[MJE60]

Quick update as at June 2019 - Tokenmaster has issued a free version of E-Sys Launcher Pro, via his blog.
https://tokenmaster.blogspot.com/201...r-pro-282.html

Update as at JAN 2021- fsc codes to enable Apple Carplay via VO coding are now being sold by BMW and are available through sources in this forum, the cost for fsc code alone is approx €350- , some coders (again can be contacted through forum appear able to bypass fsc security and enable Carplay using fdl coding but this would be overwritten if the car has a dealer software update. see Apple CarPlay Guide by MJE60.

Original post...

Having used Bimmercode successfully to make a number of changes to my car I took the plunge into E-sys because I wanted to make a major retrofit “permanent” using VO coding. The key point is that you need E-sys to change the configuration of build options in your car Head Unit (VO code), other coding is temporary and gets overwritten during any update process. I thought you might find it useful if I share my experience of learning to use E-sys and whether I thought it was worth it.

Firstly, if you are considering taking the plunge into E-sys, be warned it is not easy, can involve expense* and imho is getting riskier. The biggest problems with E-sys is that it is proprietary BMW software, never intended for public use and really needs add-on tools (E-sys Launcher and NCD/CAFD tool) in order to be easily accessible. BMW removed most attribute descriptions from more recent versions of the E-sys and a key function of the Launcher tool is that it dynamically maps descriptions using historic data into the newer E-sys versions. The “CAFD tool” was invaluable in that it allowed “what if” and before-after analysis of coding. This analysis is however, a suggestion, based on probable/possible and I found it , in my limited use, materially Incorrect for the F48.

These E-sys tools were written by Tokenmaster and shared f.o.c with the community. Unfortunately, I have read, this generosity was abused and as a result these “ free” premium versions stopped being supported and made easily available. So Whilst E-sys is proprietary, the tools are not commercial software and you cannot buy them (if you are lucky you may be able to acquire later “pro” versions through a donation system) and any/all support is totally at the discretion of the creator. Mechanisms were built into later versions of premium Launcher to prevent use outside of specific date ranges and into the CAFD tool to try to combat pirating. The CAFD tool protection is a very blunt tool and will cause problems for most users outside of U.S & U.K. and for a minority in the U.S & U.K . A situation exists therefore, whereby the majority of users of E-sys tools are doing so against the wishes of the owner. It must be assumed that this situation is unofficially tolerated because “free” but “date expired” versions are available for download on the forum. A further point, is these “free” tools are steadily becoming obsolete. IMHO, this does not make the most encouraging argument for investing time and money into learning to use E-sys.

To prolong life, Another work-around tool (but this time for Launcher rather than E-sys) was born, written by TonyTwoclicks, called “ E-sys Launcher re-arm” it allows Launcher premium to be continue being used after it’s intended end-date. It is a testament to the coding community that these more and more complex work-arounds are in place but it also means that the guides/instructions are becoming more complex and/or more out of date. Whilst TokenMaster stopped supporting the free “premium” launcher versions, new generations of BMW’ s and Microsoft Windows continued to come onto the market. New cars with new ecus result in increasingly obsolete mapping thereby increasing “risk” or just making plain difficult to use. You will, for example, be unlikely to get E-sys launcher premium to work if you have Windows 10 v18.09 . Because of the “work-arounds” it is probably easiest/best if you use a bespoke laptop * or set-up a virtual environment, in any event you will require something with a minimum of 6Gb Ram and a lot of free hard drive space.

I did not set out to write a thread of doom in respect of E-sys but the reality for F48 owners is that I found the mapping in the tools simply incomplete or wrong in some areas (for example VO change from 6UN to 6UP) and this will only get worse with each new I-Step). I also found two key pieces of information in the main introductory guide to be out of date (incorrect) for F series cars . I list them - you cannot read SVT it gives you an error code, you have to read Ecu and the screenshots show descriptions against FP which are actually not available in the “premium” version (so do not waste hours wondering if the software has not been correctly installed or trying to fix it). Granted, “Launcher” and the other tools do not actually do the coding, this is undertaken by E-sys itself, however unless You intend to use E-sys purely for VO coding, you will need the add-on tools to identify fdl coding parameters.

I spent significant time tracking down missing” / changed information, one which many people with full-time jobs and families probably do not have. If you are like me and need to understand what you are doing before you are prepared to do it (so the process not just steps) then learning E-sys and it’s “tools” will be an adventure with hours spend trawling through threads searching for answers.

So, overall I was able to achieve my main objective, I VO coded and then wrote the changes to my car VCM (vehicle configuration mgt). I did this so that the larger 8.8” touch screen and idrive touch controller retrofit would be recognised in any future dealer updates. Before updating the VCM , I fully explore the warranty Implications and learnt that it is only sensible to update the VCM if your retrofit is done with genuine oem parts which are correct for your model and build date. [Never Update your VCM with an option which would not have come out of the factory, the dealer software will throw up errors.] Because I did not trust the tools to tell me what other coding changes E-sys would make, I did not use E-sys to actually fdl code my retrofits parts. I had already done this coding using ++ Bimmercode at the time of fitting. I am sure Esys would have made several additional coding changes which I had missed but I do not know what they are or the implications and therefore I am not doing them. Despite not fully coding with E-sys, the 6UN to 6UP VO coding had an unexpected benefit, my car started to receive/install OTA navigation map updates whereas before I had been restricted to usb updates.

The failure in my project is that I spent time learning E-sys and it’s tools yet I do not trust these “free” obsolete tools or see a future for anyone dependent on them. I am grateful to a small band of kind and generous forum members like Almaretto and Shawn Sheridan who keep E-sys working and accessible for many BMW owners. They are like the Knights of old, appearing whenever really needed ( in threads), to save the day but once they hang up their hats/swords E-sys will be inaccessible to most new users. I think the greatest shame, given all the energy, generosity and time donated by TokenMaster is the restrictions now in place for the “pro” version. These have probably only hurt the individual amateur coder. Seeing dozens of posts of people pleading for access to the newer generation “pro Launcher” was the unpalatable consequence of having to search for answers. Given past ingenuity one might hope for a simple donation for one VIN, one week coding token to be set-up. [For the commercial users and past pirates, I am sure suitable revenge could also be enabled in event of abuse]. I recognise however that to do so would probably create the expectation/perception that the “tools” are commercial products which, I have read, they were/are not and any fees “ paid to Tokenmaster go 100% to charity, So deepest respect.

Overall coding and retrofitting can be great fun however I also learnt that BMW carefully protect the high profit they make on build options, if the hardware exists then you will usually need an fsc code to enable options (and these are not easily available for ~F48 Entrynav HU, although fsc codes to enable Apple CarPlay are now being sold by BMW) otherwise you will usually need to add and/or change hardware and usually many many more parts than you thought you needed because each part can have many variations.

Installing E-sys, was it worth It? imo no, With the benefit of hindsight I should have paid a professional to do the VO coding and just enjoyed playing with Bimmercode for the rest. Would I want to lose the knowledge I gained? No again but not sure it was worth the time spent.

In addition to those already mentioned (Almaretto & ShawnSheridan), a big thank you to Dayvg, God-follower and PurePulse64 for answering some of my questions and of course TokenMaster for allowing the continued use of The E-sys tools. Thanks also Tony for the “re-arm” tool.

Notes
*I ended up having to buy a laptop for E-sys, my existing device did not have enough memory to install and run E-sys and the assorted tools. As a minimum an E-net cable will be required.
++ Bimmercode is an android/iOS app which allows you to code your bmw. This “coding is in effect just setting options within the car “hidden” menu system. As some features are enabled/disabled by market, it can allow owners to “acquire” options/functions otherwise unavailable. For certain BMW , coding can assist in enabling costly options such as CarPlay but not for BMW F48
Current “ recommended” versions of E-sys and E-sys launcher can be obtained easily through the forum (a little research is required) and will work with Windows up to and including Windows 10 v 18.03. A known incompatibility exists with v18.09 which appears have been removed in later versions however there may be wider compatibility issues as “re-arm v1.7 would not work, v2.0 would.

#Latest download (as at 27 March 2019) NCD/CAFD tool loads and will load FA/SVT files but will not pull in PSdZ data (just hangs). I also found a number of PSdZ files corrupted after attempting to run the tool. This is probably Windows Beta issue but possibility it could be tool itself deliberately deactivated. Obtained earlier version which had multiple inaccuracies for F48 as well as being clearly obsolete.

[cupnoodle]

Thanks for the insight! I've just purchased an X1 and was thinking of trying this out myself. I read through some 'documentation' and I've got to say that this whole thing sounds hella complicated, and I've got 8 years of IT experience.

[MJE60]

Originally Posted by cupnoodle

Thanks for the insight! I've just purchased an X1 and was thinking of trying this out myself. I read through some 'documentation' and I've got to say that this whole thing sounds hella complicated, and I've got 8 years of IT experience.

E-sys has many die-hard fans (no pun intended) who have been using it for years. The problem for F48 (and some other newer series cars) is the security has increased on HU (ARM v Intel chips) and BMW fsc (protection /licence) codes are not easily/cheaply available. This removes the big “coding” benefits in f.o.c enabling of CarPlay, collision avoidance, navigation etc.

For owners of older cars or BMW with NBT evo HU , E-Sys really can allow very expensive options to be activated for little cost. The fsc codes can be bought from 3rd party sellers or are discreetly passed around forum members. Here again, a few generous people keep things working.

Next point, many of the long term users, I will call them the small “in crowd” do have access to the up to date E-Sys Launcher Pro” tool but most new users will not and if the numerous posts of people begging are a correct indication then it is a lottery at best. I did not even try to get “Pro” by “donating” a fellow F48 owner on the forum told me he has and was unsuccessful. In answer to a problem, you will regularly see helpful coding forum members tell newer users to get the ‘pro version” , unfortunately it is not so easy. Update June 2019 - I understand that following a period of absence (being busy elsewhere), Tokenmaster has been dealing with the backlog of “requests” for the last month or so.

For easy access BMW “coding” tools, which allow users to modify many settings and even code new hardware, Bimmercode and Carly work fine. A simple example of popular changes are to enable features disabled in certain markets (e.g. key fob tailgate closure in U.S) or remove “nanny state warning”. These tools are also improving because many of the most popular coding options have been semi-automated (simple menu selection) and they are also kept up to date.

I did/do not want to put people off learning/using E-sys (and it’s add-on tools) but cannot recommend them, especially for F48 owners, for the reasons given.

[MJE60]

Due to the number of pirated versions of E-Sys Launcher Pro, particularly v2.8.1, the creator and owner (Eli/Tokenmaster) has decided to provide free access to this (out of date but imo a better option than the also out of date premium versions). It can be accessed via his blog.

https://tokenmaster.blogspot.com/201...r-pro-282.html

I would however recommend you make a donation and request the latest version from Tokenmaster (details on how to do are well documented). I have downloaded his free version but have made a donation to one of my supported charities (prostate cancer research) as a mark of respect to Tokenmaster and his generosity to the coding community.

[Beagler]

Nice one MjE60.
I found a £10 note on the pub car park and gave it to the barmaid to put behind the bar in case someone was looking for it. Her colleague looked at me as if I had 2 heads.

[StefanJ]

Thanks for the nice overview MJE60!

I'd like to use the E-Sys launcher for my personal use, but I don't know where to read more about how to use it.
I'm a computer engineer and I know this tools can make a lot of damage if they are not used properly.
So, can you post here or send me some suggestion for starting points (documentations, forums, how to's, etc...) ?

[Easterb928]

Originally Posted by StefanJ

Thanks for the nice overview MJE60!

I'd like to use the E-Sys launcher for my personal use, but I don't know where to read more about how to use it.
I'm a computer engineer and I know this tools can make a lot of damage if they are not used properly.
So, can you post here or send me some suggestion for starting points (documentations, forums, how to's, etc...) ?

Try looking at the F30 forum. Tons of info on e-sys there, mostly where I learned from.

[MJE60]

Originally Posted by StefanJ

Thanks for the nice overview MJE60!

I'd like to use the E-Sys launcher for my personal use, but I don't know where to read more about how to use it.
I'm a computer engineer and I know this tools can make a lot of damage if they are not used properly.
So, can you post here or send me some suggestion for starting points (documentations, forums, how to's, etc...) ?

Best site imo, is Bimmerfest (a sister site so your Bimmerpost login will work) programming and coding forum. You can request software and lots of guides and info .

https://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/fo...play.php?f=175

[StefanJ]

Originally Posted by Easterb928

Try looking at the F30 forum. Tons of info on e-sys there, mostly where I learned from.

Thank you for the info.

[StefanJ]

Originally Posted by MJE60

Best site imo, is Bimmerfest (a sister site so your Bimmerpost login will work) programming and coding forum. You can request software and lots of guides and info .

https://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/fo...play.php?f=175

Thank you for the info.
I'll try there.

[MJE60]

A few forum members on Bimmercode posts have been asking to know more about E-SYS. I have also received a number of PM’S on same topic or asking for help with VO Coding. I wrote this thread nearly two years ago and it disappeared into old thread heaven. I have therefore updated it in case it is still of interest.

Finally Please note, I have not kept E-sys up to date on my computer and am not able to remote code. If you are looking this service I am sorry I do not provide it.