Has anyone tried to ground the other three pins in connector 2 or tried applying ground to the z1 bypass pin then removing from ground the reapplying ground to it? Just a suggestion for some z2 owners to to try but I do not know if there will be consequences to doing that as far as damaging the unit. Thanks let me know if any work.

coudl be a fraud but if someone has the guts to tamper with the pins assemble it back and exchange it if unit goes bad?

i know i wouldnt but then again its just a thought for those who willing to take the risk

so has anyone tried soliding some pins?

Has anyone tried to ground the other three pins in connector 2 or tried applying ground to the z1 bypass pin then removing from ground the reapplying ground to it? Just a suggestion for some z2 owners to to try but I do not know if there will be consequences to doing that as far as damaging the unit. Thanks let me know if any work.

I was meaning pulling the mute wire out and re pinning it in different connectors. you can test the wire after pinning it with a D.M.M. and see if it reads any voltage or ground also turning on your parking lights (if your illumination wire is hooked) to see if there is a voltage jump just in case it is a output. I would try thees methods myself but I am trying to recommend some methods to see if we can bypass this z2 so I don't have to try to find a z1 and pay more for it. Thanks

i didnt fellow you on the last sentence someting about paying the z1

so has anyone tried soliding some pins?

If you mean like the N2 I believe (putting solder across 2 points that are on the board and exposed) someone tried that and it causes the Z2 not to boot up.

damn i guess we still stock with temporarly bypass c'mon pioneer reps just send a email with a friends email receipent ;p;

For those that are interested I did some testing with swapping the CPU's between the Z1 and Z2.

I was unable to get a Z1 CPU to work with a Z2 HDD (because I did not hack/unlock the drive).

So what I did was swap out the Z1 CPU and HDD and put them into the Z2 chassis and I was able to bypass. (so I have a Z2 with a Z1 CPU and Z1HDD).

If you are able to unlock the HDD and load the Z1 data onto your drive and put it into the Z2 without removing anything and it becomes bypassable then ignore this post.

If not, then I am guessing that anyone with a Z2 can just make theirs a Z1 by hacking their Z2 HDD, loading the Z1 image, and buying this CPU form pioneer parts. (again assuming that loading a Z1 image and placing it into the Z2 doesn't work)

http://parts.pioneerelectronics.com/part.asp?productNum=CWN1582

If you are able to unlock the HDD and load the Z1 data onto your drive and put it into the Z2 without removing anything and it becomes bypassable then ignore this post.

That was tested on a few people's systems and did seem to work. No hardware change needed. Just take the Z1 image and overwrite the Z2 image and it worked. I believe physically swapping hard drives also worked on the tests as well. The bypass followed the files/hard drive. A bypassed Z1 with a Z2 drive was no longer bypassed. A Z2 with the Z1 files on it was bypassable.

I believe physically swapping hard drives also worked on the tests as well.

Yes, but only if the drives are ATA unlocked. A Z2 will not be able to unlock a Z1 drive, and vice versa.

I believe physically swapping hard drives also worked on the tests as well.

Yes, but only if the drives are ATA unlocked. A Z2 will not be able to unlock a Z1 drive, and vice versa.

Good catch. I do remember people saying that swapping the drives worked and then I remember other people having problems with them and needing to switch something else in the unit, that must be the thing, the unlocking. I didn't even think of that.

its still pointless if you have a z2 and downgrade to a z1 for the bypass then you might as well just buy the z1 insted of z2 thats my point of view

its still pointless if you have a z2 and downgrade to a z1 for the bypass then you might as well just buy the z1 insted of z2 thats my point of view

While you are correct in this point of view. I'm pointing this out to people who have Z2's already. Swapping them out for Z1's is not a possibility (or rather expensive). If you haven't bought one yet and Z1's are still available, then yes, you are absolutely correct. But if you have a Z2 and are now trying to figure out how to get by the lockouts.... downgrading the Z2 software to the Z1 software is not that ridiculous. It can be put back and till anything is figured out the Z1 software is not that bad IMHO.

But yes you are right, no sense in buying a Z2 just to downgrade the software to the Z1... while Z1's are still out there for sale.

I get far more emails like:

"I have a Z2 and want to get rid of the lockouts" (I get 2-5 of these per day).

Than

"I was thinking of buying a Z1 or a Z2? Which should I get cause I want to not have any lockouts." (I get none of these).

maybe we should put a stickey thead on a section where everyone reads most and title it z1 or z2 which is best / diffrense bypassed something along those lines and do a simple explonation that z1 is the only current method of bypassing a z2 by doing an image which really is like if you were to buy a z1 while z2 may offer this or that etc etc... either way im glad i bought it at costco otherwise i woudlnt of buy a high expensive product

Feel free to write one up and I'll make it a stick.

my grammer is terriable miss spelling and what not ... besides im not the one thats getting daily emails lol

It's a good idea, but my time is really limited these days. I'll try to type something up when I get a chance.

I just took my car to the shop to get it installed and he talked about doing the bypass. They said something about there being 2 which 1 doesnt really work and the other requiring more time spent and they would have to look it up on the computer. I found the shop in the pioneer store locations and certified by pioneer. I will let you guys know when i pick my car back tomorrow if the bypass is working as well as everything else.

They said ........ they would have to look it up on the computer.

Wouldn't it be funny if they read this while "looking it up on the computer"?

After all, where else would they look for the latest info on the Z2 Bypass?

beats me. But will find out tomorrow if it was successful.

were kind ain the same situation. Have a Z2 getting installed for one of my customers.

Weve tryed everything, nothing really works. Were gonna keep working If I get it working Ill let everyone know

My husband asked me to do a search online yesterday to see if anyone had figured out the bypass on the Z2 yet. I came across this site and glanced through the 25-some pages on the topic. He asked if anyone had tried the following but I don't have time to read thru the whole thing again! I'll just ask!

He said if you turn over the Z2, there are 4 groups of 2 points and 1 single point on its own. He asked if anyone has tried soldering down these points or soldering them together. He was talking to his guy at Pioneer this morning and while discussing the bypass, the guy mentioned "...like what the N1 required..." then told him he couldn't talk about it over the phone. My husband's hoping maybe this guy was throwing him a hint or just slipped and said something he shouldn't have.

Has anyone already tried this? He's so anxious to figure this out but I'd rather him not ruin this customers unit if someone's already done this! Thnx

Someone already "tried" soldering pins on the bottom of the board like the N series and it would not boot when power was applied. I don't know if that person tried every conceivable permutation but it did not sound promising.

hey DB im getting Z2 tomorrow u think i can still use my Z1 HD with my old bypass

Pioneer is swaping my Z1 for Z2

ohh and BTW NDBT2 is coming soon

hey DB im getting Z2 tomorrow u think i can still use my Z1 HD with my old bypass

 

Pioneer is swaping my Z1 for Z2

 

ohh and BTW NDBT2 is coming soon

I was in the same situation and you cannot just swap the drives, either you have to unlock your Z1 HDD or you have to switch the control units also. They are held in by 3 screws under the DVD on the right side of where the hard drive goes.

Download the service manual from here and search in the PDF for CC unit removal for explicit instructions.