HowTo: Install GROM Audio VLine VL2 (NIS9VL2) Android Auto/Apple CarPlay Interface (2011+ Infiniti M/Q70)

Forum for Infiniti M37, M56 M35h Hybrid and Q70 owners.
David__Allen
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Car: 2013 Infiniti M37xS - Current
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emm3seven wrote:
Mon Jun 01, 2020 1:49 pm
DoN_BLaZe34 wrote:
Mon Apr 27, 2020 8:58 am
I finally pulled the trigger on this thing and have been able to get CarPlay to work both wired and wireless.
Has anyone seen pics or videos of CarPlay in action on the VL2? This has been the only thing holding me back from this upgrade.
I know I’m pretty late to the discussion, but I have a VL2 and have used both wired and wireless CarPlay. Getting it to work for the very first time is slightly annoying but after that it’s pretty seamless.

My issues with this unit are the sometimes very slow boot (5+ minutes) and periodic black screen on startup. The slow boot thing is weird... it sits at the non-animated “vline” splash screen and flickers maybe once a minute, until eventually I see the animation and it boots. Seems like it’s getting stuck somewhere, timing out, and retrying until it eventually works. And it does the black screen thing probably once a week, the only fix is to shut the car off for a while or unplug/reconnect the main harness which is super annoying.

GROM’s customer service is absolutely terrible.


Yoda's Master
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2009 370z
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I agree that the black screen thing was super annoying. I haven't had to do that for a long while now. Supposedly there was an update that fixed it. Try see if there's an update available. If that doesn't work, then you might need to do a reset with the microsd card. Talk to customer service about getting the card.

jeaosos
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Joined: Tue Feb 25, 2020 6:17 am
Car: Infiniti Q70L

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When the black screen issues happens, you can press and hold forward button on cd player, and touch anywhere in black screen 6 times, it will reboot to recovery mode, then you can reboot vline.

David__Allen
Posts: 28
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Car: 2013 Infiniti M37xS - Current
2000 BMW 328i - SOLD
2004 Infiniti G35 Coupe - SOLD
2008 Lexus IS250 - SOLD
2003 Lexus IS300 - SOLD
Location: Chicago, IL

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WOW, thank you! That is seriously so much easier than trying to unplug the thing. How did you figure that out?

Brian35XR
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Car: 2011 Infiniti M37x
2006 Infiniti M35x
2004 Infiniti G35 - Sold

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David__Allen wrote:
Wed Oct 21, 2020 8:01 am
WOW, thank you! That is seriously so much easier than trying to unplug the thing. How did you figure that out?
Grom support.

I'm having a separate issue where Vline will freeze my cars factory console. This causes the factory buttons to become unresponsive, the audio to cut out, the heat goes on full blast but the orange lights on the buttons all shut off. The touch screen still working throughout this. Eventually after 1-5 minutes the console will unfreeze and the lights and audio will come back on. Anyone else experience this?

jeaosos
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Car: Infiniti Q70L

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David__Allen wrote:
Wed Oct 21, 2020 8:01 am
WOW, thank you! That is seriously so much easier than trying to unplug the thing. How did you figure that out?
Actually I am a dealer of grom, and I need to solve some kind of issues for my client.

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Ilya
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Good to know the tap 6 times trick, very nice.

Brian, I have not had the issue you are encountering in nearly 2 years of use.

tswopejr
Posts: 6
Joined: Sun Apr 18, 2021 9:48 pm
Car: 2015 Infiniti Q70

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Hey guy, I'm looking to do this install on my 2015 Q70, and was wondering did you experience any issues with the front cameras not working properly, or having to reboot the vline2 on a regular basis? I ask because I'm hearing this from another owner of a 2015 Q70

tswopejr
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Car: 2015 Infiniti Q70

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satown210 wrote:
Sun Mar 24, 2019 9:37 pm
Yoda's Master wrote:
Sat Mar 23, 2019 8:23 pm
Can you switch between this and the oem apps?
Can you unlock and root?
One thing to note is that you will loose the USB in the center console.
they sell a retention cable so you can use the center console cable. I plan to use it.

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Ilya
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The reboot issue was fixed with a firmware update like 6 months ago. As for front cameras, can't speak to that because my car doesn't have them but the car only replaces the iPhone input so it shouldn't have any impact on your cameras.

tswopejr
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Car: 2015 Infiniti Q70

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Thanks for the feedback. Yeah, my model has the all around view system on it so it has rear, front, and side cameras. The guy I'm chatting with about it said when his front camera comes on, the vline2 is overlaying apple car play over his camera view. Said the reverse camera is working correctly. I find it kind of odd that the vline2 would have any impact on the cameras as well. Why would they interrupt the original connection at all when it is using the aux in Put for display? Very interesting. ;-)

DoN_BLaZe34
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I have the VL2 installed in my 17 Q70L and have never had that issue with the front camera

tswopejr
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Car: 2015 Infiniti Q70

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Hey DoN_BlaZe34, So when you get close to something in front of the car, your cameras come on like they should and you can see the images on the screen clearly when the vline2 is being used?

DoN_BLaZe34
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tswopejr wrote:
Fri May 07, 2021 9:27 am
Hey DoN_BlaZe34, So when you get close to something in front of the car, your cameras come on like they should and you can see the images on the screen clearly when the vline2 is being used?
That's correct

tswopejr
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YEAY!!! :-) Thank the Gods. I've been chatting with a guy who has our model and he says he's been having problems. Glad to hear it's random and not across the board. Now I will order. thanks for your input.

DoN_BLaZe34
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Happy to help

tswopejr
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Hello, has anyone tried mounting the GPS antenna under the dash? I found a spot, but its under the speaker grill and I wonder if that will interfere?

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Ilya
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tswopejr wrote:
Tue Jul 06, 2021 10:16 am
Hello, has anyone tried mounting the GPS antenna under the dash? I found a spot, but its under the speaker grill and I wonder if that will interfere?
I wouldn't recommend it...GPS antenna's work best with line of sight to the sky...(that's why the OEM one is on the top of the car)

emm3seven
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Car: 2011 Infiniti M37x w/Tech + Touring

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Pulled the trigger on a VL2 (end of map updates was the final straw) and I'm hoping it will arrive in time to install it this weekend. I'm curious if anyone has routed a USB extension cable from their GROM unit to the center console (to replace the existing USB port in the center console that's disabled via this install). I'd like to continue to tether my phone to the device for wired CarPlay.

My biggest challenge is that all the molded cables I find online that look like they'd work are only 3 feet, which doesn't seem like enough reach.

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Ilya
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Yes, I have a USB extension wired so I can hard wire my phone to the VLine instead of using wireless Android Auto. I forget where I got the cable but they definitely exist.

emm3seven
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Thanks. Where did you run it to? Did you mount it anywhere clever?

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Ilya
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Comes out by my right leg just in front of the gap between the seat and arm rest.

emm3seven
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jeaosos wrote:
Wed Oct 21, 2020 7:57 am
When the black screen issues happens, you can press and hold forward button on cd player, and touch anywhere in black screen 6 times, it will reboot to recovery mode, then you can reboot vline.
Can anyone else confirm that this works? I’ve had my new unit for five days now and it’s already started the black screen problem. I’ve tried several variations on this button trick and it does nothing for me.

EDIT: Tried the sequence again a few minutes later and it worked. Can confirm!

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Ilya
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I haven't had the black screen problem in years. Are you on the latest updates and firmware?

emm3seven
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Yep, update screen shows no firmware available and most recent updates within last month or two. Worked fine for first five days and black-screened this afternoon.

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gromaudio
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Please contact our technical team at https://gromaudio.com/support.html They will help.

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Ilya
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I heard from GROM Audio that the VLine VL2 has a planned update to Android 12 being worked on (from 8.1 that it is now). That's awesome! They didnt provide a timetable but it's probably 6 months out if I had to guess. Hopefully I'm not wrong! :)

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gromaudio
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Ilya wrote:
Fri Dec 02, 2022 8:04 am
I heard from GROM Audio that the VLine VL2 has a planned update to Android 12 being worked on (from 8.1 that it is now). That's awesome! They didnt provide a timetable but it's probably 6 months out if I had to guess. Hopefully I'm not wrong! :)
Working on it! For updates please sign up for our notifications at https://bit.ly/vline_interest to receive updates about our new developments and releases.

Yoda's Master
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gromaudio wrote:
Fri Dec 02, 2022 4:48 pm
Ilya wrote:
Fri Dec 02, 2022 8:04 am
I heard from GROM Audio that the VLine VL2 has a planned update to Android 12 being worked on (from 8.1 that it is now). That's awesome! They didnt provide a timetable but it's probably 6 months out if I had to guess. Hopefully I'm not wrong! :)
Working on it! For updates please sign up for our notifications at https://bit.ly/vline_interest to receive updates about our new developments and releases.
Can you first fix the audio lag when watching videos? It's very annoying watching youtube with out of sync audio.
Any thoughts of a 10.25" screen replacement unit as well? I like how Grom keeps all he OEM functions and just piggy backs, but the horrible oem screen messes up the experience.

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gromaudio
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Hi all, and Happy New Year!

Just want to let you know that we plan to run the next group buy order for VLine VL2 system for CarPlay and Android Auto (https://gromaudio.com/store/vline/grom-vl2-nis9.html), starting January 10th. The ordering period will be for one week, and the product will ship early February. The saving over the retail pricing will be $120.

If you are interested to join, you can send us the request here: https://gromaudio.com/support.html

Or you can DM us on this forum with your name and email address. This way we will add you to the group order list.

Let us know if you have any questions.


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