[akgambino]

Originally Posted by awmenard

If I understand correctly if your phone is plugged in you get music and still get navigation correct?

Yes. Sure be nice if you didn't have to plug in your phone every time you get in your car oh wait that's what bluetooth audio is for. Shame this unichip CarPlay device costs so much money and can't add Bluetooth music streaming to all of us with hu_entry

[awmenard]

Totally agree Bluetooth would be great but guess you can have it all.

Buy I think putting my phone in the armrest and plugged in is not the biggest deal breaker.

I mean for the price. It's a lot cheaper then going NBT EVO route.

[akgambino]

Originally Posted by awmenard

Totally agree Bluetooth would be great but guess you can have it all.

Buy I think putting my phone in the armrest and plugged in is not the biggest deal breaker.

I mean for the price. It's a lot cheaper then going NBT EVO route.

True, considered that as well but I can plug it in with y-cable and put it in my armrest and get access to my iTunes and turn by turn directions through the speakers for free. To me the CarPlay stuff is cool but only if the phone didn't need to be plugged in, seems like a lot of money for little benefit/improvement imo

[laggysogxx]

Originally Posted by Atiqofsweden

Yes, i agree with you on this, they charged me aswell.

plus when i experimented with plugging in the new aux cable into the connector on the main harness i broke it, they charged me extra for a new main cable with the aux cable pre installed, wich is the cable i should have gotten from the very beginning...

my advice would be, dont try to push the pins out of the connector unless you know what you are doing, you are much better off splicing them into the cables that are already there!

Did you by chance finish installing it and get it to work? I'm still waiting on my aux cable.

My experience so far with this retrofit kit hasn't been very positive. Installing this module will disable Bluetooth and USB audio (at least for my 2013 CIC small screen with combox). Customer service is based on China and communication can be quite challenging. I'm now debating whether I should return this and scrap this whole thing.

On the side note, my iDrive is broken for some reason (not 100% sure if it's Unichip related issue). It gets stuck in main BMW logo when I first start the car. I can hear the music if I turn the volume up, for about 2-3 min while displaying the BMW logo but it won't get past that screen. After several minutes being stuck in BMW logo, it just turns itself off and restarts and same thing repeats.

[laggysogxx]

Quick update on the returning process: I contacted Holly Yang from Autosvs (or Unichip) and the return process so far isn't very smooth. I had to chat with the rep for almost over 2 hours in total to come down to a conclusion. Before purchasing she said I can return the unit within 2 weeks with no problem (it's been 11 days since purchase).

I first messaged Holly to start the return process and she starts asking random irrelevant questions and finally after getting to the point, she told me that I won't be able to get 100% refund because:

- I have to pay the return shipping (which was expected).
- They want ME to pay for the Paypal seller fee.
- And charge the original shipping cost AGAIN which doesn't make any logical sense. I paid $419 including shipping, then if I pay the return shipping doesn't that make it even for both end? not sure why they're trying to charge me shipping twice. I argued with the rep on skype chat over 1.5 hrs for this problem and I now have a major headache.

After all that, she said they can refund $372.36 and I just decided to take that instead of wasting more of my time with them.

So to recap, I PAID:
Unit price including shipping $419 + $20 for aux cable = $439

and for REFUND:
-~$30 again for the return shipping out of my own pocket (update: shipping cost w/ USPS including tracking and insurance was $58).
+$372.36 refund from them
= $342.36 (update: $314.36)

So during this whole process I lost approximately (update: more than) $100. Product itself seems to be working fine when installed and configured correctly, but I would recommend staying away from their product unless:
A) You know exactly what you are getting yourself into.
B) You don't mind losing factory Bluetooth and USB capability (at least for CIC with combox config).
C) You're not planning on returning the product.
D) There's a retailer in US with proper support for installation and customer service.

[Atiqofsweden]

Originally Posted by andycho7

Quick update on the returning process: I contacted Holly Yang from Autosvs (or Unichip) and the return process so far isn't very smooth. I had to chat with the rep for almost over 2 hours in total to come down to a conclusion. Before purchasing she said I can return the unit within 2 weeks with no problem (it's been 11 days since purchase).

I first messaged Holly to start the return process and she starts asking random irrelevant questions and finally after getting to the point, she told me that I won't be able to get 100% refund because:

- I have to pay the return shipping (which was expected).
- They want ME to pay for the Paypal seller fee.
- And charge the original shipping cost AGAIN which doesn't make any logical sense. I paid $419 including shipping, then if I pay the return shipping doesn't that make it even for both end? not sure why they're trying to charge me shipping twice. I argued with the rep on skype chat over 1.5 hrs for this problem and I now have a major headache.

After all that, she said they can refund $372.36 and I just decided to take that instead of wasting more of my time with them.

So to recap, I PAID:
Unit price including shipping $419 + $20 for aux cable = $439

and for REFUND:
-~$30 again for the return shipping out of my own pocket
+$372.36 refund from them
= $342.36

So during this whole process I lost approximately $100. Product itself seems to be working fine when installed and configured correctly, but I would recommend staying away from their product unless:
A) You know exactly what you are getting yourself into.
B) You don't mind losing factory Bluetooth and USB capability (at least for CIC with combox config).
C) You're not planning on returning the product.
D) There's a retailer in US with proper support for installation and customer service.

i am finishing this installation this week, ill get the aux cable today!

i am sorry to hear that you had problems with them.

there has been some bumps in the road for me aswell...

i agree with you that it is much more safe buying from the US retailer!

[laggysogxx]

Another update on the return process.. the package I received yesterday that was supposed to be an aux cable wasn't an aux cable. They sent me some OBD2 adapter that enables carplay on some other manufacture's vehicle (not BMW). Doesn't matter, since I already returned the product but would've been another week of waiting if I decided to keep the product they probably would've charged me another $20 to ship the cable or something. People at Unichip seems like they don't know what they're doing :/

These guys are not very professional and would advice to stay away from them. I would much recommend everyone to contact Steve from codemybimmer for the carplay module.

[Atiqofsweden]

Originally Posted by andycho7

Another update on the return process.. the package I received yesterday that was supposed to be an aux cable wasn't an aux cable. They sent me some OBD2 adapter that enables carplay on some other manufacture's vehicle (not BMW). Doesn't matter, since I already returned the product but would've been another week of waiting if I decided to keep the product they probably would've charged me another $20 to ship the cable or something. People at Unichip seems like they don't know what they're doing :/

These guys are not very professional and would advice to stay away from them. I would much recommend everyone to contact Steve from codemybimmer for the carplay module.

Sorry to hear that, i decided to keep mine after i got everything working, it's pretty well integrated and i got the features i was missing from before, like navi and integrated Spotify, i almost only use navi when i go on longer trips, so i have no problems with having my phone plugged in!

but i do have to say the communication with these guys was not the best, until i got to speak with their main engineer via whatsapp, he seemed to have things under control!

[seancarlin]

Originally Posted by Atiqofsweden

Sorry to hear that, i decided to keep mine after i got everything working, it's pretty well integrated and i got the features i was missing from before, like navi and integrated Spotify, i almost only use navi when i go on longer trips, so i have no problems with having my phone plugged in!

but i do have to say the communication with these guys was not the best, until i got to speak with their main engineer via whatsapp, he seemed to have things under control!

How is your sound quality? The wires for my AUX were reversed, but I corrected that with their direction. It still doesn’t sound good after that. My radio sounds fine but iPod and CarPlay have poor sound quality.

[Atiqofsweden]

Originally Posted by seancarlin

How is your sound quality? The wires for my AUX were reversed, but I corrected that with their direction. It still doesn’t sound good after that. My radio sounds fine but iPod and CarPlay have poor sound quality.

My sound quality is about same as with built in bluetooth!

Im happy with that!

What is your aux volume boost at? I keep mine at about half!

[seancarlin]

Unichip is sending me a replacement SmartAuto CarPlay unit and wiring harness to see if that fixes my sound quality issue.

[seancarlin]

I tried the AUX volume at various levels but none addressed the issue.

Originally Posted by Atiqofsweden

My sound quality is about same as with built in bluetooth!

Im happy with that!

What is your aux volume boost at? I keep mine at about half!

[c21sam]

Originally Posted by Atiqofsweden

Yes, i agree with you on this, they charged me aswell.

plus when i experimented with plugging in the new aux cable into the connector on the main harness i broke it, they charged me extra for a new main cable with the aux cable pre installed, wich is the cable i should have gotten from the very beginning...

my advice would be, dont try to push the pins out of the connector unless you know what you are doing, you are much better off splicing them into the cables that are already there!

I am in the same situation now and I think I might have damaged one of the wires. Can I ask how much they charged you for the new wire harness?

[Wibbles]

Originally Posted by steve@codemybimmer

I tried working out a wholesale deal with them and they tried to pull a bait and switch on me by changing the price last minute.

There's another vendor I'm going through who offers a much better product with possible android auto suppport and I will have it tested and will report back later on.

Steve, is there any news on the Android Auto product?

[Atiqofsweden]

Originally Posted by seancarlin

I tried the AUX volume at various levels but none addressed the issue.

oh okay, let's see if the new unit solves your problem!

[Atiqofsweden]

Rearview Camera confirmed to be working, it has adaptive guidance lines that turns with the steering wheel and PDC interface at the right side!

I'm more then happy!

[seancarlin]

Originally Posted by Atiqofsweden

Rearview Camera confirmed to be working, it has adaptive guidance lines that turns with the steering wheel and PDC interface at the right side!

I'm more then happy!

Yes my camera works the same way as well! I don’t have PDC sensors on my car but I do see where the indicator would appear as a grayed out area on-screen. What camera model did you get? How is the picture quality? I installed this one:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The new SmartAuto box appears to have resolved my audio quality issues. I’ll test more tomorrow on the way to work.

[Atiqofsweden]

Originally Posted by seancarlin

Yes my camera works the same way as well! I don’t have PDC sensors on my car but I do see where the indicator would appear as a grayed out area on-screen. What camera model did you get? How is the picture quality? I installed this one:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The new SmartAuto box appears to have resolved my audio quality issues. I’ll test more tomorrow on the way to work.

Ok, cool i got a generic one from Wish, it was really cheap, made out of metal and the picture is great! im happy if it only lasts a year for that price

[seancarlin]

I have the HiFi system. Do others that have that or HK hear music coming from their center speaker in the middle of the dashboard? I don’t hear sound from it when I am in CarPlay mode. I hear sound when I listen to FM radio.

[mcblack]

Hi,

I’m planning to buy a Smartbox soon, but even after I read this thread completely some questions still remain.
Maybe someone here who already bought and installed it can help me.
Any help is much appreciated.

So here are my questions :

How would I know which rear view cameras are supported ? Or did I get something completely wrong and the camera is not connected to the Smartbox at all ?

And now to the even more complicated question; my “planned” usage scenario :
I have a spare iPhone 5s laying around which I would use for CarPlay and for that I’d install the phone “non-removable” in the car.
But I also have a iPhone SE which I take with me. So this “mobile” cellphone would be paired via Bluetooth to the original BMW system.
If I’m now in “CarPlay” mode on the 5s and get a call on the SE, will the Smartbox stop playback and switch over to the original system so I can take the call on the BMW system ?

Hopefully I described it in a way someone other can understand it

As I said, any help would be much appreciated.

Regards

McBlack

[Atiqofsweden]

Originally Posted by mcblack

Hi,

I’m planning to buy a Smartbox soon, but even after I read this thread completely some questions still remain.
Maybe someone here who already bought and installed it can help me.
Any help is much appreciated.

So here are my questions :

How would I know which rear view cameras are supported ? Or did I get something completely wrong and the camera is not connected to the Smartbox at all ?

And now to the even more complicated question; my “planned” usage scenario :
I have a spare iPhone 5s laying around which I would use for CarPlay and for that I’d install the phone “non-removable” in the car.
But I also have a iPhone SE which I take with me. So this “mobile” cellphone would be paired via Bluetooth to the original BMW system.
If I’m now in “CarPlay” mode on the 5s and get a call on the SE, will the Smartbox stop playback and switch over to the original system so I can take the call on the BMW system ?

Hopefully I described it in a way someone other can understand it

As I said, any help would be much appreciated.

Regards

McBlack

it works with any camera that has a RCA cable connector (the yellow coax type of video cable) if you have PDC the PDC display will also be visible while you are using the backup cam!

yes you will have to connect it to the carplay box.

i still have my company cell connected via BT to the original system and it overrides the carplay box whenever i receive a call!

[mcblack]

Originally Posted by Atiqofsweden

it works with any camera that has a RCA cable connector (the yellow coax type of video cable) if you have PDC the PDC display will also be visible while you are using the backup cam!

yes you will have to connect it to the carplay box.

i still have my company cell connected via BT to the original system and it overrides the carplay box whenever i receive a call!

WOW !!!

Thanks, that answers all of my questions. GREAT !
I'll report back when I got it installed.

Regards

McBlack