[vsurresh]

Hi, guys.

My first post here. I'm in the UK

So, I bought X1 (2018 model) last year. The car doesn't come with CarPlay preparation. Now I regret buying a car without this feature.

I spoke with a local stereo installers and they said they can 'add' CarPlay to my car for around £600. They won't change the unit that comes with the car. Can someone please explain how do they add the CarPlay then? They also confirmed that all the iDrive features would work as normal (Tyre pressure, driver profile etc)

Would it cause any issues in the future?

Thanks in advance

[dianebrat]

Here's some reference material with the thread discussing it and your options
https://f48.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1588056

[kubax86]

Originally Posted by vsurresh

Hi, guys.

My first post here. I'm in the UK

So, I bought X1 (2018 model) last year. The car doesn't come with CarPlay preparation. Now I regret buying a car without this feature.

I spoke with a local stereo installers and they said they can 'add' CarPlay to my car for around £600. They won't change the unit that comes with the car. Can someone please explain how do they add the CarPlay then? They also confirmed that all the iDrive features would work as normal (Tyre pressure, driver profile etc)

Would it cause any issues in the future?

Thanks in advance

If your car has WLAN port it can be activated.
PM sent.

[djadam]

£600 is waaaaay too much, the CarPlay boxes cost less than £200 on ebay/aliexpress/etc. and I doubt it takes more than 20 minutes to install.
Even if you get one from Amazon they're still under £300.

£400 for installation is a rip off.

[kubax86]

Originally Posted by djadam

£600 is waaaaay too much, the CarPlay boxes cost less than £200 on ebay/aliexpress/etc. and I doubt it takes more than 20 minutes to install.
Even if you get one from Amazon they're still under £300.

£400 for installation is a rip off.

There's no point in MMI in 2018 if he has WLAN port.

[Wadadli Cooler]

I've just fitted a retrofit carplay/android auto in my 2017 Msport. The actual electrical connections are very straightforward, however you have to take apart the entire centre console, in order to free up enough cable to be able to pull out the head unit. In all it took me about 8 hours from start to finish. Quite a tough job. If I were doing it again, I would definitely pay someone, even if it did cost £400 to £600.

I bought the NBT version of this unit:
https://bavarian-automotive.co.uk/pr...rplay-retrofit

[djadam]

Originally Posted by Wadadli Cooler

I've just fitted a retrofit carplay/android auto in my 2017 Msport. The actual electrical connections are very straightforward, however you have to take apart the entire centre console, in order to free up enough cable to be able to pull out the head unit. In all it took me about 8 hours from start to finish. Quite a tough job. If I were doing it again, I would definitely pay someone, even if it did cost £400 to £600.

I bought the NBT version of this unit:
https://bavarian-automotive.co.uk/pr...rplay-retrofit

I bought this (attached) as my car came with the 6.5 inch screen.


Cost me about what you paid for the box, got it from AliExpress.

Arrived in around 10 days and I installed it myself in under an hour.

I really don't see how it took you 8 hours unless you have some sort of strange cable arrangement in your car :

[Idelgado782]

Originally Posted by djadam

I bought this (attached) as my car came with the 6.5 inch screen.


Cost me about what you paid for the box, got it from AliExpress.

Arrived in around 10 days and I installed it myself in under an hour.

I really don't see how it took you 8 hours unless you have some sort of strange cable arrangement in your car :

Hey there. What did you buy? Was it the mmi box or the entire screen? Picked up an X1 and going to upgrade to CarPlay just trying to figure out the next route for me to go.

[Wadadli Cooler]

Mine is the MMI box using the existing 8 inch screen. I think the wiring varies in different models. I have the TIS manuals and this said to remove the centre console first. Once I had freed the head unit I found there was only enough slack cable to pull out the head unit half way, so the manual was right. It's easy to test by clipping off the trim, undoing the two screws, and seeing how far the head unit will pull out. Don't force anything though, especially as there are fibre optic cables in there. 8 hours did include a lot of faffing and re-checking manuals, so you could probably get that down considerably if you're a seasoned BMW dismantler!

[dakomo]

Originally Posted by kubax86

If your car has WLAN port it can be activated.
PM sent.

Hello,

Is it possible to check if a car has a WLAN port without taking the dash apart - Would a VIN number help or a case of plugging in OBDLink/BimmerCode?

Many thanks

[eltech]

Originally Posted by kubax86

There's no point in MMI in 2018 if he has WLAN port.

There is one big reason to install MMI. Not everyone needs an apple. AA is not provided in stock.

[djadam]

Originally Posted by Idelgado782

Hey there. What did you buy? Was it the mmi box or the entire screen? Picked up an X1 and going to upgrade to CarPlay just trying to figure out the next route for me to go.

I bought the whole screen, which is a 10.25" touch screen with CarPlay and Android Auto built in as I had the 6.5" as standard on my car.

The installation was pretty stright forward, took me about 1/2 hour once I figured out I had to remove the bottom (air con controls) part first by just pulling really hard, which took me around 20-25 minutes

[Idelgado782]

Originally Posted by djadam

I bought the whole screen, which is a 10.25" touch screen with CarPlay and Android Auto built in as I had the 6.5" as standard on my car.

The installation was pretty stright forward, took me about 1/2 hour once I figured out I had to remove the bottom (air con controls) part first by just pulling really hard, which took me around 20-25 minutes

Makes sense. I thought about getting the android screen but since I already had the bigger screen I didn't the value of the size worth it for me. I picked up a PEMP MMI Box off of Amazon and it's been working ok for the money compared to the bimmertech box. But I am considering returning it to get the bimmertech.

Hey Siri doesn't work very well. I bought another mic off of Amazon to see if that helps. And I'm also having some issues with my heads up display. I can no longer change the settings and on the main screen the time is also greyed out and I'm trying to decide how much of deal breaker that is for the price.

[djadam]

I think (if you haven't already) you may need to transfer the optical wires from the original harness to the new harness which inserts into the back of the radio.
I had to do this as my trip/mileage/fuel consumption were not working on the screen after installation.

[Idelgado782]

I thought I did but maybe it's not secure enough. I definitely removed it from the stock oem harness. I'll have to pull the entire unit out again and double check it.
My trip, fuel, etc is also not working.

Thanks for the feedback!

[eltech]

Originally Posted by Idelgado782

I thought I did but maybe it's not secure enough. I definitely removed it from the stock oem harness. I'll have to pull the entire unit out again and double check it.
My trip, fuel, etc is also not working.

Thanks for the feedback!

Definitely need to carry optical wires. This bus is the MOST, and it is needed to exchange data with the dashboard.

[Idelgado782]

Originally Posted by eltech

Definitely need to carry optical wires. This bus is the MOST, and it is needed to exchange data with the dashboard.

I absolutely did transfer them over, saw tons of videos and read the instructions to be sure to
Remove it from the original harness to the new one, however maybe they aren't snapped in all the way because I'm not getting any of that data. So it's one of two things. The unit i bought is defective and they have something not coded wired on their end OR does it make a difference of the spot of where you put the optical cable? I noticed there two spots and not sure if that could make a difference in getting that data to show up.

[tokarfi77]

[djadam]

Originally Posted by Idelgado782

I absolutely did transfer them over, saw tons of videos and read the instructions to be sure to
Remove it from the original harness to the new one, however maybe they aren't snapped in all the way because I'm not getting any of that data. So it's one of two things. The unit i bought is defective and they have something not coded wired on their end OR does it make a difference of the spot of where you put the optical cable? I noticed there two spots and not sure if that could make a difference in getting that data to show up.

The slot certainly makes a difference.
It should go in the same place it was in the original harness. There's most probably nothing leading to the other empty slot.

[Idelgado782]

Well I took the car apart (literally removed the center console OUT of the car to access the bundle for the harnesses that go to the back of the head unit to get more slack) and I was wrong and didn't remove the fiber optic cable. I swapped it to the new harness and now it's all showing up again.


Thank you to everyone who helped and gave suggestions.

[kewe1874]

Carplay MMI box now fitted + 3rd Party rear boot handle with integrated Reverse Camera installed by my local Cabcom.

[iceman7]

Since my X1 F48 LCI has Apple CarPlay as standard equipment I was wondering if there is a cheap module available just for a rear view camera.