Faked and incorrectly described headunits are common in an ever increasingly crowded market. The sellers and manufacturers of unbranded android headunits have some rogues that use underhanded tactics to make the sale. Follow our advice to steer clear of the faked specifications and fraudulent listings, and if you came to late, there is also some advice on how to make things good.
Common
A common faked headunit is a 10″ single DIN, very cheap, too cheap for its claim to be a 2Gb quadcore with running Android 9. Of course it could be genuine, but the price, compared to similarly specified headunits is your red flag. ‘If it looks too good to be true, it probably is’ and ‘buyer beware’ are some phrases to bear in mind when searching. The actual specifications could be 1Gb of RAM, which is really not enough for more than just very basic usage. In order for such a low amount of RAM to run Android, a special, limited version was made by goggle, called 8.1GO. You will usually find this installed on the fakes, but the software has been tampered with to report itself as Android 9 or Android 10. This tampering makes it look more appealing to potential buyers. You may only find out when you try to split screen or install an app that requires a version other than 8.1GO and it doesn’t work.
Deceptive advertising
Other faked or miss sold android headunits are listed as ‘PX6 Android 10’ in an attempt to trick the viewer into thinking the processor is a PX6, super quick, hexacore, running at around 2Ghz. Drill-down into the listing detail and it gives away the processor is actually a very slow quadcore and performs nothing like the snappy PX5, PX6 or even the PX30 processors.
Fake android version number
Changing the android name version to a later version in the headunit, claiming it has more ram or a faster processor is a way to make more profit, get more sales or just shift obsolete stock.
Finding a headunit with the very latest and only recently released version of android is suspicious. Having the latest version is a thing that transferred over from phone. The android headunits tend to stick on a version that works, and says with that throughout the years of production run. There is no real need to upgrade the version running and sometimes it is actually detrimental.
How do I check my Android headunit is not faked?
One of the first apps to install is AIDA64 from the playstore. This app can report back the real amount of RAM and usually the Processor. The android version will still report incorrectly, the trick to AID64 is to read the API Level. An API level of API 27 is actually Android 8.1 and the pictures shows a fake android 8.1GO that is actually API level 23 – making it’s true version, Android 6 .
The ‘8227L’ are often faked and the same fake has only 1Gb RAM, but was sold sold as 2GB. When you spot one faked specification, expect to see more.
Screen shot or photograph the AIDA46 screens for the next stage.
What should I do if my android headunit is faked?
The first thing to do is contact the vendor and supply the screenshots or photos of AIDA64 and let them know the product you paid for doesn’t reflect the product you received. Some vendors have been fooled by the wholesaler, some vendors are fraudulent. Let the vendor respond and either accept a partial refund, full refund or make a case with the platform or contact your credit card provider.
