Integrating an iPhone with your BMW is one of the best things that could happen to the owner of 2 of the most popular brands out there, and it’s all possible thanks to a BMW Apple CarPlay upgrade.

Stats say that Apple CarPlay, together with Android Auto, “were available in 46% of new vehicles sold in Europe in Q1 2018 and 52% of new vehicles sold in the US.” And it’s great news, but what about BMWs with older iDrive systems that are not compatible with BMW CarPlay activation? For those who are not aware of this fact and have already made some ambitious plans, original Apple CarPlay can be activated in cars only with NBT Evo ID5/ID6 iDrives.*

*Don’t know which iDrive version you have? Find out in this blog post.

But no worries, BimmerTech has your back - in August, 2018, we launched our own CarPlay MMI which works in cars with older iDrive systems. This CarPlay retrofit is absolutely the same in terms of the look & feel of the CarPlay app, with the same standard applications available. However, it differs from the original Apple CarPlay in other ways. Check out our brief infographic to understand the difference.

Which CarPlay is your BMW compatible with? Check here.

How Do I Set up CarPlay in my BMW?

So, the main difference lies in the way you add Apple CarPlay to BMW, and the logic behind that is very simple. Original software only requires activation via USB (and sometimes Wi-Fi antenna) or cable coding because the functionality is pre-set from the factory. However, CarPlay MMI is a full hardware retrofit as you equip a BMW with a feature that is not supposed to be there.

BMW Wireless CarPlay

Original BMW Apple CarPlay supports a wireless connection between the iPhone and car. That’s why your BMW has to be equipped with the Wi-Fi antenna for the software to work. Check whether your BMW needs Wi-Fi antenna here. In CarPlay MMI mode you actually need to connect an iOS device via an original Apple lightning cable which also lets you simultaneously charge the smartphone, so your vehicle doesn’t need a Wi-Fi antenna.

Apple CarPlay Full-Screen

Now you can ditch the BMW CarPlay split display and go full-screen instead. But this feature is available only for NBT Evo ID5/ID6 iDrives with the software updated in 03/2018 or later. To check your software version, go to Settings -> Software Update -> Show current version.  BMW owners with NBT Evo ID5/ID6 and software version between 07/2016 & 02/2018 can have Apple CarPlay, but are not compatible with full screen. BimmerTech CarPlay MMI doesn’t support full-screen mode … yet.

If you want to update your BMW, contact us at info@bimmer-tech.net with your VIN and we will help you out.