New member - already have CarPlay, but just want it full screen

[andyjeffries]

Hey everyone,

I'm a new F15 owner (had two E53s before my most recent couple of cars, loved them so just came back to BMW for the F15). I'm absolutely in love with my car.

It has CarPlay from the official ConnectedStore, but it's not full screen (which is a bit pants!).

I've seen quite a few places online that offer upgrades to your iDrive to enable full screen CarPlay (I'm running NBTEvo_J), but the price seems to include CarPlay which I've already paid for.

Is there a relatively cost effective way to upgrade to a newer NBTEvo version to just enable my normal CarPlay to be full screen? (sounds like I'm being really cheap, but having just bought a car, it's a big expense... and I'd rather not pay for something twice if not needed)

Thanks for any help.

(obligatory new car pic, I don't know if people care about that in this forum, but just in case...)

[ArthurMorgan]

You can upgrade the NBT yourself using e-Sys and your only cost is the ENET cable and (in my case) an e-Sys launcher like BimmerUtility. SaNGRia documented this in another thread here - https://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1781259

This thread is a bit convoluted, but there really are only a few steps once you have a working copy of e-Sys and a recent PsDzdata full. I did this not long after I bought the car and upgraded the firmware to version Y which allows fullscreen CarPlay to be activated via basic coding.

[andyjeffries]

That's awesome, thanks ArthurMorgan. I've seen stuff about ENET cables and esys before, but

a) I use an M1 Mac so have a challenge about running Windows software, although I can try to find a way around that.

b) I have no idea of where to get a "working copy of e-Sys and a recent PsDzdata full"? I don't know if these are officially publicly available, but don't want to just download some random software from a Google search result and run it while connected to my car. Any tips? Maybe SHA1/MD5 hashes for the correct downloads (then I can find them and compare)

I'm a very technical guy (long time programmer) so I feel confident enough following the steps in that guide, but just don't know where to get the software from.

[ArthurMorgan]

On an M1 Mac I think you're going to have issues. I have an M2 MBA, and while Parallels and Win 11 works for most things, it is extremely finicky with external devices probably because of lacking ARM drivers. I personally wouldn't risk flashing sensitive components with that setup, even if you could get it to run in a VM.

I have an an older laptop I put Windows 11 on that I use only for ISTA, e-Sys, and other vehicle diagnostics, and that's the way I'd go. Off-lease enterprise laptops from Dell and HP are super cheap and will keep on ticking. The e-Sys launchers like BimmerUtility, Launcher Pro, etc. are the only way I know to get a working copy of e-Sys. PsDz files get posted on the various forums if you search around, unfortunately I cannot for the life of me remember where I got my copy from. shawnsheridan usually chimes in eventually whenever someone is searching for it, maybe try to find some of his posts.

[andyjeffries]

Help me shawnsheridan-wan Kenobi, you're my only hope. ;-)

[titanjc]

Welcome andyjeffries ! My CPO 2018 F15 had CarPlay from the factory, and I had a good experience using bimmer-remote.com to upgrade my iDrive firmware and also install full screen CarPlay. Let me tell you, it's a game-changer. I use Waze and Spotify pretty much every time I drive, and full screen makes the experience much, much better. If you don't feel like figuring out how to do it yourself, I recommend B-R.com to do it.

[destroy26]

Originally Posted by titanjc

Welcome andyjeffries ! My CPO 2018 F15 had CarPlay from the factory, and I had a good experience using bimmer-remote.com to upgrade my iDrive firmware and also install full screen CarPlay. Let me tell you, it's a game-changer. I use Waze and Spotify pretty much every time I drive, and full screen makes the experience much, much better. If you don't feel like figuring out how to do it yourself, I recommend B-R.com to do it.

Hey OP. I also used Bimmer-Remote for this exact purpose shortly after purchasing my F15 back in May of 2022. I had an excellent experience and would highly recommend using them.

[matt21484]

BimmerCode app and a cheap BT OBD-II device. I did mine about a week ago

[ArthurMorgan]

You cannot use BimmerCode unless the firmware is recent enough, which OP does not have. He will need to update the software first.

[bk335ilci]

Originally Posted by ArthurMorgan

You cannot use BimmerCode unless the firmware is recent enough, which OP does not have. He will need to update the software first.

How can I check the firmware? I also have a 2018 x5 with partial screen car play. How new of firmware is needed to activate full screen CarPlay using bimmercode?

[beattiecj]

Originally Posted by bk335ilci

How can I check the firmware? I also have a 2018 x5 with partial screen car play. How new of firmware is needed to activate full screen CarPlay using bimmercode?

Bimmer remote can tell you, via Vin.

[ArthurMorgan]

Originally Posted by bk335ilci

How can I check the firmware? I also have a 2018 x5 with partial screen car play. How new of firmware is needed to activate full screen CarPlay using bimmercode?

I don't have my X5 here at the house (surprise, it's getting worked on!), but if you go into the Navigation, there's an option in there somewhere to view software versions. It'll say something like NBTevo_U19384l. In that example, U is the firmware revision. If that letter is X, Y, or Z for you, you will be able to activate fullscreen carplay via basic coding in something like BimmerCode (or eSys).

[meds1976]

As above, it's under Navigation. Mine was K for a 2017 X6. Had to have the unit flashed to Y which is the latest version I believe. After that, you can code via Bimmercode.

[bk335ilci]

Originally Posted by meds1976

As above, it's under Navigation. Mine was K for a 2017 X6. Had to have the unit flashed to Y which is the latest version I believe. After that, you can code via Bimmercode.

I heard the flash can take up to 45 minutes? Was it done remotely?

[meds1976]

Originally Posted by bk335ilci

I heard the flash can take up to 45 minutes? Was it done remotely?

Mine was done in person. Took about 30 mins.

[titanjc]

FYI, my remote flash through bimmer-remote.com took about 40 minutes as well. I think the actual flash was around 30 but it seemed like the person performing the flash went AFK a couple times between stages of the flash.

[bk335ilci]

Originally Posted by titanjc

FYI, my remote flash through bimmer-remote.com took about 40 minutes as well. I think the actual flash was around 30 but it seemed like the person performing the flash went AFK a couple times between stages of the flash.

What battery charger did you use?

[FCX5]

Originally Posted by titanjc

Welcome andyjeffries ! My CPO 2018 F15 had CarPlay from the factory, and I had a good experience using bimmer-remote.com to upgrade my iDrive firmware and also install full screen CarPlay. Let me tell you, it's a game-changer. I use Waze and Spotify pretty much every time I drive, and full screen makes the experience much, much better. If you don't feel like figuring out how to do it yourself, I recommend B-R.com to do it.

Agree. Was easily one of the best upgrades I did. It makes no sense that BMW did not implement full screen CarPlay by default.

[andyjeffries]

Originally Posted by FCX5

Agree. Was easily one of the best upgrades I did. It makes no sense that BMW did not implement full screen CarPlay by default.

I was trying to justify to my wife earlier tonight why BMW made this boneheaded decision… I hate playing devil’s advocate.

I’ve made quite a few comments now but still no DMs enabled. Hopefully soon.

[FCX5]

Originally Posted by andyjeffries

I was trying to justify to my wife earlier tonight why BMW made this boneheaded decision… I hate playing devil’s advocate.

I’ve made quite a few comments now but still no DMs enabled. Hopefully soon.

Especially since their own ID7 Home Screen is essentially a copy of the CarPlay Home Screen.