[YASBBYM3]

The following is a summary taken from various threads on Bimmerpost, including multiple F30 threads and 2 active F80 threads, as well as threads on other internet boards.

ATM (and older TCB), which are the TCU/modems/4G hotspots”, are all VIN locked to your car via the eSim contained within associated with your VIN in the BMW Database. Services associated with that VIN when it left the factory are what is offered on the BMW Connected Drive Store. If you have a 2014-2015 (or even 2016) BMW with a 3G TCU (TeleCommunications Unit), your VIN will NOT be able to sub to Connected Drive/Remote Features as your vehicle is in the Connected Drive database with a 3G TCU.

In other Bimmerpost F30 threads, some users have replaced their 2G or 3G TCB at their own expense by a BMW Dealer. In the threads, if asked if they can now subscribe to Connected Drive features, they all go silent, despite being very active up to that point. Note, changing out a replacement TCU is not a DYI upgrade as the new eSim/IMEI must be registered by ISTA’s connection with the BMW master database. Between the new TCU, install labor, iLevel upgrade and tax, pics of invoices posted on the internet show this cost is $1,400-$1,500. If you retrofit the 4G TCB in your vehicle, that would be the price. However, the Connected Drive database, a separate BMW Database, will still only show offerings for your 3G VIN. Stupid, yes, but you will not get that changed based on every report thus far.

There is a way to retrofit an ATM and keep all Connected Drive features currently discussed in the F80 forum. Between the ATM, wiring harnesses,FSC codes, remote coding etc it also would run a similar price as what the BMW dealer replacement cost above, somewhat depending on exactly what you had from the factory and what you were planning to reuse.

As noted above, you could buy the parts from a “parts” car. Problem with that is BMW deactivates VINs sold as salvage on most salvage auction sites (who then list the part on eBay or other sites). Even if not deactivated, if car was part of fleet or other group, you cannot register it with Connected Drive. Of course, many parts in a wrecked “parts car” do not work (for obvious reasons). There is a NBT EVO HU for sale in the classified with 2 connectors missing making it unusable longterm. There is a thread in Electronics about someone having an issue where there reception goes in and out because if this. But that’s what you get from many “parts cars”. Buyer beware. And as many have found out the hard way, the donor VIN many sellers give you aren’t correct and cannot be read in the TCU as they are masked.

Plus I haven’t even touched on the fact that many of these ATMs need replacements as BMW is currently doing for eligible cars. You might actually be buying the uninstalled retrofit ATM from a BMW Dealership that the mechanic or janitor took home. Imagine purchasing non-refundable FSC codes for the VIN, paying a coder to set everything up and going through all that install work/coding etc only to find your unit hit one of these speed bumps? Major frustrations and additional expense straightening that out.

Even worse, the person in the UK that was making the $250 retrofit wiring harness that several members had successfully used is no longer making them. That adds to the complications as a source for future retrofit wiring harnesses isn’t known at this time. It is also beyond most individual’s abilities.

Another big issue is you must have a NBT EVO HeadUnit to work with an ATM, but 99.9% of the 2014-2015 BMW HU are NBT, not NBT EVO. Only some F22 are NBT EVO. So in addition to the ATM retrofit expense of $1,400-$1,500, you also need to swap your HU to a NBT EVO. As noted, with the chip shortage, these prices have taken off on eBay and other sources. The good news is this gives you Apple Car Play as well as a much better NAV plus the better sounding SiriusXM chips(providing you buy a USA and not ECE model), as well as other features, not to mention a faster/slicker HU. Touchscreen can also be added to later units for additional costs. And if you install a HW 3.1 unit or above, Remote Services and some other features are also possible.

So that’s the bottom line to a successfully retrofit that will still be working a year from now. Roughly $1,400-$1,500 as detailed above plus the cost of a NBT EVO unit. I personally would never spend that much and cheap out with anything less than the latest NBT EVO HW. But that’s me personally. Why spend over $2k on an upgrade and try to save several hundred so you do not get all the features? Makes no sense to me.