1st gen tundras! Touch Screen head unit. Who's got what?

It's not that the startup screen is annoying, I barely notice it. The inability to change the startup logo, as you could with predecessors to this unit, is annoying. I might not've been clear on that. I would prefer to have a stock Toyota logo or animation at startup, maybe with an Alpine logo in a corner, just for that OEM+ look.

And as far as background screen changing, I've never felt the need to do it. I don't think it's possible with the firmware that came on my unit. I haven't looked at the latest firmware to see if it supports changing startup screen or background. It may be possible today, not sure.

Auto-dimming can be turned off. I'm pretty sure it's off on mine. I adjusted the brightness once or twice after install, haven't touched in a couple years since.

I don't mind knobless, mostly b/c I've become so accustomed to having steering wheel volume controls in all of our vehicles. I prefer having a knob, I'm definitely that kinda person, and it would likely drive me nuts just using the buttons, i.e. if I had no steering wheel controls. If that were the case, I'd probably go with a Toyota 86 radio like @empty_lord and @assassin10000 just to get the knob. I happen to have one, got it used, hoping it actually works.

Don't use Android phones (work dependency), so can't comment on wireless connectivity w/Android. Check reviews @ Crutchfield for commentary on stuff like this, I guess. Just know, for every one person who comments positive things about performance, there's 30 people who only came to bitch because that one thing didn't work... i.e. weight the bad reviews knowing most people are too lazy to post good news.

I never experience what @FirstGenVol does, neither with the iPhone 6S+ I had when I got the unit, my current iPhone 8+, nor my wife's iPhone 11 and now 12. That sounds like the kind of thing a firmware update will fix. Updating firmware is pretty easy as long as you have access to the USB port. Just format a thumb drive, slap a file on it, and plug it into USB. This is one of two reasons I did the remote USB port install mod. Don't want to pop off the dash surround to update, if ever needed. (They generally tell you not to update unless you're experiencing issues, or there's a major feature update).

Can't speak to lines on camera; still haven't wired camera up. It's long overdue. But yeah, from what others have shown, you get parking assist lines. EDIT: Camera install is done, see here: https://www.tundras.com/posts/3199439/

Honestly, overall like/dislike? This unit truly feels like an "OEM+" unit. The feel, function of it, it's all good. Using the unit is very easy, the menus are intelligent, and I find I very, very rarely ever need to touch the screen, except to change time. But to that point, this is 95%+ of my usage:

• Setup bluetooth initially for any phones that will ever be in my car
• Set the radio to bluetooth input once, the first day of install
• From that day forward, all audio comes from it auto-linking w/my phone at startup (bluetooth calls, bluetooth audio streaming, bluetooth maps, bluetooth SMS msg)

I rarely ever use OTA radio. I don't use CarPlay, AirPlay or any of that fancy shit where you control apps from the radio face. Only Bluetooth audio, and if I need to change station, I do it on my phone, if I need to change songs/volume, do that via steering controls. If you're a serial fidgeter or like CarPlay-like stuff where you're tinkering with apps on the head unit directly, YMMV from my experience.

Overall, the radio has been great, and what I usually expect from Alpine. Out of all the other brands on the market today, I generally prefer their offerings over Pioneer, Sony, and others.

The only annoying thing for me, I think, it was true with the Kenwood head I had previously so I may be confused: I had to turn off the time auto-update crap. I hate when radios get their time from the device that's connected by Bluetooth for sharing data/audio.

 

Interesting review by shifty.
I have no amps installed and sub boxes are all unfinished but I can barely drive without CarPlay. Hence pioneer for wireless CarPlay. I still usually plug it in to charge.
It’s really nice to have on screen nav.
And I love the time set from the phone. Love it.
Different strokes for different folks.

 

It's the main reason I mention it. It's a pet peeve for me on customer reviews - there are a thousand ways to use your radio.

I prefer never touching the radio, for any reason, whatsoever. Main reason I got a truck with steering wheel controls, or at least the option to easily plug-and-play upgrade to steering wheel controls, that was an actual prerequisite I wrote down when hunting for a truck. But I also know a lot of people aren't like me in that regard, hence bringing it up.

I can use my phone blindfolded because of how I keep everything laid out and nested in menus. I prefer my phone being the "controller" in that regard.

 

Just turning the knife in my heart! One day, shifty, one day! I will manifest my wheel audio.

Fully agree. But CarPlay I do on the phone. Screen just does the display. Sometimes I will touch the screen to start nav after a fuel up or accept a call or say “cop not there” on waze. But the rest I use the phone for.

maybe Bluetooth can do nav too? I’m just so married to CarPlay. Can’t really handle that my ‘05 doesn’t have it. But really trying to resist because the point of the ‘05 is to park in sketchy spots since it’s small and basic.

 

Bluetooth basically does everything I need. I either open WAZE or gMaps, input my endpoint, start, and you get all the directions through the radio speakers. I've had some radios in the past where, if there's no active bluetooth audio streaming, you won't hear directions but I don't recall that being the case w/my Alpine.

Best part is, if I stop the car to fill up gas or take a leak, I don't have to set it all back up again after - GPS was on my phone, which is still going, so it goes back to over-the-radio announcements once bluetooth re-links.

 

But no map? S, I suck at driving, I need maps to figure out the freeway exits and turns and stuff when I'm somewhere strange. I know it makes me way more dumb as a driver being a sheep, but I miss turns a lot without it, at least until I know the route well.
I turn off all audio prompts, find that super annoying.
I suspected you were just way more manly than me as far driving skills go
The waze police alerts were kinda nice, not that anyone even looked twice at an '02 Tundra going the speed limit.

 

I like keeping my hands at 10-and-2, and eyes on the road, audio directions are important. I've been in enough accidents in my lifetime, I tend to drive with my head on a swivel between mirrors and road. ATL has changed me as a driver, frankly, in a way that I don't like. I'll be happier when driving isn't a BP-raising event.

I have found though, I'm starting to have more difficulty interpreting what the audio directions are. Other than some tinnitus starting up, nothing has changed with my hearing in the last 6-10 years, I think my brain is just not working the same anymore. Maybe I'll change. I dunno. I do change, sometimes.

I started using CarPlay style stuff with Entune when I got my '13 Camry. It just bothered me to no end, so I stopped and haven't looked back. I guess old habits die hard.

I'm also someone who looks at the turns and street names on the route in advance and that tends to stick in my brain, so the audio is purely supplemental. I grew up driving 100k's of miles w/paper maps of the eastern seaboard & a national map in the glovebox and rear seat pockets. GPS isn't "natural" for me, it's just a nice crutch.

 

I wonder how much is location specific.

on the way to the airport / from the airport, I have to use 3 different freeways and exits are on different sides. Also north and south bound as well as east and west and combos with more than one number. I missed the turns the first 3 trips because I lagged or jumped the gun. One tough one over the River w immediate exit on the right side but you enter in the left lanes.

The visuals are super important for me. Especially when there is an off ramp with a split.

 

I find audio useless. I know I’m supposed to take an exit most of the time. Just not sure which of the 8 lanes to be in at any time.

 

BTW, I was curious and bored so I looked it up. Looks like this is the latest Firmware version post from them, made about 12mos ago. Firmware download and instructions are in a PDF attached to that post. Looking at the instructions, bugfix list looks highly likely they probably fixed your audio issue:

 

Sooooo.... when you buy a new radio, is it already updated with the latest software or is that dependent on the user to do?

Anyways, loving this feed back!

 

Yep. I'm using Android Auto.

I would say yes unless you get unlucky with old stock that's been on a shelf a long time.

 

Thanks for the in-depth comments! So much better than some of the fairly useless online. "I like it", "It works" reviews.

Noted that the

$280 Alpine iLX-W650 7" Double DIN Touchscreen Digital Multimedia Receiver with Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto

Alpine iLX-W650 is on sale at Amazon and Crutchfield for $329 until the end of the month. I don't spend that much time driving it and was just looking for a basic head unit/screen with a backup cam for about half that, but that's a tough deal to pass up. Another concern is that I have to park it outside. We're in a nice, quiet neighborhood, but I though putting a crappy no-name head unit in might deter would-be bad guys, but I guess you can't tell what's in there at 3 am, so maybe it wouldn't make any difference anyway. Hmmmmm...

 

Have installed a number of aftermarket stereos over the years and my experience has been mixed. Some are up-to-date, others needed at least one, some two updates. Like @FirstGenVol said, guess it depends on how long it's been sitting on the shelf. Even if you get the harness pre-wired at Crutchfield (which makes it practically plug and play), I doubt they go through the effort to update. Worth asking them though.

My rule of thumb has been, if it ain't broke... IOW, if it does everything I want and doesn't have any issues, I leave it alone. I've updated a couple that ended up needing a reset to factory. Got them working okay again, but lost all of my settings/memory of course.

 

The good thing about the Alpine, having no visible buttons or easily visible logos on the screen lespecially with the earlier-model trucks where it fits perfectly in the dash with no gaps around the outside, it looks OEM, like it's just a touchscreen screen.

I'm not saying someone won't smash your window, but just look at most of the radios on Crutchfield these days, it's blatantly obvious most are aftermarket, no vehicle manufacturer uses the types of buttons and knobs, so those are clearly NOT OEM when someone peeks in your window.

Your best protection with audio theft if you park on the street is to not leave anything in the vehicle that would lead to a window smash, and don't advertise with aftermarket speaker grilles, etc. that send a clear flag to a would-be opportunistic thief you have stuff worth stealing inside.

tl;dr version - You get what you get; it's your job to update, always. Whether you NEED to update pivots on if you find a buggy/erratic behavior that'd normally be fixed w/an update. And sometimes, as @ThatYeti found out recently, especially w/Android-based head units, updates can sometimes be a PITA.

 

Totally agree and makes sense. It's parked in our driveway and the garage/exterior lights are on it all night and I don't even leave my sunglasses out!

 

I'm going with @daveeasa on the CarPlay/Android auto thing. Not sure that you've used it on anything before but it is a must have for me. I'd make sure whatever radio you get has that. Most these days do, and maybe you could even find one that supports wireless, though you need to make sure your phone supports wireless as well.

 

The Pioneers I have in two of our vehicles have wireless Apple CarPlay. Jump in and go.. no wires to connect, phone never out of pocket. Works great. Just didn't need much of anything special in the 'ol Tundra more than a backup camera since I'm in and out of it pretty quickly on my runs to Home Depot or whatever. Paranoid about backing into our garage door.

 

I just installed a Kenwood Excelon

$349 DMX709S eXcelon 6.95" Capacitive Touch Screen, Car Stereo, CarPlay and Android Auto, Bluetooth, AM/FM HD Radio, MP3 Player, USB Port, Double DIN, 13-Band EQ, SiriusXM

DMX709S, I got a package deal with a Kenwood backup camera. I’ve always been an Excelon guy, they have killer SQ and tons of adjustments, this is my first without a CD player though. This is a high-mid level receiver, with HDMI, Serius XM, HD radio (I friggin hate broadcast radio any more though), Apple car play (not wireless), a bunch of Android stuff, yada yada ya. So far it meets all my expectations for Sound Quality, but, i didn’t realize until after it was installed that it does not play back my Ipod touch via usb - bluetooth only.

 

Stuffed a Pioneer DMH-241EX in last month. Excellent value for $200. The volume controls are inconvenient, so I Velcroed the remote just to the left of the map lights. Very functional in combination with an AMZ Joyroom motorized phone holder/Qi charger and a pair of JBL 621F in the doors. Still have to install the B/U camera (for trailer hookups).

 

That is a very good price! I've always had very good luck with Pioneer stereos. Hadn't seen that one before, thanks for the tip!

 

Yeah, this is the first Kenwood Excelon head unit I’ve bought that didn’t come with the remote in the box - they wanted like $40 for it! But, while looking at that $40 purchase on A-zon, I saw the exact same remote without the Kenwood name on it for $7! I took a chance on it, and I’m damn glad I did. It works perfectly.

 

I just bought my Kenwood new on Oct 24th, it is a “New for summer ‘22” model. I got it installed, and while trying to figure out how to mirror my Iphone on it (still struggling), I saw there was already a firmware update on the Kenwood web site. No prob, it was super quick and easy to do, downloaded it to a USB drive and uploaded it to the head unit in less than 20 minutes.

 

So as of last week, my Alpine has basically stopped working with phone calls. It will take calls but it sounds like the person is 20' from the phone. I maxed out the volume and it doesn't matter.

I need to try the firmware update but I don't have a PC. All I have is my work computer and they really don't like us downloading anything because of my industry. Gonna have to think about this.

 

I had a similar issue in reverse: Nobody could hear me. In that case, the mic cord, I didn't fully push the mic cord in and it bounced out.

But doesn't sound like your issue. If you really need it, I can toss together a USB thumb drive and snail mail it up.

 

No but I appreciate the offer. I'll figure something out. May just roll the dice with my work computer.

 

If it makes you feel any better, I handed the binary to one our forensics guys that deals with all the whack-ass cases nobody else can figure out. He tore the archive and binaries it apart - there's nothing suspect in the file, though he made some comments about the compiler they used, he says it's safe. Not that it makes your employer feel any better necessarily, but I can share privately who my employer is if they want to give you grief, it should shut them up.

Setting up the USB thumb drive is super easy. Just format to FAT32, then copy the "

$280 ilx-W650 7" double DIN touchscreen digital multimedia receiver with bluetooth, apple carplay and android auto

ilx-W650" folder in that ZIP file onto it, following instructions in the PDF, which I'm attaching here just for ease of access. Just make sure you extract the complete folder out of the ZIP file, not just the two individual files without the folder. Instructions seem to indicate the folder is a requirement.

I may end up updating mine later if I can eek out the time. If you're still stumbling on this by the time the weekend rolls around, LMK. I really don't mind spending $1 to ship the drive to you after, I don't need it. I have a bajillion 2GB-4GB thumb drives laying around from an old project I worked on a few years ago, so it's no real loss to me.

 

@FirstGenVol did my update when I got home from work today. Alpine made this easy as shit. Took about 5sec (3 screen taps) to start it, and about 90 seconds for it to finish. Sucks having to factory-reset after, but I actually found some new advanced audio shaping options after, and now the audio sounds way f'n better to me.

I've no use for this thumb drive, offer still stands to ship if you want. Here are a couple of pics from the update:

 

Honestly if you already have it downloaded to a stick that would be a huge help. I was still unsure how I was going to proceed. I'm glad to hear it went well and it's obvious I need to do it.

I'm assuming you can't plug it into the back of the head unit without pulling it out first right?

 

Not if you didn't install the USB extension cable they gave you in the box. (EDIT: Apparently Alpine didn't send one in the box!)

I actually ordered a different extension cable and installed it in a secret cubby (see howto post). If you already threw away your box or don't have the extension cable anymore, I can look in my box, should have mine, can ship that too. It's ultimately one of those things a lot of people don't hook up, but when you need it ... you really need it.