Do you have a link to the unit you purchased?
Depending on your level of comfort with electrical work, it doesn't sound like a difficult mod. Crack open the unit, locate the microphone, solder in leads from there to a mic of your choice and you're good to go.

 

It is similar to the Andream system: Andream 8.8″ wireless Apple CarPlay + Android auto Head unit multimedia for BMW Series3 5 E60 E61 E63 E64 M5 E90 E91 E92 E93 M3 – Andream-EU - and I think Avin also sells the same system.

Hope to get some info and maybe recommendations in the mic I should choose.

 

You're sure there's no mic input? I had an Avin 8.8" Android unit for a while and it had a mic built-in to the display but also a female 2.5mm mic input plug in the cable harness.

 

Yes, I am sure. The Android units do have it, but the units that only add Carplay / Android Auto do not have the input. In the cable harness there only is an AUX output, not an input.

 

I have an MMI box (no-name item I got off eBay) that I use all the time for wireless CarPlay and it has a mic input plug just like my old Avin 8.8" unit had. It also has the same cord you mention for AUX output to go to the center console AUX input. Instead of using its supplied microphone I used a splitter I had lying around from my Avin unit and ran its wire up the passenger side A pillar to the sunroof controls area and am able to share the existing built-in mic. Nonetheless, it goes to a female 2.5mm input on the wire harness for the MMI box.

 

Things would have been a lot easier if the unit had the possibility to add an external mic

 

Found a great solution without having to cut the original wires or change the microphones.

The front of the unit has 2 holes at the left side of the screen:

When opening the unit, I found out that behind one of the holes is a microphone and the other hole is unused. There is a second microphone at a very strange location (circled). The only sound it can pick up there is dashboard rattling and engine sound. So I moved the second mic and placed it over the second and unused hole (arrow).

Mic input has improved by a lot. Did some phone calls and now the caller can hear me much more clearly.

 

When opening the unit, I found out that behind one of the holes is a microphone and the other hole is unused. There is a second microphone at a very strange location (circled). The only sound it can pick up there is dashboard rattling and engine sound. So I moved the second mic and placed it over the second and unused hole (arrow).

View attachment 1060130

Mic input has improved by a lot. Did some phone calls and now the caller can hear me much more clearly.

Hi, I have a similar unit, in fact it looks pretty much identical internally and externally. I have a slightly different phone call problem though. When I am on a call via AA, the other person can hear my perfectly well with the existing microphone arrangement, including the strangely positioned one.

However, after about 45 seconds of good clean telephone call performance, the person on the other side says they can hear themselves echoing. I can't hear it at my end at all. There seems to be some failure of echo cancellation.

Have you ever experienced this? It's the only thing that is really bothering me about this device so I am hoping to solve it.

 

That’s awesome! Good work. Definitely a weird place for the second microphone. Glad that was an easy fix for you.

 

I added one of these to my E60

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So awesome to finally have CarPlay and use the screen. Same sitch for me - they gave me a new mic, but the quality is kinda crappy. I believe it was just a 2.5mm plug also.

Has anyone replaced with a really awesome mic that they are happy with the quality?

OR has anyone found one that can be 2.5mm and fit in the original mic location?

 

My Avin unit had come with a mic splitter that tapped into the original mic and had a separate cord going to the Avin unit. I don’t know that the problem of poor sound is the mic itself, or the software behind it. Not sure if BMW uses any form of sound isolation in their calling interface, I’m guessing these MMI boxes don’t do anything like that.

 

Interesting. Does that cable look like something I could get off Amazon? Or maybe just buy through AVIN.
How do you find the quality of the AVIN unit for calls? If it's going to sound pretty crappy either way - I'd prefer it to at least have the mic hidden where the factory one is by default. Or even try to replace one that would fit in the factory location that can plug into the unit.

 

I actually got rid of the Avin unit quite a while ago and got an MMI box instead which I much prefer. I use CarPlay the whole time and it meets my needs better. However, I never make calls. Siri seems to understand me just fine whereas it struggles with the Avin unit in my E46 when I get faster and there is more noise.

 

Has anyone found a mic that will fit in the BMW OEM Mic location, but will have a 2.5mm plug?

 

Yes, I did exeperience that, and then I just lower the speaker volume. That helps the echoing go away.

It is now a few months that I use this unit. The call quality has improved by my modification but still, it is not as good as factory units from newer models. When I have al long drive I usually take my AirPods with to have the best phone calls.

 

I have a feeling that these aftermarket boxes do not have the same software to do noise cancellation like the OEM MULF and hence the sound is worse. I really don’t think it is the mic. My Android 8.8” unit came with a mic splitter so is still using the oem mic but people have a much more difficult time hearing me through that machine than the OEM Bluetooth.

 

I agree