dbelfry

So...

I purchased my 2012 A6 Prestige prior to joining this site a couple months ago. What I didn't notice at the time is that I still have the 2G MMI. After going around with AoA and local dealer about upgrading to 3G here's what I got:

- Not eligible for upgrade as it requires an active Audi connect account. Which I would do but I was told by AoA that it wouldn't count. Basically the original owner would have had to make the upgrade. So bummer, no free upgrade.

- I talk to my local Audi dealership(same one I bought the car from) and said that I wanted the upgrade and was willing to pay for it. They gave me an estimate of $1000. However the 3G module that they had previously been replacing the 2G with apparently has a fault that Audi is re-engineering. Something with the tendency for techs to initialize the unit out of installation sequence and for it to fail.

- The dealership has told me that there's not another module to be found anywhere. So I will have to wait for this re-engineered one to come out.

My questions are this:

- Are there 3rd party people that I can bring this to?
- Is the estimate of $1000 in the ballpark for what others have paid?
- Is there a 3rd party module so I don't have to wait for this new one?

I am trying to get the system updated to 3G and updated version of MMI. The 3G because I'm wanting to play video off an SD and the 2G seems to be not recognizing all the formats and resolutions I've tried from different threads posted to this forum.

Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!

snagitseven

This is the first I heard of a "re-engineered MMI 3G module". Several here in the forums have had no issues with the MMI 3G 5F modem update.

There are no third party modules - only an Audi dealer can provide the parts and do the update.
It would not be surprising for the 5F module to run $1K if an owner had to pay out of pocket but what is surprising is that a second owner would not be covered if you have an active Audi Connect T-Mobile plan. You should call AoA and find out if any of that is correct info.

Playing audio or video from an SD card has nothing whatsoever to do with the car's modem, Audi Connect or 2G/3G speeds or bands. Check your manual for supported video formats and resolution requirements. This might also help:

The updated 2012/13 Nav+ system can play audio files (MP3, AAC, WMA (V7-9), and video files MPEG-1 and 2, DiVX, Xvid, H.264/MP4, AVI and WMV9) up to 720x576px, up to 25FPS, with bit rates up to 2000kbit/sec.

dbelfry

Sounds like I've been barking up the wrong tree. I thought the 3G upgrade came with an update that would allow videos to be played.

I'm still having trouble getting videos to play but perhaps I just need to get an update for my MMI. As you say an "updated" system should be able to play these files.

My current version is HN+R_US_AU_P0487

Going to venture a guess that this is out of date? How much should I expect to pay for the update?

Edit: I just got off the phone with Audi and my MMI is laughably out of date and $245 for an update. Hopefully this fixes the video issue.

snagitseven

There have been at least 4 or 5 MMI updates since 0487.
MMI 0487 does support video playback so upgrades will have no effect on the video file specs.

You are probably using either an unsupported video file format or too high a resolution. See the video file specs in my previous post. Try playing a store bought DVD - if it plays, you need to check your file specs on the SD card. Also be sure the SD card is 32GB. SDHC (not SDXC) and is rated at class 4 or above.

dbelfry

Through some trial and error the last couple of days it was the frames per second that seems to have been preventing playback. I had read another post on here from someone using greater than 25fps and it still playing. Once I reconfigured my software to convert to a constant 25fps it is working great.

This issue may be linked to my older MMI software. I am proceeding with the update from dealership and will try a higher fps to see if that's it.

Thank you for your help and guidance.