AppleFan1

I also called a couple weeks ago and bitterly complained. I was told that they were working on it but did not make any promises. I must say that on the trip back from St. Louis this past Saturday, the Internet Radio was working better than on the trip down last Tuesday. I was able to listen to most of the stations I was interested in without constant buffering. However, there was one (from a station in a northwest city in Greece) that was not and still is not working properly at all as of Saturday. I haven't tried it the past couple days.

TomS

I have no inside knowledge of this, but CarPlay surely plays into this. For the Apple folks among us, if the current S550s are retrofitted to use CarPlay (big IF there) and I can use the unlimited data plan in my 4G AT&T phone, why would I ever use the car's MODEM?

If we accept that premise, how could Verizon see MB as a long-term investment when people will just use their phone's data plan. I have to believe this is the way the market is going rather than yet another cell MODEM and data plan. Note I realize the downside to this is that your phone has to be with the car, but c'mon, when is that not the case. So, if you were Verizon, where is the incentive to invest long-term in better resources or development of the MBrace apps?

Again, just pure, good, old-fashioned Internet speculation...

AppleFan1

Tom, you make a great point. I guess it will not be too long of a wait for us to find out the outcome on this subject.

DaveVY

I agree with Tom, mobile phones are almost always with us so I haven't complained since I don't see the need for the car to have wifi. Car-play should be retrofitted back to 2014 (at least for a modest charge) and also make any data that the car needs have the option of pulling through an "attached" smartphone.

AppleFan1

Hopefully the following article/news will get the attention of MBUSA. It's embarrassing that GM will upgrade to 4G LTE while MBUSA is stuck in the late 1990's technology.

http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2...h-tuesday.html

BadMojo

Frankly, aside from an integrated modem, I thought MBUSA should've done what Lexus did and allow for Bluetooth tethering. This has its own set of problems, the max data transfer speed of Bluetooth being the chief one.

There are a lot of benefits to having a built-in cellular modem. Much stronger reception since it's hardwired to a built-in antenna in the car(the treated glass not only reduces heat penetration, but negatively affects cellular strength for your phone), and you don't drain battery as much on your phone since you're connected via Wi-Fi. If MB made the modem modular and upgradeable, that'd be pretty close to ideal.

MB did indicate during the W222 press tours last summer that 4G would be coming. Whether it's going to be available to previous MY owners is anyone's guess.

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/1...l-ever-drive/2

hyperion667

this thread is amazing: I can't believe so many of you are complaining about such a small
issue........you all have phones, computers that already go online? why do we need lightning flash internet speed in the car too???
is there not one place we can be free of connectivity?????????

06E55

You of all people have to ask this? It's your car's slow *** internet connectivity that is responsible for your connection problem in the GIF of your signature, after all. Had you a better connection, we would be able to see the full GIF and all have other problems to be more worried about... But, as you can see, that is not the case, since you, yourself, also have poor connectivity!

hyperion667

haha, you're doing drugs Sir..........as do I




I could care less about my cars slow ***......whatever the hell that is.......
bought it for the car; not the connection to the internet.......

Corey140

This PC Mag article sorta shows why the 3G connection in the car sucks. Verizon 3G has pretty much slow down under 1mb in most markets.

http://www.pcmag.com/fastest-mobile-networks

rockdassie

I bought and then promptly sold, a 2012 E350 because the promised Internet connectivity did not exist. Imagine implementing Blue DUN as the interface! I then bought a new 2014 - MBrace Internet has been painfully slow. Often I am home already and it has still not connected while my iPhone alongside with me indicates very good speeds upload and download. Some days, some places it finally grants me a connection and Tune-In radio plays. As of a few days ago Network Unavailable came up yet again. The poor technicians could not tell me whether the Network was up or not (on a previous occassion they actually DID know it was down) I was told that there was an "update" they would download - in my parlance as a telcomm equipment builder this means "bug fix". I still have nothing - I still have Network Not Available. Mercedes Europe I hear allows tethering of ones cellphone as the connection. Here in the USA we are stuck with an outmoded, outdated 3G connection. And no, you can NOT upgrade a 3G system to 4G LTE so us suckers are stuck with 2009 technology in a 2014 car. (Better than the 1992 technology in the 2012 model but still not much use seeing the 2014 3g is slow as treacle and seems buggy, it hardly works). This on a luxury car! Shameful coming from the otherwise proud Germans! From what I can see, after now having owned two Mercedes, Mercedes has not a clue when it comes to producing decent electronics. (see other forum comments for excellent connections on Audi) To upgrade to something that actually works I suppose I have to buy the Next Gen Mercedes when it is released and take another chance that maybe they got it right this time! After about 5 years of gripes from wealthy customers, gripes sprinkled all over the web in forums like this does ANYONE at Mercedes ever read this Forum and take heed or are they so self satisfied and proud to work at Mercedes that the customer comes Last, not First? How about swallowing some pride and hiring some outside software experts? This is a sad state of affairs. The Comand Interface is similarly a clumsy, poorly programmed botch job. Back often takes you back alright, to the beginning! So, another trip to the dealer. Mercedes really owes the community an apology and a speedy fix and update and upgrade of its crappy software! My car itself is fantastic and handles beautifully, it is a masterpiece of mechanical engineering! Yes Mechanical! Mercedes has not a clue when it comes to software! (or the choice of the underlying firmware and hardware) - I'd be better off if the panel displayed my cellphone contents! Look at all the comments on this Forum, this is a downright disgrace! How about rectifying the problems for EXISTING customers for a change instead of fobbing us off and putting so-called upgrades off until they build the next car? MB needs a wake up call! Maybe most Mercedes owners are so wealthy that they don't mind, simply buy a new one? This surely does not include the passionate owners such as those on MBWorld I would hope! Could we send a petition to Mercedes maybe? Signed by all MBWorld members?

AppleFan1

Rockdassie, I totally agree with you on the Internet speed. It is a disgrace. We have talked about this on numerous occasions. In fact, I started a thread a week or so ago titled "Need an update on WiFi." Take a look at that thread when you have a chance. Hopefully, there will be a significant software upgrade in the not too distant future on the Internet speed associated with MBrace. I know that would make me very happy.

I cannot say I agree with you about the Command Interface in general. Yes, it could be simplified somewhat, but once you get use to it, I think that system is pretty neat.

nyca

You can't upgrade to 4G with "software". This car's hardware is 3G, that's it. I imagine the 2016 will be 4G.

AppleFan1

Thanks! Can the hardware be replaced on the 2014/15 models when 4G becomes available?

nyca

I doubt it, if they had put some thought into the design they would have made the cellular data module a plug in - I doubt they did that. I think this is why you see the CarPlay feature delayed on all new benz cars (222, 205) - without a 4G head unit, the app performance is too poor so they aren't bothering to release the feature until the cars get 4G.

AppleFan1

That's a crying shame!

BadMojo

It's really hard to get any concrete data on this but there still may be a possibility that MB would provide a 4G module. Here's a pair of articles showing the current module as well as mentions of a 4G upgrade option for the C-Class

http://www.slashgear.com/mercedez-be...s-on-27211025/

http://cars.reviewed.com/news/2015-m...ng-recognition

This portion from the second link is interesting:

Unfortunately, it's really hard to find any concrete answers.

rockdassie

MBrace in the 2014 was doomed from the start. They used a 3G modem (totally obsolete) which can not be upgraded to 4G (LTE). The service is atrocious and slow as treacle in Antarctica, and in the USA we pay for it, in Europe I hear one can tether and use ones cellphone for internet service. My car has been "network unavailable" for three weeks despite attempts to upgrade its software over the internet by the MB Technicians. So, a trip to the dealer so I can look forward to slow and erratic service on my new car! IF they manage to fix it! Mercedes obviously is too aloof to read the excellent posts on this forum!

rockdassie

I see no other choice. If Mercedes did this they could overnight obviate this major design flaw. You could use your cellphone as a hotspot and give the MBrace system great speeds. Furthermore, the system would stay usable and current far into the future, thereby protecting your expensive investment from obsolescence. (Read, the present system will result in lower book values, nobody wants an obsolete system) It is entirely possible to upgrade MBrace via downloads. It is not possible to upgrade a 3G modem to 4G (LTE). I am really ticked at having sold a 2012 which promised Internet after 8 weeks when I discovered it did not, to find my 2014 was designed and built obsolete right out the gate!

nyca

I doubt they will allow tethering to your phone even in the 2016, the best you can hope for is a 4G module and the ability to plug a SIM card bundled with your wireless plan, into the car, so you can share your phone data plan with the car's connection.

Diesel Benz

I cannot see how this would fulfil the interests of MBUSA. After all the reason to disable internet access via the cellphone must be to promote paid MBrace services.

Now MBUSA buys internet connectivity at a low price (followed by very restricted data rates). If the customer could put his/her own SIM card to the car, MBUSA would loose their MBrace subscribers, wouldn't they?

4G/LTE would neither help if the service agreement remained the same. At least I've understood that the connectivity is currently much worse than what you get from a dual mode (2G/3G) phone with a normal service plan.

3G is capable for 20+ Mbit/s (40+ on dual carrier) and enhancements are on the way. Currently you do not see these speeds because the networks are crowded, congested. LTE looks promising and is much better but not as good as it feels initially. Initially you have a lot of capacity for a few customers but soon LTE will also be crowded and you will hardly get the data rates the current MB 3G modem is capable for...

mlewicki

After picking up a 2015 S550, i also noticed the internet slowness when my wife connected her Surface Pro 3 to the car's wifi. After contacting Mercedes, I spoke with a tech who told me the honest truth about what was going on. Apparently, to explain this is in simple (non technical) terms, the reason why the connection is slow (albeit 3G) is because the communication path for the data transfer must travel to Europe first (Germany) and then back to the US. In other words, the servers that manage the connections and handle or relay all the data are for some bizarre reason at the moment only in Germany. If the same infrastructure was setup in the US, there would be no major issues with using the internet radio or wifi. It's very UNFORTUNATE Mercedes would do this to its US customers ... no immediate fix is available that I was made aware of. Only alternative for faster wifi is to use the tethering option on your mobile phone.

Ormond2004

My MBrace wasn't setup or discussed at my delivery. My Audi had 3G thru T-Mobile. It worked pretty well.

Diesel Benz

I don't believe a word about that explanation. First of all, Euro cars do not use the same approach, instead they use the customer's phone for data connectivity where obviously MB is not involved at all. Why would they build servers to Europe for US cars?

Slow connectivity is nothing but a service agreement between MBUSA and the service provider (I cannot remember which carrier is used, it has been mentioned at the forum anyway). Just like ordinary phone subscriptions can have different service grades (data rates and gigabytes per month), MBrace has restricted throughput according to that service agreement (can always go lower at extremely poor radio conditions or at extreme network congestion but does not go higher even if the modem was capable for higher speed).

It would be pretty expensive to provide "full speed" to all cars, would make owners abandon MBrace completely. This way MBUSA gets some money even if car owners complain.

DaveVY

I can understand why the response can be slow based on what mlewicki said. Yes there is a connection speed with the mobile carrier. If that core connection speed is slow than anything after that will also be slow. But even if that speed is fast there can still be slow speeds as a result of how the data is handled once it reaches the carrier. IF all data is routed to MB for authentication against their customer file (to validate that the data being requested is within the scope of the contract that each customer has paid for) I can see where MB might have been short sighted enough to have all traffic validated against a single data set based at the corporate HQ location.

I would be happy to be wrong, but have seen companies do things even more short sighted than this. The good news is that if this is the case then the fix is a relatively routine item to do, rolling out strategically placed servers around the globe.

Would love to hear a little more technical details from mlewicki.