BMW F12 sat nav update

Which sat nav does the 6 Series F12 have?

BMW built this generation of its grand tourer from about 2011 to 2018, as the F12 Convertible, the F13 Coupé and the four-door F06 Gran Coupé, with a facelift in 2015. Over those years the navigation hardware behind the dashboard was replaced twice, so the same model name covers three different units. All of them belong to Navigation Professional:

Treat the years as a guide rather than a rule. BMW changed units as production went on, and neither change coincides with the 2015 facelift: a car from around 2013 could have CIC or NBT, and one from 2016 could have NBT or NBT EVO. When a car sits near one of those changeovers, the VIN check above settles which unit it has.

CIC, NBT and NBT EVO: how the 6 Series navigation evolved

A grand tourer that stays on sale for the best part of a decade tends to outlive its electronics, and the 6 Series is a good example. The earliest cars use CIC, which runs the PREMIUM maps. From about 2013 BMW switched to NBT, recognisable by the touchpad on the iDrive controller, and with it came the NEXT maps. Both are updated from a FAT32 USB stick and unlocked with a code you type on the screen.

The last cars, built from about mid-2016, have NBT EVO ID5/ID6, and that is the bigger change for anyone ordering maps. Its EVO package covers Europe in one go rather than as East or West, needs an exFAT stick and is unlocked by an FSC file loaded with the maps rather than by a code entered on the screen. Because NBT and NBT EVO are hard to tell apart from the driver’s seat, the build date is the more useful clue there.

• Controller without a touchpad: CIC, PREMIUM maps
• Touchpad, built up to about mid-2016: NBT, NEXT maps
• Built from about mid-2016: NBT EVO, EVO maps
• Near a changeover: the VIN check settles it

Business vs Professional navigation in the 6 Series

On many BMWs the first question is which grade of sat nav the car was ordered with, because the cheaper Business navigation uses its own units and maps. On the 6 Series that question rarely comes up: Navigation Professional was standard on most UK cars, so an F12, F13 or F06 will normally have one of the three Professional units in the table above.

In practice that means the build date, rather than the original specification, decides which map you need. It also helps on later cars, because CarPlay activation on NBT EVO requires Navigation Professional, which most 6 Series owners will already have. With a grey import or an unusual original order, do not assume: the VIN check shows exactly what was fitted at the factory.

How to update the maps in your 6 Series F12

For CIC and NBT you pick East or West Europe, and whichever you install also carries the main roads of the other; a Lifetime FSC code is included where your unit supports it. For NBT EVO the EVO map covers Europe in one package and the FSC file is generated for your VIN, so copy it across with its name unchanged. Park somewhere safe and open while the update runs. For dealer prices set against a home update, our BMW sat nav update cost in the UK guide has the figures.

Apple CarPlay in the 6 Series F12

Whether CarPlay can be added without new hardware depends on the same unit split as the maps. On cars with NBT EVO ID5/ID6 and Navigation Professional, CarPlay can be activated by USB from £49.99, with optional FullScreen and Video in Motion at £10 each. Our compatible list names the 2017 to 2019 6 Series F06 and F12; for any other car, the VIN check confirms whether it qualifies. CIC and NBT cars do not have CarPlay in their software, so they would need a hardware retrofit. For other models, see does my BMW have Apple CarPlay?

Related BMWs: the F10 5 Series and the 6 Series GT

The 5 Series of the same era made the same move from CIC to NBT, and our BMW F10 sat nav update guide covers it from that side. Despite the name, the 6 Series Gran Turismo is a different car from the F06 Gran Coupé, with newer units, and it has its own BMW G32 sat nav update guide. The Coupé, Convertible and Gran Coupé were followed by the 8 Series G14, G15 and G16, which use iDrive 7 and the LIVE maps.