Lightning Software Updates using FDRS

[RLXXI]

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 which predates FDRS and is used on vehicles 1996- select 2018, 2018> FDRS takes over but Forscan kept up with the changes, most of which are purely cosmetic, FDRS is IDS as it was also WDS before that.

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.

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[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.

 

[RLXXI]

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.

I couldn't agree more, I have used Forscan myself since way back in 2013, put it on the same laptop as FDRS. Ford has been gouging software prices as long as I can remember. $50 for 1 month of access to Blue Cruise is a prime example.

 

[RLXXI]

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.

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.

 

[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.

 

[02Reaper]

I don’t think I’ve gotten an update since I used FDRS to update my truck to current back in June. At the time I couldn’t update the Bcm so that is all that was left. Since then the WAL has been announced as rolling out but it’s been crickets for me. Cost may not be the only thing they are going after.

 

[mr.Magoo]

Please remind me, how many manufacturers even allow / make it possible for end users to update their vehicles software ?

 

[Jammer]

Can someone do a lookup on my 2024 Platinum VIN: 1FT6W7L79RWG*****

I’m curious what was actually updated and if there is anything else that might be pending now.

I had an issue within a month of purchase where I could not ‘turn on’ updates within the truck- it would just sit and spin forever (waited up to 3 hours with truck on and plugged in while fully charged) or through the app (it would turn itself off within 2 seconds). Ford was able to confirm that my truck had a pre-existing issue and had not been able to update for the past 6 months and had numerous updates pending.

Had to take it to dealership and it has taken 30 days to diagnose and fix. After trying basic attempts like resets, and USB updates, then individually replacing the APIM and TCU, the final fix was replacing the gateway.
As of today, dealership reports that 14 modules have been updated.

 

[21st Century Truck]

Can someone do a lookup on my 2024 Platinum VIN: 1FT6W7L79RWG*****

I’m curious what was actually updated and if there is anything else that might be pending now.

I had an issue within a month of purchase where I could not ‘turn on’ updates within the truck- it would just sit and spin forever (waited up to 3 hours with truck on and plugged in while fully charged) or through the app (it would turn itself off within 2 seconds). Ford was able to confirm that my truck had a pre-existing issue and had not been able to update for the past 6 months and had numerous updates pending.

Had to take it to dealership and it has taken 30 days to diagnose and fix. After trying basic attempts like resets, and USB updates, then individually replacing the APIM and TCU, the final fix was replacing the gateway.
As of today, dealership reports that 14 modules have been updated.

FYI: although this might or might not have been applicable to Your truck, there is a function in FORScan that "resets" a selected module. I used it for a local member here to jumpstart his truck's update capability this past Spring. We "reset" at least his TCU and maybe another module.

This is a separate capability than changing code lines, and in a different section of the program. BTW I use the current version of this program, ver. 2.3.66.

I write this note here to alert others that there might be a way to avoid some clueless dealership go down the often weeks-long road of parts-swapping etc. It's at least a thing to try on one's own before surrendering the truck for the dealer's parts-swapping exercise.

 

[rugedraw]

Can someone do a lookup on my 2024 Platinum VIN: 1FT6W7L79RWG*****

I’m curious what was actually updated and if there is anything else that might be pending now.

I had an issue within a month of purchase where I could not ‘turn on’ updates within the truck- it would just sit and spin forever (waited up to 3 hours with truck on and plugged in while fully charged) or through the app (it would turn itself off within 2 seconds). Ford was able to confirm that my truck had a pre-existing issue and had not been able to update for the past 6 months and had numerous updates pending.

Had to take it to dealership and it has taken 30 days to diagnose and fix. After trying basic attempts like resets, and USB updates, then individually replacing the APIM and TCU, the final fix was replacing the gateway.
As of today, dealership reports that 14 modules have been updated.

That is ridiculous. All that needs to be done to fix the issue where it gets stuck on the spinning pinwheel screen is to disconnect the battery for 20 minutes. I am no longer able to see pending updates or what the dealer has or has not done, but 30 days for this nonsense? Ford really needs to send a bulleting to dealers advising them of this issue.

 

[B177y]

I finally got the subscription and account all sorted out and started an update session today.

My first module was the PCM. When it got to the last step it gave me an "update failed configuration error". I hit the "try again" button, with the same result.

After that attempt, I hit the "no" button and it moved on to the next update on its own.

Any suggestions for the PCM update configuration error?

EDIT
Tried again and I get this:

 

[B177y]

Re: above post...

Tried a PMI on the PCM and chose "no" for original module. It still fails. Hoping there's secret nugget of info that I'm missing.

 

[Jesse-Infotainment]

Re: above post...

Tried a PMI on the PCM and chose "no" for original module. It still fails. Hoping there's secret nugget of info that I'm missing.

tHIS ERROR ISNT A big deal. The failure can be due to one line. If you dont have a 2100 DTC in the PCM I wouldnt worry about it.

Meaning if one line doesnt report success it will fail the entire procedure.

THis is typically due to an updated config.. change in a line length. The updated config doesnt have the added octets accounted for.

no biggie

 

[B177y]

tHIS ERROR ISNT A big deal. The failure can be due to one line. If you dont have a 2100 DTC in the PCM I wouldnt worry about it.

Meaning if one line doesnt report success it will fail the entire procedure.

THis is typically due to an updated config.. change in a line length. The updated config doesnt have the added octets accounted for.

no biggie

Thanks Jesse!

I had some PCM DTCs when @Mike G ran my VIN:

C0604
C0630
P161C
U0111

The update shows as still available (green "run"). You are saying to just ignore the update?

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