08-23-2023, 11:43 AM | #1 |
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How To: femto unlock without using a 3rd party
I feel obligated to write this up. I got a lot of benefit from Jon's femto post over on the g80 board. I feel like I can add some modifications and direct it towards my b-58 folks on here. Check out his post also. https://g80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1987762
I was very hesitant to remove the dme on my own, let alone ship it halfway across the world. I contacted a few of the 3rd parties that will deal with Femto on your behalf for a hefty fee. I, personally decided that the service provided was not worth it. The only 3rd party I would recommend is euro performance center, who actually hand delivers your dme to Femto. I should also add that these third parties do not guarantee your DME if lost in transit. I also contacted femto and ask them if these third parties received any sort of priority over other dmes, I didn't really get a straight answer, just that they will send the dme back ASAP Once you can verify that you can ship the DME using DHL, femto sends the address and other shipping ginfo. So what did I do? I decided to go for it. I disconnected my battery, left the trunk open, and removed the DME. I labeled all the connectors from left to right so I know how to put them back. I closed the hood, reconnected the battery, shut the trunk and locked the car. I packaged up the DME very nicely using a lot of foam and bubble wrap. As far as shipping goes, I printed my own label from the DHL website. In hindsight I think it's better to pay for shipping at your DHL branch so you can get a better rate. I mailed the DME on Thursday night. Femto received the DME Monday afternoon around noon(Finland time), they emailed me the invoice requesting payment about 2 hours after they received payment. I used my REVOLUT bank account to send the 750 euros(which came out to about $820 USD). This way, they received payment almost instantly vs waiting a couple of days for a wire transfer. REVOLUT is an international digital bank that lets you create an account online and use your debit card to fund the account. Once payment was verified by femto, I received a tracking number. This was about 4 hours after femto recieved my dme. The next day, the DME was back in my town and delivery was attempted. I wasn't home, so I picked it up the next day at my local DHL branch. If I had to do it again, I think I'll just pick it up at the branch straight away. I think Femto would still have received the dme on Monday even if I sent it Friday night. This was super quick, literally 3 business days. I also spent just over a $1000 USD. I'm sure there are a lot of people that will still prefer to use the third parties, but this post is for the folks that want to save $500+ bucks. |
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08-23-2023, 01:51 PM | #2 |
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Good explanation. EPC is the only third party service I would use just based on the fact they hand deliver your ECU. However, I did decide to ship out my ECU by myself. DHL is very consistent and very good at keeping track of packages. I have not heard of anyone yet having their ECU lost.
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08-23-2023, 02:58 PM | #3 |
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Thank you, about to do the same with mine and this definitely gives me a better piece of mind about the whole process. I’m hoping I can get a quick turn around like yours. I’m currently going through femtos new website they created for the dme unlocks and I chose to pay the shipping thru invoice, so I am curious to see how that works. Planning to ship mine Saturday that way it arrives Monday first thing. Just got finished using Wise to send the money to femto, so wish me luck.
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08-23-2023, 09:37 PM | #4 | |
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09-04-2023, 09:09 PM | #5 | |
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09-05-2023, 09:52 AM | #6 |
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09-05-2023, 11:22 PM | #7 |
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09-05-2023, 11:44 PM | #8 |
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You have to do a wire transfer, I used a website called wise that has a easy ui to navigate. Their wire info is on the second page of the invoice. For the ecu dimensions I just guesstimated, they will measure and weight it when they pick it up and charge you correctly after.
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09-05-2023, 11:51 PM | #9 | |
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09-06-2023, 12:05 AM | #10 |
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I accidentally sent it out the same weekend as epc so it took a little longer, but I sent it out last Friday and it was supposed to arrive today, but it still has yet to come.
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09-07-2023, 09:53 AM | #11 | |
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09-07-2023, 09:55 AM | #12 |
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Please update once you install tune on it. I know you are coming from JB4 and I want to hear what you will say on the tune performance vs JB4 and if it was worth it.
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09-07-2023, 11:11 AM | #13 |
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Finally received the ecu last night and installed it immediately when I got home. Drove the car around my neighborhood really quick on stock tune, cause I heard your supposed to before flashing, and flashed right when I got home. Flashed stage 2 91 with zero issues, flashed fully in less than a minute using obd to enet cable and lighting adapter. Still haven’t had any luck getting it to connect to the car with the xhp wifi adapter, but oh well. I initially didn’t feel much of a difference in power when I drove last night, but I didn’t panic cause I read from a few different people that the ecu needs time to adjust to the tune and it takes a day or two to fully set it and I definitely believe it because this morning I took it for a quick test drive and immediately felt a difference in power and torque as well as how much smoother it is than the jb4. Power delivery and consistency is night and day for me even with just on 91 compared to the jb4. 100% worth the money and time it took to get the unlock, words cannot explain how much more happy I am with the car now. I initially set the burble setting to oem thinking it would be like a ‘20, but holy shit it’s literal gunshots. I am catless and have an AA exhaust so it’s super loud, so I did do some adjusting to the burble setting in order to take it down a couple notches. Only weird thing I’m noticing is that my shifts feel slightly slower than before. I was always xhp stage 3, but when I reinstalled the ecu last night I could immediately tell it un flashed or something. In xhp it read that I was on an unknown ots map so I reflashed stage 3 this morning and it’s definitely faster, but still feels slow compared to before. All in all though, I fucking love this car.
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09-07-2023, 12:41 PM | #14 | |
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09-07-2023, 01:12 PM | #15 |
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Forgot to mention that, I went with bm3 since they have custom rom for gen 2 already. Interface on the app is very easy to navigate/ use to configure your settings. I just need some more time with it SL to figure eveything out such as the on the fly map switching. Anti lag is a bit iffy, don’t plan to use it much anyways, but cool to have. I’m most excited for flex fuel, holding to purchase and install a sensor sometime next week.
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09-07-2023, 01:46 PM | #16 | |
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09-07-2023, 01:57 PM | #17 |
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I have a few questions.
1) Just want to confirm ECU unlock is the "Regular unlock MDG1 M series 2) If I am going to purchase BootMod 3 and flash it myself, do I choose the BootMod3 Custom option or No Custom Rom. 3) What is there address so I confirm the cost of shipping from my area. |
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09-07-2023, 03:08 PM | #18 | |
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09-07-2023, 03:10 PM | #19 | |
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01-29-2025, 03:20 PM | #20 |
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Hi I own a 2019.5 F36 430i Gran Coupe im getting my DME ready to ship out. My questions are these:1. Do i pay for the return shipping to Femto being that there is a 150 dollar extra charge on my invoice 2. I have BM3 is the install once received back straight forward? 3. Is that 150 their charging me for the return to sender once service completed? I tried calling Finland no one answers
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01-29-2025, 05:51 PM | #21 | |
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2. Just plug the DME back in and follow the BM3 instructions to flash a tune. You can do it wirelessly with the dongle or wired bia a laptop. I personally prefer via a laptop. 3. Yes You pay for shipping to them and pay them via invoice for return shipping. Last edited by Izzmeister; 01-29-2025 at 05:52 PM.. |
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