, Without Approval / MIB2.5

MIB 2.5 – Icons Change (MIB2 Toolbox)

Tool: jilleb/mib2-toolbox
Warning / read before you touch anything
This is dev-menu level stuff. You can soft-brick features, create errors, or lose settings if you rush it. Do this on a healthy battery, don’t spam reboots, and always make a backup first.
MIB2 Toolbox mqbcoding menu
Example: after install you should see mqbcoding inside the Green Developer Menu.

What you need

  • SD card (preferably > 1GB) dedicated for the toolbox.
  • A second SD card / USB for storing your icon files (optional but recommended, I used one sd card for all, and just copied first backup to cloud).
  • Enough time to do it calmly: no “I’ll do it at a gas station” vibes.
  • The repository files: jilleb/mib2-toolbox.

Step 1 — Install MIB2 Toolbox on the car

  1. If you installed an older toolbox (before v4.0): clean/format the SD card before installing this version.
  2. Download the repository (either git clone or Download ZIP from GitHub, then extract).
  3. Copy all files and folders onto an empty SD card.
  4. Put the SD card into one SD slot of the MIB2 unit.
  5. Important: keep only one SD card in the unit (the scripts need to know where to look).
  6. Hold the MENU button until the service screen appears.
  7. Open Software updates/versions and press Update (top right).
  8. Select the SD card, then select MQB Coding MIB2 Toolbox.
  9. Let it complete the update. The unit may reboot multiple times and show a list of modules as N/A. That’s normal.
  10. Look for the Toolbox line showing Y (installed). Then press back (top right).
  11. If it asks to connect a computer and clear error codes, you can press Cancel.
  12. The unit restarts one final time and returns to the main menu. Install done.
Quick check: Hold MENU → go to TESTMODE (or on some units hold MENU ~10 seconds for dev menu) → open the Green Developer Menu → you should see a new menu called mqbcoding.

Step 2 — Update the toolbox (recommended before icon work)

Icon/skin options can change between toolbox versions. Before you start, update so your menus match current scripts.
Skip this step if you are doing this first time.

  1. Open Green Developer Menu → mqbcoding.
  2. Select Update toolbox with a new mqbcoding.esd and scripts.
  3. Follow the prompts and let it finish.

Step 3 — Backup before changing icons

Do not skip this. If you mess up an icon pack (wrong format, wrong naming, wrong location), a backup is how you undo it fast.

  1. In mqbcoding, go to dump and create a backup of current resources/settings (wording may vary by version).
  2. Save that backup somewhere safe (PC + cloud). Label it with date + your unit type.
Tip: If you’re not 100% sure what a menu item does, don’t run it. Backup first, then proceed.

Step 4 — Change the icons (the actual part you came for)

The exact naming can differ slightly between toolbox versions and unit variants, but the flow is always the same: open customization → select icons/skin option → import/apply → reboot.

  1. Open Green Developer Menu → mqbcoding.
  2. Go to customization.
  3. Look for an option related to icons, skin, theme, or UI resources.
  4. If the toolbox supports importing icon packs, place your icon pack files on the SD card (or the path the toolbox asks for), then choose Import/Apply.
  5. If it offers a selection list (predefined icon sets), pick your set and confirm.
  6. Let it complete fully. Don’t interrupt or press buttons during file operations.
  7. Reboot the unit when prompted (or manually reboot after applying).
Below I will post few examples how to do start-up screen and modes backgrounds and buttons

Step 5 — Verify and troubleshoot

  • Icons didn’t change? Reboot once more, then re-check the customization menu.
  • Menu glitches / missing icons? Revert using your backup (Step 3) instead of trying 10 random re-applies.
  • Errors popped up? They often clear after a clean reboot. If not, scan with diagnostics and clear only what’s relevant.
You’re done.

If mqbcoding is visible and your icons applied after reboot, the toolbox install + icon change is successful. Enjoy your cleaner UI 😈

Source tool: jilleb/mib2-toolbox (GitHub). This guide is hobbyist-level info, not official VW service instructions.

Without Approval / MIB2.5 start-up screen customization

How to Change the MIB2.5 Start-Up Screen

You are modifying system graphics. Always keep backups. A broken splash file can cause a black boot screen.

STEP 1 — Get the original splash file from your backup

  1. Insert the SD card that contains your MIB Toolbox backup.
  2. Open this path:
    dump → [HEADUNIT_SW_VERSION] → [LONG_VERSION_FOLDER] → splashscreen
  3. Inside you will see files like:
    splash.canim or brand files like VWMIBHigh_SUA_GTI.canim
  4. Copy the correct .canim file to your computer.

STEP 2 — Prepare your PC workspace

  1. Create a folder: C:\MQBtool
  2. Inside it, create: C:\MQBtool\startscreen
  3. Paste your splash.canim into the startscreen folder

STEP 3 — Copy required toolbox scripts

  1. Open the original MIB Toolbox SD card
  2. Go to the tools folder
  3. Copy:
    • extract-canim_vw.py
    • compress-canim_vw.py
  4. Paste both into C:\MQBtool

STEP 4 — Install Python

  1. Install the latest Python 3 version
  2. IMPORTANT: During install, check "Add Python to PATH"

STEP 5 — Open PowerShell and go to your tool folder

cd \
cd mqbtool

STEP 6 — Extract the splash screen images

python extract-canim_vw.py .\startscreen\splash.canim .\startORIG\

If asked to install Python modules, press Yes.

STEP 7 — Edit the images

  • Open the startORIG folder
  • Edit images but DO NOT change resolution
  • DO NOT rename files
  • Overwrite originals with edited versions

STEP 8 — Repack the splash file

python compress-canim_vw.py .\startscreen\splash.canim .\splash2.canim .\startORIG\

This creates splash2.canim

STEP 9 — Put the new splash file on the SD card

  1. Copy splash2.canim to SD card folder:
    Custom\Splashscreen
  2. If splash.canim exists, rename it to splashbackup.canim
  3. Rename splash2.canim to splash.canim

STEP 10 — Install splash screen in the car

  1. Insert SD card into slot 1
  2. Open MIB Toolbox
  3. Go to Customization → Startup Screen
  4. Select the splash file and apply
If the screen stays black → restore your backup file immediately.
Without Approval / MIB2.5 DRIVING MODE MENU BACKGROUNDS

Example — Mode Selection Backgrounds (Skin Images)

Same rules as splash: backup first, don’t rename, don’t change resolution, don’t improvise paths. 🙂

STEP 1 — Copy the skin resource files from the SD card

From your SD card, copy images.res / images.mcf from each skin folder you want to edit:

\Skinfiles\Resources\skin0\
\Skinfiles\Resources\skin1\
\Skinfiles\Resources\skin4\

STEP 2 — Create a clean folder structure on your PC

Example structure (keep them separate):

C:\MQBtool\skinfiles\skin0\
C:\MQBtool\skinfiles\skin1\
C:\MQBtool\skinfiles\skin4\

Put the copied file for each skin inside its matching folder (example: skin1 → images.mcf).

STEP 3 — Extract images from the skin file

Open PowerShell, navigate to C:\MQBtool, then run extraction for the skin you want (example: skin1):

cd \
cd MQBtool
python extract-mcf.py .\skinfiles\skin1\images.mcf .\editskin1

The script will ask:
Do you want to print the image number on each image (y/n)?
Press n (no).

It will export everything into a folder called:

.\editskin1Unsorted\

STEP 4 — Edit the images

  • Do NOT rename files
  • Do NOT change resolution / size
  • Save edits by overwriting the originals inside the Unsorted folder

STEP 5 — Compress your edited images back into a new MCF

When you’re done editing, compress them back (example: skin1):

python .\compress-mcf_fixed.py .\skinfiles\skin1\images.mcf .\imageedited1.mcf .\editskin1unsorted

You now have: imageedited1.mcf

STEP 6 — Put the edited file on the SD card

  1. Copy imageedited1.mcf to your SD card here:
\Custom\Skinfiles\skin1\

(Adjust folder name depending on what you edited: skin0 / skin1 / skin4)

STEP 7 — Apply in the car

  1. Insert the SD card into the car
  2. Open MIB Toolbox
  3. Go to Customization and apply your edited skin resources
You’re already a pro… who am I to teach you 😉 — have a blast.