Uconnect® absolute POS!! Stay away from it...

[Walker Texas Wrangler]

I have had zero issues with my Wrangler aside from the UConnect.

When I got home from delivery I noticed that the buttons on the dash for the heated seats/steering wheel didn't work along with the park assist one. The buttons didn't even illuminate at night. They did work on the UConnect screen though. A quick trip to the dealer and they fixed it and it's never had that issue since.

A couple weeks later I had the backup camera lines disappear, once there was no image at all. I've had the lines disappear every couple of weeks.

But each time I simply hold the power and tune buttons together for about 15 seconds and release. I then hit the power button again to reboot the system. It's fixed it every single time. I don't shut off the car or open any doors or anything like that either.

It's something that shouldn't happen, but at least a reboot fixes it when it happens to me without much trouble.

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[K-nuk]

I have had zero issues with my Wrangler aside from the UConnect.

When I got home from delivery I noticed that the buttons on the dash for the heated seats/steering wheel didn't work along with the park assist one. The buttons didn't even illuminate at night. They did work on the UConnect screen though. A quick trip to the dealer and they fixed it and it's never had that issue since.

A couple weeks later I had the backup camera lines disappear, once there was no image at all. I've had the lines disappear every couple of weeks.

But each time I simply hold the power and tune buttons together for about 15 seconds and release. I then hit the power button again to reboot the system. It's fixed it every single time. I don't shut off the car or open any doors or anything like that either.

It's something that shouldn't happen, but at least a reboot fixes it when it happens to me without much trouble.

Thanks interesting Walker, what year is your JL?

 

[Walker Texas Wrangler]

Thanks interesting Walker, what year is your JL?

It’s a 2021 I purchased in March

 

[K-nuk]

It’s a 2021 I purchased in March

I was hoping you would say 2018 suggesting it was an older unit. Very disappointing to hear UConnect problems continuing into new production units. Have you had any problems with the center information panel between the speedometer and tachometer? Mine occasionally goes black which means you have NO GAS GAUGE! Kinda makes the vehicle difficult to operate when you don’t know how much gas you have…

I didn’t know about the power+tune reset. I will try it. Thanks.

 

[Walker Texas Wrangler]

I was hoping you would say 2018 suggesting it was an older unit. Very disappointing to hear UConnect problems continuing into new production units. Have you had any problems with the center information panel between the speedometer and tachometer? Mine occasionally goes black which means you have NO GAS GAUGE! Kinda makes the vehicle difficult to operate when you don’t know how much gas you have…

I didn’t know about the power+tune reset. I will try it. Thanks.

No problems with the center panel so far. But I can imagine that would be a nightmare.

 

[Onward4x4]

SO an update:
I took the Jeep to a dealership per Uconnect suggestion to get an update installed as my unit (after having sent the screenshot of the software I had) did not have the latest update version. One update was dealer only and so the dealer had to do it. It took the dealer about 8 hours to download and unzip the software only to find out that the radio would not accept the update... So, thanks to my extended warranty, they ordered a new radio.

It took about 8 days or so for the new radio to come in and so I returned to the dealer and they installed the new radio. The new radio isn't NEW but they call it an "exchange unit" - according to Uconnect, the exchange unit is better than a new one since it comes with all the latest software installed but a new unit only comes with the software it was installed with at time of manufacture...

Whatever.

The radio is now working...and in the past week since its installation I have not had the issues I was experiencing with the old unit... keeping my finger crossed.

However.

I am now experiencing a new issue which is my remote start via the uconnect app has stopped working. None of the commands work. Lock, unlock, start... I have started a new ticket with Uconnect/Guardian...

@JeepCares and Uconnectcares are very nice people. They are empathetic and try to make you feel good. But that is the extent of what they can do. They are here to make us all feel that we are listened to, feel that something is being, feel good about our problems. They are part of public relation of Jeep and Uconnect--I bet they even work out of the same office! Other than that, there is not much @JeepCares can do... I was told that they can't make the dealers do anything...

So one problem solved (I am cautiously optimistic) another problem has appeared...

 

[Onward4x4]

Final Update:

The new radio worked fine until it froze. Then it worked again. Then it froze again. Then it worked again... currently it is working.

The Uconnect remote control via the Uconnect app and/or the desktop did not work. i contacted Uconnect support an they trouble shot the heck out of it and I was told that the matter was escalated. I received an email letting me know the ticket number and that they are working on it, that I should not call, and that they will call me when they know something and that they can't tell me when that would be. In another words... don't call us, we'll call you.

I went ahead and cancelled my Uconnect/Guardian subscription. Without the remote control, the thing wasn't useful for me. Without the Uconnect/Guardian, it is now a lot easier to dump Uconnect altogether and go with a third party radio unit. I am now researching what would be the best choice for me.

So thanks @JeepCares and everyone who has chimed in. If I am to do any vehicle with Uconnect in it again, I will make sure I purchase the lowest unit which then I will promptly remove and replace with a functional unit from a reputable company--one that does want my business and will work to get it rather than one who has the business, has gotten paid, and really is more interested in public relation games than actual getting things done.

Done.

 

[Spank]

I was hoping you would say 2018 suggesting it was an older unit. Very disappointing to hear UConnect problems continuing into new production units. Have you had any problems with the center information panel between the speedometer and tachometer? Mine occasionally goes black which means you have NO GAS GAUGE! Kinda makes the vehicle difficult to operate when you don’t know how much gas you have…

I didn’t know about the power+tune reset. I will try it. Thanks.

I've had this happen to me a couple times, too. At first I thought maybe the screen had died, but it was just a matter of the instrument cluster not waking up.

It's actually not tied to UConnect in any way, but a completely separate unit. So, that's just great. An entirely different piece of technology we have to worry about possibly eating shit.

 

[sentience]

I've had this happen to me a couple times, too. At first I thought maybe the screen had died, but it was just a matter of the instrument cluster not waking up.

It's actually not tied to UConnect in any way, but a completely separate unit. So, that's just great. An entirely different piece of technology we have to worry about possibly eating shit.

This would terrify me. On the 4xe, we don’t even have an analog speedo. It is absurd that an analog speedo and gas gauge would be omitted.

 

[Spank]

This would terrify me. On the 4xe, we don’t even have an analog speedo. It is absurd that an analog speedo and gas gauge would be omitted.

Yeah, I'm not a fan of technology where it isn't needed. As awesome and cool as digital instrument clusters are, they are the one thing that shouldn't ever solely be a screen, especially on a vehicle that is literally designed to allow such things to be exposed to the elements.

And I can understand them going out after a decade or so after hard miles and seasonal beatings, but my Jeep is just a hair over 3 years old and I've already replaced my UConnect twice. First time was a dead aircard, second time was screen delamination. And my replacement screen is apparently some new version by LG that's been improved to prevent that, but it's shitty in every other aspect as it has really bad backlight bleed, worse viewing angles, and succumbs to burn in (I can see the audio controls on any screen after several minutes).

 

[Black Jeep Convertible]

This POS unit that came with my JL has been nothing but trouble and Uconnect doesn't give 2 bits about even trying to fix the issue. If I had to do it again, I would order my Jeep with the cheapest Uconnect unit and then just upgrade with an aftermarket several of which look pretty darn good!

So here is the story:

I have been having issues with my 8.4 Uconnect "Premium" stereo unit pretty much since day one. I have taken it to the dealer on many occasions and all they have done is to reset the unit or install a new software when it was available and pretty much all they arre telling me is that there is a new firrmware coming up in the first quarter of 2021 but it is not out yet and there is nothing else they can do.

Meanwhile, the unit randomly fails to recognize my phone, apps appear and disappear at random, the unit freezes and becomes non-responsive which forces me to remove the fuses and put it back to get the unit to respond... I have learned the reset procedure and have execute it countless times--I have stopped choosing any preferences since each time I have to reset the unit it loses all my choices and so there is no point is keep setting them... All is all, it is a POS.

So in a post I complained about how Uconnect is in fact a POS and @JeepCares responded and asked me if I wanted to start a case. I said sure--why not and they put me in touch with Uconnect to see what can be done about my complaints about the functionality of the unit in my Jeep. They even assisted me in getting a case number. So when I did not hear back from Uconnect, Jeepcares looked into it and I noticed that the email from Fredy went into my junk folder. I promptly "whitelisted" email from Connect so that this does not happen again. Fredy also said he had tried to call me... but I did not have an record of any calls. Puzzling but whatever...

I was able to talk to Fredy finally and he directed me to get the software information. I spoke with him on the phone and he sent me an email with directions on how to get that information. I followed the direction, got the software version information, took a screen shot with my phone and sent the screen shot along with an email containing the information requested. That was March 25, 2021.

Since then, I have been ghosted!

I have called and left Fredy several messages and I have sent email--all of which have gone unanswered.

Today, I finally decided to talk to a supervisor. So I call Uconnect and get a Customer (dis)Service on the phone and ask to speak with a supervisor. he first ignored me and tried to get me connected with Fredy--Fredy wasn't available. I then requested again to speak with a supervisor. I was told that he isn't going to let me speak with a supervisor because the only person from whom I can ask for a supervisor is Fredy and Fredy isn't available and isn't responding to me!!

So, looks like I will have to rip this Uconnect POS from my Jeep and go with either Insane Audio or another one... Sorry about the rant! But if I can prevent anyone to do the same mistake I did, I am happy! So F-ck Uconnect.

NOTE: I am using an apple cable. I have used nothing but Apple products to connect the phone. I connect it to the center console. I have used various Apple cables... In any event, the cable does not explain the other issues like disappearing/reappearing "off road pages", and other apps at random and radio freeze etc...

NOTE 2: Folks have focused on CarPlay as the possible culprit. While, also my initial thought, the unit has frozen on me even without a phone attached. Last time it did that, none of the buttons worked, I was listening to XM and the radio kept on playing but none of the buttons for volume or changing the station worked. The unit was frozen. Even after I turned the vehicle on and off, the unit stayed frozen. I had to pull the fuse to get it back to working status. So it's not CarPlay! Good guess tho!

Same thing happened to my pos 5” but I couldn’t bring myself to spend up to 3k on a radio when you could buy an entire powered soft top for that price range, so I got the cheapest 9” android radio I could find on Amazon https://amzn.to/2S6EDC9 now I couldn’t be happier to have so many features for 600 bucks. All these aftermarket radios are basically android tablets, so much download whatever apps you want instead of paying 1-3k more for a brand name.

It connects to my phone’s hotspot or you can insert a sim card. If I’m carrying something on the hitch I can leave the camera on or music videos and movies for your passengers.




Never tried the carplay or android auto since I can just log onto my google account or download whatever apps I want to use

 

[Jinnjue]

Final Update:

The new radio worked fine until it froze. Then it worked again. Then it froze again. Then it worked again... currently it is working.

The Uconnect remote control via the Uconnect app and/or the desktop did not work. i contacted Uconnect support an they trouble shot the heck out of it and I was told that the matter was escalated. I received an email letting me know the ticket number and that they are working on it, that I should not call, and that they will call me when they know something and that they can't tell me when that would be. In another words... don't call us, we'll call you.

I went ahead and cancelled my Uconnect/Guardian subscription. Without the remote control, the thing wasn't useful for me. Without the Uconnect/Guardian, it is now a lot easier to dump Uconnect altogether and go with a third party radio unit. I am now researching what would be the best choice for me.

So thanks @JeepCares and everyone who has chimed in. If I am to do any vehicle with Uconnect in it again, I will make sure I purchase the lowest unit which then I will promptly remove and replace with a functional unit from a reputable company--one that does want my business and will work to get it rather than one who has the business, has gotten paid, and really is more interested in public relation games than actual getting things done.

Done.

I’ve had an issue with my radio as well. Sometimes the screen was just blank. I’ve taken it in and as you would expect they updated the radio and even went as far as replacing it with a new one. But as you would expect it still does it. I called Jeep and they started a ticket for it. My appointment is for the 14 of June and supposedly the guys at the dealership are going to get with the tech people at UCONNECT? I am not very confident but I’ll keep you guys posted.

 

[K-nuk]

I’ve had an issue with my radio as well. Sometimes the screen was just blank. I’ve taken it in and as you would expect they updated the radio and even went as far as replacing it with a new one. But as you would expect it still does it. I called Jeep and they started a ticket for it. My appointment is for the 14 of June and supposedly the guys at the dealership are going to get with the tech people at UCONNECT? I am not very confident but I’ll keep you guys posted.

IMHO the dealership makes a huge difference at this point @Jinnjue. In my case the dealership was USELESS: after confirming that Carplay crashes 100% of the time with “every iPhone in the shop” (dealership service manager’s own words) the next day they said “we tested with an android phone and it worked (for 15 minutes) so we stopped the test and we’ve determined it must be an Apple issue. You should call Apple”.

If the dealer isn’t supporting you then you should move to a dealer that will. Just my $0.02. I really wish you good luck.

 

[Jinnjue]

IMHO the dealership makes a huge difference at this point @Jinnjue. In my case the dealership was USELESS: after confirming that Carplay crashes 100% of the time with “every iPhone in the shop” (dealership service manager’s own words) the next day they said “we tested with an android phone and it worked (for 15 minutes) so we stopped the test and we’ve determined it must be an Apple issue. You should call Apple”.

If the dealer isn’t supporting you then you should move to a dealer that will. Just my $0.02. I really wish you good luck.

Not sure if it’s the apple car play? I guess it could be? But the radio just doesn’t work at all. And my phone isn’t even plugged into it. I’ve taken it to the dealership and asked them to just turn it on. They looked at me like I was crazy. But they couldn’t figure out why it wouldn’t turn on either!?!?! So we will see? But thanks for the tip To be continued…

 

[cram501]

Not sure if it’s the apple car play? I guess it could be? But the radio just doesn’t work at all. And my phone isn’t even plugged into it. I’ve taken it to the dealership and asked them to just turn it on. They looked at me like I was crazy. But they couldn’t figure out why it wouldn’t turn on either!?!?! So we will see? But thanks for the tip To be continued…

I know this is a stupid question and probably doesn't apply... but did you press the volume button? (It turns it on and off...).

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