Road Top Wireless CarPlay Interface Decoder for BMW I3 I01 2012-2017 NBT

Looked at this for sometime before taking the plunge. Simple to install and works beautifully. Takes the BMW infotainment and gives it a full makeover. Pros - easy install if you take your time. I removed most of the trim the night before so I could spend most of my time with the niggly parts of it. Took about an hour but could do it in far less now I've done it once. Good clear screen. Resolution is good and movement between apps is seamless. Bluetooth connection - so far has been flawless. Connects every time I get in the car and auto plays what I was last listening to. Cons - audio is not the best and will need fiddling with to get it sounding less bassy. Unless it's my hearing, the vocals come through less pronounced than the music so may need some tweaks. Takes over the original BWV software - although the guides tell you it goes back and forth with a touch of a button, it doesn't. As soon as you hold the switch button, it goes back for about five seconds and then switches back to RoadTop. It's annoying if you want to go through the car settings etc but can't as it keeps switching. Overall I love it so far. Well worth the money. Edit 06/01/24 Sound is still an issue but it was heavily bassy due to having set the aux volume to 10 instead of 1. It's now super quiet so will need some tweaking. Back and forth - figured out the swap between Roadtop and BMW was actually pressing the menu button so now it goes between both effortlessly. User error. A month in and I still love it and my issues are really very minor now. Just need to get the audio tweaked and it will be golden.

As long as you have patience and the right tools (torx bits and trim a removal tool) then this can be installed in about an hour, following the video from the manufacturer or other on your tube. I didn't bother disconnecting the battery. Having a long USB cable allows you to run it under the carpet to the central armrest for a wired connection which seems to be more reliable. Out of the box- the device had a very heavy loudness setting which caused bass distortion but once this was turned off the quality is very good. The only main negative is that you can't listen to DAB/FM radio and hear carplay at the same time, but apps for radio listening are available

Updated review: Originally android auto didn't render at native resolution, so screen looked blurry in android auto mode. I've received a software update from the manufacturer that improved resolution - had to try different USB drives to get the update working. Installation process would've been easier if it could be installed under back seat and day/night mode isn't switching in android auto with my phone, but otherwise it works. Assistant volume was much louder than music - this had to be adjusted in device settings rather than on phone.

Fantastic in 2014 i3. Fitted under back seat with the 6.5 inch screen and it worked instantly without the dashboard fitting which requires a lot of trim to be removed such as side trim and the glovebox. Install took about 20 min including tidying the cables neatly. Really happy with this to bring the old i3 bang up to date with wireless CarPlay. Though icons seem a bit small on the little screen, it is still an excellent upgrade allowing easy Waze navigation, siri voice control from steering wheel switch and everything integrates well. Sound is excellent too and seems the correct volume. Only tip; make your phone forget the i3’s built in Bluetooth as that interferes with the CarPlay sound output.

Its added exactly what I wanted to my early BMWi3 but sometimes it doesn't boot properly which means I have to turn the car off and wait a little while, its not 100% reliable. I have had blank screens and no sound. It would also be nice to be able to control the cars built in FM DAB receiver as sometimes i don't have a good 3g 4g signal to use radio player. I know this it probably not possible. I end up coming out of carplay and going back to the cars system, it is advised you turn off the cars bluetooth which then causes a problem with phone calls, as bluetooth is off on the car. Its great that i have added carplay but its just not 100%

Fantastic bit of kit to update a dated infotainment system. The only issues I have faced are: sometimes phone doesn’t connect and you need to reset Bluetooth on the device and blank screen but this is fixed by turning the car off and on.

A bit of a hassle to install, but the seller provided a helpful instruction video. Works really well, not as well integrated as an OEM solution, but definitely worth the money!

My honest review this device doesn’t worth even €10, it has no Bluetooth it uses AUX to connect, CarPlay unstable and keeps disconnect every 10 seconds. Don’t buy it, I wanted to switch back to original iDrive but this thing freaked me out during driving! It doesn’t let me ho to iDrive and it keeps rebooting.

Installation facile avec le tuto. CarPlay fonctionnel tout en gardant l’accès aux fonctions d’origine. Quelques déconnexions à l’allumage mais facilement reconnectable.

Had some issues with the install but their WhatsApp support helped me sort it out and now it works fine. It would be better if the instructions were included in the box, also the time difference with China makes things a bit harder to communicate with Europe but over I’m happy with the product

Die Lieferung erfolgte pünktlich und sehr gut verpackt. Der Lieferumfang ist komplett. Neben allen notwendigen Kabeln gibt es auch eine ordentliche Bedienungs- und eine ordentliche Einbauanleitung. Zusätzlich gibt es ein Einbau Video. Durch das Video hatte ich die Möglichkeit ab zu klären, ob ich mir den Einbau zutraue, oder nicht. Das Video ist sehr rustikal, so wird zum Beispiel mit einem Messer gezeigt, wie man die Verschlussdeckel des Handschuhkastens und des Displays aushebelt. Hier wäre es sinnvoll gewesen die Stopfen mit einem Haken zu demontieren. Lieber habe ich ein Loch im kleinen kunststoffdeckel und ersetze diesen für ein paar Cent, bevor ich Kratzer im Handschuhkasten oder in einem Plastikteil habe. Hier wäre es schön gewesen, wenn man die Artikelnummer gleich mit an gibt oder die Deckel gleich mit liefert. Der Einbau war problemlos. Meine Rest unklarheiten wurden in einem WhatsApp Chat perfekt gelöst. So hat sich der gewohnte Funktions Umfang des Displays enorm weitet. Mit der Spiegelung des Handy Displays ist es nun sogar möglich Videos im BMW wieder zu geben. Die Funktion mit dem verbinden über Bluetooth oder Wi-Fi ist etwas gewöhnungsbedürftig. Es ist ja aber auch eine nachrüstlösung. Ich freue mich nun, dass ich eine aktuelle Routenplanung über Google Maps habe.

Der Einbau war relativ einfach trotz das keine Einbauanleitung dabei war. Diese hat mir der aber Verkäufer auf Anfrage zugeschickt. Zunächst ging der Ton nicht. Das lag aber daran das mein iPhone noch mit der Headunit über Bluetooth verbunden war und ich auf Aux umschalten musste. Sonnst funktioniert es wunderbar.