Android Auto

[PhilB]

Hi all, we've Just bought a 2018 I3 and was wondering is there an easy way to get Android Auto installed please also what's this secret menu I've heard about? Thanks Phil

 

[eNate]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIP_lThJYWE

Regarding Android Auto, there's a converter box out there that runs AA through a car's Apple Car Play. I briefly tried this about two years ago against the vendor's caution that it would not work with the i3, and as best I could tell in my short time with it, they're correct. I returned it. Haven't looked again recently, but if your 2018 i3 has Car Play built in it may be worth looking into to see whether anything has changed.

 

[autoeultd]

We can assist with android auto

 

[thxalot]

I am interested too.
2015 with the large iDrive screen.

Thx!

 

[jfran2]

There are a few chinese units for sale that will work with the car's electronics to give you wireless Android Auto and Car Play funcionality. I have one from RoadTop. They're not cheap - I paid around $300 for mine a few years ago for installation in my 2015 i3 Rex. The installation is straightforward enough, but will take you 2-3 hours to do, or you could pay someone to do it. With the Road Top, you install their unit under the backseat inline with the car's radio system, then run a long cable up to the front that splices into the cable for the screen. All cabling and connectors were included - the hard part was removing the floor trim on the passenger (right) side and the removal of the glove box to get to the screen. As I recall, there are YouTube videos available on how to do this. I'm only talking here about cars up to 2017 - I have no idea how this works once BMW made Car Play available in 2018.

In operation, my unit works very well. You hold down the "Menu" button on the iDrive unit for a couple of seconds to swich the screen back and forth between BMW and Road Top. Once you're in the Road Top screen, you can choose either Android Auto or Car Play wirelessly (which works about 85% of the time) or wired (which works 100% of the time). Any little issues I've had with it were dealt with quickly from the company through WhatsApp.

John Francis
Rolla, MO

 

[autoeultd]

You can get a kit installed Car Play Media - Apple Car Play - Android Auto - OEM Retrofits try here the reviews are good also, reliability is very good also, UK Based

 

[PremiumRetrofit]

I can recommend our i3-specific Androidauto / Carplay module, which you can do yourself very easily in a few minutes. It can be installed in all models under the back seat, regardless of year and screen size. Additional functions include HDMI input for connecting smart TV sticks and camera input with dynamic line management and PDC display. Whatever help you need, we are always available via all platforms and the firmware is constantly updated. In our latest firmware update, Bluetooth audio passthrough became available, so there is no need to use the analog aux input anymore and there is no audio quality degradation.

Product website:
https://premiumretrofit.net/?page_id=274
Our worldwide Facebook support group where you can find more reviews:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/premiumretrofit/

 

[nilknarf]

Can you provide a little more detail regarding the bluetooth audio passthrough? Are you saying that music is sent directly to the car via bluetooth, so that it doesn't have to go through the MMI box? It's my understanding that with most MMI boxes, the initial connection to carplay is with bluetooth, but thereafter data, including music is handled via wifi. After the MMI gets the music from your phone via wifi, it pushes it to the car through the aux port. Is that right?

 

[stevesos]

We have a 2016 60ah Rex and I ordered from this supplier,
https://www.ztuzauto.com/I placed the order on AliExpress and the supplier contacted me within a day confirming the details of my car screen size I drive version etc excellent customer service.
The video explains how to take the car apart and it’s around a three hour process but works extremely well, it’s my wife’s car so I set the apple CarPlay (wife has iPhone i have android ) on Bluetooth WiFi and android auto on cable an this seems to sort out the two phone issues.
If you are diy handy the installation is not difficult, putting the car back together took a bit longer than expected but very happy with the results.

 

[ksnax]

Can you provide a little more detail regarding the bluetooth audio passthrough? Are you saying that music is sent directly to the car via bluetooth, so that it doesn't have to go through the MMI box? It's my understanding that with most MMI boxes, the initial connection to carplay is with bluetooth, but thereafter data, including music is handled via wifi. After the MMI gets the music from your phone via wifi, it pushes it to the car through the aux port. Is that right?

I can tell you how this works on my Roadtop unit: It always ends up defaulting to Bluetooth.

The PR unit may behave differently, but the BT connection is problematic for music, as it is rarely seamless. It gets occasional dropouts and stuttering, which is extremely irritating. It's unclear to me whether that is from my phone or the RT unit, but I sometimes have to completely disconnect and force a USB connection to establish smooth playback. Android Auto however keeps forcing BT back on when I do this - which is usually okay for awhile. (There is no way to force Android Auto to leave BT off. I have tried. It just turns itself back on.)

I am curious if this is a problem for most Android users with all of these MMIs, or if it sounds like mine is just a PoS! (I am not interested in iPhone/Carplay experiences.)

 

[PremiumRetrofit]

Can you provide a little more detail regarding the bluetooth audio passthrough? Are you saying that music is sent directly to the car via bluetooth, so that it doesn't have to go through the MMI box? It's my understanding that with most MMI boxes, the initial connection to carplay is with bluetooth, but thereafter data, including music is handled via wifi. After the MMI gets the music from your phone via wifi, it pushes it to the car through the aux port. Is that right?

In the case of PremiumRetrofit MMI V6, you can choose how the audio transmission works. There are two options:

- The phone is simultaneously connected to the factory system via Bluetooth and to the MMI via Wi-Fi. In this case, the sound will be transmitted directly to the factory system via Bluetooth, and the image via WiFi via the MMI.

- The phone only connects to the MMI via wifi and bluetooth. In this case, the sound will be transmitted to the factory system via the analog AUX port.

The installation of our module is simple, consists of 3 steps and even if you have no experience, max. You can finish it in 15 minutes:

- pop out the rear seat panel
- connect the short cables to the head unit and the MMI module
- put the rear seat back