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Where is the factory antenna cable on U.S. based 2015 XKR Convertible with B&W system
I recently installed a 12.1" Android 12 Octo core 8g ram 128g memory HU purchased from another helpful member of the forum, and have only recently found some time to work through the install. I've got a 2015 XKR convertible and when I removed the OEM assembly, I did not find a connection to the radio antenna. The fakra connection is there at the bottom of the unit, but I didn't see anything connected to it. Did the later models relocate the tuning to the passenger's footwell or trunk? I'd like to utilize the excellent OEM antenna system if at all possible. Where is that darn antenna cable? I've ordered up a complete set of shop manual pdfs off of e-bay (sounds reliable) and will report back. The system sounds great and after some wrestling with installs and updates, the Android Auto is working and streaming Amazon Music, it sounds great. I 'd love to figure out the radio antenna and then button it up. My first thought was operator error, but I've been digging around and still find nothing back there behind the dash fitting the description of the OEM antenna cable..
Last edited by BrianC72gt; Mar 17, 2025 at 01:48 AM.
@BrianC72gt the OEM antenna connection (cable) connects to the CD player via FAKRA connector. I think the FAKRA terminal is white. you prolly have it lying around in the center stack.
@BrianC72gt the OEM antenna connection (cable) connects to the CD player via FAKRA connector. I think the FAKRA terminal is white. It isn't used in the Tesla stuyle install so you must have it lying around in the center stack.
Tha oem fakra antenna is white…you use a fakra to rca adapter to connect to the Tesla screen…
Please confirm if heated windshield control and the ability to extinguish error fault messages from the instrument cluster display is lost.
Also, it is available with black trim. I have no idea of the quality of the trim in black. Is it thin black plastic? Maybe someone can confirm.
Further, it has been mentioned the display is poorly engineered as to not be visually readable with polarized sunglasses. Not good for people who wear polarized sunglasses. Can this be confirmed?
Yes it is, I have black surround on mine, mine also has a 360 degree camera system and 256gb storage
I have a video on mine in use however forum limits the upload as its 204mb here is a link for anyone interested https://streamable.com/iuadfv its uploading in the meantime so give it an hour or so
I have the Mr12Volt installed in my 2011 XKR which works great but I was browsing AliExpress and the Tesla screens have gone down to half price plus there is an anniversary sale so very tempting.
An Android 13 unit with 6G / 128GB works out at between £600 / 700 depending on seller that is a Peng GPS unit from Peng GPS for £695 or from a different seller for £583 but that advert is sketchy as it states Android 13 then in details further down shows Android 12...
Having read through most of the thread it seems cooling seats are now working on later units and ⁰F not an issue in UK.
One quick question, is the OEM unit 'mated' to the car as I have a friend with a 2014 XKR that may want to buy my Mr12Volt kit, just wondered if I can just change it over with his or is i need to dismantle it all....
Other than that any other issues with the Tesla screen that I have missed?
I have an OBD so not too worried about any fault codes etc.
Put mine in yesterday. I thought it was going to be an easy process and the actual radio part was but I ran into a ton of problems getting it the way I wanted it (I wanted the second USB cable run back to the center console, I fruitlessly tried running the microphone up to the factory install location) and some general "car is a bit old" problems (a couple of attachment points for the right center console trim broke when taking them off and had to be mended, the largely-unused screw mounts on the bottom that the factory radio doesn't use disintegrated around the metal when I took the screws out and I needed to come up with an alternate way of attaching the new radio to them) and just plain old mistakes (I pulled the reverse camera wiring through the rubber sleeve the wrong way the first time and tore the cable, so had to buy a new cable and do it all over again).
This default launcher is pretty bad but since this is 99% of the time going to be an Android Auto front end I might just change it to Nova and be done with it. For the reverse camera I bought
, and used the licence plate mount to put it right below the trunk button. For power I used an add-a-fuse to the power top circuit and a 3 amp fuse so the camera is always powered when the car is but never when it isn't. I've found doing it so it comes on when you reverse leads to a delay in you actually getting a video.
The wire for the cable was just long enough to run through the wire sleeve from the trunk back to the interior; but if I had to do it again (a third time ) I would have the actual connection of the camera cable and the video/power breakout cable be in that sleeve to be safe. My initial thoughts are that the bass response and lower midrange are substantially better than the Jaguar DSP (which I ran in Dolby mode to try and get some quality out of it), with a much more textured sound. Mine had pre-done DSP settings for time delay that I might fiddle with, but even with the equalizer on standard it is a definite improvement. The screen resolution is a fair bit lower than I feel it should be (the PPI probably isn't that different from the factory setup), but in practice you only really notice it when Google Maps is running. My car has heated and cooled seats and heated steering wheel, and the unit controls all of them and (even though it requires multiple touches) does so more responsively than the original unit did even though the Jaguar setup defaulted on that page. I had heard about the issues with glare with this unit so
, which is about 7mm wider than the visible portion of the screen. I cut the excess length off and removed the metal frame in front of the screen to install it. Seems to have done the job.
I didn't have any interest in the 4G functionality, so I didn't bother installing the antenna for it. There were also a couple more deviations from the install video posted in this thread that either came from the seller I got it from (NaviHua) or simply from more refinement of the system.
As was mentioned by BrianC72gt, when I pulled mine out I did not have this connection to transfer over on the original head unit. If it's somewhere up there, I don't know where it is. I see from this post that the other end appears to be in the trunk connected to whatever that is at the top of part of the MOST loop. I did a cursory check of the FM radio and I was pulling stations, so maybe on 5.0 cars it sends FM data over the MOST loop? I dunno. I haven't listened to FM radio since I left New York 4 years ago so it's not a pressing thing, but if anyone has an answer I would go in and fix it.
My unit was not wired this way. From the seller it had attenuators hard wired into the speaker outputs in addition to the RCA output. I suppose I still could have used either, but I opted to plug into the attenuators instead of the (what I'm assuming are) preamp outputs. This is something I may fiddle with to compare.
Not only do they no longer use this truly horrible looking fake woodgrain, but the connector that plugs into the passenger airbag light/hazard button actually is a real connector designed for that plug and not some breadboard connector you have to break pieces off of to get to fit.
I'm very happy with it so far, and would be even if there wasn't a subsequent increase in audio quality. The original Jaguar unit was, without a doubt, the worst touchscreen interface I had ever used in a car and actively had useability problems not even present in the one I had in the 2003 Cadillac Seville I used to have. For that reason alone I think it should be considered in spite of the expense over the various modifications you can make to the OEM system to make it support Android Auto. The plastiwood is even a reasonable fascimile of the wood my car already had. I still have some fiddling to do with the sound and the various buried menu options and there's some odd behavior I've noticed that I need to investigate, but overall I'm quite pleased indeed.
Originally Posted by SpursMadDave
Just been looking on AliExpress and found an Android 14 one with 12/256GB
Should be noted that it's trivial for a cheeky manufacturer to change what the Android version number reports vs actually updating the Android version (for whatever benefit that would give for this application anyway). That's particularly true with these since in my experience with Android head units they all run a "base" Android head unit OS that is then customized for whatever the specific manufacturer is. Poking around in the back end for this reveals a bunch of things that indicate to me that the core system is identical to the old Android Auto system
, right down to the weirdly translated terms that it uses for stuff like amplifier gain settings and an identical launcher. I'm somewhat doubtful that there's actually a difference in OS version vs any of the other "brands" that sell this Jaguar system.
Thanks for all the info on installation Tornado!
mine is arriving hopefully in a couple of weeks so will give you videos a quick look as I have been assured my unit is compatible with heating and cooling seats so I'm assuming it's a similar newer unit to yours. It reports to be Android 13 but we will see, I've gone for 6G / 128GB as like you I planted to just use it as a ln Android Auto unit for Qobuz & Google Maps and DAB hopefully but that's not a deal breaker as I will use Internet Radio if needed...
sorry to hear about the issues with install, I've haI've unit out already to fit the Mr12Volt so not anticipating anything too bad, I may fit a rear cam but again not a deal breaker as I have parking sensors anyway.
....................... The original Jaguar unit was, without a doubt, the worst touchscreen interface I had ever used in a car .................
Clearly you have never used the Touch Screen in a 2023 or newer Lexus RX. Those are completely abysmal and NOT user friendly at all. Very hard to find any controls for audio at all, and the Lexus Voice system is made for 'English' only if you have a heavy Japanese accent.
My XKR's TSD is much more user friendly than that debacle.
Weirdly, the system in my 2022 Ford Super Duty is fantastic and super easy to use.
Agree that the XKR interface is woefull, unfortunately I had experience of it in my 2009 XFS although the B&W system in that made up for it 🥰
Im hoping the DSP does indeed give the XKR B&W a little bit of a lift without changing any of the stock equipment 🤞
Also another note: I corresponded with the salesperson at NaviHua about my model year before ordering, and in the bag they still included the XF MOST box in addition to the XK one (plus an additional MOST loop plug I'm guessing for people with the issue TourForceDave had). I assume NaviHua has had to send so many of the XF box out for people with 2012+ XKs that they just include it by default now.
Originally Posted by SpursMadDave
mine is arriving hopefully in a couple of weeks so will give you videos a quick look as I have been assured my unit is compatible with heating and cooling seats so I'm assuming it's a similar newer unit to yours..
That video was otherwise very helpful in the installation and I didn't see anything out of sorts with when I was going off of it. It's just those parts I clipped that my unit deviated from for installation.
Also another note: I corresponded with the salesperson at NaviHua about my model year before ordering, and in the bag they still included the XF MOST box in addition to the XK one (plus an additional MOST loop plug I'm guessing for people with the issue TourForceDave had). I assume NaviHua has had to send so many of the XF box out for people with 2012+ XKs that they just include it by default now.
That video was otherwise very helpful in the installation and I didn't see anything out of sorts with when I was going off of it. It's just those parts I clipped that my unit deviated from for installation.
Thanks, my seller has said they will send me installing instructions, I might get them to send the link now and I will compare it to yours 👍
) I would have the actual connection of the camera cable and the video/power breakout cable be in that sleeve to be safe. My initial thoughts are that the bass response and lower midrange are substantially better than the Jaguar DSP (which I ran in Dolby mode to try and get some quality out of it), with a much more textured sound. Mine had pre-done DSP settings for time delay that I might fiddle with, but even with the equalizer on standard it is a definite improvement. The screen resolution is a fair bit lower than I feel it should be (the PPI probably isn't that different from the factory setup), but in practice you only really notice it when Google Maps is running. My car has heated and cooled seats and heated steering wheel, and the unit controls all of them and (even though it requires multiple touches) does so more responsively than the original unit did even though the Jaguar setup defaulted on that page. I had heard about the issues with glare with this unit so
, which is about 7mm wider than the visible portion of the screen. I cut the excess length off and removed the metal frame in front of the screen to install it. Seems to have done the job.
