Adding a USB Port
 

Does anyone know of a way to tap into the rear plug of the lower-dash mounted USB port? I'd like to tap into the back of the unit and run a separate wire to my glove box and then connect a thumb drive with my music collection to that. That way, I'd have continuous access to my music collection (kind of like my own jukebox) and still have the dash port available for other stuff.

Alternatively, if anyone makes a replacement module that has dual USB ports, that would be good too, but I haven't found one.

As a last option, I could buy a simple USB splitter. That should work, but I'd have the wire hanging out of my dash and I was looking for a cleaner way.

Any ideas?

Do you know if the system will work with two devices connected at once? Good to know before tackling the project.

One of the nice characteristics of a USB is that you can daisy chain the plugs, i.e. connect an almost unlimited amount of devices. Amazon https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&ke...KcxBoCxhXw_wcB carries a wide variety of devices to achieve this, although not as cleanly as just extra plugs mounted in the dash. The USB.org site offers a function to search http://www.usb.org/kcompliance/view for USB devices, but this might not work unless you know what you are looking for. I'll be curious if you find a satisfactory clean solution.

Daisy chain in theory with a caveat of power consumption. Depends on what you are trying to run. Don't know how much power MINI has running in the port and what OP will want to drive with the second USB. That's why they make externally powered hubs.

The correct terminology is "USB hub", and it probably won't work for power and data protocol reasons.

It's very unlikely that the system is designed to deal with it. For example, what would it do with two USB sticks plugged in at the same time?

Your guess was correct. I plugged in a hub with two thumb drives and it only recognized one of the drives. Hmmm, my BMW has two USB ports and the system recognizes a drive in each. I was hoping a hub would work. It is pretty dumb to only provide one USB port, but I guess I'll have to live with that.

I was able to add a second USB port.

Since most of us don't have the armrest snap in adapter, the port for that is open in the head unit. It's the BLUE one. You just need to buy the wire and the USB socket, and plug it into the open blue spot. You can see it without detaching the head unit, just take off the screen/center instrument from the dash. (I have visual boost, but it should be the same for Navigation XL. I don't know what the headhunits for the touchscreen with apple CarPlay looks like, might be the same?)

I bought something like this:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-NBT-ret...72.m2749.l2649

Then you need to code so that Snap in adapter shows up on your list of external devices.

CDMM_USB_AUDIO = all (0x03)

It's up to you where you want to put the USB port, in the armrest, glovebox, wherever. It's pretty easy. Now I use the original USB port for my Sandisk micro memory stick for my saved Audio and Playlists, and I use the new USB port to charge my phone, and control Apple Music or Spotify or MINI Connected from the iDrive. You could also use another memory stick as well.

If you have the Click n Drive thingy behind the speedo, I would keep the second Usb port behind the dash and then send your charging/data cable to the steering column.


https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.nor...8efe50bad0.jpg


BLUE spot is where to plug in new wire

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.nor...4fe6c0aa87.jpg

Now snap in adapter is in list of devices

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.nor...2f149f2abc.jpg

That's exactly what I've wanted to do! Excellent! Thanks so much for posting. I don't understand how to code the car, but I'll have to study up on that part.

Having to continually switch USB drives is annoying. Thanks!

The coding is very easy if you buy the Bimmercode app for your phone or tablet.

How did you access the back of the head unit?

Did you pop off this:
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/show...diagId=64_2033

If not that, did you remove one of these pieces:
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/show...diagId=51_3489

Or one of these:
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/show...diagId=65_2601

Thanks!

To access the headunit

first you need to remove the "blind ring", which is the gloss black ring aroundthe central instrument (screen and radio buttons). Doing this is simple, just grab the ring, and turn it counter clock-wise, and it will come off

next, you need to remove the top speaker cover in the center top of the dash. You can pry this off with a trim removal tool. It just snaps on and off the dash.

then, you need to remove the two a/c vents next to your screen. There are for metal tabs that snap it into place. I just jammed in plastic trim removal tools to depress them. then you can pull the vents out (if you don't have the trim removal tools, I suppose any flat firm thing will do)


https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.nor...e8b49b8c95.jpg

two metal tabs on the bottom of vent


https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.nor...a881d8aed9.jpg

two metal tabs at top of vent

now remove the central instrument. do this by first removing the two screws on the bottom. Now depress the a tab at the top accessed from the top of the dash with a screw driver and pull the central instrument towards you

https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/f...cid/1VnYusDU70


you don't really need to remove the head unit for access, but if you want to for better vision/access, there are two screws on the top corners of the bracket holding the head unit. Just remove those.

For anyone with a F55/56/57, unless it's changed in the last year, you don't remove the blind ring in the same manner as the F54. There are two push pins on the bottom that you can pop out with your thumbnail. There is another thread on the forum that illustrates this. Other than that difference it seems this should also work on the other F platforms.

This is a good idea. Especially the eBay part.

Last I looked the OEM cable was $122, and the USB/Audio port was $60.

Thanks pw1114,
That's great information. I ordered the cable. I'll tackle this in a week or so when it arrives.

Really appreciate the help.

Just in case, as an FYI, if after you plug in the HSD wire and USB port you find that your phone doesn't charge and it is not connecting, it is likely because the wire/USB port combo you purchased has the pin connections rotated 180 degrees, so you have to rotate the connection position at the USB port/HSD wire by 180 degrees from the default position like this:


https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.nor...339818f9ad.jpg

This was the case for me, which i'm guessing is because I purchased items meant for some other BMW model.

Thats a great idea. Nice job. What part number did you use for the USB port there are several of them.

I ordered this, but it does not fit! I think it's my own fault, I assumed they would all work since they look alike.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-CIC-NBT...53.m2749.l2649

Thanks, I'll try that. It's just a hair off. One end of the cable is light blue, and the other is dark blue. The dark one fits, but that's the only end onto which the USB connects. The light blue end is a hair larger. I'll try removing some plastic with a razor blade The 4-pins look identical.

Actually, I discovered that the little splines on the light blue plug are at 2:00, 6:00, and 10:00. They are at 3:00, 6:00, & 9:00 on the dark blue. I just removed the ones at 2:00 and 10:00 with a razor blade and it fits perfectly now. Now to do the coding. Very easy job so far thanks to you. Would have been very difficult without knowing the tricks. Removing the vents was the most difficult part. They require some force, wiggling, and swearing (only a little) to remove.

Glad I can help. You should be getting power through the cable and your phone can charge even without coding. If you’re not getting power you need to rotate the connection 180

Pw1114,
It works! There is zero chance I would have figured all that out without your help. Even my dealer said it wasn't possible. All in all it was easy. I too had to reverse the connector as you described. Once I did that it worked perfectly. Thanks again. I owe you. BTW how the heck did you figure all this out? I'm very impressed.

Glad it works.

Which cable for f56?
 

Anyone know which one would fit F56?

My guess, is that the F56 uses the same head unit (depending on year). If you go here:
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/show...diagId=61_4646

You can "select another vehicle" and see if the part number is the same. I checked it for a 2015 F56 and it is identical to what is listed for my 2017 F54. I'd imagine that the cable that I used will fit your car. But that's just a guess. If the part numbers are the same, I'd say it's a very safe bet with the modifications that pw1114 described.

I've the snapin adapter... Do you think it would be possibile to change it to a USB port? I find insulting paying another 250€ for the snapin adpater. (Now im using a 2nd hand iphone 5 snapin paid 35€ but i would like to put my iphone 7 in the armrest)

You just need to unplug the snap in adapter from the head unit and plug in the USB port into that spot.

I just retrofitted the secret compartment and added a click and drive to the back of the instrument cluster this afternoon and hooked up the USB port on the click and drive to the back of the center instrument computer. I coded the system to recognize the second USB port and then could not get it to connect to my iPhone... I went back and did the same thing, sawed off a small clip with a steak knife and flipped the connector cable around 180 degrees and now it works perfectly! My USB port on my Click and Drive is now fully integrated to the car's computer system just like the USB port behind the gear shifter. YAY!

I should note that the head unit connection ports do appear different than what was pictured earlier.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.nor...cd578c423a.jpg
The connecting cable i used to conncet my click and drive USB port to the vehicle's computer system. I purchased this cable off of ebay here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/glovebox-US...72.m2749.l2649
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.nor...76df9cc370.jpg
The connecting cable I used to connect my click and drive USB port to the vehicle's computer system. I had to cut off a small tab/clip on the green end that connected to the white USB port and then flip the green cable around 180 degrees for the connection from my phone to the vehicle to work. I then wrapped the green cable, white/black USB port, and the male end of the USB cable that leads to the click and drive USB port in electrical tape to prevent any of the connections from coming loose and detaching.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.nor...a655458270.jpg
The head unit behind the center instrument screen. In my 2016 mini the available port is yellow in color and is labeled "USB2" directly in front of the yellow connection port
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.nor...db4f3bd746.jpg
The head unit behind the center instrument screen. In my 2016 mini the available port is yellow in color and is labeled "USB2" directly in front of the yellow connection port

Hello,
Total newbie here with a 2016 F55 S. I am looking to do this modification (seems like it would make an awesome instructional thread) I have the Bimmer app and have used it only in the basic setting.
What is the process for doing the coding for this mod? A few of you have said it is easy but having never used the app to code in expert mode I don't know where to begin. Could someone lay out the steps for getting the center instrument to re-code to see the center console snap in adapter port as a second usb port? I have installed a USB cable as described in the thread above just need this next piece.

I will be happy to work on this over the weekend... I'm working all day Thursday and Friday and spending Saturday with my dad but Sunday afternoon I will go out to my car and try to take some screenshots with my iPad to better illustrate where to go in Bimmercode to change the coding. there is literally only one code that has to be changed [Code so that second USB port shows up on the list of external devices (for click and drive USB connection to head unit) CDMM_USB_AUDIO = all (0x03) ] but if you have not spent much time fiddling around with Bimmercode in Expert mode it can feel a bit overwhelming at first (especially since it is all in German!). But once you get the hang of it and do your research first it is really no so hard. I keep a text document that I save in the cloud with the lists of all the coding I have done or want to do and I write it all out in a format to guide myself through the process one code at a time before I start changing anything. Usually, I only change one or two codes at a time so that if I do foul something up or get an unexpected result that doesn't work right I can easily revert to the backup file to undo whatever it is I just did without having to troubleshoot and try to figure out where the problem is.

For example, from my coding cheat sheet this is what I have written down for changing the clock times to automatically update via the GPS navigation system: Automatic clock set by GPS:

In HU_NBT_EVO:
Under 3000 HMI, set CLOCK_CHANGE_AUTOMATIC and SETTINGS_TIME_AUTOMATIC to aktiv (default is nicht_active).
In KOMBI:
Under 3000 Anzeige_Konfiguration, set GPS_UHR to aktiv (default is nicht_active).
Once this is coded, if you go to the clock settings, you will be able to activate "automatic time setting". It may take a few minutes for the time to update.

I try to take what can sometimes be some obscure coding instructions and write them out for myself in step-by-step plain English.
The coding changes I have successfully done include adding the JCW sport displays to my head0up display in sport mode and adding the JCW lighting display to the center LED ring, set the navigation information in my head-up display provide more detailed distance information in guidance mode, enabled video in motion so that video files can be played on the center screen while the vehicle is moving (good for passengers on longer road trips but remember to keep your eyes on the road when driving!), Have my MINI always start in GREEN mode, Have the center instrument display both tire pressure AND TEMPERATURES for each tire under vehicle information, enabling the second USB connection to show up in the list of available connections, getting rid of the iDrive safety disclaimers from appearing on the screen at startup and when in reverse (so annoying!), changed the GONG sound from the awdful MINI sound to the much more pleasing and less jarring BMW sound (they also have Rolls Royce sounds available in the system but I thought it sounded a bit too pretentious...), my clock time is automatically updated by the GPS navigation system so I never have to manually adjust the time (nice for the dreaded daylight savings time changes or when driving from one time zone to another), activated my rear fog lights after installing a new lighting switch with the button for the fog lights, set my sunroof and windows to close with comfort access or key fob and automatically fold the side mirrors when locking the vehicle, and a few other minor things here and there...

Possible on a non-nav head unit?
 

Hi, I have a ‘19 F56 with the basic audio (no navigation, no touchscreen, no HK). Does anyone know if the basic head unit has the port for the second USB?

eBay link expired
 

great post and really useful, but the eBay link has expired, so I can’t workout what cable I need, can you help?