Charge Assist (Public Charging) Feature is Rolling Out!

[MellowJohnny]

FYI: I never received a Power Up that specifically provided Charge Assist. The EAP told me I had it and there it was. In the case of a non-EAP owner who found they had it, Charge Assist hadn't come as a specific Power Up for them either. They were surprised to find they had it.

My guess is Charge Assist is an easter egg inside a Power Up and once Ford activates it on their end, it magically appears.

I think you're right - I don't see how new software can be pushed to SYNC w/o a PowerUp.

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[MasterJey]

Got mine today (after a week after 5.1.1)
Gonna try it out

 

[AllenXS]

Hi Owners – Charging is about to get even better with another way to activate your charge experience!

Now, with Charge Assist, soon to be known as Public Charging, you will be able to search for and start a public charging session on the BlueOval® Charge Network right from your vehicle’s touchscreen. The best part? You now have the option to use either the vehicle’s touchscreen or the FordPass App on your phone to charge your car and complete a payment. This is especially helpful if you need to lend your car to a friend!

You will also be able to filter charging stations by charging speed and network and have a more seamless way to receive real-time information on new chargers, like availability and those in-repair all from inside your vehicle.

Just like you could before, you can still use the FordPass App – we are just giving you more choices for how you charge. As a reminder, the BlueOval Charge Network, North America’s largest public charging network by an automaker, is a “network of networks” that provides Ford EV drivers with access to a variety of charging providers without the need for multiple apps and memberships. Charging providers currently include Shell Recharge Solutions, Electrify America, EVgo, ChargePoint, FLO, Blink, EV Connect, and Electric Circuit, with more on the way.

If you aren’t enrolled in BlueOval Charge Network no problem. You will see a QR code on the screen that will prompt you to enroll.

Below is a guide of how to use the new feature and you can find more information here. Let us know what you think!

How To Use Charge Assist:

Navigating to a Public Charger:

1. Select Home button
2. Tap Charge Assist
3. Adjust filters if desired then tap charger location for details
4. Click the distance button to navigate to charger. Once you are at the charging location, click I’m Here Now

Start a Charging Session:

1. Select Home button
2. Tap Charge Assist
3. Match charging stall name to the one you are parked at and click Activate
4. Plug in the charger once you see the prompt change
5. Charging will begin! When the blue bar reaches desired state of charge press stop
6. Unplug the charger one the prompt appears

Thanks, but how about frunk assist for the early models. On behalf of the Jim fan club

 

[spicy_taco]

It showed up tonight. Is this what 5.1.1 brought?

 

[dj_stang]

Rolled out for me as well. Pretty useless since I can’t link my unlimited charging for Chargepoint L2 or other pass subscriptions. Very laggy as well and clearly running a web app in the background.

Hopefully next gen gets snappier processors or the code gets more optimized, I know they can do it.

 

[Phil-Springs]

Got it and tried to use it at an EA station. It had the charger showing inoperable, but I was able to plug in and charge just fine without it. So it was completely useless in this case.

 

[BigMach-E]

I am not sure how useful this feature is right now.

 

[ChasingCoral]

Some folks have speculated the information for Charge Assist is coming from PlugShare. I had an experience this weekend that further corroborates this theory: I was in Central VA and the EA charging station at the Sheetz in Zion Crossroads didn't show up at all on Charge Assist. When I look on PlugShare, the station is grayed out as "Unavailable". However, both the EA app and Ford Navigation showed the station online, operating, and both gave real-time information on which chargers were in use.

Charge Assist may be only showing those stations that are currently providing information on their status through PlugShare, thus unavailable stations don't appear even when you are sitting right in front of them.

 

[Sillybibbles]

@Ford Motor Company, At present subscriptions for the various networks are not recognized within the Blue Oval system. And that's terrible, because if I accidentally plug into an Electrify America charger without first starting from my phone, then it will charge me the full price despite having a subscription. Blue Oval is actively BLOCKING my PAID subscription - costing me more for no value add. Not only is that useless, it's actively destructive. If you want to be a 'network of networks', then you'll need to stop [effectively] blocking our existing paid network subscriptions!

 

[Logal727]

Some folks have speculated the information for Charge Assist is coming from PlugShare. I had an experience this weekend that further corroborates this theory: I was in Central VA and the EA charging station at the Sheetz in Zion Crossroads didn't show up at all on Charge Assist. When I look on PlugShare, the station is grayed out as "Unavailable". However, both the EA app and Ford Navigation showed the station online, operating, and both gave real-time information on which chargers were in use.

Charge Assist may be only showing those stations that are currently providing information on their status through PlugShare, thus unavailable stations don't appear even when you are sitting right in front of them.

Nav has always gathered it's info from Plugshare I thought, same with FordPass

 

[benk016]

I think you're right - I don't see how new software can be pushed to SYNC w/o a PowerUp.

Charge Assist is not an app. It is just a website in the sync internet browser. They push a shortcut to it from the server side. It does not need a powerup to enable. Just like how youtube works.

 

[MellowJohnny]

Charge Assist is not an app. It is just a website in the sync internet browser. They push a shortcut to it from the server side. It does not need a powerup to enable. Just like how youtube works.

Ah! Cool, got it. Thanks for that.

 

[ThatGuyLando]

I tried using this on my last trip because I thought, hey if I don't have to pull out my phone to activate the charger it's kinda cool. It's slow as molasses, like launch Youtube slow... I ended up just using my phone anyways.

And for those wondering why I'm activating from my phone, it's because Plug&Charged worked once for me, never worked again so I just don't bother with it anymore.

 

[TheSteelRider]

Again, I don't understand this at all. Using Plug and Charge I NEVER need to use the Ford Pass App to select a charger, NEVER need to select a specific charger location and stall number. The Plug and Charge sequence is well...plug and charge - sometimes follow any charger onscreen prompts.

Ford: This is not easier, not more intuitive, nor an enhancement over Plug and Charge. I would appreciate an explanation of the benefits and how this is an improvement.

I wonder if this is part of a ramp-up to when we will (supposedly) be able to charge at Tesla stalls. This way, we won't need the Tesla app.?

Edit: Oops, I should have kept reading, someone beat me to the theory

One of the reasons Ford is pushing Charge Assist is probably in anticipation of the opening of Tesla SuperChargers.
Ford announced that we would not need the Tesla app to charge. Everything should be done directly in Ford Pass. By adding Charge Assist, it gives one more option to avoid using the Tesla app.

 

[SpaceLeftBlank]

Charge Assist is not an app. It is just a website in the sync internet browser. They push a shortcut to it from the server side. It does not need a powerup to enable. Just like how youtube works.

Given that, it seems odd that I don’t have it by now. All the PowerUp updates have been rolling in just fine (at 6.1 right now). And pushing a shortcut is orders of magnitude less taxing on bandwidth etc.

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