Bimmerlink 12v Battery Registration

[Anonymous]

Just an FYI - was just in contact with SG Software GmbH & Co. KG, the creators of BimmerCode and BimmerLink.

They indicated to me that BimmerLink now (finally) supports i3 Battery Registration.

 

[Bertone]

Any plans for Bimmercode to support battery registration?

 

[alohart]

Any plans for Bimmercode to support battery registration?

Ask the developer of BimmerCode and BimmerLink via email to [email protected]. He has been very responsive in the past.

 

[Bertone]

Done. Will report back with the answer.

 

[Bertone]

The answer from them is "...no plans to introduce it in Bimmercode, use Bimmerlink instead"

 

[skyfx]

Can anybody confirm whether the battery registration feature of Bimmerlink is included in the free version or whether I would have to buy the full version for $41.99?

Btw, I called Pepboys to ask if they could do the registration for me. They said I should have used a car memory saver device (I assume they mean something like this) while doing the battery replacement. This was not mentioned in the instructional video (included below for reference) I had watched, so I had not done it. Can anybody speak to whether this supposed relearn is really necessary? Pepboys said it would cost $50.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKRj8gLcsfI

 

[EvanstonI3]

Can anybody confirm whether the battery registration feature of Bimmerlink is included in the free version or whether I would have to buy the full version for $41.99?

$41.99? I thought it was $31.99. (just checked and yes it seems to be $31.99)
Anyways there is no "free version" of BIMMERLINK. You have to pay to download it.
The companion app: BIMMERCODE is "free" to download but you have to pay in order to actually use it.
The only one that can "register" the battery is BIMMERLINK.

There is some debate on whether registering the battery on the i3 does anything other than mark when it was changed.
Using BimmerLink, my original battery does not show up as ever being "registered".

 

[skyfx]

Can anybody confirm whether the battery registration feature of Bimmerlink is included in the free version or whether I would have to buy the full version for $41.99?

$41.99? I thought it was $31.99. (just checked and yes it seems to be $31.99)
Anyways there is no "free version" of BIMMERLINK. You have to pay to download it.
The companion app: BIMMERCODE is "free" to download but you have to pay in order to actually use it.
The only one that can "register" the battery is BIMMERLINK.

There is some debate on whether registering the battery on the i3 does anything other than mark when it was changed.
Using BimmerLink, my original battery does not show up as ever being "registered".

Thanks for your input. I have to humbly disagree with your statement that there is no free version of Bimmerlink. It is free to download from Google Play (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=io.sgsoftware.bimmerlink). Within the app, it gives you the option to buy the full version for $41.99, but encourages you to try the free version first.

 

[EvanstonI3]

ah, interesting. iOS version is pay first before download
So, if it is free to download why not do that and see what it allows you to do?
I would think the worst that could happen is you attempt to Register the battery and it tells you that you have to pay first.

edited to add: Looking at the Reviews it appears one from January 2021 mentions this regarding battery registration:
"The app coaxes you into buying the "Pro" version of the app when you try to register the battery, only to fail once I paid my money."

https://play.google.com/store/apps/...1hjrN2c6IfSRobW7p2Y3xmse_o55g6xxR_ht9OMP3aU1w


The iOS version of BIMMERCODE is free to download but you can't actually "do" anything with it until you pay for it. Everything is demo mode.

 

[skyfx]

ah, interesting. iOS version is pay first before download
So, if it is free to download why not do that and see what it allows you to do?
I would think the worst that could happen is you attempt to Register the battery and it tells you that you have to pay first.

edited to add: Looking at the Reviews it appears one from January 2021 mentions this regarding battery registration:
"The app coaxes you into buying the "Pro" version of the app when you try to register the battery, only to fail once I paid my money."

https://play.google.com/store/apps/...1hjrN2c6IfSRobW7p2Y3xmse_o55g6xxR_ht9OMP3aU1w


The iOS version of BIMMERCODE is free to download but you can't actually "do" anything with it until you pay for it. Everything is demo mode.

You can't do anything in the app unless you have your ODB reader connected to your car, and I don't have mine on me right now, so I thought I'd ask

 

[skyfx]

Can anybody confirm whether the battery registration feature of Bimmerlink is included in the free version or whether I would have to buy the full version for $41.99?

Btw, I called Pepboys to ask if they could do the registration for me. They said I should have used a car memory saver device (I assume they mean something like this) while doing the battery replacement. This was not mentioned in the instructional video (included below for reference) I had watched, so I had not done it. Can anybody speak to whether this supposed relearn is really necessary? Pepboys said it would cost $50.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKRj8gLcsfI

I had emailed the app developer to ask the same question and he indicated the full version is required. Disappointed that there are no discounts for people who already own Bimmercode

 

[alohart]

Disappointed that there are no discounts for people who already own Bimmercode

The developer has updated the iOS versions of BimmerCode 25 times in the past 3 years and BimmerLink 25 times in the past 4 years as new system software versions have benn released for various BMW models, yet he has never charged for any of these updates AFAIK. The system software in our 2014 i3 has been updated 3 times. With each new system software version, the parameters for one or more electronic modules could not be changed (a.k.a., coded) until a new BimmerCode version had been released. This always occurred within a couple of months at no cost to me. As a retired software developer, that's pretty amazing.

Registering a new 12 V battery is a minor feature of BimmerLink. Its principal feature is being able to read and delete BMW's proprietary diagnostic trouble codes (DTC's). Before I was aware of BimmerLink, I paid $160 for a Foxwell OBD reader with BMW software, so BimmerLink is a fantastic value. If you don't value these features, registering a new 12 V battery isn't necessary on an i3, so you don't really need to license BimmerLink.

 

[skyfx]

Disappointed that there are no discounts for people who already own Bimmercode

If you don't value these features, registering a new 12 V battery isn't necessary on an i3, so you don't really need to license BimmerLink.

Thanks for your input. Could you elaborate on the above statement? Looking at this thread, there seemed to be a lot of arguments for registering the 12V battery.

 

[alohart]

Could you elaborate on the above statement? Looking at this thread, there seemed to be a lot of arguments for registering the 12V battery.

For BMW's ICE vehicles, registering a new 12 V battery can apparently affect their alternators' charging behavior as the battery ages. There are at least 2 BMW-certified i mechanics on the Facebook Worldwide BMW i3 group who have explained that the i3's 12 V charging system is so different from that of BMW's ICE vehicles that the i3's charging behavior isn't dependent on the 12 V battery's installation date, battery type, or battery capacity, all of which are recorded during registration. By now, there have been several i3 owners who installed new 12 V batteries a few years ago without registering them. AFAIK, none has reported a shortened battery life or any other problem that might have been caused by not registering.