MG ZS EV OTA Updates

[peterseddon]

Does anyone know if there has ever been an OTA update?

 

[TonyP]

None to date.

 

[ca46717]

I am afraid OTAs will be very rare. Minor things but most problems like infotainment performance is probably cheap hardware

 

[Deleted member 10911]

“Both grades feature a new 7-inch digital instrument cluster and larger 10.1-inch floating screen, which is running a new infotainment system called iSmart. The software is powered by Amazon's AWS cloud-based system, with support for remote smartphone functionality, over-the-air software updates, Amazon Music streaming, and live weather and traffic updates. “Our seven-year warranty is comprehensive across both ICE, electric and batteries with no hidden exclusions” said MG Motor Australia and New Zealand CEO Peter Ciao, likely in response to BYD's recently announced warranty terms.

- Australia gets none of the above.

 

[JCFlippen]

Does anyone know if there has ever been an OTA update?

This was a feature mentioned in the original marketing blurb. Don’t think it will ever come to pass. I think that MG and others (VW) etc are so inept in updating software that it is best not to come down in the morning and discover an OTA ‘improvement’. Tesla excel at OTA updates but at a price.

 

[Roldorf]

OTA updates are a really bad idea. How often have you had a perfectly working app or operating system until you install an OTA update which makes your app either totally non functional or a pain in the arse to use. Fortunately my cars operating system works fine and just as I want it to. I don't need any updates especially those that don't allow me to turn things I don't like 'off' permanently.
Automatic OTA updates are even worse.

 

[Deleted member 10911]

OTA updates are a really bad idea. How often have you had a perfectly working app or operating system until you install an OTA update which makes your app either totally non functional or a pain in the arse to use. Fortunately my cars operating system works fine and just as I want it to. I don't need any updates especially those that don't allow me to turn things I don't like 'off' permanently.
Automatic OTA updates are even worse.

I’m on the Apple Beta testing program for iPad/iWatch & iPhone. Have been for years. Never had an issue which has made my device unusable or a pain in the arse to use.

I am also in the preview release group for Windows and their programs. Please note, I am not a tech, nor am I in the tech industry. I merely opt to receive software first to ensure my business is ready for any upcoming updates. We have had no issues.

If done properly, they can make things better, safer and more functional. Knowing what we know now, with the advances of tech and kms travelled, the EV released last year is not the EV which is out there today.

There are things, like spelling errors, which at the very least should be corrected, particularly when a significant cash amount has been paid for a vehicle.

To say OTA should not be performed, sorry, I have to strongly disagree.

 

[Roldorf]

You only have to look at the Android play store app comments to see how many users have non functioning apps after an update to see how much of a problem that is. In just the last week I have had to reinstall an app from 2 months ago to get a functioning app that works on My MG after a recent update made the app non functional.
The only upside was that the writers have a site where you can download previous apps.
An OTA update that stops me permanently disabling a feature that can cause the car to veer off the road like the lane assist system is a no-go. In fact the drivers manual quotes this as a danger.

 

[Deleted member 10911]

You only have to look at the Android play store app comments to see how many users have non functioning apps after an update to see how much of a problem that is. In just the last week I have had to reinstall an app from 2 months ago to get a functioning app that works on My MG after a recent update made the app non functional.
The only upside was that the writers have a site where you can download previous apps.
An OTA update that stops me permanently disabling a feature that can cause the car to veer off the road like the lane assist system is a no-go. In fact the drivers manual quotes this as a danger.

View attachment 14747

Correct, which is why I said “if done properly”. Android is no mans land, and unfotunately, as I’ve posted on here previously somewhere else, MG is a car company pretending to be a software company. Unfortunately, it doesn‘t do the latter well. Whereas Tesla is a software company pretending to be a car company. It doesn’t particularly make cars well.

in respect of the update you refer, with the LKA, my car has it, I’m able to disengage LKA to audible alert only, however prefer to have it on minimal adjustment anyway. It is pretty good. The car has retained the settings between restarts.

Last week, my daughter and I used the traffic jam, lane keep assist and cruise control on a trip to the airport. The car drove for circa 20km without input. Not bad.

 

[hmadsen]

You only have to look at the Android play store app comments to see how many users have non functioning apps after an update to see how much of a problem that is. In just the last week I have had to reinstall an app from 2 months ago to get a functioning app that works on My MG after a recent update made the app non functional.
The only upside was that the writers have a site where you can download previous apps.
An OTA update that stops me permanently disabling a feature that can cause the car to veer off the road like the lane assist system is a no-go. In fact the drivers manual quotes this as a danger.

View attachment 14747

There is a massive difference between android apps and a car infotainment system.

An android app must be able to run on atleast 5-6 different versions of android, and more than 100 different hardware configurations.

The infotainment in the MG must run on the one version of OS, that ALL of the cars run, and there is only "one" hardware version

It's a LOT easier to code and properly test something that is running on one OS and one hardware configuration, than to test something that must run on a lot of HW configs, and multiple OS'es.

Tesla update their cars about once a month, and i havent heard of them literally bricking cars or making them unusable.

MG (Saic) is a Chinese company, and these are notorious for not doing updates to their products, and when you ask, they say "Oh we fix this in the new version, just buy new version of hardware, and it will be fixed"

MG was not exactly lying either, they did say "We CAN update it OTA", they never specifically said "We WILL update it"

For anyone in here i bet that we would expect them to use the feature that they made, but this is the normal way of using wording to make a product more desireable, without actually being more desireable.

 

[Deleted member 10911]

MG (Saic) is a Chinese company, and these are notorious for not doing updates to their products, and when you ask, they say "Oh we fix this in the new version, just buy new version of hardware, and it will be fixed"

MG was not exactly lying either, they did say "We CAN update it OTA", they never specifically said "We WILL update it"

For anyone in here i bet that we would expect them to use the feature that they made, but this is the normal way of using wording to make a product more desireable, without actually being more desireable.

They promised much more than OTA in Australia, which becomes misleading conduct under the laws we have here.

Perhaps it’s time to switch to a Tesla. blurgh. Sorry, I need a shower.

 

[Pianoman]

Ok, I’ll bite….. what is an OTA? ?

 

[Roldorf]

Over The Air update. In other words through the wi-fi connection on your car.

 

[JCFlippen]

There is a Monro Live interview on YT with a software expert. He tells us that an EV has 10x more computer code than a Dreamliner jet! Worth watching - sorry no idea how to link to it.

 

[Pianoman]

Over The Air update. In other words through the wi-fi connection on your car.

?

 

[DB Go Rex]

There is a Monro Live interview on YT with a software expert. He tells us that an EV has 10x more computer code than a Dreamliner jet! Worth watching - sorry no idea how to link to it.

Amount/Lines amount of code is a terrible metric for software.

 

[hmadsen]

They promised much more than OTA in Australia, which becomes misleading conduct under the laws we have here.

Perhaps it’s time to switch to a Tesla. blurgh. Sorry, I need a shower.

Well now that you mention it....

I installed the Tesla app and for some reason it says "Estimated delivery time February/March"

There is a Monro Live interview on YT with a software expert. He tells us that an EV has 10x more computer code than a Dreamliner jet! Worth watching - sorry no idea how to link to it.

That means one of 2 things.

1. A car is vastly more complex and need a lot of additional code to control all of the functions compared to an airplane.

2. People writing software for airplanes take their time to make the code as efficient and small as possible, probably to avoid errors to be hidden in bloated, badly written code.

My money is more on option 2, than option 1

I remeber back in the day, where code was super optimized because the ram and rom storage and was very limited, and the processor had limited processing power.

Back then, the programmer had to be efficient, both to get the "performance" out of the processor and to be able to make the software fit onto the ROM storage, and not exceed the RAM when running.

Another factor was, most computer chips that were writable were either OTP (One time programmable) or had to be erased by peeling back a sticker over a small glass window in the EPROM and subjecting the chip to ultraviolet light. It was expensive to make a mistake if you used OTP and time consuming to reflash a chip that had to be erased for atleast 15 minutes under the ultraviolet light.

Nowadays the processor has loads of power, and ram and nand storage is dirt cheap, so no one has to take care to make the code effective, because it does not matter if the processor has an average load of 33% instead of 32%, and you never run out of RAM or storage capacity to store the code you make.

 

[RobinH]

And 3. the B787 was designed 15 years ago with HiRel chips rather than the latest & fastest - and certainly not using Android or Windows....

 

[Deleted member 10911]

There is a Monro Live interview on YT with a software expert. He tells us that an EV has 10x more computer code than a Dreamliner jet! Worth watching - sorry no idea how to link to it.

This interview is a bit misleading, as most modern cars have more code than a 787. Ford GT from 2015 had 10m lines of mission critical code vs a Dreamliners roughly paltry 6.

the reason for less code in a plane is the more code, the more chance for an error, and when there is an error, planes filled with people fall out of the sky. Much like those two from a few years back, can’t recall the type, but there were two in a short span which resulted in the worldwide grounding.

Well now that you mention it....

I installed the Tesla app and for some reason it says "Estimated delivery time February/March"

no comment, except to say the following….

 

[Deleted member 10911]

Ok, I’ll bite….. what is an OTA? ?

This brought a smile to the dial. My father in law asked the same thing.