[IMR]

<Edited for clarity>
THE ASK:
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tl;dr -- looking for clarity on digital audio for e89. Does your car play music directly from a USB stick? if so, AAC or MP3 only? How about BT streaming - was COMBOX optional after 2012? I found a 2015 35is and neither streaming nor USB audio worked. Trying to sort out the variables and will put together a summary that hopefully helps others (and prospective buyers).

BACKGROUND:
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So I've been searching and trying to sort out bluetooth, USB, etc for the 35i/35is models. There is a lot of information and hopefully I can pull a bunch together in this thread - but I need your help. From the VIN report, there are a lot of variant options and I'm pretty sure some remapped at LCI.

For instance, I was looking at a 2015 is that is supposedly loaded. I wasn't able to stream from an iPhone 5s or Android Lollipop phone. I also wasn't able to play any music from a USB stick loaded with iTunes files (m4a) - from either USB socket. d'oh! Using the 1/8" audio jack is soooo 2001 and from what I read LOW QUALITY. double d'oh! didn't have a cable to test it either, so triple d'oh!

2015 35is options:
6AE TELESERVICES
6AK CONNECTEDDRIVE SERVICES
6AM REAL TIME TRAFFIC INFORMATION
6AN CONCIERGE SERVICES
6AP REMOTE SERVICES
6NH HANDS-FREE FACILITY W. USB INTERFAC
609 NAVIGATION SYSTEM PROFESSIONAL
620 VOICE INPUT SYSTEM
655 SATELLITE RADIO
677 HIFI SYSTEM PROFESSIONAL
7S9 CONNECTEDDRIVE SERVICES PAKET

NOTES:: No COMBOX. Hrm. I thought all got those in NA for 2013+.

2013 35i (which I don't have direct access to but am considering purchasing).
6AA BMW TELESERVICES
6AB CONTROL TELESERVICES
6FL USB-/AUDIO INTERFACE
6NF EXT.CON.OF THE MUSIC PLAY.I.MOBILPH
6NR APPS
6VC CONTROL COMBOX
609 NAVIGATION SYSTEM PROFESSIONAL
620 VOICE INPUT SYSTEM
639 COMPLETE PREP. CELLULAR PHONE USA/CDN
655 SATELLITE RADIO
677 HIFI SYSTEM PROFESSIONAL

Notes: COMBOX is explicitly listed on this one. Would this one stream? How are USB sticks handled?


RANT:
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I am flummoxed that a car >2012 DOESN'T come with BT streaming worked out (and I appreciate that this has been ranted about on other threads). Apparently, COMBOX apparently fixes this and I thought all cars built after a certain date were supposed to have it? Regarding USB, am I right in my reading that even late model cars require you to copy files to the internal HDD (12GB only) and that the only file format supported is MP3? Zowie. Really puts a damper on the possible purchase of a modern luxury sport convertible.

As I'm only able to have limited contact to examples (they're not common around here and I'm not in a big city), I can't test much without a couple hour drive. Yesterday ended up being a bust.