If you are going to to do BMW E90 stereo upgrade with an aftermarket radio, you need to check out if your BMW E90 comes with fiber optic amplifier or not. Because the aftermarket BMW E90 stereo replacement can not support the factory fiber optic amp. So if your BMW E90 has a fiber optic amp, there will be no sound after installation.
Though there’s very few BMW E90 comes with fiber optic amplifier, you’d better check it firstly before you buy the aftermarket BMW e90 radio to replace the factory stereo
There are many different BMW e90 aftermarket radio in the market. Some are with good quality while others are not. The BMW E90 stereo upgrade with the best quality is specific for the 5th generation of BMW 3 series e90/e91/e92 including BMW 316i, BMW 318i, BMW 320i, BMW 320si, BMW 323i, BMW 325i, BMW 328i, BMW 330i, BMW 335i, BMW 316d, BMW 318d, etc.
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Best BMW E90 Stereo Upgrade
The best BMW e90 aftermarket radio comes with premium configuration like octa-core CPU, 64GB storage, 4GB RAM at least. Same basic functions include GPS navigation system, Bluetooth, USB, SD, Wi-Fi, Apple carplay, Android auto, steering wheel control, rear camera video display.
This OEM looking stereo upgrade is with HD touch screen, supporting all functionalities as above.
How does it look like after installation?
You can learn more and buy it here: BMW e90 android head unit
Before you install an aftermarket BMW E90 radio, the first thing you will need to do is removing the OEM radio.
OEM BMW E90 Radio Removal
It’s very easy to remove the OEM e90 radio if you follow these steps one by one.
- Firstly you need to use a plastic pry tool or a flat screwdriver to pry the climate control panel.
- Then you can pull out the climate control panel. Disconnect the plugs behind.
- Then you can see 2 screws on left and right side, below the CD unit. Use a screwdriver to remove 2 screws.
- Pull out the radio/CD player, then you can see the radio plug behind.
- If you want to check the video on how to remove the BMW e90 OEM radio, you can click here.
Check fiber optic amplifier
Why it’s really important to check if your BMW E90 has a fiber optic amplifier or not?
Because there will be no sound after installation if your BMW E90 has a fiber optic amp. So how to confirm if my car has a fiber optic amp or not?
Well, it may be easy or difficult for some people. The best way to confirm is by asking a local BMW dealer, just tell them your BMW model and manufacture year, or even VIN of your BMW, they will check for you and tell you the result.
The second way is by checking the wiring harness behind the factory E90 radio.
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with 8 speaker wires
After you remove the factory e90 radio and see the radio plug, if there are 8 speaker wires from your radio plug, that means your car does not have fiber optic amplifier.
Radio plug from a 2011 BMW 335i E90: it has 8 speaker wires, so this e90 does not have a fiber optic amplifier.
Great! You can upgrade the factory BMW E90 radio with an aftermarket radio, installation is plug and play, you don’t need to modify wires for installation.
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No 8 speaker wires from radio plug
If it’s empty, that means your car does have a fiber optic amplifier.
- The first solution is to find your 8 speaker wires and connect them directly with the new harness to get sound. You can splice 8 speaker wires from the aftermarket e90 radio plug(a wiring diagram can be seen at the bottom of the radio), then connect them directly with the speakers plug.
- And the second solution is to connect an aftermarket non-fiber optic amplifier with RCA connectors. The BMW E90 aftermarket radio comes with 4 channels audio output with RCA connector, so you can connect an aftermarket amplifier with RCA connector as well to get sound.
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