chinna_n

It runs on Windows Automotive 5.5 , not CE.

I think you are talking about Z110BT which uses Windows Automotive 5.5.

I can confirm this one runs WinCE 5.0. I looked thru the update platform files provided using Hex editor, it is WinCE 5.0.

Guys, any updates from anyone? Any new observations, tips or tricks?

I read somewhere it works fine with HDDs, but there is limit on folder nesting. It supplies 500mA of power to the devices(Same as USB 2.0 standard), so I am thinking it should not be a problem. If power is a problem then you can use split cable with supplying power 5v from power socket.

Many people installed the Microphone on the driver side A pillar at head level. I think this would provide the best position for driver.

Check out my install here viewtopic.php?f=52&t=27070

In my case I have installed under the rear view mirror first, but observed some boomy echo from windshield, so I moved it to top of rear view mirror. That helped the boomy echo problem, but I think keeping close to upholstery avoids echo problem.

For GPS antenna, I installed it under a plastic dome over the dash. Manual says that GPS antenna should be on metal part or should be installed on that sticky shiny metal pad supplied. Where ever you install make sure metal roof is not covering the GPS signal.

Anyways, best of luck with your install and let us know how it went.

DAMN!

 

Any hacks? What kind of hardware is it? If it's anything recent-ish, it should be able to play lower-bitrate video.

This is wince 5.0 platform based device, but has been crippled by Pioneer to make sure people would prefer higher end devices. Unfortunately in crippling this, they also screwed up lot stuff.

If we can get to Shell, probably we can hack, but not yet, not seeing much hope based on user base for this unit.

Good to know, you got it working again. The unit is pretty slippery, I would suggest leave it in if you really do not need it.

Yes, I tried that battery trick by killing the battery completely, and that did help in freezing for several days. But bluetooth phone book synching still caused bluetooth freezing.

Sorry to say but I'm still trying to get this unit working. So, not impressions for this time. A friend of mine is nowcopying the flash memory. Will see what is going to hapend.

Thanks, that would be great. I know not a lot of people are buying this unit, but if all of us contribute we may be able to get better out of this unit.

I would try to confirm more observations (e.g. firmware update, etc.) except that I seldom use bluetooth and haven't had any problems with it, so I don't want to go through any potentially problems associated with updating the firmware to the European version. From reading the board, it seems like the consensus is that for most people with recurring problems, removing the battery from the faceplate and reattaching solves them at least for a day or two. Resetting and ejecting the SD aren't working terribly well except to get the unit going again.

Atleast myself and another user updated the software, and it seems there is no problem with updating. Also, if you already have 1.0001 version it will not update platform at all, just Bluetooth application.

But anyways, that depends on how comfortable you are with that though.

I was hoping with so many people having issues Pioneer would put a update soon, but I guess people are not calling Pioneer to report the problems as Pioneer claims only iPhone 3GS having some issues with bluetooth and no other reported problems.

Hmm....

I was hoping to get some good feedback so that I can confirm my observations related to updates. Except AVICU310BT no one responded.

Man this forum...it is so dead.. or may be people who buy this unit not much enthusiastic...

Tips regarding 3. Navi Freezing and 4. Nav showing the incorrect location with full satellite signal:

 

I have experienced freezing once and incorrect location several times over the two months I've had the unit. Because I don't use the navi around town, I have a tendency to ignore them and just keep driving. I have often found that both problems suddenly and inexplicably correct themselves after anywhere from 2-10 minutes of driving. I know this isn't really helpful when you need to use the GPS, but if it happens when you know where you're going, you might want to try just giving the unit some time to correct itself.

I have seen the problem you mentioned, which is typically issue with getting satellite fix, esp when you start from a covered parking lot and it takes some time to get the fix while moving in which case your car cursor will not move. The issue I mentioned is when it has full satellite signal and locked into satellites. This would never correct itself, shows full signal(8+ satellites with full signal), car cursor keeps moving and keep showing the incorrect location, but the direction of travel itself is correct.(Parallel to direction of travel).

Even re-booting unit will not fix this issue, only solution is un-dock and dock the unit and it picks right location immediately.

Hello everyone,

There is not whole lot of information about this unit, or any help anywhere on Internet or for that matter from Pioneer.

Hopefully we will get good info soon on this unit and lot of improvements, but it has to start somewhere, I observed few improvements with following.

1. Blue-tooth hanging:

This is pretty much common problem for U310BT.

The work around:

What I have observed is if you do not synchronize the phone book, it is not hanging frequently. So I just started using without synchronizing the phone book, and I only had one hang so far in 2 week(vs pretty much everyday).

2. Blue-tooth incorrect message, latency:

I think everyone might have observed that unit gives a message saying "Cell Phone disconnected" after you turned the ignition on. At about 32+ seconds it again says phone is connected. The issue with this was, blue-tooth program not recognizing that actual Blue-tooth module is shutdown when you turned off the key. The reason for this is, the unit itself is going into standby mode before it recognizes. So when programs comes back from standby, it thinks phone is still connected but can not find, and that's why we are seeing that message.

The work around:

There is a new Europe version firmware update meant for EU units. This is same version as mine, that is 1.0001. But it seems the blue-tooth software has been updated. I tried to update whole system, but it did not pick up complete platform, but did pickup Blue-tooth software update(Just follow the procedure outlined). My observation is this is not updating file permanently, rather loading into memory which is fine for this unit as it goes to standby usually. As long as we do not F.reset the unit, this works fine.

Here is the link for Firmware( You need to go down, select Firmware downloads and then select F310BT)

http://www.pioneer.eu/eur/content/suppo ... 700BT.html

I am not sure if this has any other improvements over old versions( vs what I have).

Improvements: Now, every time when I turn off my ignition, the U310BT does shutdown right-away as usual, but the LCD stays on for 5 seconds, identifies that Cell phone is disconnected with the message, then goes to standby. So next time when I start the car, it simply connects to phone. This reduced the phone connecting timing from 32+ secs to 18+ seconds and you loose the annoying/embarrassing " Cell phone disconnected" message after starting the car.

Note: Also, if your Radio is off( that means no CD, Radio etc is not on) blue-tooth starts faster.

3. Nav Freezing:

I have not observed Nav freezing after the update, but I am not sure if it has anything to do update. Even before update it only happened once for me.

Please add any tips:

4. Nav showing the in-correct location with full satellite signal:

This happened to be quite few time with my unit. The symptoms are you are moving fine, shows full satellite signal, but shows you are in wrong location (some time as far as 2-5 miles away from actual location) driving across with out roads.

The work around:

This can only be cured with un-docking and docking the unit back again. Just turn off the radio, and keep the unit in Non-Nav mode, eject the screen and put it back again. Rebooting the unit does not fix this.

Please add any tips:

Anyway, this is a start...

I don't mean to thread jack but have you found a way (or anyone else) to change the TTS to a better one? The voice is really awful...

I agree. This is really awful. Even 3 years old cheap portable NAV has better TTS voice than this. I thought I saw some modified Samantha TTS files some where in F-Series forum, but I can not seem to find those any more.

I did downloaded some TTS voice editor softwares, but Pioneer TTS files are not compatible or supported by those editing software.

I am still open, if someone can post link to an editor, or post TTS files, I can experiment and post the results.

No, there is no change on the Nav screen display between day and night mode.

Then it is potentially Harness screwup by installer. He must have connected the illumination wire from your truck to ground or some other terminal on Radio side.

But does the unit change to night mode when you turn on the lights?

Only thing I can think off is, if the installer screwed up the connections in the wiring harness adapter. If he connected illumination wire somehow to ground connection, then you may see the those symptoms.

I hit the home button on the navigation to test it out, and noticed that there wasn't any "text to speech" of the street names. Is there some kind of setting I need to change for the speech to be on?

 

Thanks for any help.

You need to select TTS voice in the Language options(which is Samatha TTS).

Settings-->Region-->Voice Language-->Select TTS file.

It is there in the manual.

I am not sure about if you would like TTS voice though( pretty bad), nevertheless give it a try.

Anyway, the bluetooth froze again today. So I am not sure that is exactly the reason, but for sure the frequency is reduced by not synching the phone book.

I am sure Pioneer sells tens of thousands of these a month, and yet there aren't many on here complaining about them. Your statement doesn't make any sense

 

It seems more people has issue than not.

Do you have this unit? I do not think there are selling tens of thousands of this unit.

So you assume all people with problems come here? I came here for help in installation, and discovering features etc before I even bought the unit, I discovered the issues after the install, trying to solve issues. I thought may be only few people have problems because of installation/specific phone etc. But that does not seem to be the case here with this unit.

I have not seen many/any user review who claims there are no issue. Some are happy because they got it for cheap(see above), not because unit does not have problems.

People also write positive reviews if they do not have issues with the unit. If it would have been working as expected or close to expectation set by pioneer, I would written a glowing review about the unit.

Unit is cheap does not meant problems are acceptable. Unit is cheap because it does not many feature including some basic(some are intentionally crippled by Pioneer) functionality.

Anyways, unfortunately this specific forum is most passive forum of all I have even seen( Specific to U310BT).

http://www.pioneer.eu/eur/content/support/support/upgrade/AVIC_F900BT_F700BT.html

That is same firmware as I have on unit. 1.0001 as per the release notes.

Here are some observations I made.

1. I reset the unit using Kill the battery method.

2. Did not sync the phone book.

With these two things it seems there are no hangs with Bluetooth. It is 3rd day still working without freezing.

Now, I check some other AVIC forums, it seems Phone book with characters other than just alpha numeric names/numbers are causing problems. People who cleaned their contact information without any special characters are reporting faster connection, and stable bluetooth.

Can some one confirm this theory of phone book, either by not using/synching phone book(clear it and do not sync) or by cleaning up the phone book?

May be that is issue?

BTW, I confirmed with Pioneer and Crutchfield about SD card playback. This unit does not support SD card playback, that is because unit is crippled by Pioneer.

Since it uses WinCE 5.0, someday we will hack it and get SD play back. I have some plans, but feeling it little risky to play with OS at this time.

Sorry for my ignorance, but how do you ground the parking brake? Which wire to where?

It is the thin long wire on the wiring harness with a wiretap at the end.

Yes, I have the new firmware on it. I got it from the European Pioneer site. It said it was only for the F310bt, the European models. The txt file in the update folder said it was also for the U310bt, so i made the update. Though i must say i updated it not because i had some issues, but just because i had an opportunity. The device works after the update exactly as before, with just one difference: when using the detachable unit, it does not power off instantly when i switch it off but takes about 2-3 seconds to switch off. Once again, no issues either prior to update or after it.

So, you mean to say you do not see the message saying "Phone has been disconnected" when you turn on the key(about 12-15 secs later)?

Would you mind checking which version you are seeing in specific to Bluetooth module in yours when you get a chance?

May be I should upgrade too..., any caution.. notes for the upgrade(or a mini guide)? Appreciate any help in improving the situation with this unit.

It sounds strange to me as to 32+ seconds etc. I also have U310BT, use it with an iPhone and I never really feel like this Avic is too slow. My phone is connected in max. 10 seconds, really. Regarding the factory installed nav: of course this Avic will be slower on connecting the satellites. It does not have a connection to the speedometer, compass and other things like that which make a difference between a 500 USD Avic and a 2000 USD factory installed nav.

So your unit does not say that "Phone has been disconnected" when turn on the key first? At least mine does, and so many others. This week couple of calls I had to take from Phone as sync was not completed, then I timed how long it takes before actually it connects to phone and I consistently got 32+ seconds from turn on the key. It is with my iPhone 2G as well as Motorola KRZR.

May be you have new firmware on your unit? Would you mind checking your Firmware version for Bluetooth and Nav and let us know if that is the difference?

Also would you mind clocking the time from turn on the key to finally it says Connected to your phone?

I'm having bluetooth issues with my Verizon LG Dare. So I tried pairing the unit with my wife's Motorola cell phone and it works flawlessly. Then I paired my LG phone again and it worked fine for many calls until I got a call getting into my car while the unit was still booting. A faceplate reset would not correct the issue.

 

When I returned home, I reconnected my wife's cell and again it worked perfectly. Then I dropped her connection and reconnected my LG. Its working again now too for the moment.

 

So I'm wondering, has anybody else tried pairing different phones with the unit? If so, do some brands or models seem to have fewer problems than others? Comments?

I would assume that would be case as BT stack implementations vary from vendor to vendor. In general BT software in the unit handles different scenarios(though all are as per spec implementation may not be same). That is the case with many hardware( like memory not compatible with certain motherboards).

As per Customer Service rep only iPhone 3GS has known issues, so please call and let them know the issue you are having. If you complain, then they may fix it later firmware versions.

Dude if you're going to complain so much about the unit, you obviously aren't happy with it. Why don't you just return it? It will be worth the aggravation in the end to switch it out for something else.

Yes, I agree. Thinking of possibilities. But putting my thoughts/issues here atleast avoid someone else getting into the same situation or atleast make them aware of the unit issues and let them make informed decisions,

I liked the unit because it is instant and do not need to boot, in retrospect I am not sure what is instant about the unit.

Is it that unit shows bluetooth connected when I turned on the key, and only to tell me my phone is disconnected after 15 seconds later. How lame is that, application should know when you turn off the power it is disconnected., in addition it tells us message saying it is disconnected. User expects to see connected message after starting unit, not disconnected message.. It happend before I got out of my car.. Hello!

Unit takes 32+ seconds finally connect to Phone, is it this 32 seconds called instant? Even F-series with updates boots up in 40 seconds.

The Unit pretty much takes same time as cold boot to lock into satellites, I am surprized it does not scan for the satellites based on last known co-ordinates. It takes more time to lock into satellites than my factory unit in my prius, and same time or more than portable unit.

Ofcourse it is only audio system that is usable instantly, but any basic audio system starts instantly.

So, can someone tell me what is instant about this unit?

Also, one observation I made, when the units battery is dead, it is loosing the all phone sync information!! Can it save to built-in flash memory? Later when the battery becomes weak, we end up syncing phone every start!!?

Why is Navigation volume different from Audio volume? Is there a specific reason for that. I would expect Nav volume based on my audio volume which is adjusted based on surrounding noise(highway vs local), I should not have to go to menu,settings to keep changing this volumes everytime I get on a highways and comeback to local roads? What kind of integration is that?