I decided to post this in the B8 forum rather than the Retrofit forum, as the Unique Auto Developments kit will interract differently with different models. This is about how it works in a B8.5 with MMI 3G+.
After a week and a bit, I have to say the experience is mixed. On the plus side, first-off, it works. I can now listen to radio stations through the B&O system using my iPhone's data (need to keep an eye on usage there and upgrade my SIM if need be). In the case of my favourite music station, Planet Rock, the screen displays photo and text info about the song (and band) currently playing; this forms part of a composite display with Apple Maps (I can load Google Maps or Waze instead if I wish by navigating to and selecting the relevant app on screen). So far the data stream has held steady in places where the normal DAB signal would have dropped out, so that's an extra plus.
It reads out incoming text or WhatsApp messages. I asked Mrs Grumpy to send me a test message from her phone. An incoming message alert came up on screen, I pressed thre joystick button and a polite, 1950s BBC voice announced "Jill says: 'Get stuffed!' " - which made us both chuckle.
The reversing camera integrate perfectly with the car's OEM parking sensor system; I just need to get familiar with the graphics and how they're calibrated relative to the car's actual position.
But there are quirks and downsides to integrating an "invader" with the native system. For the first few days, I kept seeing the "handshake" between phone and car happening in slightly different ways, and it wouldn't always complete satisfactorily. It would also sometimes show a rather unsightly buffering graphic with Chinese script. I've now developed a sequence that should mean everything happens the same way each time, but unseen. After unlocking the car, I first pop the phone into the Brodit cradle; this connects it to the CarPlay unit by wire and the handshake process begins whilst the screen is still blank. I then put the key in, press for ignition (with foot OFF the brake so that I can input my Ghost PIN). Once I've had the flash alert that the PIN has been accepted, I start the engine. By then, the phone/CarPlay handshake is complete and the screen lights up with everything done.
The next downside to report is that although a touchscreen overlay was supplied, my installers weren't able to get it to work. So it does look as though @AndrewW 's original feedback - that for the MMI 3G+, it's operated by MMI controls only - was right and hasn't changed, despite what the website implies.
I'm not a huge fan of touchscreens in cars, so that's not of itself a problem for me, but it does highlight something that I don't recall seeing mentioned anywhere in UAD's website. That is, that when you're in Carplay mode and navigating your way around using the MMI controls, the MMI itself is still responding to those commands in the background, and of course, as operator, you don't know what it's doing. That's potentially a problem if you suddenly find that you have changed your ADS mode without realising it.
UAB does publish a trouble-shooting guide that helps to minimise this interference. The trick is to press the Media button, and then ensure that you only use the rotary controller and the joystick on the top of it to navigate CarPlay, and avoid pressing the Back button. That way, the hidden MMI commands are kept to a minimum. I will need to get into the habit of glancing down and making sure the Media button light is on, and if for any reason it isn't, to re-select it.
Although the installation instructions are pretty comprehensive, there are one or two omissions. For example, the unit has a set of jumper switches for the rear camera that have to be positioned differently depending on whether the car is manual or automatic. The instructions tell you which switch positions you need, but they don't tell you that you have press the unit's "reset" button after selecting them. We needed a live chat to sort that out. On that note, UAD is very helpful with its support, but it could be better. All communication is done by live chat, and there are times when a real chat by phone would be so much quicker and easier.
I guess the quirks are unavoidable, and once you've discovered them all, they become manageable with practice. That's quite a slow process for me because I'm not intuitive with these things. From the very start of my driving life - forty years ago now - I've been used to putting all of my focus on concentration on driving (people in the car have long given up trying to engage me in a conversation) and I thought adding CarPlay would reduce the distraction factor. At the moment, that's not the case but hopefully I'll get comfortable with my new routine.
After a week and a bit, I have to say the experience is mixed. On the plus side, first-off, it works. I can now listen to radio stations through the B&O system using my iPhone's data (need to keep an eye on usage there and upgrade my SIM if need be). In the case of my favourite music station, Planet Rock, the screen displays photo and text info about the song (and band) currently playing; this forms part of a composite display with Apple Maps (I can load Google Maps or Waze instead if I wish by navigating to and selecting the relevant app on screen). So far the data stream has held steady in places where the normal DAB signal would have dropped out, so that's an extra plus.
It reads out incoming text or WhatsApp messages. I asked Mrs Grumpy to send me a test message from her phone. An incoming message alert came up on screen, I pressed thre joystick button and a polite, 1950s BBC voice announced "Jill says: 'Get stuffed!' " - which made us both chuckle.
The reversing camera integrate perfectly with the car's OEM parking sensor system; I just need to get familiar with the graphics and how they're calibrated relative to the car's actual position.
But there are quirks and downsides to integrating an "invader" with the native system. For the first few days, I kept seeing the "handshake" between phone and car happening in slightly different ways, and it wouldn't always complete satisfactorily. It would also sometimes show a rather unsightly buffering graphic with Chinese script. I've now developed a sequence that should mean everything happens the same way each time, but unseen. After unlocking the car, I first pop the phone into the Brodit cradle; this connects it to the CarPlay unit by wire and the handshake process begins whilst the screen is still blank. I then put the key in, press for ignition (with foot OFF the brake so that I can input my Ghost PIN). Once I've had the flash alert that the PIN has been accepted, I start the engine. By then, the phone/CarPlay handshake is complete and the screen lights up with everything done.
The next downside to report is that although a touchscreen overlay was supplied, my installers weren't able to get it to work. So it does look as though @AndrewW 's original feedback - that for the MMI 3G+, it's operated by MMI controls only - was right and hasn't changed, despite what the website implies.
I'm not a huge fan of touchscreens in cars, so that's not of itself a problem for me, but it does highlight something that I don't recall seeing mentioned anywhere in UAD's website. That is, that when you're in Carplay mode and navigating your way around using the MMI controls, the MMI itself is still responding to those commands in the background, and of course, as operator, you don't know what it's doing. That's potentially a problem if you suddenly find that you have changed your ADS mode without realising it.
UAB does publish a trouble-shooting guide that helps to minimise this interference. The trick is to press the Media button, and then ensure that you only use the rotary controller and the joystick on the top of it to navigate CarPlay, and avoid pressing the Back button. That way, the hidden MMI commands are kept to a minimum. I will need to get into the habit of glancing down and making sure the Media button light is on, and if for any reason it isn't, to re-select it.
Although the installation instructions are pretty comprehensive, there are one or two omissions. For example, the unit has a set of jumper switches for the rear camera that have to be positioned differently depending on whether the car is manual or automatic. The instructions tell you which switch positions you need, but they don't tell you that you have press the unit's "reset" button after selecting them. We needed a live chat to sort that out. On that note, UAD is very helpful with its support, but it could be better. All communication is done by live chat, and there are times when a real chat by phone would be so much quicker and easier.
I guess the quirks are unavoidable, and once you've discovered them all, they become manageable with practice. That's quite a slow process for me because I'm not intuitive with these things. From the very start of my driving life - forty years ago now
- I've been used to putting all of my focus on concentration on driving (people in the car have long given up trying to engage me in a conversation) and I thought adding CarPlay would reduce the distraction factor. At the moment, that's not the case but hopefully I'll get comfortable with my new routine.
