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WT7600NEX & WT8600NEX First Impressions


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I received and installed my WT7600NEX yesterday!

I went with the 7600 because the 8600 screen would simply be too large to fit between my center vents above and the climate control panel below. The two units are identical other than the screen size. 

And that screen!!!!  I definitely don’t need the 10” screen of the 8600. The 9” screen of the 7600 is PLENTY big enough, and an enormous upgrade in size and pixel density from previous 7” NEX units.  It really is gorgeous, and makes the user interface easier.

Installation was ALMOST a straight swap for my old W8400NEX. The audio wire harness had to be changed, but that is easy as it is all RCA plugs. The new unit uses USB-C, but includes a C-to-A adapter in the box, so I did have to pull my old USB-A cord to run the included USB-C extension cable. 

The new NEX software is typical Pioneer.  Those familiar with the old NEX software shouldn’t have too difficult a time using the new. Most changes were done to bring the UI up to date and to support new internet-connected features and Alexa.  I love the new Home Screen customization options! The live tiles are customizable and swappable.  You can have up to four. They can be resized, removed, and replaced with other functions... weather, sports, gauges, climate control, etc.

As for aesthetics, there are new dynamic backgrounds with effects that use the colors from the album art within the NEX interface. It’s pretty cool, and a welcome update to the theme colors, which are also still present. 

Alexa support is serviceable, and more so if you plan to ONLY use Alexa, and not CarPlay or, presumably, Android Auto. I honestly don’t see myself using it much, as it requires temporarily disabling CarPlay to use it. This is done as if it is a separate source. I understand why they do this, and I don’t see a way around it, but it would be nice if I could say and use “Alexa” while using CarPlay. Since 90% of my time is spent with CarPlay, I really don’t expect to use Alexa much, but if that is your ecosystem of choice, you should be happy...

...that is if the unit maintains a good hotspot connection with your smartphone, which it relies on for internet. My iPhone hotspot feature seems to go to sleep, and I have to go to the iPhone hotspot setting to wake it up before I use it. 

My biggest nitpick isn’t really a nitpick, but more of an “oh, shit, they got me!”  Pioneer does not advertise built-in navigation with these new WT NEXs. I didn’t really look for it, as I just expected a $1000 head-unit at the top of the NEX range to have it. Alas, they do not have built-in navigation. Now realistically, this isn’t a big deal for most, as pretty much any nav app on CarPlay or Android Auto blows away the stock nav system... and has free rolling updates!  But those who live in or travel to more rural areas will need to take note, less you go to use your preferred navigation app only to be confronted with a blank grid due to a lack of cell coverage. Leaving built-in nav out seems both skimpy and forward-thinking at the same time on a unit of this stature.

Let me know if anyone has any questions!

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I got my 7600 installed In my tahoe and love it so far. This is my first pioneer unit. 
 

I stumbled upon a video bypass. After installing the parking brake bypass and connecting the gps antenna, I connected the speed wire to what I thought was a vss wire going into the old onstar box. It wasn't the correct wire, however it delivered a pulse to the unit that made it think I was only going 1 mph. Idk what the wire is but it means all we need is a signal to the unit so its tricked into seeing the wire connected but not detecting a speed. 
 

This allowed video and nav to work at the same time along with car play. 

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On 6/6/2020 at 9:42 AM, Rajr said:

I got my 7600 installed In my tahoe and love it so far. This is my first pioneer unit. 
 

I stumbled upon a video bypass. After installing the parking brake bypass and connecting the gps antenna, I connected the speed wire to what I thought was a vss wire going into the old onstar box. It wasn't the correct wire, however it delivered a pulse to the unit that made it think I was only going 1 mph. Idk what the wire is but it means all we need is a signal to the unit so its tricked into seeing the wire connected but not detecting a speed. 
 

This allowed video and nav to work at the same time along with car play. 

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Have you figured out what wire it's connected to yet. It's driving me crazy i can't bypass 

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I haven't yet, sorry. And unfortunately I did something in settings or the radio recalibrated since my post and it stopped working like that. Im experimenting to get it back to that state but no luck yet. SO FRUSTRATING! as of now I pulled the gps antenna. Had a road trip with the kids and they can't live without their Trolls World Tour lol The time and date will set if you have the radio hotspotted to a phone. Originally it said you needed gps to set. I guess it pulls it from the phone also. Siri will still work connected to bluetooth but no full CarPlay at this time with the gps antenna detached. Love this unit though!

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I just purchased the dmh8600 with the maestro rr this week.  I have gotten to ride around for about 2 hours with it and while I love the larger screen, I do have some concerns.

 

1) there is a way to change the forward/backward tilt on the lcd but I cannot figure it out after reading the install manual. If someone knows please snap some pictures for film a movie on how to do it for us that can’t figure it out.  I don’t want to randomly start forcing things and break my $1000 radio!

2) this may be related to #1 but it is kind of a pain to put the lcd screen On and then snake the mounting screws behind it and hold it in place with forceps while I screw in with a long screwdriver. Then... invariably to get everything hooked up and lined up and connected requires multiple installs and removals to get it just right. Removing the lcd screws adds another layer of annoyance for each reinstall, not to mention nervousness that I’m going to drop the screws.

3) The caravassist app is cool to edit the home screen but it took me a little to figure out.  I did not realize I had to find the caravassist app on the unit and open it before I could connect with my iPhone and transfer the data. It was not super clear in the manual and I was trying to connect from my phone without opening the corresponding app on the radio

4) I am having a hard time with wireless CarPlay sound quality. I am running iOS 13.5 and am frequent cut outs of sound which is very annoying. During my initial dry fittings before I actually screwed it into the car I did not recall drop outs but may not have been listening to CarPlay long enough. Since driving around I am getting cut outs and occasionally the phone disconnects and reconnect after 15-30 secs. I have  Tried to delete and reconnect the phone and it persists. I am going to connect with a different phone to see if still randomly drops out.   Hopefully this will resolve.  I need to remove it one last time to put in hdmi and usb adaptors so I will recheck connections.

5) I have purchased right angle adaptors for the usb-c and hdmi since I broke the included usb-c adaptor.  In my car there is not a lot of room behind the unit so in the process of putting it in, I inadvertently bent/broke the usb and hdmi cables

6) The downside of being so quick to get this means I went from a unit with a bypass to no bypass available.  I have the hardwire pass and have tried the lower quadrant bypass and can confirm that these do not work on the dmh8600. Hopefully this will be made public very soon.

7) The hotspot feature is cool in that it can get weather, sports, and even browse websites (when standing still) using the hotspot from the Iphone. However, I believe the hotspot shuts off on the phone after awhile of having nothing connected Perhaps to save the battery.  So.... when I get out of the car and then get back in, I have to go to settings on my iPhone and reactivate the hotspot and then the radio automatically connects.

 

those are my first impressions! I’d be curious if others have encountered these or perhaps they have a fix for any of them??

 

 

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10 hours ago, mfvtgtgs said:

1) there is a way to change the forward/backward tilt on the lcd but I cannot figure it out after reading the install manual. If someone knows please snap some pictures for film a movie on how to do it for us that can’t figure it out.  I don’t want to randomly start forcing things and break my $1000 radio!

With the 7600, it is manual. You have to push and pull it to adjust the angle.

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2) this may be related to #1 but it is kind of a pain to put the lcd screen On and then snake the mounting screws behind it and hold it in place with forceps while I screw in with a long screwdriver. Then... invariably to get everything hooked up and lined up and connected requires multiple installs and removals to get it just right. Removing the lcd screws adds another layer of annoyance for each reinstall, not to mention nervousness that I’m going to drop the screws.

Once the screen is attached, you shouldn’t have to detach it. The entire radio and dash kit should be able to be removed with the screen attached.

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3) The caravassist app is cool to edit the home screen but it took me a little to figure out.  I did not realize I had to find the caravassist app on the unit and open it before I could connect with my iPhone and transfer the data. It was not super clear in the manual and I was trying to connect from my phone without opening the corresponding app on the radio

Yeah, I had to look that up. Typical Pioneer, and probably necessary in order to get around CarPlay taking over. 

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4) I am having a hard time with wireless CarPlay sound quality. I am running iOS 13.5 and am frequent cut outs of sound which is very annoying. During my initial dry fittings before I actually screwed it into the car I did not recall drop outs but may not have been listening to CarPlay long enough. Since driving around I am getting cut outs and occasionally the phone disconnects and reconnect after 15-30 secs. I have  Tried to delete and reconnect the phone and it persists. I am going to connect with a different phone to see if still randomly drops out.   Hopefully this will resolve.  I need to remove it one last time to put in hdmi and usb adaptors so I will recheck connections.

I’ve had no problems with audio or CarPlay dropping. No disconnects at all.  I AM getting a robotic voice with Siri and phone calls, as Dizle mentioned. Glad to confirm it isn’t my unit!

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5) I have purchased right angle adaptors for the usb-c and hdmi since I broke the included usb-c adaptor.  In my car there is not a lot of room behind the unit so in the process of putting it in, I inadvertently bent/broke the usb and hdmi cables

That sounds like a problem unique to your car. This unit takes up about the same depth as any other head unit I’ve owned. 

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6) The downside of being so quick to get this means I went from a unit with a bypass to no bypass available.  I have the hardwire pass and have tried the lower quadrant bypass and can confirm that these do not work on the dmh8600. Hopefully this will be made public very soon.

I hope so, too. 

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7) The hotspot feature is cool in that it can get weather, sports, and even browse websites (when standing still) using the hotspot from the Iphone. However, I believe the hotspot shuts off on the phone after awhile of having nothing connected Perhaps to save the battery.  So.... when I get out of the car and then get back in, I have to go to settings on my iPhone and reactivate the hotspot and then the radio automatically connects.

This is intentional behavior for iPhone to conserve battery life. 

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those are my first impressions! I’d be curious if others have encountered these or perhaps they have a fix for any of them??

 

 

 

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7 hours ago, Dizle said:

How does Siri sound with your receiver? I have the wt7600 and when I ask Siri a question she responds with a robotic voice. When I’m following navigation Siri sounds fine. 

Glad to hear I’m not the only one with this problem!

Yes, the Siri voice and phone calls sound awful... distant, scratchy, and robotic. Navigation sounds fine. I called Pioneer and they blamed Apple, of course, so who knows at this point. 

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One other thing I can’t get to work at all: i have the Maestro RR for steering wheel integration, and I added a front camera. I programmed the RR for press and hold track up: front view camera, press and hold track down: rear view camera. Neither of these work, maybe the head unit and Maestro are missing the right commands because it’s so new? 

Mine is also quite slow at start up, it boots up in about 13 seconds but navigating menus and such after that time period are still pretty slow. Love the unit so far and hoping they fix some minor things with software updates! 

 

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— tilt angle:   To tilt it do you just manually (forcefully) move it? Do you have to depress buttons or pull tabs somewhere first? Am I just being to timid in adjusting the forward/backward angle? 

—due to the size 10.1in screen, I have to remove the lcd screen in order to pull the trim ring off. Hopefully I have everything in place now so no more pulling things out. Of course, if a future bypass requires rewiring then maybe I’ll have to pull it out 1 more time.

—I initially had issues with CarPlay dropping out and disconnecting but I have since pulled out the radio for other reasons and in the last 30 min of driving have not noticed drop outs....

—since I have limited space behind the unit, the additional 1in that the usb-c to usb-a adaptor was(plus the additional 1in that the usb plug is) was just too much.  A right angle usb-c to usb-a adaptor worked perfectly. To get the hdmi to work involved running the hdmi cable to the glove compartment and then through the front of the radio. Then I got the radio bolted in and after making sure no wiring was behind it, I “blindly” plugged in the micro hdmi to the slot.  A real pain...

— I thought the hotspot feature was cool but not practical since the iPhone stops transmitting the hotspot after no connections are present for 5 min.  So basically when you get out of the car the next time you get back in you have to reactivate the hotspot before the radio will automatically connect.  I think I found a fix but It involves jail breaking. The “Tetherme” tweak has a setting to always broadcast so while it drains the battery faster at least the reconnects to the hotspot when I get back in.

— I have tried Siri and find it similar in tone and character to what I hear in my earphones or handset.

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@mfvtgtgsWith the 7600, I just forcibly push it. Not tabs or buttons. 

Interesting about the Siri. I can’t imagine the actual components or hardware are any different, other than the screen.


@Dizle, I’d call and report the Siri problem to Pioneer support. I did last week. This may be a problem with the 7600. Hopefully it is a firmware-addressable problem!

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14 hours ago, mapotter99 said:

@mfvtgtgsWith the 7600, I just forcibly push it. Not tabs or buttons. 

Interesting about the Siri. I can’t imagine the actual components or hardware are any different, other than the screen.


@Dizle, I’d call and report the Siri problem to Pioneer support. I did last week. This may be a problem with the 7600. Hopefully it is a firmware-addressable problem!

Thanks I’ll give them a call! 
 

How’s your wireless CarPlay? My phone needs to be quite close to the pioneer or else it cuts out. I practically have to set it on the dash above the radio to get a solid signal for CarPlay, I’ll mention it to pioneer as well. 

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