Subaru STARLINK HyperThread

[p1l0t]

So when my new 2016 HyperBlue BRZ gets built it's going to have this Subaru STARLINK 'infotainment' system.

EDIT: Warning, this unit sucks. Not what I expected at all. Does not allow you to mirror apps from your phone, install new apps, or monitor OBD-II info. In short it's proprietary, limited (doesn't even do what other Subaru's Starlink can do), and repeated calls and emails to Subaru have revealed they have no immediate plans to update the software. I'm going to attempt to hack it but you're probably going better off buying an aftermarket radio.



I know many people hate OEM radios and such probably believing that an empty slot (double-din in true Subaru fashion of course) should be left there instead since manufacturers will never keep up with the newest tech. Alas, as this is my first brand new car I'm going to play devil's advocate and see how much I can get out of the factory system. It doesn't seem better than the old Pioneer U310BT I put into my 2003 swapped WRX and does NOT have some cool features like OBD-II connectivity or certain apps like Waze! (I originally thought so because I thought Starlink was going to be more like mirrorlink) I'll start with basic background info and using the stock stuff but as a computer programmer I may even see how far I can get with some minor hacks eventually. I'll keep updating the main thread with links to the best posts. As I said I don't actually have my car yet to test this stuff out but I'll start by gathering background info and keep the updates flowing. This thread is as much a way to save my own progress for myself as well as to share the bounty with you.

Background Information:

Much like the GT86/FRS/BRZ Toyobaru is a partnership between Toyota and Subaru to bring a beautifully Toyota styled reboot of the cult classic AE86 powered by the flat Subaru boxer engine to keep the supercar status low CG, the STARLINK infotainment system is co-developed by Subaru and Clarion. This time however, instead of Subaru manufacturing the production version of the FT86 concept, it's Subaru with the design element and Clarion (Hitachi Group) manufacturing the hardware. The beauty I see in this is the fact that they realized most people say "Well I can do all that with my phone!" and instead developed a way using this 'Smartaccess' system to essentially have in-dash app ability. Most other aftermarket radios use Mirrorlink and I'm not sure what the key differences are between Mirrorlink and Starlink (whether it's just branding or major capability better or worse) but like I said this is a work in-progress.



Hardware:
From what I can tell it appears that it uses Clarion models for 2013 models and then at some point they switched to Fujitsu Ten for manufacturing.

2016
- Model ID: CA634UL
- Subaru Part #: 86271CA740
- Maker: Clarion? Fujitsu Ten? (After taking it apart looks like Clarion but it may depend on which car you have)
- Manuals http://www.subaru.com/owners/vehicle...e=2016-BRZ-GZE
- High(er) Quality photos of the 2016 BRZ factory STARLINK headunit [disassembled]


2013?
- NX604

- NX603

or

- FX503


Setup:
Basic config type stuff.

- Updating to the latest version.

- [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gunyPQzkSzE"]Changing your startup splash screen[/ame]. (youTube video)

Apps:

Partner apps for Smartaccess.



Hacks, Tips, and Tricks:
Coming soon to a theatre near you... cut me a break I don't even know what operating system it is really using yet. Maybe it's Linux, I'm hopeful for that because it says they use a GPL. Apparently you can get the source code if you call this number. Maybe I'll try that later.

Please feel free to post links to any good information you find!

[nisti]

You're in CT?
The States?
All the HyperBlue's have already been "built"
Are you getting one that hasn't been sold yet?

Also, none of your links or videos point to the right head unit.
This is the head unit in the 2016 models:

[p1l0t]

Originally Posted by nisti

You're in CT?
The States?
All the HyperBlue's have already been "built"
Are you getting one that hasn't been sold yet?

Also, none of your links or videos point to the right head unit.
This is the head unit in the 2016 models:

Le Sigh. Well yes it was a factory order. I'm going to call today. What model do you think it is going to be? The 2013 I test drove had one that looked more like those I listed.

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[Nickosport]

I dunno bro. I have a 2015 BRZ and the head unit blows. I got a loaner Legacy when my car was at the dealer for a TO bearing replacement(under warranty). The head unit in the Legacy was a starlink one, and it was much better, but still disappointing. Bluetooth audio didn't allow all of the features when paired with my Galaxy s6. Touch screen responsiveness was lacking. GPS UI wasn't the best either.

To be honest, I think HU issues are common across all auto manufacturers. I haven't found one OE head unit that was any good. The days of buy cars without head units are gone, now that a functioning backup camera is required the car has to have a display from the factory. I liked the idea of buying a car without an $800 head unit and being able to put in an aftermarket solution that was twice as good for half the price. Oh well..

[p1l0t]

Originally Posted by Nickosport

I dunno bro. I have a 2015 BRZ and the head unit blows. I got a loaner Legacy when my car was at the dealer for a TO bearing replacement(under warranty). The head unit in the Legacy was a starlink one, and it was much better, but still disappointing. Bluetooth audio didn't allow all of the features when paired with my Galaxy s6. Touch screen responsiveness was lacking. GPS UI wasn't the best either.

To be honest, I think HU issues are common across all auto manufacturers. I haven't found one OE head unit that was any good. The days of buy cars without head units are gone, now that a functioning backup camera is required the car has to have a display from the factory. I liked the idea of buying a car without an $800 head unit and being able to put in an aftermarket solution that was twice as good for half the price. Oh well..

Probably all their profit margin.. lol.

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[Trueweltall]

I hate Starlink so much, it never connects for Pandora to work. I drove around for an hour or so and tried multiple times.

[Luftwaffel]

On top of it being a totally ignorant shape given that the actual mounting is standard double DIN, the apps are terrible, especially iHeartRadio, which is the only one I think any reasonable person would use, since by the time the weather app loads, it's already out of date. The Bluetooth usually works okay, but never displays the correct track information. Sounds a lot better than the old head units though, and has a physical skip button. I don't think it's Clarion that builds this one but I don't have mine anymore, for good reason. It might be. It's none of the ones you listed though.

While I don't have experience with Mirrorlink, I do know that apps are hosted on the phone and effectively all that the head unit receives is streamed AV and touch input. Starlink doesn't have that feel. It feels like the phone is there as a modem, while apps are hosted on the head unit itself, based on how incredibly sluggish the system runs. That, or they're web apps that only talk to the requested services indirectly, likely through some Starlink intermediary server off in Japan or something. Either way, it's slow as hell. When it works.

So, you ask, how do I know it's not my slow-ass connection? I've tested the apps via my 200Mbps home connection, Verizon LTE, and T-Mobile LTE. Nothing improves the experience.

Your post shows how to change the head unit startup screen on the wrong head unit. There's no known way to do it on BRZ Starlink. Also I'd love to know how you factory ordered a pre-built hard limited production run of 500. Not being a ****, I'm just a little miffed if they're allowing more to be built on request.

[p1l0t]

Originally Posted by Luftwaffel

On top of it being a totally ignorant shape given that the actual mounting is standard double DIN, the apps are terrible, especially iHeartRadio, which is the only one I think any reasonable person would use, since by the time the weather app loads, it's already out of date. The Bluetooth usually works okay, but never displays the correct track information. Sounds a lot better than the old head units though, and has a physical skip button. I don't think it's Clarion that builds this one but I don't have mine anymore, for good reason. It might be. It's none of the ones you listed though.

While I don't have experience with Mirrorlink, I do know that apps are hosted on the phone and effectively all that the head unit receives is streamed AV and touch input. Starlink doesn't have that feel. It feels like the phone is there as a modem, while apps are hosted on the head unit itself, based on how incredibly sluggish the system runs. That, or they're web apps that only talk to the requested services indirectly, likely through some Starlink intermediary server off in Japan or something. Either way, it's slow as hell. When it works.

So, you ask, how do I know it's not my slow-ass connection? I've tested the apps via my 200Mbps home connection, Verizon LTE, and T-Mobile LTE. Nothing improves the experience.

Your post shows how to change the head unit startup screen on the wrong head unit. There's no known way to do it on BRZ Starlink. Also I'd love to know how you factory ordered a pre-built hard limited production run of 500. Not being a ****, I'm just a little miffed if they're allowing more to be built on request.

If it makes you feel any better they have marked my order as recieved, but not accepted yet. So maybe I'll get my heart broken later. As for the rest of the stuff it will be a lot easier when I have said vehicle to search model and serial numbers.

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[p1l0t]

Originally Posted by nisti

You're in CT?
The States?
All the HyperBlue's have already been "built"
Are you getting one that hasn't been sold yet?

Also, none of your links or videos point to the right head unit.
This is the head unit in the 2016 models:

So, yes, you are correct for the 2016s it is indeed a CA634UL which doesn't show up on Clarion's website even though the factory apps were written by Clarion... Also yes all 500 Series.Blue Hyperblue BRZs were built already but I got lucky and found one that someone had backed out of. Although some googling/ebay pictures I was able to figure out the Subaru part number is 86271CA740 and they were made by Fujitsu Ten. I'm trying to do this without pulling apart my dashboard though because I'm not sure how easily it all goes back together and I don't want my brand spanking new car to look like crap. Although at some point I will probably want the serial numbers of the internal boards and to see what kind of memory it uses and etc. If anyone sees one on ebay for cheap (broken is fine) let me know! Brand new they are nearly $2k

[lbroskee]

Originally Posted by p1l0t

So, yes, you are correct for the 2016s it is indeed a CA634UL which doesn't show up on Clarion's website even though the factory apps were written by Clarion... Also yes all 500 Series.Blue Hyperblue BRZs were built already but I got lucky and found one that someone had backed out of. Although some googling/ebay pictures I was able to figure out the Subaru part number is 86271CA740 and they were made by Fujitsu Ten. I'm trying to do this without pulling apart my dashboard though because I'm not sure how easily it all goes back together and I don't want my brand spanking new car to look like crap. Although at some point I will probably want the serial numbers of the internal boards and to see what kind of memory it uses and etc. If anyone sees one on ebay for cheap (broken is fine) let me know! Brand new they are nearly $2k

U can find them all day on eBay for under 400 "Brz radio"

[p1l0t]

Originally Posted by lbroskee

U can find them all day on eBay for under 400 "Brz radio"

Yeah 2013 model

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[lbroskee]

Originally Posted by p1l0t

Yeah 2013 model

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Oh u meant u want the new one for research and ur car came with the '15 old style?

[p1l0t]

Originally Posted by lbroskee

Oh u meant u want the new one for research and ur car came with the '15 old style?

No my car is 2016 and I want the same one but broken so I can buy it cheap and dissect it, lol. I'm scared to take apart my dash and mess it up. I guess I'll have to eventually if I'm going to hack it though. I emailed Fuji, Fujitsu Ten, and Clarion I'm trying to get more information. I do have a radio manual in my glove box, and I'll read through it but it's probably more how to use stock stuff than model numbers, serial numbers, OS type stuff and all that jazz. I want to know how it ticks, what OS does it use, can I make my own apps, is there an API? Things like that.

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[lbroskee]

Originally Posted by p1l0t

No my car is 2016 and I want the same one but broken so I can buy it cheap and dissect it, lol. I'm scared to take apart my dash and mess it up. I guess I'll have to eventually if I'm going to hack it though. I emailed Fuji, Fujitsu Ten, and Clarion I'm trying to get more information. I do have a radio manual in my glove box, and I'll read through it but it's probably more how to use stock stuff than model numbers, serial numbers, OS type stuff and all that jazz. I want to know how it ticks, what OS does it use, can I make my own apps, is there an API? Things like that.

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Prolly gonna have to wait a while bc still so new, and the dash is super easy to remove. All clips. I felt stupid wen I finally did it