ConnectedDrive

[Fisher99]

Just loaded the app on my Android phone, to use with my "new to me" 2014 i3/Rex. I have managed to lock/unlock the doors remotely, although it seems to take several minutes to complete. However, whenever I try the "Climatize" option, it gives up after about 5 minutes and says that it couldn't complete and to try again later. I've tried 3 times now with the same result. Is this app just flakey or do I have some sort of issue?

 

[vreihen]

My understanding is that BMW uses SMS text messages to send commands to the car. When I was trying to pair my car with the web site last month, it seemed to take over 5 minutes to send the confirmation code message to the car. The one time that I tried to send a trip plan to the car from my office took even longer than that for it to arrive. I bought my car as they were doing the "upgrade" that removed several important functions from the web site, so I have no benchmark for how it worked before that. It isn't exactly instantaneous for me.

I think that they are using AT&T for their data carrier, so it may also be worth checking their signal strength and network congestion/throughput in your area to see if it is being made worse by a signal issue.....

 

[Fisher99]

I've tried a few more times now and while I can lock/unlock, whenever I try to "Climatize", it fails. Car was plugged in with a mostly full charge. I'm pretty sure that it's got ok AT&T coverage or else it wouldn't be able to do the lock/unlock. It also displays my vehicle info (miles since last charge, etc) just fine.

 

[3pete]

My experience with Connected Drive when I first got my car was that 20% of the commands I sent it actually went through. Since then it has gotten better but there are still times/days when the commands just plain don't work. Based on the behavior, my educated guess is that BMW has issues on the server-side of things because it will happen in places with good cell phone service and where it has worked before. The app is of no help to give a meaningful failure message either, so you're just left to try it again later.

For what it's worth, I just tried to send a Charging Control change to my car and it failed and I'm attaching my recent remote history. 71% is good enough for BMW I guess. It could be my imagination but some commands do seem to be more reliable than others; Climatize and Charge Control (the ones I tend to use most) seem to be the least likely to succeed.

 

[Fisher99]

Well that's not very encouraging. But at least it doesn't sound like it's an issue related to just me, so I guess I can take some comfort in that. But I was looking forward to being able to de-ice the i3 and make it nice and toasty on those cold winter mornings without having to run outside...

 

[n1o2c3a4c5h6e7t]

The app has become less reliable over time for me. These days, all of my commands fail, including lock/unlock and climatize. It's a shame. I wonder if BMW even cares any more.

 

[Fisher99]

Yeah, seems like a real shame. And I don't see any option within the app to give feedback to BMW.

 

[vreihen]

But I was looking forward to being able to de-ice the i3 and make it nice and toasty on those cold winter mornings without having to run outside...

Assuming that you work regular hours, program a departure time into the car. It will automagically pre-condition to a shirt-sleeve 72 F without having to do a thing. I have morning and afternoon departure times programmed, and have yet to get into a hot/cold car except when taking a trip outside of my commute schedule.

Yeah, seems like a real shame. And I don't see any option within the app to give feedback to BMW.

I have received several surveys from ConnectedDrive since signing up last month, in the app, on the web, and via email. They owe me a new "1" key (very dissatisfied) on my keyboard, from wearing the old one out answering their surveys. Not that anyone reads the answers or they will actually fix anything from the feedback, but at least I have had several opportunities to vent..... :twisted:

 

[spinball]

The climatize option of my Connected app on my 2017 i3 has failed 100% of the time for over a month now. :x I called BMW Connected Services and they were just like "yeah there's been some server problem and we have no ETA." I asked if there was a way they were going to inform their customers and they were like "you can call us back". :?

The app for my Model 3 is flawless and commands are always received within a few seconds. Needless to say this is inexcusable for a BMW that has a higher MSRP than my Tesla!

This is probably the last straw for me and will be done with BMW after this. Hire some software people that understand intuitively you can't have an outage for over a month with zero communication. That is not a luxury experience. Hell, our Chevy app is way more reliable.

 

[Fisher99]

Definitely doesn't sound like BMW is providing decent customer service regarding ConnectDrive. Seems strange to me, since I would assume that the ConnectedDrive app is used by all of their electric hybrid vehicles and not just the i3.

 

[joeguzman10]

The climatize option of my Connected app on my 2014 i3 stop working about 10 days ago.
Living in Houston Texas it's a bad time for this option to break.
I still get feedback for location and charging.

 

[vreihen]

Definitely doesn't sound like BMW is providing decent customer service regarding ConnectDrive. Seems strange to me, since I would assume that the ConnectedDrive app is used by all of their electric hybrid vehicles and not just the i3.

I'm pretty sure that ConnectedDrive is used by every car they've sold recently, including ICE cars. When the outage was happening last month, I found the news article on a BMW gas-car forum.

BMW seems to use the same iDrive electronics in every car they make, with a few custom additions for features unique to any particular vehicle. It must save them lots of money, versus developing unique systems for every different vehicle in their catalog.....

 

[DigitalEl]

The climatize option of my Connected app on my 2017 i3 has failed 100% of the time for over a month now. :x I called BMW Connected Services and they were just like "yeah there's been some server problem and we have no ETA." I asked if there was a way they were going to inform their customers and they were like "you can call us back". :?

The app for my Model 3 is flawless and commands are always received within a few seconds. Needless to say this is inexcusable for a BMW that has a higher MSRP than my Tesla!

This is probably the last straw for me and will be done with BMW after this. Hire some software people that understand intuitively you can't have an outage for over a month with zero communication. That is not a luxury experience. Hell, our Chevy app is way more reliable.

I came here specifically to seek help on this very issue. So it’s not just me... That’s a relief. But yeah, this is unacceptable. And there’s absolutely nothing I can do about it.

It’s weird that remote lock and unlock work, but not climatize or set departure time.

My iDrive screen shows the globe with a slash through it, meaning the i3 isn’t seeing the network via its SIM card. This has been an on-again, off-again problem for me since taking delivery.

It’ll work for a week or ten days, then be offline for a couple of days. Repeat.

It’s been offline for about 3 weeks now. Today’s high in Phoenix is forecast for 116, meaning I can’t precondition the cabin via the app. I know I can set Departure Times via iDrive, but sometimes you don’t know exactly when you’ll be leaving — for instance, when visiting relatives on a lazy Sunday, it used to be ideal to climatize the cabin 20 minutes before leaving.

On a car full of gizmos and tech, preconditioning via the app was one of my favorite features.

 

[cdnji]

I tried using the climatize function this morning and it worked. I used the Android version of the app which, btw, I had to sideload because it's not supposed to be available for us in Canada.

 

[i3Houston]

Yes, It started working for me too!! wohoo

 

[Fisher99]

I'm happy for you guys, but I just tried mine and it failed again. "Remote service cannot be executed at the moment. Please try again later".

 

[Fisher99]

I guess I spoke too soon. While it failed the first time I tried it today, it has worked perfectly the next 2 times. Once before I left home and once before leaving a restaurant at noon. I have to say, in this 100 degree heat today, that was pretty nice... I hope it continues to work!

 

[vreihen]

Reddit also has reports of this not working, along with an explanation that there is another server move going on behind the scenes:

https://www.reddit.com/r/BMWi3/comments/bz5jss/climatize_now_has_stopped_working_middle_of/

 

[Boltoni3]

I haven't had access (Toronto) since March 26. Unacceptable. My wife's shopping for an EV - his experience has knocked BMW off the list. We've spoken with a few Tesla owners - none have experienced issues with their apps.

 

[Fisher99]

The guy I just bought my i3 from replaced with a Tesla Model 3. He says that there is absolutely no comparison in the apps. In his words "The BMW app is crappy and the Tesla app is amazing". But, at least the app seems to be working for me now, so that's something.