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Insane Audio JL3001 Jeep Head Unit Review

STxWrangler

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I have. owned the JL3001 for a few weeks now and I thought that I would share some info here with others that either have the radio or are considering getting one for their Jeep. If I sound overboard with the accolades that I give the radio, I am not over doing it. The radio is that good.

Initially I had some issues getting my iPhone to connect to the JL3001, which I believe was the phone's fault. Previous iOS versions before the latest one appear to have had personal hot spot connectivity issues that have been claimed to be fixed in the latest iOS. After learning the ideal settings for the phone and the radio and following a routine of keeping the WiFi on in the radio settings, turning WiFi, Cellular Data and Personal Hot Spot on in the iPhone, I am connecting flawlessly and enjoying the abilities of the JL3001. Today, I downloaded the My Q app to open my garage door via the the radio screen. I also downloaded the app for my home security camera network so in just a couple of seconds I can see the activity around my house. I opted to not use Apple's CarPlay as the JL3001 has so many choices of apps that can be downloaded directly through the radio. The radio is basically a mobile computer that can store music, videos or whatever you care to store. I strongly recommend Insane Audio's JL3001. It is the cream of the crop when it comes to head units built for the Jeep and other vehicles,.

Insane Audio's support is via e-mail and telephone if your situation requires speaking to someone. At first, I did not like the fact that I had to e-mail support first to set up a call if it was something that couldn't be fixed by e-mail communique. I am very glad with the results though. For one, I was able to communicate with a technician with Insane Audio, (actually one of the programmers of the radio). It was great to receive first hand assistance as opposed to some out of the country outsourced tech support. The level of attention and support that I received was the best that I have seen from any company, barred none.

So this is a no brainer as far as I am concerned. Insane Audio's JL3001 is the best product that I have purchased in quite some time. Outstanding product with Outstanding Service.

I know that this might sound like an advertisement so I have to state that I am a customer that paid full price for my JL3001 and I have no affiliation with Insane Audio whatsoever. I took the time to write this review because I am so impressed with the quality of the radio and the high level of customer service that I have received.
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basinite

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I installed mine yesterday, it was a Christmas gift from the family. Installation wasn't overly easy, but it also wasn't very difficult either. I had to install mine 4 times!!! Dumb thing kept glitching out and the screen would have lines in it like an old "Rabbit Ears" tv.

I would install it, it would glitch out, then I would get pissed and take it back out. After cooling off in the house, sending Insane a "hate email or two", I would then go back to the garage and try again. I finally fixed it by doing 3 reboots in a row, not sure why or how, but this fixed the issue.

The 4th time was because I was having issues with the GPS not finding satellite. I fixed this by attaching it to the top of the right side vent, directly behind the unit.

I'm going to have to take the Unit out for a 5th time, because I had to move the GPS so many times, I think the double sided sticky tape has lost most of its adhesion. I'm going to buy some more double sided sticky tape and reattach it today, just to be on the safe side.

Pros;

1. I have the alpine premium sound package (sub woofer), which already sounded good, but this thing made it sound even better!!! Even my son and wife noticed the difference. Just make sure and go into settings and change to "amplifier installed".

2. You basically have a tablet in your dash and the possibilities are endless. It uses google play, so the app potential is endless and you can install whatever you want. Hell, you could stream porn while driving if you so desired, (would not recommend this, just a dumb example, LOL).

3. The display is beautiful and its cool having Live Wallpapers running on your Head Unit. It kind of adds a "custom feel" to the interior of your Jeep. Like I said, its a tablet, you can put whatever you want on there.

4. I have a Apple phone and was kind of concerned, buy I had zero issues making calls. Hey Siri, call so and so....worked perfect. I did not install the microphone and glad for it. The built in microphone works great!!

Cons;

1. I do not like the "Insane Audio" logo, looks ghetto to me. You can change the color of the logo, so I made it a whitish color to blend in with the H-VAC controls. Not as noticeable now.

2. This thing comes pre-loaded with way too many apps. I'm not sure what I can delete without jacking something up. It will take time and research to figure this out.

3. Better instructions on GPS mounting. If you install where they do in their installation video, you will probably have issues. They should have put more thought into helping customers out with where to put this thing. Would have saved me a lot of time.

I've only had it for a day, but these are my initial impressions and I am very happy with my new "toy".
 

basinite

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A little update for those of you getting ready to install this thing...

I had to move the GPS from behind the Unit, I still had issues connecting to a satellite. I ended up removing the top of the dash and connecting it the the passenger A pillar directly above the speaker.

I initially didn't want to do this, as I thought it would look "stupid" and I prefer the "clean" look and don't like shit strung out all over the place on my vehicles. After the install, I am pleased. You don't even notice it and it blends in really well.

It only took about 5 minutes to remove upper dash and hide the wires. Very easy to do and now the satellite connects in a matter of seconds. DO NOT follow Insane Audio's instructions and put the GPS directly behind the Unit under the dash. You will have issues, as others have stated.

I've had the unit for a few weeks now and love it. Well worth the $$$.
 

beaups

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A little update for those of you getting ready to install this thing...

I had to move the GPS from behind the Unit, I still had issues connecting to a satellite. I ended up removing the top of the dash and connecting it the the passenger A pillar directly above the speaker.

I initially didn't want to do this, as I thought it would look "stupid" and I prefer the "clean" look and don't like shit strung out all over the place on my vehicles. After the install, I am pleased. You don't even notice it and it blends in really well.

It only took about 5 minutes to remove upper dash and hide the wires. Very easy to do and now the satellite connects in a matter of seconds. DO NOT follow Insane Audio's instructions and put the GPS directly behind the Unit under the dash. You will have issues, as others have stated.

I've had the unit for a few weeks now and love it. Well worth the $$$.
Why didn’t you run the GPS antenna to where the instructions indicate? Took me all of 15 minutes to do that part and it’s in a great location for signal and totally out of sight.
 

basinite

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If you read my post you would see that I did exactly that. Mine didn't work, so I had to reroute.
 

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beaups

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If you read my post you would see that I did exactly that. Mine didn't work, so I had to reroute.
I did read your post. Maybe I am misunderstanding your original install of “behind the unit” but the instructions I received clearly stated to install the GPS antenna on top of the sound/roll bar.
 

basinite

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I did read your post. Maybe I am misunderstanding your original install of “behind the unit” but the instructions I received clearly stated to install the GPS antenna on top of the sound/roll bar.
If you go to Insane Audio's website they have video instructions on how to install the Unit. A technician actually installs one on a vehicle at a dealership and they give step by step instructions on how to do it, including the GPS Unit.

On there "Video" instructions, they install directly behind the Unit and recommend "you the customer" do the same thing. This is what I'm referring to and it does not work worth a sh*t. Mine did not come with paper instructions, no even sure where you got those.

The Video instructions were actually really useful and made the install a breeze. My only issues is they should not be telling us to install behind the Unit, as this clearly does not work.

Hope this answers all your questions.
 

beaups

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If you go to Insane Audio's website they have video instructions on how to install the Unit. A technician actually installs one on a vehicle at a dealership and they give step by step instructions on how to do it, including the GPS Unit.

On there "Video" instructions, they install directly behind the Unit and recommend "you the customer" do the same thing. This is what I'm referring to and it does not work worth a sh*t. Mine did not come with paper instructions, no even sure where you got those.

The Video instructions were actually really useful and made the install a breeze. My only issues is they should not be telling us to install behind the Unit, as this clearly does not work.

Hope this answers all your questions.
The JL-specific instructions have you installing the GPS antenna on top of the sound/roll bar.

I’m not sure how you managed to get it behind the unit, I don’t think I could squeezed a piece of dust back there with all the wiring ;)
 

basinite

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The JL-specific instructions have you installing the GPS antenna on top of the sound/roll bar.

I’m not sure how you managed to get it behind the unit, I don’t think I could squeezed a piece of dust back there with all the wiring ;)
True about all the wiring, LOL. It's tight, but very doable. The issue with putting it there is it takes to long to link up with the Satellite. I'm not the only one who had that issue, I received a PM from a guy who is having the same issue and is going to re-route his.

The A pillar works nice, almost instant connection. I tested it out yesterday up in the mountains on 4X4 trails and never lost signal, even when in the timber.

Now I have a question for you.....

My display is to bright for my taste at night time. I have adjusted the settings all the way to lowest brightness in Night Mode. My screen dims, when turning on head lights, so I know its working.

Do you know of any advanced setting to get the display to dim even more?
 

beaups

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True about all the wiring, LOL. It's tight, but very doable. The issue with putting it there is it takes to long to link up with the Satellite. I'm not the only one who had that issue, I received a PM from a guy who is having the same issue and is going to re-route his.

The A pillar works nice, almost instant connection. I tested it out yesterday up in the mountains on 4X4 trails and never lost signal, even when in the timber.

Now I have a question for you.....

My display is to bright for my taste at night time. I have adjusted the settings all the way to lowest brightness in Night Mode. My screen dims, when turning on head lights, so I know its working.

Do you know of any advanced setting to get the display to dim even more?
I’ve found the brightness at night reacts to both the slider in the settings menu and the wheel near the headlight switch. Mine seems to be able to get very dim, but I know that’s subjective.
 

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Redbaron73

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Does the insane audio retain the ability to adjust the vehicle settings, like aux switches etc?
 

basinite

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Does the insane audio retain the ability to adjust the vehicle settings, like aux switches etc?

The short answer is Yes. Your H-VAC controls are fully adjustable from the Unit and as far as I can tell everything else is as well. You don't lose anything, as far as I can tell.

Regarding the aux switches; I believe they are from reading other threads. But to be honest I have no experience with them, since I don't use mine.
 

basinite

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I’ve found the brightness at night reacts to both the slider in the settings menu and the wheel near the headlight switch. Mine seems to be able to get very dim, but I know that’s subjective.
The display settings range from 20-100, so there has to be some advance setting to adjust in the 0-19 range. I sent them an email, just waiting for the response.
 

nonebeter99

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Did you get this brightness issue resolved? I have a few other concerns based on what I've read about this unit on other threads on this forum. Hoping you can share your thoughts.

-Integration of factory settings (aux switches, auto seat/steering wheel heat, door locks, etc). I know you mentioned you don't use the aux switches, but do you see that in the settings? What about the auto setting for the seat/steering wheel heat? Door lock settings, etc?

-There were complaints that the volume settings were not retained from previous use. So when the car turned off, the volume reset to a standard volume. Has this been fixed?

-Music does not continue to play after the car is turned off (but before doors are open). Is this still the case?

-Many users said that the hotspot/tethering connection does not occur automatically and is a manual process each time the car is started. Is that still the case?
 

basinite

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Did you get this brightness issue resolved? I have a few other concerns based on what I've read about this unit on other threads on this forum. Hoping you can share your thoughts.

-Integration of factory settings (aux switches, auto seat/steering wheel heat, door locks, etc). I know you mentioned you don't use the aux switches, but do you see that in the settings? What about the auto setting for the seat/steering wheel heat? Door lock settings, etc?

-There were complaints that the volume settings were not retained from previous use. So when the car turned off, the volume reset to a standard volume. Has this been fixed?

-Music does not continue to play after the car is turned off (but before doors are open). Is this still the case?

-Many users said that the hotspot/tethering connection does not occur automatically and is a manual process each time the car is started. Is that still the case?

1. Integration of factory settings...……. It has seat (passenger and driver) and steering wheel heat. It also shows you when your doors are open, but not when they are locked. I'll post a pic here in a minute. I do not see aux switches in the settings, but it might be buried in there somewhere.

2. There were complaints that the volume...……..This has not been fixed, mine defaults to #5 volume setting every time after restarting the Jeep.

3. Music does not continue to play...…….This is no longer the case. When I pull into the garage and turn Jeep off, the music continues to play until I open my door.

4. Many users said that...…….This is most certainly the case and my biggest complaint. It is very annoying. Its strange, when I'm in the garage it connects to my home wifi almost instantly after starting the Jeep. I don't have to do anything, it loves my home wifi. My iPhone on the other hand, totally different story. I have to repeatedly turn my phone hotspot on/off to get the insane audio unit to finally recognize it. I have the iPhone 12 pro max, which is the newest phone. It takes me a good 15 seconds (sometimes longer, grrrr) to get the iPhone and insane audio talking and being friendly with each other. It is very annoying and I shouldn't have to do a thing, it should automatically switch over.
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