Sudden loss of Mercedes.Me functionality

[sgregory124]

Interesting thread, not sure if the issue I'm having is related. It's more of a quality of life issue rather than anything too bad.

This is the first car I've had with built in satnav, been using my iPhone for ages with maps on my Mac.
So I thought this Mercedes Me feature of 'sharing' a destination from the App to the car would be a godsend to get around the clunky UI in the car.

But…
The App says it has sent the destination to the car, but when I open Nav there is nothing there.
Does it send it to some weird sub menu, if it does I can't find it.

Any clues?

S205 C200 2016

It won’t work in your car because you’ll now have no 3G signal - your car is officially too old and the technology has been deprecated.

 

[GeeJayW]

Interesting thread, not sure if the issue I'm having is related. It's more of a quality of life issue rather than anything too bad.

This is the first car I've had with built in satnav, been using my iPhone for ages with maps on my Mac.
So I thought this Mercedes Me feature of 'sharing' a destination from the App to the car would be a godsend to get around the clunky UI in the car.

But…
The App says it has sent the destination to the car, but when I open Nav there is nothing there.
Does it send it to some weird sub menu, if it does I can't find it.

Any clues?

S205 C200 2016

Similar problem with ours, which is also a 2016 model.

As far as I know, Microsoft 'sundowned' the technology used by the car to connect to the internet, so parts of the Comand Online functionality don't really work anymore. We never used the online internet browsing functions anyway, but did successfully use the 'send destination to the car function' when we first got the car in 2017. We also had geo-location, live traffic services and remote locking.

When the subscriptions ran out, we only kept live traffic and have updated the Sat-Nav map a couple of times. At some point the car lost the ability to receive journey destination information remotely from Mercedes Me, though it still works if the phone is connected to the car by bluetooth.

Currently live traffic still works even though Vodaphone's 3G service has now been switched off. I'm assuming that communication is now via 2G as ours doesn't have a 4G comms module. If you've read through this thread, you'll see that I've considered getting a CarPlay module fitted. However as live traffic is still working, this for us is currently on hold.

 

[GavinJ]

Does that mean all the other stuff that does work, like Tyre Pressure, Mileage, Lock status etc are working with Bluetooth?

Edit: Thanks I'll try it from inside the car, looks like I'll be back on the iPhone for Nav before long then.

 

[sgregory124]

Does that mean all the other stuff that does work, like Tyre Pressure, Mileage, Lock status etc are working with Bluetooth?

Nope. They all depend on cellular comms, what would be the point of using the app with 20ft of your car anyway??

 

[GeeJayW]

Does that mean all the other stuff that does work, like Tyre Pressure, Mileage, Lock status etc are working with Bluetooth?

Edit: Thanks I'll try it from inside the car, looks like I'll be back on the iPhone for Nav before long then.

I'm still able to see data in Mercedes Me on my phone even when not connected by bluetooth.
Main Page shows fuel level

Car Satus Page shows:
Tyre Pressure
Trip Data
Over The Air Vehicle Updates
Services (12v Battery, Brake Fluid, Coolant, Washer Fluid)
Vehicle Status (Lock Status, Windows, Sliding Roof, Doors, Luggage Compartment, Parking Brake)
Eco Display

 

[GavinJ]

Nope. They all depend on cellular comms, what would be the point of using the app with 20ft of your car anyway??

I find it way easier to plan a route on my phone or computer rather than the cars system, so if I can do that and ping it to the car when I get in happy days. Don't really care about the other stuff.

 

[GavinJ]

I'm still able to see data in Mercedes Me on my phone even when not connected by bluetooth.
Main Page shows fuel level

Car Satus Page shows:
Tyre Pressure
Trip Data
Over The Air Vehicle Updates
Services (12v Battery, Brake Fluid, Coolant, Washer Fluid)
Vehicle Status (Lock Status, Windows, Sliding Roof, Doors, Luggage Compartment, Parking Brake)
Eco Display

Same same.

 

[sgregory124]

I find it way easier to plan a route on my phone or computer rather than the cars system, so if I can do that and ping it to the car when I get in happy days. Don't really care about the other stuff.

Yeah I get that, but you did ask if the other stuff worked via Bluetooth- which it doesn’t.

 

[GavinJ]

Yeah I get that, but you did ask if the other stuff worked via Bluetooth- which it doesn’t.

Which to my befuddled mind begs the question why does some stuff work and the 'share destination' does not…

 

[BTB 500]

Similar problem with ours, which is also a 2016 model.

As far as I know, Microsoft 'sundowned' the technology used by the car to connect to the internet, so parts of the Comand Online functionality don't really work anymore. We never used the online internet browsing functions anyway, but did successfully use the 'send destination to the car function' when we first got the car in 2017. We also had geo-location, live traffic services and remote locking.

When the subscriptions ran out, we only kept live traffic and have updated the Sat-Nav map a couple of times. At some point the car lost the ability to receive journey destination information remotely from Mercedes Me, though it still works if the phone is connected to the car by bluetooth.

Currently live traffic still works even though Vodaphone's 3G service has now been switched off. I'm assuming that communication is now via 2G as ours doesn't have a 4G comms module. If you've read through this thread, you'll see that I've considered getting a CarPlay module fitted. However as live traffic is still working, this for us is currently on hold.

Yup my understanding that a lot of the basic stuff (low data volume) uses 2G - our 8 year old TomTom is the same, and live traffic etc. still works OK on that (it has an internal SIM as the MB comms modules do).

We find the 'online search' within Navi on COMAND quite useful as you can locate places that aren't held as POIs on the system. But TBH it's no big deal to find them on your phone nowadays, particularly if you have Carplay/Android Auto.

 

[sgregory124]

Which to my befuddled mind begs the question why does some stuff work and the 'share destination' does not…

Because share destination is a basic single piece of data going on one direction. Everything else needs two way comms….

 

[BTB 500]

Which to my befuddled mind begs the question why does some stuff work and the 'share destination' does not…

As above I think some stuff uses 2G (which still works), and some 3G (which doesn't).

 

[GeeJayW]

Which to my befuddled mind begs the question why does some stuff work and the 'share destination' does not…

My guess is that, the car status data arrives at your phone via a Mercedes Me server that uses the 2G link, but the share destination data is (used to be) sent to the car over the internet and 3G. With the internet connection part for this version of COMAND Online being sundowned, and 3G now defunct…

 

[Diesel Benz]

My guess is that, the car status data arrives at your phone via a Mercedes Me server that uses the 2G link, but the share destination data is (used to be) sent to the car over the internet and 3G. With the internet connection part for this version of COMAND Online being sundowned, and 3G now defunct…

All the info to the phone app arrives from the Mercedes Me server indeed but the server itself has no means to select 2G/3G/4G/5G for any data transfer. It is the cellular network that decides if 2G is used for data transfer (obviously taking into account the mobile device capabilities, 2G is just supported in practise by every current device).

The server may however take into account the car modem type and refuse to provide specific services completely. The server itself unlikely knows the modem type in the car but the MB Me subscription can be configured for all users according to the modem capability.

For a car with a 4G modem the server would certainly exchange data via 2G if the car happened to be on a spot with no 4G (3G) coverage but served by 2G.