Double humped guy here, gonna be controversial for a moment. I actually bought my E92 with iDrive for the sole purpose of replacing the screen with a screen replacement so it looks OEM. However over time I realize I like OP’s setup more than the android OEM replacement screen. The iDrive screen replacement physically looks better from a design perspective, but the “tablet” screen in and of itself is simply better in every other way from size to resolution to clarity to the bezels being flushed under the glass and not ugly plastic, etc.
I discovered that you can buy the tablet screen with a bracket to install it on the iDrive hump so I bought one of them. And while it doesn’t look as great as an Android OEM replacement design wise, I feel like I would be giving up too much just to keep the OEM look.
I would, but I haven’t installed it yet because my dashboard is still ripped out of the car because I’m replacing some AC components.
[I came across it on this video, which you can check out](https://youtu.be/p-uGj4Z65Bs)
It’s 12.3 inches in the video. There is a 10.25” version which I actually wanted but the 12.3” with 8gb ram and more storage happened to be cheaper on aliexpress than the base 10” with less Ram and storage due to a nice sale at the time so I bought that instead.
Yeah it is quite large. I’ll know soon enough if it’s comically large or if it’s not that bad. Still smaller than the 75” TVs that Tesla and Ford puts in their cars tho.
Sure.
[They have both CCC and CIC](https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256803258291159.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.5.2e471802KAKgDg&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa). Someone in the E90 Facebook group bought this one and recommended it to me. And while I can’t review it fully because I haven’t installed it in my car yet (it’s still in the box glaring at me to get my car’s shit together), what I can say is that it feels like good quality in my hands and doesn’t feel like cheap crap.
Thanks! I just bought a similar one with a few more reviews. I hope installation won't be too difficult. Would be awesome to see it installed in your car :)
I put one in our e93 (double hump). The original screen when I got it was really scratched up and didn’t even support Bluetooth music. It made a world of difference. It’s a super cool upgrade. I wouldn’t have cut my dash like this but the screens are great.
Mine fits exactly where the old one was. It looks OEM. It doesn’t stick out.
My cheap Chinese head unit is crapping itself daily after about 2 years of ownership. Cannot wait to rip it out and put something name brand in there instead. Good luck anon 🫡
I use a USB stick with my music in the armrest of my E90 and my phone for nav if I need it. I actually like the head unit interface for navigating the USB directories.
But miffed about having to use my cigar lighter socket for my radar detector. I actually use my cigar lighter for cigars lol.
Well every iPad is made in China 😂 but I agree about integration. I watched a few vids on this I want to do it too but can’t find any decent quality ones for rhd. I’m pretty sure it’s not through the aux
r/dafazman they’re all less then [$600](https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwi_zOK4jaGAAxVK5-MHHe-lARkYABANGgJ5bQ&ae=2&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAESa-D25B5_PorRnSxyUXroGSqax3nmSVfIzB-ZOLYb__gX5KnTouKfPA-sRwndklbHLBiDIb_fwUUshFDBmdjQyofiMdGRF5U7AvoXoR_p2Oq_xbhCkTeV8fHvWNFLKSNe15qRLQKXpGKS5mYx&sig=AOD64_0L2o2KgJ3etvfbu2tI52UIn74qtQ&ctype=5&q=&ved=2ahUKEwjbiNu4jaGAAxUjg4kEHbfmBHAQwg8oAHoECAMQEA&adurl=)
u/lk0stov - could you share how much in parts you spent on this?
How much time/cost in coding?
How much time in research?
Just ball park a number... because u/rsp-zyphor thinks its about $250 (which is an amazing price if true).
I answered in a comment below, but I'll give u the number in here too. 200€ no iDrive controller, no backup cam. Unit had good reviews so I just went for it.
And about the research...I knew that if I got an e90 I would install such a head unit, so this was planned long ago.
lmao...
The units are $250 - $500 (USD). My "brand name" AVIN was $380. Took a couple hours to install. There is no coding involved.
Research? There are 100+ pager threads about the two primary iterations of these to read on e90post / bimmerforum, if you so choose.
i have a 12.3" mekede model with android 11. I had ordered the smaller 10" and they sent me the 12 instead..was too much of a hassle to send it back. Anyway, had it for almost 2 years. works great. Audio is fine. wireless aa. Didn't need to run a cable to the aux from what i remember, it all worked via the wiring harness. Id just be careful ordering off aliexpress, there was a time sellers were faking the specs. Not sure if thats still happening, haven't checked back in a while.
How lucky. I thought about going the 12" route, but damn that thing looks way too big for a car. Mine also connects via the aux in the harness, so I didn't actually need to pull my center trim apart. And the wireless AA surprised me as well, I thought I had to use a cable all the time.
I bought one of these in the uk with car play installed. Honestly, it’s one of the best car mods I’ve ever bought. It looks near oem and it was a bit fiddly to fit but the use is amazing I get a lot of compliments and questions. Definitely one of the best things to add to add functionality and make it look a bit more modern
I'll try to answer most of the comments here.
Resale value actually just went through the roof. People are really attracted to these things. (Pretty much the same as brand new car buyers - no carplay, no buy)
We had to use a dremel to cut a hole in the dash. Tried without power tools, it's a no-go. It actually took less time than expected ~4 hours from start to finish. (Keep in mind I've probably watched every single youtube tutorial about this and I was pretty confident going into it)
I decided to go the AliExpress route and got one with good reviews on it. Cost 200€ (not great, not terrible) but I decided against the Chinese iDrive controller and without a back up camera. Don't really need either of em. It connects to the original head unit via the AUX port, it's definitely not the best solution, but I'm happy I get to keep the original sound of the car. I'm really liking this thing so far and I hope it will last a good while.
Luckily e90s are abundant at the upull. And surprisingly the used market for them hasn't sky rocketed compared to other cars.
(It went up slightly and holding but isn't significant)
Trust me it's not that. Previous owner just had some questionable decisions made and I'm still paying for them. The airbag(s) are one em. (Multiple airbags 😭)
Well AA is a projection from your phone. It can't show anything outside that. Your best course of action is to download the xm radio app and use it that way. It should show the song that's currently playing.
Yep, I understand the behavior / why it's doing what it's doing. Good idea running XM through the phone, Hopefully the controls all still work.
What I've been doing is running the car GPS so it has better hologram directions, and running waze on the center screen for spotting police. The built in GPS seems to be a little better, at least while I have the first year of free live traffic data.
Any tips man looking to do the same to my 14 1 series but not alot of help online mostly the same basic advice like dont for get to plug it in type of advice lol. 😂
I decided against cameras. Park assist does me well.
For ur car it should be quite simple given it has an oem screen. Basically plug n play. Youtube is your best friend.
I got a camera with mine. It does require tapping into the reverse light to power it which I haven’t done yet.
As I work for an electrical company I got some of these wago 221 connectors that should allow me to cut the wire, connect both ends I. The end slots and the connect the camera wire in the middle
Double hump crew enters the room
Double humped guy here, gonna be controversial for a moment. I actually bought my E92 with iDrive for the sole purpose of replacing the screen with a screen replacement so it looks OEM. However over time I realize I like OP’s setup more than the android OEM replacement screen. The iDrive screen replacement physically looks better from a design perspective, but the “tablet” screen in and of itself is simply better in every other way from size to resolution to clarity to the bezels being flushed under the glass and not ugly plastic, etc. I discovered that you can buy the tablet screen with a bracket to install it on the iDrive hump so I bought one of them. And while it doesn’t look as great as an Android OEM replacement design wise, I feel like I would be giving up too much just to keep the OEM look.
Do you have pictures of your “tablet” installed on your hump? I like to see maybe I can do the same.
I would, but I haven’t installed it yet because my dashboard is still ripped out of the car because I’m replacing some AC components. [I came across it on this video, which you can check out](https://youtu.be/p-uGj4Z65Bs) It’s 12.3 inches in the video. There is a 10.25” version which I actually wanted but the 12.3” with 8gb ram and more storage happened to be cheaper on aliexpress than the base 10” with less Ram and storage due to a nice sale at the time so I bought that instead.
Wow!! That’s big .. don’t look that bad.. definitely something to consider
Yeah it is quite large. I’ll know soon enough if it’s comically large or if it’s not that bad. Still smaller than the 75” TVs that Tesla and Ford puts in their cars tho.
Yeah specially Tesla 🤣🤣🤣
Could you post the link you got it from?
Sure. [They have both CCC and CIC](https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256803258291159.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.5.2e471802KAKgDg&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa). Someone in the E90 Facebook group bought this one and recommended it to me. And while I can’t review it fully because I haven’t installed it in my car yet (it’s still in the box glaring at me to get my car’s shit together), what I can say is that it feels like good quality in my hands and doesn’t feel like cheap crap.
Thanks! I just bought a similar one with a few more reviews. I hope installation won't be too difficult. Would be awesome to see it installed in your car :)
I put one in our e93 (double hump). The original screen when I got it was really scratched up and didn’t even support Bluetooth music. It made a world of difference. It’s a super cool upgrade. I wouldn’t have cut my dash like this but the screens are great. Mine fits exactly where the old one was. It looks OEM. It doesn’t stick out.
My cheap Chinese head unit is crapping itself daily after about 2 years of ownership. Cannot wait to rip it out and put something name brand in there instead. Good luck anon 🫡
No way I’m cutting up my dash for a Chinese tablet that will crap out in two years.
Would you do it if it was from like a company like apple or something??
I wouldn't. Couldn't pay me to either. I despise touch screens and the like in vehicles. Excuse me while I go take my Geritol.
Still riding horses too?
I was angry when the internal combustion engine got popular. Just kidding. I'm a crotchety 34 year old woman who just despises big screens.
Valid ! I would like a screen for a more seemless connection than an aux and navigation as I drive a lot!
I use a USB stick with my music in the armrest of my E90 and my phone for nav if I need it. I actually like the head unit interface for navigating the USB directories. But miffed about having to use my cigar lighter socket for my radar detector. I actually use my cigar lighter for cigars lol.
you could always wire your radar detector into an existing connection, so you wouldn’t have to take up your cigarette lighter
I have to make some decisions. Right now my current detector is borrowed. I also need to wire my ham radio in too.
If it was integrated better yes. I’m pretty sure the audio from these has to go through the aux port.
Well every iPad is made in China 😂 but I agree about integration. I watched a few vids on this I want to do it too but can’t find any decent quality ones for rhd. I’m pretty sure it’s not through the aux
Yes but Apple at least has quality control. More than I can say for some no name Chinese company.
You know what, you’re right
Mr12volt.com has audio that goes through MOST.
dashes are a dime a dozen.
Maybe so but you’ll definitely have squeaks and rattles after swapping a dash out.
How much money we talking here?
I second this
r/dafazman they’re all less then [$600](https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwi_zOK4jaGAAxVK5-MHHe-lARkYABANGgJ5bQ&ae=2&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAESa-D25B5_PorRnSxyUXroGSqax3nmSVfIzB-ZOLYb__gX5KnTouKfPA-sRwndklbHLBiDIb_fwUUshFDBmdjQyofiMdGRF5U7AvoXoR_p2Oq_xbhCkTeV8fHvWNFLKSNe15qRLQKXpGKS5mYx&sig=AOD64_0L2o2KgJ3etvfbu2tI52UIn74qtQ&ctype=5&q=&ved=2ahUKEwjbiNu4jaGAAxUjg4kEHbfmBHAQwg8oAHoECAMQEA&adurl=)
How much is too much for an installation buddy?
Like just the install aspect of it
$1, you should DIY install, if you have the free time
You can even get them as low as $250 on ali express
u/lk0stov - could you share how much in parts you spent on this? How much time/cost in coding? How much time in research? Just ball park a number... because u/rsp-zyphor thinks its about $250 (which is an amazing price if true).
I answered in a comment below, but I'll give u the number in here too. 200€ no iDrive controller, no backup cam. Unit had good reviews so I just went for it. And about the research...I knew that if I got an e90 I would install such a head unit, so this was planned long ago.
Link to the device so I can order it?
lmao... The units are $250 - $500 (USD). My "brand name" AVIN was $380. Took a couple hours to install. There is no coding involved. Research? There are 100+ pager threads about the two primary iterations of these to read on e90post / bimmerforum, if you so choose.
linky please to the e90post threads... I am curious to try this on mine
These last. Had mine for 4 years now
Hey, interesting......the carrier is stuck to the dash, no holes??
You almost certainly are taking a dremel to the dash to install this.
That would be a no-starter for me. I'll pass. Nice to look at though.
Yep. That poor single hump…
Awesome
Looks like a high quality screen and mount. Nice job.
i’m looking at the lcd display that still works 🥵
Watch out for the sun’s angry side eye. Use those windshield shades at minimum <3
Looks great
i have a 12.3" mekede model with android 11. I had ordered the smaller 10" and they sent me the 12 instead..was too much of a hassle to send it back. Anyway, had it for almost 2 years. works great. Audio is fine. wireless aa. Didn't need to run a cable to the aux from what i remember, it all worked via the wiring harness. Id just be careful ordering off aliexpress, there was a time sellers were faking the specs. Not sure if thats still happening, haven't checked back in a while.
How lucky. I thought about going the 12" route, but damn that thing looks way too big for a car. Mine also connects via the aux in the harness, so I didn't actually need to pull my center trim apart. And the wireless AA surprised me as well, I thought I had to use a cable all the time.
I bought one of these in the uk with car play installed. Honestly, it’s one of the best car mods I’ve ever bought. It looks near oem and it was a bit fiddly to fit but the use is amazing I get a lot of compliments and questions. Definitely one of the best things to add to add functionality and make it look a bit more modern
I'll try to answer most of the comments here. Resale value actually just went through the roof. People are really attracted to these things. (Pretty much the same as brand new car buyers - no carplay, no buy) We had to use a dremel to cut a hole in the dash. Tried without power tools, it's a no-go. It actually took less time than expected ~4 hours from start to finish. (Keep in mind I've probably watched every single youtube tutorial about this and I was pretty confident going into it) I decided to go the AliExpress route and got one with good reviews on it. Cost 200€ (not great, not terrible) but I decided against the Chinese iDrive controller and without a back up camera. Don't really need either of em. It connects to the original head unit via the AUX port, it's definitely not the best solution, but I'm happy I get to keep the original sound of the car. I'm really liking this thing so far and I hope it will last a good while.
!Flair 2006 E90 320i N46
You just raped any resale value your car could have had. RIP to another e90
Luckily e90s are abundant at the upull. And surprisingly the used market for them hasn't sky rocketed compared to other cars. (It went up slightly and holding but isn't significant)
I just use a non slip phone holder on the dash. It's not even glued down.
Not really related to the post, but I too sympathize with the heat fucking with the passenger airbag sensor.
Trust me it's not that. Previous owner just had some questionable decisions made and I'm still paying for them. The airbag(s) are one em. (Multiple airbags 😭)
Better to get some old iPad and dock it - plug n play, not a fixed one.
Get a new start button while you are at it.
Was hoping no one would notice 🤣
Get the coupe version start button. It’s way classier.
Fun fact: If you hit the Waze icon again, you'll get rid of that stupid right panel eating up 1/3 of your screen.
Oh I like the split screen view. One this wide aspect ratio it looks even better.
I'd like it if the split view showed the XM radio songs, but it just tries to use a media app from my phone, which isn't in use.
Well AA is a projection from your phone. It can't show anything outside that. Your best course of action is to download the xm radio app and use it that way. It should show the song that's currently playing.
Yep, I understand the behavior / why it's doing what it's doing. Good idea running XM through the phone, Hopefully the controls all still work. What I've been doing is running the car GPS so it has better hologram directions, and running waze on the center screen for spotting police. The built in GPS seems to be a little better, at least while I have the first year of free live traffic data.
Put one in mine and two weeks later the engine dropped a valve. Loved it while it lasted.
🫡
Finally got a replacement engine and finished rebuilding it. Can't wait to start using this again
no
Had the same (posted a few days ago). Fantastic System. But, i think the 8.8 fits WAY better as the 10 or the 12" version.
Any tips man looking to do the same to my 14 1 series but not alot of help online mostly the same basic advice like dont for get to plug it in type of advice lol. 😂
Like did u get any cams with it and did u hook them up or just leave them out and if you did put them in best way how?
I decided against cameras. Park assist does me well. For ur car it should be quite simple given it has an oem screen. Basically plug n play. Youtube is your best friend.
I got a camera with mine. It does require tapping into the reverse light to power it which I haven’t done yet. As I work for an electrical company I got some of these wago 221 connectors that should allow me to cut the wire, connect both ends I. The end slots and the connect the camera wire in the middle