BMW Australia quietly disallows ConnectedDrive services
The imminent (June 2024) retirement of the 3G network has caused an odd reaction from BMW Australia
instead of, you know, telling anyone or anything, they just quietly removed some services from the ConnectedDrive site.
I went to add Navigation to get a map update, no option available.
Confused, I contacted BMW, and received this email by way of reply:
Thank you for your e-mail dated 30.10.2023.
To enable map updates, a Feature Set Code (FSC) is required, as is a stable internet connection in the vehicle. Unfortunately, your vehicle will be affected by the imminent 3G network shutdown, resulting in the unavailability of the USB Map Update Service in the store.
These are the services currently "booked" in your vehicle:
Intelligent Emergency Call
Remote Services - (remote door lock, remote horn blow)
Teleservices
At this time, we regret to inform you that there are no hardware or software retrofit options available to upgrade your vehicle's telematics.
Please accept our heartfelt apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused.
We truly appreciate your understanding in this situation.
The satisfaction of our customers with ConnectedDrive is of great importance to us; therefore, we kindly ask you to complete the survey:
I rang them and asked why the service was unavailable NOW, when the 3G network has over 6 months left. They have already restricted some services like RTTI to 6 months.
I received no reply, just an apology.
I then contacted my dealer, who DID NOT KNOW about this!
They are investigating options, she was surprised that the ConnectedDrive team indicated that the system had no upgrade path, as she was confident it does.
My suggestion to anyone affected, is to contact BMW, and let them know this is a very poor showing, yes, there is nothing BMW can do about the 3G network sunset, but the TOTAL lack of any form of communication, or to allow people to get one last update in before the 3G service ends is piss poor IMHO.
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