Let's Talk About the Joying JY-UL135

So, this is one part commentary/review(ish), one part questions. Let's talk about this dude. So, I had a Pioneer DVD unit in my 2003 F-150 that I was really unhappy with (for several reasons I won't bother explaining). Being a bit of a tech geek, I really wanted something better, that wouldn't require an extra add on unit for navigation, and would give me a little flexibility wherever I wanted it. I was really surprised that there wasn't a better selection of head units that run Android on the market, but being such, I found Joying pretty fast. I read a bunch on here, and decided it was worth throwing the dice and a few hours at. FWIW, I ordered off Amazon, and got the JY-UL135 unit (Android 5.1.1, 7" screen, 1024x600, 16GB, 1.6GHz quad core). It seems Joying has a couple slightly different units with basically the same specs for sale. I have no idea what distinguishes them besides a slightly different bezel setup. I *think* this is the newer one. Maybe. Who knows.

Thoughts and Comments

• Trust the reviews. This unit is a tiny bit bigger than it should be. I don't know why. So be it. So was my Pioneer though, but this is about another 1/8" wider, so I'll need to barely widen my already modified mounting hole.
• Soldering up the wiring harness was no trouble. Uncommonly used wires were neatly capped too.
• The instructions, labels, and some of the in-system notifications are in pretty rough translated English. Not a big deal, but just be aware.
• If you want to do a custom boot logo, for some reason it's hidden behind the Factory Settings, with the code 126 to access it.
• Unit feels plenty fast and responsive, and the build quality is acceptable at the price.
• Wifi connected right up.
• I did have trouble connecting to my Bluetooth OBD2 reader, which seems to be a common complaint. I'm ordering a $10 one that matches the Elm327 unit Joying offers for $20. We'll see if it works.
• I prefer OBD Fusion over Torque, personally. Once the above is resolved, I'm interested to see how it compares on the unit.
• Included GPS antenna has plenty of length, and seems to get a signal without issue.
• I grounded the brake sensor wire right to the chassis ground line to bypass it, need to confirm that works.
• Was able to pretty closely match the backlight color to the rest of my dash.
• Going to use an old Micro SD card to try storing offline Google Maps data for those cellular black hole areas I travel to.
• Also planning to get a dashcam to try out the DVR functionality. You never know when that could be $35 well spent.
• Audio seems okay. Not great, but acceptable for my use. I do have one speaker not working that I need to diagnose. And I don't currently have an amp/sub, but do think I'll add a small one down the road.
• Overall, I'm not in love with the launcher installed on it.
• I still need to test phone mirroring, connecting via tethering to my phone's hotspot for nav data, install my backup camera, modify my external mic connector to be compatible with the input,

Questions for the Hive Mind

• Does anyone know if these newer units benefit from the audio hack/mod discussed elsewhere?
• Rooting. Do it, or no? If so, what's your preferred process?
• What's your opinion on different launchers?
• The Factory Settings menu appears to have quite a bit of stuff in it. Anything besides the boot logo really worth paying attention to?

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