Double-Secret Updates - You're Just "Little People"

[ChuckA]

So OTAs come out, most recently the one for the GT-PE (2.8.2 I think)..and what does that do for the customer?

Oh, little things, you know...stuff.

And that's by no means all...what about the OBCC update from earlier this week? What was that supposed to correct or enhance?

The list goes on and on...very little in the way of clues as to what these updates are supposed to do for us but that in general we should be glad that we are so blessed.

So I guess @Ford Motor Company thinks we just don't need to know these things about why our cars are getting these updates, I guess because we're just "little people".

I get more info from Apple on what they want to change on my iPhone than I do from Ford on any topic I can think of, from reservations, to orders, to tracking. And after-sales it's the updates that have no explanation for why they're important. It takes smart folks on these forums to Sherlock this stuff out, and even at that many times the smart folks don't even know in the end.

Ridiculous.

2.8.2 activated BlueCruise and is the delivery of 21G01 ( for my ‘21 Premium). It was not something to spit at.

2.8.3 came a day later and I have no idea what that fixed. Just keep the OTA’s coming and turn off automatic updates if it bothers you.

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[MellowJohnny]

I don't think Ford is being deliberately deceptive, but 99% of the time "you don't need to know". Getting back to Apple, for most people Apps update automatically in the background and you never even know they changed, unless the icon or UI is new or they specifically want to call out a new version.

I'm in software, that's just how we do it.

 

[Pregrid]

I’d like to be in the top 1%, but in this case I’ll settle for the bottom 95%

 

[Mike G]

I don't think Ford is being deliberately deceptive, but 99% of the time "you don't need to know". Getting back to Apple, for most people Apps update automatically in the background and you never even know they changed, unless the icon or UI is new or they specifically want to call out a new version.

I'm in software, that's just how we do it.

 

[MellowJohnny]

You can throw your toys out of the pram if you want, but it ain't gonna change. The majority doesn't care.

 

[RedStallion]

I don't think Ford is being deliberately deceptive, but 99% of the time "you don't need to know". Getting back to Apple, for most people Apps update automatically in the background and you never even know they changed, unless the icon or UI is new or they specifically want to call out a new version.

I'm in software, that's just how we do it.

Remember batterygate? Apple was sued because the company misled users over an update that said it would enhance performance, but instead slowed phones down.
I still can't forgive Ford for one of the latest updates that claimed to improve the break pedal experience while instead degrading regen.

 

[SnBGC]

Remember batterygate? Apple was sued because the company misled users over an update that said it would enhance performance, but instead slowed phones down.
I still can't forgive Ford for one of the latest updates that claimed to improve the break pedal experience while instead degrading regen.

Perhaps 80% of the owners had crappy brakes while 20% were just fine. So maybe Ford released an update that improved the 80% and us 20% drivers were just a casualty in the process. Just speculating though. Sometimes there is no making sense of any of this stuff. Does seem kinda random at times.

 

[MellowJohnny]

Remember batterygate? Apple was sued because the company misled users over an update that said it would enhance performance, but instead slowed phones down.
I still can't forgive Ford for one of the latest updates that claimed to improve the break pedal experience while instead degrading regen.

Lying is not the same as "dumbing down" release notes for the GA. And that release probably did have "performance improvements" in addition to that lovely throttling "feature".

But I doubt this is the kind of granularity anyone is looking for:

• The following new C++20 and C++23 features are now implemented:
  • C++20 library concepts defined in <concepts>
  • constexpr for std::swap() and swap-related functions
  • Miscellaneous constexpr-ification in the library
  • std::atomic now default initializes as expected
  • A .contains() method for associative containers
  • Added std::bind_front() (88131816)

That's from the iOS 15.5 developer release notes, which of course the general public does not need to know about. So what the general public got was:

iOS 15.5 includes the following improvements and bug fixes:
• Wallet now enables Apple Cash customers to send and request money from their Apple Cash card
• Apple Podcasts includes a new setting to limit episodes stored on your iPhone and automatically delete older ones
• Fixes an issue where home automations, triggered by people arriving or leaving, may fail

And more often than not all you get is the first line - "improvements & bug fixes"...

So ya, 99% of it you don't need to know.

 

[DYohn]

I DON'T FRIGGING CARE what the updates are. I just want my car to work to the best of its ability. Thanks.

 

[Volfan615]

My problem with the updates is that they keep jacking up my radio presets. Strange thing is it's only the SiriusXM presets. My FM presets remain unchanged.

 

[RedStallion]

Lying is not the same as "dumbing down" release notes for the GA. And that release probably did have "performance improvements" in addition to that lovely throttling "feature".

But I doubt this is the kind of granularity anyone is looking for:

• The following new C++20 and C++23 features are now implemented:
  • C++20 library concepts defined in <concepts>
  • constexpr for std::swap() and swap-related functions
  • Miscellaneous constexpr-ification in the library
  • std::atomic now default initializes as expected
  • A .contains() method for associative containers
  • Added std::bind_front() (88131816)

That's from the iOS 15.5 developer release notes, which of course the general public does not need to know about. So what the general public got was:

iOS 15.5 includes the following improvements and bug fixes:
• Wallet now enables Apple Cash customers to send and request money from their Apple Cash card
• Apple Podcasts includes a new setting to limit episodes stored on your iPhone and automatically delete older ones
• Fixes an issue where home automations, triggered by people arriving or leaving, may fail

And more often than not all you get is the first line - "improvements & bug fixes"...

So ya, 99% of it you don't need to know.

That's such a bad example. The C++ features have nothing to do with the users of iOS, they have everything to do with the C++ standard and thus are important to software developers, who want to know everything about that.

What I mentioned was that Ford quietly degraded the regen, which impacts everybody who drives with 1PD. Ford degraded the driving experience and the least they should have done was to mention that. By such updates they undermine the trust of the customers and will drive them away from Ford. Some issues like that may become a legal liability, like Apple discovered. But even when not, driving customer satisfaction down is not a smart business strategy. I personally would not buy another Ford if they don't fix it by the end of three years. I'm sure there will be enough competition by that time.

 

[nvabill]

I get more info from Apple on what they want to change on my iPhone than I do from Ford on any topic I can think of......

Interesting, every time I get an iPhone update I read what it says but I always find it to be very vague.

 

[KevinS]

Turning off Auto Update doesn't change anything much. The update notices still appear in the car. Information regarding that update is the same.

Yes, but it does not update the vehicle so it has no effect until the owner chooses to do something about it.

The OP can decide in his own time when he's comfortable with the level of information he has.

 

[Logal727]

My problem with the updates is that they keep jacking up my radio presets. Strange thing is it's only the SiriusXM presets. My FM presets remain unchanged.

Seems like I’ve only had it change the station art, but the channel preset stayed the same, I just had to go through each one and hold it to make the preset art come back

 

[SnBGC]

Yes, but it does not update the vehicle so it has no effect until the owner chooses to do something about it.

The OP can decide in his own time when he's comfortable with the level of information he has.

Yes. That is kinda nice to have that option. I keep it turned off so I can see what it says first before I accept. Although, the OTAs may stack up and if that is the case then it only shows us the details for the earliest available (but not yet installed) update. I think that happened to me with 2.7.1 and the Digital Owners Manual (and whatever might have been in between those two updates).

One of the early PowerUps said it added horns and lights to FordPass but I already had it since day one. But I accepted the OTA anyway and nothing significant changed and some new bugs appeared. I think they resolved on their own after a couple of weeks because I can't remember what thos bugs were anymore. Then many months later I got a notice for another update that added that same feature again so I didn't accept. That was 2.7.1

Then weeks later, my wife accidentally accepted that update and when it finished it said Digital Owners Manual in the completion notes. So I am not sure if 2.7.1 installed or not but I am guessing it did along with whatever other OTAs that may have been queued up by that time?

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