BMW 3-Series and 4-Series Forum (F30 / F32) | F30POST - View Single Post

mattmanslim · 11-23-2019, 07:40 AM

Having had my unit fitted for a couple of days now, I thought I'd take the time to write an honest, in dept review of my experiences of install and performance of the unit.

The Car:

Firstly, my car is a UK, RHD 2012 F30 that came fitted with a CIC unit, 8.8" screen, 6 pin LVDS interface and integrated features such as PDC, reverse camera and self-park. Pretty much the top spec of the CIC era.

The Screen Purchase:

The unit I ordered was the 4GB RAM and 64GB Snapdragon screen with anti-glare from Naviodm on AliExpress. It can be found here:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3304...58424c4dJtM215

The unit took about 3 days to arrive and was shipped from their European warehouse. The screen was very well packaged and came with the following items:

GPS antenna
3/4G antenna (The Snapdragon units have a sim card slot)
External speaker
Various wiring harnesses
AUX interface cable

I opted to order an external microphone from eBay, as I could foresee issues with mic volume when using the inbuilt microphone. It is worth noting that the screen has a 3.5mm jack to connect microphones, not 2.5mm.

Overall, the purchase experience was great and the communications from Naviodm were exceptional. Honestly, I cannot recommend them enough as an outlet to purchase the kit from.

The Install:

Overall, installing the screen is a quite straight forward if you've installed an aftermarket head unit before. It's a case of running all the necessary cables, tucking them behind trim and plugging them all in. All of the cables necessary for the screen fit through the factory holes without issue and there was enough space to tuck things out of the way behind the CIC unit.

My biggest challenge with install was the fact that I have installed an external amplifier using the Technic PnP harness. As such, there's not much space available behind the CIC unit. With the Android screen and Technic PnP harness, you're dealing with two quadlock adapters and as such, double the amount of stuff that sits behind a stock unit. The easiest way to get it all to fit is to be methodical and fit as much stuff to sides of where the CIC unit will slide back in. The two quadlock adapters managed to fit below and behind where the climate controls are, giving just enough space for everything to squeeze back in.

Cables for things such as USB and audio inputs were fed down to the side and exited from the plastic trim along the transmission tunnel. I've got them poking out temporarily until I permanently install them and have them linked up with the stock USB sockets. To do this, I will be using the following cable to adapt the USB sockets on the harness to the stock BMW USB socket:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/USB-Male-...72.m2749.l2649

Because I have a CIC with telematics, my AUX audio is not fed into the back of the CIC unit; it goes via the telematics module. As such, I have to utilise the stock AUX input in the armrest compartment. Like the USB solution, I will be re-interfacing the AUX cable so it joins the BMW harness and isn't visible anywhere.

A final note on Audio:I do not have any sound quality issues with this Android unit and my CIC system. No distortion, no crackly treble or anything. It is perfect. The key is to make sure the AUX input volume on the stock CIC system is set correctly and the output volume on the Android unit is somewhere around 20. Above this and you'll start to hear distortion, as you'll be over-driving the input. Get it right and it sounds fantastic!

The 4G and GPS antennas have been installed under the dash and stuck to the top of the plastic air vent tubes. This will give them sufficient line of sight to outside and are not obscured by any large metal items. The antennas themselves have self-adhesive foam on them, so this works great. GPS lock is almost instantaneous and 4G signal is stronger than my iPhone XR! I do not have an issue with the frequency bands that this unit supports when using 3 Mobile in the UK. Signal is strong and reliable.

Overall, you'll be fine. Just take your time and expect to be pulling the CIC/NBT unit out several times trying to work out why it won't return to where it should be. You'll get there.

The Unit:

Now that everything is installed and confirmed up and running, I can give my opinion of the unit. I'll start by saying that overall I am exceptionally happy and impressed with my unit. As mentioned, the sound quality is fantastic, 4G works flawlessly and the GPS lock is near instantaneous.

The CIC iDrive controller operates the screen beautifully and is very responsive. It can control all the out of the box interfaces, as well as the main Android apps selection screen. The only place it falls short is controlling other apps, where compatibility is likely to be non-existent. But that's okay, I expected that and I am aware others are creating apps to intercept the commands.

Steering wheel controls all work as they should, including the voice control button, MODE button, track toggle and volume. I'm impressed to see that the dash mounted track control buttons and steering buttons work outside of the bundled apps and is able to control Deezer perfectly. I'm shocked to say it but this actually works better than when I had my phone paired to the stock iDrive system and used bluetooth!

Now, onto bluetooth. A lot of people complain that these screens don't support anything other than audio devices or a couple of OBD dongles. That may be the case but it doesn't bother me. I've only ever wanted to use bluetooth for calls or audio, so i'm un-phased by this. What I will say is that bluetooth audio streaming is not the best, from a sound quality perspective. Phone calls are great and crystal clear but give it anything to stream with dynamic range and it'll sound choppy and quite frankly, unpleasant. I bought this unit to run music apps natively and not have to rely on my phone, so I'm honestly not bothered by this.

Overall opinion:

Overall, I'm extremely happy with this unit. It does exactly what I want and it does it very, very well. In fact, I'm so happy with it that I have purchased an unlimited data contract just to be able to fully utilise the in-built 4G and not rely on tethering.

Audio is great, all the apps I want to use work great and I haven't experienced any stability issues that I've had in the past with lower quality feeling units. It's snappy, quick to boot and offers a consistent user experience.

Integration with the standard controls is brilliant and the ability to switch back to iDrive is appreciated. It should be noted that the system automatically switches to PDC and camera when engaging reverse and automatically switches back to Android when I'm back in drive. They really seem to have nailed the CANBUS integration.

That being said, it isn't without issues. As I've acknowledged, the bluetooth isn't great if you want to use it for audio streaming. In addition, the iDrive controller doesn't control everything but that's a work in progress and something I anticipated before purchase.

I don't regret my purchase at all. It has made the driving experience even better and I look forward to using the system every time I get in the car. If you have any other questions about the unit I purchased or want to know more, drop me a PM and I'll get back to you as soon as I can

.

Matt

11-23-2019, 07:40 AM	#1218
mattmanslim Enlisted Member 24 Rep 43 Posts Drives: F30 335i Join Date: Mar 2019 Location: London iTrader: (0)	Having had my unit fitted for a couple of days now, I thought I'd take the time to write an honest, in dept review of my experiences of install and performance of the unit. The Car: Firstly, my car is a UK, RHD 2012 F30 that came fitted with a CIC unit, 8.8" screen, 6 pin LVDS interface and integrated features such as PDC, reverse camera and self-park. Pretty much the top spec of the CIC era. The Screen Purchase: The unit I ordered was the 4GB RAM and 64GB Snapdragon screen with anti-glare from Naviodm on AliExpress. It can be found here: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3304...58424c4dJtM215 The unit took about 3 days to arrive and was shipped from their European warehouse. The screen was very well packaged and came with the following items: GPS antenna 3/4G antenna (The Snapdragon units have a sim card slot) External speaker Various wiring harnesses AUX interface cable I opted to order an external microphone from eBay, as I could foresee issues with mic volume when using the inbuilt microphone. It is worth noting that the screen has a 3.5mm jack to connect microphones, not 2.5mm. Overall, the purchase experience was great and the communications from Naviodm were exceptional. Honestly, I cannot recommend them enough as an outlet to purchase the kit from. The Install: Overall, installing the screen is a quite straight forward if you've installed an aftermarket head unit before. It's a case of running all the necessary cables, tucking them behind trim and plugging them all in. All of the cables necessary for the screen fit through the factory holes without issue and there was enough space to tuck things out of the way behind the CIC unit. My biggest challenge with install was the fact that I have installed an external amplifier using the Technic PnP harness. As such, there's not much space available behind the CIC unit. With the Android screen and Technic PnP harness, you're dealing with two quadlock adapters and as such, double the amount of stuff that sits behind a stock unit. The easiest way to get it all to fit is to be methodical and fit as much stuff to sides of where the CIC unit will slide back in. The two quadlock adapters managed to fit below and behind where the climate controls are, giving just enough space for everything to squeeze back in. Cables for things such as USB and audio inputs were fed down to the side and exited from the plastic trim along the transmission tunnel. I've got them poking out temporarily until I permanently install them and have them linked up with the stock USB sockets. To do this, I will be using the following cable to adapt the USB sockets on the harness to the stock BMW USB socket: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/USB-Male-...72.m2749.l2649 Because I have a CIC with telematics, my AUX audio is not fed into the back of the CIC unit; it goes via the telematics module. As such, I have to utilise the stock AUX input in the armrest compartment. Like the USB solution, I will be re-interfacing the AUX cable so it joins the BMW harness and isn't visible anywhere. A final note on Audio:I do not have any sound quality issues with this Android unit and my CIC system. No distortion, no crackly treble or anything. It is perfect. The key is to make sure the AUX input volume on the stock CIC system is set correctly and the output volume on the Android unit is somewhere around 20. Above this and you'll start to hear distortion, as you'll be over-driving the input. Get it right and it sounds fantastic! The 4G and GPS antennas have been installed under the dash and stuck to the top of the plastic air vent tubes. This will give them sufficient line of sight to outside and are not obscured by any large metal items. The antennas themselves have self-adhesive foam on them, so this works great. GPS lock is almost instantaneous and 4G signal is stronger than my iPhone XR! I do not have an issue with the frequency bands that this unit supports when using 3 Mobile in the UK. Signal is strong and reliable. Overall, you'll be fine. Just take your time and expect to be pulling the CIC/NBT unit out several times trying to work out why it won't return to where it should be. You'll get there. The Unit: Now that everything is installed and confirmed up and running, I can give my opinion of the unit. I'll start by saying that overall I am exceptionally happy and impressed with my unit. As mentioned, the sound quality is fantastic, 4G works flawlessly and the GPS lock is near instantaneous. The CIC iDrive controller operates the screen beautifully and is very responsive. It can control all the out of the box interfaces, as well as the main Android apps selection screen. The only place it falls short is controlling other apps, where compatibility is likely to be non-existent. But that's okay, I expected that and I am aware others are creating apps to intercept the commands. Steering wheel controls all work as they should, including the voice control button, MODE button, track toggle and volume. I'm impressed to see that the dash mounted track control buttons and steering buttons work outside of the bundled apps and is able to control Deezer perfectly. I'm shocked to say it but this actually works better than when I had my phone paired to the stock iDrive system and used bluetooth! Now, onto bluetooth. A lot of people complain that these screens don't support anything other than audio devices or a couple of OBD dongles. That may be the case but it doesn't bother me. I've only ever wanted to use bluetooth for calls or audio, so i'm un-phased by this. What I will say is that bluetooth audio streaming is not the best, from a sound quality perspective. Phone calls are great and crystal clear but give it anything to stream with dynamic range and it'll sound choppy and quite frankly, unpleasant. I bought this unit to run music apps natively and not have to rely on my phone, so I'm honestly not bothered by this. Overall opinion: Overall, I'm extremely happy with this unit. It does exactly what I want and it does it very, very well. In fact, I'm so happy with it that I have purchased an unlimited data contract just to be able to fully utilise the in-built 4G and not rely on tethering. Audio is great, all the apps I want to use work great and I haven't experienced any stability issues that I've had in the past with lower quality feeling units. It's snappy, quick to boot and offers a consistent user experience. Integration with the standard controls is brilliant and the ability to switch back to iDrive is appreciated. It should be noted that the system automatically switches to PDC and camera when engaging reverse and automatically switches back to Android when I'm back in drive. They really seem to have nailed the CANBUS integration. That being said, it isn't without issues. As I've acknowledged, the bluetooth isn't great if you want to use it for audio streaming. In addition, the iDrive controller doesn't control everything but that's a work in progress and something I anticipated before purchase. I don't regret my purchase at all. It has made the driving experience even better and I look forward to using the system every time I get in the car. If you have any other questions about the unit I purchased or want to know more, drop me a PM and I'll get back to you as soon as I can . Matt Last edited by mattmanslim; 11-23-2019 at 07:51 AM..
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