gromaudio wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 06, 2023 3:07 pm

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.

Maybe you can fix the audio lag first?

gromaudio wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 06, 2023 3:07 pm

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.

Sent DM today...

Big_Tone wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 09, 2023 12:40 pm

gromaudio wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 06, 2023 3:07 pm

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.

Sent DM today...

Replied, please check.

gromaudio wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 09, 2023 5:44 pm

Big_Tone wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 09, 2023 12:40 pm

Sent DM today...

Replied, please check.

Done

Thank you! We added your email to the group order list. The ordering period starts today, and will last for one week. You will receive the email with the special coupon code and order instructions.

@GromAudio any update on the audio lag referenced above?

Ilya wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 10, 2023 11:16 am

@GromAudio any update on the audio lag referenced above?

This is normal behavior for USB activated VLine for YouTube videos. We will try to mitigate to some extent once Android 12 is out.

gromaudio wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 10, 2023 1:33 pm

Ilya wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 10, 2023 11:16 am

@GromAudio any update on the audio lag referenced above?

This is normal behavior for USB activated VLine for YouTube videos. We will try to mitigate to some extent once Android 12 is out.

it's not just youtube. it affects other standalone video players as well.

Yoda's Master wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 10, 2023 5:34 pm

gromaudio wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 10, 2023 1:33 pm

This is normal behavior for USB activated VLine for YouTube videos. We will try to mitigate to some extent once Android 12 is out.

it's not just youtube. it affects other standalone video players as well.

Understand. Our engineering team is looking into it, as mentioned in the previous reply.

gromaudio wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 10, 2023 9:39 pm

Yoda's Master wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 10, 2023 5:34 pm

it's not just youtube. it affects other standalone video players as well.

Understand. Our engineering team is looking into it, as mentioned in the previous reply.

thanks

gromaudio wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 06, 2023 3:07 pm

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.

Today is the last day to join the group order, to save $120 over the retail pricing. If interested to join, send us the PM with your name and email address, or contact us at https://gromaudio.com/support.html

IDK how many people you got on the group order, but might I suggest doing an HD screen upgrade and a VL3 with more up to date hardware and software? Entice the existing VL2 owners to upgrade vice buying the Chinese models.

Yoda's Master wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 19, 2023 1:33 am

IDK how many people you got on the group order, but might I suggest doing an HD screen upgrade and a VL3 with more up to date hardware and software? Entice the existing VL2 owners to upgrade vice buying the Chinese models.

Thank you for the suggestions! An HD screen upgrade is the different approach, as in such case it is more of the headunit replacement. As of VL3 hardware / software, what are the functions that you are looking for? and what are the hardware / software specifications/functions that you are looking for?

gromaudio wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 19, 2023 11:44 am

Yoda's Master wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 19, 2023 1:33 am

IDK how many people you got on the group order, but might I suggest doing an HD screen upgrade and a VL3 with more up to date hardware and software? Entice the existing VL2 owners to upgrade vice buying the Chinese models.

Thank you for the suggestions! An HD screen upgrade is the different approach, as in such case it is more of the headunit replacement. As of VL3 hardware / software, what are the functions that you are looking for? and what are the hardware / software specifications/functions that you are looking for?

IDK about how other feel, but i'd like to see these:

Android 12 or 13 would be nice
Snapdragon
More ram
More storage
Better bluetooth range. The range sucks on the VL2. My pedal commander is about 3 ft away and the VL2 couldn't pick it up unless it's closer, but it's not feasible to put it closer on my setup.
DVR mode
Much better main harness connection to the unit. A few of us had to regularly unplug it just to get audio back.
Better icon placement or just a better homescreen UI and consistent wheel knob control. seems like the wheel knob functionality changes every few updates.
More video inputs. maybe HD input.
A larger HD would sceen be the best upgrade to rival the chinese models. I like being able to keep and use the oem functions since VL2 is a piggy back, but ok with compromise for the better screen and features on the chinese models.

I think that's a good starting point.

For me A12 or A13 and more RAM would be top of the list.

We are working on Android 12 implementation, stay tuned for the updates. As of the Bluetooth range, that is not normal. Contact our technical team, they will take a look - at https://gromaudio.com/support.html

Unfortunately I lost track of time and missed the deadline for the group buy.

For current VL2 owners the group-buy was for the same unit we already own right?

This will be a bit long but after 4 years of owning this unit I have to say I am ultimately not pleased with my purchase. It has been useful and would be an absolute joy if it worked as intended. However since the moment I installed it, every now and then it would have episodes where it would completely freeze and the only resolution was to unplug the largest main harness on the bottom right of the unit (20 pin harness?) and plug it back in to reset it. Ilya referred to this once as the wires getting "jostled". Luckily this would only happen every once and awhile.

However fast forward to today, I can barely get this unit to stay on. Every bump in the road, every rattle of the glovebox, every time the WIND blows too hard. This unit will freeze. VLine is the middle-man for the car's entire multimedia system, so when the unit freezes - the audio IMMEDIATELY cuts out and the factory AC buttons and indicator lights will shut off and become completely non-functional (however the touchscreen will still work). If the car's controls stay in this frozen state for too long the HVAC blower turns on FULL BLAST by itself until the VLine becomes responsive again (This seems to be Infiniti's normal fail safe mode when it detects fault to the HVAC system and has happened on every Infiniti I've owned - not unique to this issue).

At this point I've come to realize to fix this freeze I don't necessarily have to unplug or replug anything, I simply have to apply upward or downward pressure to VLINE's main wire harness with my finger! Doing this will IMMEDIATELY turn the audio and AC panel lights back on (and turn the blower off if it was running in this failsafe mode).

I've reached out to GROM support regarding this and spoke to Heath. After taking apart the actual GROM unit at his instruction and making sure multiple chips labelled CANTOY were fully seated, they suggested that I may have accidently plugged the unit into an HVAC module! (probably being unaware of Infiniti's normal behavior when it detects fault). A unit that I've used for 4 years, CAN work flawlessly if it's not touched or breathed on, and can be fixed immediately simply by jiggling where the wire harness plugs into the GROM unit - may actually be plugged into an HVAC unit and not my radio at all. It's worked by magic this whole time.

After that disheartening response I've let the issue go but it's gotten to the point where my car has become non-functional but I don't want to go through the process of removing the VLine. For any electrical experts, is there anyway I can test each individual pin of the wire harness to see where exactly it is losing continuity on the VLine socket? I'm not sure if the fault is on the plug side or the VLine side, but it would be easier to replace the VLine unit itself rather than having to pull apart the entire car to replace the faulty wire harness!

Any tips or otherwise helpful comments would be appreciated!

Apologize for the difficulty with GROM product. You are correct, looks there is the connection issue, either at the cable or at the unit. You can get back to our technical team, and they might be able to help you to check the harness. Also PM us your ticket number or email address, we will double check with the technical team.

As of the AC connector, it happens very often, and even with some stereo installers, when the VLine gets plugged into AC port instead of the extension port. However in your case it is working on the stereo screen, but simply reacting to the bumps/movements, means you plugged everything correctly, and there is the physical connections problem.

Just got mine from the group buy and installed it with no trouble. It worked very well, but I am having an issue and wanted to know if anyone has a solution.
When I'm playing audio from any source (Android auto, local files, a2dp Bluetooth, and built-in Spotify) I get random pauses, and the music fades back in. The music never actually pauses, but the sound just randomly stops. I thought it was from my phone connection and by notification sounds, but that is not the case. I might just factory reset it, but I really hope it isn't a problem with my wiring.

gromaudio wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 10, 2023 4:20 pm

Apologize for the difficulty with GROM product. You are correct, looks there is the connection issue, either at the cable or at the unit. You can get back to our technical team, and they might be able to help you to check the harness. Also PM us your ticket number or email address, we will double check with the technical team.

As of the AC connector, it happens very often, and even with some stereo installers, when the VLine gets plugged into AC port instead of the extension port. However in your case it is working on the stereo screen, but simply reacting to the bumps/movements, means you plugged everything correctly, and there is the physical connections problem.

Thank you for your response. I PMed you my e-mail address and the last Ticket# regarding this issue.

Bonkle wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 17, 2023 12:15 pm

Just got mine from the group buy and installed it with no trouble. It worked very well, but I am having an issue and wanted to know if anyone has a solution.
When I'm playing audio from any source (Android auto, local files, a2dp Bluetooth, and built-in Spotify) I get random pauses, and the music fades back in. The music never actually pauses, but the sound just randomly stops. I thought it was from my phone connection and by notification sounds, but that is not the case. I might just factory reset it, but I really hope it isn't a problem with my wiring.

Sounds like the start of the issue I just described 2 posts up. To see if it's the same issue - next time the audio cuts out randomly try to use any of the buttons on the HVAC panel (any buttons anywhere really) and see if they are disabled. If there is no response when they are pressed then it is the same connection issue unfortunately.

Brian35XR wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 17, 2023 12:31 pm

Sounds like the start of the issue I just described 2 posts up. To see if it's the same issue - next time the audio cuts out randomly try to use any of the buttons on the HVAC panel (any buttons anywhere really) and see if they are disabled. If there is no response when they are pressed then it is the same connection issue unfortunately.

I still get factory UI sounds, but I'll try it when I get a pause. I hope it's not the same, but I really appreciate the pointers.

Update: so my other UI buttons still make their sounds during pauses. I'll submit a support ticket, but hopefully I can get something done.

Bonkle wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 17, 2023 12:49 pm

Brian35XR wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 17, 2023 12:31 pm

Sounds like the start of the issue I just described 2 posts up. To see if it's the same issue - next time the audio cuts out randomly try to use any of the buttons on the HVAC panel (any buttons anywhere really) and see if they are disabled. If there is no response when they are pressed then it is the same connection issue unfortunately.

I still get factory UI sounds, but I'll try it when I get a pause. I hope it's not the same, but I really appreciate the pointers.

Update: so my other UI buttons still make their sounds during pauses. I'll submit a support ticket, but hopefully I can get something done.

Ok well that's a relief - if your car is still playing other factory sounds from your phone when the music cuts out, and there are no other freezes of your car's modules, then atleast it's not a physical connection issue. Let us know if support is able to find a resolution!

Bonkle wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 17, 2023 12:15 pm

Just got mine from the group buy and installed it with no trouble. It worked very well, but I am having an issue and wanted to know if anyone has a solution.
When I'm playing audio from any source (Android auto, local files, a2dp Bluetooth, and built-in Spotify) I get random pauses, and the music fades back in. The music never actually pauses, but the sound just randomly stops. I thought it was from my phone connection and by notification sounds, but that is not the case. I might just factory reset it, but I really hope it isn't a problem with my wiring.

Yes - I've had this exact problem, and I finally contacted Grom support about it. I suggest you do the same.

From what I was able to gather from Grom, it's a subtle problem that only affects a small subset of customers. They haven't been able to duplicate the issue in-house, but they've developed some custom firmware that has helped some customers.

They gave me a custom version of an older firmware (version 42) that has almost entirely eliminated the problem. I've had maybe 2 occurrences of the problem in the last several months, whereas before their custom firmware I was having the problem many times a week.

There's a newer version of the firmware (version 53) that supposedly incorporates these same audio fixes, but I haven't had as good of success with that version. I still need to follow up with support about that.

Just want to make sure of another thing - I'm still getting this issue when using CD or Music Box. I assume the piggyback is going through their software and that causes the problem?

Yes, I had the same issues where the audio cut-out / ducking happens even when the Grom unit (iPod / USB input) is not the active input on the head unit. I'm assuming it's related to the pass-through mechanism of their design. I was similarly surprised that such symptoms could be a firmware issue rather than a cabling problem, but the results of the new firmware were really clear.

LOL, I pinged Grom support on my 3 month old case thanks to this thread, and they replied within a few minutes with this, so definitely reach out:

"We actually just fixed this issue with this firmware! We got a vehicle in 2 days ago that had this issue, so we were able to fix it. Attached is the firmware and below are instructions to flash the firmware"

Looks like version 54 of the firmware may fix it for good. But again, reach out to Grom support.

I've been working with them on and off on that issue for more than a year, glad to see it finally got sorted. I understand their predicament though, it's hard to troubleshoot something like that remotely but now that they got a car in, they sorted it quickly.

EDIT: Happy to confirm that it looks like FW54 (full version info - VCore: V2OVL3.65.0.0 VBase: 88.54 (L22)) has resolved the issue for me as well.

We have the next group order, starting March 9th. If you would like to join, send us the pm with your email address and name, and we will add you to the list. You can also contact us via the web form at https://gromaudio.com/support.html

gromaudio wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 20, 2023 10:11 am

We are working on Android 12 implementation, stay tuned for the updates. As of the Bluetooth range, that is not normal. Contact our technical team, they will take a look - at https://gromaudio.com/support.html

any updates on this?