# Nexus 7 Installed in E46!



## Brake_L8 (Jul 11, 2012)

The E46 BMW is a wonderful car, with an unfortunate lack of aftermarket "infotainment" opportunities due to the shape of the stock head unit. It's curvy and extra-wide, and most aftermarket head unit brackets end up looking really awful, like this:










Come on now, that looks horrible.

The other option is made by companies such as Dynavin. They produce a drop-in, 2-DIN unit that runs on Windows CE or Android 2.x, has a clunky interface, gives you iPod/Bluetooth/navigation, and is typically slow and very outdated with software that can't be upgraded. They do at least look physically nice:










So, when the other half decided that his 330i's stock head unit wasn't acceptable (he wanted aux input and Bluetooth), we both agreed that the "easy button" aftermarket upgrades were hardly upgrades due to the downsides.

Fortunately, the size of the dashboard lends itself to fitting a 7" tablet. The iPad Mini doesn't work very well as the screen is the wrong aspect ratio, and iOS is not flexible enough to be customized sufficiently for in-car use. The Nexus 7 is the easiest option. And, to make it even better, there's a guy who custom-makes bezels for the E46 (and other BMWs) that are sized to accommodate a 7" tablet, mounting brackets and all.

We are not the first people to put a Nexus 7 in a car, but I think we certainly did one of the cleaner installs. A lot of folks will hide the stock head unit (or an aftermarket, if stock doesn't have Aux in) and route the audio through the head unit to the speakers. Well, why do that? BMW head units do not amplify the audio. Rather, there's an amp in the trunk with front and rear inputs. So, this install was pretty easy.

First, you gotta remove some things.










The climate control panel can be relocated to where the "sunglasses holder" pocket is, in front of the shifter. Some E46's came with factory Navigation, so their climate panels were down there by default. That means you can order the BMW bracket to hold the panel. Unfortunately, he was shipped the wrong bracket, so his climate panel is just kinda pushed in there until ECS Tuning can re-send the correct bracket.

From there, you have to figure out your wiring "flow" to make sure things are in order. We elected to use a USB digital audio converter (DAC) as it's a cleaner output than the Nexus's headphone jack. From there, we routed the DAC's output to a Clarion EQ that is mounted in the glovebox. This provides equalization abilities that are accessible, and also conveniently splits the one sound output from the DAC into a Front/Rear set of outputs.

The Front/Rear outputs are routed directly to the BMW/Harman Kardon amp in the trunk. My roommate and I soldered RCA connectors directly to the proper wiring coming from the BMW radio harness behind the dash. The amp and EQ both require a "trigger wire" to make them turn on with the ignition. You can tap those directly to the red 12V power wire of the BMW radio harness.

Sorry I didn't take more photos of the install, I forgot entirely and three of us were all busy getting this done.

Anyway, here's the layout of how this all works:










You make sure it all functions _before_ you solder, then you solder, heatshrink, and reinstall everything. We stuck the DAC and EQ and hub to various inside-the-dash support bits using Velcro strips.

Finished product! It uses a custom ROM to allow for charging + external USB devices. The ROM also makes the device turn on and off when power is supplied (aka, with ignition key). The launch screen is a combination of custom wallpaper, a "desktop widgetizer" app to create landing zones that launch the apps, and UCCW widgets for all the info on the left sidebar.

Internet access is required for this whole shebang to work, so his phone creates a WiFi network (he has an unlimited LTE data plan) that the tablet connects to when the car is started.


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## shazi00 (Sep 18, 2013)

Hoooly sick !!! 

My colleagues make fun of my f30 half iPad sticking out the top lol. 

Sent from BimmerApp mobile app


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## xx (Jun 2, 2013)

that's nice!!!


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## shazi00 (Sep 18, 2013)

What software is that ? Custom ?

Sent from BimmerApp mobile app


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## DDutchman (Aug 26, 2012)

*Exceptional!*

I came back from Germany in September 2013 and put an Eonon D5124F in my X5 E53 that should be illegal to sell. So I got the new Android Dynavin. It is a step up, but is far too rudimentary to justify the price.

Your Nexus looks like a great alternative. My OEM navi, radio in the back and full bordmonitor would be overjoyed to have a functional upgrade. Does the Nexus OS support the OBC?

Do you have root access?

Where can us poor, deprived BMW aficionados acquire the frames and hardware?



Brake_L8 said:


> The E46 BMW is a wonderful car, with an unfortunate lack of aftermarket "infotainment" opportunities due to the shape of the stock head unit. It's curvy and extra-wide, and most aftermarket head unit brackets end up looking really awful, like this:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## Brake_L8 (Jul 11, 2012)

DDutchman said:


> I came back from Germany in September 2013 and put an Eonon D5124F in my X5 E53 that should be illegal to sell. So I got the new Android Dynavin. It is a step up, but is far too rudimentary to justify the price.
> 
> Your Nexus looks like a great alternative. My OEM navi, radio in the back and full bordmonitor would be overjoyed to have a functional upgrade. Does the Nexus OS support the OBC?
> 
> ...


The Nexus does not have OBC access. It can (and will) have access to the ECU parameters like coolant temp, oil temp, etc through Torque and an OBD II Bluetooth adapter that we haven't yet purchased. Not sure how to support the OBC, but I think the X5's have it controlled through the head unit, so you may want to read up more on that.

I believe there is root access on the Nexus.

The bezel came from MyBimmer.net (and he does have an X5 kit) and everything else, Amazon.


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## Fooljam (Oct 2, 2007)

Nicely done
Sorry if I missed it but could you please tell us which ROM is that and where to find this user interface too, or maybe it is part of the Rom?

Thank you


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## Brake_L8 (Jul 11, 2012)

Fooljam said:


> Nicely done
> Sorry if I missed it but could you please tell us which ROM is that and where to find this user interface too, or maybe it is part of the Rom?
> 
> Thank you


It's Timur's USBRom. The "home screen" is just a wallpaper file that contains all of the images and text you see, except for the left column of date/time/weather/etc.

From there, use Desktop Widgetizer to make "landing zones" for each of those app icons/text so you launch the app when you touch that part of the screen. Use UCCW to make the widget that runs down the left column and displays all of those live parameters.


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## cagep88 (Oct 7, 2013)

Bravo:thumbup: im going to try this. 

(Bayerische Motoren Werke)


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## cagep88 (Oct 7, 2013)

A brand new nexus cost as much as the bezel!! 

(Bayerische Motoren Werke)


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## Brake_L8 (Jul 11, 2012)

cagep88 said:


> A brand new nexus cost as much as the bezel!!
> 
> (Bayerische Motoren Werke)


Yeah, it's not cheap. Still cheaper than a Dynavin though. Our install cost ~$450.

Also, make sure you get the Nexus 7 from 2012, not the new "Nexus 7 2013" - the custom ROM won't work on the new one.


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## tasjackal (Mar 6, 2014)

I know this is an old thread, but I just rooted my nexus 7, installed timur Rom and gapps (I am new to this so took me hours of Google reading). Anyway, I installed some apps, hacked the fastboot code to auto start when power is on through usb rather than use Tasked app...

So I think the nexus is done so far and next is wiring plan. My 540i 1998 has Nat, tv and radio set up. Can the wiring above be applied in my case, effectively bypassing the nav (I'll use Google maps on nexus) and bypassing the stereo but using the amp? Any info on how I may apply the nexus and the components you mentioned above would be greatly received.


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## Brake_L8 (Jul 11, 2012)

tasjackal said:


> So I think the nexus is done so far and next is wiring plan. My 540i 1998 has Nat, tv and radio set up. Can the wiring above be applied in my case, effectively bypassing the nav (I'll use Google maps on nexus) and bypassing the stereo but using the amp? Any info on how I may apply the nexus and the components you mentioned above would be greatly received.


Yes, that should work fine. Do you have DSP? I think that's the only concern with an E39 versus the E46.

Also, remember that you will lose your Check Control functionality when you remove the stock head unit.


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## tasjackal (Mar 6, 2014)

Thanks for that - I dont know if it has DSP... I am yet to pick up the vehicle from my brothers place so ill check then. New to BMW so I am reading lots and youtubing, this is how I found this thread.


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## Brake_L8 (Jul 11, 2012)

tasjackal said:


> Thanks for that - I dont know if it has DSP... I am yet to pick up the vehicle from my brothers place so ill check then. New to BMW so I am reading lots and youtubing, this is how I found this thread.


I don't think DSP makes things impossible, it just adds another layer of complexity to work around.


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## ba114 (Apr 3, 2014)

Love the wallpaper and layout. Any chance you could upload it here?


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## danofa10 (May 1, 2014)

cagep88 said:


> Bravo:thumbup: im going to try this.
> 
> (Bayerische Motoren Werke)


Here's a kit and instructions if you're still thinking of trying it. This one has a power button and doesn't require custom software. It's for the 2nd generation Nexus 7.

Installing and configuring an in-dash N7 is pretty easy.

www.ironlight.us


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## kknd (May 12, 2014)

great !!!! you can upload the wallpapper and buttons icons ? tks !


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## azngujuonfire (Jul 3, 2014)

kknd said:


> great !!!! you can upload the wallpapper and buttons icons ? tks !


^^ BUMP ^^ For the love of god Blake we're begging you! For the life of me i have been trying to find out for the past few days how exactly are you able to scroll the top layer (with the icons and text) without scrolling the bottom layer (the actual wallpaper image), if they are on the same file/background?

Can you please walk us through this? How were you able to make one layer scroll while keeping the bottom layer static?


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