Ford is rolling out Apple CarPlay and Android Auto to its earlier SYNC 3 cars, with a hotly-anticipated update for its model year 2016 vehicles. SYNC 3 version 2.2 will be available both via a dealer-installed update and via a DIY method, with owners able to load the new software onto a USB stick themselves. However, for the first time, Ford will also offer an over-the-air update as a third option, part of its shift to bring some smartphone-style thinking to its infotainment platforms.
It takes advantage of a feature the automaker added in SYNC 3, utilizing the system’s integrated WiFi connection. As long as the car is on a WiFi network – such as when it’s parked in the garage, hooked up to the home’s internet connection – it’ll be able to download the new software in the background. The car needn’t be left running, either: as long as the WiFi is connected prior to shutting the engine off, it’ll continue the process.
https://findersyellow604.weebly.com/blog/download-ford-navigation-updates. Sep 13, 2016 How to use Apple CarPlay in your Ford! This features is awesome and so easy to use! This tutorial will work for any other vehicle as well:) Follow us on Ins. See how to use Apple CarPlay with SYNC 3 to access familiar iPhone apps and services, such as Maps and others, using the touchscreen and voice commands.
Not all of the model year 2016 cars have WiFi, of course, and so for those – and owners who don’t want to rely on wireless methods, or perhaps have a slow internet connection – there’s a direct install option too. The v2.2 software will be available to download from owner.ford.com today. Once saved to a USB drive, and plugged into the car’s USB hub, it’ll automatically update.
Finally, those who don’t want to go through the process themselves will be able to take their Ford into the nearest dealer and have it done there, instead. It’s worth noting that there might well be a charge for that, however.
With approximately 800,000 vehicles running SYNC 3 from 2016 in the wild, it’s a significant update. Ford made Android Auto and Apple CarPlay standard on all of its model year 2017 cars, from the smallest Fiesta, through sports cars like the Mustang and GT, to SUVs like the Escape and Explorer, and trucks in the F-Series. In addition to the new smartphone integration, the updated version for 2016 cars will add a manual update check option over WiFi, rather than owners having to rely on the car checking periodically itself.
There’s one minor hitch in the whole process, however. While those with an Android phone will be able to update the SYNC 3 software and get going with Android Auto straight away, the 2016 Fords will need a USB hub upgrade in order to play nicely with CarPlay on the iPhone. That’ll need to be handled by a dealer.
Although automakers like Tesla have made dashboard updates more commonplace, it’s still fairly unusual in the auto industry as a whole to see older cars get major updates of this sort. While patches and security fixes are fairly common, traditionally car companies have preferred to sell you a whole new vehicle. Ford is looking to buck that trend.
Indeed, connected vehicle program chief Don Butler explained to me, the goal is to eventually push out updates to the automaker’s cars on a monthly basis. Before that can happen, Ford plans to reduce its use of tier 1 infotainment systems – that is, externally designed and manufactured radio and navigation hardware that the company slots into its dashboards – and “roll our own,” Butler says. That should be faster, since it can all be done internally rather than outsourced, but also less expensive, since Ford will be able to reuse technologies like the Bluetooth stack which currently it’s paying for with each system iteration.
At the heart of the project is the former BlackBerry team Ford acquired, a roughly 400 strong group based predominantly in Ottawa, Canada. They’re being positioned at the center of Ford’s software overall; initially, they’ll be working on QNX-based infotainment systems, but eventually Ford hopes to expand the OS to other modules in the car. They’ll also be challenging some of the status-quo thought processes in the auto industry with smartphone and software development-style alternatives.
For instance, Butler explained, Ford is looking to make better use of computer modeling in the prototyping process. Currently, the company’s engineers make hundreds of physical prototypes, which is time-consuming, expensive, and fairly wasteful in the long run. Butler estimates that more aggressive use of computer modeling could cut that number by around 70-percent.
There’s also a push for more runway in component selection. Currently, he explains, “you proved you were a good engineer” by finding the most inexpensive, minimally-required components to suit the task; that keeps the bill of materials down, but in the case of infotainment comes at the cost of future upgrade potential. Ford is now pushing to be more aware of what its developers might want to coax from the hardware years down the line, and spec vehicles accordingly.
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Ford is now offering a SYNC 3 software update that enables Android Auto and Apple CarPlay to model-year 2016 vehicles through computer download onto USB drive,over-the-air via a Wi-Fi connection or at dealers. https://findersyellow604.weebly.com/blog/bmw-music-collection-how-to-download-cds.
For the Wi-Fi update you can use home computer Wi-Fi network or Wi-Fi hotpsots from a smartphone. Data chargers from for the phone will incur. Make sure you have a strong signal before starting.
The Wi-Fi update using a home network will be the trickiest because Wi-Fi signals degrade over long distances and depending upon your router, antenna and location of your garage and type of Wi-Fi, you may experience long download times. Before starting the update, you can connect your phone to Wi-Fi or notebook computer to Wi-Fi and see if you have a signal in your garage. We have found in the past, that opening the garage doors may help getting a signal. If your Wi-Fi router is a house or apartment, opening the windows and putting the router near the open window will also make it the signal flow easier. Trees or larg objects can block a home Wi-Fi signal.
Ford reports that it is first software update via Wi-Fi and a automated alternative to existing upgrade methods
We at AUTO Connected Car News suggest that you allow plenty of time for the update. In fact the USB methods takes at least 20 minutes for the car to reboot.
USB installation of CarPlay & Android Auto Update for Ford SYNC 3
Ford Sync Update Download
SYNC 3 currently supports Android Auto and Apple CarPlay on all model-year 2017 Ford cars including the Fiesta, Focus, Fusion and Mustang, SUVs including the Escape, Explorer and Expedition, F-Series trucks and Ford’s electrified vehicles.
Though Ford has been issuing SYNC upgrades since 2009, this is the first time the company is offering an update via Wi-Fi. In Wi-Fi-enabled vehicles with Automatic System Updates turned on within SYNC 3, the system will periodically connect to a customer’s designated Wi-Fi network to check for updates. If an update is available, the system automatically downloads the update in the background over a period of time without any customer interaction. And SYNC 3 is designed to perform the update as long as Wi-Fi is connected prior to the vehicle turning off, therefore there is no need to keep the vehicle running for the update to take place.
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