# Navinc Upgrade of RNS-E



## Jezzie (May 24, 2020)

Anyone familiar with this https://www.navinc.nl/20195672

"Upgrade your Audi with APPplay smartphone interface. APPplay support multimedia via USB, [Apple] CARPLAY & ANDROID Auto & camera to your existing system.
You can run apps from your Phone via CarPlay & Android Auto without touching your Phone. You can control APPplay via the original RNS-E and via voice control (Siri). "


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## MT-V6 (Jan 11, 2015)

I haven't but now I want it! I assume it is a module that is emulating a factory TV tuner. Definitely seems to work well from their demo video


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## barry_m2 (Jun 29, 2015)

I had a little look yesterday and couldn't find a price anywhere for it.


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## Jezzie (May 24, 2020)

barry_m2 said:


> I had a little look yesterday and couldn't find a price anywhere for it.


The uk distributor website doesn't have a price either unless you open a trade account. I've asked for price info...
https://dal-tec.com/product/appplay-car ... -vim-cvbs/


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## Jezzie (May 24, 2020)

barry_m2 said:


> I had a little look yesterday and couldn't find a price anywhere for it.


I got a reply - it's £450 - yes, about £400 too much....
Jez


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## barry_m2 (Jun 29, 2015)

Jezzie said:


> barry_m2 said:
> 
> 
> > I had a little look yesterday and couldn't find a price anywhere for it.
> ...


Wow! Safe to say I'm not going to waste my money on that.


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## SwissJetPilot (Apr 27, 2014)

Seems a bit pricey. Personally, I'd invest in an Android head unit and sell the RNS-E. Paying that kind of money to upgrade an antiquated RNS-E (that doesn't even have a touch screen) makes no sense IMHO.


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## wyx (Dec 21, 2020)

SwissJetPilot said:


> Seems a bit pricey. Personally, I'd invest in an Android head unit and sell the RNS-E. Paying that kind of money to upgrade an antiquated RNS-E (that doesn't even have a touch screen) makes no sense IMHO. .


Agree. This is what I have choosen as well.

Jut calculate the prizes, it will be 2 times more than the android unit and will be much much less powerful.
But I can accept that somebody insists on the original style.


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## MT-V6 (Jan 11, 2015)

That's a shame, it would surely be much more popular at a lower price. It also doesn't look to play nicely with factory PDC and camera which also puts me off giving it a go


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## barry_m2 (Jun 29, 2015)

SwissJetPilot said:


> For that money I'd invest in an Android head unit and sell the RNS-E. Paying that kind of money to upgrade an antiquated RNS-E (that doesn't even have a touch screen) makes no sense IMHO.


I have RNSE in my coupe, and an Android unit in my roadster. I've always been a fan of standard equipment and do like the RNSE, but since fitting and using the Android I actually really like it. I do have the Apple CarPlay dongle too and it works really well. Slower via wifi but I'd expect that and it's not 'that' slow, just a second to respond to music track skipping.

I'm thinking of swapping it over to my coupe and selling the RNSE, and putting the stock unit back in the roadster.


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## armran (Oct 8, 2014)

do you like my modified RNSE system?

CarPc, Windows 7 in dual boot Android Prime OS, Apple CarPlay, touchpanel


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## SwissJetPilot (Apr 27, 2014)

Okay, now that's pretty cool! Care to share how you manged that?


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## armran (Oct 8, 2014)

I installed the Ima basic plus AV interface to simulate TV input, I added dvbt, dvd, several usb inputs in the drawer, I also added a mini computer (carPc) that starts and turns off together with the stereo, in the carPc I installed both Windows and Android x86, via a Carlinkit dongle compatible with Android I added CarPlay; I also have Oem graphic OPS with front and rear sensors, sds full, front and rear camera only that I would like to replace the rear with the OEM system but I have to understand if it is incompatible with IMA BASIC Plus


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## F3rnando (Jun 2, 2016)

armran said:


> I installed the Ima basic plus AV interface to simulate TV input, I added dvbt, dvd, several usb inputs in the drawer, I also added a mini computer (carPc) that starts and turns off together with the stereo, in the carPc I installed both Windows and Android x86, via a Carlinkit dongle compatible with Android I added CarPlay; I also have Oem graphic OPS with front and rear sensors, sds full, front and rear camera only that I would like to replace the rear with the OEM system but I have to understand if it is incompatible with IMA BASIC Plus


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## SwissJetPilot (Apr 27, 2014)

@ *armran* - Impressive! But can it play Crysis 3?


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## armran (Oct 8, 2014)

on android I noticed some apk does not start so it should be tried, perhaps because PrimeOS still needs improvement but there are many android x86 like Phoenix, Lineage etc etc; on windows everything starts quietly;


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## MT-V6 (Jan 11, 2015)

How have you made it touchscreen? That's very cool


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## armran (Oct 8, 2014)

thank you, I'm glad you like it; I have installed a carPc and a touchpanel that controls the carPc; it's just a usb panel that's all


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## armran (Oct 8, 2014)

guys now my RNSE is complete with everything:

1) SDS FULL.

2) DVD

3) dvbt

4) carpc with Windows 7 and Android in dual boot

5) Apple CarPlay / Android auto wireless

6) front camera managed by button perfectly positioned in ashtray

7) RVC Oem r8 with camera perfectly housed in the license plate light

8) OPS with front and rear sensors integrated into the RVC r8 view

9) touch panel to drive the computer and carplay soon I will try to install a software that will include some new functions such as the ability to change the boot image, reading maps from sd and no longer from dvd, album cover image of tracks on sd, speedometer on display, etc. etc.

10) mirroring wireless

11) I added several USB inputs in the drawer, a USB 3.0 socket to the rear central tunnel glovebox, positioned near aux ego installed in the wireless charging station for the phone right in the glovebox of the rear central tunnel&#8230; .invisible&#8230;.!

if we like, watch some video


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## prefuse07 (Oct 3, 2020)

How much total did all of that cost you, if you don't mind me asking?


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## armran (Oct 8, 2014)

it is a bit difficult to answer, considering that IMA BASIC PLUS is at the base of about € 200 + release of moving images, about € 120 more; once you have these things you can develop your system in various ways, from the cheapest Android tv box for about € 20 + CarPlay dongle to using ruspberry or, as I did, by assembling a real carputer but spending much much more


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## prefuse07 (Oct 3, 2020)

Yeah, and you can still upgrade / add more stuff onto it if you'd like, right?

Trying to decide what to do, getting tired of my RNS-E and looking at options


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## armran (Oct 8, 2014)

the main thing is minor RNSE I give an AV input and this you do through IMA BASIC PLUS by Kufatec; you also need the ability to unlock video on the go! having this you can extend your rnse as you want, I As I told you I have installed the wonderful wireless mirroring, I have installed the specific PC for car (carpc) in which I have both Windows7 and Android with wireless CarPlay, you can do whatever you want with the pc ! as far as RVC is concerned, you can take advantage of the same IMA BASIC PLus since it has a dedicated input and you can mount a normal aftermarket camera or do as I did, buy the OEM RVC kit of the r8 and you will have the original system which is wonderful


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## pcbbc (Sep 4, 2009)

armran said:


> release of moving images, about € 120 more


The VIM unlock is much cheaper if you purchase the feature pack for my custom firmware which you mention :wink:

No need for the external hardware in that case, and i believe it works better as it doesn't block speed related CANBUS messages to the headunit (which is how I think the 3rd party solution for this normally works - correct me if I am wrong).


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## armran (Oct 8, 2014)

yes in fact your sw is the definitive solution; I ask you a question; since about 10 years ago I installed the VIM release via a third-party module and since I would like to avoid going to disassemble everything again, by installing your sw do you think that the two VIM release systems will conflict? who will get the better of the two, would I prefer yours ?!


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## pcbbc (Sep 4, 2009)

armran said:


> yes in fact your sw is the definitive solution; I ask you a question; since about 10 years ago I installed the VIM release via a third-party module and since I would like to avoid going to disassemble everything again, by installing your sw do you think that the two VIM release systems will conflict? who will get the better of the two, would I prefer yours ?!


I don't think they will conflict, but the third-party module one (assuming it works the way I think it does) will continue to block speed related messages going to the RNSE when it is activated. That is obviously not ideal for a number of reasons.

If you cannot remove it, it may be possible to disable it. Please refer to the manufacturer/supplier for how you might do that. I don't own one, so have no idea how you might go about this.


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## armran (Oct 8, 2014)




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## Wormrider (6 mo ago)

Is this conversion possible with USA firmware on a RSN-E?


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## TT'sRevenge (Feb 28, 2021)

Wormrider said:


> Is this conversion possible with USA firmware on a RSN-E?


The VIM part is possible with pbbc's firmware (only 15 GBP  ). However the rest of what armran did there is hardware mods--he installed a touchscreen on it and then further installed a CarPC which presumably displays via VIM through the RNS-E and controls by what I'd imagine is a USB interface to the touchscreen.

The cool thing about what he did was he kept the original RNS-E functionality while also adding touch and PC (both Android and Windows) to it.

Edit: Another option is to just use the VIM and then use an RPi to add Android Auto:








Bringing Android Auto to Audi Navigation Plus (RNS-E) using a Raspberry Pi


Starting in 2006, Audi started rolling out a deluxe navigation option across their vehicle fleet. For a now 12-year-old system that…




medium.com





No touch doing this, but also not the hardware modification of the RNS-E itself.


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## Wormrider (6 mo ago)

Coming from a MK6 Golf R the upgrading of an HU was much simpler. I went from a RNS-315 to a RNS-510 to a MIB2. What I would like is the ability to have CarPlay and keep all of the RNS-E functionalities.


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## TT'sRevenge (Feb 28, 2021)

Wormrider said:


> Coming from a MK6 Golf R the upgrading of an HU was much simpler. I went from a RNS-315 to a RNS-510 to a MIB2. What I would like is the ability to have CarPlay and keep all of the RNS-E functionalities.


Yeahhh them's the breaks unfortunately. The RNS-E is more dated tech so that's what you have to deal with here lol. I mean Audi didn't have A2DP in their factory BT on some of their cars out until like 2015 or so, which includes the TT 🤦‍♂️ I mean who knows what they were thinking there but the "infotainment" stuff in these cars is way _behind_ the times the cars actually lived in. So much for "Vorsprung durch Technik"  

Even in the first year of the TT (MY07 in US I think), it was dated in some regards, particularly this one. Audi seems to always refuse to update this stuff until the next model design, so even facelifts don't do much most of the time. Now the RNS-E _was_ updated--192 v. 193 units--so there _were_ some improvements but still nothing as "advanced" as the VWs had from around Mk6 (and advanced in quotes 'cause even they weren't amazing but still way ahead of the RNS-E).

You could replace the HU entirely but some of us (myself included) don't want to spend the money or even change the OE stuff. I have _everything_ replaced stereo-wise in my A3 (and it has been like that basically since I got it), but on the TT, I'm doing everything_ but_ the HU. I think if the TT was my only car I'd definitely replace the HU and not bother with the RNS-E though. 

If you want to have CarPlay on the RNS-E good luck with that. There's the Navinc option (that started this thread) but that's like 700 GBP ($850 USD) and you'd have to import it and all that. I'm sure at that point you'd rather just get an aftermarket HU as that money buys you a pretty nice one. You could do it on an RPi running Android (or any similar Android 'box' with analog video output), and then using one of the rogue Carplay on Android "dongles" but then you'd have the problem that you'd have no way to control it from the RNS-E. Unless of course you do something like the RPi-AA guy did and write your own code in order to interface with CAN commands from the car. Hopefully your coding skills are up to snuff  It might be that hard-modding the RNS to fit a touchscreen would be easier and you could just go that route. 

It almost comes down to a triangle of Time, Skills, Money. If you have a ton of money to spend on this, you won't need much skills or time. If you have the skills and the time, you can do it for much cheaper than that crazy-priced Navinc thing. 

Best of luck! I have a feeling that you'll just replace the HU and call it a day lol.


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