[gat0rdave]

I have a 2016 428i GC w/ NBT Evo ID4 head unit. I've been dealing with ConnectedDrive issues on and off for the past 2 years. First, I couldn't renew my RTTI subscription in 2019 (but I could renew Connected BMW Online package), then this year parts of my Connected Services stopped working at different times. Initially, no more BMW Online search (annoying, because i really liked using it for navigation). Then, I lost BMW Apps completely through iPhone with USB (no Spotify, Audible, or even the Connected app), and finally this month I lost my Remote Services (locking/unlocking/etc). The only thing I _really_ care about is Remote Services, which is why I'm posting about this now...

If I login to ConnectedDrive website, I have active subscriptions for Connected Services which should include Remote Service, BMW Online, etc. I also have active RTTI, SOS, etc. However, the BMW Connected app on the phone says I do not have a Remote Services subscription -- see attachments. Additionally, the car was saying "No Connection" in the BMW Online or Store section of IDrive. This message existed _prior_ to Remote Services failing and I assumed it was the security lockdown they performed in 2019...

I've submitted multiple "tickets" with BMW Assist with no resolution and they just keep opening new tickets each time I call. They have no idea what's wrong with the subscription but agreed my car should be working with the active ConnectedDrive and Connected Services subscription attached to my car.

This week, I was due for an oil change and some other servicing, so I decided to go for broke and spend $150 to have the dealer update the car to the latest I-Level software. I confirmed it is running F020-20-07-525. When I got the car back, the BMW Online and Store IDrive has a new message "Service not yet activated or contract expired. Please check contract status" -- see attachment. At least its not "No Conection"??? The dealer (of course) says I need to contact BMW Assist to fix, nothing they can do but perform the software update. I'm also unwilling to pay them hourly diagnostic charges....

I called BMW Assist and they put in _another_ ticket. They also had me Deactivate and Reactivate the cell connection through the ConnectedDrive Portal (did nothing), the typical Option -> Update BMW Assist (did nothing), and we also tested SOS together and it worked perfectly (the BMW SOS person had all my info, cars position, car driving status, etc), which means my cellular connection is perfectly functional.

So it seems this just comes down to the "Connected Services" package not being provisioned in the car even though its on my account (and I had these services the first 3 years of owning the car). The BMW Connected iOS app also seems confused and things the subscription is not active too.

Has anyone had any success getting this fixed through BMW Assist? It seems my car may just be in a weird batch of cars that has IDrive 4 on the NBT EVO head units. I was wondering if anyone else in that same configuration that has a functional BMW Online and Remote services.

Thanks for any help. I may just give up.... At least Bluetooth still works? :/

[mannyhernz]

I went through this a couple of months back. Seems like they phased out the old telematics and no longer support it. They just won't admit it. Tried to get it replaced for the new one but BMW states the module is working well and won't need it upgraded. Do some Google searching, you will notice many people having this issue

[NicB.]

I've been having issues with BMW Connected for some time and unable to send commands. I finally called them in late August. After the usual updates and such, they opened a ticket for technical support. 10+ days I called back to check, they had me update again and said it would work and if it didn't I'd have to take it to the dealer for a ISTA-P update and/or an opening of a TSARA ticket. Of course, it didn't work. I took it to the dealer for other reasons today and they performed the ISTA-P update. Still no luck.

The BMW genius onsite told me BMW moved from analog to digital telematics and that I would have to get a new combox at cost of $1200 to communicate with BMW Connected. No thanks. She also mentioned BMW had apparantely offered a discount update a while back, but I never received anything.

Long story short, I don't buy it. I still have BMW Connected Services I cannot use and further, why would they cripple the Connected feature on cars that are not even 5 years old?

The BMW Connected app gets abysmal reviews in the Apple App Store. I can only imagine it is the same for Android. I find this all unacceptable and am going to go back to BMW Connected again tomorrow to express my dissatisfaction. Surely it cannot be that hard to remedy.

Anyone else hear anything about the combox analog/digital changeover (whatever that means exactly)?

EDIT: I saw this article, which is what the BMW genius described, but it does not apply to my car: https://www.bmwcca.org/news/2g-based...-ends-december

NicB.

[NicB.]

Another update here. I finally called BMW US. After a while, they got back to me and confirmed my dealer's information was inaccurate regarding the combox no longer being supported (as suspected, that didn't apply to my car) and I should take the car back so a TSARA ticket could be opened. I plan to do that this week. Will update once I know more.

[oluedo]

Probably does not help you much but I also have a 2016 428i GC. Over the air messages with destination to idrive stopped working a few month ago. Have all the right packages. Just stopped working by itself. After I removed my car from connected drive and tried to add it again hoping to fix it, I found that you cannot activate connected drive on your phone unless you send a code to the car which you cannot send since messages to idrive 'over the air" isn't working anymore. I had to email proof of owner ship to BMW for them to activate it. It is sad that a car only 4 years old is loosing features it had before.

[NicB.]

I continue having issues despite the dealer having my car for two weeks while trying to work the problem with BMW tech support. I also lodged a written complaint with BMW US and BMW connected. Tonight I tried pulling fuse 120 as some of the 2er guys had success with that, but none here.

It’s as though inbound and outbound messages are being blocked even though SOS calling works fine. So frustrating to have something that worked fine just randomly stop working and literally no one can help.

[LittleSamurai]

I had the same error messages as you as well regarding service not being activated.
BMW Canada notified me last year that starting 2021 "BMW Canada’s cellular carrier will be decommissioning their 2G cellular network". This mean my car's combox is no longer supported for ConnectedDrive and/or SOS calls. They offered us VISA gift card, roadside assistance or discounted hardware upgrade at the dealer. Check with BMW USA in your area if this is the case for your model. What SIM card protocol and cellular network your combox is using. Most likely it is being phased out just like us here in Canada.

[Onizukachan]

Ours is being phased out next year for 3g services but Bmw gave me an extension till feb 2022 for free. So far I have not had any of the above mentioned issues and mine is a 2014 with 3g data which is being made obsolete by the cell carriers turning off 3g.
They were supposed to do it this year but then COVID, etc etc.

[Roxan]

Many of the "BMW apps" had been removed from the Connected Drive store a couple of months ago: BMW had decided not to support it anymore.

Nevertheless the core functionality (dynamic trafic info, online search including vocal search for destinations, remote car control from app) were still working.

Now (I noticed last week), the Online Search feature has stopped working despite my active subscription:
- you can search vocally but there is never a single result anymore
- you can search by typing using the iDrive and autocompletion works ...in the sense that a list of pertinent match appears on the right but when you select one and want to trigger nagivation you get the same error message.


I contacted the Connected Drive support (being located myself in Belgium) who informed me that the Online search was not supported anymore on my car.

I mean this is a car which barely has 5 years and the COnnected Drive subscription is a paid one which I just renew!!! (150 euros/year)

This "programme obsolescence" is for me a major concern. Although I am really a customer found of BMW, this unstainable management of e-services is amateurish and unacceptable: it crossed the "red line" for me.

[Onizukachan]

And in 10 more years you’ll be shocked when 4g goes away and you have to get 5g 6g service.
Thems the breaks. When it comes to connectivity, anything past 5 years is a roll off the dice.

[mmm-five]

This is why I think the head units should just be 'dumb' terminals for owners phones/tablets...or, as in one electric car I saw recently, have a changeable docking port for the phone/tablet of your choice to act as your media centre.

[Roxan]

Originally Posted by Onizukachan

And in 10 more years you’ll be shocked when 4g goes away and you have to get 5g 6g service.
Thems the breaks. When it comes to connectivity, anything past 5 years is a roll off the dice.

That would at least be something independent of BMW: a technical evolution on the telco provider side.
Here in EU, the 3G is btw not abandoned. So it is not a concern at this stage, like it seems to be in North America.

The issue is that the backward compatibility of the "cloud APIs" on BMW servers is not maintained with 5 years old cars, even when their customers are *paying* a yearly subscription for the service. It is a lack of discipline on their Software Development side. In the specific case of the "Search Destination Online" it seems they broke the API for vocal recognition, ...but also the API returning properly structured information allowing navigation to be initiated on the entries still returned from autocompletion (that autocompletion API still works fine).

[Roxan]

Originally Posted by mmm-five

This is why I think the head units should just be 'dumb' terminals for owners phones/tablets...or, as in one electric car I saw recently, have a changeable docking port for the phone/tablet of your choice to act as your media centre.

Agreed to some extent.

Because even is such case there will be a need to control/visualize/integrate parameters related to the car itself. And I feel safer if those aspects are directly manageable from the bare cockpit.

Otherwise, the car constructor must commit that the apps they will release over the years still support the feature.

If I take the example of the BMW 330e 2016, I was monitoring carefully the electrical vs. fuel consumption from the information that the app and the Connecte Drive portal were capturing. But they suddenly decided to stop exploiting that information in their apps so the feature "is gone".

[cfm56d7b]

Originally Posted by NicB.

Another update here. I finally called BMW US. After a while, they got back to me and confirmed my dealer's information was inaccurate regarding the combox no longer being supported (as suspected, that didn't apply to my car) and I should take the car back so a TSARA ticket could be opened. I plan to do that this week. Will update once I know more.

Unusual situation.

Your car has NBTEvo head unit. So that's a plus.

Can you check RealOEM with your VIN and identify what telematics control unit your car has?

- TCB 3G:
- Or - ATM 4G

If you car has TCB 3G unit, all services should work until February 2022 when BMW 3G connectivity will stop working due to carriers' decision. Since your car is not under warranty (unless an extended warranty remains in effect), there isn't any particular motivation on behalf of the dealer to push the issue with BMW NA and continue at no-charge diagnostic efforts.

[Mr_Oblivious]

Here's a link to that bulletin - looks like some vehicles are eligible for a 4G retrofit, but sadly, not mine (SA couldn't say why.)

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/20...00489-9999.pdf