I need your help if you don't have BMW assist subscription.

in IDrive, please try:

iMenu -> Communication settings -> BMW Service settings -> Service Status -> Options -> Update Services

If you don't see Options, please try this first:

iMenu -> Communication settings -> BMW Service settings -> Service Status -> Enable services


I need your input on how long it takes to establish connection and whether "Update service" succeeds.

I sometimes encounter "Data transmission fault" from this action and dealer says it's because I don't subscribe to BMW Assist. I don't buy it as I think this action is independent from services available to me. I believe it's because of a faulty TCU.

I need your experiement results.

Thanks in advance.

 

Since you don?t have an account, how is it supposed to actually perform the update.

It SHOULD fail. Sounds like it?s operating properly.

 

Please try... Because on my car, it doesn't always fail.

It should always fail or always succeed.

Please ... Do me a favor to try it...

 

I have the same thing on my car. I do not subscripe to BMW assist but have been able to cancel services and then go back in and update services to put them back on the screen. It does take a long time to update though. I don't think the occassional failure means a bad TCU. I had my TCU updated on the recent recall and I got a failure when I tried to update services. I tried again when I was in a different location and it updated fine, although it did take a bit of time. I think the failure you experienced might just be related to your car's location at the time. It does use the antenna to get the signal for the update, and it needs a good signal.

 

I have Assist so I am not able to help. I will see if I can enquire further about this however. Interesting question.

 

I had Assist for the first 6 free months and then it worked. Now that it has expired it says "Please contact blah blah to register..."

 

The update function is trying to contact BMW Assist. If you're not a BMW Assist customer you don't have an account and you can't get updates for their services.
You don't need any updates when you're not a customer, since you can't use the service. So, even if your car would establish a communication link to the BMW Assist server and download updates, what for?

 

That's not the point. I want to make sure the unit is functional (not faulty) in case next owner wants the service he can have it, without facing a faulty unit out of warranty.