Lots of bugs... (activation & connected services fails)

[TheVirtualTim]

@Ford Team

I love the new car, but I'm experiencing quite a few software issues with the Ford.com & Ford Pass software. The software seems pretty clunky.

Activation was failing... even two hours later the car wouldn't activate (message on phone says "Activation Pending" but never goes away. Activation confirmation never appears on vehicle display.

I called the help desk ... they were initially unable to help and tried to escalate the case -- notifying me that someone would call back in 5-7 business days (that's not really ok).

About 15 minutes later they pro-actively called me back (that's VERY good) and had a new process for me to test. It involved removing the car from Ford Pass and logging completely out of the app (sign out ... not just 'quit' the app).

They had me do a Master Reset on the car.

They had me re-add the card back into Ford Pass (I scanned the QR code on the window sticker to add the car -- that was slick!)

Then they had me START the car (first ... before doing anything further with the app).

They wanted the car (a) running, (b) in park, and (c) in an open area -- not in a garage, parking deck, etc.) So I backed the car out of the garage.

Finally they had me do the "Activate" and that finally did work (and almost instant).

I had to re-configure a few things that were wiped out by the master reset (charging schedules, etc.)

Connected Services

I am unable to get this to work. This may be do the credit card I was using.

This requires having at least one credit card in the Ford Pass 'Wallet'. I happened to pick my Apple Card.

The Apple Card (MasterCard by Goldman Sachs) has some unique security features ... namely it has three different credit card numbers that all tie to the same account. One card number is used in the physical card (chip and mag-stripe). A different card number is tied to the virtual card (phone app) where the card number can be displayed if I need to enter it into a website for purchases that don't support Apple Pay protocol. This is how I added my card to the Wallet. A third number is used only when the Apple Pay wireless protocol is used.

But I have found that *some* banks get confused by this and think it isn't a valid MasterCard (it is). Most banks have no problem. The Ford.com 'Wallet' doesn't seem to like it.

When I attempt to activate the Ford Charging Network (Connected Services) the page cogs for a while and displays an error message that I cannot read because it is hidden under a disclosure window that I have to click a box to accept terms and then continue. Except that box is grayed out so I can't do anything to get rid of it ... and the error message is obscured by the box. (I tried with different browsers to see if it was a layout error ... it's a bug in Ford's website. Changing browsers doesn't fix it.)

I added another card (AmEx) and that made it farther in that the Connected Services activation process would finally show me both cards and ask which one I prefer to use. Unfortunately as soon as I pick the MasterCard it locks up with that same error message (covered by the box I can't dismiss).

Ford Pass Apple Watch app

This one is pretty simple. It displays a never ending animation of three blinking dots like it's trying to launch ... but never succeeds. There is a 'refresh' button that doesn't seem to do anything.

I tried to exit and relaunch the app -- no luck.
I tried to un-install and re-install -- no luck.
I tried to reboot the watch -- no luck.



So the good news is ... the car is great.
The software in Ford Pass and Connected Services ... pretty clunky and needs some love.

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[Jimmy2]

@Ford Team

I love the new car, but I'm experiencing quite a few software issues with the Ford.com & Ford Pass software. The software seems pretty clunky.

Activation was failing... even two hours later the car wouldn't activate (message on phone says "Activation Pending" but never goes away. Activation confirmation never appears on vehicle display.

I called the help desk ... they were initially unable to help and tried to escalate the case -- notifying me that someone would call back in 5-7 business days (that's not really ok).

About 15 minutes later they pro-actively called me back (that's VERY good) and had a new process for me to test. It involved removing the car from Ford Pass and logging completely out of the app (sign out ... not just 'quit' the app).

They had me do a Master Reset on the car.

They had me re-add the card back into Ford Pass (I scanned the QR code on the window sticker to add the car -- that was slick!)

Then they had me START the car (first ... before doing anything further with the app).

They wanted the car (a) running, (b) in park, and (c) in an open area -- not in a garage, parking deck, etc.) So I backed the car out of the garage.

Finally they had me do the "Activate" and that finally did work (and almost instant).

I had to re-configure a few things that were wiped out by the master reset (charging schedules, etc.)

Connected Services

I am unable to get this to work. This may be do the credit card I was using.

This requires having at least one credit card in the Ford Pass 'Wallet'. I happened to pick my Apple Card.

The Apple Card (MasterCard by Goldman Sachs) has some unique security features ... namely it has three different credit card numbers that all tie to the same account. One card number is used in the physical card (chip and mag-stripe). A different card number is tied to the virtual card (phone app) where the card number can be displayed if I need to enter it into a website for purchases that don't support Apple Pay protocol. This is how I added my card to the Wallet. A third number is used only when the Apple Pay wireless protocol is used.

But I have found that *some* banks get confused by this and think it isn't a valid MasterCard (it is). Most banks have no problem. The Ford.com 'Wallet' doesn't seem to like it.

When I attempt to activate the Ford Charging Network (Connected Services) the page cogs for a while and displays an error message that I cannot read because it is hidden under a disclosure window that I have to click a box to accept terms and then continue. Except that box is grayed out so I can't do anything to get rid of it ... and the error message is obscured by the box. (I tried with different browsers to see if it was a layout error ... it's a bug in Ford's website. Changing browsers doesn't fix it.)

I added another card (AmEx) and that made it farther in that the Connected Services activation process would finally show me both cards and ask which one I prefer to use. Unfortunately as soon as I pick the MasterCard it locks up with that same error message (covered by the box I can't dismiss).

Ford Pass Apple Watch app

This one is pretty simple. It displays a never ending animation of three blinking dots like it's trying to launch ... but never succeeds. There is a 'refresh' button that doesn't seem to do anything.

I tried to exit and relaunch the app -- no luck.
I tried to un-install and re-install -- no luck.
I tried to reboot the watch -- no luck.



So the good news is ... the car is great.
The software in Ford Pass and Connected Services ... pretty clunky and needs some love.

Lets all hope that Ford is really listening to this.

 

[TheVirtualTim]

Lets all hope that Ford is really listening to this.

I'll probably wait until Monday and then Tweet Emma & Mike.

The car is awesome ... but the software experience needs some TLC. I don't mind that it's beta-quality ... but they need to offer us a way to submit the list of bugs.

 

[shutterbug]

The Apple Card (MasterCard by Goldman Sachs) has some unique security features ... namely it has three different credit card numbers that all tie to the same account. One card number is used in the physical card (chip and mag-stripe). A different card number is tied to the virtual card (phone app) where the card number can be displayed if I need to enter it into a website for purchases that don't support Apple Pay protocol. This is how I added my card to the Wallet. A third number is used only when the Apple Pay wireless protocol is used.

Seems like you're at least 2nd person having issues with Apple Card. Does anyone have similar issues with a more traditional card?

 

[eltonlin]

Seems like you're at least 2nd person having issues with Apple Card. Does anyone have similar issues with a more traditional card?

i didn’t have any issues adding mine to my Ford wallet. Haven’t tried it with connected services yet (no car!)

 

[agoldman]

I can't even add my dealer to the ford website. It's slow, unhelpful and at the moment prettyty useless. I don't have a good feeling abpout the ford pass app. And from what I've heard so far, I'm worried about the phone as a key reliability too.

 

[timbop]

I can't even add my dealer to the ford website. It's slow, unhelpful and at the moment prettyty useless. I don't have a good feeling abpout the ford pass app. And from what I've heard so far, I'm worried about the phone as a key reliability too.

yes, android 11 does not play nice right now. The app is also clearly not where it should be. the good news is that farley expects better from his products, so it will improve soon. it's the peril of being an early adopter

 

[Chiefsfan]

These are computers on wheels. Hopefully OTA updates will start rolling out.

 

[TheVirtualTim]

Hopefully updates will start coming out. But most of the updates needed aren't for the CAR per se... but to the Ford Pass app, Ford Pass Apple Watch app, and Ford.com website that lets you enroll in their services.

The CAR ... is GREAT! It's the software in Ford's datacenter and phone apps that need help.

 

[CarboFE]

Love the car, but overall the software is clunky, both Ford.com and FordPass app. Does not give me any confidence.

Also, the Owner dashboard on Ford.com is primarily aimed at pre-delivery issues. Download the app, connect your phone, remote setup, etc., that are irrelevant once you have the car. Would like this to switch from a marketing piece to being actually useful.

Here is a list of issues:

- Car will not connect to wifi, despite multiple other devices doing so successfully. Tried a dedicated 2.4ghz connection, but no success.
- On my Ford.com owner dashboard, NO connected services show up, i.e., no ability to connect to charging network.
- On FordPass app, the remote vehicle setup feature never gives me the option to Send to Vehicle.
- FordPass app, I get an error when I select Charge Settings in the Manage Charging option.
- FordPass app, the Charge Times option doesn't bring up any locations.
- PAAK is finicky. If you are in the car and turn it off, but need to turn it back on again, the car doesn't recognize the PAAK and prompts for code. If I go to the app on my phone, it eventually resolves itself.

 

[JamieGeek]

- FordPass app, the Charge Times option doesn't bring up any locations.

On Ford's prior plugin app/solution (MyFordMobile) you would have to actually charged at a given location before it would show up in the list of available locations to charge.

(I've noticed that during the pre-setup in the Ford Pass app you can simply type in an address for that.)

 

[PCPilot]

@Ford Team

I love the new car, but I'm experiencing quite a few software issues with the Ford.com & Ford Pass software. The software seems pretty clunky.

Activation was failing... even two hours later the car wouldn't activate (message on phone says "Activation Pending" but never goes away. Activation confirmation never appears on vehicle display.

I called the help desk ... they were initially unable to help and tried to escalate the case -- notifying me that someone would call back in 5-7 business days (that's not really ok).

About 15 minutes later they pro-actively called me back (that's VERY good) and had a new process for me to test. It involved removing the car from Ford Pass and logging completely out of the app (sign out ... not just 'quit' the app).

They had me do a Master Reset on the car.

They had me re-add the card back into Ford Pass (I scanned the QR code on the window sticker to add the car -- that was slick!)

Then they had me START the car (first ... before doing anything further with the app).

They wanted the car (a) running, (b) in park, and (c) in an open area -- not in a garage, parking deck, etc.) So I backed the car out of the garage.

Finally they had me do the "Activate" and that finally did work (and almost instant).

I had to re-configure a few things that were wiped out by the master reset (charging schedules, etc.)

Connected Services

I am unable to get this to work. This may be do the credit card I was using.

This requires having at least one credit card in the Ford Pass 'Wallet'. I happened to pick my Apple Card.

The Apple Card (MasterCard by Goldman Sachs) has some unique security features ... namely it has three different credit card numbers that all tie to the same account. One card number is used in the physical card (chip and mag-stripe). A different card number is tied to the virtual card (phone app) where the card number can be displayed if I need to enter it into a website for purchases that don't support Apple Pay protocol. This is how I added my card to the Wallet. A third number is used only when the Apple Pay wireless protocol is used.

But I have found that *some* banks get confused by this and think it isn't a valid MasterCard (it is). Most banks have no problem. The Ford.com 'Wallet' doesn't seem to like it.

When I attempt to activate the Ford Charging Network (Connected Services) the page cogs for a while and displays an error message that I cannot read because it is hidden under a disclosure window that I have to click a box to accept terms and then continue. Except that box is grayed out so I can't do anything to get rid of it ... and the error message is obscured by the box. (I tried with different browsers to see if it was a layout error ... it's a bug in Ford's website. Changing browsers doesn't fix it.)

I added another card (AmEx) and that made it farther in that the Connected Services activation process would finally show me both cards and ask which one I prefer to use. Unfortunately as soon as I pick the MasterCard it locks up with that same error message (covered by the box I can't dismiss).

Ford Pass Apple Watch app

This one is pretty simple. It displays a never ending animation of three blinking dots like it's trying to launch ... but never succeeds. There is a 'refresh' button that doesn't seem to do anything.

I tried to exit and relaunch the app -- no luck.
I tried to un-install and re-install -- no luck.
I tried to reboot the watch -- no luck.



So the good news is ... the car is great.
The software in Ford Pass and Connected Services ... pretty clunky and needs some love.

Exact same issue here. I literally spent over 90 minutes on the phone with Ford and got passed off to 6 different people, all as clueless as the day is long. No answers or explanations, just a ritual of asking me questions, putting me on hold or transferring me to someone else. The last person I talked to finally said, ya, we're having problems with our website.

 

[Davedough]

Out of curiosity, what functions does the Apple Watch app enable for the car? Can you open it a precondition your car?

 

[Ma9573]

Out of curiosity, what functions does the Apple Watch app enable for the car? Can you open it a precondition your car?

Curious about this too. That would be awesome. I plan to give my wife the FOB and use PAAK. If PAAK is being finicky I'll probably go with the door code/code startup option, but I need to do more research on how it works. Is it just as simple as using the door code to get in, and then entering another code on the touchscreen to turn it on? If so that's fine with me.

 

[Maric]

Maaaaybe we shouldn't have all added our cars to Ford Pass 6 months early...

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