10.25" Infortainment System on Android 13...
Hi there to all you serious review readers.
I don't usually go to this extent to review a product but in this case I'm compelled to tell all.
This experience spanned 3-4 months of horror.
Firstly, Charles at RRW comes across very helpful once you can get some of his time. Unfortunately however, no matter how helpful someone tries to be if the product is defective then no amount of well intentioned support will help.
I'm based in Adelaide, so I'm sure if I was down the road in Grantham UK things may have turned out better.
1. The 10.25 IS on A13 is new to RRW. They don't tell you that to start, but I managed to have Charles open up and tell me that there are only 5 units in the field and they are all exhibiting problems. Last I heard they were stopping any further sales. So buyer beware.
2. RRW do not have any installation instructions or any videos one can watch and complete the installation. I found another companies install video that was very similar to the RRW 10.25" IS unit and followed those instructions. By and large I got through it, despite having to repeat the process over 4 or 5 times to correct various aspects of the installation. So on installation instructions one can only give RRW a zero.
3. Once you think great I'm done. Then you start to realise the impact it has on the original parking sensors and cameras. In the beginning RRW told me that my issue is with the reversing sensors and that it had nothing to do with their unit. So I took the car to LRJ and had them test all the sensors both in forward and reverse. Result. Nothing could be found that was faulty. The actual impact was three fold, first the reversing camera was no longer clear and had a permanent flicker, then the proximity sensors stopped working completely. You know the ones that beep when you are reversing. Finally the forward and side sensors failed and all proximity sensors were inoperable.
When I reported this to RRW they continued to blame the actual sensors and refused to accept any fault until I uninstalled their unit and refitted the original unit to prove that the sensors were fine and the issue was with the unit provided by RRW.
4. The Android 13 unit provided with this unit has a SIM card slot that you can insert a data only SIM. It doesn't work. When reported to RRW they instructed me to restart/reboot the unit and that would recognise the SIM. Fair enough! After multiple reboots one gets tired of thinking doing the same thing over and over is going to present a different result. So be prepared to tether your phone to the unit by going through the Android Network settings to pair your phone. Be warned, this pairing is not detected automatically each time you hop in the car. Nope, you need to go into the Android network settings and select your personal hotspot before you can get maps or anything else needing the internet to work.
BTW, if they tell you you need to go into the APN settings on the unit and set it up correctly. Be warned it doesn't exist, and neither did repeated attempts at asking RRW to provide instructions.
By this time my wife just wanted her old original Range Rover Infotainment System reinstalled because for her reversing and proximity sensors meant a lot. A lot more than having Google or Apple Maps.
The worst part of the experience was when RRW put me on to their suppliers support. They were Chinese and communication was impossible. So, yes the unit is a cheap Chinese unit and in my experience had no or very little UK expert involvement.
I guess come a point in time when their just isn't anything RRW could do but admit to me that they unit is faulty and that they have 4-5 others in the field that also have problems and they are withdrawing it from sale.
RRW then offered me a replacement unit upgrading to the Pro-Privi version. However that was never going to fly with the wife given our 10.25 IS A13 experience.
I opted for a refund which RRW agreed they would honour. I packaged the unit up, placed it in a thick cardboard box used to ship wine bottles. Used the original plastic bubble plastic pack the unit came in and sent it back to the RRW in the UK.
I fortunately had the foresight to have it sent to be signed for and took out insurance as it owed me 2.5kAUD.
When it arrived in the UK, RRW reported the unit was damaged in the transport and the reason was it wasn't packed properly. So no refund was possible and no Privi Pro replacement would be offered.
What a disappointment.
I'm now going through my AusPost Insurance to see if I can claim on my insurance.
BTW, if you want actual video recording of all the issues I have them on video.
All the best dealing with RRW.
22 November 2024
Unprompted review