better with the 8" screen. It is really nice to be listening to a podcast on my phone at home on Google Play then keep listening where I left off in my car while having Google Maps giving me directions at the same time. I can't go back. In fact, I am now thinking what the heck I am going to do in the future when I will eventually have to get a new car. If I can't get a head unit that does what this does I may have to keep this car running as long as possible.

 

I have the Android 4.4.4 Kit Kat Head unit and the wifi is off when I turn on the car a lot of the time.
Any way to fix that?

 

I'm not sure now anymore,
Can somebody confirm:
What functions do NOT work and what kit do you need to make it all work?

Does the camera work?
does the HUD work?

 

Hey all, I know this thread is getting a little dated , but .......
Has anyone figured a way to update the kitkat 4.4.4 operating system , to say a 5.1 or better ?
My unit is working fine with kitkat still, but wondering if some apps may not be compatible with 4.4.4 in the future (or now) .

Also, is anyone manufacturing these things anymore ? Most places say its no longer available.
It would be nice to be able to still purchase .....there are still a LOT of gen 3's running around ! If mine ever went dead , I would surely purchase another one , if they were available ! These are a great upgrade to a gen 3 .

 

Interesting. Went to my Go To, Ebay, and did not find anything. Looked on Aliexpress and they did have several available. Good luck.

 

Thanks !

 

So, does anyone know a way to update the operating system from a 4.4.4 to 5.1 or higher ?
I am guessing its not possible ......

Also ....... silly question , but on my "home" screen , the weather widget never works, and is always up on the screen (when I am not using bluetooth, radio, cd/dvd or something else) . Is there any way to get rid of the non working home screen weather widget thats next to the clock ?

It looks like this .........
See how the weather widget is also not working on the one in the picture !
I want to get rid of it , or at least find out how its gets its info , so it works !






Thanks !

 

I think the Auto Pumpkin brand might have had some ability to force an update but not sure. I have not noticed a problem using the older versions.
I have had a couple of these units in my Prius and a similar unit in my Suburban. All of them have the same non working weather widget on them. It would be nice to have a working widget there but I have not been able to get them to get any info.

 

This is bringing your post way back from the dead, but I just got a 2011 Prius II and I'm stuck...

Do you mean to say that the third one from the left in your image does not get connected with an aftermarket unit?




I just got one from AliExpress and the connector I received only will connect to 3 of the 4 so my setup would look like this:



My assumption would be that some functionality would be lost so maybe they sent the wrong connector? Anyone know? Thank you!

 

Hello everyone! First time Prius owner and new member/first post to the forums. I have a 2011 Prius with the stock radio. I picked up an Android head unit that is running KitKat 4.4.4 second hand. I am trying to bring this thread back from the dead to ask for advice. I have never installed a radio before, though I am no stranger to electronic repairs and builds, so I am comfortable with this. Unfortunately there was no documentation in the box for this radio nor could I find an exact make or model, after trying to install this radio I realized that 2 of the 4 connectors connect to the wiring harness for my car, it is my understanding that 1 of the factory wiring hardness connectors is not used during the install. I believe the wiring harness that came with the Android head unit I purchased is configured for a car that has the factory back up camera, my car does not currently have that, though I am looking at installing an aftermarket one. I was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction to purchase the correct wiring harness for my car with the stock radio? I would greatly appreciate that. Thank you all for your time and help.