£365 FOR A SATNAV UPDATE FROM MERCEDES

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I am using dynamic route option, I don't think that the NTG 4.5 has the option for TomTom live traffic, its just the TMC free traffic that is available. Unless I just do not have that so its not showing.
I'm probably going to go for the £99 update on eBay and see if it improves the routing.

The TomTom Live Traffic is a paid-for service that requires active subscription. It was introdudes in mid-2013 (initially only on cars equipped with COMAND, later also on cars equipped with Audio20 and Garmin Map Pilot), so if your car is older than that, then it won't have it.
 
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I am using dynamic route option, I don't think that the NTG 4.5 has the option for TomTom live traffic, its just the TMC free traffic that is available. Unless I just do not have that so its not showing.
I'm probably going to go for the £99 update on eBay and see if it improves the routing.

Your car is showing on your profile as 'C250d', so it will be the W205 (2014 onwards).

If your car has Audio20, than an original MB Garmin Map Pilot SD-Card should provide the TomTom Live Traffic subscription.

Some of the SD-Cards ads on eBay say 'TomTom Live Traffic included', so if buying off eBay, then perhaps it's best to try one of those on the basis that you can send it back if it does not work.

If your car never had the Garmin Map Pilot SD-Card fitted, then in theory you should first buy the £499 SD-Card from MB, before buying any further £99 Update SD-Cards. I say 'in theory' because I don't know if a £99 SD-Card (bought from either eBay or MB) used on a car that never had the Garmin Map Pilot fitted, will work. It might do... no idea.
 
I am using dynamic route option, I don't think that the NTG 4.5 has the option for TomTom live traffic, its just the TMC free traffic that is available. Unless I just do not have that so its not showing.
I'm probably going to go for the £99 update on eBay and see if it improves the routing.

will new maps (which is effectively a large data set) update the operating system and provide new routing options?
 
Your car is showing on your profile as 'C250d', so it will be the W205 (2014 onwards).

If your car has Audio20, than an original MB Garmin Map Pilot SD-Card should provide the TomTom Live Traffic subscription.

Some of the SD-Cards ads on eBay say 'TomTom Live Traffic included', so if buying off eBay, then perhaps it's best to try one of those on the basis that you can send it back if it does not work.

If your car never had the Garmin Map Pilot SD-Card fitted, then in theory you should first buy the £499 SD-Card from MB, before buying any further £99 Update SD-Cards. I say 'in theory' because I don't know if a £99 SD-Card (bought from either eBay or MB) used on a car that never had the Garmin Map Pilot fitted, will work. It might do... no idea.
No, its a 2012 w204 - facelift with command online with factory Nav and DAB. It can only get its internet connection via mobile phone connection (and only on old android) which I have never been able to get to work, so don't think I can get the tomtom. (I have read some other posts)
 
No, its a 2012 w204 - facelift with command online with factory Nav and DAB. It can only get its internet connection via mobile phone connection (and only on old android) which I have never been able to get to work, so don't think I can get the tomtom. (I have read some other posts)

Your 2012 W204 car should be C250 CDI then, not C250d?

Either way, COMAND online has two ways of connecting to the Internet.

The COMAND unit connects to the Internet via the owner's mobile phone (Bluetooth tethering).

Mercedes me services are provided via a KOM Module with built-in Vodafone 3g simacrd. The KOM Module was fitted from mid-2013, so your 2012 car won't have that.

The differences between the two are that (a) the connection via your mobile phone uses your own data allowance, while the Mercedes me services use data paid for by MB, (b) the connection via your phone is only available while you are in the car, while the Mercedes me services are available also when the car is parked-up, (c) the Internet on your mobile phone can't be used to send instructions to the car, while Mercedes me services can, and (d) the Internet connection on COMAND Online via your phone is free, i.e. MB do not charge you for it, but the Mercedes me services that use the built-in Vodafone 3g connection are all subscription-based and need to be paid-for.

TomTom Live Traffic for COMAND Online was the first Mercedes me service available... and as such, it uses the built-in 3g Vodafone connection. So if you had it, then it would work off the built-in Vodafone 3g connection for as long as you keep paying the annual subscription fee, and regardless of whether you COMAND Online unit is able to connect to the Internet via your mobile phone.... hope this (theoretical point) makes sense.
 
Your 2012 W204 car should be C250 CDI then, not C250d?

Either way, COMAND online has two ways of connecting to the Internet.

The COMAND unit connects to the Internet via the owner's mobile phone (Bluetooth tethering).

Mercedes me services are provided via a KOM Module with built-in Vodafone 3g simacrd. The KOM Module was fitted from mid-2013, so your 2012 car won't have that.

The differences between the two are that (a) the connection via your mobile phone uses your own data allowance, while the Mercedes me services use data paid for by MB, (b) the connection via your phone is only available while you are in the car, while the Mercedes me services are available also when the car is parked-up, (c) the Internet on your mobile phone can't be used to send instructions to the car, while Mercedes me services can, and (d) the Internet connection on COMAND Online via your phone is free, i.e. MB do not charge you for it, but the Mercedes me services that use the built-in Vodafone 3g connection are all subscription-based and need to be paid-for.

TomTom Live Traffic for COMAND Online was the first Mercedes me service available... and as such, it uses the built-in 3g Vodafone connection. So if you had it, then it would work off the built-in Vodafone 3g connection for as long as you keep paying the annual subscription fee, and regardless of whether you COMAND Online unit is able to connect to the Internet via your mobile phone.... hope this (theoretical point) makes sense.
That is awesome, thanks for the really good detail and description. this really helps me and hopefully others that follow in my footsteps :)
 
The TomTom Live Traffic is a paid-for service that requires active subscription. It was introdudes in mid-2013 (initially only on cars equipped with COMAND, later also on cars equipped with Audio20 and Garmin Map Pilot), so if your car is older than that, then it won't have it.

My car is a 2011 facelift C250 W204 estate so I guess is older and doesn't have the live traffic subscription. It has the COMAND NTG 4.5 system installed and has the latest 2019/2020 maps installed by MB.
 
Your car is showing on your profile as 'C250d', so it will be the W205 (2014 onwards).

If your car has Audio20, than an original MB Garmin Map Pilot SD-Card should provide the TomTom Live Traffic subscription.

Some of the SD-Cards ads on eBay say 'TomTom Live Traffic included', so if buying off eBay, then perhaps it's best to try one of those on the basis that you can send it back if it does not work.

If your car never had the Garmin Map Pilot SD-Card fitted, then in theory you should first buy the £499 SD-Card from MB, before buying any further £99 Update SD-Cards. I say 'in theory' because I don't know if a £99 SD-Card (bought from either eBay or MB) used on a car that never had the Garmin Map Pilot fitted, will work. It might do... no idea.

My 2016 C class with audio 20 was 11 months old when I purchased it. It had never had the Nav activated, dealer did indeed quote some horrendous figure for the sd card. So i took a chance and ordered one from Amazon I think it was £110. It did activate the Tomtom live traffic for three years. Last year I purchased a new card for £99 from dealer which did renew the Tomtom subscription, for a further three years.

Not sure if you can send these back, as once activated they are locked to the Vin number, athough possibly the sellers can get round this.
 
My 2016 C class with audio 20 was 11 months old when I purchased it. It had never had the Nav activated, dealer did indeed quote some horrendous figure for the sd card. So i took a chance and ordered one from Amazon I think it was £110. It did activate the Tomtom live traffic for three years. Last year I purchased a new card for £99 from dealer which did renew the Tomtom subscription, for a further three years.

Not sure if you can send these back, as once activated they are locked to the Vin number, athough possibly the sellers can get round this.

Well, in theory the car may have been supplied new with the Garmin Map Pilot installed as a dealer option, and the SD-Card then went missing or got nicked before you bought it....?

Just trying to establish if there's a definite answer to whether a £499 SD-Card is indeed needed for the initial activation.
 
Well, in theory the car may have been supplied new with the Garmin Map Pilot installed as a dealer option, and the SD-Card then went missing or got nicked before you bought it....?

Just trying to establish if there's a definite answer to whether a £499 SD-Card is indeed needed for the initial activation.

Yes I suppose that theory, is a possibility although the salesman did say it hadn't got navigation, perhaps he wanted extra commission by selling me the expensive option. Cant be that though, because we all know car salesmen are honest!
 
Well, in theory the car may have been supplied new with the Garmin Map Pilot installed as a dealer option, and the SD-Card then went missing or got nicked before you bought it....?

Just trying to establish if there's a definite answer to whether a £499 SD-Card is indeed needed for the initial activation.

It would be a huge mistake by MB if the initial £500 activation wasn't needed...but then you can do the same on Mazda ie purchase a map card and install in a non satnav unit and hey presto is all activates...
 
It would be a huge mistake by MB if the initial £500 activation wasn't needed...but then you can do the same on Mazda ie purchase a map card and install in a non satnav unit and hey presto is all activates...

Define 'needed'?

It may a licensing requirement that you first buy the full product licence before you can purchase an update licence.

It's all about product use rights... the fact that - from the technical perspective - you can use the update without first purchasing the full licence does not mean that it is legal for you to do so - it may contravene the developer's EULA for the MB application.

The legal side is a moot point, perhaps, because it is unlikely that anyone will ever check this, but my point is that the MB dealer will provide the correct and legal answer, so it is not necessarily a mistake as such.
 
PS - on my Suzuki you can buy a Navigation SD-Card, or you can but an 'Update' SD-Card, they cost the same, I always bought the 'full' SD-Card, though I am assuming that the Update SD-Card would have worked just as well. The car was second-hand when I bought it and did not have the SD-Card (no idea if it had it and it was lost, or it never had it from new).
 
As an adendum : I finally had my maps updated last week. The two local dealerships did not respond to my requests for a quote. One local Indie did respond with a quote of £125 but also told me they did not want to do it ! A second Indie offered to do it. The download onto a USB stick apparently took 4 hours via Star Diagnostics (much to his consternation I suspect). The subsequent upload into Comand took around 1.5 hours. Cost was £125 for maps and PIN plus £26 for a Comand update (NTG 5.5.). It's little wonder that dealerships and even some Indies do not want to get involved with these downloads and uploads. Bring back discs!
 
It's nuts what MB charge.

In my 2015 Fiat 500 I have TomTom live for free and I can download & update my maps for free too.

In the Merc I just ignore the nav completely & use Google Maps on my Phone.

Chancers.
 
As an adendum : I finally had my maps updated last week. The two local dealerships did not respond to my requests for a quote. One local Indie did respond with a quote of £125 but also told me they did not want to do it ! A second Indie offered to do it. The download onto a USB stick apparently took 4 hours via Star Diagnostics (much to his consternation I suspect). The subsequent upload into Comand took around 1.5 hours. Cost was £125 for maps and PIN plus £26 for a Comand update (NTG 5.5.). It's little wonder that dealerships and even some Indies do not want to get involved with these downloads and uploads. Bring back discs!
Yes, it's slow and consumes resources (people's time, network bandwidth, ramp space, or even parking space) and so it's "expensive" for the garage doing it, as well as the need for a licence key. With that in mind the cost you mention seems reasonable to me.

For those who don't wish to pay, there remains the option to use a portable satnav or smartphone app. Ultimately Mercedes need to pay a map provider for an update, but map providers can choose whether to charge direct consumers for updates.
 
Hi Guys,
Some real good info here regarding the map updates etc. I am curious and maybe I have missed it. With the map updates, does this include the firmware update or are these two separate things. With the NTG 4.5 ending circa 2015 is the firmware continually updated or would this end at 2015 also? I am looking to update my maps and want to ensure that I am getting the best out of the system by ensuring the firmware is equally up to date.
 
£26 for a Comand update (NTG 5.5.).
Did you get any main improvements by updating the Firmware? I am looking at doing this too but I am curious as to what the main benefits would be. TIA
 
Did you get any main improvements by updating the Firmware? I am looking at doing this too but I am curious as to what the main benefits would be. TIA
I asked for the firmware update because I was told that it included some improvements to DAB radio and to make sure that the new maps worked correctly. I am no expert but did not object to the £26.
 
The firmware update for COMAND NTG4.5/4.7 is not included with the maps update. It is also not a DIY job - it needs to be done via STAR which means this is a job for either an MB dealer or a specialist such as www.comandonline.co.uk.

The firmware itself is free, but the garage will obviously charge for labour (one-half hour to one hour).

MB do not usually continue and release firmware update for much longer after production of the device ended.

This firmware was installed to my NTG4.7 in mid-2017, and as far as I know it is still the latest:

f.jpg


I am guessing it was released around 2016? But I am not sure.

And I can't say what specific improvements it provides, but it is always a good idea to have the firmware updated because it is likely to include bug fixes.
 

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