Replacing RNS 510 with RCD 330+

[Mk R]

Despite reading the whole thread, I'm still lost as to which version I should be buying

I only need carplay but would be nice to have Android Auto in case I decide to go that way (as i prefer google maps over apple maps).

From what I can gather there is
a) a "No Name" one that is *nix based
b) a Desay (187B) Model that is Win CE based
c) Crngiar6.5" model - not sure what this one is?

Are they all OEM VW Hardware? or are some cheap chinese hardware?
Are they custom firmware or hacked VW firmware or Original VW Firmware?

There are a few different operating systems out there for the 187B. Your best bet would be to reach out to someone in the last few pages of the thread and find out which seller they purchased their carplay + android auto unit from as not all firmware updates will work for all units. You could also look for one with both functions on AliExpress etc.

I have hated on Apple maps for ages. I held off buying the unit for a few months because of that restriction (wanted to use the tomtom go app) but after using Apple maps for a couple months now i'm fine with it. The voice instruction is smoother than google maps and the integration in the head unit is very smooth.

I've not had any problems with directions yet. You can bark out orders to Siri like "take me to mum & dad's house" or "Take me to the nearest bar" and it works great. When you get your unit I recommend giving apple maps and siri a chance.

Only downside is the traffic guidance that waze offers and a lack of speed camera/trap info.

For what it's worth i bought the Bodenla Carplay model off AliExpress
BODENLA RCD330 Plus RCD330G CarPlay APP Desai 6.5" MIB Car Radio RCD330G For VW Tiguan Golf 5 6 Jetta MK5 MK6 Passat Polo Touran-in Car Radios from Automobiles & Motorcycles on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group
and have been pretty happy with it. I posted a few pics of the install with semi hidden USB cable in this thread.

[Mk R]

Upgraded to the RCD330g Plus today on a mk6 TDI nice later life upgrade from the RNS510. And so cheap, putting in the RNS 510, Bluetooth gateway and mdi back in the day cost a fortune.

One small thing I don’t like is always having to have a USB cable coming out of the head unit for CarPlay. Does anyone know if you can put a USB port somewhere more discrete?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If you can't be arsed soldering in the USB cable you could always try and live with what i did. Nonda ZUS USB cable tracked back to the centre armrest through a small hole in the stereo facia. Stereo facias for a Mk6 golf are like $20 on ebay in case you remove it or break it. You could probably even remove the aux plug and track it through there. What ever you choose, make sure you get the best quality MFI certified lightning cable you can find. The carplay function is sensitive to poor connections and crap cables.

[TheOneWhoIsMany]

If you can't be arsed soldering in the USB cable you could always try and live with what i did. Nonda ZUS USB cable tracked back to the centre armrest through a small hole in the stereo facia. Stereo facias for a Mk6 golf are like $20 on ebay in case you remove it or break it. You could probably even remove the aux plug and track it through there. What ever you choose, make sure you get the best quality MFI certified lightning cable you can find. The carplay function is sensitive to poor connections and crap cables.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]32184[/ATTACH]

Thanks that doesn't look to bad. I'm going to solder a USB extension on when I turn up my soldering iron, I'm going to try putting a female USB plug to my glove box so I can swap between a usb C and lightning plug as my wife sometimes drives my car and she has an Android phone.

probably slightly different to as i'm running the Crngiar version, but do you have any issues with Siri voice prompts?

[Ferni]

There are a few different operating systems out there for the 187B. Your best bet would be to reach out to someone in the last few pages of the thread and find out which seller they purchased their carplay + android auto unit from as not all firmware updates will work for all units. You could also look for one with both functions on AliExpress etc.

I have hated on Apple maps for ages. I held off buying the unit for a few months because of that restriction (wanted to use the tomtom go app) but after using Apple maps for a couple months now i'm fine with it. The voice instruction is smoother than google maps and the integration in the head unit is very smooth.

I've not had any problems with directions yet. You can bark out orders to Siri like "take me to mum & dad's house" or "Take me to the nearest bar" and it works great. When you get your unit I recommend giving apple maps and siri a chance.

Only downside is the traffic guidance that waze offers and a lack of speed camera/trap info.

For what it's worth i bought the Bodenla Carplay model off AliExpress
BODENLA RCD330 Plus RCD330G CarPlay APP Desai 6.5" MIB Car Radio RCD330G For VW Tiguan Golf 5 6 Jetta MK5 MK6 Passat Polo Touran-in Car Radios from Automobiles & Motorcycles on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group
and have been pretty happy with it. I posted a few pics of the install with semi hidden USB cable in this thread.

Thanks for taking time to reply. Planning to just use apple maps and see how it goes. The only problem I have with Apple maps is traffic isn't as good as google maps, but that was probably over a year ago it tested both for a while, can test again now.

What's the difference between the RCD330G+ and the RCD330G ? It seems the + has a 'setup' button and the non plus has an "App" button. Which one is newer/better?

[iceorbigtal]

I've uploaded a picture here showing the difference between the MDI and non-MDI bins and duct.

I was this close to pull the trigger on the non-mdi cubby, then i saw your post and i have questions! Do you have the part # for the non-mdi duct? What car model do you have? I have a NA 2012 mk6 golf R and the ducts diagram is only listing one part for the rear duct OEM VW Ducts for 2012 Volkswagen Golf | VWPartsVorte even tho the rear console diagram OEM VW Rear Console for 2012 Volkswagen Golf | VWPartsVorte lists both mdi and non-mdi cubbies.
Before tearing appart the rear console, i thought i'd ask

[Mk R]

Thanks that doesn't look to bad. I'm going to solder a USB extension on when I turn up my soldering iron, I'm going to try putting a female USB plug to my glove box so I can swap between a usb C and lightning plug as my wife sometimes drives my car and she has an Android phone.

probably slightly different to as i'm running the Crngiar version, but do you have any issues with Siri voice prompts?

Cheers. I don't use "Hey Siri" in the car as my iphone 6 is slow now and it doesn't always work. Ambient noise will mess with that too. I hold my finger on the iphone "home button" on screen and then talk. Apple maps will throw up a few choices if youve asked for something general like a hardware store and then im good to go. You can check the weather etc too using siri voice.

Your plan for universal USB should be fine but as above, get the best cables you can find so you never have to change them.

Couple of other things to keep in mind:

1. I initially put the lightning cable for the iphone in the glove box but it was kind of a pain reaching over, especially when someone else was in the car. Their knees get in the way and it twists your back to reach over there. I got sick of plugging my phone in there after a week and moved it to the centre armrest storage. You'll need at least 1.2m of cable to get there comfortably and it's pretty easy once you remove the front ashtray and centre console armrest. The middle section can just be tucked in the side of the handbrake cover section. Takes about 1hr. I'm very happy having it in the armrest console now.

Another reason is that from time to time you will get dust (i assume) in between your iphone and the lightning plug and it will cause static on your music. You'll need to re connect and itll be fine. Also sometimes spotify wont play nice first time. When i push play on the head unit first time it's silent then i pause and play and it works.

Imagine starting your car, driving off and then having to f$#k around in the glovebox. It's just a pain. The closer it is to you the better.

2. Once you've soldered in your new USB plug, find yourself a nice black flush usb hole plug or something to plug up the front hole. If you have 2 devices connected to the USB at once it will end badly for your head unit.

[Mk R]

What's the difference between the RCD330G+ and the RCD330G ? It seems the + has a 'setup' button and the non plus has an "App" button. Which one is newer/better?

The RCD330 designation doesn't appear to even be printed on most units at all. The newer ones will generally have the part number 187B on them.

The units with a MUTE / SETUP / PHONE buttons instead of the PHONE / APP / SETUP were apparently upgraded with extra RAM by the sellers to run the various smartphone platforms. The ones with the PHONE / APP / SETUP buttons were apparently able to run those CarPlay style programs from manufacture.

The newer version is the PHONE / APP / SETUP combo of buttons but coming out of China second hand you never really know if they are new or if the buttons were just changed or whatever. These appear to all be OEM or OEM equivalent but there looks to have been numerous manufacturers for these parts. To complicate matters further it's not always clear whether they're running Windows CE, Linux or something else.

If you get your hands on one that can run both CarPlay and Android Auto at purchase then you're probably going to have the safest bet at running both.

[ZantetsukenJ]

The RCD330 designation doesn't appear to even be printed on most units at all. The newer ones will generally have the part number 187B on them.

The units with a MUTE / SETUP / PHONE buttons instead of the PHONE / APP / SETUP were apparently upgraded with extra RAM by the sellers to run the various smartphone platforms. The ones with the PHONE / APP / SETUP buttons were apparently able to run those CarPlay style programs from manufacture.

The newer version is the PHONE / APP / SETUP combo of buttons but coming out of China second hand you never really know if they are new or if the buttons were just changed or whatever. These appear to all be OEM or OEM equivalent but there looks to have been numerous manufacturers for these parts. To complicate matters further it's not always clear whether they're running Windows CE, Linux or something else.

If you get your hands on one that can run both CarPlay and Android Auto at purchase then you're probably going to have the safest bet at running both.

Mine has the PHONE / APP / SETUP buttons from the seller but only had carplay. I upgraded the ROM to the one with Android Auto, was fine. I think the extra RAM would be nice though, but it doesn't realistically make a difference

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk

[Mk R]

Mine has the PHONE / APP / SETUP buttons from the seller but only had carplay. I upgraded the ROM to the one with Android Auto, was fine. I think the extra RAM would be nice though, but it doesn't realistically make a difference

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk

That's good to know. Do you know what firmware version / OS you had originally?

[nethawk]

Mine has the PHONE / APP / SETUP buttons from the seller but only had carplay. I upgraded the ROM to the one with Android Auto, was fine. I think the extra RAM would be nice though, but it doesn't realistically make a difference

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk

Which firmware did you used? It added multiple languages?

Anybody know if latest firmwares can add Spanish/Mexican?

Anybody knows why these units don't have RDS????

[ZantetsukenJ]

Which firmware did you used? It added multiple languages?

Anybody know if latest firmwares can add Spanish/Mexican?

Anybody knows why these units don't have RDS????

I used the 5314 firmware, more than certain it added Spanish. It did add some languages but not the ones that interest me so I'm not quite sure which ones.

RDS is ****

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk

[nethawk]

Why you don't like RDS?

Can you manually configure station names?

[Clint]

There are a few different operating systems out there for the 187B. Your best bet would be to reach out to someone in the last few pages of the thread and find out which seller they purchased their carplay + android auto unit from as not all firmware updates will work for all units. You could also look for one with both functions on AliExpress etc.

I have hated on Apple maps for ages. I held off buying the unit for a few months because of that restriction (wanted to use the tomtom go app) but after using Apple maps for a couple months now i'm fine with it. The voice instruction is smoother than google maps and the integration in the head unit is very smooth.

I've not had any problems with directions yet. You can bark out orders to Siri like "take me to mum & dad's house" or "Take me to the nearest bar" and it works great. When you get your unit I recommend giving apple maps and siri a chance.

Only downside is the traffic guidance that waze offers and a lack of speed camera/trap info.

For what it's worth i bought the Bodenla Carplay model off AliExpress
BODENLA RCD330 Plus RCD330G CarPlay APP Desai 6.5" MIB Car Radio RCD330G For VW Tiguan Golf 5 6 Jetta MK5 MK6 Passat Polo Touran-in Car Radios from Automobiles & Motorcycles on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group
and have been pretty happy with it. I posted a few pics of the install with semi hidden USB cable in this thread.

I'm looking at this head unit - Carplay Android Auto R340G RCD330G Plus Radio For VW Tiguan Golf 5 6 MK5 MK6 Passat Polo 6RF 035 187 E RCD510 RCN210-in Car Radios from Automobiles & Motorcycles on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group

and this camera - RCD330 Plus MIB Radio Carplay Rcd330+ AV Rear Camera View Reversing For VW Tiguan Jetta MK6-in Vehicle Camera from Automobiles & Motorcycles on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group

[Mk R]

I'm looking at this head unit - Carplay Android Auto R340G RCD330G Plus Radio For VW Tiguan Golf 5 6 MK5 MK6 Passat Polo 6RF 035 187 E RCD510 RCN210-in Car Radios from Automobiles & Motorcycles on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group

and this camera - RCD330 Plus MIB Radio Carplay Rcd330+ AV Rear Camera View Reversing For VW Tiguan Jetta MK6-in Vehicle Camera from Automobiles & Motorcycles on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group

Nice. Looks like one of the more expensive units on sale but no doubt worth it for the convenience. I'll be interested to hear how you go installing the reverse camera. That's something i was considering.

[Clint]

Yep, there are cheaper units. But, I'm keen on this one because it's the model with native Android Auto. Camera also comes with a delay built in.
Also, I'm going be lazy and have my local installer put the reverse camera in 😉