Xzent Sat nav and radio

[George E C]

Afternoon all
Can you let me know if you have the Xzent system in your cab. We have an Autotrail F74 and we have had real problems with the system. For example, I can be driving down roads that have been there for years and all of a sudden, the screen goes crazy and puts me in adjacent fields, driving across streams. According to the system, it had me driving at 185mph, when approaching traffic lights!!!
George

 

[Peterd82]

Apologies for reviving this thread but can I ask if anyone has managed to connect an Android phone to an Xzent X-F285 ? Consider myself technical after more years than I care to remember in computer industry but this is defeating me. Tried numerous apps but none will connect. Seriously thinking of going over to an iphone to use Carplay - is this any better ?. Upgraded software in Xzent from 4.1 to 4.3 this afternoon thinking I had bricked unit at first when update failed but tried a slightly different way and it worked. Amazed there is no failsafe and if update fails the unit goes into an endless reboot sequence waiting for the correct file !

 

[Old Gibber]

It should connect easily. Depends what you want to use from the Android. Bluetooth certainly works, and you have to make sure you use the USB1 flying lead to link the phone directly to the Xzent.

 

[Peterd82]

I thought connection would be easy but I’m not finding that the case. Main reason for connecting to Android is to use Waze as I trust it more than the xzent nav. Bluetooth works fine and am now thinking that’s how I was able to play music from phone. Ford only offer 1 USB port and am sure that is connected to USB1 on the xzent as I have been able to update the software to 4.3. Really feel that the problem is less xzent but more finding the right app on the Google Play Store to install on my phone. Have tried a few already but still get no device connected. Have my name on a used iphone coming free next weekend and will probably leave it until then unless I hear of an app that works.

Thanks for replying, do appreciate it !

 

[Jonno1103]

Depends on the age of the head unit. The 280 doesn't have Apple Carplay or Android Auto only the 285.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[fred_jb]

The Xzent unit which came with my van, new in mid-23, did Apple Carplay but not Android Auto. Instead it provided a very flakey Android screen mirroring app which was not acceptable to me. I sold it, which went a good way towards the cost of a replacement.

I bought and fitted a Pioneer SPH950. Initially the supplier sent the wrong fitting kit and also a low spec interface for the steering wheel controls which didn't provide full functionality. Once those were replaced it has worked very well.

I didn't buy the Pioneer satnav software as the intention was to use apps on my phone via Android Auto. I either use Google maps or for pre-planned routes I use Myroute Navigation which I also use on my motorcycle as this has very good and easy to use route planning which includes the ability to take into account motorhome dimensions. The Android Auto integration on this is still being developed, so for the time being I am keeping a phone mount on the dashboard so that I can use the phone directly in case of problems.

 

[10tenmen]

I have a new Xzent x-427 unit that does only android and would like a unit that does apple car play if anyone fancies a swap of head units.

 

[PeteLewis]

Apologies for reviving this thread but can I ask if anyone has managed to connect an Android phone to an Xzent X-F285 ? Consider myself technical after more years than I care to remember in computer industry but this is defeating me. Tried numerous apps but none will connect. Seriously thinking of going over to an iphone to use Carplay - is this any better ?. Upgraded software in Xzent from 4.1 to 4.3 this afternoon thinking I had bricked unit at first when update failed but tried a slightly different way and it worked. Amazed there is no failsafe and if update fails the unit goes into an endless reboot sequence waiting for the correct file !

Hi Peter. Can you help. I have a XZent 285 and hoped to use the satnav feature. I couldn't see how to initialise the SD to download the files using naviextra so attempted to update the unit from 4.1 to 4.3, that's when it all went wrong. No matter what I try the flaming thing just won't go past the first 4 'bars' before restarting, over and over again. What did you do to update your console? Hope you don't mind me asking. Thanks.

 

[Peterd82]

Ah, that’s not good and sounds like the nightmare I had. From my experience the only way out of this endless restarting is to use another USB memory stick that the unit accepts. Fortunately I had a small USB that it accepted although I had to ignore the instructions and just put the extracted files on the USB without the original self extracting file.

I hope that this helps, feel free to ask more, this is the most helpful forum and I like to do my bit where I can. Well worth the subscription !

If you get it working as I hope you do, there is a little “feature” I fell for when using the navigation. I wanted to turn the radio off to concentrate but lost the voice directions. Now know that what I had done pressing the power button gently was muting the radio which unhelpfully mutes the navigation ! Work around is to turn radio volume down to 1 which lets the navigation give voice directions.

 

[PeteLewis]

Ah, that’s not good and sounds like the nightmare I had. From my experience the only way out of this endless restarting is to use another USB memory stick that the unit accepts. Fortunately I had a small USB that it accepted although I had to ignore the instructions and just put the extracted files on the USB without the original self extracting file.

I hope that this helps, feel free to ask more, this is the most helpful forum and I like to do my bit where I can. Well worth the subscription !

If you get it working as I hope you do, there is a little “feature” I fell for when using the navigation. I wanted to turn the radio off to concentrate but lost the voice directions. Now know that what I had done pressing the power button gently was muting the radio which unhelpfully mutes the navigation ! Work around is to turn radio volume down to 1 which lets the navigation give voice directions.

Thanks Peter

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[dcspring]

We have recently purchased a Ford Swift 594 with an Xzent F285 and it keeps resetting clock and date back to default anyone else had this problem ? haven’t got the sat nav yet as apparently it does come with sat nav when I bought the van but there is no sd card in unit so I’m waiting on dealer to sort, its been back already to the dealer already for this problem but it’s not sorted yet

 

[Peterd82]

Mine does start up with the default date but then pulls in the correct date and time. Thought this might be from DAB radio which always comes on but have just checked the manual and there is a setting for “GPS time sync mode” which might be the real answer. If you haven’t already it might be worth checking this. Naturally this will depend on yours having the GPS antenna and it being in the right place, mine wasn’t at first and had to repositioned by dealer.

 

[dcspring]

Have done this but still same as of today and now it won’t come on at all at key on or with switch on dash ,it will on come on on engine start up it seems as the live supply to the radio shuts down after 5-6 hours after ignition on and then won’t restart unit van is running again
Ps also discovered that the heater control panel does exactly the same I now suspect the permanent live circuit is being cut out by the bcm and is not a true live circuit and actually a convenience circuit
Also I was told the heater had a live supply from leisure battery and radio has live from van battery but both seem to reset to default at the same time .

 

[Jonno1103]

Apologies for reviving this thread but can I ask if anyone has managed to connect an Android phone to an Xzent X-F285 ? Consider myself technical after more years than I care to remember in computer industry but this is defeating me. Tried numerous apps but none will connect. Seriously thinking of going over to an iphone to use Carplay - is this any better ?. Upgraded software in Xzent from 4.1 to 4.3 this afternoon thinking I had bricked unit at first when update failed but tried a slightly different way and it worked. Amazed there is no failsafe and if update fails the unit goes into an endless reboot sequence waiting for the correct file !

Our Samsung phones work fine on the older head unit, it's 4 years old now. We link them through the USB slot. Use the supplied removal tools to check they've actually connected up USB1 at the rear and that the GPS isn't simply stuffed into the rats nest behind.

Factory fitted, the GPS should be adhered to the rear of the dashboard clock bezzle if not the Zenec website has a pictorial on how to re route it to the O/S corner of the windscreen. this needs to be as close to the A pillar as possible due to the heated screen elements.

 

[Peterd82]

Our Samsung phones work fine on the older head unit, it's 4 years old now. We link them through the USB slot. Use the supplied removal tools to check they've actually connected up USB1 at the rear and that the GPS isn't simply stuffed into the rats nest behind.

Factory fitted, the GPS should be adhered to the rear of the dashboard clock bezzle if not the Zenec website has a pictorial on how to re route it to the O/S corner of the windscreen. this needs to be as close to the A pillar as possible due to the heated screen elements.

Managed eventually to connect via Android Link, the dealer electrician advised me on the app to use, not immediately obvious on the play store. This was after he relocated the GPS aerial to where it should be and indeed it works a lot better now. Still not convinced about using Android Link but changing to iphone less of an option after going to photograph silver screens to list for sale on classifieds and a gust of wind blew my ipad out of my hand

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[DC4JC]

No matter what I try the flaming thing just won't go past the first 4 'bars' before restarting, over and over again. What did you do to update your console? Hope you don't mind me asking. Thanks.

Make sure stick you are using to upload the software update is 8gb or less

 

[PeteLewis]

Make sure stick you are using to upload the software update is 8gb or less

Hi. I have managed to reinstall Version 4.1, I am still struggling to install version 4.3 but for now I am happy that the system is working for our Switzerland trip. The only drive I have had success with is a 512mb FAT32 micro SD card in a reader inserted into USB1, all other drives USB and SD versions have failed (all formatted FAT32). I intend using the 512 card with the 4.3 update as I now know I can revert back to 4.1
What a stress this has been for what one would hope was a simple procedure!!!

Hi Peter. Can you help. I have a XZent 285 and hoped to use the satnav feature. I couldn't see how to initialise the SD to download the files using naviextra so attempted to update the unit from 4.1 to 4.3, that's when it all went wrong. No matter what I try the flaming thing just won't go past the first 4 'bars' before restarting, over and over again. What did you do to update your console? Hope you don't mind me asking. Thanks.

Hi. I have managed to reinstall Version 4.1, I am still struggling to install version 4.3 but for now I am happy that the system is working for our Switzerland trip. The only drive I have had success with is a 512mb FAT32 micro SD card in a reader inserted into USB1, all other drives USB and SD versions have failed (all formatted FAT32). I intend using the 512 card with the 4.3 update as I now know I can revert back to 4.1
What a stress this has been for what one would hope was a simple procedure!!!

 

[Peterd82]

Sorry, forgot to mention originally: from memory I had to use a 512mb memory stick which I was previously using for music. It’s more of a risky update than it should be. I’m not sure it wise to say you have the method now to upgrade to 4.3, in fact I’m not even sure of the benefit of upgrading.

 

[MrBlue50]

Pioneer SPH950

Hi Fred

I'm looking to replace the useless 280 unit in my Ford Benimar. Can you recommend your supplier and did it come with a fascia kit or is not required?

thanks

 

[Jonno1103]

From 2025 Trigano are using the Pioneer & the Ford OEM product across all of their brands. Zenec have been ditched. Might be worthwhile having a chat with your dealer?

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Brains]

From 2025 Trigano are using the Pioneer & the Ford OEM product across all of their brands. Zenec have been ditched. Might be worthwhile having a chat with your dealer?

Mercedes and Hymer also ditched the Zenec/Xzent units in 2019 onwards models and I believe have gone for Alpine and Panasonic.

I have a Zenec unit, it is now only used for the FM radio and rear view camera facilities.
I have switched off all other options.
I bought a proper 'stick on the screen' sat nav (Avetex Tourer three)

 

[fred_jb]

Hi Fred

I'm looking to replace the useless 280 unit in my Ford Benimar. Can you recommend your supplier and did it come with a fascia kit or is not required?

thanks

Hi,

It was a company called Car Audio Security I think. I wouldn't say they were brilliant though their prices were good. They initially sent me the wrong metal cage and fascia panel. Caused some head scratching but once I realised and told them they did send the correct bits fairly quickly. Whether you need a fascia kit and things like adapter cables I guess would depend on your particular year and model of base vehicle. There were numerous options for the Ducato so maybe not surprising that they got it wrong initially.

They also sold me a Connect2 interface for the steering wheel controls which although it worked was missing a few functions. I found that a better version was available so ordered that and they said they would refund the first one if I returned it but I don't think I ever received the refund and I couldn't be bothered chasing as their support was not particularly responsive.

 

[interbear]

I have a Xzent F-285 on our Ford Transit based conversion. As a head unit it’s poor - the sat nav is painfully slow, the DAB radio signal is very intermittent / unusable and the date/time constantly resets to default rather than maintaining the correct date/time. The only thing that works well is the rear view camera which is connected to it (dealer installed) and the switch on the dashboard that means the unit can be used when camping via the leisure battery. The latter is a really useful feature.

When driving, we always now default to just using Apple CarPlay with apps for radio or music and Google Maps for navigation. That all works fine and I can live with it, but it niggles me that the on board radio and satnav experience are sub optimal.

Does anyone have any recommendations for specific alternative head units that could easily replace the Xzent F-285?

 

[Brains]

I have a Xzent F-285 on our Ford Transit based conversion. As a head unit it’s poor - the sat nav is painfully slow, the DAB radio signal is very intermittent / unusable and the date/time constantly resets to default rather than maintaining the correct date/time. The only thing that works well is the rear view camera which is connected to it (dealer installed) and the switch on the dashboard that means the unit can be used when camping via the leisure battery. The latter is a really useful feature.

When driving, we always now default to just using Apple CarPlay with apps for radio or music and Google Maps for navigation. That all works fine and I can live with it, but it niggles me that the on board radio and satnav experience are sub optimal.

Does anyone have any recommendations for specific alternative head units that could easily replace the Xzent F-285?

The only solution if you are unlucky enough to have a Zenec or Xzent head unit is to either live with it or replace it.
The software is cheap Chinese produced and has so many faults that it should never have been released.

We have a Zenec unit, we now use it for the radio and the read camera. That is all.
We bought a Avetex Camper Three Plus 'stick on the screen' GPS unit

The replacement units, which will have a cost with a comma by the time you have had it fitted, are from Pioneer, Alpine and Panasonic.
The big issue is making sure the replacement fits the hole, as many do not.
I have seen a Pioneer Unit in a Mercedes that seemed to be a straight replacement. (maybe the AVIC-Z830DAB-C)

As we know of one person who replaced the unit, with another, and it's proud of the hole, so every time they move the gear stick they hit the screen

 

[fred_jb]

I replaced the useless Xzent, installed in my Ducato based PVC by the Hymer group converter, with an EVO950 Pioneer unit plus a Connect adapter to enable the steering wheel controls to be used. I bought this with a specific Ducato fitting kit including surround (though they sent me the wrong one to start with) and it seems there are fitting kits for various base vehicles. I didn't buy the satnav software for this head unit as I just use the Android Auto functionality to display either Google Maps or Myroute Navigation from my phone on the Pioneer screen. I actually use a cheap dedicated phone for this rather than my main phone.

The only thing I would criticise is the difficulty in stopping the Pioneer unit from persistently changing the phone's wifi setting to its own wifi channel, using the Bluetooth connection to set this up. While this might be OK and very convenient for some people, in my case this is not what I want as I want the phone to use the van's router to connect to the internet. I now connect the phone via the unit's USB connection and as long as the phone is connected and switched on before the head unit it will use the USB connection rather than wifi.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[interbear]

The only solution if you are unlucky enough to have a Zenec or Xzent head unit is to either live with it or replace it.
The software is cheap Chinese produced and has so many faults that it should never have been released.

We have a Zenec unit, we now use it for the radio and the read camera. That is all.
We bought a Avetex Camper Three Plus 'stick on the screen' GPS unit

The replacement units, which will have a cost with a comma by the time you have had it fitted, are from Pioneer, Alpine and Panasonic.
The big issue is making sure the replacement fits the hole, as many do not.
I have seen a Pioneer Unit in a Mercedes that seemed to be a straight replacement. (maybe the AVIC-Z830DAB-C)

As we know of one person who replaced the unit, with another, and it's proud of the hole, so every time they move the gear stick they hit the screen

Thanks. I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion that I am as well sticking to the Apple CarPlay option (which works fine on the Xzent) rather than shelling out up to £1k for an alternative. At least the rear reversing camera works fine as do the steering wheel controls. I'll have to live with the date/time annoyance and poor DAB reception though, if listening to the radio.

 

[B+W vanman]

Thanks. I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion that I am as well sticking to the Apple CarPlay option (which works fine on the Xzent) rather than shelling out up to £1k for an alternative. At least the rear reversing camera works fine as do the steering wheel controls. I'll have to live with the date/time annoyance and poor DAB reception though, if listening to the radio.

Yes, I came to the same conclusion, particularly as I don’t do DAB these days, and I could get a very cheap dongles to allow my iPhone to connect wirelessly

 

[fred_jb]

Thanks. I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion that I am as well sticking to the Apple CarPlay option (which works fine on the Xzent) rather than shelling out up to £1k for an alternative. At least the rear reversing camera works fine as do the steering wheel controls. I'll have to live with the date/time annoyance and poor DAB reception though, if listening to the radio.

I believe head units normally get their time from GPS. Does your Xzent have a builtin GPS receiver or an external dongle? If the latter have you checked that it is plugged in properly?

 

[interbear]

I believe head units normally get their time from GPS. Does your Xzent have a builtin GPS receiver or an external dongle? If the latter have you checked that it is plugged in properly?

Built in receiver as far as I know. The sat nav on it works OK actually but as I use Apple CarPlay for music, radio, podcasts, phone etc I default to using Google Maps on that for navigation too. Which is fine as it’s a 5.5m panel van conversion that can get pretty much everywhere a car can (other than under bridges less than 3m high )

 

[Jonno1103]

Afternoon all
Can you let me know if you have the Xzent system in your cab. We have an Autotrail F74 and we have had real problems with the system. For example, I can be driving down roads that have been there for years and all of a sudden, the screen goes crazy and puts me in adjacent fields, driving across streams. According to the system, it had me driving at 185mph, when approaching traffic lights!!!
George

Pull the head unit and see if the GPS is in the rats nest of wiring, if so relocate to the top of the dash.