Review on BimmerTech CarPlay MMI Prime
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If you are looking to add Apple CarPlay to your bmw this CarPlay MMI Prime from BimmerTech is the way to go. I have a 2016 BMW 535i X Drive and CarPlay was not put in this car until 2017 so I researched how to add it to my car. The BimmerTech CarPlay MMI Prime kept coming up so I thought I'd give it a try. I am so glad I did! It was a really easy installation with minimal tools and about 20 minutes of work but I am comfortable with taking out the stereo and screen before so it may take a little longer for you. The installation of the CarPlay MMI Prime is more or less a plug and play. You just need to take off the plastic covering, then take out 6 screws and the rest is plugging in certain wires to add the CarPlay to the original stereo. The CarPlay also adds a usb to add plug in CarPlay but it can also use CarPlay through Bluetooth which is a plus because I hate having to plug in my phone every time I get in my car. Once you get everything plugged in and hide the extra wires, you screw the 6 screws back in and put the plastic covering back on and you are all done. My wife has CarPlay in her 2017 X3 and I feel like I enjoy my CarPlay MMI Prime better than the factory BMW CarPlay as it's more customizable and you can use the whole screen for CarPlay. I am very happy with my purchase and I would not hesitate to purchase this again if put in the same situation. The price of $649 is not bad at all because instead of paying for the updated maps every year from BMW, I can use google maps, Apple Maps, or Waze through my iPhone for free.
The link to this product is: CarPlay MMI Prime Retrofit for BMW | BimmerTech
The link to this product is: CarPlay MMI Prime Retrofit for BMW | BimmerTech
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My car doesn't have the HUD so that wasn't a problem for me but I did slightly modify the software and made some small improvements. I use Android Auto and the icons were slightly oval, instead of round, Google Maps' screen elements were a little too large which affected seeing upcoming turns, etc, and Spotify album cover art was too small. I changed some of the settings within the software to resolve these issues. I also added the BMW exit icon to make it look more OEM. Really happy with the results and use wireless exclusively with my Samsung S10e.
I am thinking of installing this on my 230i for use with Android Auto. Does anyone have experience using Doubletwist Cloudplayer with this product?
Is Doubletwist Cloudplayer compatible with AA? The mmi will give you AA and access to any compatible apps.
My understanding is yes.
I had this installed yesterday on my 2021 230i, which comes stock with CarPlay but not Android Auto. Here are my thoughts so far, which apart from (4) below may be as much about Android Auto and associated overhead as they are about the MMI Prime hardware and firmware:
1) Happy with the USB connectivity, need more time with bluetooth to evaluate. I did have to reboot the phone after a service station stop on the way home from the installer yesterday, but that may be unrelated to the installation.
2) BBC Sounds, Waze and Cloudplayer album play all working well, although re the latter I may download my FLAC music files on MS OneDrive to the phone's storage as there have been a few momentary drops (fraction of a second) over air. Voice commands in Waze working well.
3) Cloudplayer Magic Radio unable to maintain a steady connection on BBC World Service for instance, but installing Sounds as an alternative seems to have made that issue moot.
4) The installation does require a USB lead to protrude from under the radio pod in the dash -- the installation cannot use the factory USB port. In other words, there's a fair degree of integration (iDrive etc.) but it is not complete.
In summary this should be very useful, on long trips especially, pending some time to see how solid the overall installation (hardware and software) turns out to be.
1) Happy with the USB connectivity, need more time with bluetooth to evaluate. I did have to reboot the phone after a service station stop on the way home from the installer yesterday, but that may be unrelated to the installation.
2) BBC Sounds, Waze and Cloudplayer album play all working well, although re the latter I may download my FLAC music files on MS OneDrive to the phone's storage as there have been a few momentary drops (fraction of a second) over air. Voice commands in Waze working well.
3) Cloudplayer Magic Radio unable to maintain a steady connection on BBC World Service for instance, but installing Sounds as an alternative seems to have made that issue moot.
4) The installation does require a USB lead to protrude from under the radio pod in the dash -- the installation cannot use the factory USB port. In other words, there's a fair degree of integration (iDrive etc.) but it is not complete.
In summary this should be very useful, on long trips especially, pending some time to see how solid the overall installation (hardware and software) turns out to be.
Excellent customer service the CarPlay MMI Prime was delivered on time and was easy to install..
So, if I got CarPlay installed by a Bimmer tech professional, I can / should expect to pay hundreds more in labor?
You would be surprised how easy it is to make this change yourself. There are many YouTube videos available to help you get the hard drive and screen out. You would have to go to their shop in Florida to have them do it; and yes you would have to pay them labor to install it.
My unit is still working great after a year, no bugs or issues at all. I use the plug in all the time though, since I'm usually charging my phone anyway. If I could do one thing differently it would be to run the USB cable over to the glovebox instead of just having it pop out by the cupholders.
I believe Bimmertech has a list of local installers they have coordinated with but DIY install isn't bad as long as you have some tools, lots of light and patience and are comfortable with your car looking like this for a while. The trickiest part is probably getting it all squeezed back in there.
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I believe Bimmertech has a list of local installers they have coordinated with but DIY install isn't bad as long as you have some tools, lots of light and patience and are comfortable with your car looking like this for a while. The trickiest part is probably getting it all squeezed back in there.
Just installed this in my car, was searching how to toggle between the MMI and iDrive (still no answer) but saw the picture of the OP and his Akita and just wanted to say that Akita dogs are the best.
Press and hold the menu button
My 17 yo son who's skill level is maybe a hair above noob, installed it following the video instructions. Not a problem. I am sure he'd cut you a discounted Bimmerfest member price.
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