Apple CarPlay/Android Auto Retrofit

[brettcp]

Originally Posted by bighindu79

So, there is a finisher clip that tucks in the mic wire as shown in the picture that's preventing me from getting enough slack to lift up the top steering column trim enough for me to get to the mic adapter. Does anyone know how I can get this finisher clip off to release the cable without causing damage? I've tried all kinds of trim tools etc to pry this thing off but no luck so far. At this point I almost wish I had a e90/92 connecting this damn mic is becoming a real pain.

Small screwdriver or pick tool and it pops out from the top. Once you're finished it snaps right back into place.

[bighindu79]

Originally Posted by brettcp

Small screwdriver or pick tool and it pops out from the top. Once you're finished it snaps right back into place.

Which end should I start from? The far end pulling downwards towards the steering wheel or the end that's closer to the steering wheel and pulling downwards and way from the steering wheel?

[Insane435]

so much good info in this thread, but im still a bit confused. Can anyone help?

I have a 2011 e90 with idrive.

1) Can i play music through the combox using the usb in the center arm rest while using WAZE on car play?

2)is the kremersino v2 or v3 unit better? is andream comparable?

3) can you use a wired connection for car play? I hate the idea of wireless for music. quality will definitely suffer. This is my biggest concern. i dont want to sacrifice the SQ of my music.

4) which backup camera will work for me? andream?

[brettcp]

Originally Posted by bighindu79

Which end should I start from? The far end pulling downwards towards the steering wheel or the end that's closer to the steering wheel and pulling downwards and way from the steering wheel?

The top of the clip in your photo. Mine popped right now with little effort. Snapped right back in as well.

[bighindu79]

Originally Posted by brettcp

The top of the clip in your photo. Mine popped right now with little effort. Snapped right back in as well.

Would you be able take a photo or a video of how you did it and the tool you used? I'm not having any luck with this thing.

Edit: attaching picture of how I'm trying to remove it. Is that the right way? I don't have much room to work as the top shroud doesn't lift up any higher due to the wire keeping it locked.

Edit 2: I was finally able to get the mic hooked up but the issue with CarPlay going out as soon as I hook up the black clip connector to the ac panel still exists. This thing has really tested my patience. If anyone else is considering this CarPlay box I would say proceed with caution.

[UnicornM]

Who has been successful with wireless audio with android? and which unit did you use?

Sat on the fence with all this, not wanting to go aux cable for audio. I have a CIC with Combox already.

[brettcp]

Originally Posted by UnicornM

Who has been successful with wireless audio with android? and which unit did you use?

Sat on the fence with all this, not wanting to go aux cable for audio. I have a CIC with Combox already.

I tested the Kremersino v2 with an Android phone earlier this year (there's a thread on it several pages back), it worked as expected, just didn't think Android auto looked nearly as "polished" as Carplay does. Not sure if any Android updates have improved this over the last few months.. but it did work.

[khurmit]

Originally Posted by brettcp

Yes, and in the BMW source list (on the factory BMW system), select your phone's bluetooth audio connection (instead of AUX In). You don't set anything specific to this in the kremersino unit itself.

So I could bypass the aux on any carplay/android box, not just kremersino?

[brettcp]

Originally Posted by khurmit

So I could bypass the aux on any carplay/android box, not just kremersino?

The carplay/android box has to support true wireless carplay over BT (without aux) for this to work. The Kremersino v2 unit claimed to support this - the issue was with the switching of the audio source. Apple Carplay always wants to play audio via its default "Carplay" source. The kremersino v2 unit attempts to work-around this by continually forcing your phone to switch from the "Carplay" source to the BMW bluetooth source - the issue is that this switching was not reliable. Sometimes it would switch properly, sometimes it would not, and you'd have to go manually switch it on your phone. It became annoying.

The solution is to just wire the carplay unit to your AUX input. It is still wireless between your phone and the carplay unit (you don't physically plug anything into youyr phone), but the carplay box is wired to your AUX input. The downside of AUX is that the audio quality suffered, however, the kremersino v2 unit has a built in EQ which you can adjust to improve the audio quality, very close to the point of factory BT quality.

[khurmit]

Ah right, so I can't connect iPhone to the CarPlay box via cable/WiFi whilst simultaneously outputting iPhone audio via Bluetooth? Ie iPhone will always output via same method of connection to Carplay.

Rather than trying to force the iPhone to allow this, which doesn't seem to have worked, why can't the makers of these CarPlay boxes just introduce audio output via Bluetooth as well as via aux out? Then we could connect phone via lightning cable/wifi to CarPlay box and connect CarPlay box to car via bluetooth.

OR if there was a CarPlay box with 2 bluetooth units built in, then in fact we could connect iPhone to the CarPlay box using ANY method, whilst still being able to output carplay audio to bmw via bluetooth.

So ideally iPhone could connect to Bluetooth device "CarPlay" and bmw could connect to Bluetooth device "CarPlay Audio" - that would work?

[brettcp]

Originally Posted by khurmit

Ah right, so I can't connect iPhone to the CarPlay box via cable/WiFi whilst simultaneously outputting iPhone audio via Bluetooth? Ie iPhone will always output via same method of connection to Carplay.

Rather than trying to force the iPhone to allow this, which doesn't seem to have worked, why can't the makers of these CarPlay boxes just introduce audio output via Bluetooth as well as via aux out? Then we could connect phone via lightning cable/wifi to CarPlay box and connect CarPlay box to car via bluetooth.

OR if there was a CarPlay box with 2 bluetooth units built in, then in fact we could connect iPhone to the CarPlay box using ANY method, whilst still being able to output carplay audio to bmw via bluetooth.

So ideally iPhone could connect to Bluetooth device "CarPlay" and bmw could connect to Bluetooth device "CarPlay Audio" - that would work?

I suspect they have to adhere to Apple's official carplay spec, and have a limited amount of ability to override what's in that spec.

Fortunately, there seem to be more players in the aftermarket carplay game now, so we're seeing more carplay options and the pricing is dropping a bit. I'd love to see somebody produce a carplay box that outputs directly to the MOST bus (emulating a factory CD changer, perhaps), but I think that route may be cost-prohibitive to produce.

I'll be testing a kremersino "v3" unit soon and will provide feedback on it.

[khurmit]

Originally Posted by brettcp

I suspect they have to adhere to Apple's official carplay spec, and have a limited amount of ability to override what's in that spec.

Fortunately, there seem to be more players in the aftermarket carplay game now, so we're seeing more carplay options and the pricing is dropping a bit. I'd love to see somebody produce a carplay box that outputs directly to the MOST bus (emulating a factory CD changer, perhaps), but I think that route may be cost-prohibitive to produce.

I'll be testing a kremersino "v3" unit soon and will provide feedback on it.

The CarPlay box's output isn't determined by CarPlay specs is it?

Agreed that CarPlay specs deem it necessary to output from phone via same method of CarPlay connection, but surely they don't also govern how the CarPlay box can output its audio? Else that would mean the CarPlay specs deem it necessary to output via Aux, which is a bit outdated?

CarPlay box outputting audio via MOST sounds even better 👍🏽

[Route 16]

What's the better alternative for non-CCC/CIC folks? Is there anything better than EONON?

[bighindu79]

Has anybody considered the Carsara CarPlay unit US $225.09 39％ Off | E90 E91 E92 E93 car DVD monitor apple wireless carplay interface box android auto module for 3 Series radio screen CIC system
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mrsTTCT


I am still waiting for Kremersino to send me a replacement v2 unit but I have very little confidence if it will resolve my issue. I may go with the Carsara unit if the replacement kremersino unit doesn't work. If anyone has experience with the Carsara unit please chime in with any feedback.

[slow4dr]

I just installed the Andream CarPlay unit, it was about 275. It is not an android unit apparently and just has CarPlay/android auto functions built in. I believe it carries the same harness and display as the android units but just less functionality. Wireless CarPlay works. The biggest nuisance items are the fact that it stops playing music when I'm in reverse(I get it) but If I hit the m button, it stops all audio and I need to hold the menu button a few seconds to get the display/audio to turn back to CarPlay.

However, with that said I love it since I always turned the stock display off when I drove the car because it looked awful.

[PACarGuy]

Originally Posted by bighindu79

Has anybody considered the Carsara CarPlay unit US $225.09 39％ Off | E90 E91 E92 E93 car DVD monitor apple wireless carplay interface box android auto module for 3 Series radio screen CIC system
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mrsTTCT


I am still waiting for Kremersino to send me a replacement v2 unit but I have very little confidence if it will resolve my issue. I may go with the Carsara unit if the replacement kremersino unit doesn't work. If anyone has experience with the Carsara unit please chime in with any feedback.

This Carsara unit looks very tempting to try, especially for the price. I have a Kremersino v1, and though it's pretty good, the bass quality over AUX was never addressed, and it needs an external mic. The Carsara unit seems to use the factory mic and says it does calls over BT instead of Carplay, which is preferable. I have to manually switch to BMW BT anyway with the Kremersino unit since calls over CP don't sound good to the person on the other end. The Carsara also seems not to have a separate AUX cable and I assume provides the audio through the quad lock connector. I think I'm going to order one and give it a shot.

[bighindu79]

Originally Posted by PACarGuy

This Carsara unit looks very tempting to try, especially for the price. I have a Kremersino v1, and though it's pretty good, the bass quality over AUX was never addressed, and it needs an external mic. The Carsara unit seems to use the factory mic and says it does calls over BT instead of Carplay, which is preferable. I have to manually switch to BMW BT anyway with the Kremersino unit since calls over CP don't sound good to the person on the other end. The Carsara also seems not to have a separate AUX cable and I assume provides the audio through the quad lock connector. I think I'm going to order one and give it a shot.

Please do let me know how it works out if you do.

[tdott]

This appears to be the cheapest one: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001288224534.html

Seems like the same features.

[CaptainPunPants]

Quick follow up on my previous installation:

I finally installed the unit inside the dash on my E60, between the two cupholders. I ran the mic cable up to the overhead console, but I put in a 2nd mic from the junkyard, replacing the dummy on the passenger side. This way the car and Kremersino V2 use different mics.

I found a really nice trick for the AUX in: use the AUX in port from a car with the snap-in phone adapter. It's the 6-pin connector that auto-switches between inputs.

I have the Kremersino V2 wired into the "phone" input inside the armrest/console (hidden away). I soldered a 3.5mm plug to that leg of the harness. Then, if I plug anything into the actual aux jack in the storage compartment, it overrides the Kremersino so I don't lose AUX functionality. And there aren't any visible cables inside the console. The AUX jack output is wired the same way it was, back to the COMBOX in the trunk.

With BrettCP's EQ settings, the audio quality is more than passable. I find the quality of the source audio is now what determines the sound quality again, and it's at least as good as COMBOX bluetooth quality.

[cannyjock]

Originally Posted by bighindu79

Please do let me know how it works out if you do.

I have this in the UK and it's not bad. I'm using wireless Android Auto and it works well. Some of the same downsides though - I have to use aux for sound. However, some people have found other ways to do it. Using Apple, music will go over bluetooth to the Combox but not navigation directions apparently, and at least one person has it working over aux without plugging into the armrest, it must route sound via the harness to aux in some way - the instructions do suggest this may work, and apparently it sounds better. Using Android, I've had to use their second mic to pick up 'Ok Google' commands, I've still got some experimenting to do here. Overall, for the money it's a good buy.

More - this is in a 2011 e90 M3 with Combox, individual audio.

Thread here: https://forums.m3cutters.co.uk/threa...%A3168.230734/

[bighindu79]

Originally Posted by cannyjock

I have this in the UK and it's not bad. I'm using wireless Android Auto and it works well. Some of the same downsides though - I have to use aux for sound. However, some people have found other ways to do it. Using Apple, music will go over bluetooth to the Combox but not navigation directions apparently, and at least one person has it working over aux without plugging into the armrest, it must route sound via the harness to aux in some way - the instructions do suggest this may work, and apparently it sounds better. Using Android, I've had to use their second mic to pick up 'Ok Google' commands, I've still got some experimenting to do here. Overall, for the money it's a good buy.

More - this is in a 2011 e90 M3 with Combox, individual audio.

Thread here: https://forums.m3cutters.co.uk/threa...%A3168.230734/

Thank you. So, this unit doesn't integrate with the oem mic? The description and pictures on the Ali store don't provide these details.

[cannyjock]

I'm not sure yet. I had to use the supplied one to get Google assistant to work, it doesn't seem to without this. I haven't checked yet to see if you can use the supplied adapter cables to connect to the original mic, but I guess this would stop it working with the standard stereo?