Hello all,

Well I have started down a bit of a rabbit hole and I figured I would post it up here. I have had my 2011 JCW Clubman for a few years now and I still love the car. It is just the right size for my needs and still is great shape. It also came with the navigation system which means it has the OEM screen in the center console. Therein lies the rub though. The CiC/CHAMP2 system in the car was state of the art for its time but it is now 11 years old which means technology has sort of left it behind. I installed a full Integral Audio sound system into the car which vastly improved the already decent H/K sound system so I am good for audio, I just want the interface to be better. Lately I have been using Apple music on my iPhone and connecting via Bluetooth. It works pretty well but I still have to mess with my phone on occasion to change playlists. I also tend to use my phone for navigation as the OEM system is a little dated and difficult to input destinations into.

Enter the idea; can I get Apple CarPlay functioning on my OEM display somehow? This would seem to be a slam dunk solution to my issue. I started digging around and my first stop was Bimmer-Tech. From past experience they tend to have good retrofits for BMW/Mini OEM items. I found this: Linky It would seem to be exactly what I am looking for. The unit effectively hijacks the OEM screen and control signals and inserts its own display. It also plumbs directly into the aux input so I should have the best quality sound possible. The price tag is pretty high though so I would want to be certain before I made the jump. After a little searching I found that the unit they are selling is a standard interface available from a few other sources at significantly lower prices. (example) I also contacted BimmerTech to ask about the unit. As far as I can tell the higher price tag only gets you installation instructions and support. Not sure that is worth ~ $400

The main con I am wrestling with a bit is that the display assumes a square-ish screen while the Mini's is rounded. That means that the corners of the display are clipped and some displayed data is covered. You can see the system in action
Anyway, I just wanted to share and also to see if anyone out there in the motoring community has done this. Since the OEM nav seemed to be a rarely selected option I suspect not many if anyone has done this but it is worth the ask.

 

Small update.

Bimmertech responded to my inquiry about their product and the price difference implying that it was a copy of their product. I don't really buy that as the main box is made by a Chinese company called Sunplus. It looks like they do develop their own custom firmware for the box which makes it unique to them but I really don't think that justifies such a huge markup. I may have been convinced if they would have confirmed that they had bespoke, specific installation instructions for a 2nd get Mini but even that they would avoid confirming.

Based on that I opted to go with the Andream solution sold here: https://www.android-car-dvd.com/coll...32066140438664

I will report back when I get the unit in and get a chance to get it installed.

In case folks are looking for even more information on these, here is a great thread in the BMW forums on this stuff: https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1675929

 

I have installed the similar box in my wife's Audi Q3 several years ago to enable CarPlay on the factory screen. Works great.
Hope that installation goes smooth and you like it. Let us know how it goes and post some pictures!

 

I have install on my car with 239euro a unit like this.
https://www.android-car-dvd.de/
Works exact the same and till now work flawlessly.
700for a car play is BIG money especially when others sell the same box for 239.

Cheers

 

You are right! I didn't check the price from OP link - ouch, that's expensive!
The one I have installed on my wife's Audi Q3 did cost me $180 on AliExpress about 3 years ago. That module doesn't support wireless CarPlay, but has all the other functions of more up-to-date ones.
The seller makes units for BMW systems: https://carlinkeasy.aliexpress.com/s...6dca6dbc3khvSO

So yes, there are much cheaper options available out there.

 

Yeah, that was my point. BimmerTech seems to be charging a serious premium for their product that I struggle to find justification for.

The Aliexpress sellers are at the other extreme in terms of price but I was a little reluctant to go all the way there as I also want to ensure I get good support. Andream seems to be a good middle ground where they offer a 2-year warranty and support while still being reasonably priced.

My unit is in transit now so hopefully I will be up and running with full wireless CarPlay in a couple weeks time!

 

The one i posted above its wireless carplay.
I dont believe there is anything cheaper and more "reliable" in terms of use.!
Cheers

 

Hello all,

Time for an update. I have a fully functional Wireless Apple CarPlay system installed in my 2011 R55 Clubman!!! It functions exactly as advertised and is amazing!

Some topics from the installation.

1. It took me 5 hours! I probably could have gotten done sooner but I was also retrofitting the OEM alarm system into the car at the same time and that took some doing as well.
2. Andream is pretty much useless when it comes to helping after the sale. They provided zero instructions on the kit or the settings so I had to do all my own research to get things set up. UPDATE: they got back to me with installation instructions this morning. Would have been nice if they provided those at the point of sale though.
2.a If anyone looks to do this themselves, here are some tips:
- The DIP Switch settings should all be OFF except switch 4 which should be set to ON
- The iDrive/CAN harness is not needed. This is the harness that goes to the joystick. The Andream harness has the ability to tap into the CAN signals at the head unit. You do need to connect the white plug on the main harness to the "Head unit CAN" plug which serves as a jumper to route those signals into the MMI
- You DO need to route the microphone intercept cable up to the overhead unit and connect it to the OEM microphone. The MMI was unable to pick up the OEM microphone in the main harness for whatever reason. While doing this I found that my OEM microphone was on the passenger side for some reason. I moved it over to the drivers side and hooked everything up.
- I didn't have to pull the main display out. I used the LVDS cable plugged into the back of the OEM head unit and just moved that over to the MMI LVDS OUT port. I then used one of the provided LVDS cables to connect the MMI to the OEM head unit and Bob was subsequently my uncle. I ended up with a leftover LVDS cable since I just reused the OEM cable instead of it.
3. One of my concerns was around the corners of the display being cut off by the round-ish screen. This was solved but switching the display to RHD mode which moves the quick launch icons and other displays to the right side. I was also able to adjust the settings in the MMI to crop the right side of the display in by around 35 pixels. This moved that edge to the left enough to fully display the data on that side of the screen.

Overall I am very pleased so far. Once I worked out the kinks I was able to get things working exactly as they should and I am loving the new interface so far!

 

Great news! Congratulations on successful project!

 

Nice! Too hard for a DIY for myself. Too bad they are not readily available. My stereo installer does not have them. I use a dongle that connects my iphone so I can stream my music and navigation.

 

jwzimm thanks for the info, am considering doing it on my 2013 Cooper. I assume this era is CIC?

 

Yours should still be the CHAMP2 which is the equivalent of CIC. I cannot be certain of that though. I think you can go into the settings in the system and it should say something like CHAMP2 though.

 

Thanks jwzimm I have just installed it today on my R55 thanks for your info about the white “head unit can” connector! Didn’t know what the hell I was doing and was but scary as nothing worked before I connected that. I removed the additional unneeded looms (named stuff like usb low speed can and usb high speed can) off of that head unit can loom.

once installed you have to go to Bluetooth settings on your iPhone and connect to this new unit.

so now mine is working but I don’t know how you did it in 5 hours I spent a whole day and my entire dash is still in pieces. The number of looms and wires provided is pretty mind-boggling. I will provide photos later for others. As you pointed out, I only used one of their provided LVDS wires as the original mini one from the speedo reaches the unit so the extra one wasn’t used. I got rear camera connected too in theory (I tested it) but haven’t actually routed the wires to the back yet.

I have decided I will have to put info up regarding different sections of the job to make it easier to follow, mostly regarding items that I couldn't get my head around for most of the install! I will try and be factual.

LVDS Wiring:
As jwzimm points out, you only need to use 1 of the 2 provided LVDS cables. (You retain the OEM cable coming down from the Nav screen).

1. On mine, the pink connector on the rear of the radio goes via one of the new LVDS cables to the MMI box LVDS IN connection.
2. The original LVDS cable coming down from the Nav screen connects directly to the pink LVDS OUT connection on the back of the MMI box.
3. The beige OEM cable is disconnected from the radio and is unused. The beige connector on the back of the radio is unused.

Front speaker wires:

The MMI box comes with a large loom connector that connects between the OEM loom and the radio. It has 2 huge connector blocks.
On my Harman Kardon system (don't know about standard radio) there are 2 wires in the original block that if you connect it to the supplied loom - it has blanks for these 2 wires ie they would come to a dead end. It does not provide for them to do anything. So you have to remove them out the OEM connector and connect them directly to block that will go into the radio. On mine these are green wires but I have seen reference to them being black in later countryman model.


Supplied loom


Disassembly of wires out of original block:


OEM block


tab to release the wires


coming out


released

Now put these 2 wires into the other end of the supplied loom. So when it is put into the radio the green wires will work properly.



The empty space where you will put your newly released wires


Putting the wires in


Now they are secured. This is the end that will go into the radio.

CANBUS wiring

There is some canbus wiring that is supplied - it connects with an offshoot of the supplied main wiring loom (the one with the 2 large connector blocks above). One section of it (with the black connectors) is not needed and can be discarded.


Separate it here


Discard this section

Disconnect the CANBUS CAN ALL OUT and swap it to the other white one named HEAD UNIT CAN:



Disconnect this CAN ALL OUT


Connect HEAD UNIT CAN

You end up with this section (in pic below) attached to the main supplied loom. The 3 unused connectors remain unused. It is a bit annoying in that sense as they just take up space.


This is the end result of the CANBUS section.

 

Situate the extended loom block

When you connect the supplied main loom - one block connects to the OEM loom block, and the other will connect into the back of the radio (as the OEM loom did originally). But, the additional block and loom is bulky and there is not much space. Fortunately there is one gap to the left at the back, which can house the block. On my right-hand drive (UK) car this is on the left side behind the glove box. I expect it is mirrored in USA cars ie will be on the right.



OEM loom connected to supplied loom


Squash it into this gap (arrow)


It may not be straight, but this is ok.

I made a youtube video to show this part.


Microphone

There appears to be no easy way to use the original mic wiring and somehow getting the signal into the MMI box. So, you have to run a new (supplied) mic wire from the MMI box up to the headlining lighting panel where the original mic is. I experimented and you can use this new wiring with the original mini mic. So you unplug the original mic wiring and plug your new wire into it. It works.




Original mic and wire


2 torx retain light unit


Tape up 3 unused blocks on supplied wire to stop rattle. Only 1 fits the OEM mic.


Then run new wire along headlining. I removed sun visor to help have bit of flex with headlining.


and down the pillar


finally through this area above the small cubby-hole


down the back of radio, and join to the MMI box plug. I have it out front here just for photo.

 

@CoolHands
Thanks for the very informative post and photos. I'm starting on installing a very similar looking mmi box to my 2011 r55.

I've done the mic wiring so far as I had to strip out the A pillar trim for another job.

Where did you actually fit the mmi box and how did you secure it in place?

Also did you have to plug in the aux lead to the socket in the car or did it work without it?

Many thanks
Dave

 

Hi
it goes here, I used a bit of firm aerated foam polystyrene type stuff above it about 1cm thick to stop any rattles. I sincerely can’t remember how it stays up, I don’t think I used sticky tape or anything, (although I may have done), I think perhaps the heater controls go in the underneath space and wedge it up? Anyway here’s where it is





you have to plug the aux cable into your car’s aux in port as shown (so this is plugged in permanently). The usb bit is also routed to be next to it so both of these are visible / available when job is complete

 

Thanks for the info and pics, that's really helpful.

Now for the epic mission of dismantling to get it fitted!

Mine also has a WiFi aerial with instructions to avoid mounting it close to metal. That's tricky!
Thanks again,
Dave

 

Very helpful pictures in this thread. I'm installing in a Mini Countryman (R60), so I have slight differences. I ordered a MMI "Prime" interface March 2025 from Andream and it arrived running the below firmware:
System Version: LC_EW_XU_B_V5.2.1R2
MCU Version: LC_10211_24.1.16.115
HW Version: LC_B_C_G

As my vehicle is equipped with the COMBOX (I believe this ECU is required if your Model Year 2011+ MINI has 6NF Music interface for Smartphone or 6NM MINI Connected), the factory analog AUX input wires and MIC wires all go the COMBOX, not the Navigation computer (CHAMP 2). The COMBOX then places audio from both of these wire sets on the fiber optic MOST bus for the Navigation computer to use. The Andream power/CAN main wire harness has AUX and MIC wires going to the large quadlock connectors to feed into the Andream unit... but the AUX and MIC wires aren't present (they go to the COMBOX instead), so you need to use the AUX plug and MIC jack leads on the Andream power/CAN main wire harness. I used both of these (with included aftermarket MIC) and the system works. This is good, but it still is a mass of wires to bundle behind my HVAC controls and I suspect the factory MIC is better quality.

The BimmerTech equivalent mentions "By enabling the Digital Bluetooth Audio option, sounds from your mobile device will skip the physical AUX connection and go straight to your BMW’s head unit."
Well, despite limited instructions from Andream on their User Interface... under the Andream SetUp menu there is an option titled "Use Car's BT Channel". I enabled this option and the Andream device rebooted. I connected my Apple phone to the MINI Bluetooth and selected that source under External Sources in the MINI factory menu. Now my Apple phone is connected via Bluetooth to both the MINI and the Andream unit. I disconnected both the AUX plug and MIC jack leads... and the system still works, just like BimmerTech advertises!
Is anyone else running Andream firmware new enough that your have this option and have skipped using the physical AUX plug and MIC jack? I would like to strip down the Andream wiring to the bare minimum... even eliminating the 2 large quadlack connectors. I still need to test more.

The attached pic is before I enabled "Use Car's BT Channel"