FOD
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Audi like everyone have only just got back to running production, I expect most of the issues will be sorted regarding the MMI software.
As for FOD..... strange one this as I think nearly all these updates will be for the e-versions of the VW group.... If the hardware is not on the car from production then updates will be limited to software features only, different light patterns, MMI dial layouts, lighting internal...but do not expect matrix headlights on the feature list if you have led headlights fitted!...same as a rear camera, if its not fitted then it cannot be added (after market only).... so as I have a high spec`d Edition 1 then I do not really see anything that could be useful via FOD.....and if the updates are just a silly matrix pattern to shine on the wall or pavement,,,,then I am ok just how they are.
FOD will benefit e-tron cars more......the model was borrowed from Tesla!...so it is nothing new.
As for FOD..... strange one this as I think nearly all these updates will be for the e-versions of the VW group.... If the hardware is not on the car from production then updates will be limited to software features only, different light patterns, MMI dial layouts, lighting internal...but do not expect matrix headlights on the feature list if you have led headlights fitted!...same as a rear camera, if its not fitted then it cannot be added (after market only).... so as I have a high spec`d Edition 1 then I do not really see anything that could be useful via FOD.....and if the updates are just a silly matrix pattern to shine on the wall or pavement,,,,then I am ok just how they are.
FOD will benefit e-tron cars more......the model was borrowed from Tesla!...so it is nothing new.
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I guess a potential FOD for the A3 could be Alexa.
But I am mainly hoping for over the air software updates for bug fixes.
But I am mainly hoping for over the air software updates for bug fixes.
i was hoping for the sign recognition. i have matrix leds and the rear camera
I’ve been advised that this will be available at least on my car which is an S3 with comfort and sound pack.
I’m sure i also read that the Matrix headlights can be enabled via FOD if you have the standard ones, but I have them on mine anyway so haven’t confirmed with Audi.
No that’s part of the driver assistance pack, which i didnt spec. But have been advised it’s definitely going to be available as part of FOD, as I have the camera’s required it just needs to be enabled.
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I heard that’s only for the e-tron. I don’t think A3’s with standard LED headlights are fitted with matrix LED hardware.
There’s more info on the German Audi site. According to that
”Functions on Demand provides you with numerous functions that you can book at any time as needed. The selected functions can be obtained easily and quickly via myAudi. Best of all: you are completely flexible. If you would like to get to know the equipment first, you can test it for one month for one euro. Functions on Demand is currently available for the Audi A4 (from year 2020), Audi A5 (from year 2020), A6 (from year 2021), A7 (from year 2021), Q5 (from year 2021), Q7 (from year 2021), Q8 (from year 2021) and the Audi e-tron (from year 2020).”
No mention of A3 options or when these will be avaible in the uk however gives an idea of Audis thinking for example
Functions for the A5 are
- Audi Smartphone Interface
- MMI Navigation Plus inc Audi Connect
- Digital Radio Reception
Other models get Parking Assistant and the ETron gets Matrix and Light Function options
”Functions on Demand provides you with numerous functions that you can book at any time as needed. The selected functions can be obtained easily and quickly via myAudi. Best of all: you are completely flexible. If you would like to get to know the equipment first, you can test it for one month for one euro. Functions on Demand is currently available for the Audi A4 (from year 2020), Audi A5 (from year 2020), A6 (from year 2021), A7 (from year 2021), Q5 (from year 2021), Q7 (from year 2021), Q8 (from year 2021) and the Audi e-tron (from year 2020).”
No mention of A3 options or when these will be avaible in the uk however gives an idea of Audis thinking for example
Functions for the A5 are
- Audi Smartphone Interface
- MMI Navigation Plus inc Audi Connect
- Digital Radio Reception
Other models get Parking Assistant and the ETron gets Matrix and Light Function options
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If you look in your standard spec on the My Audi App you will see that is says Camera Prep for Dynamic Traffic Sign (or something like that ) with FOD - Basically all A3's have the camera fitted for Lane Assist, so apart from Driver Assistance Pack, Audi were never giving us the standard speed limits on the Sat Nav screen - Always expected people to pay later on when they realised the basic sat nav speed limits weren't showing
I've already got a complaint in with Audi UK for this to be activated when it becomes available
I think those who do not drive an electric Audi will be slightly miffed at what becomes of FOD....... the only way it would work is if the A3 was sold with all the hardware fitted, reverse camera, matrix lights, HUD... even the sunroof...then charge people to activate them....so for £20 per week you get the code to open the sunroof, you dont pay it dont open!...the Matrix lights work by using 15 individual led`s to ajust the light focus, so unless Audi find a way of sending these led`s down the internet and onto your car then you are out of luck!.... most of the FOD will probably simply be the stuff you could code yourself with a decent VAG kit, but now VW have used a two step code to stop this happening, one is a vehicle code and this works with a VW code....and to be honest most of this stuff on the VAG was simple things like making videos play on the move, or turning of seat belt warnings....things Audi will nto offer via FOD.......so I do not expect much, and to be honest so far they have not even got the car software stable yet, let alone start offering things and expecting us to pay more......the app is next to useless and can give false information, I can break into the car quicker than it takes for it to unlock it!........
The biggest shame is they did not delay its release until this year, as opposed to trying to shift some last year.....the car needed more testing.
The biggest shame is they did not delay its release until this year, as opposed to trying to shift some last year.....the car needed more testing.
Audi have only got back into production...?? concerning the 8Y no doubt... but production hasn't stopped at all on most of their models
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Your having a laugh the 8y needed more testing its a facelift 8V nothing new in the 8y that the 8v had bar a gremlin filled MMI...
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Yes, but that gremlin filled MMI has turned out to be a huge embarrassment for Audi, leading to quite a few rejected cars. Just read the posts on here, for example, which represent a tiny proportion of A3 8Y owners. The MMI is a complex bit of kit nowadays, linked to many other subsystems. Audi should have tested it thoroughly. They didn't. And they still don't have a fix more than a year after the car was released. The former Head of Testing and QC is now probably emptying bins in Ingolstadt..
I do not think it is software related.
If you look at a mobile device, android or apple they have an operating system, both are stable...this is the case with Audi, the software in the A3 had been running in the A8 for awhile, so it was and is `stable`......My belief is that Audi did not have enough microchips to fit into the production of new cars, the whole range will use the same microchip.(most car companies use the same chips)
Many car companies build cars as the parts come in, they do not stockpile parts......so when the Chinese were shut down and the world stopped, these microchip orders also stopped....but went mental in mobile devices as people were in lockdown and everyone over 70yrs old descovered the `tablet`...not the eating kind!!!....so these microchips went to samsung, apple etc ....when car production picked up so did the orders for these chips, only thing is the car companies had ran out!!!....I just have a feeling Audi might have used older (recycled) chips from older cars......kinda like running windows 10 on a computer from 2002....the cpu and mobo are not up to it!.....maybe Audi fitted 2 in 5 to there cars that were older generations, after all if 3 people say its fine and 2 say they are having issues....chances are most will think its the user not having a clue how to set it up!!........if they get recalled then so be it, they still got the sale and whilst the delay is crap for that customer, it does buy Audi more time to get the latest microchips fitted to ALL of there new models.....but I am convinced the software is the easy part and therefore is stable.
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Software is rarely the easy part. Ask yourself how often companies like Apple and Microsoft manage to release software without any bugs? (Very, very, rarely, if ever, in my experience).
Each 8Y A3 is a network of computers, many of which are designed to fail-safe (ie to limit their function if there is any possibility of a fault). It is further complicated by the fact that each Audi is then part of a larger - always on - computer network and they seem to struggle when unable to connect to that network.
I’m sure that Audi will eventually resolve the problems that we are having. I have a feeling that software issues in cars is going to be more of a feature in all of our lives - whichever brand of car you own - as technology continues to move forwards.
There will undoubtedly shared software and hardware components but there will other components that are not. Most iphones look similar, share lots of the same functionality but run on different hardware and sometimes different versions of the operating system. The trick is to get all these different components talking to each other correctly as well as third party software such as Car play which can be changed by Apple whenever they want.
The MMI in my wife’s Q3 Vorsprung and my S5 look very very similar but have some very subtle differences between the two despite the two cars being almost identical in terms of spec.
VW Group use the same imported parts as everyone else, its just styled in a different way for each vehicle group.
Audi has one of the easiest MMI systems on the market, the 8V was a breeze and solid in function, but as above the software and microchip were coupled together in that time frame.....we now have a faster and more complex MMI that requires a better spec microchip in order to run it smoothly!.....as I said above the software will never be stable if Audi have used an older microchip to run the software, it will freeze or lag and basically `crash`... software is pretty easy to do as if you look at ALL cars they basically have the same layouts, 8-12" digital dash and a secondary screen central.... and the software is something that is written away from the car build and then added with all the modules needed to take the instructions from the MMI......it could be a case of a simple `plug and play` microchip (like a cpu in a pc) and can be upgraded if the car is re=called.......who knows!....but in my experience (I have worked with computers since 1995) software for these types of applications are very stable because of the safety intergration within the car electronics....some of this tech is as safe as what you would find within a cockpit of an aircraft!....it has to be otherwise Audi could be sued should the systems fail........
I have had no issues with the MMI ....600 miles into the car now, the only gripe I have is the Audi app could be better done.,,,apart from that everything is sweet!
Audi has one of the easiest MMI systems on the market, the 8V was a breeze and solid in function, but as above the software and microchip were coupled together in that time frame.....we now have a faster and more complex MMI that requires a better spec microchip in order to run it smoothly!.....as I said above the software will never be stable if Audi have used an older microchip to run the software, it will freeze or lag and basically `crash`... software is pretty easy to do as if you look at ALL cars they basically have the same layouts, 8-12" digital dash and a secondary screen central.... and the software is something that is written away from the car build and then added with all the modules needed to take the instructions from the MMI......it could be a case of a simple `plug and play` microchip (like a cpu in a pc) and can be upgraded if the car is re=called.......who knows!....but in my experience (I have worked with computers since 1995) software for these types of applications are very stable because of the safety intergration within the car electronics....some of this tech is as safe as what you would find within a cockpit of an aircraft!....it has to be otherwise Audi could be sued should the systems fail........
I have had no issues with the MMI ....600 miles into the car now, the only gripe I have is the Audi app could be better done.,,,apart from that everything is sweet!
The 8y has been in production for a year...ergo and besides the 8y is not that technologically advanced compared to its rival in its class Audi have ****** up...simples
Besides never buy a car in its first year production....no matter the make of it
All software needs a hardware of a minimum spec for it to run as specified. If Audi were to use an “older” chip without going through the usual component, system integration and user acceptance testing then this too could compromise the effectiveness of the cars systems and as you say Audi could be sued. Far more likely for Audi to stop or slow production to match supply rather than use components that did not meetthe minimum specification for the software to run as intended
Problems have been reported on cars built before any chip shortages so if it’s a hardware issue then you’d expect more/ all cars to be impacted but many dont have any issues at all which suggests there are other underlying issues than than just hardware. For example a number of owners where have reported problems manifesting themselves when trying to use Apple Car play after the recent IOS release which points to a problem how the system is working with 3rd party software.
Interestingly there is a separate thread on here about a recall for a software update that is supposed to fix many of the current issues some owners have experienced. Hopefully this will resolve it for them.
All software needs a hardware of a minimum spec for it to run as specified. If Audi were to use an “older” chip without going through the usual component, system integration and user acceptance testing then this too could compromise the effectiveness of the cars systems ====
It would appear in some builds it has!
If you have a computer with an i3 cpu and you run win10 it will not run as smooth as it would do with a i7+ cpu.....but it would still run and do the things it was supposed to do...just slower when it comes to handling the intruction sets...... the lack of microchips was a huge concern for the motor industry, not just VW.
The software in my opinion is stable, the issues are either down to older type microchips recyled to keep production moving, or maybe some faulty module in a few builds....
If Audi are aware of any software issues then I am sure an update for users experiencing `bugs` would be out by now as its an easier fix than a recall....as put in another thread, maybe these are just isolated issues for a few unlucky owners, because in general I think the car has been recieved very well in the press, and those who did have any hardware issues (the electric seats in the auto) were recalled and sorted out.....
whatever the issues I hope they are all sorted for you and you can enjoy this superb car, its a great car to drive....very flat and you can either take a break and let the systems do there thing, or turn them off and enjoy being connected to a decent motor.
It would appear in some builds it has!
If you have a computer with an i3 cpu and you run win10 it will not run as smooth as it would do with a i7+ cpu.....but it would still run and do the things it was supposed to do...just slower when it comes to handling the intruction sets...... the lack of microchips was a huge concern for the motor industry, not just VW.
The software in my opinion is stable, the issues are either down to older type microchips recyled to keep production moving, or maybe some faulty module in a few builds....
If Audi are aware of any software issues then I am sure an update for users experiencing `bugs` would be out by now as its an easier fix than a recall....as put in another thread, maybe these are just isolated issues for a few unlucky owners, because in general I think the car has been recieved very well in the press, and those who did have any hardware issues (the electric seats in the auto) were recalled and sorted out.....
whatever the issues I hope they are all sorted for you and you can enjoy this superb car, its a great car to drive....very flat and you can either take a break and let the systems do there thing, or turn them off and enjoy being connected to a decent motor.
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But this is not what is happening: many of the faults are the result of lost comms (user account errors or SOS failures) or modules reporting spurious faults and / or failing to work. And, as Frizzly says above, the other category of glitches seem to be related to people using Apple Car Play.
The MMI is very responsive and smooth (more so than that in the Golf and the Seat) and so does not appear to be showing the typical signs of being run on an underpowered processor.
The software on the MMI is not running in isolation: it is part of a networked system with lots of other microcontrollers / computers communicating with one another. It is not a complete surprise that there are occassional glitches and I can quite understand the commercial decision to launch the 8Y with software that isn’t quite ready on the understanding that it can be patched later.
As Jassy says, those of us who buy a car in its first year are taking our chances. (But it’s paid off for me as I bought the car at a time when I could spec Matrix Lights with S-Line trim
)(I’d be interested to know what sort of computers that you have been working with and in what capacity, Audi1966? I am a Systems Engineer with long experience of working in the Avionics industry. So I know that safety related software is never easy and that it is time-consuming to change because of the large amount of testing that is required to prove that it is still safe.)
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Sorry, I'm not buying any of that, as it implies that the senior technical people at Audi are complete idiots. Who in the right mind tries to force modern s/w to run on old hardware? They have simply encountered either a serious software error or an incompatibility issue (in certain circumstances) between different sub-systems. Most manufacturers are not offering certain options on current cars simply because they don't have the microchips. To put old stock in instead would just be plain stupid, and bound to backfire. No, this is an unfortunate (but avoidable) circumstances purely down to lack of testing in the early part of 2020 before the car was released, at a time when there was no microchip shortage. Btw, to say that the operating system is 'stable' is a bit naïve. Any 'minor' upgrade to an operating system (e.g. Windows, Android) can suddenly make it unstable (in certain situations) if it has not been thoroughly tested and debugged. Remember that most "software updates" are in fact bug fixes.
Most software updates are for security vulnerabilities regarding O/S for mobile devices, hackers move with the goalposts!
As the Audi is connected then these vulnerabilities are also evident and need to be addressed accordingly, you do not see any additional changes to the O/S unless it is a new build, this has to be compatible with all existing hardware(most will state if an old device is not supported) and therefore is based on the same coding.
This is the same for computer operating systems.
Most of the issues I have seen regarding poorly running software normally points to an issue with hardware....Audi are on a mission to save as much money as they can due to the large fines they recieved, hence why many of the materials in there new builds are poor quality, tagged with the line of using `recycled bottles for seats` and recycled bandages for door panels!.....If VW can save 50p per car then they are smiling.
As the Audi is connected then these vulnerabilities are also evident and need to be addressed accordingly, you do not see any additional changes to the O/S unless it is a new build, this has to be compatible with all existing hardware(most will state if an old device is not supported) and therefore is based on the same coding.
This is the same for computer operating systems.
Most of the issues I have seen regarding poorly running software normally points to an issue with hardware....Audi are on a mission to save as much money as they can due to the large fines they recieved, hence why many of the materials in there new builds are poor quality, tagged with the line of using `recycled bottles for seats` and recycled bandages for door panels!.....If VW can save 50p per car then they are smiling.
Started the car this morning and the mmi had updated it said purchases now available so I went into the app and under functions I can upgrade to high beam assist and I can install sat nav(not fitted 2 expensive as an option) from 1 euro 23 cent. I'll check it out later.
Have chased with Audi for an update on when this will become available, seems they’ve still no idea at the dealership, still no faith in either of the estimates I was given of July or September!
