Uconnect Experience Feedback

[RamCares]

Ram Nation: We are always striving to improve your ownership experience. Today, we are interested in hearing about your comfort level with the Uconnect system & connected services in your Ram truck. Please take our quick poll (approx. 30 sec.) and leave any additional comments below.

Useful Links-
DriveUconnect.com
Get your Owner's Manual

 

[Gondul]

Honestly haven't found any good use for UConnect or most of the add-ons... AA and CarPlay are so far ahead of XM and UConnect it isn't even funny.
I think I tried to use the baked in NAV once... it was horrible and entirely unusable if you are accustomed to using AA or CarPlay.

 

[Brutal_HO]

Uconnect monthly fees are too expensive.

$10/mo is reasonable. $25/mo is not.

Aftermarket remote systems have fobiks that operate up to 2.5 miles and apps that connect through the mobile network and are only $5/month after the hardware purchase.

 

[LateToTheParty]

The UConnect systems themselves - I've shown the sales contacts with the last 4 FCA vehicles I've purchased (Durango and 3 RAMs) more than they could have ever taught me. Partially their incompetence, partially my background.

It is clunky, lacks what many would consider basic features and generally seems way behind the times, but using it for what it offers is pretty easy to do.

 

[Epsilon Plus]

8.4 works great. I like it better overall than the 2020 MyLink from GM.

A Few improvements to consider:

Autohiding menus. MyLink does this. The quick menu buttons don't always need to be shown. It reduces the useable portion of the screen (info, camera view)...etc. A setting to make it disappear until touched would be nice.

In the same regard, when using the 360 cameras, there is a large header at the top saying what camera is overhead and what is rear. This is self evident. The header reduces the viewable area of the cameras and is not necessary.

In short, free up some space on the screen. Or, at lease, provide a setting for users to turn off or autohide a lot of the things that shrink the image of the information you are trying to view.

 

[BigWorm]

Uconnect system ease of use is far superior to other infotainment systems I have used in GM, Ford & Hyundai. I'm worried that uconnect 5 will loose that ease of use. I don't use connected services because the service is not worth the cost to me. As others have stated, android & Apple do this best, except for answering calls when connected to Android auto. Unless I want to use maps or Spotify, I prefer the uconnect interface via Bluetooth for this purpose.

 

[Snaps3500]

The only features I am really interested in and have used during my free trial was the remote start and vehicle location. All
The other features I have no use for based on the features I use on my personal phone and my Bluetooth connection. sirius XM in my opinion is nice but I have no interest in spending all that money to renew when I can listen to online radio from my phone for free. The UConnect service is also too expensive and will not renew. I would pay 5 dollars a month for the UConnect features I used but not the listed price. Sirius XM sales staff are very pushy and constantly send emails and when they get you on the phone they are relentless and you have to have up. They insist that you do auto payment and want to charge your credit card for the full retail price every renewal. It’s sad that they operate under these tactics. It only cost them customers in the end. Sorry for the negative thoughts but is sad they treat customers this was and under these current financial times the price for the services are a little high. Thanks for asking for our thoughts.


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[Xflight29]

I enjoy having all the apps. Just wish the voice text was better than what it is.

 

[g00fy]

Make the firmware updates more accessible, I've had problems with my uconnect in the past that were easily fixable via firmware update. However I never got an alert for an OTA update and I'm 90% sure the firmware update link on the website doesn't work and was never designed to work.

 

[Untillater]

The system is easy enough to use and navigate, but it is pretty sad and lacking in many regards. I have the 12" system in a 2019.

1. Missing wireless android auto / apple. why in the ^#%^ would you sell a $100k truck with "wireless charging" when you are forced to plug in to use AA. This is also an issue with charging, you cannot charge via the cord and wireless at the same time or it will damage your phone, this is simply stupid and poorly thought out.
   1. The truck obviously has the WiFi capacity for wireless to work, but it is tied to the overpriced att wireless internet.... cmon really we should be able to use the wifi network without the ATT service and tether through our mobile phones.
2. Why cant we override or change the timeout on the surround cameras?
   1. It would be nice to be able to use them without having to turn them back on every 10 seconds when off road
   2. why cant they record? this is another one that just makes me dumbfounded as to why you would bother to even have them without this feature.
3. Should be able to use full screen with AA or at the least screen mirroring.
4. Why on earth is there an "App Store" when there is nothing in it, nor can we write our own programs to run on it.
5. Why cant we customize things like colors, fonts, background images etc, again, stupidly obvious
6. Why cant we display additional gauges etc on part of the screen? EGT, boost pressure, etc would be nice when towing instead of having to flip through menus in the instrument cluster constantly

There have been many other frustrations but thats all I can think of off the top of my head.

 

[g00fy]

The system is easy enough to use and navigate, but it is pretty sad and lacking in many regards. I have the 12" system in a 2019.

1. Missing wireless android auto / apple. why in the ^#%^ would you sell a $100k truck with "wireless charging" when you are forced to plug in to use AA. This is also an issue with charging, you cannot charge via the cord and wireless at the same time or it will damage your phone, this is simply stupid and poorly thought out.
2. Why cant we override or change the timeout on the surround cameras?
   1. It would be nice to be able to use them without having to turn them back on every 10 seconds when off road
   2. why cant they record? this is another one that just makes me dumbfounded as to why you would bother to even have them without this feature.
3. Should be able to use full screen with AA or at the least screen mirroring.
4. Why on earth is there an "App Store" when there is nothing in it, nor can we write our own programs to run on it.
5. Why cant we customize things like colors, fonts, background images etc, again, stupidly obvious
6. Why cant we display additional gauges etc on part of the screen? EGT, boost pressure, etc would be nice when towing instead of having to flip through menus in the instrument cluster constantly

There have been many other frustrations but thats all I can think of off the top of my head.

+1 for full screen Android auto.

 

[Brutal_HO]

The system is easy enough to use and navigate, but it is pretty sad and lacking in many regards. I have the 12" system in a 2019.

1. Missing wireless android auto / apple. why in the ^#%^ would you sell a $100k truck with "wireless charging" when you are forced to plug in to use AA. This is also an issue with charging, you cannot charge via the cord and wireless at the same time or it will damage your phone, this is simply stupid and poorly thought out.
   1. The truck obviously has the WiFi capacity for wireless to work, but it is tied to the overpriced att wireless internet.... cmon really we should be able to use the wifi network without the ATT service and tether through our mobile phones.
2. Why cant we override or change the timeout on the surround cameras?
   1. It would be nice to be able to use them without having to turn them back on every 10 seconds when off road
   2. why cant they record? this is another one that just makes me dumbfounded as to why you would bother to even have them without this feature.
3. Should be able to use full screen with AA or at the least screen mirroring.
4. Why on earth is there an "App Store" when there is nothing in it, nor can we write our own programs to run on it.
5. Why cant we customize things like colors, fonts, background images etc, again, stupidly obvious
6. Why cant we display additional gauges etc on part of the screen? EGT, boost pressure, etc would be nice when towing instead of having to flip through menus in the instrument cluster constantly

There have been many other frustrations but thats all I can think of off the top of my head.

Are there any auto makers that have these features?

The only thing I can think of is the see through trailer cameras on GM that stay on.

While I don't disagree that some of these features would be nice, there's simply not enough CPU in the Uconnect V4 to do it. V5 will bring much of this to the platform.

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

I think I know my way around the 8.4 well enough from poking around in it and dabbling in the manual. Apple car play works perfectly for my use (using google maps and music)

I did not know there were “u connect” subscription services that I assume are tied to an app? This is the first I am hearing of this. For this reason I voted “my dealer did not show Me”

to be fair, I probably told the salesperson that I didn’t want to hear whatever they were going to tell me .... and I wouldn’t purchase a subscription anyway.

 

[Cpsram21]

I would like it better if you could fill the whole screen with the 360 camera instead of just a portion and the climate control or radio in the bottom. For me the whole purpose of the 12" screen for me was to see a larger picture of cameras not a split screen.

 

[wolfnards]

1) I came from a Ford F150 and was impressed with the FREE app for remote start, unlocklock, Vehicle Health Reports, etc. Why do I have to pay a monthly fee through Sirius?

2) I have a '21 2500 PW with the 12" screen. Why doesn't the Vehicle Health Report work for the 12"? Is this fixed on the new UC 5.0 with 12" screens?

Sirius Guardian - Vehicle Health Report

On the phone Uconnect app, I am unable to see any vehicle health reports. After talk with Sirius today, they told me it is because those features are not supported on the 12" Uconnect system. Can anyone confirm that is the case? I have a 2019 Ram 1500 Larmie LongHorn. Thanks in advanced.

5thgenrams.com

3) Android screen mirroring!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Wmhjr]

I'll echo a lot from others. The user interface really isn't bad at all. I have the 12" and it took a little to get used to it but I won't complain about the UI. Like others, I find CarPlay to be far more convenient. I'll also echo why not wireless CarPlay and AA? Just does not make sense.

As for the actual apps, I also scratch my head about the lack of the vehicle health and maintenance stuff on the 12". The remote start and unlock as well as the locator are OK, BUT THE PRICE AFTER THE TRIAL PERIOD IS RIDICULOUS. While I have no way to validate my guess, I believe that there must be a small percentage of customers that continue the service solely on the basis of price. It is utterly preposterous. There is zero possibility that I will continue the service when the trial is over due solely to price.

 

[Brutal_HO]

The UC4 12" capacity is tapped out so there's not enough remaining processing power to support the vehicle health.

UC5 has 5x the capacity so that feature should be present.

 

[Wmhjr]

The UC4 12" capacity is tapped out so there's not enough remaining processing power to support the vehicle health.

UC5 has 5x the capacity so that feature should be present.

That's my understanding - and yet I'm still baffled how FCA could have designed the 12" setup with such poor capacity. The cost increase would have bluntly been negligible. Not awesome product management and design IMHO. It's pretty bad when an upscale model is missing functionality that lower cost models have, and is a complete miss for the target audience. People willing to spend more on upgraded trucks and electronics are far more likely to buy the service afterward.

 

[Brutal_HO]

That's my understanding - and yet I'm still baffled how FCA could have designed the 12" setup with such poor capacity. The cost increase would have bluntly been negligible. Not awesome product management and design IMHO. It's pretty bad when an upscale model is missing functionality that lower cost models have, and is a complete miss for the target audience. People willing to spend more on upgraded trucks and electronics are far more likely to buy the service afterward.

Given the dev cycle, with UC4 coming out in 2016, I expect there was already little available overhead to add features without significant hardware costs, so something has to give. When UC5 hits EOL, there will be the same complaints
over something else that didn't make the cut.

 

[Wmhjr]

Given the dev cycle, with UC4 coming out in 2016, I expect there was already little available overhead to add features without significant hardware costs, so something has to give. When UC5 hits EOL, there will be the same complaints
over something else that didn't make the cut.

Believe me, I understand the lead time and the complications. However, I also know that as early as 2012 there was plenty of technology available and it would not have been a stretch. IIRC, the 12" was a 2019 release. I just think it was absolutely possible, and a huge swing and a miss on the part of FCA. I'm not sure I've ever before seen where the top of the line model lacks connected features on lower tier models. Remember - while I retired from the Army, for the past 22 years I've been in tech and have run product development as well as infrastructure (and everything) for global entities. I simply cannot give FCA a pass for this one. Making it simple - there should NEVER be something that exists on a lower tier model that "doesn't make the cut" on an upper tier model. Never. That's product management 101. And on top of that in this case, the corresponding service plans for the 12" Uconnect should be priced at a lower price point given the lower capability (of the more expensive unit, lol).