I've been using an OBD Link EX wired USB adapter with my 6.0 and Android head for over a year. Works very well. Now the head has died, just bought an Atoto Gen2, hope to install it this week.
Bill

 

Jeff, I use the OBDLink SX and it works flawlessly. The 90° adapter like you recommended, I also highly recommend. I couldn't figure out if you were asking about both USB dongles or just the newer one that udsuth78 uses.

Mark, I cannot say for sure the USB ports will work for you, but I suspect they will. That type of connector that goes from a proprietary style plug to a typical USB plug is very common on/in PC's. As Josht mentioned, the hardware is probably a simple USB hub on the circuit board of the head unit.

I would say try it and go from there.

I did have to turn off the "fast charge" feature on my ATOTO A6 Pro as it didn't play well with my 3 coil wireless charger. If I plugged the phone directly into it, the fast charging worked fine. I know your question was not directed toward that aspect, but I am saying you may need to change a setting to get it tailored for your use.

Maybe not though...

In the end, if it doesn't work, ask for a refund and select a product that satisfies your requirements. There are a lot out there, especially if the OBDII dongle you plan to use is USB.

 

Bill, let us know how it goes!

 

I was just about to give out a big fat yes then decided to run out to the truck for conformation and it turns out I was incorrect. I have the vLinker FD not FD+ my apologies to any and all I may have led astray.

So far i'm not finding any wired models manufactured by them. The closest I got was an OBD2 extension cable and a OBD2 splitter/Y cable, which I was unaware was even a thing. Could be useful to some, but doubt it's what you're after.

 

Thanks guys. ATOTO got back to me overnight, and say I can connect anything to either connection, but they say to connect the dash cam to the storage port, "due to it's greater requirements". They say the OBDII adapter should be fine on the phone link port, and to "try it". I'm concerned about being into these guys for two radios that don't work, so I'm going to hook the adapter up to the phone link port on my Gen1 radio and test that, before committing to the Gen2 Premium. I'll post up about how that goes.

Jeff, your camera view looks great. I need to move mine out so I don't have a view at the top of my Excursion rear doors.

Mark

 

Mark, there is nothing to worry about until there is something to worry about. Don't stress about it, test it and see if it works and if it doesn't we can assist you from there.

The camera utilizes a much wider range of bandwidth/data than a simple OBDII adapter does. This is wise of them to give you some guidance on which port to use for which device.

The Gen 1 "might" behave differently than the Gen 2, just keep that in mind. Especially if the operating system is of a different revision or generation as well. Do you have a 12v battery on the shelf that you can test the Gen 2 and your devices with out of the truck? This is what I often do when I setup a "bench test" area. I use a 12v battery that stays in the garage and use a simple SPST switch to act as an ignition. Of course, the switch is not required. The battery will give you the full function of the ATOTO Gen 2 without audio of course unless you hook up some speakers. But, your devices and everything are capable of connecting and working with/through the Gen 2 in this simple configuration.

Keep us updated Mark!

 

Tough day. I tried the phone link port on the Gen1 radio, and it would not connect. Bummer. Figured there wasn't much point in trying the Gen2 one, so I'd put it back the way it was and swap radios with ATOTO again. But it won't connect on the original external storage port, either. Tried my old ELM327 bluetooth adapter. Won't connect. Tried my 10 year old copy of AE connected to my laptop. Won't connect.

#3 fuse is good, and cigarette lighter works fine. I can't tell you how many times I've checked it...

Followed the troubleshooting procedure for the OBDII port found in this post, and everything checks out. <1ohm on pin #4, 0ohms on pin #5 (to chassis ground, as I'm not sure how to connect to a sensor ground without pulling one, and connecting a long wire from the engine compartment to my meter lead), 12v between pin #16 and pin #4 with KOEO. All connections look good, and none of the port connections appear loose or flakey. The only odd thing is that my OBDII port only has seven active connectors, not the eight mentioned in the troubleshooting post. Pin #3 is empty, but there are only 7 wires coming from the harness to the port, so my assumption is this is normal. Engine starts and runs normally, with no check engine light.

The old radio did randomly connect one time this afternoon, but has not connected since.

Any ideas? I've been at it all day and am moving backwards.

Mark

 

The day got better... I may have a flaky OBDII port, but I know I have a flaky Gen1 radio. The net of the day is that, after the Gen1 would randomly connect correctly - a total of two times out of a dozen or two attempts - I abandoned my reticence to open the new Gen2. If it didn't work, I'd send back two radios. Anyway, the new one works fine with the OBDLink EX connected to the "phone link" port.

The interface on the Gen2 is faster than the Gen1, which is not surprising. It seems to have an odd bug where it will only connects to wifi networks if they are broadcasting their SSID. Even if name broadcast is turned on, and connection is established, the connection will drop and not reconnect if name broadcast is turned off. I got around it by creating an ATOTO-specific SSID that is broadcast only in my metal barn, but it's still a weird thing.

Mark

 

Mark, even high dollar electronics need a bit of coercing in order to work as intended sometimes.

I am pleased to see you are on the path to success. Although, if it is not feeling right for your application, stop and take another route.

No sense in fighting with something that is supposed to make your life a bit easier.

 

Amazing thread, thank you for being pioneers and keeping this thread running!

Strong background in IT and electronics here and have installed plenty of head units in my day, but this is most first, rather belated, entry into Android head units. Currently looking at both the Atoto and Joying units. For the Atoto, which seems to be a bit more prudent since so many folks on this form have experience with it, just curious if anyone has made the jump to an S8 Gen2 yet and what concerns, if any, I should have?

 

Hey there! This truly was a community effort, I only documented my portion and thoughts.

Mark (scaldeddog) I believe has an S8 Gen2.

I like my A6 Pro very much, but if I hadn't thought I needed the dual BT I may have gone a different route. I used it for love Google Naps navigation this summer for a 5,500 mile trip and just today to travel to an FTE get together in the north GA mountains.

Having a tablet in the dash is a nice upgrade to the old truck.

 

Thanks Sous. Yes, I do have an S8 Gen2. It's much faster than the Gen1, and seems more stable. My only complaint is with the USB ports. If one wants both a wired USB OBDII interface and a dash cam, then you must get the Pro model, or higher, in order to have two "storage" ports. Despite ATOTO's assertions to the contrary, the "Phone Link" port will not support an OBDII adapter, and models beneath the Pro only have a single storage port, plus a phone link port.

Mark

 

I'm one of those S8 owners with only 2 USB ports. Shoot, Mark, did the Gen2 S8 "phone link" port stop working for OBDII? I was hoping to use it for that on my Gen1 S8 premium with the OBDLink SX

 

Jeff, it's not so much that it stopped working, but I think I was a bit premature in saying that it did. It does connect, though it seemed like it took a few tries, and once it connected I thought all was good. What I noticed, though, is that the gauges weren't moving, and every few seconds they'd jump to a new value. I tried it two different times, with the same results. I'm happy to fool with it some more, though, particularly now that I know others are interested in the results.

Mark

 

I had to set my "fast charge" port to not fast charge in order to work properly for my application.

I also had to set the data communication speed and protocol in FSL to a different setting than what default was. There were 6 or so options and somewhere near #5 is when it started working and has been working.

I believe I noted the settings above somewhere.