New C7 owner with a few C6 to C7 questions?

[iain120]

Hi All,

I've been looking about the forum, and although I've found out a bit can someone clear up a few questions regarding the in car MMI...

I've just got myself a new C7 having shared the wife's C6 for about 5 years and been so impressed with it...my other car was a series 2 disco!! I

have a few questions regarding the MMI. The C6 had MMI High (DVD maps, and a no little joystick thing), very impressed with it, DVD's are easy to upgrade, the mapping was accurate, it has BOSE, but no DAB, an option I might retrofit later? And all the magic gubbins are located in the boot.

Now my new C7 has sat nav, run from the SD card slot, it doesn't have the Tech Pack, so it has the smaller screen and no SIM card slot. Now when I went to open the boot side cupboard I was surprised to find nothing in it? I assume this is normal, or is this where there is a difference between the RMC and MMI 3G+ setup options??

I also have some issues with the SatNav swapping from KM to Miles, but believe this is fixable via and Audi update, my RMC version is RMC_EU_P10396?

The other bit I find odd is the Bluetooth, my windows phone connects fine, but on the C6 I could get to texts, on a Parrott kit fitted to the disco Cortana even read out my texts with an options to reply... I don't get any of this on the C7 is that normal, and does it correspond to the Bluetooth high/low bit?

Finally, if all the above can be fixed by the Tech Pack, is there a way to retrofit this to a car with RMC?

Thanks in advance,
Iain

[ukgroucho]

You are correct, all of the satnav gubbins is located 'elsewhere' in the C7 (i.e. not in the left hand cubby in the boot). I had a C6 with satnav high so I recall messing with the DVD unit in the boot. Even with satnav high in a C7 there is nothing in that cubby - I assume the hard disk is located somewhere 'up front' probably accessible through the glove box.

Cannot help with the bluetooth thing - although my suspicion is that it may be something to do with the supported bluetooth profiles. Neither my personal iphone (5 and now 6) or work HTC phones gave text access. Will be interested to see if my replacement work phone (a new Motorola X) can read text messages as that is one of it's in car tricks but maybe not as it will probably default to the same bluetooth profile.

[iain120]

Thanks, that helps... I'm glad there is nothing missing in the boot then!

Hopefully someone can shed some light on the Bluetooth thing and RMC vs MMI question, or are they in fact the same thing?

[braytac]

Hi, I can tell you that Windows Phone works fine with Cortana in my C7 (2012), reading out text messages and accepting responses etc. I do have the Tech Pack but as far as I know WP/Cortana is just seeing the car as a Bluetooth headset, nothing really special that the car is doing. Do you see Cortana listed in the cars phone book when you are connected as you should also be able to call her to use her as well, great for dictating new text messages. Generally works well for me although road noise at higher speeds can confuse her sometimes.

[iain120]

Hi, mine doesn't have the Tech pack, maybe this is the problem. I'm beginning to think I should have gone for this option, does anyone know if you can retro fit?

I will check what the car see's the phone as when I get a moment and let you know, thank for the info Braytac

[iain120]

Hi, I can tell you that Windows Phone works fine with Cortana in my C7 (2012), reading out text messages and accepting responses etc. I do have the Tech Pack but as far as I know WP/Cortana is just seeing the car as a Bluetooth headset, nothing really special that the car is doing. Do you see Cortana listed in the cars phone book when you are connected as you should also be able to call her to use her as well, great for dictating new text messages. Generally works well for me although road noise at higher speeds can confuse her sometimes.

I can see cortana in the phone book, but if I call her it just hangs up immediately. i'll have a play and see if I can get any further, but I think the Tech pack might be the answer!

[johnsimcox]

Hi, mine doesn't have the Tech pack, maybe this is the problem. I'm beginning to think I should have gone for this option, does anyone know if you can retro fit?

I will check what the car see's the phone as when I get a moment and let you know, thank for the info Braytac
Cn be retro fitted but it is not going to be cheap as there is lot of kit involved. Kufatec what £3k (http://www.kufatec.co.uk/shop/en/audi/a6/a6-4g/retrofit-set-mmi3g-navigation-audi-a6-a7-4g) just for the parts before you even think about the fitting cost. To your earlier question to add factory DAB to the car with he standard MMI requires a new MMI unit as it is built in. Kufatec do an add on unit but it does not offer autoswitching from DAB to FM if needed. Cars with MMI 3G+ can add factory DAB by adding a module.

[iain120]

John, thanks for the info, I saw the kit on the Kufatec site, thought I would look on the auction site pages to see if I spot the bits and bobs and maybe build it up over time. It might not be so bad if I can sell the RMC unit on after the install? Am I right then in the MMI 3G+ plus is modular like the old C6 and has units in the boot or is it all in the dash?

DAB can wait, its not a major and pending the tech pack options i'll see what I can do.

Thanks.

[Hellodave.]

John, thanks for the info, I saw the kit on the Kufatec site, thought I would look on the auction site pages to see if I spot the bits and bobs and maybe build it up over time. It might not be so bad if I can sell the RMC unit on after the install? Am I right then in the MMI 3G+ plus is modular like the old C6 and has units in the boot or is it all in the dash?

Yes, MMI 3G+ is modular, although the only units in the boot are the FM or DAB tuner, amplifier and TV tuner. (if fitted) Everything else (apart from Bluetooth I think), including the sat nav hard drive, lives in the dashboard unit.

While it would be fascinating project, fitting the tech pack is going to be pretty complex! The basic (£3K) Kufatec kit looks like it only comes with the new 8" screen, head unit and tuner - Audi Connect (phone prep high) is another £350. The descriptions on their site are rather vague but it doesn't look like the kit includes the colour DIS either (though presumably the system works without it).

It might take a while to find all the parts on eBay, as you're going to need quite a few, and I suspect the Kufatec kit might work out cheaper! Off the top of my head you'd need to add/replace:



8" MMI High display
MMI high head unit with European maps
Touchpad for the MMI control panel (probably only available by swapping the whole button panel around the gearstick)
High Bluetooth/WiFi module if you want Audi Connect
Colour DIS (only available as part of a complete new dash module)
Tuner unit
(Possibly) Rack to mount the tuner in the boot
Cables to connect it all together (power, aerial, MOST Bus etc) - probably easiest to buy it premade from Cable set retrofit Navigation plus Audi A6, A7 4G - active sound 9VD-40045 (http://www.kufatec.co.uk/shop/en/product?action_ms=1&info=9601)


You'll need to remove component protection from the new modules before you can fit them, which is an extra cost. Some of the wiring could be fun because the RMC tuner is in the head unit but the full MMI 3G+ system is modular, so the tuner gets relocated to the boot, which means you have to move the aerial feed there too.

[iain120]

That does indeed sound like a rather big job... I do already have the full colour DIS (which I must say is sooo much nicer than the monochrome one) but I doubt that makes much of a difference.

I'm fairly hands on, and happy to work with fibre and electrical connections, but don't fancy pulling the car apart to do the runs it will need.

I guess this will remain on the wish list...

I find it strange they would go to the two extremes the RMC being all in the dash (if you have BOSE where does this go?) and MMI 3G+ which goes back to the C6 and has the kit in the boot? I guess there is method to the madness!

[Hellodave.]

That does indeed sound like a rather big job... I do already have the full colour DIS (which I must say is sooo much nicer than the monochrome one) but I doubt that makes much of a difference.

I'm fairly hands on, and happy to work with fibre and electrical connections, but don't fancy pulling the car apart to do the runs it will need.

I guess this will remain on the wish list...


If you've got the patience I'm sure it's do-able but the cost vs benefit would put me off!



I find it strange they would go to the two extremes the RMC being all in the dash (if you have BOSE where does this go?) and MMI 3G+ which goes back to the C6 and has the kit in the boot? I guess there is method to the madness!
The full MMI system is much more expandable than the RMC and required to support extra kit such as tv, phone prep high, B&O and surround cameras. I suppose it makes sense to offer it if you want those options but keep the RMC as a cost saving alternative. If you read Audi's SSPs on the A6 they offer 3 levels of RMC; a basic radio/cd, radio/cd with external amp and radio/cd/amp/nav - that's the only one we get in the UK.

I think the RMC supports BOSE, but without it I think there's still an amp in the boot. Should be buried behind the left side boot trim? That's where my bose amp is.

[iain120]

Hi Dave,

Thanks for all the info, I have spotted this on e-bay AUDI A6 A7 MMI NAVI KIT SET 4G0035678D 4G0035083 4G2919601N 4G2919610D N | eBay (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/291324144467?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT)

Looks like all the bits, minus the wires, is this all that's needed?

I have also found out how to get Cortana to work on a non-high phone prep car. Don't know if this might be useful to others:

Remove the phone from the car's pairing
On the phone, remove the car.
Now on the phone, under Bluetooth is an 'Advanced' button.
Press this and tick the box that says "Use an alternative Bluetooth Audio Connection for Speech"
Now re-pair the phone and car, let the address book sync.
If you now call Cortana on the phone you can shout commands at her, she will also interrupt your radio/media to read your text messages to you and allow you to reply.

It's works fine for me on my version of the RMC, which I believe is very old!! Hope that's helps.

[Hellodave.]

Hi Dave,

Thanks for all the info, I have spotted this on e-bay AUDI A6 A7 MMI NAVI KIT SET 4G0035678D 4G0035083 4G2919601N 4G2919610D N | eBay (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/291324144467?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT)

Looks like all the bits, minus the wires, is this all that's needed?

If you've got an Auto (for the control panel) then it looks like a complete set but I've never done the retrofit so I wouldn't want to guarantee it! They've included a new CAN gateway - possibly that's needed to support MMI High although the Kufatec kit didn't mention it.

Only strange thing is the head unit doesn't appear to have a SIM card slot. Either it's a bad picture or that unit doesn't support phone prep high.

There would be a lot of VCDS coding to do so if you don't want to pull your hair out instructions would be handy - check if Kufatec supply them with the wiring set. Also bear in mind that nothing will work until you get component protection removed, and AFAIK, only main dealers (or independents who pay VW a few £K for the privilege) can do that. I've never needed to have it done but others have reported paying around £100 once they've found an amiable dealer.

[johnsimcox]

If you've got an Auto (for the control panel) then it looks like a complete set but I've never done the retrofit so I wouldn't want to guarantee it! They've included a new CAN gateway - possibly that's needed to support MMI High although the Kufatec kit didn't mention it.

Only strange thing is the head unit doesn't appear to have a SIM card slot. Either it's a bad picture or that unit doesn't support phone prep high.

There would be a lot of VCDS coding to do so if you don't want to pull your hair out instructions would be handy - check if Kufatec supply them with the wiring set. Also bear in mind that nothing will work until you get component protection removed, and AFAIK, only main dealers (or independents who pay VW a few £K for the privilege) can do that. I've never needed to have it done but others have reported paying around £100 once they've found an amiable dealer.

SIM card slot will be behind the flap with Audi MultiMedia written on it, along with the 2 SD Card slots

[Hellodave.]

SIM card slot will be behind the flap with Audi MultiMedia written on it, along with the 2 SD Card slots
There's a photo of the head unit with the flap open - the sim slot isn't visible (but both SD slots are).

[iain120]

There's a photo of the head unit with the flap open - the sim slot isn't visible (but both SD slots are).

Just spotted that, seem to rule out the High Phone prep and connect, which I would really like if I was going to go down this route. But the unit has a wifi symbol so that's a bit misleading?

[johnsimcox]

There's a photo of the head unit with the flap open - the sim slot isn't visible (but both SD slots are).

Hadn't spotted there were additional photos. Looking at Partsbase.org there are numerous different 3G+ control units but hard to tell what the difference is between each one, but in germany you need to spec Audi Connect as an option over an above MMI3G+ so presume they must di aversion with and without the SIM card slot and this version would seem to be the one without

[johnsimcox]

Just spotted that, seem to rule out the High Phone prep and connect, which I would really like if I was going to go down this route. But the unit has a wifi symbol so that's a bit misleading?

Maybe, and I have no idea if it is the case, on this unit without the SIM slot if you have a phone that connects using rSAP then you could get a data connection without a SIM card and the data connection can then be shared by WiFi. That said there would be no guarantee that the unit being offered here has the Audi Connect functionality or indeed an active licence (I think cars sold here only have a 3 year licence from new) for Google Maps and Traffic. Questions for the seller I suggest.

[Hellodave.]

Hadn't spotted there were additional photos. Looking at Partsbase.org there are numerous different 3G+ control units but hard to tell what the difference is between each one, but in germany you need to spec Audi Connect as an option over an above MMI3G+ so presume they must di aversion with and without the SIM card slot and this version would seem to be the one without
Looks like it - as far as I can see in the parts catalogue there are two MMI 3G+ head units - the difference being which phone prep option you have. It's not clear which option is which but it's likely there's one unit with a SIM card slot and one without - the UK brochure (pre-facelift at least) allows you to spec a car with MMI Navigation Plus/touch on it's own (i.e. without phone prep high) so that makes sense. The very first C7 tech pack didn't give you phone prep high either - it was MMI, AMI & (bizarrely) park assist!

Things are never simple... :)