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      09-21-2020, 09:28 AM   #1
MikeF87LCI
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Not sure if anyone has documented this before, so thought I'd do a brief write up to show how I did it.

So I had CarPlay coded by @kubax86 (usb method worked great) but not being a factory option my car did not have the WiFi antenna. It would pick up the phone if it was close to radio, but if I moved it would get a bit patchy.

I've had dash trims off before so knew how it all came apart. All in probably took about 15-20 mins. Quite straight forward to do with very few tools.

You'll need some plastic trim wedges, a torx T20, some zip ties and some snips.

I've labelled some pics that I'll post below.
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      11-10-2020, 08:48 PM   #2
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Good write up and pics!

Can you advise the bmw oem part number for the antenna? Do you also know if the antenna is compatible for all F87 models (ie compatible with an OG which is my car)?

Also after the hardware install - does anything specific needs to be done in the software menus to activate the wifi?
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      11-11-2020, 03:46 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BMWF87Melb View Post
Good write up and pics!

Can you advise the bmw oem part number for the antenna? Do you also know if the antenna is compatible for all F87 models (ie compatible with an OG which is my car)?

Also after the hardware install - does anything specific needs to be done in the software menus to activate the wifi?
Thanks,

The antenna I used was not a genuine one, I just searched on eBay for "fakra WiFi antenna" think it was less than £10 posted.
My car is also an OG, works fine.

As for switching on, I think there is a little toggle check box in connectivity menu. But as I coded in Apple CarPlay it needed the WiFi for a more stable connection anyway.
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      11-11-2020, 04:01 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeF87LCI View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by BMWF87Melb View Post
Good write up and pics!

Can you advise the bmw oem part number for the antenna? Do you also know if the antenna is compatible for all F87 models (ie compatible with an OG which is my car)?

Also after the hardware install - does anything specific needs to be done in the software menus to activate the wifi?
Thanks,

The antenna I used was not a genuine one, I just searched on eBay for "fakra WiFi antenna" think it was less than £10 posted.
My car is also an OG, works fine.

As for switching on, I think there is a little toggle check box in connectivity menu. But as I coded in Apple CarPlay it needed the WiFi for a more stable connection anyway.
Great - thanks for that. I'm actually not sure if my 2017 non-LCI came with a wifi antenna, might have to just take it out to have a look.

Pardon my next silly question as I'm not the most handy with car work - but should i be disconnecting the battery to take out the head unit as you've done?
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      11-11-2020, 07:44 AM   #5
MikeF87LCI
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BMWF87Melb View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeF87LCI View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by BMWF87Melb View Post
Good write up and pics!

Can you advise the bmw oem part number for the antenna? Do you also know if the antenna is compatible for all F87 models (ie compatible with an OG which is my car)?

Also after the hardware install - does anything specific needs to be done in the software menus to activate the wifi?
Thanks,

The antenna I used was not a genuine one, I just searched on eBay for "fakra WiFi antenna" think it was less than £10 posted.
My car is also an OG, works fine.

As for switching on, I think there is a little toggle check box in connectivity menu. But as I coded in Apple CarPlay it needed the WiFi for a more stable connection anyway.
Great - thanks for that. I'm actually not sure if my 2017 non-LCI came with a wifi antenna, might have to just take it out to have a look.

Pardon my next silly question as I'm not the most handy with car work - but should i be disconnecting the battery to take out the head unit as you've done?
Nah I wouldn't worry about disconnecting the battery as there's no need to remove any of the connections.

If it makes your more comfortable you can do it. There will be no adverse affect...other than re-setting the clock.

If your car has the antenna pre installed I believe it would have "CarPlay pre installation" on the build list or words to that effect. Can always try your vin on one of those online vin decoders.
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      11-11-2020, 02:59 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeF87LCI View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by BMWF87Melb View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeF87LCI View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by BMWF87Melb View Post
Good write up and pics!

Can you advise the bmw oem part number for the antenna? Do you also know if the antenna is compatible for all F87 models (ie compatible with an OG which is my car)?

Also after the hardware install - does anything specific needs to be done in the software menus to activate the wifi?
Thanks,

The antenna I used was not a genuine one, I just searched on eBay for "fakra WiFi antenna" think it was less than £10 posted.
My car is also an OG, works fine.

As for switching on, I think there is a little toggle check box in connectivity menu. But as I coded in Apple CarPlay it needed the WiFi for a more stable connection anyway.
Great - thanks for that. I'm actually not sure if my 2017 non-LCI came with a wifi antenna, might have to just take it out to have a look.

Pardon my next silly question as I'm not the most handy with car work - but should i be disconnecting the battery to take out the head unit as you've done?
Nah I wouldn't worry about disconnecting the battery as there's no need to remove any of the connections.

If it makes your more comfortable you can do it. There will be no adverse affect...other than re-setting the clock.

If your car has the antenna pre installed I believe it would have "CarPlay pre installation" on the build list or words to that effect. Can always try your vin on one of those online vin decoders.
Thanks again!

I had posted the below in the main CarPlay thread - but I used this site to check if I have a wifi antenna:
https://www.bimmer-tech.net/compatib...ay-activation/
This site says "You car is equipped with the original CarPlay hardware from BMW, including a WiFi antenna."

I do also have the option to purchase CarPlay from BMW ConnectedDrive (but does this mean I already have wifi?).

But when I looked up my vin on mdecoder.com, under the multimedia section I see that I don't have the CarPlay preparation (6CP) option.

So I'm a bit confused whether I actually already do have the wifi antenna based on the above. Might be just easier to pull out the head unit and check!

Once you did install the wifi antenna - was there an option in idrive to setup a hotspot? I don't currently see that on mine or anything referring to wifi, so just wanted to check if there was anything I can look at in idrive to indicate whether I do indeed have a wifi antenna.
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      11-11-2020, 03:21 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BMWF87Melb View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeF87LCI View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by BMWF87Melb View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeF87LCI View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by BMWF87Melb View Post
Good write up and pics!

Can you advise the bmw oem part number for the antenna? Do you also know if the antenna is compatible for all F87 models (ie compatible with an OG which is my car)?

Also after the hardware install - does anything specific needs to be done in the software menus to activate the wifi?
Thanks,

The antenna I used was not a genuine one, I just searched on eBay for "fakra WiFi antenna" think it was less than £10 posted.
My car is also an OG, works fine.

As for switching on, I think there is a little toggle check box in connectivity menu. But as I coded in Apple CarPlay it needed the WiFi for a more stable connection anyway.
Great - thanks for that. I'm actually not sure if my 2017 non-LCI came with a wifi antenna, might have to just take it out to have a look.

Pardon my next silly question as I'm not the most handy with car work - but should i be disconnecting the battery to take out the head unit as you've done?
Nah I wouldn't worry about disconnecting the battery as there's no need to remove any of the connections.

If it makes your more comfortable you can do it. There will be no adverse affect...other than re-setting the clock.

If your car has the antenna pre installed I believe it would have "CarPlay pre installation" on the build list or words to that effect. Can always try your vin on one of those online vin decoders.
Thanks again!

I had posted the below in the main CarPlay thread - but I used this site to check if I have a wifi antenna:
https://www.bimmer-tech.net/compatib...ay-activation/
This site says "You car is equipped with the original CarPlay hardware from BMW, including a WiFi antenna."

I do also have the option to purchase CarPlay from BMW ConnectedDrive (but does this mean I already have wifi?).

But when I looked up my vin on mdecoder.com, under the multimedia section I see that I don't have the CarPlay preparation (6CP) option.

So I'm a bit confused whether I actually already do have the wifi antenna based on the above. Might be just easier to pull out the head unit and check!

Once you did install the wifi antenna - was there an option in idrive to setup a hotspot? I don't currently see that on mine or anything referring to wifi, so just wanted to check if there was anything I can look at in idrive to indicate whether I do indeed have a wifi antenna.
Hmm bit strange how you have that conflict, I was not able to purchase via connected store nor did I have the CarPlay prep pre installed.

Normally if you can buy it from bmw I would say that you have all the hardware required already. But I guess there's no guarantee.

As for the hotspot side of things not entirely sure. I added the WiFi antenna purely as an aid for Apple CarPlay, as it connects via both Bluetooth and WiFi I believe. With out the antenna the pick up range was terrible and quite patchy.

It should take you no more than 30 mins pop the head unit out to take a look.
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      11-11-2020, 03:24 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeF87LCI View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by BMWF87Melb View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeF87LCI View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by BMWF87Melb View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeF87LCI View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by BMWF87Melb View Post
Good write up and pics!

Can you advise the bmw oem part number for the antenna? Do you also know if the antenna is compatible for all F87 models (ie compatible with an OG which is my car)?

Also after the hardware install - does anything specific needs to be done in the software menus to activate the wifi?
Thanks,

The antenna I used was not a genuine one, I just searched on eBay for "fakra WiFi antenna" think it was less than £10 posted.
My car is also an OG, works fine.

As for switching on, I think there is a little toggle check box in connectivity menu. But as I coded in Apple CarPlay it needed the WiFi for a more stable connection anyway.
Great - thanks for that. I'm actually not sure if my 2017 non-LCI came with a wifi antenna, might have to just take it out to have a look.

Pardon my next silly question as I'm not the most handy with car work - but should i be disconnecting the battery to take out the head unit as you've done?
Nah I wouldn't worry about disconnecting the battery as there's no need to remove any of the connections.

If it makes your more comfortable you can do it. There will be no adverse affect...other than re-setting the clock.

If your car has the antenna pre installed I believe it would have "CarPlay pre installation" on the build list or words to that effect. Can always try your vin on one of those online vin decoders.
Thanks again!

I had posted the below in the main CarPlay thread - but I used this site to check if I have a wifi antenna:
https://www.bimmer-tech.net/compatib...ay-activation/
This site says "You car is equipped with the original CarPlay hardware from BMW, including a WiFi antenna."

I do also have the option to purchase CarPlay from BMW ConnectedDrive (but does this mean I already have wifi?).

But when I looked up my vin on mdecoder.com, under the multimedia section I see that I don't have the CarPlay preparation (6CP) option.

So I'm a bit confused whether I actually already do have the wifi antenna based on the above. Might be just easier to pull out the head unit and check!

Once you did install the wifi antenna - was there an option in idrive to setup a hotspot? I don't currently see that on mine or anything referring to wifi, so just wanted to check if there was anything I can look at in idrive to indicate whether I do indeed have a wifi antenna.
Hmm bit strange how you have that conflict, I was not able to purchase via connected store nor did I have the CarPlay prep pre installed.

Normally if you can buy it from bmw I would say that you have all the hardware required already. But I guess there's no guarantee.

As for the hotspot side of things not entirely sure. I added the WiFi antenna purely as an aid for Apple CarPlay, as it connects via both Bluetooth and WiFi I believe. With out the antenna the pick up range was terrible and quite patchy.

It should take you no more than 30 mins pop the head unit out to take a look.
Yeah it's a bit odd. Thanks - I might just spend the 30 minutes to open it up to have a look!
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      02-15-2021, 12:50 PM   #9
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Hi. How is your experience with the Fakra antenna after a while? I consider buying it to enhance the Carplay connection. Does it work properly away from the headunit?
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      02-15-2021, 02:12 PM   #10
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Originally Posted by azengin View Post
Hi. How is your experience with the Fakra antenna after a while? I consider buying it to enhance the Carplay connection. Does it work properly away from the headunit?
Still working perfectly. No issues with signal on CarPlay at all now
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      02-27-2021, 08:32 AM   #11
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Today I received the antenna and working range is quite satisfying. It even works when the phone is 10-15 meters away from the car. Also, the connection become much more stable and Carplay operations on the headunit are more flawless now.
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      03-03-2021, 08:45 AM   #12
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If you have any of these 6CP , 6NS, 6WD, on your VO , your car already has an antenna equipped.
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      03-07-2021, 10:55 AM   #13
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Anyway to get this working on a 2016? It has 6NS.
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      03-07-2021, 11:00 AM   #14
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Originally Posted by dnfromthesea View Post
Anyway to get this working on a 2016? It has 6NS.
6NS is just enhanced Bluetooth?

The purpose of the WiFi antenna is to aid WiFi signal for those that have retrofitted Apple CarPlay via coding.
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      03-07-2021, 06:42 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeF87LCI View Post
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Originally Posted by dnfromthesea View Post
Anyway to get this working on a 2016? It has 6NS.
6NS is just enhanced Bluetooth?

The purpose of the WiFi antenna is to aid WiFi signal for those that have retrofitted Apple CarPlay via coding.
The post above mine mentioned, having it meant I had an antenna already is why I asked.
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      03-08-2021, 04:14 AM   #16
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Anyway to get this working on a 2016? It has 6NS.
PM sent.
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      01-31-2022, 05:33 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeF87LCI View Post
Not sure if anyone has documented this before, so thought I'd do a brief write up to show how I did it.

So I had CarPlay coded by @kubax86 (usb method worked great) but not being a factory option my car did not have the WiFi antenna. It would pick up the phone if it was close to radio, but if I moved it would get a bit patchy.

I've had dash trims off before so knew how it all came apart. All in probably took about 15-20 mins. Quite straight forward to do with very few tools.

You'll need some plastic trim wedges, a torx T20, some zip ties and some snips.

I've labelled some pics that I'll post below.
Great guide. Gives the confidence to start prying off panels in your pride and joy.
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      02-13-2022, 08:10 AM   #18
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Pile-on/additions for pre-LCI owners:

I had not had a dash apart before, so I was a bit more apprehensive initially. On the OG, the top vents are one piece, and are the first to remove just like above, but without the extra trim that extends along the dash. Loosening it was easy with a trim wedge, but pulling it out makes some disconcerting noises...thankful the clips are metal! The feel/noise made me think I was close to breaking something, but that was not the case once I saw the clips removed.

T20 removal of the panel/headunit is straightforward as mentioned. Unlike the F30 video on youtube, the pre-LCI bottom plastic panel (below the radio controls) does not need to be removed at all. I removed it and realized too late that the 3 panels have to be reinstalled from bottom to top.

The radio panel has plastic tabs, recommend caution when retightening the T20 screws.

I also used an aftermarket $10 wifi antenna, and it's worked well so far with Kubax's F8X ID4 to ID6/CarPlay flash.
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      02-15-2022, 03:13 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by azengin View Post
Hi. How is your experience with the Fakra antenna after a while? I consider buying it to enhance the Carplay connection. Does it work properly away from the headunit?
Before I needed to put my phone next to the gear shifter … now I can be 5 meters away (at the trunk or even further) and I still have my Spotify stream running

An antenna is quite a passive stuff with no risks …
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