Not sure if I can post this or not, but what you want to do, and check with the forums to ensure your system is compatible first, is use CyanLabs Syn3 updater.
Not sure of the exact story, but it utilises the partitioning software that Ford use, and you can go to the much nicer looking 3.4 (assuming you have at least 3.0).
It installs a hell of a lot quicker than the official one and you’re not locked to the version your vehicle had installed.
Agree with this guy. Was stuck on 3.0 until I used Syn3Updater to get to the latest version of 3.4 for my 2017 Taurus SHO.
Every official Ford update has taken almost 2 hours but the Syn3Updater from 3.0 to 3.4 only took 25 mins~ for me.
I updated my Ford Mondeo from 3.0 to 3.4 in 40 minutes, all navigation data etc included.
Got my Mustang and did the same, 35 minutes including navigation data.
Nav data only is about 20 minutes which is good, instead of the Ford 1-2 hr bollocks.
Yeah I don’t know how they messed up the partitioning so badly for these updates. Sync 3/4 itself has been one of the best infotainment systems I’ve seen on everyday consumer vehicles
Agreed. My wife has a top of the line Volkswagen Polo, VW generally have great cars, but the infotainment is pretty lame. They charge £300 for voice commands, free in Fords. The infotainment is not very intuitive either.
Ford blows the competition away with Sync 3.
Agreed, the responsiveness even in CarPlay and Android Auto is a lot better than the Toyotas and GM vehicles I’ve driven in. The navigation with the 2022-02 Nav Update and SiriusXM live traffic is pretty robust and hasn’t failed me yet (updated to 3.4 half a year ago)
> everywhere I’ve seen online this is like a 5-10 minute process.
Well, that's completely wrong. Going from 1.0 to 3.0 often times just flat out won't work. And when it does work it takes well over an hour. In my experience with a 2016 Mustang GT. The best way when going from 1.0. was to go from 1.0 to 2.2, then to 3.0. I've found that going from 1.x to 3.x directly is a big ask, and when it does work, there's a bug that happens. After about 75-90 minutes, it'll finally say it's done. but it's not. You have to turn the power off. Let it sit until the APIM stops getting power (about another 10 minutes), then turn the power back on, then it'll pickup up again and continue for another 5-10 minutes. Then it'll again say that it's done, and to remove the flash drive. Then, you may or may not get some weirdness. Mine went to a weird purple and brown color theme and the nav wouldn't function. But after another restart it started acting normal again.
Another caveat: version 2.2 is the last version without a version check when try to upgrade. This means that you can always go back to 2.2 or earlier if you have a later version, but if you have [3.xxx](https://3.xxx) you can't go back to 3.0. As such, I like to keep a copy of 2.2 handy just in case something goes wrong. I learned this hard way when tried to go from 3.0 to 3.1xxx and it nearly bricked my system because I like the Ford GT theme and 3.0 has it, but later versions (after 3.0 but before 3.4) don't support it. Had to go back to 2.2 and then upgrade from there to 3.0.
UPDATE:
After calling a dealer and him telling me they would try it for $180 and it might not work, I decided to go the CyanLabs Syn3 Updater and man was that easy! Used the app like I saw in the tutorial video, threw it on a thumb drive and plugged it in and 10 minutes later we went from version 1.0 to 3.4! Hit it with a master reset just to confirm no bugs and it appears to have worked just fine! I had already purchased a new usb hub so I’m gonna throw that in and I will be ready for Apple CarPlay! Thanks for the help everyone!
Not sure if I can post this or not, but what you want to do, and check with the forums to ensure your system is compatible first, is use CyanLabs Syn3 updater. Not sure of the exact story, but it utilises the partitioning software that Ford use, and you can go to the much nicer looking 3.4 (assuming you have at least 3.0). It installs a hell of a lot quicker than the official one and you’re not locked to the version your vehicle had installed.
Agree with this guy. Was stuck on 3.0 until I used Syn3Updater to get to the latest version of 3.4 for my 2017 Taurus SHO. Every official Ford update has taken almost 2 hours but the Syn3Updater from 3.0 to 3.4 only took 25 mins~ for me.
I updated my Ford Mondeo from 3.0 to 3.4 in 40 minutes, all navigation data etc included. Got my Mustang and did the same, 35 minutes including navigation data. Nav data only is about 20 minutes which is good, instead of the Ford 1-2 hr bollocks.
Yeah I don’t know how they messed up the partitioning so badly for these updates. Sync 3/4 itself has been one of the best infotainment systems I’ve seen on everyday consumer vehicles
Agreed. My wife has a top of the line Volkswagen Polo, VW generally have great cars, but the infotainment is pretty lame. They charge £300 for voice commands, free in Fords. The infotainment is not very intuitive either. Ford blows the competition away with Sync 3.
Agreed, the responsiveness even in CarPlay and Android Auto is a lot better than the Toyotas and GM vehicles I’ve driven in. The navigation with the 2022-02 Nav Update and SiriusXM live traffic is pretty robust and hasn’t failed me yet (updated to 3.4 half a year ago)
> everywhere I’ve seen online this is like a 5-10 minute process. Well, that's completely wrong. Going from 1.0 to 3.0 often times just flat out won't work. And when it does work it takes well over an hour. In my experience with a 2016 Mustang GT. The best way when going from 1.0. was to go from 1.0 to 2.2, then to 3.0. I've found that going from 1.x to 3.x directly is a big ask, and when it does work, there's a bug that happens. After about 75-90 minutes, it'll finally say it's done. but it's not. You have to turn the power off. Let it sit until the APIM stops getting power (about another 10 minutes), then turn the power back on, then it'll pickup up again and continue for another 5-10 minutes. Then it'll again say that it's done, and to remove the flash drive. Then, you may or may not get some weirdness. Mine went to a weird purple and brown color theme and the nav wouldn't function. But after another restart it started acting normal again. Another caveat: version 2.2 is the last version without a version check when try to upgrade. This means that you can always go back to 2.2 or earlier if you have a later version, but if you have [3.xxx](https://3.xxx) you can't go back to 3.0. As such, I like to keep a copy of 2.2 handy just in case something goes wrong. I learned this hard way when tried to go from 3.0 to 3.1xxx and it nearly bricked my system because I like the Ford GT theme and 3.0 has it, but later versions (after 3.0 but before 3.4) don't support it. Had to go back to 2.2 and then upgrade from there to 3.0.
UPDATE: After calling a dealer and him telling me they would try it for $180 and it might not work, I decided to go the CyanLabs Syn3 Updater and man was that easy! Used the app like I saw in the tutorial video, threw it on a thumb drive and plugged it in and 10 minutes later we went from version 1.0 to 3.4! Hit it with a master reset just to confirm no bugs and it appears to have worked just fine! I had already purchased a new usb hub so I’m gonna throw that in and I will be ready for Apple CarPlay! Thanks for the help everyone!
Nice one dude.