Review on 🚗 Enhance Your BMW i3: Road Top Wireless Carplay Retrofit Kit Decoder (2012-2017 NBT System) - Android Auto, Mirrorlink, Reverse Camera, Car Knob Control Support by Mark Kolipano

EDIT: I was able to get the updated firmware and install it on my RoadTop unit. It runs buttery smooth and all previous issues have been fixed. The device will now automatically connect to a paired device instead of asking for confirmation via the central iDrive button. Scrolling through apps is now smoother. Everything works and works much faster. I can only hope that the Road Top team will continue to support it as Carplay/Android Auto and their respective operating systems evolve over time. I have changed my rating from 4 to 5 runs and would highly recommend if you can get the latest firmware for the device. All devices sold in Summer 2020 came with old firmware which may cause you problems if your phone is running Android 11 or IOS14. INITIAL VERIFICATION: I've had my RoadTop unit for a few months now. I bought it from another retail site which is very well known because the price was only $242 with shipping and it was delivered in less than a week. I mainly use this device with Android Auto Wireless. It works fine on Android 10 with my Pixel 2XL device. It can be used both wired and wireless. With a wired setup, you need to make sure you route the USB port to a convenient location where you can connect the phone cord. Switching between this multimedia interface and the standard iDrive system is very easy and is done by holding down the menu button on the iDrive. controller for a few seconds. You will hear a click and the display will switch from BMW Software to Carplay/Android Auto. You also need to select the AUX input in the BMW iDrive controls for the audio to work. A few people I've spoken to on the phone have reported hearing echoes and hearing themselves when I take calls with the Road Top. I've had no call quality issues before when using BMW's standard Bluetooth connection, so there's little room for improvement with the Road Top. This doesn't seem to be consistent as my wife is the only person reporting this echo when speaking to her. Installation wise I was very careful removing the plastic trim along the door jamb and it took just over 2 hours. to complete the full installation. I also worked in tight spaces where I couldn't fully open the doors, preventing me from moving faster. I think this install can take anywhere from 1 hour to 90 minutes if you have the right bit ready to remove the screws and the right panel puller. Otherwise, take your time and do it slowly, being careful not to damage the disk. I had to install the case you see in the picture behind the glove box. The wire harness connects under the back seat to the car's main stereo, then runs forward along the door jamb, under the dash, under the glove box (it needs to be removed along with the other under the dash, and you route the display wire to the media screen top of dash.The screen lifts up after removing the 2 screws on the back of the screen.You have to run it all the way forward to get the signal on the screen.I have early September 2020 on my Pixel 2XL phone updated to android 11 and since then the MMI connection has become less reliable and hangs on google maps (which loads by default) or really pandora plays is really changeable th as if the device doesn't have enough processing power to handle what's happening to transfer the phone, it will not be restored and will need to be restarted by pressing the back button on the i Press and hold the Drive controller. I have no issues with the phone itself and it works well with other Android Auto enabled vehicles, so I've narrowed the issue down to an issue between Android 11 and this media interface firmware. The roadtop device most likely needs a firmware update to make the connection more stable and work better with the Android 11 operating system. We'll see how it works with Apple when iOS 14 arrives on the woman's phone. I'm sure the transition will be as bumpy as it is every time a new version of the operating system is rolled out to mobile devices. I'm excited about the ability to use Android Auto and Apple Carplay wirelessly in the i3. Aside from the current Android 11 software making this device stutter and require reconnecting, I have only one small complaint that the Road Top team hasn't addressed. This media interface wants to stay connected to my phone's bluetooth when the car is charging in the garage. It's not difficult to manually disconnect your phone from this Bluetooth connection, but it's annoying that you have to do it when other brands of this multimedia interface don't respond in the same way and seem to actually disconnect when you do that turn off car I hope this gets fixed with a firmware update from RoadTop at some point. I still maintain that this multimedia interface (MMI) is currently the best on the market for wireless Apple Carplay and Android Auto. I just hope Road Top supports their product and makes firmware updates publicly available. So far they haven't been very responsive to reviews. As Apple Carplay and Android Auto are constantly evolving and changing, all of these media interfaces require firmware updates to work properly. I plan to update this review when Road Top provides firmware updates to fix current issues. Other companies have unlocked MMI units that allow aftermarket firmware to be installed. Road Top doesn't allow this, so you have to rely on them to fix issues in their firmware and make it available to you to update your device. That's really the only thing stopping this device from being the absolute king of Carplay/Android Auto for the i3.