Faults, freezes or missing features after a region conversion to EU

How to recognise the problem

The symptoms appear right after the conversion or the first EU firmware update. Occasionally they appear later: one owner reports a unit that worked for two to three weeks before it began restarting every two minutes, and another reports a unit that failed two days after conversion and coding.

Symptoms fall into four groups: the unit will not run properly, the update process is blocked, language or speech features are missing, or radio and vehicle features are wrong.

• Reboot loops: restarts roughly every 30 seconds, 60 seconds or 2 - 3 minutes, sometimes frozen on the first screen with no control. Reported on Audi HN+/3GP units (for example after moving from HN+US_AU3G_P0715 to HN+EU_AU3G_K0900), MHI2 units and an A5 B8.5.
• Black screen after the boot logo, a logo hang, a stuck splash screen, a bluescreen about five minutes after boot (MST2 Delphi), or an Emergency Flash Utility loop.
• Physical buttons stop responding, the unit sits on the radio screen with no sound, or the green service menu (GEM) will not open and module 5F disappears from diagnosis.
• 'User defined' greyed out in the red menu, so only a standard update is offered, or a 'variant conflict' message when installing EU firmware.
• Update errors such as 'metainfo couldn't be read', 'Metainfo file signature is not correct', 'downgrade detected', 'cannot open the file LTE', a checksum error, or 'Error in communication with device Speech_Check' during a map update.
• Only two languages offered, EU languages missing, language dataset faults, invalid dataset error B2012 00, or software version management (SVM) fault 1555.
• Voice control only shows 'Please wait', navigation prompts are silent, or SDS is not available in UK English.
• Radio faults: FM missing as a source, tuner unavailable after switching media source, presets not stored, hiss only, satellite tuner fault B10F413, or the unit stays silent because Sirius is still active.
• Cosmetic or feature gaps: missing station or button logos, different menu tiles, wrong clock/date format, missing startup logo, missing tyre-change menu (MH2P), or a constant 'unable to establish data connection' message on MIB3.

Before attempting any fix

Several fixes involve reflashing firmware, editing metainfo files, changing variant or EEPROM values, or changing coding. A mistake can leave the unit unbootable.

Owners also report that some combinations of train, firmware build and hardware simply do not work together. Confirm what your unit is before flashing anything.

• Record the current train, MU version and part number shown in the service menu or a diagnostic tool.
• Back up coding, adaptations, datasets and, where your tool allows, the EEPROM and persistence data. Several recoveries depended on an original EEPROM or firmware backup.
• Keep the supply voltage stable. Use a bench supply or a battery charger, or keep the engine running with headlights and climate control off. One owner completed a conversion on engine power alone, avoiding any voltage drop.
• Use a good-quality, write-unlocked, FAT32-formatted SD card of class 10 or better. A full-size card is preferred over an adapter. A write-locked card blocked one conversion.
• Check the unit's hardware (CPU, RAM, eMMC size, hardware variant) against the target firmware. Some MST2 and Delphi units are not compatible with EU firmware.
• Follow the train-specific conversion guide for your platform rather than a generic one, and do not flash files intended for a different unit type.

Likely causes

Notes from many conversions point to a small set of root causes. More than one often applies to the same unit.

• Wrong train or build. Examples: an MHI2 versus MHI2Q mismatch, a build different from the one the guide specified (one guide called for P3241 but K3346 was installed), using an all-in-one (AIO) package for a conversion it was not intended for, or converting from a source train the tool does not recognise.
• Incomplete firmware write. Not every component was selected during the update, so parts such as speech recognition, the RCC, the IOC or region-specific modules stayed on the old region.
• Variant, IOC or EEPROM state left wrong. Examples include a cached wrong variant, region bytes not updated, an incorrect EEPROM edit, or a variant changed by script that the EU firmware rejects.
• Coding and datasets still set for the old region. This covers SDS region, visible languages, language datasets, Sirius/SDARS tuner coding, PI-ignore, region bytes in 5F long coding, and in some cases other modules such as the instrument cluster or telematics.
• Asian character encoding in the persistence database. Owners report that EU software cannot handle it, which can cause logo hangs or black screens after converting Asian units.
• Hardware differences. Some units differ physically from EU units: certain Delphi 3Q0035844 units with a DRA74 CPU and only two RAM chips, China-design RoA MST2 units with 4GB eMMC, strapping-resistor variants on MST2/MHS2, and US tuners built for SiriusXM. Software alone cannot fully convert these.

Fix: reboot loops, black screen or frozen unit

Start with the least invasive steps. Move to console-level recovery only if the unit cannot be reached any other way.

1. If the unit shows a wrong variant and was not restarted after conversion, perform a hard reboot of the MMI. One owner reports this resolved the problem.
2. Confirm the train and build used. Check the update list to see whether the unit is MMX or MMXQC (MHI2 versus MHI2Q), then redo the conversion with the correct EU train for that hardware.
3. For a freeze or checksum error at the end of the update (reported on a Delphi 3Q0035844 unit), re-extract and recopy the firmware files and repeat the update or perform a fresh install. One owner confirmed this worked.
4. For converted Asian units that hang on the logo, owners suggest using the K3663_1 build for the conversion and letting the unit boot in normal mode so it can clear and rebuild its database.
5. If the unit is in emergency mode, reflash EU firmware from emergency mode, with the SD card in slot 1.
6. If the menus cannot be reached, connect a D-Link adapter (DUB-E100 is mentioned) or a USB-to-TTL/UART adapter to read the boot log and recover. Options include a manual IOC update, flashing ifs-root, restoring a backup, or fixing the variant with an swdlautorun script. For this work, remove the unit from the car and power it from a 12V bench supply.
7. If a unit froze after a standard update was run where a user-defined update was needed after conversion, plan for D-Link or UART recovery. One such MHI2 unit lost its D-Link signal entirely.
8. On the Audi HN+/3GP restart-after-30-seconds case, the notes contain no working fix.

Fix: 'User defined' greyed out or variant conflict

Many owners hit this after changing the train to EU. The update menu still treats the unit as its old region. Several separate approaches were each confirmed by at least one owner. Which one applies depends on the unit.

• Enable user SWDL and 'ignore region and variant' in the GEM or the M.I.B. toolbox, then restart the MMI before opening the red menu. These tickboxes reportedly reset at the next reboot, so set them right before updating.
• If the RCC is still on US software, flash the EU RCC manually from SD card or over D-Link. Then set all user-defined items to Y, deselecting Bose if fitted, and run the update.
• Where the metainfo file blocks user-defined mode (reported flashing MHI2_ER_AU37x_P5089 over MHI2_US_AU37x_P4263), replace the metainfo file, or set checkIfNotEqual to "true", and install without manually selecting User defined.
• On cars with Bose, one owner disabled most options in 5F coding, ran a standard update with Bose inactive, and re-enabled the options afterwards.
• On AU37x units, wrong 0x002D00 and 0x000280 datasets left over from the conversion blocked user-defined mode. Restoring the datasets to NAR, then choosing user defined again, worked for one owner.
• If the original US firmware is old, update to the latest US train for that unit first. For example, owners updated to MHI2_US_AU57x_K3341 before installing the normal K3663 build rather than the AIO package.
• If user-defined still fails, one guide suggests running a standard update first, then re-enabling SWDL and ignore-variant and retrying.
• Some owners corrected EEPROM region bytes with modifyE2P (0xDF set to 13 is reported for EU). Results were mixed: it worked in one case and did not restore the option in another. Only attempt this with a full EEPROM backup.

Fix: missing languages, voice control or dataset errors

Firmware alone does not make EU languages appear. The language and SDS datasets also have to match the EU software.

• If the radio shows 'Si' or is unusable after an MHI2 conversion, run the EU conversion coding in the M.I.B. toolbox (Advanced, steps 1, 2, then 3 to reboot). Then redo the firmware update with all options selected. Two owners confirmed this. Another owner whose 5F coding read back as NULL found the same steps did not help.
• If a map update ends with 'Error in communication with device Speech_Check', the speech component was not written. Reinstall the EU firmware in user-defined mode with all relevant items selected (deselect Bose if needed). This was confirmed by one owner.
• After the EU firmware is installed, load the EU language dataset (ZDC file) with VCP or ODIS-E, or use the dataset function in the M.I.B. tool, so the language choice appears. Make EU-visible languages active to clear dataset errors.
• Change the SDS region from NAR to EU in the 5F adaptations if languages stay US and maps will not install.
• On MHS2 units where voice commands only load and navigation prompts are silent, owners fixed it by pointing the speech entry in metainfo2.txt to the EU speech data. This meant renaming the speech-tts-data_EU folder to speech-tts-data and updating the path to match. One owner confirmed this.
• If UK English SDS is missing after using the MIB tool, the setlang script may be wrong for that train. Correct the language byte string before running it.
• On MHIG units showing 'please wait' for voice, owners report that the convert_to_EU step must be run twice.
• Some languages were never supported on certain platforms. For example, no dataset adds Lithuanian on the Audi A6/C7 4G1 MHI2 (4G1035020 / 4G1035021).
• If datasets written with one tool read back unchanged, try another tool. CarScanner on Android was reported to write them correctly.

Fix: radio, tuner and feature faults

Several radio problems come from US-specific coding that survives the conversion.

• FM missing as a source (MH2P): correcting the PI-ignore coding fixed it for one owner.
• Tuner unavailable after switching to another source (Porsche): a full factory reset from the system settings fixed it for one owner.
• Silent audio or satellite fault B10F413: remove the Sirius/SDARS satellite tuner from 5F coding and set the tuner type to AM/FM (or DAB where fitted). One note lists specific byte and adaptation values. These were not independently confirmed, so check them against your own coding backup.
• Presets not stored after switching off (MIB2.5): check that the region in vehicle configuration coding is EU. One owner reported this still failed with coding they believed was correct.
• Missing station or button logos on MST2/Delphi units: the logo set depends on the hardware strapping resistors. The options are to add logos manually, resolder to the EU variant and reflash, or return to US firmware.
• Clock/date format wrong or startup logo missing: one suggestion is to change byte 18 in the instrument cluster (17) coding and then restore the original value.
• Wrong brand logo on CarPlay (for example Skoda instead of SEAT): the wrong brand's software was installed. Use the firmware for the correct brand.
• Missing features after a conversion such as climate or drive select menus, steering wheel volume, or reverse views usually point to a mismatched firmware build. On MH2P, owners suggest a newer build rather than an older one.

Hardware limits on Delphi, MST2 and MHS2 units

Owners report that software-only conversion is unreliable on some Delphi and Technisat units. On these units the hardware variant is set by resistors on the board.

For MHS2, one owner moved from US_AU_P1242 to US_AU_P2037, then to ER_AU_P2035, replacing the metainfo file during the update, and reported success. Another owner saw fault 1543 after a similar conversion and was told that changing the strapping resistors is the reliable route.

• Delphi 3Q0035844 units on US P05xx software reportedly cannot be converted reliably, and upgrading to other trains bricked some units. This advice is disputed.
• A China-design RoA MST2 unit with 4GB eMMC and two RAM chips accepted EU firmware but showed nothing after reboot.
• One unit froze on the logo after EU software until its variant resistor was resoldered to the matching EU variant.
• A Technisat Discover Media unit lost Wi-Fi after EU firmware, possibly because of a ZR versus non-ZR firmware mismatch. This was not resolved.

What did not help

The following were tried and reported as unsuccessful, or left unresolved.

• A factory reset on a unit with an EU RCC but US IOC/MMX modules stuck in emergency mode (disputed).
• Simply restarting a unit with silent navigation and no voice commands after a P5092 conversion.
• Leaving a black-screened unit for around half an hour to see if it resumed (suggested, disputed).
• Coding byte 10 of 5F to 00 to clear B11CF53 on MHS2.
• Clearing the SVM fault alone did not remove the B2012 00 invalid dataset error.
• Writing EU data to the telematics module, or turning off profiles in 5F, to remove the MIB3 'unable to establish data connection' message.
• Changing SD card format (FAT32, exFAT, NTFS) for maps on a KR-to-EU Touareg MH2P.
• Reflashing with SWDL and ignore-variant to change an MHI2Q variant from FM2 to FMQ. A telnet modifyE2P write also failed in that case.
• Adding an unknown train to the eu_conversion file, which led to a metainfo signature error.