[Watsey]

I'll be posting a further update - don't place your orders yet.

[3-GT]

Subscribed.

Interested in doing this at some point.

[Watsey]

Further (final ?) updates from me (15 March) :

I'm certainly a newbie to CarPlay, and maybe some of my experiences are in the "numpty" category, but I assumed that iDrive and CarPlay would/could co-exist without any issues. It seems not. Since I've deleted ("forget this device") the Bluetooth connection to my car in my iPhone, and have switched Bluetooth off completely in iDrive (because from now on I'll only be using CarPlay to connect my phone), I've found that the CarPlay MMI box is booting correctly and Apps seem to be working as they should.

I've forced a reset by holding the "Back" button on the iDrive controls but, apart from having to revert the CarPlay Apps to my preferred layout, it's not clear whether this has made a difference.

Audio levels are fine now that I've adjusted the settings in CarPlay. It seems odd that Spotify doesn't have a search function in the CarPlay App, but searching using Siri is a reasonable (if not entirely accurate) fallback option.

Waze is still occasionally throwing up a message to "when safe, enable location services on your phone" which is strange because Location Services is definitely set correctly in the phone, as it always has been. Google Maps seems to be the more reliable option - maybe I'll default back that as my nav App of choice. Having done some research it does seem that Waze causes issues in CarPlay mode, so maybe this is the cause rather than the MMI unit. Voice search works well with both nav Apps.

Overall I'd say I'm 95% happy with the device; the UI is clear; installation is relatively easy if you forget about installing the reversing camera; overall value for money "good".


Further update/recommendations, for those interested in this product :

TA Automotive has been much more accessible today and the remote assistance has been much better.

After the initial setup I found that there's a significant imbalance in the audio volume levels between Spotify and navigation Apps (far louder), and that the audio settings needs to be tweaked to get the unit working properly. In iDrive the Aux volume needs to be set (using the iDrive scroll wheel) to Max/20 (you'll initially hear a lot of white noise, and you may need to immediately reduce the head unit volume as soon as you switch to CarPlay mode as it can cause the CarPlay audio be be extremely loud. The relative audio levels can then be tweaked in the CarPlay system menu using "Volume" (music) and "Alter Volume" (navigation) settings. The audio levels are now far better, and I can further tweak them as needed.

I find that navigating the CarPlay UI still isn't as intuitive as I'd like (scroll; push left; push right; etc) - I'd rank it as 8/10 for intuitiveness. I have no Idea whether that's just how CarPlay operates as an interface, or something unique to this MMI unit. It's more of a niggle than a problem.

Overall, leaving the rear camera aside (IMO definitely not worth the hassle for a DIY retrofit), for £165 for a relatively simple CarPlay installation it makes sense if your car can't have CarPlay activated purely by coding.

Further/final info :

As a CarPlay unit it seems to work "OK". It can be a bit laggy to boot up, the UI isn't the most intuitive (the rotary / nudge controls make sense in some respects, but could be better) and the Pro Nav screen is fine for displaying what I need (just Waze and Spotify really). Spotify seems to work fine. I've not made a journey with Waze running so it's too early to tell whether it'll be reliable. Just activating Waze with the car stationary (engine running) has seen a mix of full operation (good) and a blank white screen, i.e. no map (not good !).

As part of the job I also installed a new USB socket in the storage compartment in the centre armrest so my phone can be charged (the MMI unit supports this) whilst it's also being kept out of sight.

There were several big hassle factors in the installation :

Although the new wiring harnesses were easy enough to install, there is almost no excess room in the void which houses the head unit - this makes reinstalling the head unit very difficult because of the presence of the second quad lock block.

The MMI unit has to be installed in the void between the glovebox and the head unit and there isn't much that you can strap the MMI unit to. In the end I wedged some microfibre in there, keeping the MMI unit ventilation holes clear, to stop it moving/rattling.

I also bought a rear camera module, but this proved to be a waste of time (massively) and money.

The MMI unit is not configured correctly and the camera wasn't recognised. There's nothing in the instructions to help you work out what to do. I emailed TA Automotive yesterday afternoon, and did get an email this morning with some guidance, along with a note saying that he would call me this morning.

To get the rear camera recognised by the MMI unit involves turning off dynamic guide lines, which partly negates the purpose of having a rear camera.

Accessing the tailgate switch assembly is pretty much impossible, even if the rear wiper motor is removed. Reinstalling the wiper motor is a two person job because the alignment needs to be perfect otherwise the tailgate glass won't close.

By mid-afternoon, and having sent several further emails to TA Automotive asking for a call back, I'd still not heard from them. With the centre console still 'disemboweled', the tailgate de-trimmed and unusable, and no call back I gave up and reassembled everything.

This is the second MMI unit that I've bought as part of trying to retrofit a reversing camera into my car, and the second unit/process which has failed. There won't be a third.

Very disappointed in the lack of response from TA Automotive. Perhaps a classic case of being responsive in order to make the sale, and then leave the customer stranded.

Closing thoughts :

It seems to fulfil its primary purpose (CarPlay) but it's too early to tell whether it's reliable or buggy.

The rear camera module, integration and installation are a big fat NO for the F31. It's just not worth the hassle.

TA seems to have dropped the price of the MMI box to £165. For that price it's probably worth it.

As always, if I was doing this job again (especially if I didn't bother with the rear camera) I'd be able to do it in half the time. Very frustrating that this turned into a 24 hour job because of the difficulty and lack of support.

[kierownik]

Originally Posted by Watsey

I installed it this afternoon and will finish it in the morning.

Everything generally went well. The MMI box is configured ready for use (the jumper pins were set according to the screen size in my car); almost all of the connections and wiring looms are plug-n-play; clear instructions; CarPlay activated first time and seems pretty intuitive; audio quality is absolutely fine (only checked using Spotify with streaming bit rate set to max, and that sounds fine to my ears).

I always leave the head unit etc 'disembowelled' until everything is checked, and I'm glad I did the same this time as I'm also installing a reversing camera (which the TA Automotive Upgrades also supplied) but I can't get an image to display on the iDrive screen despite checking the settings several times.

I'll have a chat with the contact there (Andy - very helpful chap) - I expect it's something simple and easily resolved.

At this stage, yes I'm happy with it and for the money would recommend it.

Have you been able to get the camera to work properly?

[Watsey]

Originally Posted by kierownik

Have you been able to get the camera to work properly?

See my updates above

Yes I got the camera to work, but it seems that the only way to do this is to deactivate the dynamic lines.

Retrofitting a reversing camera may be possible in an F30, but IMO it's extremely difficult in the F31. I gave up on the basis that a) it felt like I was going to break something trying to release the existing tailgate handle out of its aperture, and, b) the access is so tight I wasn't going to have any skin left on my hand.

[Mo1995]

How do you feel about the CarPlay module itself?
I’m interested in doing similar to get CarPlay (mostly for Waze).
Is it laggy/freeze a lot ?

[Watsey]

Originally Posted by Mo1995

How do you feel about the CarPlay module itself?
I’m interested in doing similar to get CarPlay (mostly for Waze).
Is it laggy/freeze a lot ?

On the whole it's pretty good. I've noticed a few bugs :

One time Waze loaded without a map (just a white screen) but the navigation controls were present.

Another time the map was present, but the navigation controls were missing.

I find that if I get out of the car and leave the engine running, i.e. just to pop in to a garage forecourt shop, my iPhone won't fully reconnect - example (which has happened a few times) if someone calls me they can hear me, but I can't hear them. In simple terms there's no audio output in the car - phone audio out, Spotify audio out, etc, are all nil and the unit has to be restarted. It may be that I just need to toggle between iDrive and CarPlay to reset the audio connection.

If the CarPlay unit shuts down and is restarted within a minute or two, it sometimes doesn't boot-up properly.

However, on the whole it works fine and compared to the ageing ID4 system in my car I far prefer having CarPlay. It is better in pretty much every way.

[Bamboo123]

Hi all, just wondering did any one else buy 1 of these mmi unit, there is a couple of UK supplier but im not sure who to buy it from, TA automotive, Droiduk and codeyourbeemer (Instagram) i heard all these unit are basically the same but just with different FW on these boxes.

[oldhay]

Originally Posted by Bamboo123

Hi all, just wondering did any one else buy 1 of these mmi unit, there is a couple of UK supplier but im not sure who to buy it from, TA automotive, Droiduk and codeyourbeemer (Instagram) i heard all these unit are basically the same but just with different FW on these boxes.

I have one on order for a 2017 BMW 3 GT F34, along with a reversing camera, although Andrew reached out to tell me it wasn't compatible with the car, so I'm on the hunt for an alternative, plan is to fit w/c 22, will report back
Only interested in by Android, otherwise would have activated carplay

[Bamboo123]

Originally Posted by oldhay

I have one on order for a 2017 BMW 3 GT F34, along with a reversing camera, although Andrew reached out to tell me it wasn't compatible with the car, so I'm on the hunt for an alternative, plan is to fit w/c 22, will report back
Only interested in by Android, otherwise would have activated carplay

thanks for the reply, i will continue for search and research before i pull the trigger :P

[Watsey]

For those that are interested in these CarPlay MMI boxes, I added a further update to my Post #25.

[Z13-F30]

Jumping on the bandwagon here!

Ive been looking at the same as Bamboo123, problem is, there is no info on DroidUK!

I have a iDrive 5 (EVO), and i completely refuse to pay the £500 for Bimmertech if it is just the UI thats different.

The upgrade defo seems worth it for Android Users, just cant fully decide on if i should hit purchase on the box!!!

[Bamboo123]

Originally Posted by Z13-F30

Jumping on the bandwagon here!

Ive been looking at the same as Bamboo123, problem is, there is no info on DroidUK!

I have a iDrive 5 (EVO), and i completely refuse to pay the £500 for Bimmertech if it is just the UI thats different.

The upgrade defo seems worth it for Android Users, just cant fully decide on if i should hit purchase on the box!!!

i pulled the trigger and got the Ta Automotive upgrades MMI box for my E91 CIC idrive will be delivered next week - to my understand all the boxes in the UK they sell are the same as AliExpress and probably made by Andream. I went with UK seller because i did not want to be charged custom charge just in case then it will be price over the aliexpreess seller which will be deliveried in a few days instead of weeks/month

[Z13-F30]

Originally Posted by Bamboo123

i pulled the trigger and got the Ta Automotive upgrades MMI box for my E91 CIC idrive will be delivered next week - to my understand all the boxes in the UK they sell are the same as AliExpress and probably made by Andream. I went with UK seller because i did not want to be charged custom charge just in case then it will be price over the aliexpreess seller which will be deliveried in a few days instead of weeks/month

Thats what i thought! Some of them seem super expensive but are all the same!!

Can you let us know how you get on, and where you bought yours from?

Im the same as you, dont want to pay customs, and dont really want to have the hassle of it boy working and what not!!!

[Bamboo123]

Originally Posted by Z13-F30

Thats what i thought! Some of them seem super expensive but are all the same!!

Can you let us know how you get on, and where you bought yours from?

Im the same as you, dont want to pay customs, and dont really want to have the hassle of it boy working and what not!!!

Hey, got my unit from https://www.taautoupgrades.com/produ...ay-carplay-box. It got delivered today will be fitting it tomorrow or in a few days. before you buy have a read on these 2 long post to get a idea what your getting into -

https://www.m3post.com/forums/showth...8#post27363708

this link has been shorten by 1 of the members above to explain in details in a shorter post https://www.m3post.com/forums/showth...788909&page=13 - i recommend reading this 1 but if you got time read the 1 above to!

I believe this is the main link for these mmi box with all firmware upgrades and talks behind the boxes https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1675929

There was a lot of talks regarding you got to plug the aux cable into the armrest which i didnt want to do but was still going go ahead with it as i just wanted carplay but then i found the 1st link i shared someone manged to use bimmercode ( or something similar ) to code out the aux and usb in arm rest so that you can use the provided harness to share sound through headunit aux instead! i have already coded mine and waiting to install the box. I have not done much research in the F Series cars so cant comment on if you can go direct without coding to use without aux cable in armrest but for E series you had to, so maybe check out last link which is mainly for F series cars as they might have different setup then CIC drives but to my understanding they are universal and work on both cars

[Z13-F30]

Originally Posted by Bamboo123

Hey, got my unit from https://www.taautoupgrades.com/produ...ay-carplay-box. It got delivered today will be fitting it tomorrow or in a few days. before you buy have a read on these 2 long post to get a idea what your getting into -

https://www.m3post.com/forums/showth...8#post27363708

this link has been shorten by 1 of the members above to explain in details in a shorter post https://www.m3post.com/forums/showth...09&page=13 - i recommend reading this 1 but if you got time read the 1 above to!

I believe this is the main link for these mmi box with all firmware upgrades and talks behind the boxes https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1675929

There was a lot of talks regarding you got to plug the aux cable into the armrest which i didnt want to do but was still going go ahead with it as i just wanted carplay but then i found the 1st link i shared someone manged to use bimmercode ( or something similar ) to code out the aux and usb in arm rest so that you can use the provided harness to share sound through headunit aux instead! i have already coded mine and waiting to install the box. I have not done much research in the F Series cars so cant comment on if you can go direct without coding to use without aux cable in armrest but for E series you had to, so maybe check out last link which is mainly for F series cars as they might have different setup then CIC drives but to my understanding they are universal and work on both cars

Hey,

Thanks for this!!

There was a lot of talks regarding you got to plug the aux cable into the armrest which i didnt want to do but was still going go ahead with it as i just wanted carplay but then i found the 1st link i shared someone manged to use bimmercode ( or something similar ) to code out the aux and usb in arm rest so that you can use the provided harness to share sound through headunit aux instead! i have already coded mine and waiting to install the box. I have not done much research in the F Series cars so cant comment on if you can go direct without coding to use without aux cable in armrest but for E series you had to, so maybe check out last link which is mainly for F series cars as they might have different setup then CIC drives but to my understanding they are universal and work on both cars[/QUOTE]

Ill need to look into that a bit more! I dont want to use the centre console for aux at all! So will have to follow the same route, but not sure if its the same for ID5!!

Let me know how it works out for you when uve finished the install! Hopefully its a decent setup!

[Bamboo123]

Originally Posted by Z13-F30

Hey,

Thanks for this!!


Ill need to look into that a bit more! I dont want to use the centre console for aux at all! So will have to follow the same route, but not sure if its the same for ID5!!

Let me know how it works out for you when uve finished the install! Hopefully its a decent setup!

yes i will try remember to come back and report back. if you need any more feedback you can ask in https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...75929&page=315 as that is a F30 post should be the same as yours seems to be active too! If no one knows then you might can try coding the aux to harness instead of aux in armrest but ofc i dont know if that is possible in f series

[MartinCl_F31]

Originally Posted by Bamboo123

i pulled the trigger and got the Ta Automotive upgrades MMI box for my E91 CIC idrive will be delivered next week - to my understand all the boxes in the UK they sell are the same as AliExpress and probably made by Andream. I went with UK seller because i did not want to be charged custom charge just in case then it will be price over the aliexpreess seller which will be deliveried in a few days instead of weeks/month

Great news, ill be interested to read what your thoughts are on the product also.
im currently looking for a MMI and this has caught my eye.

be great to find out what the make is for firmware updates

[Bamboo123]

Originally Posted by MartinCl_F31

Great news, ill be interested to read what your thoughts are on the product also.
im currently looking for a MMI and this has caught my eye.

be great to find out what the make is for firmware updates

HI i believe it is a Andream unit as the firmware was CHL_V1.1.2 - supplier gave me the most up to date firmware CHL_V1.2.5

i have posted it in https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1675929 so they can update the list

[Bamboo123]

Originally Posted by Z13-F30

Hey,

Thanks for this!!

There was a lot of talks regarding you got to plug the aux cable into the armrest which i didnt want to do but was still going go ahead with it as i just wanted carplay but then i found the 1st link i shared someone manged to use bimmercode ( or something similar ) to code out the aux and usb in arm rest so that you can use the provided harness to share sound through headunit aux instead! i have already coded mine and waiting to install the box. I have not done much research in the F Series cars so cant comment on if you can go direct without coding to use without aux cable in armrest but for E series you had to, so maybe check out last link which is mainly for F series cars as they might have different setup then CIC drives but to my understanding they are universal and work on both cars

Ill need to look into that a bit more! I dont want to use the centre console for aux at all! So will have to follow the same route, but not sure if its the same for ID5!!

Let me know how it works out for you when uve finished the install! Hopefully its a decent setup![/QUOTE]


Hi mate a little update for you, fitted on the weekend ran into some problems not sure is it the box or the installation by me but went out today to redo everything and hopefully its fixed! So when the MMI box work it is great the sound quality is good everything seem like it could be original how it came out from factory i cannnot fault it atm only had time to really test it for 15-20 minutes. I wont have much time this/next week to test it to be honest it will have to be the April when im using the car again to be able to say is it reliable but overall it is very good

[oldhay]

Hello all, installed my TA Autoupgrades MMI box yesterday, all went well, followed the instructions, installed the box in the gap next to the glove box, again no issues, taking the glove box out, just followed the instructions. Only used Android Auto, seems to work well, sounds with the HK installed seems good to my ear anyway. Waze had crashed once and was unrecoverable, although the MMI box tried, reading forums this seems to be a known issue with Waze, I'm happy with the unit..

[cramsnik]

I installed one of these aftermarket boxes in my old Audi, cost a couple of hundred quid from Aliexpress. It kept causing my phone to get very warm when using the CarPlay feature wirelessly.

It also caused navigation apps to randomly crash and was sometimes flaky establishing a connection.

Do these suffer from the same sort of problem?

I was considering getting a proper CarPlay retrofit done but if these have now moved on in terms of reliability then it might save me a chunk of money.