It’s missing the little extras (a BMW Android Auto retrofit, support for Screen Mirroring), but it’s quick and easy BMW coding to do at home. The software activation is arguably the simpler and cheaper choice. If you don’t find it, it’s possible your BMW is nevertheless kitted out with all the required hardware. Your best bet is to reach out to the specialists at BimmerTech, who will be able to check if your vehicle specification meets the requirements to switch on CarPlay in a software activation, or whether you’re going to need a hardware retrofit. An MGU iDrive 7.0 head unit (in supported markets).īut instead of trying to wrap your head around hard and fast rules, the easiest way is just to look for it – if CarPlay is active in your vehicle, you’ll see it in the iDrive menu.An NBT Evo ID5/6 iDrive head unit with post-2016 software.In general, you’re interested in one of three vehicle configuration options that suggest you might have CarPlay, or at least the possibility to activate it: Since then, CarPlay has been released to the masses, but it can still depend on your vehicle’s configuration and market. Then came that weird period when BMW wanted to charge people an annual subscription fee. Not every BMW produced since CarPlay’s release has it active, and even in some newer vehicles, there isn’t a way how to activate Apple CarPlay.įor a while, it was an optional extra.

It isn’t quite that simple to say what year BMW has Apple CarPlay, though. How do I know if my BMW has Apple CarPlay? In the world of BMWs, CarPlay was first available as an option from the dealer in 2016, so they’re the oldest vehicles that are going to have the native BMW CarPlay setup active. Still, you can add Apple CarPlay to an older car with a third party retrofit, even with an older iDrive system like the BMW CIC CarPlay MMI Prime from BimmerTech is compatible with vehicles produced well before CarPlay was even released.

If your vehicle is older than that, you can be sure it didn’t come with CarPlay from the factory, and there almost certainly won’t be any way how to install Apple CarPlay without adding additional, more up-to-date hardware.

Well, the first thing to keep in mind is that it was released in 2014. So you’ve decided BMW Apple CarPlay could be good for you. Some streaming apps, like Netflix, may use DRM technology to restrict mirroring, in which case you still have no way to get it on the BMW iDrive display.

Just keep in mind that not all apps support casting via AirPlay.

Bmw carplay coding