A new battery has to be registered, so the car stops charging it like the old, worn one. Our battery registration guide does it with ISTA and E-Sys. If you don't have an ISTA laptop, a phone app or a handheld scanner can do the same job, as long as you know which tool does which half of it.
Based on the F30post threads Battery registration question and Minimum Tool need to register battery.
Registering and Coding Are Two Jobs
Billfitz explained it more than once in these threads. Registering tells the car the battery is new, so its charging starts over. Coding tells it the battery's size and type. They're separate, and some tools only do one of them.
- Same size and type as before: register it. That's all.
- Different capacity or type: code the new size first, then register it.
Two details save a lot of worry:
- 90 Ah and 92 Ah are the same setting. supermarket pointed out that both use the same code, A090. A 92 Ah battery replacing a 90 Ah one only needs registering.
- Bigger batteries get the nearest lower size. Billfitz listed the AGM sizes as 40, 70, 80, 90 and 105 Ah. If yours falls between two, BimmerCode's support told one owner to use the nearest lower value. Undercharging a battery doesn't hurt it, overcharging does.
Skipping registration won't stop the car from starting, Billfitz and atzebmw both said. It just shortens the life of the battery you paid for.
Which Tool Does What
| Tool | Registers | Codes size and type | What owners report |
|---|---|---|---|
| BimmerLink (app + OBD adapter) | Yes | No | Registers a battery of the same rating. For a new size, code it with BimmerCode first (Livetodrive) |
| BimmerCode (app + OBD adapter) | No | Yes | Codes capacity and type, but can't register (Billfitz) |
| Carly (app + its adapter) | Yes | Lets you enter the new specs | Recommended by owners, though fewer of them report the result |
| Foxwell NT510, NT520, NT530 | Yes | Not in kwaigonegin's case | dmaxdmax and califorbmw registered their batteries with one |
| ISTA | Yes | With E-Sys or ISTA programming | The ISTA route |
BimmerLink and BimmerCode come from the same developer, and in 2026 BimmerLink lists battery registration for iOS and Android on its website. An older thread says iPhone only, which is no longer the case.
BimmerLink: The Errors and the Fixes
Most of the trouble in these threads was with BimmerLink, and each problem had a fix:
- "Battery data not available". rogersmj's adapter was on the list on the website but missing from the app's own adapter settings. Use an adapter the app itself offers.
- Registration failed. mikedaul got the same error as the first poster. Switching the engine off for the registration step fixed it.
- It still fails. DTWinters' E93 had never been coded for an AGM battery after a warranty replacement, and that blocked registration. A shop sorted it with a full BMW tool.
- The battery is a new size. Code it with BimmerCode first, then register it (Livetodrive).
Foxwell Scanners
Owners like them because they also read and clear fault codes, so the tool pays for itself the first time you'd otherwise visit a dealer. One thing caught kwaigonegin out: picking the option for a battery with different specs didn't change the size the car had stored. That's because registration never does. If the size changed, code it separately.
Or Let a Shop Do It
If you'd rather not buy anything, an independent BMW specialist will often do it quickly. chiefneil paid $25, and DTWinters was quoted $49.50 before a second shop did it for free. Ring first: some chain stores couldn't register a BMW battery at all.
FAQ
My new battery is a 95 Ah and the old one was 90 Ah. Do I code it?
No. Leave it coded as 90 Ah, the nearest lower size, and register it. Billfitz's rule: you only need to code when the new battery is smaller than the old one, or 105 Ah or more.
Can I switch from AGM to a standard battery?
Billfitz's advice: don't change from AGM to a wet cell battery.
Do I need to register a battery of exactly the same size?
Yes. Registration is what resets the charging, whatever the size.
The attached one-page PDF has the two-job rule and the table. Stuck on the coding half? We can do it in a remote session.
Credits 
This comes from six F30post threads: Battery registration question, started by jeffthx in 2018, Minimum Tool need to register battery, Easiest way to code a new battery?, FoxWell tool to register battery question, Registering battery with Bimmerlink -- Error and Coding a new battery. Most of the explaining is Billfitz's. Thanks also to supermarket, IK6SPEED, Livetodrive, mikedaul, DTWinters, rogersmj, kwaigonegin, dmaxdmax, califorbmw, chiefneil and atzebmw.