Chaaange

Just got delivery of a E350 2020 with 20000 Km (12000 Miles) that was a demo at a local Mercedes dealer.
I try to connect to the internet from the car console and I get : 3G UMTS CONNECTING - LIMITED SERVICE for about a minute, then 3G UMTS OFFLINE - LIMITED SERVICE.
Never got it to connect.
The car Build specifications list shows 362 HERMES MODULE. The code 362 is for LTE (They have another code 360 Hermes is for 3G UMTS which is a different par number)
There seems to be a discrepancy where the specifications indicate an LTE Hermes Module. And it tries to connect through 3G UMTS
I would be happy to know if anyone else encountered such a situation ?
I am still not having a connection, and the Mercedes Me App cannot contact the car and many features dont wiork.

Elvisfan0108

Don’t know where you are located but, don’t you have a warranty? The dealer should be setting this up before you take delivery.

superswiss

You are the third person or so with this issue. All from Canada. Your car needs a software update.

Chaaange

Canada indeed
I will take the car to the dealer next week. Lets see what they will say. The 360 Hermes (3G UMTS) Module and the 362 (4G LTE) Hermes Module are two different hardware parts from what I have read. I do not think you can software upgrade from 360 to 362, only swap the HW.

The spec sheet indicates the car has a 362 Hermes (4G LTE). The car is trying to get onto a 3G UMTS network which indicates the actual Hermes Module installed is a 360 not 362.
This being said, I am surprised this 2020 E350 Benz is equipped with this 3G UMTS Hermes. Most discussions on this forum mention 4G LTE factory installed in 2019 Benz onward.
Bizarre

superswiss

It's not that the HERMES is 3G, but the software wants to register on the 3G network before switching to LTE. In some implementations the subscriber registration took place on the 3G network, and once registered it switched to LTE. With the 3G networks being shut down, this approach no longer works and the software needs to register on the LTE network.

Chaaange

Thank you Superswiss for this great clarification. Software upgrade is definitely more logical.
Also I tried to "Top up data volume" from the Mercedes Me web site under "In Car Wifi". It directs me straight to an AT&T web site and I get this message:
"Your vehicle is incompatible with current services offered through this portal. If you feel that you've received this message in error, please contact your vehicle manufacturer or a customer service representative at 1 (866) 595-2893."
I found a web site on this forum to register to T-Mobile https://www.daimlerna.hotspotdrive.com/
Went in and registered and entered the car VIN etc... But the Mercedes Me web site still directs me to the AT&T web site.
So I think the software update is the surely the solution, I will check that at the dealership next week.
Not sure though why the car was not software upgraded "over the air" like all the other Benz cars on the road while those software upgrades were seamlessly distributed as Mercedes switched from AT&T to T-Mobile.
I would be surprised if there are still any trying to connect to AT&T instead of T-Mobile at this time. Maybe my car was kept in a garage for a while while it was a "demo" at the dealer
Thanks

superswiss

The switch to T-Mobile has been poorly communicated and botched. I've heard they are having major issues with the OTA update not taking and cars have to be manually updated. However, as far as I understand, only the hotspot is being switched. My 2019 C63S hasn't been switched as of last time I checked, and I get the same error, however I'm not using the hotspot so I don't really care. They are also not switching cars that had an AT&T hotspot subscription. I had one in the past to use up the complimentary 1GB, but I let it expire. The connected car services are all working fine, though.

I think most people don't realize that the hotspot and the connected car services are two separate subscriptions. Each has its own SIM card and they don't need to be served by the same carrier. Same idea as the dual SIM smartphones where you can have voice services on one or both SIMs with up to two phone numbers from two different carriers, and the data traffic is handled by only one of the SIMs. The connected car services and the hotspot also don't necessarily both use LTE. This has come as a nasty surprise to some owners of Audis for example. Prior to MY2019 some models used LTE only for the Infotainment and 3G for the connected car services, and those cars essentially lost half their features with the 3G shutdown. So what's going on with your car could be the same issue. It's possible that in Canada they ran the connected car service over 3G and only the hotspot was LTE, so now you need a software update to switch the connected car services to LTE.

Chaaange

I just read on another thread in this forum that someone has had the same problem. He stated that the dealer finally solved the problem by applying an upgrade to Hermes.
Here is the quote from the other user : "Yeah opened up a case with mercedes. They have no clue at all. And Dealer has no idea too."
Then after a few days "So the dealer was able to fix the problem by applying hermes update."
Another user said it took 3 months for his dealer to find a resolution after on going back and forth with Germany and him complaining to MBUS
Quote: "BTW I suffered like three months back and fourth with everyone from Tmobile to the dealer till I filed a complaint with MBUSA... that got everyone's attention."
So I called the local dealer and took an appointment end of May. Will see how much research and trial and error will happen there. They should have a data base of existing problems and their proven solution.

mikka4

Any news after your appointment? I'm having the same issue on my 2020 C63S. Mercedes Me stopped working Nov.2021 after working fine for 8 months prior.

FlyingBear

Resurrecting this slightly old thread: my E63S internet connection stopped working in November 2021, too. I wasn't driving the car much and didn't notice until yesterday, when the Mercedes Me app told me that the car's last status was 9 months ago.

mikka4

The initial head unit software upgrade the dealer performed n my request did NOT do the trick.

So after many weeks back and forth between dealership, myself and the script monkeys at the call centre, an intelligent response from their techs came back and the dealer did as instructed. All working again for me. Including the module now recognizing 4G LTE. . Here’s the abbreviated email response I received:

”Please go to a workshop and advise the workshop to reset the Initial certificate of the HERMES module and take it again into operation. Reset the internet certificate of the head unit as well and to take the head unit again into operation. If this does not solve the issue please advise the workshop to create a PTTS/TIPS case with a control unit logfile of the HERMES and of the Head unit as well.

FlyingBear

Extremely helpful, @mikka4. Many thanks. My dealer is very backed up and won't be able to look at the problem for 5 weeks (which is when my B service is due, too). I'll give them your abbreviated email response. Next, I have to figure out why the internet connection on my 2019 AMG GT C Roadster also doesn't work, although all the Mercedes Me apps -- tire pressures, fuel level, lock/unlock doors, etc -- work just fine. Just the Internet Raidio and Mercedes Apps trigger the car into searching for an internet connection, and failing.

Thanks again!

mikka4

Your welcome.
I’ve long given up on using Mercedes Apps or internet radio thru the car’s internet service.
if I wanted an iPad on wheels, I’d buy a Tesla.
I often turn off the radio and enjoy listening to the purring of the V8.

Best to just use your smartphones LTE connectivity for such things.
don’t know what it’s like in the US but the Mercedes Me internet is horrendous in Canada.
im ok with the basic MMe functionality for low data rate things like vehicle functions displayed on my iPhone, but nothing much beyond that.

yes, many dealers are backed up. Staff shortages everywhere.
I got special favours at my dealer after buying many cars over the years, but even I had to wait 2 weeks once I had the right word from MB Canada.
normal service bookings are 6-8 weeks out here.

FlyingBear

Here’s an interesting document from, of all places, the NHTSA site, describing the same fix:

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/20...74288-9999.pdf