OTA Ford Power-Up 3.5.3 and upcoming Alexa Built-in roll-out

[TJSparky]

I know many over here may not care, but I just received 3.5.3 in my Lightning. I think I may be one of the first to get it, I am part of the Early Access.

PAAK - Phone as a Key only started appearing on Lightnings built in late July, earlier builds don't have it yet, but it is due via SW. I don't recall if ICE has that feature or not, but that is what we would be expecting next.

So looking forward to Phone as a Key and hope it comes to ICE vehicles. Was reading about it last week and looks only to be available on the lightning but hopefully that will change.

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[wvfan44]

i have been careful to not allow my GF in the truck so wife #1 does not see a strange phone logged in

haha

 

[speedracercjr]

If someone knows, is Alexa not instantly activated when updating to 3.5.3+ when using FDRS? I don’t see an option for it.

Takes about a day to activate automagically

 

[Rineland]

I know many over here may not care, but I just received 3.5.3 in my Lightning. I think I may be one of the first to get it, I am part of the Early Access.

I note for those tracking as now all F-150's have 3.5.3 as the latest OTA SW version I believe. I don't follow any of the Mach-E forums, I know others on here do.

The lightnings could already resize CarPlay I believe, had the Unreal engine and we had Alexa from the factory, so this should truly be a level up across all trucks.

PAAK - Phone as a Key only started appearing on Lightnings built in late July, earlier builds don't have it yet, but it is due via SW. I don't recall if ICE has that feature or not, but that is what we would be expecting next.

So looking forward to Phone as a Key and hope it comes to ICE vehicles. Was reading about it last week and looks only to be available on the lightning but hopefully that will change.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but... I don't believe ICE models will receive the PaaK feature until MY 2024. There is a separate bluetooth low-energy module on MY 2022 Lightnings which enables this feature. It does not appear to be easily retrofittable to current ICE models as it has a 24 pin Molex connector which would likely require some extensive wiring.

I'm not ruling it out entirely, I mean the phone already connects to the truck via bluetooth and WiFi for wireless app projection so it seems like it could be possible. But I feel like there's a reason the Lightning has a separate low energy module and I'm not getting my hopes up too high for it.

 

[antho]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but... I don't believe ICE models will receive the PaaK feature until MY 2024. There is a separate bluetooth low-energy module on MY 2022 Lightnings which enables this feature. It does not appear to be easily retrofittable to current ICE models as it has a 24 pin Molex connector which would likely require some extensive wiring.

I'm not ruling it out entirely, I mean the phone already connects to the truck via bluetooth and WiFi for wireless app projection so it seems like it could be possible. But I feel like there's a reason the Lightning has a separate low energy module and I'm not getting my hopes up too high for it.

Agreed. Would need to add the RFA module and antennas. So it’s not just a software change.

 

[mflynndelta]

You have one of the cleanest OTA histories I have seen to date. All your updates came in between July 20th and without a single hiccup. You are only missing 3.5.3 to be fully up to date. 3.5.3 is almost 6 gigs, but I have never checked anyone's VIN that has gotten it to see if WiFi is required for that one, and I asked two people who got it if they were on WiFi or not, but they never responded. If you see the screenshot below of your OTA history, notice there is a column that says "WiFi Required" and every single update says no. I'd be nice if someone who got 3.5.3 can post or send me their VIN so I can check the details of that update.

would you be willing to check my OTA history ? 1ftfw1ed3mfb23739

 

[adt1982]

You had 2.7.1 sent to you on 9/23 and also the same APIM patch you get before 3.5.2 sent to you on 10/13. Both times, it didn't download any of the files. Both OTA triggers expired, so you have to wait for another push to your truck. Do you have good signal where you park the truck most of the time? Both updates were sent to you in the middle of the day.

The cell signal in much of town is pretty lousy right now. My truck spends most of the day stationary in the parking lot at work. The last time it got a large update was when I was in St. Louis all morning with excellent 5G service.

 

[SRHAGEN]

@Jesse-Infotainment any insight would be greatly appreciated!

LP p

Finally have the 3.5.3 update. Hoping it doesn’t add even more safety features. I’ve read that some were complaining about more things being disabled. Don’t know exactly what they mean. Have you noticed anything that you can’t do anymore that you could previously with 3.5.2? Also, I’ve heard that you can go to the dealership and they will can give you the 3.5.3 update. So whoever doesn’t want to wait, maybe call your dealership.

Yeah Alexa won’t respond while moving. When I first got the truck. It responded anytime. After 3.5.2 she quit. I have not gotten OTA 3.5.3in my 3/29/22 built XLT 301 A. That sux cause it was way better than fords app for directions and changes to nav while driving. Now she only responds in park. Argh!!

 

[EricR]

Like others Alexa is useless spyware to me. I hope it can be disabled. Android Auto works perfectly, I just hope they don't screw it up when it goes full screen. But I admit I dislike using voice commands. I will gladly press three or four buttons before resorting to talking to the truck.

Off Topic Reply...

Not singling you out, @Blueshound . Consider the following my attempt at a public service announcement.

Anyone who has concerns about Alexa being spyware, should be even more concerned about using Google products/services - such as an Android phone.

Everything you do on your Android phone (and every other Google service/product) is tracked, stored, and correlated for Google's complete and ongoing benefit. Once they have your information it is theirs - with no option to have them delete it or stop using it.

Most do not realize Google gives Android to the phone manufacturers for free. Why? How can they afford to just give it away? Because tracking the movements and behaviors of billions of phone users is far more profitable to Google than selling Android to the phone manufacturers.

Google is the best in the world at what they do - tracking people's movements and behaviors for profit!

Most people think they are Google's customers... ​

​

When in fact, they are actually Google's product.​

​

Think about it. Excepting Google TV, have you ever paid anything to use any of Google's services?

What can one do? I see two options:

1. If convenience and simplicity is most important to you, go all in with one provider (Google, Apple, etc.)
2. If privacy and limiting depth at which you are tracked is most important, consider spreading the services you use across multiple providers, in hopes no one company has the whole picture on you.

So if you use an Android phone, for at least some of your other services, consider using those not provided by Google.

Some examples:
Instead of Chrome, use Firefox, Safari or Edge as your browser.
Use Duckduckgo.com (or Bing.com) as your search engine.
Use Microsoft 365 (aka Office) for documents, spreadsheets, etc.
Use iCloud or OneDrive for cloud storage.
Turn off Location on your Android phone and use your vehicle's built-in navigation.
Buy an iPad instead of an Android tablet.
Pick another product over a Nest thermostat or doorbell (yes, Google owns those as well).


Sorry this post is long & way off-topic. Hopefully some find it helpful.

-Eric

P.S. Full disclosure, my phone is the Samsung S22. A very nice Android phone.

 

[charliecbp]

Just updated to 3.5.4 through FDRS, was on 2.8.1 before I manually updated the truck. Dual phone is enabled through the phone list by pressing the phone button next to two different phones. If CarPlay is enabled dual phone does not work from what I can tell.

If someone knows, is Alexa not instantly activated when updating to 3.5.3+ when using FDRS? I don’t see an option for it.

I just updated to 3.5.4 from 3.5.3 this morning on my job 1 2021 Limited, I get the same thing, when in CarPlay and I try to connect both phones it shuts off CarPlay and then will connect 2 phones.
I have 2 cell phones and was looking forward to being able to use both phones on the trucks handsfree while traveling

 

[Jacob_Bratcher]

I just updated to 3.5.4 from 3.5.3 this morning on my job 1 2021 Limited, I get the same thing, when in CarPlay and I try to connect both phones it shuts off CarPlay and then will connect 2 phones.
I have 2 cell phones and was looking forward to being able to use both phones on the trucks handsfree while traveling

Does Apple Maps glitch out when you open it full screen on CP? Half of the map is black, once I disconnect and reconnect it goes to normal, but it goes back to the half black map after turning on/off the truck.

 

[charliecbp]

Does Apple Maps glitch out when you open it full screen on CP? Half of the map is black, once I disconnect and reconnect it goes to normal, but it goes back to the half black map after turning on/off the truck.

I haven't seen the black screen......yet

 

[Jacob_Bratcher]

I haven't seen the black screen......yet

I'm wondering if it's because I made the climate controls available on the bottom of the touchscreen or enabled the unreal engine graphics through forscan. I will check later today.

 

[speedracercjr]

Does Apple Maps glitch out when you open it full screen on CP? Half of the map is black, once I disconnect and reconnect it goes to normal, but it goes back to the half black map after turning on/off the truck.

I have had that happen twice, I just force killed the app on my phone and restarted and it was all good.

Edit - It was also in a bad signal area (AKA my house) so it's possible it didn't get the data to load the extra space if that makes sense.

 

[ken325i]

You had it sent to you October 6th, but it looks like there was a hiccup on Ford's side. Some kind of cloud error is listed as the error code. It says it will retry again, but no idea when it will be pushed out to you again.

@Jesse-Infotainment - Jesse - have you ever seen this cloud error? Do you have any opinion on a resolution? Is my only option "wait and see"?

Many thanks!
Ken

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