How to fix for AVH-W4400NEX boot loop

[DarinG]

On 10/16/2022 at 7:59 AM, Lamb said:

I fixed my boot loop issue yesterday in about 30 minutes.  I ordered a preloaded SD card from eBay with the NEX AVHW4500 software on it.  

I was not able to lower the front screen using the eject button (as I had no access to the settings functions due to the boot loop error), so i pried the front screen off with a plastic stereo removal tool, then I manually pushed/forced the motorized tray that holds the front screen down so I could get access to where the internal SD card is installed. 

I then used Datsun's idea of creating an access slot underneath the external SD card reader to get to the broken internal SD card.  I used his pictures as a guide of where to make the slot. 

Few tips:  I first used blue painters tape to tape up the AUX cable hole and the external SD slot, as well as underneath the motorized tray so I could catch any little plastic shavings and make sure they did not end up inside the unit. 

I used a 1/16 drill bit to carefully and slowly drill holes through the plastic where the internal slot is.  Then I heated up a razor blade with a lighter, and used that to carefully melt/cut out the slot.  

Popped the old broken card out, inserted the new one from eBay and the unit powered and booted right up.  The only thing you have to do is set up your unit (and reconnect to your devices) as if it were brand new.  So make sure to write down or take screen shots of your iPhone settings prior. 

Hope this helps. 

Can you give any more details on how to remove the front? Were you able to leave the unit in the car?

[Lamb]

On 10/22/2022 at 10:36 AM, DarinG said:

Can you give any more details on how to remove the front? Were you able to leave the unit in the car?

@DarinG

I bought this car stereo removal kit:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081SPBYFM?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

I used one of the plastic pry tools to carefully wedge under the center of the screen and "pop" it out.  If you are slow and careful you won't cause any damage to the screen or the plastic frame around it.  I watched a guy on Youtube do it, and that gave me the idea.  Should take under 1 minute. 

Once the screen was off, I manually pushed the metal panel that the screen connects to down.  There is another video on Youtube showing how to do this with pliers and some force, but I didn't need to use pliers.  I just applied pressure and pushed from the top down and out to mimic the way the motor would do it had the unit been functioning properly.

I did not have to remove the entire unit from the dash at all.  All you need is to access the panel behind the screen and the screen holder, drill or cut out a slot to access the internal SD card, replace the card, click the screen back on, and start it up.  You can then press the Eject button in the lower right corner of the unit and the screen should move back up to normal position.

Hope this helps. 

[Francisco Javier]

que tal amigos  nesesito ayuda.  , No puedo. Hacer eso en mi AVIC5200nex.      Sigue dándome. Error  ayuda!!!

[wawwin]

Just want to share this is super, super helpful and continues to be a fix for the boot loop on the AVH-W4400NEX.  Dead battery seemed to create the boot loop and this all worked like a charm.  took about an hour to do all these steps for me (newbie).

[LHS]

Thanks, I got my AVH-Z9100DAB back alive with the AVIC.img, however now I’m not able to access FM and DAB audio sources. Any suggestions for that issue, is there a better matching image somewhere or what can I do?

/Thanks

[ogh4x]

On 2/4/2021 at 11:52 AM, HondaR said:

Hi guys

Had this problem today, and thankfully this forum exists so manage to rummage through the pages and then put a fix together.  Thought I'd save future people some hassle and just put in one thread (I dont take credit for the IMG, it was found in the IMG thread but here goes)

This will repair the boot loop loading screen.

First off, you'll need a replacement SD card, the one I used was still stuck in the headunit as I used to use it for firmware updates and had a few tracks on.  The image file is just over 8gig but I used a 64gb one because it was what I had.  I'm sure a 16gb would work fine.  This was formatted to ex-fat.

Here is a link for the IMG file download (credit to Jamesl75 who posted it on the other thread)

https://mega.nz/file/SdJCgKCJ#13zrFlogMCWNohCvuFsDFcC1uniHgufVZJxZlQPHUag

Once you've downloaded that file, unrar it and save it on your desktop.

Next download win32 disk image https://sourceforge.net/projects/win32diskimager/

Open win32 diskimage, open the img file from your desktop then select the SD card drive... lets it do its thing for 4-5 minutes.  Note the finished SD card was unreadable on my laptop... at first I thought this was a problem, but turns it it worked perfectly fine.

Next involves the stripping down of your headunit to get to the memory card.  I used this youtube video below.  Did everything except disconnect the last ribbon connecting the metal face backing to the unit... managed to angle the black plastic backing to give me just enough space to get the old card out and the new one in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cHp6jxD5R8

Then fit back into your car and it should work!! It did for me, and literally took me all of 20 minutes of get done and enjoy your working headunit again

 

Worked like a charm!