jkell777
Junior Member
I purchased a Uconnect 8.4 UAQ w/NAV radio off of eBay out of a wrecked vehicle to swap for my stock Uconnect 8.4 w/NAV in my 2015 Ram. I needed to replace my radio anyway since I was having issues with my navigation, my clock would be out of time, and some reason my media hub wouldn't work at all with the stock radio so I wasn't able to update. I figured since I had to upgrade anyhow, I wanted a newer radio w/car play, and I figured it could be done. I wish I didn't go cheap on the radio and/or did a whole lot more research before attempting this project as I am still without the features I was wanting. I hope this thread helps someone learn from the mistakes I learned the hard way, and I hope that someone has some ideas for me to get this working finally.
So here's what I did...
I purchased my radio w/warranty off of eBay thinking that it would be a direct fit. All connections were the same so theoretically, it should plug and play. I also had a n Anti-Theft Code provided. When I received the radio I noticed my first problem was the two housings on the radios were different side by side. Irritating, but I figured I would easily modify and be able to make it work.
Old unit has bracket for mounting.
New unit has molded cast for mounting I had to grind off the housing.
I ground of the fixed mounting spots from the new unit and used the brackets from the old unit to mount onto the new unit for mounting.
I then took the new unit in my truck to install. Everything connected and worked until the install of the bezel. I was in a hurry and (being the moron I am) it wasn't lining up properly, so I decided to give a bit of a shove, which shattered the screen. Back to laying the unit on the table to inspect and order a screen, I happened to noticed that the screen (that I mistaken to be a screen protector) was delaminating. Moral of the story... inspect these not cheap items very good before grinding on them and voiding the warranty!
I finally received my brand new screen for my new unit in the mail so I started to dismantle the radio. Once I could see inside and inspect I noticed (ON MY NEW RADIO MOTHERBOARD) a wire that wasn't connected to anything and the plug it was ripped away from. Back to the computer, I ordered two different brand new mother boards for the radio.
After all this headache, I received my circuit boards to install. I installed my circuit boards and screen with ease now, back to installing in the vehicle.
I was loads more careful when installing the unit again in my truck and was very gentle with the bezel as well. Everything went together seamlessly. Everything worked! EXCEPT... I have to update my radio to the newest software to get my car play working. My media hub does not read with my new radio either. It doesn't read any device and won't even charge my phone (even with an apple charger). There is power to it of some kind as the lights around the usb glows. Doing more research, I discovered when doing this swap that I have to swap the old media hub as well for the 2018 oblong shaped one with 2 USB ports, and that I have to also grab the wiring harness conversion kit for that to make it work. They say everything will work great except for some reason the lights on it don't (which is not a big deal to me. So, I ordered the new media hub in the center console, and the wiring harness conversion, and hooked it up as soon as I received them. I am at the same point I have been at. It will not acknowledge any device that I plug into it. I have checked breakers and all. I have no idea what else to do. Does anyone have any tips that I can try? Because I am completely lost. Radio works, NAV (finally) works, Clock works, but no car play, and I cannot update my radio to the newest software with a USB thumb drive through the media hub. Any Ideas?
So here's what I did...
I purchased my radio w/warranty off of eBay thinking that it would be a direct fit. All connections were the same so theoretically, it should plug and play. I also had a n Anti-Theft Code provided. When I received the radio I noticed my first problem was the two housings on the radios were different side by side. Irritating, but I figured I would easily modify and be able to make it work.
Old unit has bracket for mounting.
New unit has molded cast for mounting I had to grind off the housing.
I ground of the fixed mounting spots from the new unit and used the brackets from the old unit to mount onto the new unit for mounting.
I then took the new unit in my truck to install. Everything connected and worked until the install of the bezel. I was in a hurry and (being the moron I am) it wasn't lining up properly, so I decided to give a bit of a shove, which shattered the screen. Back to laying the unit on the table to inspect and order a screen, I happened to noticed that the screen (that I mistaken to be a screen protector) was delaminating. Moral of the story... inspect these not cheap items very good before grinding on them and voiding the warranty!
I finally received my brand new screen for my new unit in the mail so I started to dismantle the radio. Once I could see inside and inspect I noticed (ON MY NEW RADIO MOTHERBOARD) a wire that wasn't connected to anything and the plug it was ripped away from. Back to the computer, I ordered two different brand new mother boards for the radio.
After all this headache, I received my circuit boards to install. I installed my circuit boards and screen with ease now, back to installing in the vehicle.
I was loads more careful when installing the unit again in my truck and was very gentle with the bezel as well. Everything went together seamlessly. Everything worked! EXCEPT... I have to update my radio to the newest software to get my car play working. My media hub does not read with my new radio either. It doesn't read any device and won't even charge my phone (even with an apple charger). There is power to it of some kind as the lights around the usb glows. Doing more research, I discovered when doing this swap that I have to swap the old media hub as well for the 2018 oblong shaped one with 2 USB ports, and that I have to also grab the wiring harness conversion kit for that to make it work. They say everything will work great except for some reason the lights on it don't (which is not a big deal to me. So, I ordered the new media hub in the center console, and the wiring harness conversion, and hooked it up as soon as I received them. I am at the same point I have been at. It will not acknowledge any device that I plug into it. I have checked breakers and all. I have no idea what else to do. Does anyone have any tips that I can try? Because I am completely lost. Radio works, NAV (finally) works, Clock works, but no car play, and I cannot update my radio to the newest software with a USB thumb drive through the media hub. Any Ideas?