How to Root Your Head Unit

How to root your head unit

A simple guide to putting Magisk on an Android head unit, so Dashwheel can use the root features (and PMPatch3 after that). See Root and PMPatch3 for what each level unlocks.

Do you need this? Often not.

• Dashwheel works without root. Most people never need it.
• K706 / QF units already have a root shell (the unit's internal ADB). Dashwheel uses it by itself: windows in tiles, CAN box data, the boot logo and the camera takeover all work without Magisk. You only need Magisk for PMPatch3 (Google Maps inside a tile, Maps under the Canvas dashboard).
• No root and no internal ADB? Try Shizuku first (GitHub edition): Settings → System → More tools → Shizuku.

⚠️ At your own risk. Rooting changes the unit's start-up image. If it goes wrong the unit may not start until you reinstall its firmware from a USB stick. Keep your unit's firmware update file before you start, and never root while driving. Status: written from Magisk's own install method; the developer's K706 runs Magisk, but these exact steps have not been re-run on a fresh unit yet.

What you need

• A computer with ADB (platform-tools)
• The Magisk app, from its official page only: github.com/topjohnwu/Magisk/releases
• The unit and the computer on the same Wi-Fi (or a USB cable, if your unit has a usable USB port for ADB)
• About 20 minutes, with the car parked and the engine running or the unit on a charger

The idea in three steps

1. Get the unit's boot image (boot.img).
2. Let the Magisk app patch it.
3. Write the patched image back and restart.

How you do steps 1 and 3 depends on your unit.

Way A: units with a root ADB (K706 / QF and some others)

1. Connect. Find the unit's IP address in its Wi-Fi settings, then on the computer:

   adb connect <unit-ip>:9876
   adb shell id
   

   uid=0(root) means you have a root shell. (On other units the port is often 5555.)
2. Back up the boot image (keep this file safe, it is your way back):

   adb shell "dd if=/dev/block/by-name/boot of=/sdcard/boot.img"
   adb pull /sdcard/boot.img boot-backup.img
   

   If that path doesn't exist, adb shell ls /dev/block/by-name/ lists the partitions; units with two slots have boot_a and boot_b (adb shell getprop ro.boot.slot_suffix says which one is in use).
3. Install Magisk on the unit:

   adb install Magisk-<version>.apk
   

4. Patch. Open Magisk on the unit → Install → Select and Patch a File → pick boot.img on the internal storage → Let's go. It saves magisk_patched-xxxxx.img in Download.
5. Write it back and restart:

   adb shell "ls /sdcard/Download/magisk_patched*"
   adb shell "dd if=/sdcard/Download/magisk_patched-xxxxx.img of=/dev/block/by-name/boot"
   adb reboot
   

6. Open Magisk again. If it asks for additional setup, accept (it restarts once more). The top of the app should now show a Magisk version under Installed.

Way B: units without a root shell

1. Get boot.img from your unit's firmware update. Download the update for your exact unit (seller's site, or your unit's thread on the head units section of XDA Forums). Unzip it: boot.img is usually at the top. If the update only has payload.bin, a payload dumper tool pulls boot.img out of it.

2. Patch it on the unit with the Magisk app, as in step 4 above.

3. Write it back. Head units rarely have fastboot, so the usual ways are:

   • put the patched image back in the firmware update in place of boot.img and update from USB (the update's checksums may need fixing: follow your unit's XDA thread), or
   • if your unit has fastboot: fastboot flash boot magisk_patched-xxxxx.img.

   Every family does this a little differently: follow the guide in your unit's XDA thread for this step. See Supported Head Units to find your family.

Then: Zygisk and PMPatch3

1. In Magisk: Settings → Zygisk on, then restart the unit.
2. In Dashwheel: Settings → System → Unit tools → Google Maps inside a tile. Dashwheel downloads PMPatch3, checks it and installs it as a Magisk module. Restart once more.
3. The same row should now say Set up. Magisk will ask once to give Dashwheel root (Grant).

If something goes wrong

• The unit doesn't finish starting: if ADB still answers, write the backup back (dd if=/sdcard/boot.img of=/dev/block/by-name/boot, or push boot-backup.img first). If it doesn't, reinstall the unit's firmware from a USB stick: this puts the original boot image back.
• Magisk says "N/A" under Installed: the patched image wasn't written, or was written to the other slot. Check the partition name and slot, then write it again.
• Dashwheel says root isn't there: open Magisk → Superuser and make sure Dashwheel is allowed.
• To remove root: Magisk → Uninstall Magisk → Restore images, or write boot-backup.img back.

See also Root and PMPatch3, Installation and Updates and Troubleshooting.