MG4 Software Update Thread

[siteguru]

You have exactly the same Infotainment software as my (phase 1) SE SR. I'm in no hurry to get this updated.

 

[Diggsy]

Yep, was going to say the same - unless you don’t want the outside temp to display any longer. If you do want it, stay on R13 for now

 

[Rolfe]

Hi, I have just received my new MG4 and wanted to know if I need a software update and how I go about it . I have attached the version numbers as displayed by my car . Thankyou.

As Tight Git said, that's just the infotainment software version, the owner can't see the others.

You have hit the jackpot, you are on R13. There is a later version, R16, which is a bit of a turkey as far as I can see. It's only known effect is to remove the outside temperature display from your screen. I have been unable to ascertain anything positive it gives you in return for this.

When I got my car in April I was assured it had all the latest software. It didn't, it was given to me with R13, something I was very pleased about. The car was in the dealer's on Monday for some work including a software update for the battery management system. I practically threatened them with hellfire if they updated the infotainment to R16. Thankfully they didn't and I still have the temperature display.

It's interesting that dealers are still supplying cars with R13 even in August. I have a feeling they know that R16 is undesirable.

ETA: A bit of cross-posting there, I didn't see the new page. I think the mood of the forum is fairly clear on this one.

 

[Tight Git]

This was posted on the Facebook group by Miles Roberts (an MG dealer)

Outside temp display has never been part of the SE spec. However, the first batch of vehicles we received in the UK had the wrong FICM software installed which showed an outside temp display in the FICM status bar.
This outside temp display never actually worked, it was actually showing random data.

All of these early cars should have been updated before release to customer but obviously some dealers didn’t bother and hence pictures appeared on user forums showing the display.

 

[Tight Git]

Although my outside temperature display has always been spot on!

 

[Rolfe]

It's not showing random data. It works. And the idea that any car in 2023 would be deliberately made without an outside temperature display is ludicrous. It's astonishing what guff some dealers will come up with to avoid admitting that something is a bug.

I'd actually suggest that not having an outside temperature display is potentially dangerous. It's normal for cars to give some sort of indication on the dashboard when the outside temperature drops below 4 degrees, to alert the driver that they may encounter freezing conditions. The SE has an external temperature sensor, we know that because the app status report includes outside temperature.

This thing can almost drive the car for you. It can tell you if you're about to back into something, and it can slam on the brakes if you're about to hit something. But they decided it wouldn't tell you what the temperature is? Give over.

 

[tsedge]

I did wonder if it was enabled by accident. Another differentiation between the SE and Trophy then, strange decision.

 

[siteguru]

@Miles Roberts CG did you really type this nonsense in a Facebook reply?

This was posted on the Facebook group by Miles Roberts (an MG dealer)

Outside temp display has never been part of the SE spec. However, the first batch of vehicles we received in the UK had the wrong FICM software installed which showed an outside temp display in the FICM status bar.
This outside temp display never actually worked, it was actually showing random data.

All of these early cars should have been updated before release to customer but obviously some dealers didn’t bother and hence pictures appeared on user forums showing the display.

I agree with @Rolfe (and @Tight Git) ... the external temperature indication is accurate (as far as I can determine), the sensor is obviously present (because the app shows it too), and deliberately blocking the indication from the Info screen seems a ludicrous decision to make.

 

[Richmorr]

my car in June came with R13 and I did update to R16 due to an auto hold error. The error hasn’t been fixed and lost the temp

 

[tsedge]

@Miles Roberts CG did you really type this nonsense in a Facebook reply?



I agree with @Rolfe (and @Tight Git) ... the external temperature indication is accurate (as far as I can determine), the sensor is obviously present (because the app shows it too), and deliberately blocking the indication from the Info screen seems a ludicrous decision to make.

I would say at the very least, if this was a mistake that was made, the temperature display should have been left enabled for SEs rather than remove it later. Really only hurts the brand to do things like that.

 

[tsedge]

Oh and please remember when he replies, Miles is the messenger, he didn't decide any of this.

 

[siteguru]

Oh and please remember when he replies, Miles is the messenger, he didn't decide any of this.

I'm merely querying whether that information really is correct - as it sounds utter bullocks.

 

[tsedge]

I'm merely querying whether that information really is correct - as it sounds utter bullocks.

I understand, my comment wasn't aimed at you, some people won't know who Miles is.

 

[Rolfe]

Oh and please remember when he replies, Miles is the messenger, he didn't decide any of this.

I don't think Miles is a messenger in this case, I think he's mistaken. To put it politely.

The explanation for the bugs in the SE software that these are deliberate, unnecessary downgrades snuck in under the radar to piss off SE owners and make them regret not buying the Trophy is ridiculous. The Trophy has lots of extra features over and above the SE which MG are happy to showcase as selling points. Buyers read up on this before making a decision, and reviewers highlight these features (not always accurately, I've noticed).

Where is the MG sales literature saying, buy the Trophy if you want an external temperature display, or a USB music player that works, or a radio that won't come on when you sit down even if you switched it off on your last drive, or to be able to disable the automatic locking? There's no gain to MG in doing any of that, it's pure software, and piddling simple software at that.

The external temperature thing is the most idiotic of the lot. Is there a car produced in the last ten years, even at the bottom of the range of the most budget model, that doesn't have that? Is there a car anywhere that has the sophistication of the app being able to scan the car's status remotely, including external temperature (for which it needs a sensor) which then doesn't relay that information to the driver when it's being driven?

Get real.

 

[Rolfe]

Another point to consider is that Miles is obviously wrong about the external temperature display showing random data. Lots of us have that display, and nobody has complained about it being inaccurate (unlike the internal temperature display which is 5 degrees more than reality in the car, and which can sometimes be all over the place when reported in the app, including the perennial 87C report).

So if he's wrong about that, why even consider that he's right about MG deciding not to equip the SE with an external temperature display? There is no reason on God's green earth to do that.

This is somebody making shit up on the fly rather than admit that a bug in the software has removed an important and necessary feature.

 

[Deleted member 10041]

Oh and please remember when he replies, Miles is the messenger, he didn't decide any of this

You podcast boys got to stick together

 

[tsedge]

Why don't we wait to hear what Miles has to say first? We don't even know if he said any of this.

 

[tsedge]

You podcast boys got to stick together

It is a statement of fact Leni, he is part of an MG dealership, not a representative of MGUK.

 

[Rolfe]

my car in June came with R13 and I did update to R16 due to an auto hold error. The error hasn’t been fixed and lost the temp

This is interesting. I have read elsewhere of people having R16 installed to correct the auto-hold fault, but I can't see what the auto-hold fault has to do with the infotainment screen or software at all. It's a fault that comes up on the driver's screen.

I know there have been various theories that the fault was related to the way the infotainment screen boots up, and whether or not you press the brake pedal before it has done that, but these seem to be mistaken. The fault can appear when you simply sit in the car and do nothing else at all, conversely you can sit down, press the brake, put the car into drive and drive off, all before the screen has booted up, and the fault doesn't appear.

So I don't even see the connection. How would you fix the auto-hold fault with an infotainment screen software upgrade in the first place?

 

[Rolfe]

It is a statement of fact Leni, he is part of an MG dealership, not a representative of MGUK.

Quite. And it's a bit concerning that he (a) thinks that the SE's temperature readout was ever reporting random figures and (b) thinks that any reasonable car manufacturer would choose to disable the external temperature reading on a car built in 2023 and costing north of £27,000.