tttomttt

I searched the forum for advice on a issue I am having with an aftermarket android screen to replace my M-ASK factory screen. This installation was mostly plug and play however there were no installation instructions included with this unit and factory tech help has been almost nonexistent.
My 05 530i did not come with a factory aux which tends to throw a wrench in the works for output audio on the android side of the new unit. Within the contents of the android unit they include 2 usb plugs, a microphone, a small speaker, a 3.5 mm aux plug jumper with 2 male ends, and a wireless antenna for picking up either wifi or a phone hotspot. It is suggested that if you do not have factory aux to purchase an additional small amplifier to transmit the sound to your speakers.
I chose to add aux to my system which was relatively easy to install following the DIY's on this site and others. I programmed my car to activate aux and I now have aux in my car. I chose to install 2 aftermarket usb/aux jack flush mount adapters into the center dash cubby just below the radio. I installed 2 of these so that I had access to both USB ports one of which is used for screen mirroring and the other is used for updating the android unit. In addition I connected 1 of the 3,5 mm jacks directly into my radio by cutting the male 3.5 jack off and soldering connector pins to pinout for factory aux into the stock radio. The other aux jack I connected I connected to the android units audio out jack which I thought would give me options on how I could enable sound to either emanate from either the small speaker which came with the android unit or if wanted I could jump out from one aux jack to the other using the male to male aux jack wire included with the unit and have the gps/bt phone connection sound come through the cars speakers.
Now for the problem. With no jumper wire connected between the aforementioned aux jacks

The jacks on the right are for BMW aux input and android screen mirroring. The jacks on the left are for android audio output and android updating. The small speaker is from the android purchase.
I can listen to the regular radio as normal when I switch to the android side BT to either make or receive a call instead of coming from the small android speaker it automatically switches to the cars aux system which overrides the radio and when call is ended it stays in aux mode until I switch it back manually. I do not know if this is normal or not but it definitely put a damper on how I thought I could make this audio work.
I would not mind hearing a phone call or gps instructions through the small speaker which came with the android unit I thought I could have the option of either / or small speaker or car speakers. As this installation is new I have not had the time to devote to working all the nuances out of the unit and installation procedure and I thought I could circumvent some problems by posting here and getting some advice.
The unit was purchased through Aliexpress and is made by a company called Mekede. Most of these units are very similar in installation as I have searched every aftermarket manufacturers E60 Android installation procedures. I was taken aback by the lack of installation instructions and the lack of customer support but it is what it is and I am trying to forge ahead regardless. I am pleased with the look and performance so far but I definitely need more time to devote to the use of this product in order to fully understand its operation.
Sorry for the long post but I tried to describe as best as I could my installation procedure and thoughts on how this should work.

tttomttt

Just an update for those that are interested. I am slowly shaking out all the nuances of this product and installation. I have not been able to devote a lot of time to this project as I have several irons in the fire at this time.
Bluetooth is functioning normally through the android side of the unit. According to whomever I have talked to through the BT my voice is very clear. I have the mic on the dash close to where the dash and windshield meet. Normally I would have routed it to the overhead center console but just as a setup of trial and error I ran it this way with the GPS antenna. The small GPS/BT speaker that came with the unit is actually very clear and the fact that it does not interrupt the playing of the radio when GPS instructions are being received or when a phone call comes through is kind of a nice feature. I was able to conveniently place this speaker in the center of the dash below the speaker grill as I do not have logic 7 audio.
As of this time I cannot get the native GPS (sygic) to function. In fact with my limited time playing around with it I f**cked some setting up and now all the writing is in Chinese. In addition the other native GPS choice is google maps which would be fine with me however I cannot get a map to come up with this app either. Perhaps it is an antenna problem and when I get some time I will look into this.
The USB/aux jack adapters work as advertised and I like that they are unobtrusive in their position. I never used that cubby anyway and once jacked out the wire is easily stored within the cubby.
I did get a nice response from Mekede through Aliexpress and was given a couple of update files to update the unit. I have yet to be successful at updating the unit but that could be my limited computer skills. I am not computer illiterate but I wish I knew more. There is a tutorial about loading them up but so far the unit does not recognize the files and does not decide to load them. This could be a hardware problem with the left hand USB/aux adapter as the USB connection is the access for updating the unit. I will make sure it is operating correctly when I do get the time. The connection as you probably can guess is just a male/female plug in connection so the chances of this being bad is very small, but you never know.
The right hand adapter USB is for screen mirroring and this feature works very well. I like using WAZE as my gps so this is a plus. the only downside is I did not hear any directions. This is probably just me not having enough time in the cockpit to work out the bugs.
For less than $450 I am liking what I have so far I just wish I had further time to devote to this project. I will keep this thread going and will hopefully have some more answers for those that are interested.
Thanks for reading,
Tom