All you wanted to know about Comand APS NTG 2.5

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NTG 2.5 COMAND with radio problem it shows device not available

Which band of radio are you selecting ? I have only seen device unavailable when selecting DAB radio, either because
a) The optional DAB tuner is broken
b) The optional DAB tuner isn't there at all (retrofitted COMAND where someone hadn't coded it properly)

Cheers
Richard
 
hi, i have my09 219 cls , it has audio 20 ntg 2.5 . Does the quadlock pinouts need to be reorganized if i install comand ntg 2.5 ?
 
hi, i have my09 219 cls , it has audio 20 ntg 2.5 . Does the quadlock pinouts need to be reorganized if i install comand ntg 2.5 ?

As you have NTG2.5 Audio-20 your car already has the bluetooth antenna, microphone and the correctly wired Quadlock so no adapter for that needed.

However you'll need a GPS antenna - I suggest a genuine Mercedes one as they just work better, and you'll need to see if your car has 2 wires into the white double fakra or just one - if just one you'll need a splitter too

https://www.commandonline.co.uk/mercedes_gps_antenna_fakra.html
https://www.commandonline.co.uk/NTG2.5-FM-antenna-splitter.html

Richard
 
thanks, that was the case :) no splitter required this time.
 
Comand APS NTG 2.5 - problems with dvd, sd, music register

To SUM UP
Regarding hidden menus.
There are 4, yes, four known hidden combinations.
1. Engineering mode with keys hangup + 6 + *
2. Dealer menu with keys hangup + 7 + 9
3. Unknown function with keys hangup + 2
4. Keep pressing the ON button will reboot the optical ring.
Another 3 facts:
1. There is an option to disable HDD protection using some unknown (so far) pin. But what is "hdd protection"?
2. There is a disabled menu called "driver distraction" that in theory can be used to alter several functions.
3. Is is possible to update the unit firmware using CD or SD without DAS but we do not know yet the procedure


Hello. I have bought from a family member a w164 model 2008, (ML 320) with Comand APS NTG 2.5 and I have experiencing the following problems:
- sometimes cd/ dvd cannot be played, ejected.
- sd card cannot be played ( but the tracks, folders are shown)
- music register doesn't start ( but, same as abive, tracks, folders are shown and more of that, I can copy files from sd card to Hdd).
The former owner didn't know about this problem, because he used radio, phone ( bluetooth) and navigation, only.
These problems happened all together ( if dvd/cd doesn't start or sd or music register, none of the 3 devices don't work). If only one of the 3 I try to play, all are functional, but after some time, it is possible to stop, it is like a lack of virtual memory...
I tried to reset the device several times from the system menu. Surprisely, this works. But the next time when I start the Comand, the 3 devices sometimes are working, sometimes not. I am not sure if and when they will colapse.
But radio, navigation and bluetooth are fully functuonal and reliable all the time.
History: 3 or 4 years ago the former owner upgraded the maps for navigation
Recent history. In november 2015 the car was chip tuned and gained some extra horse power. Have already contacted the service which did this and told me that this has nothing to do with comand, there are 2 separate computers.
Pls, tell me what to do? Shall I make a reset of the system to factory settings? Shall I make again an upgrade to new maps? or to upgrade the firmware?
Thank you.
 
Comand APS NTG 2.5 - problems with cd/ dvd, sd and music register

All you wanted to know about Comand APS NTG 2.5


Recently fell in my hands a device Comand APS NTG 2.5 which comes in some new car models from Mercedes.

Comand comes from the initials of COckpit MAnagement and Navigation Device and involves a sophisticated form of a car multi informatiom media unit.

Here we deal with NTG 2.5 with an integrated hard drive, DVD player for 6 discs, SD port Bluetooth, voice commands and more.

What stroke me is that despite this one was for series w219 an it was "worn" with no problem or modification on a w211.
Later on I saw a W164 series with a changed from fit as well on a W211 series. It seems the only difference lies on the plastic front cover.


What is more surprising and came as a shock is that the same device as the MB device is used also by VW crafter
(see here http://www.volkswagen-nutzfahrzeuge....jpg/cr0367.jpg).

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 695x375 and weights 71KB.


Some information for upgrading maps.
The device gets the upgrade from DVD discs and copies into the internal hard drive. The upgrade lasts just under 2 hours! It could be carried out while driving or be connected to a battery charger because the unit draws a good 3 Amps and will drown the battery before completion of map upgrading. During the upgrade only the radio works so you can do the upgrade during the course of a journey without being very quite on your trip.
Theoretically you can stop the process and continue from where it was left off, but I would not suggest it. The DVD could be stuck and then it would be a very expensive job ...
The maps come in 2 DVDs. The first is a DVD 9 dual layer, and the other a simple DVD. The price - with a little caution - is about 250 to 300 euros.
On the Internet you can find some copies sold or possibly find DVD images from them.
Attention, except that it is illegal to buy copies (you should be ashamed of having such a car and wanting copies!!!!), another important factor is that copies would not work. There are at least 2 protection safeguards:
A) DVD discs are read only PTP (parallel track path).
B) reads only discs that are media type = DVD-ROM and ignore the book type.
Unless you have a factory pressing DVDs, you will not get home!

The files contained in the DVDs are with .dat extension and 128MB in size each. In fact all these files (about 63 in the disk 1 and 24 in the 2) is a large container that includes all the small files that are written in the hard disk. File discinfo.inf file gives instructions on how to distinguish them and to what directory partition or disk write.

Some information about the device.
The device is made by Alpine. The model is UCPFv2 and it is based on a processor R8A77701B sh4 RISK 32bit processor and runs Windows mobile CE5 automotive (little endian). The operating system is run from flash memory rather than from hard disk. At present Telematics update is done only with the help of Mercedes with Star Diagnosis . I say "currently" because the device has an option to upgrade the software however presently is not known how!!!!!.
The device has several separate functional boards each (Bluetooth, radio, etc.). The main processor loads the files nk.bin and nk2.bin. The first the operating system CE5 and the second application. In the second file is the skin (file F_main.skn) that integrates menus and icons (in a png). Theoretically, if you allow someone to upload them without the use of DAS (star diagnosis) can also be "tickling" the device as wants by changing the font, so the icons and more.
The menu is made from the open interface in Japan. ()

The upgrade process is patented here Method and apparatus for transferring software modules - Patent Application 20040260751 and here METHOD FOR TRANSMITTING SOFTWARE MODULES - DAIMLERCHRYSLER AG .

Some other general information can be found here . Taking Things Apart d=93


A few words about the hard disk
The hard drive is 40Gb, Toshiba and the machine refuses to work with larger capacities. It is divided into 7 partition from which the latter is unformatted and is used for storing some data of the device. The rest is formatted in FAT32 and hold the map data and voice applications (reproduction and recognition) such as RS solo v4 and VoCon 3200.

A 4Gb partition keeps MP3 files (music register) while another is holding dozens of logs generated during the operation.

Also the hard drive keeps the CDDB gracenote database that has the CD titles sold currently on the U.S. or European market (depends on which maps are loaded). The CDDB can be updated even with an SD card.


The partitions are created during the upgrade. Discinfo.inf file that exists in the first DVD includes information about the creation.

Hidden menus
One is known for a long time and you will find references to the Internet. Here, exclusively, will reveal another (and another at approx.)

The most famous is the "Engineering Mode" that comes with the key sequence hangup + 6 + *.

Information is available almost everywhere that deal with this machine. The choices are few and are essentially a diagnostic menu.


One more hidden menu is called the "dealer menu" that comes with the sequence hangup + 7 + 9.


From this you can upgrade the DVD mechanism and save all settings and parameters (phone numbers, old addresses GPS etc) to an SD card.
This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 644x367 and weights 57KB.


There are also some choices for clearing the flash memory. It is not suggested to touch those seletions, for any reason.


There's one more sequence that leads to another hidden menu.
The hangup + 2, which normally should display a menu, but what really does is restarts the optical ring . Which means that it does what the ON button ON does if you hold it pressed. At present I have not used this sequence that is showing the menu.

Reversing camera
The NTG2.5 device like an NTSC camera type and not PAL if the connection is made directly from the camera into the unit (green FAKRA).

If the camera is connected onto the TV tuner can be of any type as there is a menu to choose from PAL ir NTSC.
.

Hope all above clears some issues on NTG2.5.

All the best

G.


P.S. Full credit goes to zotos in the Greek forum of http://www.zotos.biz/index.php/suppo...and-aps-ntg-25
But as it would be all Greek to you I decided to translate and modify a little for all of the community.




Hello. I have bought from a family member a w164 model 2008, (ML 320) with Comand APS NTG 2.5 and I have experiencing the following problems:
- sometimes cd/ dvd cannot be played, ejected.
- sd card cannot be played ( but the tracks, folders are shown)
- music register doesn't start ( but, same as abive, tracks, folders are shown and more of that, I can copy files from sd card to Hdd).
The former owner didn't know about this problem, because he used radio, phone ( bluetooth) and navigation, only.
These problems happened all together ( if dvd/cd doesn't start or sd or music register, none of the 3 devices don't work). If only one of the 3 I try to play, all are functional, but after some time, it is possible to stop, it is like a lack of virtual memory...
I tried to reset the device several times from the system menu. Surprisely, this works. But the next time when I start the Comand, the 3 devices sometimes are working, sometimes not. I am not sure if and when they will colapse.
But radio, navigation and bluetooth are fully functuonal and reliable all the time.
History: 3 or 4 years ago the former owner upgraded the maps for navigation
Recent history. In november 2015 the car was chip tuned and gained some extra horse power. Have already contacted the service which did this and told me that this has nothing to do with comand, there are 2 separate computers.
Pls, tell me what to do? Shall I make a reset of the system to factory settings? Shall I make again an upgrade to new maps? or to upgrade the firmware?
Thank you.
 
no idea on the above error, sorry, only thing i find is that sometimes the discs in my cd changer "fog over" when the temperature in the car drops enough to cause humidity issues and the discs can't be read.


Anyone tried a simple 40gb SSD transplant yet ?? given SSD's have no shock issues, work better in the enclosed unventilated areas and in general work faster !
 
no idea on the above error, sorry, only thing i find is that sometimes the discs in my cd changer "fog over" when the temperature in the car drops enough to cause humidity issues and the discs can't be read.


Anyone tried a simple 40gb SSD transplant yet ?? given SSD's have no shock issues, work better in the enclosed unventilated areas and in general work faster !

Yes, copied original HDD sector by sector, all folders and files seems to be on SSD but but when NTG2.5 boots up it displays a error message saying invalid maps. I tried reinstalling maps but navigation function missing so no option to upgrade maps onto the SSD. There must be some encryption based on the hardward/hdd info.
 
I'm considering fitting an ntg2.5 dvd changer comand into my 2007 E280CDI and have a few questions about the unit.

1. I have read about poor radio reception, but that seems to have been due to not powering the antenna amp and the new adaptor cable set from Daviko seems to have addressed that. Or, is there still a concern?
2. Does the unit easily download contacts from and iPhone 6? My 2009 C300 with Audio 20 (US version) did not download from iPhone IIRC.
3. Does the unit enable the use of Siri to dial phone numbers like I could on the C300 and can with my Viseeo MB4+ that's currently on the car?
4. I'd like to use Navigation as well, but I'm finding it hard to get the part number for the Nav DVD for India (825L). And ideas on where to look?

BTW, the MB w211s sold here even in late 2009 were only equipped with the non-nav CD changer version (though it was NTG2.5 based) -- EPC calls it Audio 25.

Cheers!
 
W164 dvd?

Hi, I have just bought a 2010/60 W164 ML350cdi with Comand cd/dvd changer and media interface. Does anyone know if it will play DVD'S to watch? Many thanks
 
Hi All,
I have the comand APS NTG2.5 fitted into a Vito 122 sport X that i have just purchased the unit is great apart from the radio reception which is very poor to near non existent.
The aerial is via a shark fin on the roof not connected to the aerial in the windscreen.

Does anyone have any idea what might be causing the poor radio reception?

Thanks
 
Looking to get my NTG 2.5 updated.
Don't know if I can just buy maps online, or if I need to go to a dealer to get Telematics updated first?
How do I know what version of Telematics I am on? or if i need to get it updated first?
this is my Version of Maps... does this mean I have version 3 of the maps?

I see version 14 is the most recent. I would be happy to get anywhere in between that an what I have, don't want to spend a fortune


29075710562_87b8da2bb1.jpg
 
Last edited:
I think this is what you need....

https://www.commandonline.co.uk/comand-aps-mapdvd-ntg2.5-europe.html

not monumentally expensive.

Richard or Alfie will be able to confirm for you, and if one of them doesn't reply soon i'd give them a ring.

On a side note, these 2.5 units need to be updated from genuine discs, you can't update them from copies, other alternative is ebay, but i don't know where you stand with 2nd hand discs, and also there's always the possibility of them not working at all.

as for the vol number, i don't think it's that simple, your version is i think the 5.001.2301 number, and as that needed the Jan 2010 firmware update to be installed, i think your firmware should accept the latest disc/map version, which is a number of years newer than the one you have! Again, this is one of the benefits of going through Richard at comandonline, they'll be able to ensure you have the required firmware and get the correct genuine discs for your unit
 
Just to warn people, or m it is me being overcautious!

I reckon the latest version v14 is serial no A219 827 1300

I almost pulled the trigger on one on ebay but then spotted it was V14 but serial no A219 827 2000. I had previously emailed the seller regarding shipping so sent one back saying it looked odd, so told him I though it was either not the correct version or it was fake.

He came back and told me it was a "Dealer Version"...

Is there even such a thing?
 
Yes there is such a thing, though I don't know what Part Number this is.
 
Hi All,
I have the comand APS NTG2.5 fitted into a Vito 122 sport X that i have just purchased the unit is great apart from the radio reception which is very poor to near non existent.
The aerial is via a shark fin on the roof not connected to the aerial in the windscreen.

Does anyone have any idea what might be causing the poor radio reception?

Thanks

You need the late antenna amp form MB parts and an extra wire from the unit to the screen and it will pull the weakest signal no problems, get rid of the shark fin.
 
Just trying to get some info, if an NTG 2.5 equipped car doesnt have HK sound, does it use the internal amplifier in the unit to drive the speakers ?

A chap on the AMG FB forum was telling me for sure I have a separate map but can only find the Parktronic ECU and the passenger side rear fuse box.
 
Just trying to get some info, if an NTG 2.5 equipped car doesnt have HK sound, does it use the internal amplifier in the unit to drive the speakers ?

A chap on the AMG FB forum was telling me for sure I have a separate map but can only find the Parktronic ECU and the passenger side rear fuse box.

NTG 2.5 uses its own internal amplifier unless HK is fitted in which case it uses an external HK amplifier.
 

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