User manual

First launch

The first time you open EX Control it shows a safety notice, Read this before you continue.

1. Scroll to the end of the notice. The accept button only works once you have reached the bottom.
2. Tap I have read and accept. If you tap Do not accept, the app closes.
3. Connect the head unit to Wi-Fi with internet at least once, so the app can check your subscription and look for updates.

Finding your way

The app opens on Overview. Every screen has the same menu down the right side. Some menu items have tabs along the top.

Subscription and codes

Most features are free. Profiles (with the key fob link and welcome screen), the quick panel, home screen widgets, the automatic camera and screen mirroring need a subscription. Automatic regeneration is a separate add-on. Until 1 November 2026 every feature is open to everyone.

This screen shows your status (for example Licensed until a date, or Lifetime licence), your Device ID, and which features are unlocked.

To subscribe:

1. Make sure the head unit is on Wi-Fi.
2. Tap Subscribe and pick a plan (monthly, annual or lifetime, or the automatic regeneration add-on).
3. Read and accept the safety notice.
4. Scan the QR code with your phone and pay by card on the PayFast page. The car screen updates by itself when payment arrives.

To use a code: on the Subscribe screen tap Have a code?, type it in (it looks like EX-XXXX-XXXX) and tap Use code. A free-access code unlocks straight away. A discount code lowers the prices shown.

Free trials: under Try it first you can start a 14-day trial of the subscription, and a 7-day trial of automatic regeneration. Each trial works once per car. They appear after the introductory free period ends.

Updates

The app checks for updates by itself when Wi-Fi comes on, when you open it, and every 12 hours.

• With a subscription you see a banner, Version X is available. Tap to install. Install when it suits you.
• Without a subscription a new version must be installed before the app can be used again. The Updates screen offers Install, Check for updates and Subscribe instead.
• If the car has not been online for 30 days you get a reminder. Without a subscription, a daily warning starts in the last week, and the app stops after 60 days offline.

Profiles Subscription

Create a profile:

1. Tap New profile.
2. Enter a Profile name. Optionally add a Driver name for the welcome screen.
3. Tap Add setting and tick what this profile should change, then Done.
4. Set each value. Or tap Read from car to copy what the car is set to right now.
5. Tap Save.

Apply a profile: tap Apply next to it. You can also apply one from the profile widget, the quick panel, or by unlocking with a linked key fob. The last profile applied is highlighted.

Change or delete: tap Edit. To stop a profile changing something, remove that setting's row. Delete removes the whole profile.

What a profile can change:

• Driving: drive mode, regeneration level, automatic regeneration, steering weight.
• Climate: A/C, temperature, fan speed, airflow, recirculation.
• Comfort: seat heating (driver and passenger), steering wheel heating, cabin atmosphere lamps, head unit day/night mode.
• Driver assistance: lane keeping, lane departure warning, blind spot detection, cross traffic alerts, collision warnings, emergency braking, traffic sign recognition, speed limit warning, parking sensors, hill descent control, automatic parking brake and more. Only the ones your car reports are offered.
• Camera: camera on approach and on depart.

Key fob link Subscription

Unlock the car with a particular key and that driver's profile is applied.

1. Under Detection, turn on Watch for key fobs.
2. Press unlock on the first key. It appears under Key fobs as Key fob 1, Not linked.
3. Tap Link and choose the profile for that key.
4. Repeat with the other key.

The same screen has two extras:

• Lock when the key leaves: the car's own walk-away locking.
• Double-press unlock stops charging: press unlock twice to end a charging session. Needs key fob watching on.

Remembered climate Subscription

Each driver gets back the temperature and fan they had at the end of their last drive.

Turn the switch on in each profile that should remember. The climate is saved just before another profile is applied. If you also set a fixed temperature or fan in the profile, the fixed value wins.

Preferred phone Subscription

Choose which phone Android Auto or CarPlay connects to for this driver.

Pick a paired phone, Any (whichever shows up first), or Don't change. The phone must already be paired with the car over Bluetooth.

Welcome screen Subscription

A greeting when the display comes on in Park: good morning or evening, the driver's name, the profile, and battery and range.

1. Turn on the Welcome screen switch at the top of the Profiles screen.
2. Tap Preview to see it now.
3. Use How long it stays up to pick 1 to 60 seconds. The default is 10.

The name comes from Driver name for the welcome screen in the applied profile. If a key fob applies a different profile while it is showing, it updates itself.

Home screen widgets Subscription

EX Control has three widgets for the car's home screen: Profile (apply a driver in one tap, up to 5 profiles), Climate, and Drive mode and regeneration.

First, once per car: the car's launcher only lists widgets it has been told about.

The home screen restarts, and the card then says Installed. Remove takes the widgets back out of the picker.

Then add a widget:

1. On the car's home screen, open the widget picker for the Quick Access Bar card.
2. Choose the EX Control widget you want. They are listed under the app's name.

Quick panel Subscription

A strip that rises from the dock over any app, Android Auto and CarPlay included.

1. Turn on Show the quick panel. A small tab appears on the top edge of the dock.
2. Tap the tab to raise the panel. Tap outside it, or the grab bar, to lower it.
3. Use Tab position across the screen, Tab lift above the dock and Tab width to place the tab where your thumb finds it. Move the tab back resets it.

Choose what it shows: tap Add shortcut and pick from Profile, Drive mode, Regeneration, Airflow, Climate (A/C, recirculate, fast cool, fast heat) and Shortcuts (cameras, open an app, start Android Auto or CarPlay, mirror phone). Use the arrows to reorder, and remove what you do not want.

Other options: Open on the home screen raises it whenever you go home. Trip readouts adds distance and consumption.

Automatic regeneration Add-on

The car learns where you change the regeneration level and changes it for you next time you pass.

Turn it on: tap Turn on next to Auto is off. Or tap Auto, the fourth choice after Low, Medium and High, on the drive widget or the quick panel. A profile can turn it on too.

Teach it: with Auto on, drive as usual and change the regeneration level where you want it changed. The place, direction and speed are remembered as a point. Points belong to the car, not to one driver.

When you approach a point: a card counts down the metres, and the level changes at the point.

• Skip this time before the change, or Undo just after.
• Remove point deletes it for good.
• Skip all and Manage points appear when several points are close together.

The pill: Show the level on screen adds a small pill with the current level. Drag it to move it. Tap it to see Points on this road, where each point can be edited or removed.

Manage points: the Points list on the Regen tab lets you name, mute or delete each one. Recent decisions shows what Auto did and why.

Drive mode and regeneration buttons Free

Tap Low, Medium or High for regeneration, and Sport, Comfort or Eco for drive mode. The same buttons are on the drive widget and the quick panel.

Steering wheel modes Free

Turn the wheel's arrow buttons into climate or drive controls.

• Double-tap the voice key: air conditioning mode. Up and down change temperature, left and right change fan.
• Hold the voice key for 2 seconds: drive and regeneration mode. Up and down change regeneration, left and right change drive mode.

A bar on screen shows which mode you are in. Tap Deactivate to turn it off. The setting survives a restart.

Steering weight Free

Choose Comfort, Standard, Sport or Auto. A profile can set it too.

Trip readouts Free

Distance since reset, distance since the last full charge, and average consumption.

• In the quick panel: turn on Trip readouts in the quick panel settings. To reset, hold your finger on the readouts, then tap Reset.
• In the top bar: Tools → Notification Bar → Mileage in the bar, with a Reset trip button.

Play and pause from the wheel Free

Always on, nothing to set up. Hold volume down to pause, hold volume up to play. It never resumes music during a call.

Screen mirroring Subscription Beta

Show your phone's screen on the head unit over Miracast.

1. Open the screen above, or tap Mirror Phone on the quick panel. It says Ready.
2. On your phone open Smart View (Samsung) or Cast, and pick EX Control.
3. To stop, tap the car screen and then Stop mirroring, or tap Close.

Projection fixes Free

Fixes for wireless Android Auto and CarPlay. All are off until you turn them on.

Easiest: under Profile, choose IHU629G build 25 (South Africa) to turn on every fix tested on that unit.

Or pick individual fixes, for example:

• Restore Bluetooth after a CarPlay session and Keep Bluetooth on during a CarPlay session.
• Keep Wi-Fi on during wireless Android Auto / CarPlay.
• Only trigger CarPlay for Apple devices, so Android phones are not offered CarPlay.
• Show the CarPlay screen on connect.
• Dismiss the assistant on a wheel shortcut.

Under Start a session you can start Android Auto or CarPlay by hand.

Per-phone control Free

Every paired phone is listed with what it uses: Uses Android Auto, Uses CarPlay, or nothing seen yet. Tap Block Android Auto or Block CarPlay to turn either off for that phone, and Allow to undo.

Full-screen Android Auto Free

Tap Turn on for Full screen, dock hidden, or Turn off for Windowed, dock visible. Do not change it during a session: it restarts Android Auto.

Wi-Fi when the car wakes Free

• At unlock or start: Network → Connectivity → Turn on WiFi when opening the car.
• While charging: Settings → Home Assistant → Configure → Keep Wi-Fi on while charging. Works only while the head unit is awake.

Climate widget Subscription

Add it to the home screen as described in Home screen widgets.

Hide any control your car does not have, or you never use. Controls the car lacks are marked Not on this car. Show all brings everything back. Tapping the widget's title also opens this screen.

Recirculation that stays Free

Stops the car letting outside air in when you turn the A/C off.

• Shortcuts → Climate widget → Choose controls → Keep recirculation when A/C goes off. Only acts if recirculation was already on.
• For the defroster and climate-off cases: Tools → Climate → Prevent outside-air opening.

Climate schedules Free

Build timed steps of temperature, fan and recirculation. Run a saved schedule with a quick tap on the temperature/battery pill in the top bar.

Camera on approach / depart Subscription

The parking camera comes up by itself when you creep towards something after a stop, or pull away slowly.

1. Turn on Camera on approach, Camera on depart, or both.
2. Set Comes up below and Turns off above (km/h).
3. Use Show for 8 s to test that the camera works on your car.

Both can also be carried in a profile, or added as quick panel tiles.

Camera on indicator Free

Turn the switch on. The side view shows in the car's own camera screen while you indicate. The 5s icon keeps it up 5 seconds longer.

Cabin lighting Free

Switch the atmosphere lamps by hand, or keep them on between set times.

1. Use the Atmosphere lamps switch to turn them on or off now. The line under it says what the car reports.
2. For a schedule, turn on Switch on a schedule, then set On at and Off at. The default is 18:00 to 23:00.

Battery history Free

Always recording, nothing to turn on. Pick a range from 1 hour to 1 month, and tap or drag the graph to read any moment.

• Measure between two points: tap A, then B, to see charge and distance between them.
• Sessions: past charges and drives.
• Export to USB (CSV): saves the history to a USB drive.

App manager and installer Free

• Manage apps: Apps → App manager. Search, filter by user, system or disabled apps, enable or disable an app, clear its cache or data, and set a Boot policy so it is always on or always off at start.
• Install from USB: copy APK, XAPK or APKM files to a USB drive and plug it in. Then Apps → Installer → Install APK from USB → List, pick the file and tap Install.

Day and night schedule Free

1. Under Switch it automatically, choose Sunrise or Set times.
2. For set times, choose Day at and Night at.

Appearance on the same tab sets EX Control's own look: Light, Dark, or follow the head unit.

Home Assistant Free

1. Enter your Home Assistant address, for example http://homeassistant.local:8123.
2. Paste a Long-lived access token, or tap Sign in instead and use your username and password.
3. Tap Test connection.
4. Under What it may do, choose what to allow: Send telemetry, Let Home Assistant set the climate, and Let Home Assistant lock and open.

Show helper YAML gives you ready-made Home Assistant configuration.

Workshop mode Free

Makes the head unit look factory-stock before you hand the car in for a service.

This hides EX Control, its widgets and the quick panel, and puts wireless Android Auto back to stock.

To get everything back, do any one of these:

• Tap the bottom-left corner of the screen, just above the bottom bar, 5 times quickly.
• Wait: it restores itself after 12 hours.

Then tap Exit workshop mode if the app asks.