The following is a review of my Combox upgrade on a 2010 E90 335d. I ordered the Combox Media from BimmerTech and did the install myself.
Some Photos
Combox installed:
Attachment 668443
New USB/AUX port before insertion. The old AUX connector was eventually removed to make more room for the new AUX connector:
Attachment 668444
Some new wiring from the Combox in the rear to the front. The orange wire is the new BT mic wire. The black wire right next to it (hard to see) is a new BT antenna cable going to the driver's footwell location:
Attachment 668445
What I Started With
* 609 Navigation system
* 620 Voice command
* 6FL iPod and USB adapter
* 6UH Real Time Traffic Information
What I Wanted
* BT
* Improved iPod/iPhone user interface on CIC
* As mentioned here in the forum, there are many other features of the Combox Media which is nice to have but not totally must have for me
Steps
* Combox was installed in place of MULF-Hi unit.
* BT antenna was placed on the underside steering wheel panel at the driver's footwell in the standard antenna location.
* BT cable and mic wires were run from the Combox from the rear under the driver-side door sills to the front. Mic wire continued up A pillar and plugged into existing voice command mic. There is only one mic in the FZD for both voice command and BT.
* Old AUX port was replaced by a new AV-enabled AUX port.
* Old iPod cable was replaced by a new AV-enabled Y adapter cable.
* Extra AV wire was spliced into existing AUX wire and run from AUX port to the back of CIC.
* Programming was done by Alekshop in Fremont, California, with assist from Patryk. Took about two hours.
I spent the extra time to run the cables neatly to the Combox. Because the existing black Fakra cable and the MOST cable had to go different (longer) distances to reach the connection points on the Combox, I had to un-tie some of the existing wiring bundles and reposition them to go the required distances.
The Result
All the existing and new capabilities work as advertised! It is awesome to have BT, album art on the CIC, and AD2P. Works like a charm the way BMW wanted it to. BMW Apps and video on the CIC are also cool, but I can't ever imagine using them for real for safety reasons. But they are cool nevertheless!
Patryk is a genius and really, really knows his stuff down to the bloody details. He is very quick to respond and is utterly helpful on occasions when I was stuck.
At one point during the programming, nothing seemed to work. Then, due to Patryk's familiarity with my particular setup, he correctly guessed that the MOST termination under the steering wheel panel was not terminated, which was right on since I had disassembled the under-side panel to get the BT antenna installed. He guessed this even though he never saw the car and no one told him. Once I terminated the MOST connection, everything started to work. Cool!
Definitely recommended if you have the interest, some spare change, and willingness for a little adventure!