The fact that my Mini doesn't have Android Auto drives me nuts. But I do have wireless Apple Carplay built in.
I just found this. Anybody ever hear about it?

 

I'm not watching a video, but I am in the process of upgrading my car to the Entrynav2 EVO system that you have, and accordingly I got this MMI box after a disappointment with a Bremmen Android Auto MMI for the NBT. I think the Bremmen for the EVO would not have the same frustration (not being able to move the cursor between the menu bar and the application area), but I tried to do all the identifying-of-concerns and identifying-of-competitive-advantages this time, and it seems like most of the new MMI boxes don't have the sound-quality-limiting use of Aux for the audio chanel, and this one seemed to have the most high-end procesing and electronics for a reasonable price (half the price of BimmerTech):
Mini Cooper MMI Pro Box (2008 - 2019)
However, I am seeing the year range seems to end at 2019 - don't know why that is, but would be worth reaching out to them.

Installing an MMI isn't terrible, been through that drill once with my NBT.

 

Too bad you won't watch the video. I had an MMI box installed on my previous Mini and besides from being very buggy - it had no touch screen support. Plus I hated that they ripped apart the dash on my almost-new car to install it.

The product in the video is plug-and-play and runs off the cigarette lighter - so you don't have to rip apart the dash. In two months, it has only failed to boot up once, Two other people in my Mini club have already bought it, also with no problems reported.

To each his own.

 

It's not that I won't, it's that watching a video takes time, and I don't have time like that!

I definitely appreciate your description, that only took a minute to read and I can tell where the product sits in the range.
The option that I'm taking is definitely more involved - but I'm a former pro installer, getting the unit out isn't terrible once you've figured out how to remove the vents without twisting them, and then there's really only two torx 20 screws and one hidden clip to press down on from above after removing the center channel grille. The first time should always be done slowly and carefully, but once you've done it once - the intimidation is gone.

I did a quick scan of the video and the experience sure looks good. I'm sure that could be tucked away somewhere or even hardwired and hidden like an MMI box.
If the MMI box that I bought doesn't support touch (a big reason I"m going to the touchscreen Entrynav2), then I might be back to check this out.

 

Just remember that you must have factory-installed wireless Apple Carplay for it to work.

 

I am actually interested in buying it now that I see what it does, and hear the MMI that I have on the way may NOT work with touchscreen...
...and I just upgraded my non-touchscreen 6.5" NBT Entrynav system to an 8.8" EVO Entrynav2 system, in part because my NBT MMI box wouldn't let me move the cursor between areas on the Android Auto and having touchscreen would have eliminated that problem.
The EVO system has Apple Carplay, so this might be my best option.

Is this Scandinavian seller the only one selling this type of product?
https://eacarworks.nl/product/android-auto-box/
I'm interested in Emailing them, but that page is all Scandinavian and no way to switch it to English - and I'd feel pretty disrespectful shooting them off an Email in English.

 

They're the only ones I found. I seem to remember a button somewhere on the site to switch to English. I can look when I have some time. Either way, I communicated via email with them in English.

 

I did find the Email page - with a little Google Translate help I was able to figure out the form fields, and sent them an Email (in English).

I really only had two questions:
1) Does it take forever to ship to the USA?
2) Do they sell a version or a kit to allow me to install it in a hidden way, rather than occupying my lighter and USB port and leaving visible cords?

You might know the answer to (1).
And for (2) I'm not too concerned but wondering if they have thought of [or even facilitate] this themselves. I'm a former pro mobile audio installer and fabricator, so regardless I can tap into power and add a USB splitter to hide this hardware away. I'm going to have a lot disassembled at any rate, to install my new iDrive controller that came with the EVO system.

 

This is a great find. They replied to my Email within two hours, and were very helpful.

They said it would likely take a week to reach me in NY, unless something happens in customs out of either of our control - that's not bad at all.
And they don't sell any hardwire "kit" (like I bought for my dashcam for a few extra bucks), but they agreed that it would be easy to hardwire for power, and no problem concealing it out of sight.

So I pulled the trigger, I should have one coming my way soon.

Meanwhile, I had to send a second Email to BimmerDirect on the refund for the MMI box, since I haven't received any shipping notification yet - much less impressive in communication.

 

They actually recommend plugging it into the cig lighter - not the USB port. I actually tried the USB port first and couldn't get it to work. In the lighter - no problems.
If you're going to hide it somewhere, keep in mind that it seems to run a little on the hot side (physically).
Good luck.

 

I assumed the USB was for the data input, and cigarette lighter was for power. Is the USB not required?

After spending so many years as a professional car audio installer and fabricator, I couldn't be proud of myself having visible cords strewn through my interior. Even wired Android Auto feels like an Aux-port sacrifice that a college kid might have to resort to in his used car. Maybe that bent-up old USB cable isn't noticeable in a teen's car with trash in the foot wells, but I'm an adult, I like my cars to be nice, to be clean. You don't want to convey to the world "This isn't how I want it, so I have to do these Rube Goldberg things". There's no luxury in that.

So my plan is to install it permanently. I might locate it behind the screen, attached with Velcro like my current MMI box is. I can tap 12v switched power pretty easily.
I was assuming that I'd also have to feed the USB in - I can split that in without occupying any of my USB ports as well, but that's potentially significantly more work.

 

No - no USB required because it's wireless. All you need is power, like from the lighter.

As I said, on the rare occasion when it doesn't boot up properly, I have had to unplug it and then plug it back in. So locating it in an inaccessible location might not be such a great idea.

 

That's good to know - my MMI box does the same here and there, but you can reboot it by holding the dial button press for 10 seconds.
I can install a switch in the power line to cut power - but I could also find a spot that's just behind the driver knee panel. I can make a quick 3D print for a mount to hang it in, like I did for my Google Home speakers.
Part of me wants to mount it where my MMI box was, but then It definitely would be tougher to get to - too tough for that sort of reboot, for sure.
I'll just have to feel it out when I get to it.

I'll post it on this thread since this is basically the one for this particular unit!

 

It showed up today - 1 week and 3 days isn't bad, coming from Europe, going through customs and all that.

Here's some photos of the device from all angles - I'm a little bit concerned the sticker says "wired", I can't imagine why it says that unless they shipped the wrong device - I sure hope not!








Also odd that there's a micro SD slot and a SIM card slot, I can't imagine that applies. Maybe this device case is recycled from another made in China device - who knows.

It didn't come with a power adapter and doesn't have a separate power port, so I'm assuming it just uses 5v USB power.

I haven't scanned that QR code yet, so maybe the secrets are in the documentation.

 

EACARWORKS here.

you can also ask us the questions directly.

the website is dutch but the product page is fully english. You can always mail us or send us a whatsapp message in english. All info is actually on the product page.

yes it has a micro sd slot and a simcard slot altough the sim bands are euroasia. There is also a usa version but producting it takes allot time and most of you guys use the box to cast android auto over it so we did not bother and it can work fine witu your mobile hotspot…

yes it is a truly plug and play device and requires only power from the 12v to 5v plug. Getting it powered from the usb port will cause issues. Most importantly The car must be equipped with factory wirless carplay for it to work. When connected you can install apps on it, use the wireless interface for either carplay or android auto.

It does run a bit hot and this has been addressed but according to the manufacturer this is not an issue and normal.

We did ask for a firmware where the screen on the device times out and closes because the screen om all the time might cause it to heat up. The screen is a nice gimmick but kinda useless if you dont use it as a remote.

shipment is worldwide but we also have a small stock in USA at Ethan from Carcreationsyt. Mainly because he also wanted to sell them.

feel free to ask us questions if you have any.

 

It’s good that you’re clarifying those details, especially about the power source and the requirement for factory wireless CarPlay. Those kinds of nuances can save people a lot of frustration when setting up the device. The point you made about firmware tweaks is also interesting—small adjustments like screen timeout could really improve the user experience and long-term reliability. The phrase that comes to mind here is Data-Driven Decisions – developers build dashboards and analytics tools that turn raw data into actionable insights, helping you make smarter business decisions. In the same spirit, when companies want to refine their products and understand usage patterns better, many turn to AI engineers for hire at Lemon.io so they can track, analyze, and improve both performance and customer satisfaction efficiently.

 

Thanks so much. I just sent you a message in my purchase Email thread, but there's details that might be helpful to this forum.

To facilitate this, I bought an EVO Entrynav2 system to replace my factory NBT Entrynav system with the MMI that I don't like much.

The Entrynav2 unit was purchased through a MINI specialist who took my VIN and did some coding to suit my vehicle - i am not sure what all this entailed, but it was pretty cool to restore power to my car and see it boot up with a "John Cooper Works" splash screen, since this is a JCW Clubman. A good sign at least, that the coding was completed for my car specifically:

Also, all features and functions and even my seat presets and tone levels were available in the unit, settings that matched my prior settings via the old unit. I even observed a brake pad notification that's right, for checking my brake pads at my car's mileage.

Time to move onto the Android Auto step!

Unfortunately, when I plugged in the EACARWORKS unit - at first all looked well. I scanned the QR code, and followed the steps in the video.
I did have to interpret the Dutch on the screens, but pretty clear that the steps are as follows in English:


(Do notice the device appears here - "HI-BOX-2953", so the USB seems to be working as well - another good sign)



The display on the device did illuminate when I plugged it into the USB, showed "Loading" first, then this:


But unfortunately, no luck getting it to add:


Definitely need to resolve this, with this investment I made to improve my Android Auto experience from the one I had with the NBT system and the MMI box where I couldn't move between the bottom row and upper panels ("if only I had touchscreen!").

This device looks to provide exactly the Android Auto experience I want - but only if I can get it to add, of course.

Hopefully these details help.

 

I sent message both to:

• The seller of the EVO Entrynav2 system I bought (who had done some pre-coding steps).
• The seller of this USB touchscreen-compatible Android Auto device.

In rare "great customer service news" - both of them responded within hours, today!

I didn't expect that from the Android Auto device especially, since we're in very different parts of the world. The questions from them were immediately "Who did the coding for your unit?", they said it didn't appear that Car Play was in my system.
I was initially skeptical because I saw the options to add new CarPlay devices, as you see in my screenshot. And in whatever "Eugene's iPhone" (that I can't yet seem to delete), there's Car Play options. So I figured it was just built-in.

But then the seller of the EVO Entrynav2 responded as well, and said (paraphrasing) "That is because I have some post-installation coding to do - do you have a laptop with wifi that we can use?"
I do have a small laptop, and OBDC cables, from when I used Bimmercode to engage my rear euro fogs with my brake lights, so I should be set up on my end. Hopefully it won't be too tough to schedule a time.

I'm going to cross my fingers here - It sounds like the EA guy was more or less saying the same thing as the head unit guy. I'm grateful to have this great seller do the coding, pre-and-post. I'm a DIY guy to the core, but this is an area where I would love to just have things work.

 

Interested to see how this works out for you.

I just happened to purchase a similar product on Amazon. Should be here on Thursday. I will let everyone know how it works on my 2024 HT SE

 

Very interesting, that Amazon find.

We'll see how mine turns out.

I am going to ask my head unit seller if he'd like me to give him some recognition here - I did have that session with him, a remote Team Viewer session, he pulled up some BMW software "Feature Enabler", and did the coding to match my car. Installed some modules.
Again, since the unit had a "Eugene's Iphone" already on my car (prior owner?) and had the option to add a "CarPlay Device" from the devices menu, I suspected CarPlay was already there - but navigation wasn't, and after our session it appears I now have nav, and carplay.
I had an iPhone-owning coworker in my car, and we successfully did the "Add CarPlay device" with her phone during work on Wed.

However - my EA Carworks device still will not connect, so it must not be exactly emulating an iPhone.

I was out of town all evening on Wed and working today, we're just eating dinner momentarily, but I'll reach out to EA Carworks again this evening.

Between EA Carworks and my head unit guy, we have two very knowledgeable people, seemingly both very responsive and helpful.
It may just be that my device needs a software update, or else the EA Carworks guy may be able to tell me some specific feature or component that my head unit guy skipped adding or enabling while we had our Teams Viewer sesison.

Fingers crossed that we'll figure that out - I've got about $2K tied up in all this, between the OLD MMI unit for the original NBT head unit, the new head unit and remote coding, and the EA Carworks device - that would be incredibly frustrating to come all this way to pursue the EA Carworks Android Auto experience (touchscreen) and ultimately not have it work.

If it is the same device, that 3.5 stars isn't helping quell my high-anxiety level at this moment of limbo, I'll tell you that...

 

I do want to give credit to the seller I bought my EVO Entrynav2 head unit from -
He has eBay listings if you are searching for a new head unit, but also has a site www.naviandbmwparts.com.

This guy did some coding before he shipped it, but then because this 3rd gen there's also coding that has to be done after the install-
I did the install, all the parts I needed were included, and then I messaged him and he was more available to do the follow-up remote coding than I even was.

Long story short, he had included an OBDC to Ethernet cable with the head unit, and sent me a link to Team Viewer.
I installed Team Viewer on my laptop - need to use Wifi for the internet connection because the Ethernet jack is occupied with the ODBC cable.

He logged on, and we messaged as he went through his steps - using a BMW tool for installing "Features".

I'm not QUITE at the finish line yet, but at this point he and I seem to think the head unit is all set - I am pretty sure it's just the EA Carworks guy I need to work with now to ultimately get that device connecting, since I did prove CarPlay works with a real iPhone from a coworker.

5 star seller, lots of reputation on Ebay also: https://www.ebay.com/str/navibimmerparts
Good experience here.

 

Sadly the OttoboxAI is being returned today. Apparently the MINI has different type of bluetooth handshake than the BMW. When pairing a bluetooth device with the F56 you need to select MINI from your bluetooth device list. This is impossible with the Ottocast because there is no screen on it. On the BMWs there is an actual available bluetooth devices list. I'm not surprised tbh, everything in MINI's is incredibly dumbed down.

 

Try one more thing before you return it-

I was just in touch with the EA Carworks guy, and I forget if it was him who said so or the thread here, but he said not to use the car's USB to power it - that will prevent it from connecting.
I would be surprised if you need to do anything with the unit. Might it be possible that you had it plugged into the car's USB? Would at least be worth trying to power it with a dumb cigarette lighter style charger - or a battery at least to test the theory out.

Worst case, I ordered the EA Carworks one and it showed up pretty quick - about a week if I'm remembering right. I definitely am not at the finish line yet to tell you how it is, between the head unit and the Android Auto device, but I can tell you the delivery and the support has been as good as it gets. In both cases, I can tell I'm dealing with guys who really know their stuff - and I have my fingers crossed.
Might want to wait for confirmation here, but if mine does work like the video, I'd be recommending it from my experience so far.

 

I did try multiple power sources. I know for sure that its a bluetooth passkey issue. There is just no way to authorize the connection on the device(no screen). This isn't an issue on BMWs because you can discover the device in the cars bluetooth menu. This EACarworks one is likely the same type of unit but its been coded to automatically authorize the bluetooth connection which is where I'm getting hung up.
just ordered the EACarworks one earlier today.

 

Ok Guys, Just thought I'd add my 2 pennies worth...

I was probably one of the first guys in the UK to purchase the Ottocast i3 interface and once received I had no problem connecting it to my Countryman 2019 F60. Everything worked as it should and I installed various apps etc. The only thing I don't like about it is the actual user interface as it mimics the BMW layout and not the Mini layout but other than that it does the job and does it good. I have been in touch with Ottocast but their response was that that is the default layout and cannot be changed. I was going to go down the route of installing an android launcher to see if that would work but haven't as yet gotten round to it. Oh, and I actually found a deal on Aliexpress for £99 when Ottocast themselves were selling it for a lot more and the crazy price Amazon are selling it for

There is an alternative but I didn't have a good experience with it but I believe they may have made an update and ironed out some buggs and this box has a better layout. It is the Linkifun L8 android unit, currently there are 2 versions and the difference is the Android version and the actual processors being used