A guide on manually updating your Ford Sync 3 based car to the latest Sync 3.4 version with the latest available maps.
Originally published at: Easily Update Your SYNC 3 Using Our Manual Method - CyanLabs
Hi! I’m from ROW SEA but it shows ERR03 and cant extract map file
Going to need way more information post a new topic with all the relevant details
While installing the Sync3.4 software, I followed the instructions and downloaded the necessary files in the USB. I put the autoinstall.lst and reformat.lst file on the root of the USB and put the other downloadable file inside the SyncMyRide folder.
However, while parsing the files when I inserted the USB in the car, it started installing some of the files but suddenly a red screen appeared and showed this dialog : FORD_SEA21Q4_v2.tgz PKG_ERR03
That package is a combo package and needs to be extracted, syn3updater does this automatically but manual method does not.
Is there a workaround for this? I can’t use syn3updater because I only have a mac laptop at the moment. Thanks
Extract it manually and edit the config file accordingly, syn3updater is recommended for this.
Hi @CyanLabs
Just wanted to share that I have been able to successfully upgrade my Ford S-Max 2.0 Ecoboost Titanium from 2018 (German edition) with 3.0 build 20204 to the latest 3.4 build and latest maps with voice updates!
I even have the DAB station logos now =)
As I’m a Mac guy, I used the manual method, which worked really well due to the specific page and the video. So kudos, a huge thank you and donation are in order =) 
One question on my mind was: how about future updates, should / can I follow the same process?
Or first go through the downgrade and then upgrade to the latest again?
Thank you again for doing such a great job in democratizing Sync updates!
It depends, autoinstalls are slow, clunky and unreliable, a downgrade and reformat is best if updating maps as it takes way less time. for app only updates autoinstall is best as it’s quicker
Splendid! Thanks for the quick response!
Hello, Will the apple play feature that came with the Sync 3.0 remain after the upgrade to 3.4 ?
I’m assuming you mean CarPlay, yes it will
Oh sorry yes, carplay. Thanks I will try it.
Just succeeded (mostly, see below) on my second try. First time around didn’t work because I didn’t properly understand that the USB drive cannot be in excess of 32GB. My 64GB drive simply failed to start the upgrade process when setup otherwise as instructed. Might be worth making that more explicit, woulda saved me 8 bucks on a drive I don’t need. 
I used the manual method as I’m on a Mac. Other note for Mac users: there’s no option for formatting MBR vs GPT in Disk Utility, but it must be using Master Boot Record because it worked. 
The link for instructions on MBR vs GPT is broken in the manual instructions, BTW.
After purchasing the correctly-sized drive, installation went off without a hitch. Probably took 45 minutes or less (I made sure to turn off the Auto Ignition Off feature, not sure if that was necessary, but otherwise it wants to power down after 15 minutes). My only complaint is that it seems to have disabled my built-in navigation entirely, rather than upgrade them to new maps. I still have the button for it, but nothing happens except the touchscreen beep when pressed. This is of little concern to me, as I use Waze via Apple CarPlay for navigation anyway, but this was not what I was expecting from what was described. Any ideas why this might’ve happened? Any way to fix it without redoing the whole process? I’m inclined to leave well enough alone, but if it’s simple and risk-free, why not?
Other than that, the upgrade is exactly what the doctor ordered. My Flex came with SYNC 3, v.2.something, and was practically unusable due to the lag in the key presses. We couldn’t even change radio stations on the screen because tapping a preset would register as a long-press and overwrite the station instead. It’d take two minutes to be able to get the seat heaters running, just waiting for the interface to register all the presses to get there. This solved all those problems, as well as making the night mode interface (which we use no matter the time of day) much more clear. Everything’s snappy and working as expected, except the built-in Nav.
I use a 64GB drive all the time and it works fine.
Huh. Well your guess is as good as mine then. I simply copied the same files that wouldn’t start the update off of the 64GB onto the 32GB, and they worked fine on the second one. The first drive I could see was recognized on the touchscreen of my Flex, but didn’t trigger the update. I remembered there were some ancient systems that didn’t address memory above a certain amount and extrapolated from there. 
Yes, Memory allocation limitations. Still exist today in many electronics.
Make sure you formatted your 64GB thumb drive to ExFAT(Extensible File Allocation Table)
Guaranteed your partition table was GPT not MBR there are 0 size limitations.
Nope, I verified both via diskutil. FDisk_partition_scheme for both (MBR). The only other difference was I used some lower case characters for the volume name on the first one because the guy on the video said it didn’t matter. Second one I just named FORDSYNC3 in case that was the issue.
