Hello,
I'd like to report that I got this working too, thanks very much to the info created in this forum, as well as the icloud spreadsheet, etc. I wanted to do this for a while, but simply could not justify the price - however, a few weeks ago my touchscreen failed on my sync2 system. After researching, I could not justify the price of the more expensive solutions ($1500) but as I am an avid DIY'er, an experience programmer and hardware enthusiast, I decided to do it piecemeal. Note that unless you are willing to program, mess around accidentally buying the wrong hardware, comfortable with taking stuff apart, googling like crazy, etc., I would in general recommend the kits. Although they cost more, they can save you a lot of hassle and time.
I spent:
$210 - Non-nav APIM, programmed to my 2016 vin, from dokus223 on ebay. He programmed/shipped it for $210. He also gave me some free support for some silly questions I had.
$410 - Sync 3 touch screen w/ recessed brackets (I realize this is considerably higher than what some are paying, but given the time constraints I didn't have the luxury of waiting for a good sale, etc.)
$35 - USB Hub (Only if you want carplay, android auto doesn't need it) HU5Z-19A387-A - anyting that's 19A387, really. The rest doesn't matter, I think. As long as it's single port, this is only for 2016s! 2015 and below need the double port and some wiring harnesses (maybe from 4dtech, etc).
$15 - trim remover kit from amazon
$13 - Active GPS antenna for audi/vw. I know other people have removed their old ones, went to great lengths to mount new ones, etc. I did not do this. I simply put some double sided tape on this and taped it to the side of the vent, right below the dash and above the radio. My signal is fine and compass works great. It plugs into your APIM perfectly.
$30 USB ElmConfig Elm327 WIRED OBD programmer. I have BT on my laptop, but USB is sooo much easier for me, personally.
So just over $700, before tax.
As a computer hardware enthusiast, the saddest thing I saw was that my SYNC2 APIM was manufactured 4 months AFTER my SYNC3 APIM from an F-150!
Anyway, with the APIM programmed to my 2016 VIN, only a few things did not work:
Front camera
Flank Guard
Active Park Assist
For Front Camera:
I used dentailpains info from the post on this forum:
Upgrading 2016 Explorer to Sync 3 - FORScan questions
and this spreadsheet:
FORScan 2011-2019 Explorers
and used "F"
7D0-01-02 xxxx xxFx
For Park Assist, I used this as a guess and it worked so I didn't mess with it anymore. I found it here:
FORScan - software to enable/disable features in your truck - Ford F150 Forum - Community of Ford Truck Fans
7D0-04-02 0007 E4
For Flank Guard, I'm pretty sure it was from:
FORScan 2011-2019 Explorers (PAM Tab)
736-03-01 xxxx x..* xxzz
For some reason, it took a restart and programming of my other ones before Flank Guard showed up all the way. Keep in mind I'm recalling this from memory with no notes, so please correct me if you find some error.
I should note I was fortunate because I have a platinum, so basically everything is enabled, so those with XLT, Limited, Etc. May not be so fortunate as to only have to enter 3 codes.