3rd gen audio build - Joying tacoma headunit

What harness did you use for this? Where did you get it? Is it a harness you have to splice the wires together?

 

This one. https://www.joyingauto.com/joying-toyota-special-harness-with-can-bus-decoder.html

I did not have to splice any wires.

 

The screen is larger than the bezel, can you explain how you got the brackets secured and the bezel on at the same time?

 

Screen comes off, its just a plug and some clips and it comes off.

 

Yep, as 5nahalf stated there's a ribbon cable that connects the head unit to the display. This ribbon cable can be disconnected allowing you to take the screen off the head unit.

 

I'm a bit late to the party here, but based on a listing on infotainment . com for a 2020+ tacoma "entune 3.0" (the OEM Carplay/AA compatible one), it looks like they sell the head unit with a wiring adapter harness of some sort, which makes me think that the IO of the OE-style Joying head unit referenced, which works on 2016-2019 Tacomas, may not match the factory wiring harness in a 2020+ Tacoma. this is my speculation, perhaps someone can prove me wrong.
reference: https://www.infotainment.com/collec...rplay-and-android-auto?variant=31755246796836

 

So, I got my unit a few days ago and spent quite a while yesterday trying to get everything working. The unit itself was powered up and working, but I had no sound, no reverse cam, and no steering wheel controls. I tried just about every conceivable combo in the canbus settings - no go with any of them. I contacted Joying, they are sending me another unit and harness. I hooked up every slot on the harness itself, but I had an extra wire connection from the truck that had no harness counterpart. I was so looking forward to it, and hoping it would work.

 

Long-term update, since I have been too stubborn to use the radio as a native android device and continue to use it as an Android auto reciever ( I have my reasons) : I have found the "headunit reloaded" app to be more stable and user-friendly than Z-link; many of the weird glitches (i.e. spotify sound output to remain in the quiet mode after a navigation instruction is given by google maps) to have gone away when I switched.
Since the Apps menu in the HU does not allow for the disabling of Zlink, I just uninstalled it fully (the .apk is stored in a folder on the HU's ROM that persists even after a factory reset so it can always be sideloaded back in later if a reset was needed or I switch to an iOS device)
The app does not fully eliminate dropped connections of Android Auto, though it does seem to reconnect more quickly. (and shows the host phone in a USB connections menu rather than leaving you guessing)
addressing potential hardware signal issues, I have also upgraded the cable used to connect to the phone, used hot glue to secure the cables to the back of the head unit (the USB ports fit like old wizards sleeve, notice how toyota's USB connector had a locking tab) and also added an inline on/off switch that I use in lieu of un plugging and replugging the phone on the fly. though a better cable and hot glue connection to the radio have reduced signal drops, the on/off switch has been a huge quality-of-life enhancement.
outside of android auto-related stubbornness BS, I'm happy to report that the Panlong bluetooth OBD2 for 13 bucks on Amazon works great with Torque, and the mapy.cz app has very decent offline maps (that include most forest service roads) and offline navigation for free, I enjoy using it as Ghetto Gaia.

 

Has anyone bought a head unit off Crutchfield? The Boss head unit is about the same if not less than the JOYing and seems to come with everything one would need to make it work.

Seems like folks here are having some issues getting things to work, reviews seem to be hit or miss.

https://www.crutchfield.com/g_462250/Touchscreen-Radios.html?fa=1#&avf=Y&nvpair=FFAvailability|[rank1]In Stock

 

The Joying is light years ahead of that boss unit in terms of functionality. But it all depends on what you're trying to get outta the deck and how much you wanna spend.

 

How so? All I really want it for is Android Auto.

I probably will not use the head for anything else. All I use for music is spotify, no radio, no XM.

I want to keep steering controls and backup camera.

Just a lot of these issues folks are speaking out here have me concerned.

 

I also considered going this route, but honestly the plug-n-play and OEM fitment were worth it alone imo. I've done standard 1- and 2-din radios in the past and with this thing it was nice to just buy the one part, slap it in the truck, and get back to my day rather than worrying about wiring harness adapters, soldering, splicing, heat shrinking, Can box adapters ($$) for the steering controls, and any adapters for the OE camera. not that my time is worth a lot of money according to my employer.


it definitely has some issues, which can be mostly overcome, YMMV. the only thing I would have preferred to this would have been an OEM entune 3.0 head unit and adapter harness (and maybe even the entune unit isn't perfect ^), but this was $1600 less, and has features I've come to like.

 

Yea, I saw the factory entune 3.0 on infotainment.com and was tempted but it was 2k. So just to be clear, you are giving the JOYing a thumbs up but you were about to go the route of getting one on Crutchfield?

 

I have been thinking about switching as well. Currently have unlimited plans on Verizon and I don't really know if I am data hungry...use my phone outside the home like most people do I think.

 

If you use over 4-5GB a month I'd stick with Verizon. Also if you use tethering at all stick with Verizon. If you only use 1-2GB Fi might be a good fit, especially if you have one of the devices listed on their site, like the galaxy s21 for example.

 

I give it a thumbs up if you can deal with the occasional signal drop on android auto. The Joying Pros outweigh the cons/things I had to go troubleshooting for me.

 

Got it. What do you mean by signal drops? Meaning it freezes? you have to unplug and plug back

 

unplug-replug. I found that using a switch like

$7 ANDTOBO USB Switch Extension Cable, (Upgraded Data + Power) USB Extension Cord with On/Off Power Switch Cable for LED Strips, iOS System, etc- 3.3 FT

this one makes that process much easier and less distracting, idk if it cuts just 5V power or all 4 usb wires but it accomplishes the disconnect/reconnect by flipping it off and back on.

 

If you have a new Samsung Galaxy phone, it will crash the head unit when trying to use android auto. Hoping that will be fixed in the next Samsung OS update.

https://www.sammobile.com/news/samsung-galaxy-android-auto-issues-fix-july-2021-security-update/

 

I'm using the Pixel 4. Anyone else?