PEMP Linux Screen for BMW F30 F31 F32 F33 F34 F35 F20 F21 F22 NBT CIC Wired and Wireless Apple CarPlay Retrofit Android Auto 328i 320i Accessories Radio (2012-2017)

Prior to this, I tried to install a Road Top brand unit and had sound problems. This PEMP unit had no issues. Both units probably have the exact same software. All that's different are the icons and colors and both have different "themes", really just color changes. I suspect all these units are clones of each other with minor differences.It does everything I expect it to do. Sound quality is no worse than the original sound. It does use the Aux jack for sound. Some people claim this makes it sound worse than going directly through your car's i-drive Bluetooth, but I don't think that's true. It has an actual equalizer, which is an huge improvement over the i-drive's tone setting.Don't expect it to be 100% perfect before you change your settings. In the car's i-drive you have to select Front Aux and change the volume. Some people say to set it to 1. I don't know why. On this unit, if you set to 1, the sound is so low you have to turn up the music, which makes the car's chime noises super loud. I set mine to almost max.Anywho, I didn't expect much after the Road Top disappointment. So, I got more than I expected.

I decided to write this review to help people out in case they had some unanswered questions. I have an F33 which is the convertible version of the F32. it's a 2015 428i. It's also fully loaded and I didn't see a lot of answers to questions I had1st off the packaging is really nice. they include a pry tool that was helpful but I already had my own. everything on the wiring harness was nicely labeled and there was plenty of instructions that will take care of most of your needs and questions. install wasn't too bad. the worst part is removing the trunk interior to disconnect the battery but thats mostly just an issue with the convertibles. there are 10 screws total to remove, they hardest will be the 2 for the screen itself since it's above the AC vents and recessed in. having your own torx screwdriver set makes it a lot easier. also having fishing tape to run the Antenna and GPS is very helpful. the biggest issue I had was getting all the wiring harnesses to fit behind the main CPU. the extra wires made it tight for me. I know I have wires already from the videos since my car is fully loaded and I didn't need to add the 3rd party cameras or anything. Because of that, all I had to do was plug in the main harnesses and swap the fiber optic cable. I didn't need to hook up any aux, it works and switches automatically. I didn't need to wire any UBS either since the car already has them built in.using the device, I seen complaints about the boot up time. If you have it boot to android, it takes about 30 seconds. I set it to boot to OEM and it's up in like 5 seconds, no different from the OEM one. even the usage is 100% no different from the OEM one. all the buttons on the steering wheel work the same and the console. you can't use the touch screen in OEM, if you touch the screen it'll load up the android system.in regards to the android system, you can't use google maps without getting a 4g sim card and data plan. the GPS antennae works but google maps needs internet. same with the music. so you have 2 options if you want the full functionality, option 1 is to get a 4g sim card and data plan. option 2 is to use your phone (if you have an android phone) while using my phone it's all wireless and powered by the phone. ther eis a pre loaded app called zlink. you need your phone connected and paired to it and wifi on and android auto will work perfectly from the phone itself, however not all the buttons work in the car anymore. you have to use the touch screen. the cameras work but the pemp itself changes to aux for everything so android can operate for your music and such.as cool as the android stuff is, since my car was already fully loaded I just set it to boot up to OEM and use the car like I always did. I only purchased this because my OEM screen all of a sudden got a black circle burned into it which seems to be a somewhat common problem. the new screen looks great but it is more reflective and glossy then the OEM one. If your car doens't have all the options, the android PEMP system adds a lot more features and allows you to install additional cameras at a fraction of the OEM price

I replaced my 8.8" screen with this a few years ago. The screen looks nice and the touchscreen is responsive. iDrive and steering wheel controls all function out of the box, though there is about a second delay with the steering wheel controls when pausing and forwarding tracks. There is a lot of customization I haven't gotten into, aside from changing the startup screen to a custom one I found online. The downside is, receiving calls through Android Auto kicks me out of it so if I answer the call I have to speak through the phone. Also, music has a bass heavy sound and some tones are drowned out, and with a few songs I can barely hear the vocals. Adjusting the equalizer doesn't fix this. I had a DAC which corrected this but it died after about 1.5 years and I still haven't replaced it. Also, occasionally it won't let me connect my phone to Android Auto via Bluetooth. The connecting icon onscreen will just keep spinning. I have to keep forgetting the Bluetooth connection and try to reconnect again and again and maybe 60% it will work (using Samsung Z Fold 2 and Z Fold 5 phones). Still, overall this is a nice and cheaper alternative than retrofitting a newer BMW system, but I wouldn't recommend it for amateurs unless you have someone knowledgeable to help.

Apple car play works. But my OEM system doesn’t show ANY car stats and is freezing nonstop. The volume button also on the OEM keeps going up and down. I already have it installed so not sure to exchange it or return it. Love the Apple car play but for sure dangerous when you cannot diagnose your car.

I don’t ever write a review but I think this is worthy of a review, I’ve had this installed for a year now on my 2014 328i bmw, no complaints and I don’t think anyone that understands technology pretty good then you should have no issues either! But note if your car doesn’t already have Bluetooth you will have to install the AUX from the center console into the screen, super easy to route, took over an hour to install given I never installed one before! But so worth it

I own a 2014 BMW 328i xDrive. It’s been over a year of using the head unit, I have had satisfaction with its performance, despite initial issues with call audio. Contacting PEMP for an OS upgrade from Android 12 to 13, along with Zlink, resolved the call audio problem. The customer service was helpful and quick to respond, effectively addressing the issue. I absolutely love this unit and in my opinion it’s as good as it gets. Definitely worth every penny!