
CD player and CD changer
148 4."Brightness", "Contrast" or "Color"
5.Turn the controller until the desired setting 
is displayed and then press the controller.
Zoom
Display the video image on the full screen.
1.Turn the controller during playback.
2.Open "Options".
3."Additional options"
4."Zoom mode"
Selecting track
DVD video:
1.Turn the controller during playback.
2.Open "Options".
3."Additional options"
4."Select chapter"
5.Select the desired track.
VCD/SVCD
1. "Select track"
2.Select the desired track.
Camera angle*
The camera angle depends on the DVD.1.Turn the controller during playback.
2.Open "Options".
3."Additional options"
4."Viewing angle"
5.Select the desired camera angle.
Opening the main menu, back
These functions are not contained on every 
DVD. Therefore, they may not be available for 
use.
CD magazine
The BMW CD changer for six CDs is behind the 
left side panel in the cargo bay.
Removing the CD magazine
To insert or remove CDs from the CD magazine, 
you must first remove it from the CD changer:
1.Push the cover to one side, arrow 1.
2.Press the button, arrow 2.
The CD magazine is ejected.
Push the magazine back in after at least 
2 seconds have passed so that the inserted 
CDs can be read in again.
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Navigation
Entertainment
Driving tips
 151Reference
At a glance
Controls
Communications
Mobility
Music collection
Storing music
Music tracks from CDs and DVDs can be stored 
in the music collection in the vehicle and played 
from there.
>Audio CD: tracks are converted into a com-
pressed audio format when they are stored. 
The CD is stored in the vehicle as an album. 
If available, information on the album, such 
as the artist, is stored as well.
>CDs with compressed audio files: the entire 
CD is stored in the vehicle as an album. 
After storing, the tracks and directories can 
be deleted individually. Files are only stored 
in the WMA, MP3, and AAC formats. Tracks 
with DRM copy protection can be stored in 
the vehicle but cannot be played back.
Storing files from CDs/DVDs
1.Insert the CD into the CD player.
2."CD/DVD"
3. Select the symbol for the CD/DVD 
player.
4."Store in vehicle"
The music collection is displayed and the first 
track on the CD is played back. During the stor-
age process, the tracks are played in sequence.
Observe the following during the storage pro-
cess:
Do not switch to the CD/DVD player and do not 
remove the CD from the CD/DVD player, as this 
will interrupt the storage process. You can 
switch to the other audio sources without inter-rupting the storage process. Tracks from the 
current CD that have already been stored can 
be called up.
Interrupting storage
1."CD/DVD"
2."Storing..."
3."Cancel storing"
The storage process is interrupted and can be 
continued at any time.
Continuing the storage process
"Continue storing"
Storage of the CD continues at the beginning of 
the track at which storage was interrupted.
Album information
During storage, information such as the name 
of the artist is stored with the track, if this infor-
mation is available in the vehicle database or on 
the CD.
If no information is stored with the tracks, you 
can update the entire album information via 
BMW Search
*, refer to page176.
Gracenote® technology
Music recognition technology and related data 
are provided by Gracenote®. Gracenote® is 
the industry standard in music recognition 
technology and related content delivery. For 
more information, please visit 
www.gracenote.com.
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Music collection
152
Storing from a USB device
The entire content of the USB device is stored 
in the music collection as an album. After stor-
ing, the tracks and directories can be deleted 
individually.
1.Connect the USB device to the USB inter-
face in the glove compartment.
2."Music collection"
3.Open "Options".
4."Music import/export"
5."Import music (USB)"
Music is stored in the vehicle. The entire con-
tent of the USB device is stored as a separate 
album and is named automatically.
Music, playing
Music search
All tracks for which additional information has 
been stored can be accessed by the music 
search. Tracks without additional information 
can be called up via the corresponding album.
1."CD/Multimedia"
2."Music collection"
3."Music search"4.Select the desired category.
All entries are displayed in a list.
5.To select the desired entry:
>Open "A-Z search" and enter the 
desired entry.
or
>Select the desired entry from the list.
6.Select additional categories if desired.
The tracks found are listed in alphabetical 
order.
Not all categories need to be selected. For 
example, to search for all tracks by a certain art-
ist, call up that artist only. All of the tracks by 
that artist are then displayed.
"Start play"
Restarting the music search
"New search"
Current playback
The list of tracks that was generated last by the 
music search or the album selected last.
1."Current playback"
2.Select the desired track, if necessary.
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Navigation
Entertainment
Driving tips
 153Reference
At a glance
Controls
Communications
Mobility
Top 50
List of the 50 most frequently played tracks.
1."Top 50"
2.Select the desired track, if necessary.
Albums
All stored albums, listed in order of their storage 
dates. Symbols indicate the format.
> Audio CD
>Compressed audio files
Select the desired album.
Depending on the album, the tracks or the sub-
directories of the album are displayed. The first 
track is played automatically, if possible.
To select tracks, change directories if needed. 
To go up one level in the directory, move the 
controller to the left.
Random play sequence
All tracks of the selection are played back in 
random order.
1.Open "Options".
2."Random"
Managing music
Albums
Renaming an album
The name of the album, if available, is automat-
ically entered when the album is stored. If the 
name is unknown it can be changed later if 
needed.
1."CD/Multimedia"
2."Music collection"
3.Highlight the album.
4.Open "Options".
5."Rename album"
6.Select the letters individually.
Deleting an album
An album cannot be deleted while a track from 
that album is being played.
1.Highlight the album.
2.Open "Options".
3."Delete album"
Deleting a track and directory
1.Highlight the directory or track.
2.Open "Options".
3."Delete folder" or "Delete track"
Album information*
If audio CDs are stored without information, the 
information can be updated for each individual 
audio CD via BMW Search, if desired.
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Music collection
154
Updating album information via BMW 
Search*
1.Highlight the desired album.
2.Open "Options".
3."Update album data online"
Free memory capacity
Display the free memory capacity in the music 
collection.
1.Open "Options".
2."Free memory"
Music collection
Backing up the music collection
The entire music collection can be stored on a 
USB medium. Make sure there is enough free 
memory capacity on the USB device.
Depending on the number of tracks, backing up 
the music collection may take several hours. 
Therefore, it is best to perform the backup dur-
ing a long trip.
1.Start the engine.
2.Connect the USB device to the USB inter-
face in the glove compartment.
3."CD/Multimedia"
4."Music collection"
5.Open "Options".6."Music import/export"
7."Backup music on USB device"
Storing the music collection in the 
vehicle
When storing music from the USB 
medium, the existing music collection in 
the vehicle is replaced.
1."CD/Multimedia"
2."Music collection"
3.Open "Options".
4."Music import/export"
5."Restore music from USB"
Deleting the music collection
1."CD/Multimedia"
2."Music collection"
3.Open "Options".
4."Delete music collection"
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USB-audio interface/mobile phone audio interface
156
USB-audio interface/mobile phone audio 
interface
Connectable devices
iPod / iPhone, mobile phone or USB devices 
(MP3 player, USB flash drive). They can be 
operated via iDrive.
Standard audio formats, e.g. MP3, WMA, WAV 
(PCM) and AAC, and playlists in the M3U format 
can be played.
Due to the large number of different audio 
devices/mobile phones available on the market, 
it cannot be ensured that every audio device/
mobile phone is operable on the vehicle.
Ask about suitable audio devices/mobile 
phones at your BMW center.
Connecting
Lift up the center armrest.
1AUX-IN port for audio playback:
TRS connector 1/8 in/3.5 mm
2USB-audio interface
iPod/iPhone
To connect the iPod/iPhone, use the BMW 
cable adapter for the Apple iPod/iPhone. For 
more information, contact your BMW center or 
go to the Internet: www.bmw.com
To play audio tracks over the vehicle's loud-
speaker system, connect the iPod/iPhone to 
ports 1 and 2.The menu structure of the iPod/iPhone is sup-
ported by the USB-audio interface/mobile 
phone audio interface.
USB storage device
To connect the device, use a flexible 
adapter cable to protect the USB inter-
face and your USB device against physical 
damage.<
To play audio tracks over the vehicle's loud-
speaker system, connect the USB device to 
port1.
After the device is connected for the first time, 
the information on all tracks (e.g. artist, type of 
music) and the playlists are transferred from the 
USB device to the vehicle. This procedure may 
take some time. The duration depends on the 
USB device and the number of tracks.
During transfer, you can select the tracks using 
the directories and file names.
After transfer, you can call up the tracks using 
the information and playlists.
Information from up to four USB devices can be 
stored in the vehicle, or a total of about 16,000 
tracks.
If a fifth USB device is connected, the informa-
tion stored in the vehicle on the tracks of the 
first USB device is deleted.
Music tracks with integrated Digital 
Rights Management (DRM) cannot be 
played.<
Starting audio playback
If the audio device has a device name, the name 
is displayed.
1."CD/Multimedia"
2."External devices"
*
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Navigation
Entertainment
Driving tips
 157Reference
At a glance
Controls
Communications
Mobility
3. Select the symbol.
The name of the audio device may appear.
If, for example, an iPhone is connected to the 
USB interface at the same time that an audio 
device is connected to the AUX-IN port, the 
audio signal of the AUX-IN port is played. 
Information about the track
If information about a track has been stored, it is 
displayed automatically:
>Artist
>Album title
>Number of tracks
>Track file name
Track search
You can call up the tracks using the playlists 
and information. With USB devices you can also 
call up tracks using the file directory.
1."CD/Multimedia"
2."External devices"
3. Select the symbol.
The name of the audio device may appear.
4.Select the desired category, "Genre", "Art-
ist".All entries are displayed in a list. The "A-Z 
search" is available depending on the num-
ber of entries.
>Open "A-Z search" and enter the 
desired entry.
>Select the desired entry from the list.
5.Select additional categories if desired.
The tracks found are listed. Not all catego-
ries need to be selected. For example, to 
search for all tracks by a certain artist, call 
up that artist only. All of the tracks by that 
artist are then displayed.
6."Start play"
Restarting a track search
"New search"
Random play sequence
You can play the tracks in the selected list in 
random order, e.g. all tracks of a single artist.
1.Open "Options".
2."Random"
Fast forward/reverse
 Press and hold the button for the corre-
sponding direction.
Notes
Do not expose the audio device to 
extreme environmental conditions, e. g. 
very high temperatures, refer to the operating 
instructions of the audio device. Otherwise the 
audio device may become damaged, which 
could compromise safety while driving.<
Depending on the configuration of the audio 
files, e. g. bit rates greater than 256 KBit/s, the 
files may not play back correctly in every case.
Notes on connecting
>The USB-audio interface acts as the power 
supply to the connected audio devices, pro-
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 163
Entertainment
Reference
At a glance
Controls
Driving tips Communications
Navigation
Mobility
>Bluetooth is activated in the vehicle, refer to 
page164, and on the mobile phone.
>Depending on the mobile phone, some 
default settings may be necessary for the 
mobile phone: e. g. using the following 
menu items:
>Bluetooth switched on
>Connection must be allowed without 
requiring further confirmation
>Reconnection
>Depending on the mobile phone type, the 
power-saving mode setting, for example, 
may result in a paired mobile phone not 
being detected by the vehicle.
>For pairing purposes, define any 4 to 16-
digit number as a Bluetooth passkey, 
e.g. 25081107. A long and complex number 
offers the best protection against unautho-
rized access. This Bluetooth passkey is no 
longer required after pairing is successful.
>The ignition is switched on.
Pair the mobile phone with the vehicle 
only when the car is stationary, to avoid 
endangering the car's occupants and other 
road users by being distracted.<
Switch on ignition
1.Insert remote control all the way into the 
ignition lock.
2.Switch on ignition without operating the 
brake or clutch or pressing the start/stop 
button.
Preparation via iDrive
iDrive, for operating principle refer to page16.
3."Telephone"
4."Bluetooth"5."Add new phone"
The Bluetooth name of the vehicle is dis-
played.
Preparation via the mobile phone
6.Further steps must be carried out with the 
mobile phone and vary depending on the 
model. Please refer to your mobile phone's 
operating instructions, e.g. under the topics 
of Searching for a Bluetooth device, Linking 
or Pairing. The Bluetooth name of the vehi-
cle also appears on the mobile phone dis-
play.
7.Select the Bluetooth name of the vehicle on 
the mobile phone display.
Pairing
Depending on your mobile phone, you will see 
messages, first on the mobile phone display or 
on the iDrive, requesting you to enter the same 
Bluetooth passkey previously determined by 
you.
8.Enter the Bluetooth passkey.
Depending on the mobile phone, you will 
have approx. 30 seconds to enter your 
Bluetooth passkey on the mobile phone 
and the Control Display.
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