My BMW is equipped with the ‘EntryNav’ iDrive system, and a more sophisticated version of the iDrive Navigation system (like NBT Navigation) is required to code many of the other features BimmerTech offers.Īt that point, I decided I would just get the coding enhancements available for my vehicle and move on. When I asked Nelson why that was, he indicated that it had to do with the iDrive Navigation system installed in the vehicle. Unfortunately, when I entered my X1's VIN, neither of these options were available for my vehicle. Getting these features unlocked would let me watch videos from my iPhone on the iDrive dashboard display, which seemed a decent alternative to the DVDs I'd hoped my iDrive would be able to play. There were plenty of coding options listed on the BimmerTech site besides the remote window operation I'd been looking for, two of which particularly caught my eye: ‘USB Video Player’ and ‘Video in Motion’.
I contacted BimmerTech Tech support and began my first of several communications with Nelson Louis. BimmerTech offered coding enhancements providing the window operation I was after.
I had installed an upgrade in my 2000 VW Beetle years ago that allowed me to do this, and wondered why I couldn’t do this with my way more modern BMW now.Įventually my research landed me at the BimmerTech website. BMW lets you roll the windows down with the remote, but not up, which puzzled and frustrated me. So about a year after my BMW purchase, in the summer of 2017, I was researching ways to roll the vehicle windows up using the remote key fob. Slightly disappointing, but this minor early letdown would later drive me to research what possibilities there were for my car. When I purchased the vehicle the dealer thought that my iDrive system would be able to play DVD’s, but it turns out that wasn't the case.
The vehicle has all the BMW upgrade packages minus the adjustable rear seat position option. I have a 2016 BMW X1 F48 that I bought new in June 2016. And because that definitely sounds like something worth doing, we asked him to give us a step-by-step account of his journey from factory iDrive to in-car multimedia hub. Virginian BimmerTech customer and tech fanatic Greg Kashmer found a way to add iOS, Apple TV and Blu-ray functionality to his X1's factory iDrive system. But with a little imagination (and fair bit of perseverance), it can be the foundation for so much more.
A SmartView kit from BimmerTech lets you use iOS and Android apps on your BMW's iDrive display.