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      11-04-2020, 07:47 AM   #1
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US-Spec G20s in Europe... OTA update?

I think there are a handful of us here...

Anyone had any luck with getting the OTA update yet?

I'm on my account page in BMW Connected (US) and under Remote Software Upgrade it says: This service is not available for your BMW

I am subscribed to the function but apparently it's not going to work over here. Anyone know of any work arounds other than going to the dealer?

What if I put my phone on a US VPN? Do you think the app would download the update??


FWIW, here's some details on my car:
April 2019 Build Date
ID7
Currently on 03/2020.58
Car Play worked no problems
Bavarian Motor Cars installed European maps
I'm using the US Connected Drive app - I registered my car using DPO,NJ - 3D view works; News is US based and weather has me here in NL. I don't have live traffic, accident cam or anything else available.

Last edited by helmet91; 11-04-2020 at 12:31 PM..
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      11-04-2020, 03:00 PM   #2
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Hello helmet91, I followed your link here from the other post. I received the OTA yesterday around 1630 Central European Time in Germany. The version I am on is 07/2020.48. Before this update I didn't have a full fledged version of iDrive installed as I couldn't even navigate to where the software version should be listed. It wasn't grayed out or anything like that, it simply did not exist. The update completed around 1800 but I'm not 100% sure about this as I turned the car off. My car shows AA and Carplay installed and I can confirm that AA works with an Unlocked Galaxy S20 that I bought from the States. I have no way of testing Carplay as I don't have an iPhone but I have no reason to suspect that it won't work. Some things I've found using AA is that the connection between the car will fail if I have my VPN enabled on my S20. The VPN doesn't prevent the BMW from seeing the phone nor does it prevent the phone from seeing the BMW. They attempt to connect but the connection always fails if the VPN is on. Once it is off they connect flawlessly. I never got Connected Drive App to work before this (NA version or DE Version). I have not tried since the OTA because I'm afraid I'll brick it. My G20 is a 2021 model that I took delivery of about 2 weeks ago. I bought it through Bavarian Motor Cars and they installed European Maps prior to delivery of the vehicle. I did not buy mine off the lot, I had it built if that makes any difference.
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      11-04-2020, 03:51 PM   #3
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Thanks for the thorough write-up.

I feel like none of this makes any sense. LOL I think everyone has a slightly different situation going on. I read through the X5 thread you linked to... My Connected Drive appears to work for the most part, so I don't know if I want to upset the apple cart by getting a hold of Connected Drive in the US or in the NL to get the update. Maybe I'll try the dealer here...
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      11-04-2020, 04:05 PM   #4
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Working the issue here myself still. Hoping working with connected drive BMW NA will help solve the problem. I have to wait until Friday to see about my connected drive being activated.
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      11-05-2020, 02:14 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by helmet91 View Post
Thanks for the thorough write-up.

I feel like none of this makes any sense. LOL I think everyone has a slightly different situation going on. I read through the X5 thread you linked to... My Connected Drive appears to work for the most part, so I don't know if I want to upset the apple cart by getting a hold of Connected Drive in the US or in the NL to get the update. Maybe I'll try the dealer here...
helmet91,

If you bought the car through Bavarian Motor Cars, I would highly suggest asking them to assist. I suspect but cannot prove that they hire/contract with an independent coder to upload the European Maps. I say this because if BMW AG had installed the Euro Maps at the factory there would be some kind of software installed. In my case and others that bought from BMC and requested Euro Maps the iDrive software had a nonexistent version of iDrive installed. Interestingly, some customers, not me, were even told they had to pay the dealer directly for the maps. BMC did quote me 600ish Euros to install US Maps before I PCS back to the States while others out there report 400ish Euros to install Euro Maps. Something is not right though I am not savvy enough to say what that is. I'd pursue a solution with BMC and I'd make it abundantly clear to them that if there isn't a software version installed on your car, that you can read through iDrive, then you'll have no choice but to report it to BMW AG for further investigation. As I said, not saying anything nefarious is going on but something odd is occurring.
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      11-07-2020, 12:53 PM   #6
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@timmedic - I didn't realize there was so much intrigue...

I think they really get you with the two or three pages you sign upon purchase saying that none of the connected stuff will work and they're not responsible.
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      11-07-2020, 02:54 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by helmet91 View Post
@timmedic - I didn't realize there was so much intrigue...

I think they really get you with the two or three pages you sign upon purchase saying that none of the connected stuff will work and they're not responsible.
So at first when I signed I would have to pay for euro maps then pay again for US maps. Since then I've talked to my salesman and was told the 430 euro covered euro maps while here and also converted back to NA maps when it was time to leave. Agree and cannot prove with Timmedic
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      11-08-2020, 10:32 AM   #8
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So I attempted to get registered in the German connected drive but wasn't successful. I wrote them about getting activated and here was the response I finally got today:

Dear Mr. Allen,

Thank you for your message.

Your BMW with the vehicle identification number WBA5R7C05MFK41701 was produced for the US American market and does not have the system requirements to use BMW ConnectedDrive in Germany. Our colleagues in the responsible department have informed us that it is unfortunately not possible to retrofit or convert your vehicle.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Your opinion is very important to us. In order to continuously improve our service quality for you, we look forward to your feedback. We have put together 2 short questions for this. The answer will of course be anonymous. https://webqcheck.4com.de/?id=12334&tan=867126e462091

Sincerely yours
Your BMW customer service

You can also find news, FAQs and how-to videos on our products and services on the> BMW FAQ website


-
BMW Group
BMW customer care
80788 Munich

Sounds like I'm back to square one with trying to get connected to connected drive and getting the update. I am going to attempt to approach BMW NA again after I have confirmation my warranty validation has gone through. I was able to get USAA to send me an insurance document with a US address on it as they require to register a US connected drive account.
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      11-08-2020, 10:58 AM   #9
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I was able to use my DPO address to register on the US Connected Drive.

Most things are enabled and work, but the Remote Software Upgrade says, "Not available for your vehicle."
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      11-08-2020, 12:10 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by helmet91 View Post
I was able to use my DPO address to register on the US Connected Drive.

Most things are enabled and work, but the Remote Software Upgrade says, "Not available for your vehicle."
You were able to register online? When I tried to call they told me I couldn't use my APO as their system didn't recognize the address
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      11-08-2020, 03:34 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by callen85 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by helmet91 View Post
I was able to use my DPO address to register on the US Connected Drive.

Most things are enabled and work, but the Remote Software Upgrade says, "Not available for your vehicle."
You were able to register online? When I tried to call they told me I couldn't use my APO as their system didn't recognize the address
I used NJ as the state... LOL
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      11-08-2020, 03:36 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by helmet91 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by callen85 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by helmet91 View Post
I was able to use my DPO address to register on the US Connected Drive.

Most things are enabled and work, but the Remote Software Upgrade says, "Not available for your vehicle."
You were able to register online? When I tried to call they told me I couldn't use my APO as their system didn't recognize the address
I used NJ as the state... LOL
Lol awesome. I don't think my VIN has hit the US system yet. I just sent in my warranty validation last week since BMC didn't send it in like they were supposed to.
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      11-09-2020, 07:58 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by callen85 View Post
So I attempted to get registered in the German connected drive but wasn't successful. I wrote them about getting activated and here was the response I finally got today:

Dear Mr. Allen,

Thank you for your message.

Your BMW with the vehicle identification number WBA5R7C05MFK41701 was produced for the US American market and does not have the system requirements to use BMW ConnectedDrive in Germany. Our colleagues in the responsible department have informed us that it is unfortunately not possible to retrofit or convert your vehicle.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Your opinion is very important to us. In order to continuously improve our service quality for you, we look forward to your feedback. We have put together 2 short questions for this. The answer will of course be anonymous. https://webqcheck.4com.de/?id=12334&tan=867126e462091

Sincerely yours
Your BMW customer service

You can also find news, FAQs and how-to videos on our products and services on the> BMW FAQ website


-
BMW Group
BMW customer care
80788 Munich

Sounds like I'm back to square one with trying to get connected to connected drive and getting the update. I am going to attempt to approach BMW NA again after I have confirmation my warranty validation has gone through. I was able to get USAA to send me an insurance document with a US address on it as they require to register a US connected drive account.

I also attempted to register on the German CD, but no luck. This was their not so helpful response:

Dear Mr. C,

Thank you for your message.

Unfortunately, BMW cannot support you in adding the import vehicle from USA / Military Sales.

Vehicles sold in the USA are ordered and produced in the national version required for the country.
This means that the telematics unit must meet the technical requirements applicable in the country.
The frequencies of the radio networks in the USA differ significantly from those in the European Union (ECE version). A conversion of the telematics unit to the European standard is not planned.

Your opinion is very important to us. In order to continuously improve our service quality for you, we look forward to your feedback. We have put together 2 short questions for this. Of course, the answer will be anonymous.

Sincerely yours
Your BMW customer service

In addition, I tried working with BMW NA to enroll in CD, and they sent me this;

Hello,

​Thank you for sending in your proof of ownership.


However, your vehicle is listed as Military status. Before your enrollment can be processed, please visit your local BMW dealership's Warranty department to have the status changed to Retail.

Once completed, your ConnectedDrive Subscriber Agreement can be set up.

Please call 888-333-6118, reference this email, and a specialist will take your necessary information to do so in a secure manner.

Or, alternatively, you can securely self-enroll by clicking on the Register Now link on the ConnectedDrive online portal home page: www.bmwusa.com/MyBMWConnectedDrive. Once registered, click on Manage Vehicles


**You will NOT be able to add any vehicles to any online accounts created for Connected Drive until you have completed your enrollment****


Now, does anyone have an idea what they mean by status change?
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      11-11-2020, 06:56 AM   #14
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The whole military/diplomatic sales thing is hardly a new concept to BMW... You'd think they would have a mechanism in place to make this stuff work for their customers.

I could be here another five years... it'd be nice if the car worked 100%. It's too bad you can't download the update to a USB.
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      11-11-2020, 01:48 PM   #15
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I totally agree... I cannot believe BMW is just leaving the military/diplomatic community out of the equation when it comes to connected drive. Especially when it makes no sense why it wont work, clearly there are no hardware limitations. On the contrary it feels as if BMW just does not care and instead will give you their copy and paste excuse: "It will not work while your vehicle is out of the country...
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      11-12-2020, 01:53 PM   #16
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Do you think hooking the phone up to a US VPN server could trick the app into downloading the update??

I might try that this weekend.
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      11-17-2020, 08:53 AM   #17
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I totally agree... I cannot believe BMW is just leaving the military/diplomatic community out of the equation when it comes to connected drive. Especially when it makes no sense why it wont work, clearly there are no hardware limitations. On the contrary it feels as if BMW just does not care and instead will give you their copy and paste excuse: "It will not work while your vehicle is out of the country...
Quote:
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Do you think hooking the phone up to a US VPN server could trick the app into downloading the update??

I might try that this weekend.
So this is by far the biggest load of BS I have ever dealt with.

I got my car from Euler. last Q of 2019. They still had not figured out how to install EU maps to the car so they made me sign a paper saying i wanted US maps (this is irritating because as I found out, it completely negates your 1 time change "free" for maps). Right before I picked the car up, they managed to get a USB stick with EU maps and that works most of the time.

Like you guys I tried to get the CD to work. It was fruitless until i took my car in to get a KAFAS issue sorted at the local German dealer.
They updated my software version to 2020.03 which somehow activated my "receiver"? The car now connects to the network when there's a specific LTE+ band i think, usually found in more modern areas. I went ahead and registered in the US CD website and the code was sent to my car and a lot of things work, but not everything. Map and car updates being one of them.

I reached out to Euler about it and apparently no one knew a thing about it, they said it was not possible blah blah.

Maps wise, I asked again to see if they could finally install it in the car and they said it would be 500 euros.

Honestly would love to have AA in the car so i can use Google maps, since the car maps don't have live traffic anyway...

I think I will try the VPN thing as well and see how it goes.
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      11-17-2020, 12:46 PM   #18
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I left my phone connected to the VPN, both on WiFi and 4G, for much of the weekend with the ConnectedDrive app on and off; no joy.

FWIW, my VPN's IP showed me in NY. Obviously the car still showed up in Europe.

Regardless of how I connect to the US CD website it always shows OTA firmware and map updates as unavailable.
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      11-17-2020, 01:18 PM   #19
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So this is by far the biggest load of BS I have ever dealt with.

I got my car from Euler. last Q of 2019. They still had not figured out how to install EU maps to the car so they made me sign a paper saying i wanted US maps (this is irritating because as I found out, it completely negates your 1 time change "free" for maps). Right before I picked the car up, they managed to get a USB stick with EU maps and that works most of the time.

Like you guys I tried to get the CD to work. It was fruitless until i took my car in to get a KAFAS issue sorted at the local German dealer.
They updated my software version to 2020.03 which somehow activated my "receiver"? The car now connects to the network when there's a specific LTE+ band i think, usually found in more modern areas. I went ahead and registered in the US CD website and the code was sent to my car and a lot of things work, but not everything. Map and car updates being one of them.

I reached out to Euler about it and apparently no one knew a thing about it, they said it was not possible blah blah.

Maps wise, I asked again to see if they could finally install it in the car and they said it would be 500 euros.

Honestly would love to have AA in the car so i can use Google maps, since the car maps don't have live traffic anyway...

I think I will try the VPN thing as well and see how it goes.
I also got my car from Euler, so I feel your pain. As for AA, maybe you can try taking the car again to the local dealer and complain about your idrive acting up. Maybe they will update the software again but this time to 07/2020.xx? I don't know, that's something I would try.

Question for you, how did you managed to register on the US CD? I just tried it once and they just told me that I first needed to have my car status changed from Military to Retail. Not sure what to do and/or what they meant by that.

Also, dumb question, How can I tell when and/or if the car is connected to the network?

Last edited by mcd004; 11-17-2020 at 01:39 PM..
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      11-17-2020, 03:34 PM   #20
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I also got my car from Euler, so I feel your pain. As for AA, maybe you can try taking the car again to the local dealer and complain about your idrive acting up. Maybe they will update the software again but this time to 07/2020.xx? I don't know, that's something I would try.

Question for you, how did you managed to register on the US CD? I just tried it once and they just told me that I first needed to have my car status changed from Military to Retail. Not sure what to do and/or what they meant by that.

Also, dumb question, How can I tell when and/or if the car is connected to the network?
UGh IKR.. So disappointing.

So to be honest I have no fucking clue. My car one day lit up. Then I went into the settings and somehow I had all of the data settings. So I went into the connected drive portal and made an account. I had a to choose a random state though and I received the code in the car. And that was it.
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      12-04-2020, 03:49 AM   #21
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My connected drive finally works today and I received an over the air update to 07.60. Once I finally got my warranty validation completed and I could add my car into bmwusa garage I started the process to activate my connected drive. I had to provide an insurance document with a US address so all I did was call the insurance company and changed my mailing address and sent in that and my certificate of origin. A few days later I got an email to call to finish setting it up. Another 4 days went by while I continued to try and put my VIN into the connected drive phone app. This morning it finally took and started the update on its own. To finish the process I had to restart the system so it would send my validation code to the car. Now everything works as it should. Hope that helps get someone else's stuff working.
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      12-04-2020, 11:41 AM   #22
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Oh wow...

What does your Connected Drive account say on the actual website? For me it says OTA is unavailable. Every other connected drive thing appears to work.
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