The way to left the box in the back will cause drop outs on the screen

Did you disconnect the HV battery before the install?

Nice trick! I will check if that will work on my 2017 with NBT (old) . Where did you place the WiFi antenna?

It’s still working. Easier than the standard Installation. I just installed it today. 😊

Are you still able to get the factory BMW menu on this new screen? For example the BMW settings menu that you access through the middle display on the original equipment?

This really helped me a lot. It has worked for me for about a year. I don't know if anyone has experienced this: RoadTop works just find but if I 1) hold down the menu button to switch to the native iDrive display or 2) just get into the car without my phone at all, the screen just stays black. I've tried rebooting the iDrive system by holding the power/volume knob for 30 seconds; it sounds like its rebooting because I can hear fuzz through the speakers at approx 30 sec mark but screen always stays black and no ability to use the iDrive system. Anyone else?

Is it necessary to unplug the car battery when doing this retro fit?

Chapeau Sir 🥳🥳Worked a treat

Does this work on a 2014 Rex?

genius! absolutely worked out 100% saved me nearly €950 as both sides were doing it , thanks 👍👍👍

Thats a great location for a subwoofer 😊

I have a i3 2019 I am confident that the idrive system is nbt evo id6 and my screen inside the car at front is 10 inchs. what do you recommend to buy for an imi unit that can just be installed under the seat and not at the front like you have done ? does it all work ok like the car microphone on the steering wheel?

Just did this fix and ten top part still seems too weak because after it pushes the belt out, the belt slips halfway through the path. Any advice? Thanks

on '17 i3, with 6.5" screen, i installed 10.25" screen and the road top unit per this guideline in the back. everything works. thanks for the guide. it helped me save a ton of hassle. FYI, i had to upgrade the screen first (and update the setting with bimmercode BEFORE plugging in the road top unit). one of the iphones is connected but no sound comes through on phone calls. any idea?

Thanks bro looked at least 3 vid of 10min without unclip it. Its -25 degree here and i look your vid and this shit come off so easy thanks alot.

can anyone confirm if its possible to connect wireless and access and play mp3s stored on an Android phone or its memory card with this system?

You are great! Thank you very much for this video! 👌🏼😍 It works again! :)

Question about the USB port. I don't understand what benefit the USB confers? What could it be used for? If it was going to be used, I could see how having it in a glove box might be more accessible but otherwise, can it just be left under the seat or is it needed for diagnostics or something?

This is brilliant! I got a short cable in my kit and was gonna have to wait on a longer replacement. But this is such a better way to run it anyway & makes so much more sense. Thanks mate.

So with this method you only had to remove the rear seat and not run a line all the way to the glovebox? Are there any downsides?

Hi what is the USB port in the back seat for?

THANK YOU! This makes me SO happy! I have an early 2018 i3 REX that was made just before they added CarPlay. Like many here, I was wondering why we had to run cables along the track when they had already run several cables there. I put the Car Play unit in the well behind the head unit and then shoved all of the power cable in between the two to keep it tight and prevent rattling. For now I have the USB in the same place, but I think I will check out the space where the cables are running from the back to the front under the middle console to see if there's a spot where I can bring it forward. Also, like some others here, I also turned it back on and got nothing. At first I thought maybe mine was like those who had problems, but I tried again and found that I hadn't properly seated the power cable into the head unit. I also re-seated the power cable connection on the Y just to be sure. When I tried it again, it started right up! I should also say that what I expected to take over an hour took me only 15 minutes outside in the dark with just my iPhone as a flashlight. The only tool I needed was a #10 ratchet to remove and then tighten the battery cable. SO much easier! Thanks again for the inspiration. Next, I've GOT to upgrade that tiny display (and then reset the DINS on the carplay unit).

Question where did you place the WiFi attachment ?

Hello would this work on a 2017 94ah i3

Thank you so much for this - I was wondering why I had to run the harness to the front when BMW had already run the LDVS cable. Under the seat is much neater!

This is awesome, thank you !

this may work for some models, but It's not going to work universally. The issue is that the LVDS signal (which carries the FPD-Link video signal for the display) is very sensitive to voltage distortions over the distance between the NBT unit in the back and the display up front. BMW don't have to worry about this because they use a more direct run straight down the middle of the car and up to the display, and the chip the use for LVDS in the NBT unit is of high quality. The add-on unit, however, has a lower signal output strength and doesn't handle the longer run as well - causing issues with the display not working when the box is under the back seat. Frustrating, but that's why they suggest putting the box up front: It just works better.

Can you use the existing microphone with this one too?

This actually worked for me, I was wondering the logic of placing everything in the front. This makes the most sense.

So you did not have to move any panels to make this work? Just under the seat and iser the wire going from the headunit to the screen?Where did you place the wifi-antenna?

thank you for this!

Genius! I’ll receive it next week and will do like this. Thank you 👍🏻

So i just tried this on my i3, but cant get into the MMI menu. The screen says “no signal” when i hold the menu button down for 3 seconds. Sent an email to bimmer-tech. Lets see what they say.

Thanks for the tip! I just received my unit and plan to install it this weekend.

I tried the above and sadly it didn't work... no logic as to why not. But fitted it in less than an hour. There are a couple of shortcuts ... use a cable tie to route the wire up past the front footwell panel;, saves removing it and also get a string or something similar an the pink cable from the screen before pulling it through, helps to pull it back!

Can some help how to get the reverse guidelines back

Bought the same one and it says no signal

Thanks for sharing worked on my 17 Rex

I purchased the same kit from Amazon in the hope that I could install it as you have, unfortunately as most people report it would not work for me, the dreaded red "NO SIGNAL" was shown on the display. I really didn't want to start ripping my car apart but I can report that it is minimally invasive to install in the front as intended and IT WORKS!. I only had to remove: - Rear seat obviously - Sill trim (no tools required, just a stern pull from the far side) - Screw at top of panel next to left foot in passenger footwell (you don't need to remove the panel, simply push the wire under the plastic to allow it to go under dashboard) - The plastic panel under the fuse box (2 torx screws) - The glovebox (just six torx screws located under plugs, 3 at front, 3 at rear). You don't need to move the vent panel to the side of the glove box, just pull the glovebox up and slightly to the right to clear the Lip (RHD car). There are two electrical connections, just remove the one to the light, you can leave the one on the little gas strut, simply orient the glove box so it can be placed down on the dash. - Lastly, the screen (two torx screws located at the top of the screen under plugs). I tied a string to the BMW display cable and pulled it under the dash from the monitor conduit and then used the string to pull the supplied LVDS cable from under the dash to the monitor. I mounted the new Carplay unit to the area against the dash in front of where the glovebox sits when replaced, securing cables with cable ties and velcro fixing the actual unit. The whole process took an hour maximum, I could take the unit out in half an hour if I so wished, it really is easy, don't be put off. I can only assume that the Carplay unit is unable to provide a sufficient signal over the long cable and hence needs to be placed at the front where it takes the signal from the BMW factory LVDS cable on the IN port and passes on the short supplied cable from the out of the Carplay box to the monitor. Hope this may help some of you.

Do you have a link to where you got your screen from?

Massive thanks. I haven’t done it yet but I’m about to now cos my spring has just totally come off both ends so hopefully you’ve saved me £££’s. 👍👍👍

Did it this way - works a treat! Thank you!

Ordered the exact same kit as Hugh for our ‘67 i3 and cable supplied in box was 90° off fitting in rear head unit. It won’t sit next to other cables as wire travels in wrong direction. Anyone else had this?

Can you tell me your comunication?

Having tried this myself and looking at others' reports, whether or not this works -- at least with the RoadTop unit -- seems to come down to the original NBT vs. newer NBT EVO unit. See here to determine which you have: bmw-icom-a2-wifi.blogspot.com/2016/09/bmw-nbt-coding-evo-hu-pinout-for-enet-cable.html This method does not seem to work, at least not universally, with the earlier NBT. For that unit, the CarPlay box has to be connected up front, inside the dash. As far as I can tell, the transition from NBT to NBT EVO occured during the 2017 model year and may have been country-specific.

Trivago

Did anyone with a stock 10 in screen get this to work?

That's awesome! I have been thinking of giving this a go for my New Zealand-based Japanese import RHD 2015 i3 (BEV only non-Rex) but I was put off by all of the dismantling of the front end and trim. This looks so straightforward in comparison, I don't understand why everyone wouldn't go down this route. Thanks for sharing.

That’s so awesome!! 1. Is that stock reverse camera? 2. So all you do is fiddle in the back seat? No need to move anything in the screen, the glove compartment nor the side trim pieces? THAT IS BRILLIANT

You're the only person I know why can install the main unit in the backbench and not the grovebox, would you mind sharing a detailed photo of the included cable? my email address is gavinho007@gmail.com