Retrofitting CarPlay

[FBMWWINS]

What is the production date of your model?

[burkhacs]

Originally Posted by re2gie01

I have 2013 and 2013 is CIC for the Gran coupe.

Mine has a March production date and is NBT

[re2gie01]

I'll look and let you know. I checked with bimmertech, the options configurator that used to be available, and finally my back of radio and screen pins.

Carplay was the only solution that worked for CIC. Otherwise wouldn't you just buy the carplay for nbt from bimmertech and keep it OEM? https://www.bimmer-tech.net/shop/bmw...ts/carplay-mmi

2013 Gran coupe is only version with CIC. 2014+ changed to nbt, nbt Evo etc.

[FBMWWINS]

There are 2013 F06 models which have NBT and it depends on production date. See for example Post Nr. 25 whose car is produced in March. Here are a couple of VINs to compare (even later production):

D289334 (produced on 2013-06-12)
DX58938 (produced on 2013-09-02)

They both do not feature the S6VA thus they have the upgraded NBT Idrive generation and not the previous and older CIC Idrive generation.

[re2gie01]

Originally Posted by F06WINS

There are 2013 F06 models which have NBT and it depends on production date. See for example Post Nr. 25 whose car is produced in March. Here are a couple of VINs to compare (even later production):

D289334 (produced on 2013-06-12)
DX58938 (produced on 2013-09-02)

They both do not feature the S6VA thus they have the upgraded NBT Idrive generation and not the previous and older CIC Idrive generation.

Not arguing but post 25 is the user whose car is a 2014. They are quoting my post where I am saying I have a 2013.

Your post agrees with what I'm saying. Cars with production dates of 2013 are considered MY2014 cars. My car was produced in 2012, as such it is a MY2013. The production runs at that time spanned from June to May for the Gran coupe. Anything produced between June 2012 and May 2013 is considered a MY2013. June 2013 to May 2014 is a MY2014.

The 2013 received CIC, doesn't have digital instrument cluster, and a few other weird things that BMW only did in that year including pneumatic vs electronic waste gates.

I found a lot of this out after I bought my car and trying to figure out how to get carplay. I ran into a lot of deadends because of this CIC radio.

I am no expert but that's what I learned.

[FBMWWINS]

After I gathered your reasoning from the above post, I believe yes that we are looking at it from a different perspective and saying the same thing.
I was referring to the Bimmertech guide/information which is provided according to the date of production. According to that an F06 for that matter produced since March 2013 no longer has CIC but NBT. Thus a model produced between March and May 2013 already has NBT since the mention is from March onwards. In March 2013 we are not yet into MY 2014 since it is still considered a 2013 model.

[iamvanja]

As promised posting some photos of my installation along with the mic placement.

[iamvanja]

And the misalignment issue that is driving me nuts (suspect the cable is faulty).

Aside from this issue, UniChip's execution of CarPlay is extremely solid. iDrive
and steering wheel buttons mapping is awesome. Pressing Home takes you back to the home screen so navigating to the home button in the UI (lower left) is virtually never needed. Like using scroll wheel for CarPlay much better than touchscreen (used CarPlay in my previous cars and many rentals).

Super happy to report that audio is much much better than BT streaming which to me always sounded hollow and even XM sounded better (which has horrible bitrate to begin with).
Having said that, CarPlay is not optimized for such wide screen like ours so apps can feel a bit odd. It would be great to have a split screen functionality, to have say Spotify and Waze open at the same time. I understand now why BMW's implementation reserves 1/3 of the screen for the iDrive interface.

While doing this installation, I got an idea to wrap the dash trip in aluminum. Sometimes I think my car projects will never end...

If anyone has any questions, feel free!

[re2gie01]

I don't have that issue on mine. You should double check your dip switches and make sure they are set correctly.

[iamvanja]

Originally Posted by re2gie01

I don't have that issue on mine. You should double check your dip switches and make sure they are set correctly.

That's a good suggestion. Dip switches are resolution related though so it should not impact the alignment. I sent a question to the store, but haven't heard from them yet because of the Chinese NY celebrations.

[iamvanja]

Update after living with it for couple days:
Manually triggering PDC with a button didn't work, but then I remembered to check if there is such an option in the box menu and sure enough, it was there. Set PDC to ON and now when I press the PDC button, CarPlay box switches back to NBT, just like it does when putting the car in reverse.

Tried Android Auto. Never used it before, but the implementation seems early beta. Weird controls and no full screen (restriction by Google?). But hey, I have a rare car now - a BMW with Android Auto

[Pano6]

This is very cool. I was looking into replacing the entire sat nav with NBT EVO ID6, but I only ever wanted to do that because it looked like there wasn't any way to get a fully functioning CarPlay with CIC.

Few questions if you don't mind:

1. Is Carplay able to integrate in with the 6WB dash you've got? For example when using the navigation system, does it show there like it would if you were using BMW's standard navigation?

2. How does it work when you're reversing or accessing the other cameras in the vehicle? Does it switch instantly out of CarPlay, or is there its own UI that will appear from within CarPlay?

3. How is the image quality and resolution when using the older CIC screens? Have you ever considered upgrading the screen to one of the newer ones (I know the cable connection won't fit the CIC, but I'm sure somewhere out there has or can make one).

4. Finally, on the whole, if given the choice between 3k to upgrade fully to NBT EVO ID6 (screen, idrive controller) or the 500 for just this carplay option, which would you go with? Subjective I know, but I'm wondering if there are any insights that might validate some of my own assumptions. For example, when you have carplay is it like you never use the BMW system ever again so it's a useless feature? Do you regret not having the higher res screen or some other features from NBT EVO ID6+?

[iamvanja]

1. No, sadly there is no integration of that kind.
2. I wrote about that in one of my posts in this thread. Basically, it is seamless. Once you put in R, it kicks you out of CarPlay (music still plays because AUX is unaffected) and shows the NBT camera interface. Put it in P/D, you're back to CarPlay. Out of the box manually invoking camera by pressing the PDC button did not work, but it turned out it was just a matter of turning on that setting in the CarPlay box.
3. I do not know, but I think there was some conversation re: that in this thread. I use it on NBT screen. In fact, in the meantime i upgraded to the newer 2016+ screen (which is also an (almost fully) straight forward process)
4. I always loved classic NBT system and the only desire to upgrade for me was the CarPlay addition. Now with this upgrade, I am super happy and do not need anything more. Everything is straight forward, no loss of 3G services and CarPlay is full screen (OEM BMW implementation isn't). What more can Jesus do for you? Keep in mind though that my 640i is almost fully loaded so I have ceramic controls, which in my opinions are worth the upgrade. I'd honestly keep CIC or if you want to upgrade, upgrade to standard NBT with CarPlay MMI box and call it a day. Oh, and the ceramic iDrive controller is nice if you can find it and retrofit it.

[shagler]

Related, but also slightly different. Both the BimmerTech and the UniChip solutions now appear to have full screen, appear to be somewhat similar in the end result, but neither offer a wireless connectivity solutions (iPhone wireless to car). I have seen Unique-AD and BimmerRetrofit have offerings that are similar to these, but also includes wireless support.

A) Does anyone have any experience with these wireless CarPlay solutions?
B) For those that went with either the BimmerTech (newer full screen) or the UniChip solutions...what doesn't work the way you think it should or what bothers you now that you have it installed?

I get the microphone issue...frankly, using the existing mic versus an additional one is not a big deal for me.

What is a big deal for me is the user experience. I once went with an solution similar to this for a 2006 M Roadster to get better ipod connectivity...it worked, but it was far from intuitive...in fact, I wonder if the current owner even knows that there are extra bits installed. My point, I am hugely interested in the best user experience around an aftermarket CarPlay solution for my '14 F13 (which also happens to be loaded, M-Sport, B&O, Active Cruise, Ceramic controls, etc, etc, etc).

Any engagement that I have had with the vendors of these solutions has been lackluster...in their eyes their solutions are nearly perfect.

It is through these forums that I believe the full story can emerge...thank you for anyone willing to jump in an offer their view.

Steven

[iamvanja]

If you are interested in the user experience, I would suggest to stay away from wireless. Not only is it laggy, you still have to worry about charging your phone - that means either wireless charger or plugging it in. So what's the point?

I had similar thoughts as these aftermarket solutions often comes with caveats. Not this time. I have zero complaints about UniChip. It just works. Been running iOS 13 beta for couple weeks now with its improved CarPlay. Even better than before.

[shagler]

Very helpful input, iamvanja....thank you.

[shagler]

Well, after researching and researching, I think I am ready to pull the trigger on Unichip. Here is my reasoning:
- Reviews here seem to be generally positive.
- I have seen a lot of audio issues mentioned about the BimmerTech solution. To me, audio is the point and I simply don't want a solution that sounds worse than bluetooth - This is one of the reasons that I tend to plug in my phone, so it has better audio. My impression from above is that the Unichip solution has audio that is somewhere between bluetooth and USB. I understand that it is using aux....Does anyone with unichip agree with my assessment?
- I really considered wireless, but lack of user experience information and "laggy" comments have made me reconsider.

Unfortunately, I can't seem to get anyone at UniChip to engage. Tried them on chat on their site and I get the quick robot responses, but can't get anything beyond. Asked for info via email, nothing. Hmmm...not a good first experience in trying to purchase something...guess, I will continue to try to engage a bit before abandoning the whole thing (again).

Thanks for all of the input.

Steven

[iamvanja]

Hey Steven,

I am not 100% accurate on this, but I *think* that UniChip's harness uses optical connection to hook into AUX. Zero complaints about the audio issue (usually playing from Spotify in "high quality" audio quality). Never bothered to use AUX before installing CarPlay, but BMW's BT audio always sounded a bit hollow to me. You should be happy on that front.

UniChip guys tend to be unresponsive when they are on Chinese holidays. Engaging them in a chat is a must IMHO as you will generally get a better price that way.

Man, I am starting to sound like a UniChip representative. I am not, just super happy with the product

[shagler]

Just a quick update with an interesting twist. I did hear back from Unichip late on Sunday evening (Monday AM, China time).

A direct quote from "Cathy" @ Unichip: "Our present version is wireless version. Wireless carplay smartbox will connect iphone via bluetooth.And it can support USB video playing." USD$469 including shipping.

I am further investigating.

Steven

[pdubq]

Bump: Any recent updates on UniChip or BimmerTech solutions? How’s wireless now?

[bimmer12]

Originally Posted by pdubq

Bump: Any recent updates on UniChip or BimmerTech solutions? How’s wireless now?

My wireless BimmerTech has been flawless.

[shagler]

Originally Posted by pdubq

Bump: Any recent updates on UniChip or BimmerTech solutions? How’s wireless now?

I am still very happy with the UniChip solution. My 6-series is daily driver (although it doesn't get used daily) and I used the UniChip unit in a wireless configuration every time I get in the car. I would not say it is flawless, but I continue to be very happy. Sometimes, although rarely, it doesn't connect right away, I wish the microphone solution was better (but I have a workaround in that I use the car's bluetooth for phone calls and UniChip for playing media via CarPlay), and it would be awesome if I didn't have to press the "8" button whenever I got into the car.

A fully integrated solution from the factory would be far better but this was a relatively easy add-on solution.

S