Honda Link has the navi app option for $60. I like Google Map better. Do you guys think there would be a jailbreak mod sometime in the future so we can download Google map and or other apps like waze? Have anyone tried to jailbreak other systems in other cars before?

 

Now we're talking!

 

I'm curious if the EX head unit can be hacked to have HDMI all the time and have navi and HD radio like the EX-L

 

I would also be interested in this information. I do know that the Lexus Navigation system had an option (via a convoluted key sequence on the touchscreen) to enter a System Diagnostics mode where you could Override their system. Apparently the Lexus Nav system would not allow you to make any changes to the destination once you started driving - so a similar lockout feature. Hopefully, there may be some similar feature in the Honda system ----

 

There's a lot to be said for the Garmin stand-alone GPS units. More robust receivers, better navigation logic, traffic, etc. I like the Google Nav app on my phone, but when I really want to go somewhere I pay attention to the Garmin. It also doesn't do petty lawyer things like disabling features while driving. The only downside is that space has to be found to mount the unit.

 

If you can enable full-time HDMI even while driving, you can wirelessly sync Google Maps onto the screen via ChromeCast.

 

I'm guessing that's along the same lines of this guy using an Apple TV in his Accord (though it looks like he can't use it while driving either).

 

Sorry to resurrect an older thread, but I like the train of thought here.


To the previous post, It is possible to mirror a smartphone. I have a Galaxy Note 2 and picking up an MHL adapter to connect to the HDMI input of the Fit will achieve what we see in the video. An MHL Adapter allows you to connect a Micro USB (5 Pin) port to a HDMI (Type A) equipped device


As far as firmware & software upgrades (like for Android compatibility later) it will likely be through the USB port, likely a USB drive or dongle of some sort.


Has anyone figured out how to get into the diagnostic mode of the radio/nav unit?

 

Hold down Power-Eject-Home. You're not going to find much of use there though.

 

Cool I'll try that, just to see what's in there. Not likely Honda will offer a patch to have the HDMI active all the time, because the method I described above essentially nulls the need to even sell Hondalink killing that as a profit center for them. Only hope is to have a guru hacker find a way to unlock the restriction!

 

Don't bother trying the diagnostic stuff... I looked in all the menus and there is nothing there that will enable HDMI while driving. There clearly has to be a way to hack this as the HondaLink NAV app works while driving --- so clearly some information is being sent to the Display unit to enable the HDMI while moving. The key is figuring this out and determining if it can be "faked out" by third party methods... Wish I knew somebody with a USB hardware monitor device... as I suspect this information is being sent over the USB port between the phone and display unit....

 

Wait.... You can Chromecast on the Fit's HDMI??? Really???

 

I believe the Fit will show anything that is output from an HDMI port --- DVD Player, iPhone, Chromecast, etc.... However, none of it works while the car is in motion - or more correctly when the car is taken out of Park (at least for CVT models).

 

I have a 6MT model. I have an hdmi device ill try tomorrow. My guess is it will shut down the hdmi after the car starts moving. I think I read somewhere on here that the head unit has tie ins to the speed sensor and the shift column. Speed sensor makes sense since it increases audio volume as you drive faster based on a setting. The shift sensor for a manual also makes sense since it activates the rearview camera.

We need a software hack. Too much sensor input to numb the head unit to causing other features to be inoperable.

 

Yes - we need a software hack! I have a CVT model and the display unit is shut down once the car is taken out of park. I have experimented extensively. Not sure what is the key trigger in the MT model.

 

check the wiring diagram for the headunit for parking brake wire and VSS signal

If either of those two are present, you can wire in a relay, just like aftermarket units.

If it is like my JVC navi deck in my own car, it can use the GPS signal to determine vehicle movement, and that nullifies any relay "fixes"

 

Jailbreaking is certainly possible, the only hindrance is the time and effort that a competent individual will spend on the task. It might be easier to just use hardware that isn't crippled to start with.

 

I agree with your George. The hardware is not crippled, its the software that is crippled which makes the hardware crippled.




Another thread is covering the same topic too:


https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/3rd-...8-android.html


My Honda contact is hooking me up with some wiring diagram print outs of the head unit and see what exact sensor inputs its receiving. I still believe a software override needs to be created. It should come from Honda, but to limit the consumer to their inferior product is a bunch of crap.

 

I was very happy to learn of the diagnostic tools/menus. One feature missing from my 2015 Fit EX was a compass. This is a feature I really need, being directionally challenged. But I see in the diagnostic menus that the car has its own GPS receiver, even though I do not have the Nav package. And the diagnostic display does provide a working compass. Now, I realize I cannot depend on this while driving, but I was unaware that the car even had a GPS receiver at all. This means that if Honda wants to, they can give me a small compass display somewhere on the 7" display. Or they can create a simple app called "compass" that would give me a large compass display. I wish I knew how skilled, motivated and generous the software team for the Fit and HondaLink are. It's hard to know whether to get my hopes up.

 

The iPhone HondaLink app displays navigation data on the the screen while the car is in motion (i.e. not in park/handbrake on). So maybe the answer does not involve sensors that detect if the handbrake is on or not.

Maybe the screen 'device' in the car has a private key or certificate in its software (or encoded into a chip) that is checked against a public key written into the HondaLink software. If the HondaLink app is subsequently authorized, then the app's output is sent to the display whether or not the car is in 'motion' or not.

If this scenario is correct, then it is going to take some clever person to either work out a way to disable the software authentication/authorization mechanism, or derive either the public or private key(s) to simulate the authentication in whatever device or application you're trying to connect.

Hacks like disconnecting the park brake sensors might have no effect unless the phone (or other device) is able to authenticate to the car's display software.

... just a thought, and happy to be laughed at.