I own a 2009/2010 Audi A6 with MMI hardware 3G high. I had wanted to update the maps from the original 2009 version installed when the car was new. I used an eBay vendor (vag-technik) and bought my genuine Audi software update discs and an SD card holding the European country maps from the vendor. The upgrade fee was £62 for the SD card containing the maps of the 46 countries which constitute Europe. The two software updates cost £9 each. I paid a total of £80 for two software update CDs and a maps licence activation CD and the SD card for a map of every European country.

The well packed software arrived by tracked package one day after I had paid by PayPal. The vendor checked which car and MMI I had and what software was already installed. Every CD was bubble wrapped and labelled correctly from the Audi factory and one carried a sticker saying use this one first so that the system software updates were completed in the correct order. There was a 33 page manual describing the process and showing some illustrations and a two page e-mail message describing the exact step by step process for my car and system.

The two system software updates required approximately 30 minutes and 20 minutes respectively for installation to be completed. The maps required about 3 hours 15 minutes for installation. The license activation was around 5 minutes.As instructed; I left the battery on charge while installing the maps because a failure of battery power during installation could damage the hardware. All software installation was carried out from the engineering screen (press and hold [settings] and [return] buttons for about 7 seconds when at the media selection screen. Settings for car button displays a selection customer update at the end of the available list of options.

Local Audi main dealer wanted £275 for maps and software update and could not book or undertake any update work for 6 weeks. I am not sure as to whether labour costs were included in that fee. The eBay vendor responded to my enquiry immediately, sold only genuine Audi parts and was informative and very helpful. Job was done by me in around 4 and one quarter hours. My cash saving of £195 was a surprise bonus and I did not have to wait 6 weeks. Win/Win

I can confidently recommend other car owners, with an MMI system, to take this path if you want an update your maps or your system software and you can read a simple instruction sheet.