Lightning Software Updates using FDRS

[kzoojason76]

FDRS Updated again...

I used 45.6.8 yesterday to update CMR. Took about 50 minutes and worked just fine. I didn't see any issues.

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[digitaldad]

I purchased a 2-day license today, probably could have waited longer but got me back into FDRS memory mode, it had been a minute.

I pre-updated to 45.6.8 from @Mike G link. Signed into FDRS then the software proceeded to say it needed an update (showed downloading 45.5.8)...then when it was signed in and ready for connection, it was at 45.6.8 (odd).

These were my available updates.

As @kzoojason76 stated, that CMR took almost an hour, very slow.

The ACM had a weird experience where the process never said to start vehicle, but then said twice to turn vehicle off towards the end.

Both ACM and RFA are stuck on my screen after all updates were done, but according to Vehicle History, all procedures were completed (actually, ACM was inadvertantly done twice).

I share the above for those that may have updated since June'ish to see whats available. Mobile service did my BCM then, plus a few more smaller modules that I didn't screengrab. I'm pretty sure the ACM was available back then...this may help you to wait a bit before anything bigger is shared/stated available.

 

[B177y]

Just a heads up for us Lightning FDRS geeks, the whole license system for FDRS changed yesterday, September October 3, 2025. Lively discussion about it on the ICE F150 forum here.

Short story is it now costs $120 for a two-day subscription, but it seems like there is no working way to get that subscription yet.

 

[rugedraw]

Just a heads up for us Lightning FDRS geeks, the whole license system for FDRS changed yesterday, September 3, 2025. Lively discussion about it on the ICE F150 forum here.

Short story is it now costs $120 for a two-day subscription, but it seems like there is no working way to get that subscription yet.

One guy over there was able to get in and is updating now. $120 for the 2-day license now.

 

[PJnc284]

Woof. Good job Ford...

 

[digitaldad]

Just a heads up for us Lightning FDRS geeks, the whole license system for FDRS changed yesterday, September 3, 2025. Lively discussion about it on the ICE F150 forum here.

O C T O B E R

That news is very unfortunate.

 

[B177y]

O C T O B E R

Fixed. Thanks.

 

[B177y]

One guy over there was able to get in and is updating now. $120 for the 2-day license now.

I'm still getting errors trying to log in. Thinking I might try to create a whole new account and go through that process in a couple of weeks to see if that works.

 

[B177y]

OK, looked a little deeper with direction from @bgalakazam on the ICE forum...


- https://www.motorcraftservice.com
> Top menu - "Diagnostic tool support"
> Software
> Ford Diagnostic Subscription

 

[GDN]

Not much left to say about Ford except Douchebag move. Just push the releases out and no one would even need FDRS.

 

[Mike G]

Also, for those who may not know this, or just jumping in to the FDRS arena...don't look up VINs of vehicles outside of your home region (US, EU, etc.). Doing so will cause Ford Cyber Security to flag and block your account. And since they do not make it easy to contact them to find out what the problem is...it could take you upwards of a week to get re-enabled.

Oh, and the annual price went to $1200.....because, the coders wanted more money I guess.....

 

[Mike G]

Pretty hard to believe they needed an additional $300 a year for just those changes....and for the record...if you had an annual subscription already..you had the ability to use IDS or FJDS already..but most of us were just using FDRS. I already had the ability to use IDS on my older ICE Expedition....but this notice makes it sound like they were now making something available that wasn't before...not true in my case.

 

[COrocket]

Y'all can thank Russian reverse engineering for the cost increase.

By punishing the people who are doing the right thing by paying for genuine software licenses and creating a software revenue stream for Ford? Charging more won’t do anything for the security of Fords software.

I’d wager it would have the opposite effect - the more Ford charges for software, the more lucrative a third party or reverse engineered version becomes. It seems like expensive software used for photo editing, CAD, etc. are the ones most targeted to jailbreak/unlocking. Even a dozen alternatives to Microsoft Office have popped up.

I thought the $50 for a 2 day license to fix/update the truck was manageable. People got a better product and Ford got $50 that they wouldn’t have otherwise. Win/win. To see Ford put up larger financial barriers for people to repair their own vehicles is extremely disappointing, but not surprising given industry trends.

 

[21st Century Truck]

By punishing the people who are doing the right thing by paying for genuine software licenses and creating a software revenue stream for Ford? Charging more won’t do anything for the security of Fords software.

I’d wager it would have the opposite effect - the more Ford charges for software, the more lucrative a third party or reverse engineered version becomes. It seems like expensive software used for photo editing, CAD, etc. are the ones most targeted to jailbreak/unlocking. Even a dozen alternatives to Microsoft Office have popped up.

I thought the $50 for a 2 day license to fix/update the truck was manageable. People got a better product and Ford got $50 that they wouldn’t have otherwise. Win/win. To see Ford put up larger financial barriers for people to repair their own vehicles is extremely disappointing, but not surprising given industry trends.

Additionally and regretfully, the many many independent repair shops for Ford vehicles have no choice except to pay up, as complex as today's cars are.

About the previous post by RLXXI re:

"Y'all can thank Russian reverse engineering for the cost increase. What am I talking about? Forscan. It is a direct reverse engineering of Ford's IDS... ...I'm certain all of this information was passed on to those in charge at Ford thru forums like this one where people openly discuss a pirated software. "

-- the two bolded terms (bolding is mine) are not synonymous. Without getting too deeply into patent law quirks, I can "reverse-engineer" a technical solution unless that technical solution is protected by a patent, and that patent-provided protection in turn depends on the specific laws of the country which issued the patent.

And also, since this is our family's fourth Ford car, I paid 200 Euro back in 2013 or so, before Russia's invasion of its immediate neighbor had begun, for a then-offered lifetime FORScan license. Hardly seems like a case of pirated software to me.

 

[21st Century Truck]

You don't think Ford patented their software? I remember when Forscan 1st came out and thought to myself how familiar it was compared to the Ford software I used as a Ford dealer tech. Sure it had a different skirt on but inside it had the same bones.

A powerful worldwide corporation like Ford has more than enough resources to act legally on such a matter, especially over more than a decade now... so although (of course) I don't know the exact answer to Your question, IMHO were it so then over the past 12+ years Ford likely would have acted legally. So, by inference either Ford did not apply a patent, or whatever patent Ford might have applied has limits, maybe territorial?. Remember, we are referencing a potential issue across countries and different legal systems in this case. And "use licenses" and "patents" are different things.

BTW - Ford has a major commercial presence in Russia as it does across all of Europe, with all their Kuga and Transit and Mondeo sales etc. So, if it were in their interest and their purview, I'm sure all the yuuuge legal teams at Ford HQ would have locked things down.

Again, the terms "reverse engineering" and "pirated software" are not synonymous.

I well remember on the Mach E site when someone devised something cool having to do with a Ford Mustang emblem (the details escape me now) Ford locked this effort down within months.

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