AT&T sunset and MyFordMobile app

[Anti_Climax]

So, the AsBuilt data for my TCU has only one line in it

Label 754-01-01 shows A782 and 86

The AsBuilt file from Ford for my car shows

<DATA LABEL="754-01-01">
<CODE>3000</CODE>
<CODE>0000</CODE>
<CODE>008D</CODE>

 

[Anti_Climax]

So, a couple years back I reached out to Ford and asked for a copy of my MFM user data. It's a legal requirement in California and Europe, so they had the facility for it. I did not live in either place BUT their T&C explicitly said I had to right to a copy of that data on demand without any qualification.

Despite being in the T&Cs most reps I talked to told me it was not possible, so I really made a pain of myself - reached out to the AZ and MI attorneys general noting the failure to abide by their own T&Cs and eventually got contacted by someone who understood what was going on and got that request fulfilled. He also told me that it should be possible to do that through the normal support channels now, though I haven't tried since.

Since my case was very MFM-centric I reached out to him for this, noting that my car is outside the date range but that it has the newer SYNC that the update is targeting. What follows is not confirmed or binding in any way and may change as things develop.

From what I can tell so far it should be possible to buy the modem BUT there is a possibility that the programming for it would be tied to the VIN on the back end, meaning any vehicle that is not explicitly added to the upgrade list would likely not be able to use that new TCU even if it gets programmed to the car.

If I'm somehow able to get my car added to that list (as it has SYNC 3) I will be sure to ask about the possibility for others to be added as well. No idea what the response will be and I can pretty much guarantee it would not be offered to anyone that still runs SYNC 2

Out of curiosity, how many US based pre-2016 Foci on this board have installed a SYNC 3 upgrade?

 

[scottt]

Don't want to hijack the thread, but what was in the MFM data????

 

[Anti_Climax]

I didn't dig in too deep before mine started having problems and my attention shifted elsewhere. I'll see if I can find the thumb drive and get since more for you.

 

[triangles]

I upgraded my '14 to Sync3. Surprisingly how easy it was. I also now have the mustang startup screen instead of the ford logo :lol:
I'm finally getting around to replacing the media hub with a plain Jane USB port. I wish there was a way to disable the nag screen as I don't have a crapple phone so getting raped for the apple blessed hub holds no appeal to me.

I had thought about tossing in some charging USB ports but with a 12V plug on the back and top of the center console, adding another 12V plug for USB charging in the console seemed redundant.

EDIT: BTW I have a non-NAV sync3 module with a cosmetically flawed but fully functional It's mostly configured for the FFE some of the settings could still be tweaked that is looking for a good home

 

[a4bry4]

I am looking for assistance post upgrade to the 4G modem. I had the 4G upgrade yesterday performed at my local dealer on my 2016 FFE as part of a recall campaign (no cost to me). I downloaded the Ford Pass app on my phone and followed the instructions, however the Ford Pass app no longer seems to have the ability to remote start. What am I missing?

 

[scottt]

I am looking for assistance post upgrade to the 4G modem. I had the 4G upgrade yesterday performed at my local dealer on my 2016 FFE as part of a recall campaign (no cost to me). I downloaded the Ford Pass app on my phone and followed the instructions, however the Ford Pass app no longer seems to have the ability to remote start. What am I missing?

Whoa, no cost to you????

Huh???

 

[Heima]

I read somewhere that the remote start and some other features were still in development. So that might come later, or.....

I am with Scottt, how did you get this done for free?
And I see you are in Northern California, so which dealership?
I might just go there.
Thanks

 

[petehouk]

I am also wondering how @a4bry4 got this for free!

Also...far and away the most critical function I need the modem for is to keep track of charging progress. Am I fully charged? Am I still charging? If there is an aftermarket solution for that, I am willing to consider it as well. I think some chargers may have this functionality built into them, but that would only work on that charger. I want to check on my charging progress while I am at work and other places out in the world.

 

[Anti_Climax]

It would not be terribly difficult to setup a device to sniff CANBus traffic and send out updates on a prepaid cell connection (or wifi if an open AP is in range)

So if you don't mind rolling your own it can be done.

Chargers can definitely tell you when power draw drops to 0, but it can't tell you the state of charge. There's nothing in the J1772 spec that lets the car signal anything but charging and fault states.

The CPHome stuff can send you a push after about 15 minutes without draw.

 

[petehouk]

So if you don't mind rolling your own it can be done.

Unfortunately I think it's unlikely that I could build my own system for less than $350, which is how much I have to pay the dealer. A smarter person who already has the tools and know-how might do it for cheaper...but then they would need a monthly cellular plan on top of that...if you could get a plan for $10 per month it won't be long before you have paid more than $350.

So I think I'm talking myself into paying for the dealer upgrade here...unless a4bry4 comes back with some guidance on getting it for free!

 

[petehouk]

Subscribing....

 

[Anti_Climax]

Ostensibly you need an Arduino that can process CANbus input to track the SoC and push that out to a cheap LTE module.

If you just want to know when it's finished you can skip the CANbus part and just monitor the current draw or something else like the battery contactor.

You could also measure the battery voltage directly - rather than decoding the report from the car - and process that through ADC to avoid the need for CANBus hardware as well.

If you have to use CANBus, you'd use a board like the one the CHAdeMO mod uses http://store.evtv.me/proddetail.php?prod=EVTVDue2 which sold for ~$100. Their newer and more expensive one has dual CAN transceivers which you would not need for this application (but could be VERY useful if so inclined)

But since you are just looking to monitor a single bus, you could get away with a much less expensive CANBus shield (https://store-usa.arduino.cc/products/can-bus-shield-v2) on a cheap Arduino. The cell modems would be the most expensive part at around $100 +/- $20 but with the obscene number of stupidly cheap cell phones, I would have to guess that sending SMS through a bargain basement phone over bluetooth or USB would be preferable.

So depending on what exactly you want to do, it's $200 for an Arduino with integrated CANBus and the cheaper LTE.

If you don't need CANBus integrated in one unit, an Uno and a CANBus shield are about $60 together and another 80-120 for the LTE

If you skip can CANBus monitoring altogether it's $30 for an Uno and $80-120 for the LTE modem or whatever you want to spend on a pre-paid phone. Either way, the trick is to do it as a pre-paid data plan with some cheap block of text messages to pass data back and forth. If it required a $10 a month ongoing expense there's nothing that will beat the real one. But if you can buy 1000 texts for $10 you'd have something that goes on a LONG time depending on how chatty you want it.

May not be worth it to you specifically but anyone else in the same boat, that may or may not have the option for the upgrade, should know.

If you did tie into the CANBus and had a reliable data input you could actually program the board to send any number of CANBus messages to the car. If you wanted to get really cheeky with the Dual CAN board and it allowed you to specify what the device ID was - you could imitate any other module on the CAN Bus and send messages to do anything it supported - remote start, climate control changes, etc. Read and set stuff that isn't possible even with the stock TCU hardware.

Oh, your tire light warning is on? I'll text you the PSI values reported by all the TPS sensors. Oh, you want to shut off the battery cooling but leave it plugged in to charge? Cool.

 

[Focus_pilot]

I got the upgrade done today at the dealer. As noted had to shift to the FordPass app. It’s not as user friendly as the myford mobile, but it works. Had to pay for the modem kit, but labor was free.

 

[petehouk]

I got the upgrade done today at the dealer. As noted had to shift to the FordPass app. It’s not as user friendly as the myford mobile, but it works. Had to pay for the modem kit, but labor was free.

Thanks for sharing your experience at the dealer. About the Fordpass app, do I have to subscribe to that? Am I going to have any costs here besides a one time hardware upgrade?

If I am going to have to subscribe to Fordpass then it makes more sense to put the effort into something like Anti_Climax's Arduino solution, which actually sounds pretty cool. Probably outside of my ability, but very cool.

 

[Focus_pilot]

I got the upgrade done today at the dealer. As noted had to shift to the FordPass app. It’s not as user friendly as the myford mobile, but it works. Had to pay for the modem kit, but labor was free.

Thanks for sharing your experience at the dealer. About the Fordpass app, do I have to subscribe to that? Am I going to have any costs here besides a one time hardware upgrade?

If I am going to have to subscribe to Fordpass then it makes more sense to put the effort into something like Anti_Climax's Arduino solution, which actually sounds pretty cool. Probably outside of my ability, but very cool.

Mine is a 2018 so I didn’t have to pay to use the FordPass app. I had used the app previously with my Escape PHEV and my 2018 Fusion sport. I don’t think Ford has started any way to pay for the app yet.

 

[Anti_Climax]

Looks like I can still get the kit if I like, but they will not be enabling the option for my 2012 to be programmed by the dealership.

So, short of me buying it and somehow figuring out how to program it myself, it looks like I'm out of luck.

 

[Anti_Climax]

So, I've been corresponding with the gentleman that re-programmed and sold me the Sync 3 APIM. He's been working on a few TCUs relating to this Customer Satisfaction Program, though not for a Focus electric so far.

With what he knows of the process, he's pretty sure that Ford "not permitting" my model year in the software won't actually prevent the process from being done on an older vehicle - it would just mean it has to be done in a more manual fashion that a dealer likely won't do.

That all said, he'd like to do some testing and would like to find a "junk" VIN he can put in the system. If anyone has the VIN for a <2016 Focus Electric they know to be dead/junked/etc, can you please DM it to me? I've asked 'J in TX' but figured I'd put out a wider call. It might also be worthwhile to have him look up a newer Focus electric VIN to see what he can get for a car that is actually "allowed". Same conditions would otherwise apply - one you know is dead/junked/etc

With my Ford contact noting he can help me though the process of getting the TCU, this could mean an unsupported but otherwise functional migration to LTE may be possible for all us pre-2016 owners - and I'd love to see that happen.

 

[Heima]

Koolness! Keep us posted, please!

 

[Anti_Climax]

So, he basically has a bench top SIM that can be loaded with different configs. He set it up to SIM a portion of the 2013 Focus EV and paired up an LTE TCU, and it showed up in Ford Pass, though it showed less than he normally sees for something like a C-Max, but that could be a side effect of it simulating a limited number of components.

Based on that, I'll be buying and trying it once I hear back from my Ford contact.