I have tried everything to get the internet connection for Apps and internet radio up and running on my recently acquired 2017 S550. The last tech support person I spoke with at the MB tech help desk alluded to the fact that the Verizon Network they use on 2017 and below vehicles does not work for internet in these cars in all service areas. They really did not want to give back the money I put down for service of both the Security package and the internet radio. I was finally connected to billing and they agreed to credit my card that I use to pay for these services over 2 weeks ago. What kind of company is this? The best or nothing? So I'm wondering does anyone who has a 2017 and below actually have a working Data connection or is it just gone since Mercedes switched to ATT for the 2018 and up models. This is something I paid for when I bought the car and I feel like I'm getting the shaft. I had dropped the car off at the dealer for a couple days and they gave me a loaner, they claimed it was fixed when I picked up the car. I noticed right after I got in the car it still did not work. The kid at the benz dealer said maybe it was something to do with the cement reception area which still is open on either end. BS, it does not work at all. What would be the proper course of action to take next? Internet is good to have for Nav searches, internet radio, the rest of the apps and of course in car hot spot which all these features are rendered useless in getting the dreaded "Data Connection temporarily unavailable' message all the time. Maybe I should ask the selling dealer for my money back on the car?

 

Good luck on getting your money back on the car because of the MBrace service.

Unfortunately I have significant experience with the internet radio on a '14 S550 4matic, '16 S550 4matic and my '19 S63 AMG.

In 2014 I literally spent every business day for 6 months talking to tier 2 tech support to finally get the internet radio working on the 2014 S Class. I was so insistent that they finally had me talking to the executive office about this. But I got it to work. When I bought the new 2016 I went through the same BS with less time involved since I knew the ropes how to deal with MB customer service not having a clue.

Then most recently I had an issue with my '19 S63 AMG internet radio not working again (about a week ago). They began the conversation by saying everything is working on their end so I need to take the car to the dealership. I said I know the issue is on the tech end and the dealership cannot do anything so send me to your supervisor so I can get it fixed. Guess what? It was working in 45 minutes after my call. They simply do not want to help you and they just push these issues to the dealerships and the dealership generally do not know how to do with the problems. Most issues with the internet radio not working can be done via over the air fixes unless their is a hardware issue. But I believe the customer service people are trained to push the issue to the dealers. If you want the service to work you need to be willing to spend significant time and swearing to get it to work. Since 2014 I use the internet radio daily since I listen to European radio stations. I believe most people do not get their internet radios to work since they give up to quickly on getting it to work. But be prepared to spend significant amount of time trying to get the MB people on the 800 number to help you.

 

Thanks so much for your post. I’ve felt like I was going crazy dealing with these people. Did you by any chance get any names of who to speak with that actually knows what they are doing? I get the feeling most everyone I spoke with in tech support there does not have a clue. I just like having the apps working. I like to be able to pull up the weather maps and forecasts and the sound quality on the internet radio is better than streaming over my phone I’ve found in the past.

 

Since I really have not had any issues since 2015/2016, any names I would have had may not be relevant. But in 2014 there were only a few supervisors and I was on a first name basis with on of them (6 years ago you would think I could remember his name but I don't). You simply need to get to a supervisor and keep going up the food chain. In your case, you took it to the dealer and the dealership said everything was working on their end. So you will need them to open up a ticket with their most senior people and keep calling them so they know you won't give up until they fix it. Of course, most people won't do that so they are betting that you will continue to pay them without fixing your internet radio. I am like a bull in a china shop when it comes to this stuff. You will need to be nice but aggressive or you will not get it resolved.

Also, if you speak to tech support and you feel like they don't have a clue, you are not getting to the engineers. It is the upper level tech people (engineers) that really get things working.

 

Completely agree, that is the feeling I've been getting. I'm thinking perhaps one of the problems too is that when they send the signal you need to be in a area where there is a good strong cell phone signal otherwise it's not going to work. I play Tennis in Ft. Myers tomorrow so I'm gonna call them from there where I know there is a tower nearby and try again and ask for a Supervisor. I know the hardware is ok, the dealer said it was. I think maybe some of my problem has been where I live there are only 2 bars signal strength and the car is mostly in the garage and therefore maybe the signal has not been working correctly when my car gets it. Number two theory is they just want to sell you a new car kinda like what apple did with that recent lawsuit that they were stepping down the speed of the older iPhones with their updates, I was just reading about that. Each user of the iPhone 6's and 7's is suppose to get a 25 dollar check from the lawsuit according to the article. You might notice the title of this thread is about getting a new car, lol. Thats what I was thinking with dealing with this issue as it seems so elusive. I'm not gonna cave though, the car I have is a good one with very low miles for a 2017 although when the 2021's come out next fall I might be tempted, but gonna wait at least until then as I might regret getting a new 2020 especially after the new 223's comes out and it's value drops like a stone.

 

Mercedes just sucks in this area along with their entire infotainment systems. I have learned that other cars do this better and slowly moving over to other manufacturers.

 

Internet services based on cars will be sluggish. 2014 is old old tech. And yet widespread 5G is also a long way away. And the 5G hardware for cars is also a long long way away. When it comes to infotainment, the market is moving to over-the-air updates. The old model that encourages buyers to upgrade to a newer version of a car for infotainment update will hopefully die. Thank you Tesla. Thank you Genesis for adopting this. The Germans need to lead but they will be forced to follow. But again, thank you Tesla.

 

Put together a purchase proposal with 15% off the end MSRP and see what happens. The worse that you could experience is NO.