Audi A6 C7 Google Maps

[Boleslao Drinker]

One of the things I did on my Ford Focus RS was play with the multi-media interface and update the SYNC system manually. Once again, I wanted to see what I could do with my Audi as there are various services available where you can pay anything from 60 - 500 to get firmware updates to the Audi Multi Media Interface(MMI). Note this update file used is for the UK/EU (it is possible with the rest of the world, and the process is similar, just the files will differ), and speed cameras are for the UK only due to GPS location etc.

IMPORTANT: All things demonstrated in this blog post are done at your own risk, and I am not liable if you brick your car! Most of the similar services for a fee also offer no liability. They just charge you for the files and instructions!

Simply searching google for 'How Do I Update myAudi navigation maps for free' gets you lots of results claiming to be able to sell you the correct files. However, in this tutorial, I am going to walk you through the steps required to do it for free, all without the need for OBDeleven or VCDS, the files are available for all VAG cars that have a similar MMI system, and thus the update has been pulled from VW's site as they still make the files available for anyone to download.

Navigation maps are used for traffic sign recognition, predictive cruise control (pACC) [If your car supports it, note this update will not add cruise control to a car without it], and other environment-related features. That's why it's a good idea to keep those maps updated.

Note that you can access other maps files by navigating to VW's site: Navigate to -connect.volkswagen.com/m...tem/#selection then select Golf R -> From 2017 -> select discover pro -> select whatever region you are in; in my case, I selected Europe:

Before applying updates, check a few things in your car and the MMI version. The way to do this is to pop the hidden red engineering menu, which can be done by holding the button for NAV/MAP up and the button for RADIO down at the same time while in the settings:

Navigate to Version Information which will show the version of your MMI system. Note: You must hold down the same button combination to exit this screen. Otherwise, it will remain on this screen even after turning the car off(I found this the hard way!).

Once you have verified you have the correct version of Audi MMI, the next step is to format an SD card as exFAT and copy the contents of the maps 7zip file. (Extract the 7zip to a folder and copy its contents to the SD card).

Your SD card contents should look similar to this if you've done it correctly; note the metainfo2.txt file, this is key as it contains all the hashes of various files and the mappings to the update file, it is also what the car MMI uses to identify the update file, and without it, the car will not recognise that there's an update file.

Next, we need to select the update file with the SD card hooked up. To do this go to MENU, Setup MMI, System update, SD1, and Start update; this will search the SD card for a few min, then should throw up a 'start update' message like the following:

With the maps update, this process will take anywhere from 40 minutes to over an hour depending on the speed of the SD card used for the process the ignition also needs to be on therefore it is recommended that you either put the car on a charger to ensure the battery does not die or go for a drive.

Note that while the update process runs, the virtual cockpit can be used as normal by pressing the back key or view key and the car will display that an update is happening usually in the bottom right like so:

Once the maps package has been updated, we can add the speed cameras as an option. First, you want to re-format your SD card back to exFAT or FAT32 to ensure the contents are blank for the following process of installing points of interest (POIs).

The process for this can be done in one of two ways. Either you can do it manually via PocketGPS & POIBase, which I'll explain below, OR if you cannot be bothered, I've built the bundle for you, which has the latest information from PocketGPS as of 17th August 2022 for the UK, this can be downloaded here.

If you prefer to do this manually, you will need to sign up for an account on both PocketGPS and POIBase; both are free; however, to get your hands on the GPS data, you'll need to pay a 19.99 fee to PocketGPS for the files. Once you've signed up, you can download the files from the downloads section:

Now the fun part/bit that just takes a bit of time, we will create the bundle manually. First thing to do is load up POIBase on your windows machine, this can be done on mac but it just works better on Windows:

Upon clicking this, you'll be given the option to Import my POIs, select this and we're going to add a custom POI category, your view will be blank, but this is what a finished copy looks like; note on the free version of the software you're limited to five categories, therefore, the consolidated bundle is recommended from PocketGPS for this reason.

Select Add POI category, give it a name as this will be what's displayed on your MMI within the car, and select upload own Icon, the PocketGPS bundle from earlier will give you BMP files which are 22x22; therefore, select this in the category image section:

Once you've selected an icon, select the POI file, which is the CSV that matches the respective icon for the category of camera. Leave the column configuration as default, then select Add POI category, which will show you the icon you've selected and the name of the category:

Repeat these steps till you've done all five sections like my initial image(note there may be an hourglass image while the software processes each CSV, this is normal and may take a few secs), then select Download Approx POI; this will load up the POIs into a bundle and prompt you where to save it, select your SD card from earlier.

Once your SD card is loaded with the files and bundle, it is time to load it up in the car. therefore plug it into the SD1 port, go to MENU, Setup MMI, System update, SD1, and Start update; as the files are tiny, this will take under a minute but depending on how big your maps file was initially, it could take longer as it is overlaying the points of interest to the sat nav already in place.

This post has taken you through the steps to inexpensively apply updates to your car;. At the same time, none of this is technically car hacking; it does offer the ability to update things on the cheap/free and hopefully serves as a platform for learning more. I hope to post another soon on how to enable Carplay/Android Auto if your car supports it as an aftermarket update via MIB, a modified firmware file for Audi's MMI system. For more information on this firmware, see the GitHub repo here -MIBonk/M.I.B._More-Incredible-Bash.

While these highly accurate maps will help cars drive themselves by pinpointing their location down to 10 to 20 centimeters and distinguishing their surroundings, HERE said it plans to also leverage this data for new B2B applications, such as allowing utility companies to see as well as precisely measure, say, overhead power lines or DOTs to assess potholes and other pavement imperfections without having to send out personnel. Relying on Reality Lens maps for such remote reconnaissance not only increases productivity and saves money, Here said, but also improves safety by avoiding real-world hazards for workers such as traffic accidents and bad weather.

In Berlin, HERE showed more immediate products and projects, such as new navigation apps for iOS and Android that incorporate mobility services, research into how different segments of society will respond to multimodal mobility as cities become more urbanized and a new self-driving simulator called Knight Rider that helps understand how drivers will make the transition to autonomous technology.

HERE is laying the foundations for the next generation of mobility and location based services. For the automotive industry this is the basis for new assistance systems and ultimately fully autonomous driving. Extremely precise digital maps will be used in combination with real-time vehicle data in order to increase road safety and to facilitate innovative new products and services. On the basis of the shared raw data, all automobile manufacturers can offer their customers differentiated and brand-specific services.

HERE provides mapping and location intelligence for nearly 200 countries in more than 50 languages and is one of the main providers of mapping and location services. The company will continue to develop its position as a strong and independent provider of maps and location-based services, will expand its product offering and continue to make it available to all customers across industries.

The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain, comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy. It also will shape the digital revolution of the car industry actively.

Your DS1 purchase includes staged maps that cover upgraded intakes, exhausts, turbos, fuel pumps and other options including 4 cylinder mode. Four fuel types from 91 to 104 octane plus flex fuel are included for each stage. You can update from your phone or computer, or flash a custom map from one of our pro tuners, or even tune yourself.

Shipping: We offer free overnight (1 business day) shipping within the US. We also offer 1-2 working day shipping to most of the EU. These are the times quoted by the services we use, but are not guaranteed. Other locations we will try to get the best service possible.

Ensure you comply with laws regarding use of browsing devices even if the vehicle is stationary. This is a powerful product that can require years of experience to use to its full capability. Only adjust what you understand, can measure and verify.

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