i5 M Cluster Coding Breakthrough?

hassam1957 · 12-31-2024, 05:51 PM

So I have a friend who has an M340i with the idrive 8 and he showed me his car that has been coded with the M UI. It was my understanding that coding on the idrive 8 and 8.5 was impossible or very hard due to code signing or something (sorry don’t really know how coding works). I understand that there were only a few things that are able to be coded but most was locked and everytime I asked the UI was said to be locked. So my question is that has there been sometype of breakthrough in idrive 8 coding? Can I get the M UI on my i5? If so how.

I’m sorry if this post is redundant but I tried to find other posts that could properly explain this but was unable to find anything.

MikeElmendorf · 01-01-2025, 08:56 AM

Very limited coding possible as I understand it. What’s more, I have always read that to get all the full M functions working, there are additional modules not just software involved. So, not sure what they did there.

hassam1957 · 01-01-2025, 10:52 AM

so i found another thread on the 3 series section and apparently people have done this successfully on the m340i as well as the m240i.

here is the thread

RichardInCA · 01-01-2025, 12:42 PM

I’m pretty sure that with G60’s shipping with 8.5 as default the system was locked down more tightly against coding from the get-go relative to older models. I’ll rapidly concede I’ve never tried that myself, but this came up multiple times in late 2023, each time with the same outcome.

Do let us know if you try and have success though.

MikeElmendorf · 01-02-2025, 07:29 AM

Thanks for sharing the thread. Interesting—and, as suspected, that’s way more than coding as they are adding in physical components.

I like the display in my M60 (because it uses the M font—makes a big difference for me. I don’t like the displays as much in our new X5.

I definitely would not attempt something like this myself, nor would I really want to. But, that’s just me.

The full M display is definitely cool. Maybe I’ll just get a full M next time.

hassam1957 · 01-02-2025, 10:51 AM

So I have communicated with 2 different people linked on the thread I posted before. And they both have had breakthroughs for 8.5 coding as well.

The guy on instagram stated that he just recently cracked it it can be done but that apparently there is some sort of bug when switching “my modes”. For example when you switch from personal mode to sport mode the mode switch screen won’t pop up so you’ll be going into it blind. And will only see the effect once the main drivers display has been changed.

The WhatsApp guy said that everything works perfectly.

Now both of them are asking 350 dollars and you have to install some sort of module and do esys remote coding. To be very honest I’m not the most knowledgeable when it comes to all this stuff so just the fact that you have to open up passenger footwell and install it is kind of throwing me off or I would’ve done it in a heartbeat.

One other concern is how dealerships would react to this. I know that this is heavily discussed on this forum and the main consensus is that dealerships don’t care about coding and won’t void warranty but this isn’t really bimmer coding anymore since you are installing a module and essentially hacking the car. Just wondering that if some future recall comes up and I have to do it the dealership will notice and void the warranty.

I might stay away from this for now but maybe once the process is a little more documented and I might attempt this then. But I know sooner or later this is going to happen as the M UI looks soooo clean. If anyone else goes through with this please keep us updated.

RichardInCA · 01-02-2025, 12:10 PM

Yeah, I’m not into giving away money to internet strangers to try and jailbreak my iDrive. If it screws up the basic functionality around mode switching, I’m not sure why it’s worth it?

LVBMW · 01-02-2025, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RichardInCA

Yeah, I’m not into giving away money to internet strangers to try and jailbreak my iDrive. If it screws up the basic functionality around mode switching, I’m not sure why it’s worth it?

Amen!! All this for what exactly? To get a different UI screen? Does not seem worth it at all.

SkykingUSA · 01-02-2025, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RichardInCA

Yeah, I’m not into giving away money to internet strangers to try and jailbreak my iDrive. If it screws up the basic functionality around mode switching, I’m not sure why it’s worth it?

I agree with you!

hassam1957 · 01-02-2025, 03:10 PM

I understand your povs but just thought I might document this incase someone IS interested in doing this. I know I was before I found out about all the modules and stuff involved but I didn’t see anything on the forums.

Blue Sky · 01-02-2025, 05:13 PM

This is interesting, I thank you for posting. I’ll read through it later when I have more time.

Generally, yes coding is becoming harder. Porsche is moving to a new PIWIS platform that requires a live connection back to Porsche (in Germany I think) in order to deal with the encryption I think. It’s unclear whether anything can be coded on newer Porsches. I believe M340i has been in production for a while, so if the hardware is older, maybe that’s why they were able to crack it, but G60 being newer may be more difficult.

12-31-2024, 05:51 PM	#1
hassam1957 Enlisted Member 55 Rep 38 Posts Drives: BMW iX, BMW i5 Join Date: Apr 2023 Location: Florida iTrader: (0)	i5 Coding So I have a friend who has an M340i with the idrive 8 and he showed me his car that has been coded with the M UI. It was my understanding that coding on the idrive 8 and 8.5 was impossible or very hard due to code signing or something (sorry don’t really know how coding works). I understand that there were only a few things that are able to be coded but most was locked and everytime I asked the UI was said to be locked. So my question is that has there been sometype of breakthrough in idrive 8 coding? Can I get the M UI on my i5? If so how. I’m sorry if this post is redundant but I tried to find other posts that could properly explain this but was unable to find anything.
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01-01-2025, 08:56 AM	#2
MikeElmendorf Captain 1566 Rep 836 Posts Drives: 2022 BMW X5/2024 i5 M60 Join Date: Jul 2017 Location: Albany, NY iTrader: (0)	Very limited coding possible as I understand it. What’s more, I have always read that to get all the full M functions working, there are additional modules not just software involved. So, not sure what they did there.
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01-01-2025, 10:52 AM	#3
hassam1957 Enlisted Member 55 Rep 38 Posts Drives: BMW iX, BMW i5 Join Date: Apr 2023 Location: Florida iTrader: (0)	so i found another thread on the 3 series section and apparently people have done this successfully on the m340i as well as the m240i. here is the thread
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01-01-2025, 12:42 PM	#4
RichardInCA Major 5570 Rep 1,364 Posts Drives: 24 BMW i5 M60 Join Date: Nov 2023 Location: SF Bay Area iTrader: (0) Garage List 2024 BMW i5 M60 xdrive [0.00]	I’m pretty sure that with G60’s shipping with 8.5 as default the system was locked down more tightly against coding from the get-go relative to older models. I’ll rapidly concede I’ve never tried that myself, but this came up multiple times in late 2023, each time with the same outcome. Do let us know if you try and have success though.
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01-02-2025, 07:29 AM	#5
MikeElmendorf Captain 1566 Rep 836 Posts Drives: 2022 BMW X5/2024 i5 M60 Join Date: Jul 2017 Location: Albany, NY iTrader: (0)	Thanks for sharing the thread. Interesting—and, as suspected, that’s way more than coding as they are adding in physical components. I like the display in my M60 (because it uses the M font—makes a big difference for me. I don’t like the displays as much in our new X5. I definitely would not attempt something like this myself, nor would I really want to. But, that’s just me. The full M display is definitely cool. Maybe I’ll just get a full M next time.
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01-02-2025, 10:51 AM	#6
hassam1957 Enlisted Member 55 Rep 38 Posts Drives: BMW iX, BMW i5 Join Date: Apr 2023 Location: Florida iTrader: (0)	So I have communicated with 2 different people linked on the thread I posted before. And they both have had breakthroughs for 8.5 coding as well. The guy on instagram stated that he just recently cracked it it can be done but that apparently there is some sort of bug when switching “my modes”. For example when you switch from personal mode to sport mode the mode switch screen won’t pop up so you’ll be going into it blind. And will only see the effect once the main drivers display has been changed. The WhatsApp guy said that everything works perfectly. Now both of them are asking 350 dollars and you have to install some sort of module and do esys remote coding. To be very honest I’m not the most knowledgeable when it comes to all this stuff so just the fact that you have to open up passenger footwell and install it is kind of throwing me off or I would’ve done it in a heartbeat. One other concern is how dealerships would react to this. I know that this is heavily discussed on this forum and the main consensus is that dealerships don’t care about coding and won’t void warranty but this isn’t really bimmer coding anymore since you are installing a module and essentially hacking the car. Just wondering that if some future recall comes up and I have to do it the dealership will notice and void the warranty. I might stay away from this for now but maybe once the process is a little more documented and I might attempt this then. But I know sooner or later this is going to happen as the M UI looks soooo clean. If anyone else goes through with this please keep us updated.
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01-02-2025, 12:10 PM	#7
RichardInCA Major 5570 Rep 1,364 Posts Drives: 24 BMW i5 M60 Join Date: Nov 2023 Location: SF Bay Area iTrader: (0) Garage List 2024 BMW i5 M60 xdrive [0.00]	Yeah, I’m not into giving away money to internet strangers to try and jailbreak my iDrive. If it screws up the basic functionality around mode switching, I’m not sure why it’s worth it?
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01-02-2025, 03:10 PM	#10
hassam1957 Enlisted Member 55 Rep 38 Posts Drives: BMW iX, BMW i5 Join Date: Apr 2023 Location: Florida iTrader: (0)	I understand your povs but just thought I might document this incase someone IS interested in doing this. I know I was before I found out about all the modules and stuff involved but I didn’t see anything on the forums.
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01-02-2025, 05:13 PM	#11
Blue Sky Captain 1209 Rep 706 Posts Drives: F10 M5 CP, F10 550i Join Date: Sep 2016 Location: SF Bay, CA iTrader: (0)	This is interesting, I thank you for posting. I’ll read through it later when I have more time. Generally, yes coding is becoming harder. Porsche is moving to a new PIWIS platform that requires a live connection back to Porsche (in Germany I think) in order to deal with the encryption I think. It’s unclear whether anything can be coded on newer Porsches. I believe M340i has been in production for a while, so if the hardware is older, maybe that’s why they were able to crack it, but G60 being newer may be more difficult.
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