[Couldbebrighter]

Here's the puzzle (btw, I use the word radio and idrive interchangeably, so, apologies if that's confusing):
2014 BMW 228i. Bought used 40,000km in 2019. Harman Idrive occasionally randomly turns off and starts back up. Happens in winter and summer (but, my perception...which could be mistaken...is it happens more often in extreme temperature, especially cold). Happens less and less often the longer I own the car.
Then two weeks ago idrive dies. No radio, no rear camera. Black screen. A/C still works.
Here's what I've tried:
1) Checked fuses.
Result: None were blown.
2) Taking everything out from the instrument panel (radio, screen, A/C) plugging it all back in. T20 torque screwdriver needed.
Result: Radio was hot to the touch. None of the wires were hot. Unplugging and plugging in again did nothing.
3) After leaving the car for about 7 hours after driving for 10 minutes, checked the radio (my dad scared me and said I should make sure I don't burn my car down).
Result: It was warm. That concerned me, so I removed the radio/idrive system.
4) Take apart the iDrive system. For those wondering, T8 torque screwdriver is all you need. Was this a dumb, unnecessary step...probably. Removed, hard drive, disk drive, EVERYTHING.
Result: Visually inspected everything, removed a bit of dust, but nothing stood out to me.

Question:
What should I do next?
Here are my current options as I see them:
1) Take the car battery out for a couple hours, let the car do a factory reset, put the battery back in, maybe the radio magically stops overheating?? And start working again?
2) Buy a new iDrive? If so, can someone tell me how to go about doing that? Ideally with the cheap and the expensive options.
3) Are there tests I can do on the iDrive somehow? Visual inspections I can make? Parts/Components I can replace? I'm assuming it's just one wire that's screwing everything up, or one chip, but which!??
I'm attaching a few pics, hope that's helpful. Thanks!

[N54S63tu]

Hi, what was your solution, I have the same problem all the fuses are good

[MarcoZandrini]

I'm betting that the radio (which is the hub for all audio sources) is shutting sown due to heat. Since the car is out of warrantee you could open the radio to see if there are any obvious signs of overheating. You could also end the radio to https://www.unitedradio.com/industri...ve/automotive/ to see if the techs can test it.

[jaybird5619]

did you ever figure this out? I have the same issue. I've tried all the online "fixes" (hold radio power button for 20 seconds, hold for 70 seconds, put start button 3 times and THEN hold radio button for 20 seconds, replace drive controller, disconnect battery, etc. etc.) with no success.