GLS DAB+ Issues

[nocallaghan]

Hi, new to the forum, I have gone over the existing threads, but I didn't get a decent answer, so posting this.

I have a GLS63, X166, 2016 it has two issues

1) Sat Nav isn't updating as part of my mercedes me yearly subscription, I have the right subscription purchased
2) DAB is missing loads of stations, mainly DAB+ ones.

I spoke to the dealer, they said command software update, so it went in for it, made no difference, it went back, they said they did a reset of the command and it works now. Still no difference. Dealer has now lost interest. I get Funkids and talksport now, I think they are DAB+ stations.

The sat nav is not a big deal, I can sort that, but DAB reception, its useless, I have two other cars on my driveway, 2015 porsche and a shogun with after market android headunit, USB DAB and a aftermarket sharkfin ariel. Both work flawlessly, reception is great on my driveway, I try the merc, useless. It does pick up some stations, Virgin is my best example, works fine, but virgin anthems and chilled, both DAB+ don't show. Once or twice they have showed on the screen, I select them and the unit pauses for a while, then goes to mellow magic or something else.

So, first of all, how do I check the command is on latest version, make sure dealer has done the update?
Any idea what I can do to sort this, anyone every fixed it?
Would an aftermarket sharkfin antenna help?
New amplifier?

Any help is appreciated,

Thanks
Neil

 

[Red C220]

If you have the facility to download the Radioplayer app and use it via Android Auto do that. You'll never bother with DAB again, the sound clarity is outstanding and coverage makes DAB obsolete.

 

[nocallaghan]

I know I can use android auto, I am trying to fix the DAB.

I just went out to my car a short while ago, and all of a sudden it had loads of extra stations, I managed to select a Manchester broadcasted DAB station, it came through fine. I saved it. Then all the extra stations disappeared. I don't get any stations that are broadcast on the Manchester frequency, or loads on the SDL national.

Now I get the same 15 or so DAB stations, the one I saved isn't there in the list, yet if I recall the preset it appears again. So it's capable of receiving them, it just won't show all the stations that are available.

Is there a firmware for the DAB unit itself? Assuming it has a DAB module?

Neil

 

[richard]

The DAB module is seperate (your car has NTG5*1) - but when you update it, the whole audio system is updated so that all the software understands all the audio related components.

Have you got any chargers plugged into cigarette lighters anywhere, or a dash cam ? All could interfere with DAB reception. There was a 99/100 station limit up until NTG4.5 so sometimes stations couldn't be received - I dont know if there is a limit on NTG5

Also, there are two antenna amplifiers, if one is failing (or screen it connects to is damaged) that can cause reception issues - check if your windscreen is original (look for Mercedes logo in passenger side lower corner)

R

 

[nocallaghan]

That's useful info, the front screen is a merc one, although I can't say if its original, there is a dashcam, I will disconnect it and test. Is the DAB ariel in the front screen? What does the sharkfin do?

But I don't think the dashcam is the issue, I drove in to a city last night, it couldn't even pick up the DAB broadcast for the city, and I had been driving around the city for 30 odd mins. When I parked I did a reset of the command, held the power button down for 10 seconds. When it booted back up I could get the stations on the city's DAB frequency, I picked one, set the option to digital tracking, as the same station is broadcast as FM as well and then saved it as a preset. The radio then lost all the stations again from the list and only showed the BBC ones and a few others, even the one I had saved as a preset vanished. Yet if I recalled the preset station came through loud and clear, so I stayed on that station, drove out of the city and I still got reception some 15-20 miles away from the broadcast tower, so its not a reception issue I would say. The option to make a station digital tracking over auto mode seems to make the digital station reception much better, as the command system seems to prefer FM, for example, any capital DAB station is ignored for captial FM, so it doesn't show the DAB ones.

The command DAB is useless, it is capable of receiving the stations, that much is clear, but it chooses not to display the options in the list of stations.