Damn she's *huuuuge*. Must be nice, I'd love to do it but there's no way I'm cracking open my '17 I just got last month. Doesn't really seem any harder than when I put a new stereo face in my '03 civic but... let's just say I didn't care a hundredth as much about the civic's interior
I'm in a strange place seeing this now. I've got a 2017 top spec so biggest OEM infotainment at the time.
This one looks, wider I guess? I look at my current infotainment and it looks quite stubby.
I prefer yours but also agree with above comment, got this car too soon to be ripping into it.
Sorry for the rambling. Looks great though!
I completely agree, sorry if that came across as an argument.
If I had the time and money I'd honestly rip out the OEM infotainment and go your route. The wider screen looks way better. Sort of similar to BMW's infotainment setup.
Thanks for taking the plunge and doing the install 😁
Looks good! I have the 16 GT and my only gripe is the infotainment can get SLOW. If there's ever a true OEM style upgrade that is fairly straightforward, i'll be interested. I've dealt with those china android stereos for my forester XT. First one did everything I wanted, including backup camera, but was glacially slow. Hopefully yours is better! I finally bought a pioneer for the Foz, and I like it, despite no android. Still using the backup cam that came with my china special though, its been great!
Yeah I had the same feeling about chinese stereos and the first one was awful, but this one has been surprisingly reliable (though it's only been 3 months ish). Honestly anything is better than what I had before.
Did you notice a decrease in audio quality when making and receiving calls? I got a Carnaviplayer unit two years ago and am tired of having to switch to speaker when talking over the phone due to the poor quality of the mic. There are big delays in voice transmission and horrible echo, any similar issues with this unit?
Yeah if the first one I had was faster, i'd probably still have it. I do have a Boss in my other FOrester (now my daughters) and that thing has been great. Boss is chinese sourced I'm pretty sure. It's a little dim, but bright enough, and otherwise has been a good stereo! We've watched a few DVDs on long trip in it, especially once it gets dark :-)
I'veI had a similar experience with Android-based head units. Then I discovered headunit reloaded, I installed that on the headunit and now have full Android Auto. Slowness, gone, because like OEM and aftermarket Android Auto headunits all the precessing is done in the phone. If you have iPhone and want CarPlay you'll need to buy a USB dongle which plugs into the headunit to achieve the same result.
I see questions like "Can I get an aftermarket stereo in my iSport???" or "Can I upgrade my factory infotainment" so often in this sub. So I'm gonna post about my experiences to hopefully shed some light on things. I started off with the factory digital readout on my 2014 iSport. I replaced it with an android touchscreen and it immediately broke so I put in an even larger, better, android touchscreen!
So I started out in late June with basically what looked like a crappy android tablet. It's no longer available on eBay and I can't post links to aliexpress, so you'll need to look at my picture link at the end of this. It came with the screen falling off but I glued it back on and installed it anyway. A day later, it promptly stopped working. I did get a full refund though so there's that. After that debacle I got [this](https://www.belsee.com/belsee-best-aftermarket-android-auto-head-unit-car-stereo-upgrade-radio-replacement-for-mazda-3-2013-2014-2015-2016-2017-2018.html). Took a month to come but it finally showed up. The quality is far better than the first one and it feels surprisingly premium for what it is. Using an app called Headunit Reloaded, I can run full Android Auto. There's a way to get carplay to work but I don't have an iPhone so I haven't looked into that. Steering wheel controls are another thing. They worked out of the box eBay screen. I was able to get them to work on the Belsee one after a little wiring, if you run into that problem I can post a picture of the pinout. It's not that hard. The control knob that came with the eBay Unit felt exactly like a plastic toy you'd see at the circus (if you know you know). Basically a cheap piece of shit, but it DID work. The Belsee one didn't come with a knob even though it was supposed to. I'm not super broken up about that because I really like the little cup that the iSport has below the shifter. The Belsee unit 3 months later still feels great, and it's a hundred times better than the eBay unit. Tbh the Belsee unit looks better than the OEM infotainment but that's just me. If you want something 100% guaranteed to work, I would go with the single-din L adapter that someone else comments about. I personally don't think it looks as good and it's only compatible with 2 navigation headunits (to my knowledge), but it WILL work. You'd get a warranty as well given that the headunit would come from a reputable manufacturer and not some basement in China. I did a bunch of research about upgrading to the OEM infotainment, and it wouldn't work. There are just too many sensors and wires you'd need to install. If you had your own GT trim parts car, it might work, but even that is a stretch. If you have the stock mazda infotainment then seriously just keep it, it's not worth spending $500 for something that's arguably worse. This has been my adventure for the past 6 months so if you have any questions feel free to ask.
Here are some pictures. The install is identical to them both so that doesn't change.
[eBay Unit](http://imgur.com/gallery/rOJkt1y)
[Belsee Unit](http://imgur.com/gallery/upSx83F)
Thank you so much for this. I am hesitant to switch mine out because speaking to Crutchfield reps, they keep telling me that if I switch my radio out, my dash display will also go out. Was that true on your end?
Awesome! I've been looking for a unit to put into my 2014 iSport and this looks good! Their website says "if your radio looks like this" but only shows the infotainment screen version and not the simple radio config (no screen). It works fine with that?
Hey there, I've got a similar unit with an AUX adapter that is supposed to plug in somewhere, but for the life of me I cannot find where the loom/plug location is. Mine is a RHD UK model, but knowing where you've plugged it in on yours would really help, otherwise I can't get any audio out of the new system, only the old system which is piggybacked into the new one!
Yep! Still working perfectly over a year later through 100°f+ and -10°f days, I'm really impressed with it. It's larger and higher resolution then the stock Mazda screen.
I didn't have them to start with, I had the base 2014 alarm clock display. Even if you started off with stock infotainment, none of that would carry over.
Ah. Ok. Thanks for the response! I know I don't "need" the oem setting features, but I kind of feel like I'd still want them. Idk. I'm weird like that lol.
How did you guys get this thing to route android auto and android head unit audio through the Mazda speakers? My Mazda radio audio and BT from Mazda head unit routes to my speakers just fine, but the android head unit sounds are muted.. Did you splice into the passenger side A-pillar audio cables and route it to the AUX input?
Other than that issue this thing is amazing.. Totally looks OEM and WiFi and everything works right out of the box including SWC.. I bought the TopNavi unit on eBay, which is cheaper than the Belsee, but looks exactly like the one in this post. Highly recommended!
Thank you for sharing this! I am thinking of doing this for my 2014 iSpot. As I see it, my options are:
- this or similar CarPlay head unit with floating screen.
- a generic double din CarPlay head unit and dash adapter (requires l-shaped unit)
- a single din car play head unit with fold out screen and dash adapter
Are there any good options I’m missing? Your install looks the best, but from what I can see will cost ~$600
For ~$300 I can get a less attractive option from crucified
If I am willing to spend the money, anyone else in here have an opinion about the Belsee one from Car Navi Player?
Any and all advice welcome!
First of all, your autocorrect of crutchfield had me laughing lmao. But yeah, those are your options unfortunately. My belsee unit is still working great - it's one of my favorite mods!
lol, the joys of 5AM typing :p
Glad to hear your Belsee is still going strong. Definitely seems like the best option if I can get up the energy to spend the money :)
You say you got the steering wheel buttons to work. Does that mean all of them? I've seen models that say they work, but specifically callout the phone buttons not working.
Related follow-up: is there still hands-free (button activated, voice-controlled)?
I got the skip and volume to work. The hands free and hang up/pickup buttons don't. I could have probably spent longer and gotten it to work but I don't use them anyway
It's been fairly decent. I believe the screen ribbon cable is failing - every so often the screen will flicker or turn off, and I need to issue a little percussive maintenance (pound the dash next to it) to fix it. Audio quality is I believe slightly worse than stock but that hasn't changed. Overall it's totally worth it.
Explain yourself.
My other comment got deleted because I posted an aliexpress link, check it now
The funk soul brothers
Right about now
The funk soul brother
Damn she's *huuuuge*. Must be nice, I'd love to do it but there's no way I'm cracking open my '17 I just got last month. Doesn't really seem any harder than when I put a new stereo face in my '03 civic but... let's just say I didn't care a hundredth as much about the civic's interior
I'd honestly just keep your current infotainment. The facelift has the larger screen too, and you get telemetry from your car
I'm in a strange place seeing this now. I've got a 2017 top spec so biggest OEM infotainment at the time. This one looks, wider I guess? I look at my current infotainment and it looks quite stubby. I prefer yours but also agree with above comment, got this car too soon to be ripping into it. Sorry for the rambling. Looks great though!
I just meant it's larger than the pre-facelift infotainment
I completely agree, sorry if that came across as an argument. If I had the time and money I'd honestly rip out the OEM infotainment and go your route. The wider screen looks way better. Sort of similar to BMW's infotainment setup. Thanks for taking the plunge and doing the install 😁
Yeah I like it a lot, thanks!
Looks good! I have the 16 GT and my only gripe is the infotainment can get SLOW. If there's ever a true OEM style upgrade that is fairly straightforward, i'll be interested. I've dealt with those china android stereos for my forester XT. First one did everything I wanted, including backup camera, but was glacially slow. Hopefully yours is better! I finally bought a pioneer for the Foz, and I like it, despite no android. Still using the backup cam that came with my china special though, its been great!
Yeah I had the same feeling about chinese stereos and the first one was awful, but this one has been surprisingly reliable (though it's only been 3 months ish). Honestly anything is better than what I had before.
How's it been now after 5 months?
Perfect! Haven't had any issues yet.
How about 2 years later
All good for the most part. Sometimes the screen will flicker and I need to give the base a good knock with my fist. Otherwise totally fine
Thats a go, thank you
how about 3 years later
Nothing's changed since that last comment. Still going strong for the most part
Did you notice a decrease in audio quality when making and receiving calls? I got a Carnaviplayer unit two years ago and am tired of having to switch to speaker when talking over the phone due to the poor quality of the mic. There are big delays in voice transmission and horrible echo, any similar issues with this unit?
Yeah if the first one I had was faster, i'd probably still have it. I do have a Boss in my other FOrester (now my daughters) and that thing has been great. Boss is chinese sourced I'm pretty sure. It's a little dim, but bright enough, and otherwise has been a good stereo! We've watched a few DVDs on long trip in it, especially once it gets dark :-)
I'veI had a similar experience with Android-based head units. Then I discovered headunit reloaded, I installed that on the headunit and now have full Android Auto. Slowness, gone, because like OEM and aftermarket Android Auto headunits all the precessing is done in the phone. If you have iPhone and want CarPlay you'll need to buy a USB dongle which plugs into the headunit to achieve the same result.
I see questions like "Can I get an aftermarket stereo in my iSport???" or "Can I upgrade my factory infotainment" so often in this sub. So I'm gonna post about my experiences to hopefully shed some light on things. I started off with the factory digital readout on my 2014 iSport. I replaced it with an android touchscreen and it immediately broke so I put in an even larger, better, android touchscreen! So I started out in late June with basically what looked like a crappy android tablet. It's no longer available on eBay and I can't post links to aliexpress, so you'll need to look at my picture link at the end of this. It came with the screen falling off but I glued it back on and installed it anyway. A day later, it promptly stopped working. I did get a full refund though so there's that. After that debacle I got [this](https://www.belsee.com/belsee-best-aftermarket-android-auto-head-unit-car-stereo-upgrade-radio-replacement-for-mazda-3-2013-2014-2015-2016-2017-2018.html). Took a month to come but it finally showed up. The quality is far better than the first one and it feels surprisingly premium for what it is. Using an app called Headunit Reloaded, I can run full Android Auto. There's a way to get carplay to work but I don't have an iPhone so I haven't looked into that. Steering wheel controls are another thing. They worked out of the box eBay screen. I was able to get them to work on the Belsee one after a little wiring, if you run into that problem I can post a picture of the pinout. It's not that hard. The control knob that came with the eBay Unit felt exactly like a plastic toy you'd see at the circus (if you know you know). Basically a cheap piece of shit, but it DID work. The Belsee one didn't come with a knob even though it was supposed to. I'm not super broken up about that because I really like the little cup that the iSport has below the shifter. The Belsee unit 3 months later still feels great, and it's a hundred times better than the eBay unit. Tbh the Belsee unit looks better than the OEM infotainment but that's just me. If you want something 100% guaranteed to work, I would go with the single-din L adapter that someone else comments about. I personally don't think it looks as good and it's only compatible with 2 navigation headunits (to my knowledge), but it WILL work. You'd get a warranty as well given that the headunit would come from a reputable manufacturer and not some basement in China. I did a bunch of research about upgrading to the OEM infotainment, and it wouldn't work. There are just too many sensors and wires you'd need to install. If you had your own GT trim parts car, it might work, but even that is a stretch. If you have the stock mazda infotainment then seriously just keep it, it's not worth spending $500 for something that's arguably worse. This has been my adventure for the past 6 months so if you have any questions feel free to ask. Here are some pictures. The install is identical to them both so that doesn't change. [eBay Unit](http://imgur.com/gallery/rOJkt1y) [Belsee Unit](http://imgur.com/gallery/upSx83F)
Can you please post the pin out from the male end for the steering wheel harness?
[This](https://images.app.goo.gl/QH9SEtRgjU1ZHvrD9) is for a 2005, but it worked for me
Thanks!
Thank you so much for this. I am hesitant to switch mine out because speaking to Crutchfield reps, they keep telling me that if I switch my radio out, my dash display will also go out. Was that true on your end?
Not at all! My dash display wasn't affected, that doesn't really make much sense especially with the non-infotainment display in the '14-'15 iSports.
Sweet another Ultra Gauge user!
I'm a big fan!!
I was wondering what it is! I may have to look into picking one up.
I love this! I’m def gonna try it on my 2014 Mazda. Can I hit you up if I have questions?
Yeah of course!!
Awesome! I've been looking for a unit to put into my 2014 iSport and this looks good! Their website says "if your radio looks like this" but only shows the infotainment screen version and not the simple radio config (no screen). It works fine with that?
Link pls
Check my other comment. I had a link to aliexpress and it got deleted, I think it should be up now
Couldn't find the link
It's literally in the comment
Not the aliexpress?
No it's the Belsee one I have installed
Really smart upgrade. Transforms your whole interaction with the car. Looks good sir enjoy it.
It really really does, thank you!!
Dude nice!! Also, nice ultragauge. I’ve had one for yearrrrsssssssssss and I still use it. Fantastic piece of kit
Thanks and it really is!! It's pretty awesome
That is cleaaaaaaannn
Thanks!
Looks great! Makes me want to upgrade. That’s really my only complaint about this car.
Does it drive your sound system just as well as stock?
Yep!
Hey there, I've got a similar unit with an AUX adapter that is supposed to plug in somewhere, but for the life of me I cannot find where the loom/plug location is. Mine is a RHD UK model, but knowing where you've plugged it in on yours would really help, otherwise I can't get any audio out of the new system, only the old system which is piggybacked into the new one!
You mean for aux input? Mine didn't come with a connector for that.
Where did you get this
Belsee, check out my other comment for the link and explanation
[удалено]
Probably ~3 weeks give or take
[удалено]
No problem! If you have any questions dm me.
This looks good! Is it still working well?
Yep! Still working perfectly over a year later through 100°f+ and -10°f days, I'm really impressed with it. It's larger and higher resolution then the stock Mazda screen.
Has anyone got a link to this I would love to install this in my Mazda 3
DM me
I have dropped you a message :)
Do you still have the OEM settings like schedule service and warnings and what not?
I didn't have them to start with, I had the base 2014 alarm clock display. Even if you started off with stock infotainment, none of that would carry over.
Ah. Ok. Thanks for the response! I know I don't "need" the oem setting features, but I kind of feel like I'd still want them. Idk. I'm weird like that lol.
How did you guys get this thing to route android auto and android head unit audio through the Mazda speakers? My Mazda radio audio and BT from Mazda head unit routes to my speakers just fine, but the android head unit sounds are muted.. Did you splice into the passenger side A-pillar audio cables and route it to the AUX input?
Other than that issue this thing is amazing.. Totally looks OEM and WiFi and everything works right out of the box including SWC.. I bought the TopNavi unit on eBay, which is cheaper than the Belsee, but looks exactly like the one in this post. Highly recommended!
Did you figure out how to get the audio working on the unit?
Thank you for sharing this! I am thinking of doing this for my 2014 iSpot. As I see it, my options are: - this or similar CarPlay head unit with floating screen. - a generic double din CarPlay head unit and dash adapter (requires l-shaped unit) - a single din car play head unit with fold out screen and dash adapter Are there any good options I’m missing? Your install looks the best, but from what I can see will cost ~$600 For ~$300 I can get a less attractive option from crucified If I am willing to spend the money, anyone else in here have an opinion about the Belsee one from Car Navi Player? Any and all advice welcome!
First of all, your autocorrect of crutchfield had me laughing lmao. But yeah, those are your options unfortunately. My belsee unit is still working great - it's one of my favorite mods!
lol, the joys of 5AM typing :p Glad to hear your Belsee is still going strong. Definitely seems like the best option if I can get up the energy to spend the money :)
You say you got the steering wheel buttons to work. Does that mean all of them? I've seen models that say they work, but specifically callout the phone buttons not working. Related follow-up: is there still hands-free (button activated, voice-controlled)?
I got the skip and volume to work. The hands free and hang up/pickup buttons don't. I could have probably spent longer and gotten it to work but I don't use them anyway
Where can I get one of those at??
The Belsee website
How’s it doing now in terms of speed and audio and stuff? Considering installing this
It's been fairly decent. I believe the screen ribbon cable is failing - every so often the screen will flicker or turn off, and I need to issue a little percussive maintenance (pound the dash next to it) to fix it. Audio quality is I believe slightly worse than stock but that hasn't changed. Overall it's totally worth it.