ATOTO A6 PRO - Review and Installation guide

Hope this helps someone - I compiled all the information I needed to install my ATOTO A6 Pro, and provided a thorough review. Feel free to ask questions. It was a somewhat complicated install.

Materials:

• ATOTO A6 Pro A6Y2721PRB Double DIN Android Car Navigation Stereo - Dual Bluetooth w/aptX - Fast Phone Charge/Ultra Preamplifier - in Dash Entertainment Multimedia Radio,WiFi,Support 256G SD &More
  ATOTO A6 Pro A6Y2721PRB
• $40 Scosche TA2053B Double DIN Radio Install Dash Kit Compatible with Select 2005-2008 Toyota Tacoma - Aftermarket Car Stereo Installation Kit - See Fit Guide in Images to Verify Vehicle Compatibility
  Scosche TA2053B Double Din Installation Dash Kit
• $20 PAC VOLT-39 Adjustable Voltage Adapter, Black
  Pac Volt-39 (For powering rear view camera without the rearview mirror)
• $8 Metra 70-1761 Radio Wiring Harness For Toyota 87-Up Power 4 Speaker
  Metra 70-1761 - Speaker Harness
• $12 Metra Toyota 20-pin Steering Wheel Control Add-on Harness with RCA
  Metra 70-8114 - Steering wheel control harness
• 18-22 gauge butt splice connectors
• Composite RCA Cable (buy a 10’+ cable with a foil shield for video) - For rearview Camera RCA Input to ATOTO
• MOTONG Male to Female USB Cable Adapter for Toyota VIOS/ALTIS (32 * 20mm)
  MOTONG Male to Female USB Cable Charger for Toyota VIOS/ALTIS (35 24mm) - Flush mount USB connection
• $49 ATOTO AC-44P2 1080P USB DVR On-Dash Camera - Sony Sensor Image- Recording Video On Camera End -Compatible with ATOTO A5/ A6/ S8 / P9/ Series. Not Compatible with F7 & P5 & P8 & X10 Series
  ATOTO AC-44P2 - 1080P USB DVR On-Dash Camera
• $27 ATOTO AC-4450 Bluetooth OBDII/ OBD2 Car Diagnostic Scanner/Scan Tool only for ATOTO A6& S8 Series Android Car Stereo - Compatible with Torque App
  ATOTO AC-4450 - Bluetooth OBD dongle for Torque App
• Wire Piercing Electrical Probes (for testing camera wires)

Overview: (After 2 months of ownership)

Radio is fast and responsive, just like a smartphone. Screen is crystal clear and sensitive to touch, sharp display resolution (1024x600), bright enough to view even in direct sunlight. Much sharper than Pioneer/Kenwood screens (840x400). Screen brightness is adjustable. Sound output is crystal clear (no amplifier in my setup - and no noticeable distortion even at max volume on my JL Audio Component speakers).
Built in 13 band equalizer with several preset settings (Rock, rap, ect). Equalizer adjustable, but you cannot save your own pre-set settings.
Overall radio seems excellent, does everything I wanted, no bugs or issues to complain about. Future firmware releases could potentially unlock more features. ATOTO does provide firmware updates (to be manually downloaded/installed). External GPS and WIFI antenna included. It will support factory toyota reverse camera and ATOTO dash camera (sold separately). Also enables steering wheel controls.

Note: You MUST have Wifi-hotspot available on your phone, otherwise you will not be able to provide a data connection for google maps, apps, ect. I have not found a way around this. Also, be sure you have plenty of data.

There are several versions of the ATOTO available. For a list of differences- see the brochure link below . I went with the A6 pro because it has the best quality screen and amplifier. I opted to exclude the gesture control, seems useless when you have steering wheel controls.
Atoto Radio Brochure

Also note that the newest model has flush “capacitive” buttons (behind the glass), which has a big air gap between the glass and the substrate layers of the display. This can result in a parallax effect on the screen, some users complained about that.
Amazon also offers the previous generation which had physical buttons. I went with the physical buttons version, I think it looks better anyways.

Apps:
Full access to the google play app store. Compatible to Torque App for live vehicle information such as RPM, coolant/intake temps, O2 sensor readings, estimated MPG, fault codes, ect. Supports voice activation with Google, Hound, Alexa, and other voice control apps. It doesn’t seem quite as responsive as Siri/Google. I don’t think picture in picture is possible, so if you are using google maps you cannot control your radio/music app by hand (but you can still use steering wheel controls, which gets the job done)


Calls/Texting/Searching:
Operating system is Android 6.0 (Marshmallow). You can add additional apps (Alexa, Hound, Pushbullet) to add features such as voice activation of phone calls, pushing text messages, and voice searches. Voice calling works fine, but hands free texting is not an option (I have not found a way around this yet). There is no text messaging “banner or popup” like you would see displayed on a smartphone.
You can use “Headunit Reloaded” if you want to use Android Auto/Apple Carplay on this unit. I tried the free trial of Headunit Reloaded, it seemed very slow/laggy, so I deleted it.

The ATOTO has a built in phone call app which syncs your contacts, and allows you to manually select favorite contacts to be displayed on a separate menu.

The app store is useful for a variety of other apps, it can be used just like a smartphone. Add your favorite podcast app, let your passenger watch youtube, netflix, ect. The bottom line is, this radio has a ton of capability, but it will take time to set it up for your needs, just like a smartphone

Additional Features:

• Add OBD bluetooth Dongle to use torque ap
• Add Atoto Dash camera - dash video’s can be displayed directly on the radio (easy to prove fault in an accident right on the spot). May support other dashcams, but the Atoto 44P2 is plug and play via USB, 1080P resolution at a bargain price.

Customer Support:
Seems fairly responsive (12-24 hr delay), somewhat helpful if you are familiar with/educated on your problems. Small language barrier. Based 100% in China.

Installation Instructions:
Disclaimer: All modifications performed at your own risk

Radio wiring is simple, pretty much color for color between the ATOTO & Metra harness. Use good quality heat shrink connectors or solder if you feel brave enough.

Steering Wheel Controls:
Use the Metra 70-8814 Harness. Follow the wiring below for connecting the Toyota factory harness to the Atoto Harness. There will be some extra wires on the Metra Harness - you can cut and tape those.

• Atoto Steering Wheel Control # + to Toyota PURPLE AND WHITE (middle one) - with 300 ohm resistor
• Atoto BLACK GROUND to Toyota White/Red stripe
• Atoto Steering Wheel Key + to Toyota Yellow/Black line - with 2000 ohm resistor.

Note: You must place two resistors inline (in series) with the #+ and the + wires. These are absolutely necessary because some of the Toyota button resistances are too low to interface with the ATOTO. I used a 300 ohm resistor on the #+ and a 2000 ohm resistor on the + wire. ATOTO customer support also confirmed this is necessary on the Tacoma (and potentially other vehicles as well). You can use pretty much any size resistors within the 200-10000 ohm range, it’s not picky as long as they are different resistances. After that you can program the buttons, fairly straightforward.

WIRE #+ 300 RESISTOR #+ WIRE
WIRE + 2000 RESISTOR + WIRE


Rearview Camera Wiring:
Youtube Reference - Highly recommend you watch this before doing any wiring:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIZZAtEcBqk&t=621s

There are multiple ways to wire the camera. If you have a factory backup camera, the factory rearview mirror provides a 6 volt output to power the rearview camera.

1. If you want the camera in the rearview mirror and on the ATOTO, then you can just tap into the Camera positive and negative wires, run an RCA to the ATOTO backup camera input. This is the simplest method, since you retain your factory power source.
   
   
2. If you want to disable the rearview mirror and just display on the ATOTO, then follow the wiring below.
   

Note: Disabling the rearview mirror and using a PAC-39 to power the camera should theoretically provide the clearest picture. However I was still disappointed with the picture quality - it looks a bit fuzzy/grainy on the ATOTO, mostly due to the fact that the factory rearview camera is low resolution. Solder your wires and use a good quality component video cable to achieve maximum video quality.

Wiring Method #2: Wire a PAC-39 up above the dome light. PAC-39 to provide 6V power to backup camera. Backup camera positive and negative run to the ATOTO backup camera input.
Tape an 18g wire along the RCA cable, use that for reverse input to the ATOTO unit (activates the rearview camera function). Run the RCA from the dome light, down the A-pillar, under the dash to the ATOTO.

Rearview Mirror Wiring (factory)




PAC Wiring:
PAC39 White/Red (6V OUTPUT to camera) - connect to toyota shielded cable black wire
PAC39 Black (GROUND) - connect to toyota white/black

PAC39 Twist Red and Blue on the PAC together (12V POWER INPUT) - connect to Toyota small gauge RED Reverse wire at the rearview mirror
Note there are TWO red wires going to rearview mirror one is a constant 12V and the other is 12V only when in reverse (should be a smaller gauge wire). Test your wires before disconnecting anything!)

Also connect the reverse wire to that extra wire taped on the RCA, connect other end to ATOTO Reverse wire (pink). In my case, I installed the dash camera at the same time and fed all three wires down into the dash.

You can also use the toyota accessory light green to power the PAC if you want to utilize the backup camera at other times (when driving)

The toyota shielded harness contains the 4 wires going to the reverse camera:

• Black - 6V output to camera (cut and cap mirror side). Connect pac 6V output (white/red) to black
• Shield (Bare Wires) - Camera ground - connect to PAC39 ground
• White - Camera video negative - connect to RCA shield
• Red - Camera video positive - connect to center pin of RCA

Flush Mount USB Connection:
To remove the old aux input, stick your fingers behind the AUX jack inside the dash and pop it out. It’s a tight squeeze.

Pop the new USB connection in, and plug into the USB labeled “EZ-connect” (used for data transfer/mirroring).

Note the ATOTO also has a second USB output for a 2A Quick charge. (Quick charge port does not support mirroring)

 

So glad to see a thread on the forums about this! Hopefully purchasing this in the next few weeks to install in my 2015. Looking forwards to having Torque and Gaia maps right in my dash! How are the steering wheel buttons programmed, any pics of that?

 

OP, would you post a pic of connector I8? Luv to see the additional wires your 2011 has.

They sell a Y harness to mate with I8 but it only taps the ground (#2) and power hot (#8) and IGN (#1)

 

Very thorough write up. I'm looking at s8 myself and would like to know why you went with the a6 instead.

 

I wasn't familiar with the S8 at the time. Looks great - it has a better quality screen, more ram, and android 10.0.

 

Do you have more details or pictures of the steering wheel control wiring?

 

I'm also struggling with the steering wheel controls. I've got the 300 ohm(it's a .25 watt) and the 2000 ohm(also 0.25 watt) resistors installed, and matched appropriately but still can't seem to get any response when programming it.

 

Let me know if you have any breakthroughs, I'm hoping this gentleman will be able to give us a little more detailed schematic

 

@moto823 this was definitely helpful. Thanks for taking the time to put this together. I just buttoned up installing the A6 pro in my truck. Now to learn the functional differences between Wifi VS data VS bluetooth lol. It's a tad confusing when it comes to this unit and how it works with applications...

 

Thank you very much for the write up, helped me greatly on 2012 Tacoma.

I went with ATOTO S8 Standard (wanted SD card slot and USB connection) and it didn't require any resistors to get steering wheel buttons work. Maybe 2012 has better buttons or maybe it's S8, hard to tell, but it's working fine.

 

@Kasbien I'm kind of newbie to touch screen/APP based stereos and have same question. Did you find good resource yet to answer your question above?

My main question is can I run APPS such as Spotify, YouTube, etc. via mirroring from my iPhone using it's cell service versus it's hot spot? when would you have to use Iphone hotspot?

 

Spotify can be run through Apple carplay (no idea how it works with android auto).


Not sure if YouTube has that type of "native" connectivity, but technically you could mirror your screen on the device and play it that way.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9-_aDqAi_Q

 

Thanks Lag! I ordered the A6 "performance" and hope to have it installed in next 2 weeks in my 1st gen Tacoma. Will report back as I couldn't find any reviews on the performance model (just std A6 and A6 Pro).

 

I think, but I could be wrong, the difference generally is ports (sd card, usb, sim card etc.) + amount of memory (ram/hdd) otherwise they run very similar to each other.

 

My A6, dash kit, camera, connectors and a dual usb extension, to replace my lighter socket, will be here today. Since these have no DVD should I do anything with the parking brake green wire. Thanks.

 

Got the A6 installed and very happy with it. Rear camera, nav and wifi are nice upgrades to my old truck.

I have a question regarding the dual usb cables. My truck is a 2008 which only has a single power point and a single lighter port in the lower accessory dash. For me it was a no brainer to remove the lighter assembly. Then I simply pulled the included long usb cables through the old lighter hole. I then bought a round dual port usb extension to mount in the old lighter socket:

$10 BATIGE 2 Ports Dual USB 3.0 Male to USB 3.0 Female AUX Flush Mount Car Mount Extension Cable for Car Truck Boat Motorcycle Dashboard Panel -3ft

$12 BATIGE 2 Ports Dual USB 3.0 Male to USB 3.0 Female AUX Flush Mount Car Mount Extension Cable for Car Truck Boat Motorcycle Dashboard Panel -3ft
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N66N1JK?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
Great idea except I am not disassembling my dash to have access to the nut behind the new dual usb socket. My question is 2 parts. (1) Has anyone found a round dual usb extension socket that snaps into the hole similar to the lighter sleeve or (2) has anyone found a 1-1/8" grommet that fits the old lighter socket to pass the usb cables through. In my opinion the included cables are long enough and I have a 5" long usb c to connect my phone. It works fine as is but it would be nice to clean up and minimize the 1-1/8" hole surrounding the 2 usb cables.

 

Looks great! I just installed same unit in my 2003 with a little modification. I did the same thing with the USB plug and Toyota must have changed diameter of the hole since I had to fight to get the USB plug in there. Of course my access to the back is much easier than your truck so I added the nut as well.

Hopefully someone else will chime in with an idea for you.

 

This is not the final version but gives you an idea of how I moved the climate control panel below the radio.

 

I just made an attempt installing the dual usb flush mount in the lighter hole of my 2008. To get the nut on the back side my fingers need to be around 5" longer. Sure could use ET right now. If you see him tell him to phone home. Returning the usb mount to Amazon. Now also looking at the square body snap-in type. Running to Lowes first to see what they have for hole plugs or grommets.

 

Not perfect but found a grommet that fit inside the black sleeve heat shield. Looks better than a gaping hole.