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Infotainment system software updates and coding

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173K views 100 replies 49 participants last post by  Mappy  
#1 ·
I want to dedicate this thread to the sole purpose of hacking/coding/upgrading/updating the infotainment system from a software standpoint. I want to start a dedicated thread now since the Outback is a couple months into sales. This topic is already starting to be talked about in other threads. We have all experienced a lot of quirky things, and some non-functional elements with the OEM system. Hopefully this thread will become a sticky and we can really get some momentum around this.

The sourcecode is availble here: Licence Information . This website is found under the "info" screen within the infotainment system.

Threads related are here:

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/138-gen-5-2015-present/167849-infotainment-system-eq-whack.html

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/138-gen-5-2015-present/170809-replacing-speakers-premium.html

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums....org/forums/138-gen-5-2015-present/187250-aha-pandora-starlink-native-apps.html

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/138-gen-5-2015-present/175481-mirrorlink-works-fine-proof.html
 
#4 ·
I had started a thread about the differences between the base and the premium infotainment systems here: http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums.../forums/138-gen-5-2015-present/166385-infotainment-base-vs-premium-limited.html

I haven't downloaded the source code (GPL licensed! who would have thunk it!) but I wonder if that is the code for the base or premium models. Or maybe there are a bunch of <ifdef> tags depending on which system it is compiled for.

But what I would be interested in is whether I could flash my base unit with a hacked version of the software that includes some of the premium features. Although I as I point out in that thread, there really aren't too many features missing in the base unit.

If anything, it would suck if any hacks only load on the premium hardware.
 
Z
#6 ·
I would be thrilled if I could use my USB, without it rereading it every time the car starts. It's fine once it is read, but the starting over at the beginning of the folder order very time is horrible. It just happens that it takes about the length of time to read as it takes me to drive to work. I can deal with every other quirk, but this is maddening!
 
Z
#7 ·
+1 on that...

I've been trying to see if I couldn't burn audio on to a DVD (to get more files on) vs. USB to see if the delays would be any less, but after trying multiple formats (on a DRD-RW) I was unable to find anything which the drive could read (would have expected it hard for them to get a mechanism which only read CDs.. thought we might get data/mp3 DVDs for free.. but I guess not..)
 
S
#18 ·
I have downloaded the code and will check them out. However how are we going to load the updated/complied into the unit.

The highly desired feature in my mind:
1. Support the latest MirrorLink capable smart phones, in that way, what you have on your phone will be available in our beloved OB -2015.
2. Add more possible APPs!

-----
I think the source code is not designed for OB? 2015 OB is using Clarion SmartAccess platform but the source in the link is part of Fujitsu- 10 platform. I really doubt that they are the same.
 
Z
#29 ·
I'm supposed to be getting my car back tomorrow after 2 weeks in the shop.. and they ended up swapping out the ECU, which the dealer said means I should be getting the latest firmware as a result... if someone wants to post what version(s) they have, I'll try this when I get the car back tomorrow.
 
D
#22 ·
I reviewed the source code. This is just the linux based system for embedded systems. There is nothing specific to Subaru in this source code. But there was one comment that was helpful in one of the header files: "Tactrix OpenPort (ECU) devices.... /* OpenPort 1.3 Subaru */"

Searching on this leads you to Tactrix
And if you look at their list of forums, near the bottom is forum for "TECHNICAL (ECU REVERSE ENGINEERING)" for Subarus. openecu.org ? View forum - Subaru (all models)

It is not a very active forum but at least this should help us figure out what you need to access the Subaru system.
 
M
#31 ·
Hello there. My name is Mike and I'm one of the two people that makes up the small company Tactrix. Our product supports all modern Subarus through the current years, though we're still working on definitions for the latest WRX which has an entirely new Hitachi ECU in a departure from a long stretch of Denso ECUs. I'm not sure where you saw the 2010 reference but that's incorrect.

As for the open source question, when the owner of Tactrix started the product in 2005 he intended to make all of the code open source but that was changed pretty early on as the scope of the project changed. No other people have contributed to the owner's software or firmware aside from some small contributions I've made. All of the xml definitions however, are open and free to be modified as needed. People also use the term open source tuning to mean that you're using a product that doesn't lock the ECU after tuning in the way that other commercially available products (Cobb,EcuTek) do, and modifications aren't obscured in any way.

Whether or not you can tune your particular year engine with our software depends on us having a definition for the vehicle. The definition consists of an open, often community generated, xml file detailing the location an attributes of the various tables.

All that said, I think the issues being discussed in this thread are attributes not exposed by our software, which is focused on ECU tuning. You could likely use our product to tune your engine, but not change how your stereo/info/entertainment system behaves. Those attributes are likely programmed in to non-ECU modules. Our hardware however, does support most modern vehicle communication protocols so if you found software to do what you wanted that required a J2534 device, you could use our OpenPort 2.0 hardware with that software. For instance, if you Subaru issued an update because of a TSB, you could likely use Subaru's J2534 software and our hardware to flash that update to your car.

-Mike
 
Z
#30 ·
Per the post from hockeyref2, I dumped the following info
Code: 
DA:
NOR: OU9004
ESD: OU9004
Power: 02.1021
CAN: 14.0012
Power boot: 02.1017
Power: VCL 02.0103
DB: OU9004
BusBF4_3.a: 03
BusBF4_4.1: 03

SXM: X09-0c-0a

Bluetooth: 2031

Towch SW:
Family ID: 0xA1
Variant ID: 0x0c
Version: 0x21
Build: 0xAA
I also noticed "Program Update" (Insert Media)

so that would be how we update.. if we had anything to load...

EDIT: This is for the radio in a Premium (ie. 7" touchscreen.. NOT the HK system)
 
S
#39 ·
Here is what I found on my radio. I didn't not get a chance to scroll down to find the BUS code as I only noticed the down button after I reviewed the photo I took when I got to work.

NOR: OU9005
ESD: OU9005
Power: 02.4021
CAN: 14.0012
Power boot: 02.1017
Power:
DB:
BusBF4_3.a:
BusBF4_4.1:

SXM: X09-0c-0a

Bluetooth: 2031

Touch SW:
Family ID: 0xA1
Variant ID: 0x0c
Version: 0x21
Build: 0xAA
User Data: 0x06 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
[/code]
 
Z
#44 ·
I not a software expert (tho I've probably written 50-100k lines of code over my career).. but I still don't think the open-source/GPL nature of this makes all the needed blobs available such that we could even re-create the official version we have, much less modify it to produce something better/less-buggy.

I would *love* to be proven wrong.

EDIT: ie. I think they are obligated to publish updates to open source code they use/modify to accomplish function XYZ. But any code they write to accomplish function ABC, I don't know that they are under any obligation to release that.. and we need both sets of code to recreate a fully functioning radio. If I'm wrong, please understand I am NOT trying to start a debate on GPL, etc. Hopefully someone here knows more about this than I do.
 
A
#45 ·
'16 Forester Premium, 7" non-HK. Same garbage here, no useful features <--except for on-screen thumbs up in pandora app.

I'm going to try out mirrorlink with a galaxy s3 running 4.3, hopefully next week.

My thoughts on the potential reasons we don't have the features we want (i.e. mirrorlink 1.1 for screen mirroring with a modern cell phone) are:

1) Conflict of interest <-- Nav is an upsell for Subie. Allowing anyone to use Waze or Google maps (or i guess apple maps?) could affect their ability to use nav as an upsell item.
2) Auto tech is by no means bleeding edge. <-- I don't know the facts, but I assume they don't have an army of engineers working 24/7 to push out new features to old devices when they're probably already working on projects for newer models. ...we'd be lucky just to get bugfixes/patches
3) Mirrorlink 1.1 gives you every feature, all in one shot. I wouldn't be surprised if they trickled out a couple starlink apps each year, to keep the masses thinking that they're hard at work adding cool new features and functionality to their infotainment system. (wtf is AHA?)

Anyway, if I can get the S3 to mirror to the dash, as others apparently have (i haven't seen an actual video anywhere) I will post back. Your odds of finding an old android are probably better than waiting for subie or anyone else to add functionality to the head-units. Sorry guys,

-AJ
 
A
#48 ·
Update:

Similar to the OP, got mirrorlink working, and can now use Google maps!

Phone: galaxy s3 tmobile. (the Verizon version worked, but only with WiFi off, kindof a dealbreaker considering that tethering is crucial to the process..)
Drive link version: Full Mirroring. google "drive link apk" second result
OS: 4.3 ...it also worked on 4.1.1 and 4.1.2

Important problem: mirrorlink mode hijacks the audio inputs, so you can't use normal radio or Bluetooth while mirroring.
If anyone knows how to use a different audio source when mirrorlinking pls let me know!!

Anyone determined enough to go out and but a 3-year old phone to use mirrorlink in your subaru, make sure its 0S 4.3 or older. Downgrading from 4.4+ is either difficult, or impossible in most cases.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/uploads.hipchat.com/249198/1643552/od6z59KXEf7WEme/upload.png
 
W
#59 ·
Has anyone had any luck locating firmware in other languages? I have a thread in the electronics forum where I am talking about trying to get languages other than English, Spanish, and French to display - lots of my playlists are entirely in Korean and it's super annoying! All I want is for the screen to display korean characters, but if I have to totally replace the firmware with firmware for outbacks sold in korea, so be it - I just have no idea where to look for it. Model# seems to be Fujitsu 13fsdana-ca01 - I think it's the 7". Oh, and are there any guides for updating the firmware yourself?
 
P
#60 ·
Has their been any update to the first generation of Fujitsu Ten units? My 2013 XV doesn't even have the aha update. That radio looks the same but it seems only the dealer had the ability to flash. Love if there was something I could do myself or bring a TSB to the dealer to have done. New features are nice but mostly hoping for stability improvements with items such as the backup camera.
 
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