As you switch from I Remote to BMW connected app...

[MikeS]

I’m still using the I Remote app without any problems! Given the dreadful reviews of the BMW Connected App on the apple app store I can see not reason to get it?

 

[psquare]

I’m still using the I Remote app without any problems! Given the dreadful reviews of the BMW Connected App on the apple app store I can see not reason to get it?

Since late December my iRemote app was struggling to connect to BMW servers (nb this has nothing to do with my internet connection at home or whether my car is in a low-signal area). Usually at some point during the day the problem went and I blamed BMW server load for this effect.

The BMW Remote app -which I only managed to get working after deleting and re-installing as a new version- worked straight away for me and I've been able to get SOC, precon, departure time straight away. To a certain degree, I like the different layout, too. But it's early days yet.

2 other people on Twitter (search for #bmwi3 ) had the same problem with iRemote this morning.

 

[MikeS]

Can’t claim to be a frequent user of the app, but it has always connected when i have used it.

 

[jadnashuanh]

As stated earlier, though, while it works okay on iOS phones and cellular equipped iPads, it does not work on a Wi-Fi only iPad (which I use at home) while the Android iRemote version works regardless as long as you can connect to the internet.

 

[psquare]

Appears that the "session lost" problem continues to happen on the Connected App. :-(

I've also noticed that the connection is still as slow as before. Connecting in the morning between 7 and 9am (UK time) is patchy.

BMW has a server-side problem. Maybe the platform doesn't scale well. I can imagine the official BMW answer will be: "It's because our Connected Car approach has been so awesome and successful."

Reality is that ConnectedDrive is struggling. Some of it may be temporarily, as they're obviously moving all drivers onto one app now. However, a system that can not reliably tell me in the morning whether my car has charged overnight or not isn't good enough (yet).

There are also usability issues. After a few days of using the Connected app, I have to agree with other posters on here that some of the screen elements are too small - even on a phablet.

Still, despite its shortcomings, ConnectedDrive currently offers a better experience than most other manufacturers. From a security perspective, I like their architectural approach to not allow direct communication with the car, but via BMW servers instead.

Overall, there is a lot of room for improvement though.