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Another Head Unit - TomoStrong BT4

414 Views 12 Replies 5 Participants Last post by  frogfoot, 
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Thought I would do a short write up about this HU since it does not seem to be listed anywhere on this site.

Manufacturer is TomoStrong on AliExpress. They have two styles: one retains use of the cup holder while the other comes with a larger a screen but deletes the cup holder. There are also three hardware variants, I would stick with the models that come with the ROHM32107 DSP.

I opted for the larger screen, purchased and installed mine in August of last year. Cost was $300 with shipping.

Some notable features: comes with wireless CarPlay and Android Auto, 4G SIM card option, full range EQ with Q-Factor, crossover control, a volume knob, included CANBUS decoder for steering wheel control, and wiring harness.

Fit is an 8/10, there is a small gap between the air vents and top of the HU, the other three sides are flush. There are no instructions for installing this but the included wiring harness is what you would expect from Crutchfield, completely plug and play, no wire cutting/soldering. All the cables are labeled so installing aftermarket audio would not be difficult. Getting the steering wheel controls was the only difficult thing. You first need to connect the HU to a Wi-Fi hotspot then log into Factory under the settings for the HU, password is 8888. Select “models” option, let the HU update, and then you can select the canbus decoder options. B200 is the config file I loaded. After completing this just go to the steering wheel control app and buttons can be assigned for phone and volume control.

Some more pictures of different features and the default UI screen.



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Turbo
Love that one! How much was it and do you have the AliExpress link?

I put in a Seicane shortly after I got my car two years ago, and although it's .. "fine", there are a few things I don't like about it. It was cheap, $300, and it shows..
  1. It get hot. REALLY hot! I can't have the centre heater on at the same time, it'll over heat :(. The screen also over heats when the sun is from the behind (top down).
  2. The screen is very dark. It's not possible to see ANYTHING when the sun is from the behind (top down)!!
  3. It crashes every now and then. Not enough memory I'm thinking (only 4GB), but it's more than that.. The additions they've made to Android isn't very stable.
So could you keep an eye on yours the next month or so and report back on your findings? I need to replace mine, but not sure which one to get..

Oh, and why did you have to connect it to WiFi just to change the factory settings?!
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Turbo said:
Love that one! How much was it and do you have the AliExpress link?

I put in a Seicane shortly after I got my car two years ago, and although it's .. "fine", there are a few things I don't like about it. It was cheap, $300, and it shows..
  1. It get hot. REALLY hot! I can't have the centre heater on at the same time, it'll over heat :(. The screen also over heats when the sun is from the behind (top down).
  2. The screen is very dark. It's not possible to see ANYTHING when the sun is from the behind (top down)!!
  3. It crashes every now and then. Not enough memory I'm thinking (only 4GB), but it's more than that.. The additions they've made to Android isn't very stable.
So could you keep an eye on yours the next month or so and report back on your findings? I need to replace mine, but not sure which one to get..

Oh, and why did you have to connect it to WiFi just to change the factory settings?!
Click to expand...
Here is the link. Make sure you pay attention to the different models. I would only buy the TT4, TT6, BT4, and BT6. The one I bought is currently $250. I looked at Seicane as well, just didn’t seem as good compared to this one. I got to be honest though, an ACTUAL volume knob was a big selling point for me 😁

To answer your other questions.
1) This one has a pretty large heat sink on the back and it comes with a cooling fan attached as well. Has never overheated on me.
2) The screen is bright and clear, I live in Florida and with the top down I can see it no problem. They claim it’s QLED with an IPS panel, for this price I find that hard to believe, but great screen either way.
3) This one has never crashed on me in the 9+ months of owning it. Only issue was the app used for CarPlay became “deactivated” but it was fixed by just pressing the reset button on the front of the unit.

You don’t have to connect it to Wi-Fi to enter the settings, it was to update the firmware on the head unit for the steering wheel buttons to work.
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S
Thanks for info
I am planning on changin mine out and have been looking at the unit Jeff has posted about.
Gonna have to do some comparison research
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Turbo
@slk55amgbob which one was that again, got the link (to the unit, not the post :) )?
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Turbo said:
@slk55amgbob which one was that again, got the link (to the unit, not the post :) )?
Click to expand...
will find it
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slk55amgbob said:
will find it
Click to expand...
car navi player online store
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Turbo
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Cronicattack said:
To answer your other questions.
1) This one has a pretty large heat sink on the back and it comes with a cooling fan attached as well. Has never overheated on me.
2) The screen is bright and clear, I live in Florida and with the top down I can see it no problem. They claim it’s QLED with an IPS panel, for this price I find that hard to believe, but great screen either way.
3) This one has never crashed on me in the 9+ months of owning it. Only issue was the app used for CarPlay became “deactivated” but it was fixed by just pressing the reset button on the front of the unit.
Click to expand...
I'm looking at ordering the TomoStrong "soonish", and are putting stuff in the cart.

It looks like the fan is extra (£6.81), which I most definitely going to need! However, does the HU come with CAN bus adapter? Not sure what this image actually mean, the text is sparse, even sparser than the Seicane pages!


Or this... I take it as it's an extra.. ?


If not included, which one to get? Wonder if these are generic and I can use the one that I got with my Seicane.. ? And what about the 4G adapter, is that included or is it extra?
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Turbo said:
I'm looking at ordering the TomoStrong "soonish", and are putting stuff in the cart.

It looks like the fan is extra (£6.81), which I most definitely going to need! However, does the HU come with CAN bus adapter? Not sure what this image actually mean, the text is sparse, even sparser than the Seicane pages!
View attachment 628706

Or this... I take it as it's an extra.. ?
View attachment 628707

If not included, which one to get? Wonder if these are generic and I can use the one that I got with my Seicane.. ? And what about the 4G adapter, is that included or is it extra?
Click to expand...
If you get one of the models I suggested it should come with a fan built into the back of the unit. It comes with everything you need, wiring harness that connects to original car wiring, CANbus decoder, USB cables, and a second harness with RCA cables and 4G SIM card connection.
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Turbo
Ah, even better! I'm going for the BT6. Bigger screen, and I don't need the volume button. Have it on the wheel :D.
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E
I like the OBD, TPMS, and camera capability. How is the sound in this when at speed with the top down? vs the factory sound?
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efair said:
I like the OBD, TPMS, and camera capability. How is the sound in this when at speed with the top down? vs the factory sound?
Click to expand...
That would depend if you have the HK system or not. HK speakers are limited by the amp. Compared to the original Audio 20 this is much better. Max volume is close to 100db on OEM speakers.
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frogfoot
looks good 🙂
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