sagers2

Quick question to those who may have it, do you find the MBRACE 2 plus apps worth it? Which package do you think is useful or maybe none of them. Just bought new 2014 S Class so trying to figure out if I will use this stuff.

Thanks in advance!!

AppleFan1

That's a good question that I would also like to be answered. In fact, I'm not even sure if I need to subscribe to a package in order to use the Wi-Fi hot spot in the car.

Jason B

There's a lot of stuff you can do to control the car from an iPhone, etc. Sign up, you get a free 3 month trial, then cancel later if you don't want it. It's very cool though.

AppleFan1

Thanks Jason! Yes, I use an iPhone so it should be a no brainer on how to use the Mbrace I would think. And I definitely want to option.

Jason B

Yea. Mbrace 2 does a lot more. Most people don't know about it. Here are some basic features of the original app.

DaveVY

I am not sure what benefit the apps are in the car or why I would want the car to be a hot spot. All of our devices already have their own connectivity and if we wanted could just make a phone a hot spot.

Yes we have the 2014 S-Class and no, I don't see much value in this particular implementation of technology.

The MBrace app on the phone is nice but don't plan on renewing when it expires.

Interested to hear how others use it and the value they see. Maybe I am missing something.

AppleFan1

Jason, that app looks like it would be very useful. Thanks for sharing this video.

AppleFan1

Dave, would you not use less data from your provider if the car is a hot spot? If so, then perhaps your could sign up for a less expensive plan from your provider. I'm just asking since I'm not sure how these things work.

Jason B

Sure. I also think with mbrace you get stolen car recovery, like LoJack. That feature gets you a large discount on your insurance.

It also has automatic accident notification. Say if you get into a wreck and airbags deploy, etc. and you are unconscious. It requests ambulance.

The other features are just added bonuses.

Wolfman

Search the forum; there are plenty of discussions around that. Mbrace is good for theft tracking & sending an ambulance in case of accidents, maybe the door unlock feature some other small stuff. I take that even though is annoying to pay $280 a year for something BMW has included for free for 3-4 years (don't remember exactly). It's a good safety add-on. Had it now for 14 years and luckily never used for anything serious...

MB apps on the other hand are pure junk and their pricing is exorbitant for ancient tech. Build-in hotspots are useful only when fast. Otherwise your smartphone is better at everything Internet anyway.

aypues

Ya ive read on CNET that the apps are basically useless, a) because of the ancient 3G data connection, and 2) bad programming. I wish they had a Pandora app too. Hoping 2015 model will have a 4G LTE connection, or better yet, just use the customer's cell phone data as the source so you're not paying for multiple redundant data plans.