Anyone tried adding carplay to their E82/E88?

[dandandan]

Follow up:

Firstly, you don't need to re-connect the loop for coding. I just had a new battery coded and cleared codes without having to touch the Andream box CAN wiring. I'm still going to keep the loop handy in the glovebox and I recommend having the harness within reach in the fuse area just in case.

Here is my solution so far for those with HK or better sound systems that want to keep wireless CarPlay and avoid AUX for high fidelity music:

CIC - v1.1.2 Andream B unit

Keep the phone Bluetooth connected to idrive for both phone calls and music.

Set memory on radio button 1 to Bluetooth (hover over the Bluetooth option in idrive and long press)

Set memory on radio button 2 to AUX (same as above for AUX)

Waze Guidance Volume (in waze settings) set to 50

Andream settings Volume set to 16
Andream settings Alter Volume set to 8

Idrive AUX volume two bars down from max

Bluetooth volume from iPhone 3/4 full

For iPhone 12 wireless charging: MagSafe with thin black vinyl over the white parts to blend in with the car and mounted above the cup holder with clear double sided adhesive mounting tape (can be removed and re-positioned without damaging the trim)

In this setup the priority is on Bluetooth music sound and seamless phone calls in and out. All wireless.

Also there is no need to select "Using cars BT phone" in Andream options, this seemed block me from answering incoming calls.

There are some drawbacks like waze audio directions not working over Bluetooth when connected to CarPlay but I need to test again with v1.1.4 and v1.1.5 Andream Software updates. Also when you return to AUX you need to swap the output sometimes back over AirPlay to CarPlay in waze or whatever music app you use.

The solution for easy idrive swapping audio sources is to hit 1 or 2 on the radio for BT/AUX.

The volumes have been levelled as much as possible in order to smoothly transition between BT/AUX.

You will only need to do this if you need audio for directions and want to check texts and respond quickly and smoothly with Siri.

I Dremeled a small channel for the AUX chord to pass through the screw cover near the arm-wrest AUX in.

I too am very curious if you can get aux back in via the quad lock in later CIC versions with coding.

UPDATE BELOW

[dandandan]

UPDATE!

The AUX sound quality can be made to sound incredible with HK sound when properly calibrated!!!

No need for the work around or swapping although you can still do that as well.

Firstly I updated the software to CHL_V1.1.5

I get it, sound quality is subjective and this is highly a personal ear perception thing. With that said, these MMI boxes come shipped with literally the worst settings out of the box, hence my quest to try and resolve the audio issues I HAD!!!

The MMI over AUX originally sounded like a tin can 30's talk show, totally flat and devoid of rich details in bass and overall feel.

All it needed was some help from @mastrchee who shared his pro music calibration settings in the F30 MMI thread post (page 27). Yes, it helps to read over 300 pages of that thread LOL.

I took his advice and tweaked things to my taste and now I can honestly say it sounds amazing!

Here are my settings:

Music Volume setting in Andream (new option) set to 6.

Waze: lowered the directions volume to 20.

In idrive tone settings, I increased the bass a bit. Don't forget, these settings do have an impact on the overall sound as well. I plan on playing with the idrive EQ at some point as well but for now it's flat.

In the MMI box EQ is set like this:

[garmo]

dandandan do you have pictures of where you stowed the unit/box? I'm thinking about plunging in to this project as well, seems like people have mostly had good results.

[dandandan]

Originally Posted by garmo

dandandan do you have pictures of where you stowed the unit/box? I'm thinking about plunging in to this project as well, seems like people have mostly had good results.

Exactly in the same place as pictured here

https://www.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...php?p=26934550

I used zip ties to keep it in place wrapped around the MMI and dash frame metal supports. You don't need to bother with double sided tape, zip ties will work perfectly. Just watch the clearance on the passenger vent arm as to not make contact with it. It's a small fragile plastic arm that opens and closes the vent.

Wrap the parts of the MMI box with felt tape anywhere it makes contact metal to metal but don't close the circuitry vents on the sides. The last thing you want is more rattling in these cars.

Pro tip: the glovebox has a black trim piece that is next to the HU and runs under the cosmetic trim on the dash. That is the culprit of a lot of squeaking. While you have the glovebox off, unscrew the trim piece a little bit and place felt tape where there is plastic to plastic contact causing a very infamous squeak in the dash.

A huge benefit of this installation, if done correctly, is that you will have an opportunity to place felt tape on areas that make noise and shut them up.

Also the glovebox re-install can be deceptive. There are two small rubber grommets hidden under where the bolts on top screw in. These grommets make it feel impossible to re-install until you simply lift them up a bit to allow the glovebox to hook back up that last half inch.

For DCT guys, pop off the larger trim around the shifter first then rotate and locate the clips to release the leather boot. Unplug the sport button and shifter cable carefully then carefully pull the shifter up and out.

I'll make a video walk through on Saturday fuck it. More to come.

[TridenTBoy]

Originally Posted by dandandan

UPDATE!

The AUX sound quality can be made to sound incredible with HK sound when properly calibrated!!!

No need for the work around or swapping although you can still do that as well.

Firstly I updated the software to CHL_V1.1.5

I get it, sound quality is subjective and this is highly a personal ear perception thing. With that said, these MMI boxes come shipped with literally the worst settings out of the box, hence my quest to try and resolve the audio issues I HAD!!!

The MMI over AUX originally sounded like a tin can 30's talk show, totally flat and devoid of rich details in bass and overall feel.

All it needed was some help from @mastrchee who shared his pro music calibration settings in the F30 MMI thread post (page 27). Yes, it helps to read over 300 pages of that thread LOL.

I took his advice and tweaked things to my taste and now I can honestly say it sounds amazing!

Here are my settings:

Music Volume setting in Andream (new option) set to 6.

Waze: lowered the directions volume to 20.

In idrive tone settings, I increased the bass a bit. Don't forget, these settings do have an impact on the overall sound as well. I plan on playing with the idrive EQ at some point as well but for now it's flat.

In the MMI box EQ is set like this:

That EQ seems rather obscene. Why is it so obscenely off?

What about Siri and other things? This seems like an easy way to blow out your ear drums if you have to set the volume so low. What about when backing up or other car alerts and such?

Also - his EQ he posted seems quite different. https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...675929&page=27

[dandandan]

Originally Posted by TridenTBoy

That EQ seems rather obscene. Why is it so obscenely off?

What about Siri and other things? This seems like an easy way to blow out your ear drums if you have to set the volume so low. What about when backing up or other car alerts and such?

Also - his EQ he posted seems quite different. https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...29&page=27

Ya my version is a bit more punchy but it's much better than how it started off.

My advice is to start with the baseline from the F30 post and adjust to your liking while sampling different songs.

The bass may have been a touch high on my idrive but, it does sound much better now.

[ggddpp]

What did you all do in terms of the microphone? The instructions indicate it should work with the oem microphone right away for most models. Some people on here mention needing to do a jumper to get the oem microphone to work, but it’d obviously be preferable to not have to continue stripping the interior and running cables.

The first time I fired up the car (2013 135i) with the mmi box installed (without doing anything microphone related) I had no issue using the oem microphone to send texts with siri. However, I have not gotten it to work since. I can activate siri by saying "hey siri" (it seems to use my phones microphone, as if I move my phone away it stops working) but after that I cannot give siri any commands or be heard on phone calls. The sound is going through the aux cable in the armrest (could not get “internal” aux working).

I've been playing with the settings to no avail. Anyone had this problem?

[dandandan]

Originally Posted by ggddpp

What did you all do in terms of the microphone? The instructions indicate it should work with the oem microphone right away for most models. Some people on here mention needing to do a jumper to get the oem microphone to work, but it'd obviously be preferable to not have to continue stripping the interior and running cables.

The first time I fired up the car (2013 135i) with the mmi box installed (without doing anything microphone related) I had no issue using the oem microphone to send texts with siri. However, I have not gotten it to work since. I can activate siri by saying "hey siri" (it seems to use my phones microphone, as if I move my phone away it stops working) but after that I cannot give siri any commands or be heard on phone calls. The sound is going through the aux cable in the armrest (could not get "internal" aux working).

I've been playing with the settings to no avail. Anyone had this problem?

The MMI Andream CIC B box I got came with a mic tap wire that needs to be routed from the MMI, up the passenger A-pillar around the headliner and in the back of the factory mic connected in the sunroof/dome light control module behind the rear view mirror.

You will need to remove the passenger visor, and the driver visor clip to properly gain access to the clips that hold the module in place.

[ggddpp]

Originally Posted by dandandan

The MMI Andream CIC B box I got came with a mic tap wire that needs to be routed from the MMI, up the passenger A-pillar around the headliner and in the back of the factory mic connected in the sunroof/dome light control module behind the rear view mirror.

You will need to remove the passenger visor, and the driver visor clip to properly gain access to the clips that hold the module in place.

Damn that's what I was afraid of. I could swear it worked once without any other changes to the mic. No idea.

I've got the Andream cic as well, I think it came with the mic tap, was just hoping to avoid any more work. Guess I'll start pulling more of the interior tomorrow. Thanks for the help.