[nirvanaguy19]

Is it safe to do a self update of iDrive. I found an updated version from BMW's site for my 2017 3 series and was wondering if there is any bricking risk doing it ourselves

[Impulsivemedusa]

Hi,
Reviving a long-lost thread. The current models of BMW do not support ConnectedDrive. Any idea when this was discontinued and why? Also, any guesses/estimates/nes on if and when ConnectedDrive will resume?

Thanks

[samyakmodi]

Hi,

Got to know that BMW India has launched the My BMW app on both android and apple for India. Their new cars with ID8 are definitely compatible with this - but I am wondering has the support been extended to ID6 and ID7 cars as well?
My BMW app is an extension to connected drive - which has been conspicuously been missing from India

[karan561]

Originally Posted by samyakmodi

Hi,
Got to know that BMW India has launched the My BMW app on both android and apple for India. Their new cars with ID8 are definitely compatible with this - but I am wondering has the support been extended to ID6 and ID7 cars as well?

No, cannot be linked to the car since there is no e-Sim provided in iDrive 6 & 7 cars in India.

[samyakmodi]

Originally Posted by karan561

No, cannot be linked to the car since there is no e-Sim provided in iDrive 6 & 7 cars in India.

hmmm - now I am really hoping there has to be a way around this. E-sim can be retrofitted? considering all the necessary hardware already is a part of these vehicle?

[karan561]

Originally Posted by samyakmodi

hmmm - now I am really hoping there has to be a way around this. E-sim can be retrofitted? considering all the necessary hardware already is a part of these vehicle?

I have no experience in that, nor have I researched this retrofit option. But as you rightly said there will be requirement of additional hardware, supportive e-sim & may need coding too. All the best

[Impulsivemedusa]

Originally Posted by samyakmodi

hmmm - now I am really hoping there has to be a way around this. E-sim can be retrofitted? considering all the necessary hardware already is a part of these vehicle?

Ok. Connected car tech has 2 parts:
1. The emergency calling mechanism that comes in with the integrated SIM feature
2. Connecting to the internet - which comes through the router

On 1, yes. The necessary hardware is not present in the cars homologized before 2023 (except may be for i4).

On 2, the answer is a bit nuanced. There is a router present that is responsible for connecting to the Internet and also to the phone for Android Auto and Apple Car Play. Now if this router is connected to the Internet, the car would be able to procure some connected car features like real-time traffic information, more sophisticated BMW assistant (which checks for internet connection before answering questions like "how is the weather at my destination") and may be even smart coasting. All BMW cars came with a sim slot in the router. I doubt if that has been removed as part of homologation for India. However, when I contacted BMW about it, there were mum on this. It sounds more like BMW doesn't want to do it rather cars not capable of it.