MFT 2.8 dare I say? ... Rocks!

[RandyH2]

Picked up my '11 XLT 202A this morning. Build week was 4/25. I assume I have 2.8. But whatever it is, the screens are up and running in just a couple seconds. The phone hookup via BT is great. Great call quality.

One thing I did notice, and it may just be the way I set it up, is that when I plugged in my iPhone 3gs to the USB, once I started up the Ex, the music stopped, but the phone still worked. Have to work on that some more.

I've had the same issue. If I plug in the iPhone before starting the car the music from the phone does not work. I have to unplug it, wait a second, then plug it back in to get iPhone music working.

 

[chimoman]

Unless you live in Canada and then none are free. This was confirmed by the head of Ford Canada Sales having a Customer service supervisor call me when I sent him a message asking about this.

Yeah I'm sure.
There is no way you should be paying for an update. Please give me the number of the person you were talking to. I would also like their name. We purchased a vehicle that is supposed to perform functions, it is not performing those functions and therefore must be fixed under warranty. LOL. How far did you press on the matter. Ford Canada will have to provide the same fixes as being provided in the States. Talk to your dealer. If they are half way decent they will fix it for you. If not tell them your taking them to court for breach of warranty services. If you need help with the matter PM me. I'll be more than happy to lend a hand.

As well (Updated) Are you having trouble with SYNC. If so, did you explain that to them. Or was your line just...... I would like an update. If so that probably wouldn't fly. If your SYNC is working then there would be no need for an update. If it is not working then you would be entitiled to an update.

 

[SeaFoam]

Picked up my '11 XLT 202A this morning. Build week was 4/25. I assume I have 2.8. But whatever it is, the screens are up and running in just a couple seconds. The phone hookup via BT is great. Great call quality.

One thing I did notice, and it may just be the way I set it up, is that when I plugged in my iPhone 3gs to the USB, once I started up the Ex, the music stopped, but the phone still worked. Have to work on that some more.

Register on syncmyride.com - it will show which version you have.

 

[dco43054]

I've had the same issue. If I plug in the iPhone before starting the car the music from the phone does not work. I have to unplug it, wait a second, then plug it back in to get iPhone music working.

Thanks! I will try that. I did have it plugged in before starting the car.

Register on syncmyride.com - it will show which version you have.

Yeah - been trying to get a good registration. Having "VIN not recognized" problems. If I can't get it it worked out, it will be a trip back to the dealership for a full MFT reinstall.

 

[SeaFoam]

Thanks! I will try that. I did have it plugged in before starting the car.


Yeah - been trying to get a good registration. Having "VIN not recognized" problems. If I can't get it it worked out, it will be a trip back to the dealership for a full MFT reinstall.

That's what it said to me when the dealership screwed up my install, so I bet you might have to go back. Have you gone on and chatted with one of the reps on the sync site?

 

[ATLcanuck]

This may be a dumb question...but where does Sync stop and MFT begin? I actually think this creates potential confusion when trying to diagnose or even describe issues, at least for me. Like some of the Sirius issues right now...do I spend the time to try to get the Sync/Syncmyride folks to help, or is it really an MFT issue??

 

[baxterdown]

ATLcanuck, that is actually a really good question. As I understand it, MyFord Touch is a layer that sits on top of the operating system and runs the user interface. I don't know how old you are, but do you remember "Windows Shell"? It was the same principle. Windows shell was just that, a user interface shell that was layered on top of DOS.

Another way to understand it is: You can go to Windows Explorer on your computer and move a file from one folder to another or you can go to the command line and type the "c:move xyzfile.doc mydocuments/newlocation" entry. The result is the same. Windows (in very simplistic terms of course) is a layer that sits on top of the operating system.

Here are the components I think are in our systems,

Music player (CD, Radio, Satellite, etc): Sony
Sync (Operating System): Microsoft
Navigation (map data): Navteq
MyFord Touch: (User Interface): Ford

So, the problem with MFT is not that Sync is bad (actually, Microsoft's automobile operating system is amazingly good). The problem is that the user interface that Ford created to layer on top of Sync (MyFord Touch) was rushed to market and is still really buggy.

Hope this helps

 

[11ExplorerFanBoi]

Correct!


All updates are free until Jan 31, 2012--that is FORD's stanse on this. It is not up to the dealers to decide if it's free and all dealers should have 2.8 by now.

So I contacted the Dealer closest to my house to see if I could get an update from MFT v2.7 to MFT v2.8 and they quoted $45 to update the system because I did not purchase my EX from them. The service dept guy states "Only the dealer you purchase your vehical from will not charge you." So now I must drive across town to get it updated. If they would have had an EX in stock I would have purchased it from them.

I spoke with the dealer I purchased the car from and they said there was no charge regardless of where it was purchased from. I guess it all varies on the dealership, but it seems like they are all not on the same page as Ford.

 

[Remeny]

Did you switch the Menu Control from Standard (the default it would be on after a new install) to Memory On to re-enable this?
(settings-vehicle-menu control-memory on)

I sure didn't and really appreciate you pointing this out. The dealer must have set that option for me as I don't recall changing that feature previously.

 

[Remeny]

So I contacted the Dealer closest to my house to see if I could get an update from MFT v2.7 to MFT v2.8 and they quoted $45 to update the system because I did not purchase my EX from them. The service dept guy states "Only the dealer you purchase your vehical from will not charge you." So now I must drive across town to get it updated. If they would have had an EX in stock I would have purchased it from them.

I spoke with the dealer I purchased the car from and they said there was no charge regardless of where it was purchased from. I guess it all varies on the dealership, but it seems like they are all not on the same page as Ford.

I just took my X in last week to have the A pillar rattle addressed and to also update from V2.7 to 2.8. I went to the dealership closest to me which is not the dealership I purchased from. They didn't charge me anything and specifically asked me if I had purchased from them.

You might need to talk to the GM if someone is trying to charge you or get Ford involved.

 

[hannibalhector]

I gotta say, if the previous versions of MFT were worse than 2.8, I woud've seriously considered returning the vehicle altogether. in my 2005 Ex, I hd an aftermarket Kenwood DNX8120 7" in dash head unit, and in terms of responsvieness, it blew MFT away! Aside from the intergration with the clusters alongside the speedometer, I consider MFTto be inferior. It's quite demoralizing to have paid so much for this car and to deal w/ these frustrations. My Ipod has 3800 songs on it. Playlists take upwards of 15-25 secs to load and scrollin up and down a playlist wit hundreds of songs is a nightmare. Is there any realistic chance that they will resolve these issues?
the whole experience has left me somewat jaded.

 

[SeaFoam]

I gotta say, if the previous versions of MFT were worse than 2.8, I woud've seriously considered returning the vehicle altogether. in my 2005 Ex, I hd an aftermarket Kenwood DNX8120 7" in dash head unit, and in terms of responsvieness, it blew MFT away! Aside from the intergration with the clusters alongside the speedometer, I consider MFTto be inferior. It's quite demoralizing to have paid so much for this car and to deal w/ these frustrations. My Ipod has 3800 songs on it. Playlists take upwards of 15-25 secs to load and scrollin up and down a playlist wit hundreds of songs is a nightmare. Is there any realistic chance that they will resolve these issues?
the whole experience has left me somewat jaded.

You have to remember though MFT is tied to the entire vehicle. My friend's Mustang gets delivered next month - I wonder if it's any different speed wise. It has been getting better, but I think that they should have use some faster hardware.

 

[11ExplorerFanBoi]

You have to remember though MFT is tied to the entire vehicle. My friend's Mustang gets delivered next month - I wonder if it's any different speed wise. It has been getting better, but I think that they should have use some faster hardware.

Does anyone know what the Hardware Specs for MFT is? (i.e. Processor Type/Speed, RAM, Hard Drive Size, Screen Resolution, Grpahics card, etc)

Also can it be upgraded with aftermarket hardware?

To bad no one has done a tear down of it yet like they do with iPhones and other tech products.

Just a thought...

 

[SeaFoam]

Does anyone know what the Hardware Specs for MFT is? (i.e. Processor Type/Speed, RAM, Hard Drive Size, Screen Resolution, Grpahics card, etc)

Also can it be upgraded with aftermarket hardware?

To bad no one has done a tear done of it yet like they do with iPhones and other tech products.

Just a thought...

The way it acts it's embedded, probably a VIA processor. I bet it's proprietary and cannot be upgraded, which is a shame.

 

[11ExplorerFanBoi]

The way it acts it's embedded, probably a VIA processor. I bet it's proprietary and cannot be upgraded, which is a shame.

Found this on Syncmyride. Looks like they went super cheap.

Processor, Memory, and Storage
Freescale i.MX51 SOC

Core CPU: ARM Cortex A8 @ 600 mHz

2D/3D graphics controller

512MB RAM

2GB NAND flash memory

 

[ercole]

Hi all,

This question is for you folks now on v2.8. My truck was updated at the dealer yesterday and syncmyride shows the confirmed installations. There is a CU of sync Gen 2 v2.4 and a CI of sycn Gen 2 v2.8 My Ford Touch Base Software.

When you click on "view your SYNC history", would you share with me what version your other BT4T-xxxxxx-BE files are? Mine still say Gen 2 v2.4.

Does that mean just the base software is being updated with no changes to the other files. These files also show a CI for the same date that v2.8 was done.

Thanks for any light you can shed on this? No problems to report. Well, only one I noticed is when in reverse, the sensor beeps quicker as you get closer to the object, but the bar shading (green, yellow, red) doesn't appear.

 

[baxterdown]

Hi ercole, I have 2.8 (I'm the OP on this thread). Here's what syncmyride.com says about my confirmed installations:

SYNC Version
Gen2 - V2.8 BT4T-14D546-AL
BT4T-14D546-AM
BT4T-14D546-DA
BT4T-14F496-AN
BT4T-14F496-AP
BT4T-14F497-AL
BT4T-14F497-AM
SYNC compatible software BT4T-14F500-AE
SYNC compatible software BT4T-14F500-BE
BT4T-14F603-AL
BT4T-14F603-AM

Hope this helps.

Jose

 

[cg13]

So, I got MFT 2.8 installed today. Boy, what a difference! Here are some initial observations:

- The systems comes online almost immediately. No more waiting for the system to "boot up." You start the engine and within a few seconds (2 or 3) everything comes online including iPod (I have mine permanently connected). Nav takes 4 or 5 seconds to launch, phone takes about 7 seconds to connect.

- No more endless iPod synching and no more building media commands!

- VC is available almost immediately. I have tried it as soon as 20 seconds after starting the engine and it comes right on. Response is delayed by a few seconds (maybe 3 or 4) during the initial system launch, but once all systems are online, VC is there the second you press the voice button. No delay. Also, commands are recognized and executed immediately.

- I wouldn't dare to call MFT fast, but now it is definitely responsive. I press a button and aside from the silly animation, stuff happens. No more sitting around 4 and 5 seconds for results.

- Transitions seem a lot faster and smoother.

- Some of the buttons in the climate control screen seem slightly different. But, I can't tell for sure. What is for sure is how much more responsive the climate control screen is! I used to have to press "My Temp" two and three times for it to take. It would zoom out and zoom back in on its own. Everything in the climate control screen now reacts immediately and as expected when touched.

The guy that did install was very kind and invited me to observe the update! Here's what I learned:

- The update is fully controlled through live data transfer directly from Ford. In order to to the update, the tech's computer must be connected to the car's OBD system, to the internet via an unrestricted broadband connection, and to the car's MFT system via a mini USB port available behind the right side panel of the center console.

- The sequence goes like this:
- Wipe the existing MFT install
- Download the update file from the Ford Server into the diagnostic laptop
- Transfer the downloaded file onto a USB drive
- Connect the USB drive to MFT and perform the update
- Connect the USB drive back to the laptop for install confirmation transfer back to Ford
- Ford connects back to diagnostic laptop and OBD system to validate and activate the install
- Everything comes back to life!

Total update time was 35 minutes.

The tech said that wiping the existing MFT install and a clean broadband connection are critical to a successful update. Otherwise "you're asking for trouble" (his words).

Here are some pics I took:

The mini USB connector on the side panel. This, by the way, is normally connected to another cable that is coming from the back (dunno what is for). He disconnected it to access from there.

USB is connected and doing the update install

Diagnostic laptop on the driver's seat. See the Ethernet cord which is how the tech connects to the new Ford servers.

VMC box that connects the diagnostic laptop to the car's OBD system. See the cable connected.

Screen shot of the tech's computer after update was completed with zoom-in of the new version 2.8.

And there you have it. I can't predict the future so I don't know if all this is gonna crap out in a couple of weeks and MFT is gonna go back to its old shenanigans.

But, so far the difference is night and day!

Jose

do you have to take this to the dealer to have done? is their a home fix? i hate my dealer...

also my phone's BT Stereo just doesnt work... i have an iphone - it worked for 2 weeks, now when i connect it to the sync - i play a song on my iphone - and it doesnt play on the stereo - it looks like its gonna start - then says phone disconnected...

 

[baxterdown]

do you have to take this to the dealer to have done? is their a home fix? i hate my dealer...

Yes. Update cannot be done at home.

also my phone's BT Stereo just doesnt work... i have an iphone ... it looks like its gonna start - then says phone disconnected...

Try touching AirPlay button on your iPhone (bottom right) and make sure it is set to Sync.

 

[kblee]

also my phone's BT Stereo just doesnt work... i have an iphone - it worked for 2 weeks, now when i connect it to the sync - i play a song on my iphone - and it doesnt play on the stereo - it looks like its gonna start - then says phone disconnected...

Mine is doing the exact same thing with my Android phone (Moto Droid 2). It was working perfectly and now will not work at all. I called Sync customer service and was told that I need to take it to the dealer.