Jimrpa

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One quick question . . . Is your Apple Watch +cellular, or WiFi only. I am wondering if my cellular Apple Watch would be different.
Cellular.
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Jimrpa

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There are two broad categories of Watch apps...

One type (and the original type) is apps that are really just extensions of the phone app. For these apps, no actual code runs directly on the watch ... other than a user interface. When you interact with the watch it just conveys everything to the phone and the phone runs all the functions. The watch is a convenience in that you don't have to take your phone of your pocket, purse, etc. but it does have to be nearby. The watch normally talks to the phone via bluetooth low-energy. But if a phone in range the watch can switch to WiFi to see if the phone is at least on the same WiFi network (and will communicate that way if it can ... but it doesn't default to this since WiFi draws more battery power than bluetooth low-energy).

The other type (and this is more recent) are programs that can run entirely independent on the watch and need no phone. The upside is independence from the phone ... you could leave your phone at home and go for a run, etc. and these apps would all just work (it is popular for fitness apps to work this way). The downside is that these apps are noticeably larger (take up more storage on the watch) and use more power (so less battery life if you use them heavily).

Seems like Ford must have implemented the watch app via the original method ... especially since Ford expects we will mostly use PaaK -- which requires the phone to be with you anyway.
Exactly. And that is an unforimplementation decision. Not just for the Mustang Mach E, but for all vehicles with FordPass.
And for the Mustang Mach E (and future PaaK), this should be implemented to work with just the watch.
 

GoGoGadgetMachE

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Exactly. And that is an unforimplementation decision. Not just for the Mustang Mach E, but for all vehicles with FordPass.
And for the Mustang Mach E (and future PaaK), this should be implemented to work with just the watch.
I didn't know about the two options but if I'd bet, this is a history thing, meaning the second option wasn't an option when Ford started. I say this having no idea how hard it is to get to "running on the Watch directly".
 
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TheVirtualTim

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I didn't know about the two options but if I'd bet, this is a history thing, meaning the second option wasn't an option when Ford started. I say this having no idea how hard it is to get to "running on the Watch directly".
Apple used to not allow apps to run completely on the watch due to battery draw. But when they started coming out with newer watches with longer battery life ... added cellular service to the watch, etc. they had people who wanted to go for a run ... just use the watch ... and leave the phone at home (or in the car, etc.) So Apple allowed apps to run on the watch without a phone.

Mostly it's fitness apps that seem to take advantage of this. But this is a good reason for Ford to update the app so it could be it's own PaaK independent of the phone.
 


Jimrpa

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Apple used to not allow apps to run completely on the watch due to battery draw. But when they started coming out with newer watches with longer battery life ... added cellular service to the watch, etc. they had people who wanted to go for a run ... just use the watch ... and leave the phone at home (or in the car, etc.) So Apple allowed apps to run on the watch without a phone.

Mostly it's fitness apps that seem to take advantage of this. But this is a good reason for Ford to update the app so it could be it's own PaaK independent of the phone.
So, I have a Chamberlain MyQ Garage Door Opener (pro tip - avoid this piece of garbage like the plague) and it works fine off the watch without the phone being present. I use it to get back into the house after I come home from a run (and I open the garage well before I'm in either wifi or bluetooth range). I bring this up to cite a perfect example of a totally incompetent company that, nonetheless was able to put together a half-baked piece of garbage that could run exclusively on the watch and barely perform what it was designed to do.
 
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TheVirtualTim

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So, I have a Chamberlain MyQ Garage Door Opener (pro tip - avoid this piece of garbage like the plague) and it works fine off the watch without the phone being present. I use it to get back into the house after I come home from a run (and I open the garage well before I'm in either wifi or bluetooth range). I bring this up to cite a perfect example of a totally incompetent company that, nonetheless was able to put together a half-baked piece of garbage that could run exclusively on the watch and barely perform what it was designed to do.
Interesting... so you highly endorse it? lol

I don't have the garage door opener but I do have their MyQ "HomeKit Bridge". It bridges between Apple HomeKit (and Siri) and the industry standard HomeLink protocol so I can open my garage doors (which have Genie brand openers ... which are now both 20 years old and have never given me any problems. My garage was built in 1940 (like my home) so the garage doors actually ARE solid wood ... they're pretty heavy (but the springs compensate for the weight).
 

Illinibird

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No issues with mine either. We like IQ and also have Amazon delivery using garage door and a temporary code. Ours is belt driven and very quiet.
 

Jimrpa

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Interesting... so you highly endorse it? lol

I don't have the garage door opener but I do have their MyQ "HomeKit Bridge". It bridges between Apple HomeKit (and Siri) and the industry standard HomeLink protocol so I can open my garage doors (which have Genie brand openers ... which are now both 20 years old and have never given me any problems. My garage was built in 1940 (like my home) so the garage doors actually ARE solid wood ... they're pretty heavy (but the springs compensate for the weight).

Actually, I DO have the bridge for HomeKit integration as well as the basic MyQ system for remote garage door operation. The bridge is a worthless piece of non-functional crap (I’ve had the setup for 2 years, and I’ve had HomeKit functionality for maybe a total of 10 days). Chamberlain customer support is not just incompetent, they’re out-and-out rude. When I called for support, the support agent actually told me I was stupid (that’s a literal quote). I HUCA’ed and got someone else who walked me through totally resetting everything and the bridge worked with HomeKit for about 4 days before the garage door stopped responding to HomeKit. And, I get extremely frequent random false messages from HomeKit that the garage door has opened or closed when nothing has happened.
I’m glad to hear you haven’t had problems, but I actually have an older model chamberlain garage door opener and, as I said, the MyQ add on works ok (no Siri integration), but the bridge and HomeKit integration are complete failures.
TL;DR
The MyQ app and hardware to connect to the chamberlain garage door opener work ok. The Bridge and HomeKit integration (the things that make it more useful than just using the HomeLink buttons on the visor) are complete, nonfunctional garbage. If you want to use your phone as a garage clicker, it’s ok.
 
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Jim_I

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Since everyone is in such a helping mood today: :)

My build week started yesterday. When should I see anything change on any of the lookup sites like ford.com/buy/reservations/#/ or www.macheforum.com/site/pages/tracker or shop.ford.com/vehicleordertracking#/status ?

I don't think I have ever memorized a car VIN before..... ????

Actually, I know the VIN of my dealer's stock vehicle as well.

This car is making me a crazy man..........

Thanks.

Jim
 

Jimrpa

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So, according to Vehicle Visibility (your dealer has access to this), my car’s secondary status is produced, as of 18 Jan. As of last Friday (status updates every Thursday night), primary status is still In Production, so it’s still sitting in the lot in Mexico as far as I can tell. YMMV
 

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My build week started yesterday. When should I see anything change on any of the lookup sites
If all goes well, you should see a production date about 2 weeks after your window sticker became available.
 

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If all goes well, you should see a production date about 2 weeks after your window sticker became available.

Window sticker printed on 02-05, so hopefully by the end of this week!
 

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This update introduced some new capabilities to "My Journeys" but it also fixes some bugs.

I noticed straight away that if fixed the Ford Pass Apple Watch app:

Instead of the animated "Refresh" screen... I now see this on my watch:

IMG_1662.PNG



YES!!! :p
I picked up mine on Sunday the 13th. My Ford pass allows me to unlock the car but has no way to set up the “phone as a key” feature. We’re you able to set up your phone as a key?
 
 




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