A6 MMI 3G radio/TP/TMC problem

[a8 tech]

I will check

[MFGF]

My car had the Revision J 3G software update applied today.

My reported version numbers are as follows:

From Setup -> Settings -> Version Information:

Software version: HNav_EU_K0022_2_D1
Nav. database version: 8R0060884C_ECE 5.6.8

From the Engineering menu:

Train Version: K0022
MU Software: 0047

Previously, the Software version was showing as HNav_EU_K0022_1_D1.

Over the next few days, I will be watching the TMC and radio tuning carefully to see if the problem is fixed.

Regards,

MF.

[a8 tech]

Yes thats correct, its the same update I have carried out

[MFGF]

Thanks A8. The service manager seemed pretty confident this will fix my issues. Here's hoping for a good result!

MF.

[first_timer]

Sounds promising, at last. Oddly, I had an e-mail from Nottingham Audi Service Manager a couple of days ago, saying:

"Since we spoke just over a month ago, we have been unable to trace any reported problems via Audi UK with regional radio receptions and signal failure."

What?? I think they are saying they have no record of the other cases reported in this thread! Not impressed with their lines of communication....

I'm hoping to hear that the latest software update will correct the problem, so I can book my car in for that.

Steve

[kite]

Fingers crossed for you MF.

[MFGF]

Thanks for the kind thoughts, fellas.

Steve, really sorry to say the new software doesn't fix the problem. On my trip in to the office in Sale this morning, I got no TP bulletins, TMC disabled when I hit the A56 at Altrincham, and the radio channels had not updated from when I set out (still showing BBC WM, for instance, and no view of BBC Manc etc).

Previously, if I went to MW and did an "Update Station List" at this point then switched back to FM, the FM radio stations would disappear from the list (apart from the one I was currently tuned to) but this no longer happens - the original stations now remain in the list. If I scroll through and select a station out of area (eg BBC WM), I just get static.

I tried rebooting the MMI en route while waiting at the lights(Settings/Clickwheel/top right softkey) but this had no impact on the TMC or the radio stations displayed.

I then went to manual tuning and used the "up" function to manually search for stations throughout the entire FM frequency range. It found all the expected local and national stations for the Sale area, and when I returned to the list of channels, the stations were listed correctly, with no out-of-area stations remaining. TMC also re-enabled too.

So... The problem still remains, but the behaviour has subtly changed following the software update.

The next step is to report this to my dealer. I have a feeling they may start weeping at this point!

MF.

[a8 tech]

I think it may be wise to contact Traffic master about there transmissions and there providers, if TMC is disabled then they could confirm if its at there end to eliminate the actual source as so far all the repairs are pointing towards the vehicle were in fact the issue may well be a transmission issue.
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=tmc%...N&hl=en&tab=wl
http://www.trafficmaster.co.uk/__assets/asset46.pdf
also check this tmc map and compare http://www.trafficmaster.co.uk/home.php
I base my theory on some recent 3G issue's I have resolved for radio complaints and having dealt with TMC for 2g it either works or it doesn't.

contact georgina.osborn@trafficmaster.co.uk for any information regarding signals or if possible she may be able to forward your concern to there technical department

I dealt with a LW issue some years ago and the end result was very interesting as the bbc turned the signal down at certain times which matched the complaint

ftp://ftp.rds.org.uk/pub/acrobat/tti...ring99_e-2.pdf

[first_timer]

Well it can't hurt to do as A8 suggests. However, whatever Trafficmaster may be doing, it doesn't explain the loss of FM radio frequency updating as you travel around the country. On the other hand, the failure to pick up local radio stations as you move into their area does explain why TMC becomes unavailable, since it depends on data broadcast by local radio. No local radio stations = no TMC.

Mark - I'm disappointed to hear that the latest MMI software update does not correct this problem. But then the problem has to be recognised and prioritised by Audi before we can expect a solution. The answer my dealer appears to have got from Audi UK is that there is no such known problem!

Steve

[MFGF]

** Public Health Warning ** Long and utterly tedious post below detailing current behaviour of MMI after the software update. Reading to the end may cause drowsiness. Do not read if driving, operating heavy machinery, or performing brain surgery. If symptoms persist, please utilise "Bucket of Cold Water Over The Head" remedy.

Hi all,

I just got back from a trip to Southampton, and during the trip I watched carefully to see what happened with the radio/TMC/TP.

On the trip down, everything worked perfectly for the first part of the journey. The radio stayed tuned to Radio 1, and the other stations listed on the screen updated as expected, TP bulletins came through and TMC was working (roadworks on the A34 near Oxford were listed as being on my route). After about an hour, the radio stopped detecting new stations and TP bulletins stopped coming through. This was as I was approaching Birmingham. Interestingly, the TMC icon did not show as disabled, but from this point on the TMC messages started steadily disappearing from the Info list each time I checked.

When I arrived in Southampton, Radio 1 was still tuned properly (an improvement!!!!) but when I selected the other stations in the list, each of them was just an off-channel FM hiss, so although the station I was listening to had apparently retuned correctly via RDS, none of the others had done so. Obviously BBC WM and BBC Shrp were never going to work in Southampton (they were still in the station list) but Radio 2, Radio 3, Radio 4 etc had not retuned to regional frequencies after Birmingham. The TMC icon on the nav screen was still showing as enabled, but the Info list showed no TMC messages.

I then went to MW and used the "Update Station List" option, then switched back to FM. Prior to the software update, this would have removed all the untuned stations from the list, leaving just the current station at the top. This behaviour has now changed - all the stations remain in the list, despite them not being tuned.

Next I went to the tuning screen and used the "Tune up" option repeatedly to cycle through the entire FM frequency range finding stations. When I returned back to the station list, the Birmingham area stations were still displayed, along with the new stations detected by the tuning extercise. It was bizarre seeing BBC Shrp and BBC Slnt sitting next to each other in the list!

After doing this I checked the Info screen again. Three TMC messages had appeared in the list, so finding the local stations via the tuning exercise appeared to have re-instated TMC.

When I came back to the car an hour later and re-started, the Birmingham stations had disappeared, and everyting seemed to be functioning fine again for the short trip to the hotel.

For the journey home again last night, I saw a similar pattern. Everything worked fine for the first hour or so of the journey (the nav even re-routed the journey via the M6 Toll to avoid M6 delays around Birmingham), but as I approached Oxford on the A34 I received my last TP bulletin of the journey, and after then the station list stopped updating and TMC messages gradually disappeared as I headed further north. As before, Radio 1 stayed tuned correctly, and the TMC icon still showed as enabled although TMC info was not being received.

By the time I got back to Newcastle-under-Lyme, Radio 1 was the only working station, the station list showed the channels available round Oxford, and the TMC Info list had no messages.

I took some photos of what was showing on the screen:

Nav screen - note the TMC icon still appears enabled.


Info Screen - shows TMC is not working.


Station List 1 - BBC Oxfd and BBCBerks are still shown!


Station List 2 - No signs of BBCStoke or BBC Shrp


Station List 3 - Heart is out of area and Classic was just hiss.



So, my amateur observations show the software update has changed things a little, but the problem is still not fixed. Given that the issues have changed subtly with each software update and not with any hardware changes, I'm still utterly convinced this is a software issue. Looking back, I can see three different variations of the problem corresponding to the three software versions the car has had installed.

The key issues and variations are as follows:

1. Initial software version pre-loaded when car was delivered (version not recorded):
- Car begins journey with fully functional radio/TMC/TP, then problem begins after period of 10 mins to 2 hours.
- Current radio station frequency does not re-tune from area to area.
- Other national radio stations do not re-tune and local stations are not detected from area to area.
- TP bulletins are not received.
- TMC icon disables and messages do not display in Info screen.
- Switching from FM to MW to FM temporarily re-enables everything as per start of journey.

2. First update - HNav_EU_K0022_1_D1.
- Car begins journey with fully functional radio/TMC/TP, then problem begins after period of 10 mins to 2 hours.
- Current radio station frequency does not re-tune from area to area.
- Other national radio stations do not re-tune and local stations are not detected from area to area.
- TP bulletins are not received.
- TMC icon disables and messages do not display in Info screen.
- Switching from FM to MW to FM does not change anything.
- Switching to MW and using "Update Station List" then back to FM removes untuned stations from the list, leaving just the current station visible. TMC/TP still non-functioning.
- Using manual tuning throughout the FM frequency range re-tunes the current station, re-populates the station list and temporarily re-enables TMC and TP.

3. Second update - HNav_EU_K0022_2_D1.
- Car begins journey with fully functional radio/TMC/TP, then problem begins after period of 10 mins to 2 hours.
- Current radio station frequency re-tunes correctly from area to area.
- Other national radio stations do not re-tune and local stations are not detected from area to area.
- TP bulletins are not received.
- TMC icon remains enabled but no messages are displayed in Info screen.
- Switching from FM to MW to FM does not change anything.
- Switching to MW and using "Update Station List" then back to FM does not change anything.
- Using manual tuning throughout the FM frequency range adds the local stations into the station list along with the untuned stations and temporarily re-enables TMC and TP.


When I spoke to the service manager at my dealer to update him about the continuing problems, he was joking with me about finding some rope for a noose (hmmm - gallows humour? ) He went off the line to talk to the Master Tech, then came back to me later on with the latest plan. They are first of all going to get back to Audi Tech department to pass the details on, and secondly they are planning to have my car in for a few days and put me in another A6 with the same nav system as mine. They want me to monitor the other car on the journeys I am doing to see if there's any sign of the same problem. At the very least that will prove whether it's a generic problem that other drivers haven't noticed or whether it's specific to my car (and the few others who have reported the issue.)

If you made it through the tedium above to get this far, you must either be really keen or a masochist! Whichever, thanks for reading, and I will keep the updates coming.

Best regards,

MF.