[vignesh207]

Carlinkit 5.0 2Air Review:

This is my review of the Carlinkit 5.0 Wireless Android Auto Adapter which I got for the 2023 Verna. This solves the major problem of connecting the USB cable for Android Auto everytime I step into the car. The cable has wear and tear and caused USB issues on my phone and was disconnecting if I move the phone or if I hit some hard pothole. So I decided this is a must have and went ahead to get a wireless Android Auto adapter.

There are quite a few adapters available for this and I see two frequently bought by fellow BHPians - Ottocast and Carlinkit.

Selection
I checked through the Ottocast website and also tried reaching out to their support to see if it will work on my Verna but couldn't find that Information. Carlinkit also did not explicitly mention it will work but this post from Seltos Facelift review thread (2023 Kia Seltos Facelift Review) confirmed it will work on the Hyundai/Kia 10.25 inch screens.

Purchase Experience:
I saw multiple sellers on Amazon selling Carlinkit 5.0 for around Rs.6400, however, I decided to order from their official store. This is where the confusion begins, there were two sites (https://carlinkitcarplay.com) and (https://www.carlinkit.store/). Both had the same device with same logo and everything. I jumped the gun and ended up ordering the device from here for USD55. Payment done via Paypal. I read somewhere that they will invoice it for USD10 so that we can avoid customs duty (more on this below).

The product shipped from China within a day and they sent a 4px tracking link and the wait started. The product reached Chennai in 12 days and the tracking state moved to "Held by Customs" for 3 days. I got worried but eventually it moved to "Receive at delivery office" and then out for delivery. The product was delivered by India Post exactly 18 days after I ordered. This is where the twist comes. The postman handed a Custom's receipt for around Rs.2400. The invoice was for the original amount of USD55 and a customs duty of 42% was levied. So I ended up paying more than the selling price at amazon India

Unboxing and Setup

The box was simple and had the device, an USB-A to USB-C cable (the one I'll be using), an USB-C to USB-C cable, a small double side tape and an instruction manual.





.

The setup was simple, plug in the device to the Android Auto USB port, the device powes on and the LED turns Blue. On the phone, Scan for Bluetooth devices and connect to Autokit_XXX, it takes couple of seconds the first time and you'll see Android Auto available pop-up on the Car screen and Android Auto opens, just like it would on connecting the phone to the car over USB.


Notice how the device sits snug in the corner leaving enough room for wireless phone charger or your wallet etc.


You can optionally stick the device there, but I didn't as it doesn't move and fits perfectly in the corner.


The Android Auto screen, just as usual, the resoltion is same as wired.

Performance

This is the part that surprised me. There is no lag and the UI is smooth, just as wired connection. The Audio is infact better than wired Android Auto somehow and I don't seem to understand why?!

I made a small video showing the UI smoothness:

https://youtu.be/_0fnwW_KgUM

On the phone, The Wifi is connected to Autokit_C0 and Bluetooth is directly connected to the car (probably that is why the Audio is better??)


For managing the device, checking for updates etc, on Android, there is a downloadable APK on their website for "Autokit tools". It shows some fancy UI with the device status, and gives various options to configure for Video quality, resolution etc. I didn't play around with it as everything was working just fine. I did check for updates but didn't find any yet.



After the first time, the connection is pretty seamless. Keep bluetooth on on your phone, turn on the car, within couple of seconds, the phone connects to the device and Android Auto shows up on the screen. I did not notice any major drop in the battery usage of my phone when connected to wirelessly. There is defintely some drain on the batter because you are not continuously connected but hey, now if the batter becomes low, I can connect to the Fast charging USB-C port to charge my phone and still use Android Auto!

I wanted to check if I will be able to swap the device between my cars. So I removed the device, plugged it on my 2019 Santro, and my phone automatically connected and Android Auto showed up in the correct size and resolution for the smaller screen of the Santro! So yes, we can swap this device between cars without any issues.



Pretty much happy with my purchase and its defintely worth it for Hyundai/Kia cars which don't have wireless AA on its top spec cars.

[Grand Tourer]

Originally Posted by vignesh207

Carlinkit 5.0 2Air Review:
I wanted to check if I will be able to swap the device between my cars. So I removed the device, plugged it on my 2019 Santro, and my phone automatically connected and Android Auto showed up in the correct size and resolution for the smaller screen of the Santro! So yes, we can swap this device between cars without any issues.

[

Perfect review and thanks for answering the burning questions of compatibility and swapability. I am definitely going to go ahead instead of waiting for hyundai to "enable" wireless AA someday on the stereo.

The only thing I wonder is how come they slapped additional customs duty on this. Guess times have changed. Also begs the question of how come we don't have any indian companies making such devices. They can become millionaires overnight

[vignesh207]

Originally Posted by Grand Tourer

Also begs the question of how come we don't have any indian companies making such devices. They can become millionaires overnight

True, all the devices seem to be from China with no Indian options available. The customs duty was a shocker for me also. And more surprising was the post man not accepting UPI or any digital payment and was saying "cash only".

[vaigunth]

Originally Posted by v.bhomawat

This is due to Carbon deposit in throttle body. You'll have to get it cleaned from the service centre. I faced this as well and the service center guy mentioned a few such cases had been popping up.

I had similar issues with my i10 and it was due to poor fuel quality. Try changing the fuelling station may be. I switched to Shell and faced no problems from there on.

[trakesht]

How has everyone's experience with the ventilated seats? While I find the heating to work perfectly, the cooling mode is barely noticeable, with a bit of a cool patch against the thighs and nothing against the back portion of the seat, even after 10mins. I had briefly mentioned this during the first service in winter, but this was brushed aside. I thought I'll check here before taking it to the service center.

[vignesh207]

Originally Posted by trakesht

How has everyone's experience with the ventilated seats?

It's pretty good for me. In Chennai's heat, I almost always keep it on and for the first few minutes I can feel it strong then it feels unnoticeable but actually it does keep me ventilated and not sweaty. If I switch it off, I'll notice the difference, so I feel like it's silently keeping my back and let's ventilated.

[PeteKing75]

Originally Posted by trakesht

How has everyone's experience with the ventilated seats?

The cooling works very well in Bangalore's scorching summer this year. If I feel tired, I use the heated seats which work like a light massager and if it is hot and sultry I use the cooling seats. Other car companies should learn from Hyundai on how to keep the customers happy with these features really!

[Grand Tourer]

Originally Posted by vignesh207

True, all the devices seem to be from China with no Indian options available. The customs duty was a shocker for me also. And more surprising was the post man not accepting UPI or any digital payment and was saying "cash only".

"Cash only" in this upi age. Looks like someone in the post office knows how not to leave a paper trail. Really sad. The post office must have closed early for a team outing. Wonder how many people had biryani that day!!!

Anyways on a positive note, I ordered it from Amazon as I was eyeing this since long but thanks to your review, I went full steam ahead. Got it in a couple of days. Tested it in both the Verna and i20 N8 (same 10.25 inch screens). I must say that at the first go, the launch of the device, setup and streaming of maps, music and the overall interface was really quick. Once setup in the first car, switching to the second car didn't even need any setup by the device. All in all, the carlinkit version 5 is a total change compared to the slow sluggish performance of version 4 that I had earlier.

Regarding battery drain, I've not tested it but I'm using a standby phone ie a Samsung M14 5g for all my navigation and music needs when on the bike and in the cars. So hopefully I will not have battery drain for my main phone.

Overall a good purchase. I've rolled all my cables and have put them away

[PeteKing75]

Originally Posted by Grand Tourer

Anyways on a positive note, I ordered it from Amazon as I was eyeing this since long but thanks to your review, I went full steam ahead.

I also want to roll my cables and use CarPlay in wireless mode, could you please share which model did you buy from Amazon?

[Grand Tourer]

Originally Posted by PeteKing75

I also want to roll my cables and use CarPlay in wireless mode, could you please share which model did you buy from Amazon?

Sure, here you go. Link

[baridbej]

Recently, I had two back-to-back accidents with my new Verna.

One was frontal when the car slid, and the tyre hit a rock in front. Nothing happened, but a scratch happened under the bumper. This happened in Ooty while trying to avoid a major fool coming from the wrong side. In the second accident, the car was on the right side of the road, and a Tempo came from behind and hit the car's left side. This caused damage to the car's left side mirror and broke the left side handle. It also put four parallel scratches on the two door panels. Thankfully, both times, my PPF saved me.

Under bumper scratches are not visible untill you bend down and see, PPF took it. Then the scratches on the door were removed using compounding on PPF (again, PPF took it, and there was no dent on the body), but the mirror had to be painted, and also the door handle had to be replaced... Thanks to "Keerthi Car Care" for providing good care and good quality PPF. They did not even suggest that I make any change to PPF or put an extensive amount into doing anything on the car—both times, they serviced it for free. Painting work on the side mirror is pending, as well as a re-application of PPF on the mirror cap.

But the reason why I posted this is that both times, ADAS did not warn or give an emergency brake. Most of the time, even while parking my car, if any car/vehicle passes by at a distance, it will show a "collision warning" and put breaks, but in actual situations, it does not. Is it because the camera could not detect the first one because it was under the radar (as it was under the front bumper), and for the second, it was from the side with the car standing still?.. Having doubts. No wonder I am frustrated as both times, with no fault of mine, my baby got bashed, but will a dashcam avoid this with ADAS? or is the ADAS just not suitable for this situation?

N.B: I have already bought a Quobo 4k front and rear dashcam.

[PeteKing75]

Originally Posted by baridbej

Recently, I had two back-to-back accidents with my new Verna.

One was frontal when the car slid, and the tyre hit a rock in front. In the second accident, the car was on the right side of the road, and a Tempo came from behind and hit the car's left side.

For the first accident, am not sure if the ADAS would have worked if it was a small rock. If you had started it from Parking, the parking sensors should have caught it, but since the car was in motion and you had to change direction suddenly, this is not applicable. For the second accident, when a tempo hit your car from the back, ADAS surely cannot help.

A 360 camera might have helped in the first accident, but the event seems to have occurred suddenly leaving no time for intervention!

[BhayanaV]

Originally Posted by vignesh207

True, all the devices seem to be from China with no Indian options available. The customs duty was a shocker for me also. And more surprising was the post man not accepting UPI or any digital payment and was saying "cash only".

Customs duty applies for i guess shipments above USD 50. Ali Express always used to invoice less than that to avoid duties, you can ask the vendor to the same.

[Sandeep M]

Originally Posted by vignesh207

Carlinkit 5.0 2Air Review:

The postman handed a Custom's receipt for around Rs.2400. The invoice was for the original amount of USD55 and a customs duty of 42% was levied. So I ended up paying more than the selling price at amazon India

That's weird. I also ordered from the same site, but never had to pay for customs duty. I did get a discount after entering a coupon code though. So got it for 5k.

[vignesh207]

Originally Posted by Sandeep M

That's weird. I also ordered from the same site, but never had to pay for customs duty. I did get a discount after entering a coupon code though. So got it for 5k.

Yes the same discount code worked for me also, and I paid only around 4.8k (USD55). However, on the box there was an invoice for 55USD so customs did their duty