mercedes online command

The way i understand it is CARPLAY is a wrapper but most of the fuctions are like an IOS interface icons. The DRIVEKIT PLUS is also a wrapper but failed to perform the same way. So Merc is considering to sell as much as DKP they can and later when they run out of stock they'll start selling CP.

As what i understood after speaking to a few inside people in Germany. CP will work with most of the fuctions of iPhone but the interface will be IOS Style. They are porting the current IOS into the command so most will be done via the AUX or some other port which im not sure of.

The internet will not correspond to the command interface but as the ported interface of iPhone in CP will have MAPS and it will be fully operational with the internet from the phone.

It is not a bluetooth hardward issue - it is a firmware issue. A bluetooth radio is a bluetooth radio. It needs a firmware update to include the correct profile but it seems that Mercedes do not want to do this, probably due to the costs or their agreements with the bluetooth radio provider.

It always was a joke and it still is.

I don't think that's right Spooky. I spoke to Mercedes and they said that Comand NTG 4.5 units with "online" made before June 2013 have an old bluetooth chip in which only supports DUN (Dial Up Networking) which is a very old form of data connection and very slow. After June 2013, they changed the hardware in the unit so that it supports PAN (Personal Area Network) which is the protocol all modern phones use and is much faster. These units are dubbed NTG 4.7.

If they could have given us an firmware upgrade for the NTG 4.5 units they would have, but they can't because the bluetooth chip in the unit can't support PAN.

The only way around this seems to be an external interface for the iPhone which uses the iPhone's internal functions to give you everything Comand Online did anyway. This effectively just uses the Comand screen and car controls to display/control the iPhone, which is displayed on the comand screen via a software "wrapper". There would still be no connection to Comand online, but theoretically, you wouldn't need it, because all the Comand functions, including Navigation with live internet traffic, would be taken car of by your iPhone.

To me, something about paying £3k for a Comand system and then only using it as a screen inerface to your iPhone leaves a very bad taste in my mouth. However, if the Drive Kit Plus or CarPlay addon does the job, then I guess it's a solution of sorts.

I found out that unfortunately, Carplay will not be a solution as it's not available to retrofit, it only comes as part of Coamnd NTG 5.0

Best/only option is Drive Kit Plus, unless of course you want to buy a complete new comand 5.0 unit and have it coded to the car, which I'm guessing would be almost as costly as trading your car in for a newer model lol.

I joined this discussion two years ago, when I got my 2013 G-Class with Comand Online NTG 4.5 in September 2012. (NTG=New Telematics Generation)

I have spend extensive time to solve the problem, had extensive talks with Mercedes here in Germany and I will gladly share my knowledge here so that no question remains left.

First of all, FazerWiz is right. There is no way for any kind of software update for the pre 6/13 Comand Units. It is just a hardware issue. Hard to accept but there is no way around it. Guys, You Comand stays offline.

But Comand Online is dead anyways. I never stood a chance against iOS and Android. It was such a baaaad product, it was so slow, Mercedes tried to get the customers to subsribe to its Online Services, they have build an own app store for their platform but the outcome was a disaster.

As they saw that the competing manufactures dealt with the same problem and seeked alliances with Apple and Google, Mercedes decided to bring CarPlay to the market.

This is a big step, because it makes many currenty offered features (which Mercedes wants to get paid for) obsolete:

No need for Comand Navigation and its expensive data DVDs, Linguatronic Voice Control, Media Interface/iPod Connection, Satellite Radio and even FM radio ...

CarPlay was introduced with NTG 5.0 and will be available as a retrofit for NTG 5.0 Models. Which makes no sense. I guess that almost ALL those vehicles, especially sold in the US, will already have it!

When it comes to retrofitting NTG 4.5 or even 4.0, there is simply not enoguh information out... yet.

Even if Mercedes does not officially support the update, chances are very high that it is possible and that some Mercedes Dealers or independant car workshops will offer the update:

CarPlay is a box, that is installed invisibly in the interior of the car, most of the time behind the Comand headunit.

It connects to the headunit to use its Display (like the rear view camera), it connects to the linugatronic button on the steering wheel and it offers a lightning connector for the iPhone, installed inside the armrest box between the fron seats.

But even CarPlay has its downsides:

1) If you have no internet connection, you're screwed. No Music, No Navigation. This is an issue in the US due to bad coverage and the EU due to ridiculous data roaming costs when you leave your home country.

2) No external antenna for better cell phone connection.

3) Doesnot work with Bluetooth or Wifi Connection. You allways have to plug in the phone, that can be annoying. Currently I use the bluetooth connection for my Phone an it is much more convenient when you don't have to take the phone out of your pocket all the time...

And even for the worst case, that CarPlay won't be available, I expect aftermarket solutions for the millions of cars out there...

Thanks for taking the time to post all that, very interesting.

It looks like Drive Kit Plus is the best way forward. In many ways, from what you've said, it maybe superior to CarPlay because it comes with a full Offline GPS navigation system by Garmin, which includes up-to-date offline maps on your iPhone (assuming you have the space). It also uses the car's GPS antenna to make the signal strong, so you get good navigation in the car even in built-up areas and with the iPhone in the glovebox.

Having said that, I have a specific reason for wanting my Comand online to be online: I use my car extensively for touring holidays in Europe and I never want to go the quickest or shortest route, but a specific pre-planned route which goes down the best and most scenic roads for a motoring holiday. Comand online lets you plan all your routes in advance on your large screen computer using Google Maps. then send the entire pre-panned trip to your car SatNav. This is a brilliant feature for me, except that I can't get my comand online online :/ In addition, I don't think that the Garmin Navigation Software in Drive Kit Plus even supports that feature, only the Comand navigation does.

So for me, the best option is probably a cheap PAYG phone like the Nokia 301 which supports DUN, just to use for the route download, then switch back to my iPhone. There is an app called BlueDUN which makes the iPhone DUN compatible, but it requires jailbreaking and I don't want to do that as some of my other apps won't run on a jailbroken phone.

All in all it's a bit of a mess. Almost worth waiting for a 4.7 comand unit to come up on eBay and swapping it over. Hey ho...

Sorry, but a Bluetooth radio is a Bluetooth radio. It absolutely must be technically possible to use different firmware to include the stack for PAN. If they have told you it is a hardware issue it doesn't mean that is true - it might just be a dumbed down answer for public consumption.

Or maybe it's not beyond the bounds of possibility that you could actually be wrong? There are lots of Bluetooth chips avaiable, they don't all carry the same features and certainly a bluetooth radio isn't a bluetooth radio as you put it.

I don't now a whole lot about Bluetooth data chips, but I've worked on several projects involving Bluetooth audio and the hardware featureset varies massively from chip to chip. For example, you can't make a mono bluetooth audio chip carry stereo ad2p; nomatter what firmware you try.

If the feature isn't on the chip as Mercedes have told several people it isn't, they simply cannot fix it with a firmware release. Simples.

Sorry, but a bluetooth radio IS a bluetooth radio. I'm not guessing.

The mono/a2dp example you give is not equivalent.

The stack is just a matter of what profiles you include. Limiting this could perhaps be a matter of licencing costs. It is possible that it is not easy to put new firmware on it - it might not be designed to be easily updated (or updated at all), which again might indicate a cost consideration. That is a different matter to it not being technically possible.

When they say it is a hardware issue, perhaps they simply mean that it is not easy to update the hardware. That would just indicate a poor system design though, putting aside the fact that DUN was already outdated for a number of years and that Mercedes aren't exactly known for being on the cutting edge with their media technology.

I have driven Mercedes for the last 12 years or so and I like their cars, but their in-car entertainment and technology has never been particularly well thought out or implemented. 4-hour updates that can only be done in the workshop?

Thanks to all for the technical details. I got my ML 350 in October 2013, with a manufacturing date of June 14. From what I can do with it regarding connection to my iPhone 5S, it seems indeed that Comand is a very expensive, but useless device. Whatever, the user notice says, won't work. What surprised me is that the version shown in engineering mode (Navi core) doesn't even refer to NTG, it shows BLD-NR-172 10.07, possibly because it is an European version.

I though MB had close relations with Apple. Not even being able to use an iPhone on an MB end-2013 is really disappointing.

Thanks for the reference.

Actually MB doesn't provide accurate information in their list. My ML was build on June 16, 2013, but Comand won't work with my iPhone 5S for data connection. Steve Jobs was driving MB's, why can't they get this right and at least be honest about what they sell?

Very disappointing.

I have the Mercedes-Benz ""system, and I can no longer play my iPod Nano through my car's sound system using the Apple-compatible auxiliary jack in the glove compartment. While I can "see" my iPod in the driver's console and scroll through music using the steering wheel's function buttons, I cannot actually play any files on the iPod.

My local Mercedes-Benz service representative told me that the latest iteration of the iPod operating system is NOT compatible with pre-2014 versions of the Command system; he said that this was a known issue but he did not know of any work-arounds.

Anyone have any ideas to resolve this issue?

I think you can get some help about the covers issue here:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3322570?start=0&tstart=0

Because Mercedes did not make their C-Class system compatible with the iPhone 4. You could call them back and ask them why they did not do so. Or buy a BMW with iOS Out.

Probably due to the fact they are using Bluetooth protocols that are not used by Apple and also due to the fact there is no disk mode on the iPhone so the Mercedes system cannot directly access it.