Tutorial: Sync 3.4 NON-NAV APIM: Failure to Update to Newer Version.
Read this document fully before starting any actions. It is your responsibility to follow the instructions as outlined below.
(DO NOT USE REFORMAT ON 2020 AND ONWARD VEHICLES)
General
This tutorial covers the scenario where a NON-NAV APIM with Sync 3.4 installed and will not update to a newer version of Sync 3.4. This is not the same as upgrading from previous versions of Sync (3.0) to Sync 3.4. It is assumed that you have tried to upgrade your NON-NAV APIM with Sync 3.4 installed to a newer version using the SYN3 Updater application and the procedure is failing. This can be due to several reasons, such as inadequate storage, defective USB, APIM issues (Check DTC’s), or other errors.
NOTE: If you are experiencing APIM Sync settings that are not saving, cannot perform a Master Reset or upgrades/updates or downgrades, and/or you have received a VER_ERR08 error during an update, you may have an issue where the temporary storage is full. In the case of the VER_ERR08 error, the full error message is: VER_ERR08 – Error is VER_SETTING_VER_INFO_ERROR. This error may be generated by a condition where data cannot be processed or saved on the system due to inadequate free storage/memory. This lack of sufficient storage space affects the ability of the APIM to process tasks, save settings, etc. Refer to: APIM Sync Settings Not Saving, VER_ERR08 Errors, Cannot Perform Master Reset or Upgrades/Updates (Solved) - Ford / Information - CyanLabs Official Community
Using Syn3 Updater (version 2.12.0.0 or newer) navigate to the Utility Tab and create a RW Data Cleaner USB or manually prepare a USB using PU5T-14G386-BB and a correctly formatted autoinstall.lst file Once that USB has been inserted into your car and completed your RWData partition will be cleared, from there you can update as you originally intended.
NOTES:
- Use the Syn3 Updater - CyanLabs application for upgrading your Sync 3.0 system to Sync 3.2/3.3/3.4.
- This installation may require that the APIM be reformatted using the reformat tool and requires that the Sync software be downgraded to Sync version 3.3.19052 to utilize the reformat tool. This process is NOT compatible for MY20+ vehicles.
- This tutorial is targeted for NON-NAV/NON-EU Ford and Lincoln vehicles equipped with Sync 3.2/3.3/3.4 without factory Navigation. DO NOT attempt to place maps on a NON-NAV APIM.
- It is advised that you run the APIM Interrogator Utility to determine the specifics of your Sync unit installed in your vehicle. This can be done thru the Syn3 Updater in the Tools section or manually following the tutorial, Tutorial: APIM Interrogator Utility - CyanLabs.
- It is recommended using a USB drive with at least 32 GB of storage.
- This installation may consist of multiple reboots, thru which the vehicle ignition must remain on throughout the process.
- If you are unfortunate enough to have a MAP partition on the APIM, you must downgrade to 3.3.19052 and then use the reformat tool to remove the map partition. If you have a MY2020+ vehicle with a map partition on a NON-NAV APIM, there is not an option to remove the partition.
- A ‘Master Reset’ should be performed at the end of this procedure.
- All the files needed can be found at the Software Database - CyanLabs .
- At the time of the writing of this tutorial, 1.5 GB of free space was enough. But time passed and we learned that depending on other variables (such as what’s currently installed on the unit or what the user is trying to do) even 1.7 GB of free space may not be enough. So if you have around 1.7 GB of free space and you still can’t install a new version, keep going through the tutorial to make even more space available.
Determining the Issue
Determine if the APIM issue is due to storage limitations or other issues. Run the APIM Interrogator Utility to determine the specifics of your Sync unit installed in your vehicle. If there is less than 1.5 GB of free space, you will need to delete files in order to update your Sync unit. This utility will output an xml file that contains information about the APIM including the storage, asbuilt, serial number, part numbers, as well as strategy and calibration versions. The xml file also contains information on installed map and NAV_Voice files, if applicable to the APIM. The xml file can be opened in your browser or viewed thru the Syn3 Updater.
Once you have opened the xml file, scroll to the bottom of the file to see your storage. Below are examples of NON-NAV 8GB APIM units with Sync 3.4 installed. (These are NON NA or MNC/MNT units).
NON-NAV 8GB APIM with inadequate available storage for upgrade. Available storage is 938MB.
<d2p1:PartitionHealth type=“/fs/Nuance/” total=“1.9G” available=“8.5M”/>
<d2p1:PartitionHealth type=“/fs/rwdata/” total=“1.2G” available=“1009M”/>
<d2p1:PartitionHealth type=“/fs/rwdata/quip/” total=“35M” available=“35M”/>
<d2p1:PartitionHealth type=“/fs/rwdata/quip/” total=“90M” available=“90M”/>
<d2p1:PartitionHealth type=“/fs/mp/” total=“1.4G” available=“146M”/>
<d2p1:PartitionHealth type=“/fs/mp/resources” total=“74M” available=“380K”/>
<d2p1:PartitionHealth type=“/fs/images/” total=“3.0G” available=“938M”/>
NON-NAV 8GB APIM with inadequate free storage available for upgrade with Gracenotes. Available storage is 403MB.
<d2p1:PartitionHealth type=“/fs/Nuance/” total=“1.3G” available=“58M”/>
<d2p1:PartitionHealth type=“/fs/Nuance/grace” total=“1.1G” available=“63M”/>
<d2p1:PartitionHealth type=“/fs/rwdata/” total=“1.2G” available=“991M”/>
<d2p1:PartitionHealth type=“/fs/rwdata/quip/” total=“35M” available=“25M”/>
<d2p1:PartitionHealth type=“/fs/rwdata/quip/” total=“90M” available=“88M”/>
<d2p1:PartitionHealth type=“/fs/mp/” total=“1.4G” available=“144M”/>
<d2p1:PartitionHealth type=“/fs/images/” total=“3.0G” available=“403M”/>
In any case, the bottom line is the amount of storage free in “/fs/images/”. As stated above, if there is less than 1.5 GB of free space, you will need to delete files to update your Sync unit. You can either perform these tasks manually or automatically through autoinstall scripts.
Manual Removal or Replacement of Files
If it is determined above that the issue is inadequate storage available for the updates, there are several files that can be deleted or changed to create free space. This is all about increasing the available storage in “/fs/images/”.
Gracenotes
The first set of files to delete are Gracenotes. These are stored in “/fs/Nuance/grace”. Follow the procedure in the Removal of Gracenotes tutorial. Once Gracenotes are removed, run the APIM Interrogator Utility and check the available storage at “/fs/images/”. If there is less than 1.5 GB of free space, you will need to free more storage space. If there is more than 1.5GB of free space available, you can proceed with the upgrade directly to the latest version of Sync 3.4.
NON-NAV units will generally not have the storage available to install Sync 3.4 app, voice, and Gracenotes, due to the increased size of the app over the Sync 3.2/3.3 versions. In these situations, including Gracenotes in the Sync 3.4 update will cause the procedure to fail. However, the newest version of Gracenotes (Late 2020) are now smaller in file size and may fit on a NON-NAV APIM with Sync versions 3.4 installed, depending on the region and files installed.
Sync System Voice File
The second set of files to modify is the system voice files. These are stored in “/fs/Nuance/”. (If you have a NA or MNT APIM this step is not needed as a small voice file is already installed.)
The application voice files will be replaced temporarily with the NA (North American) version application voice files, which is a significantly smaller installation package and will free additional storage. Do not confuse this with the Navigation Voice files. The application voice files are the voice commands for the Sync system, not the Navigation system, which is also hosted on the Sync APIM platform. You can choose to keep the smaller voice file package or replace it with the proper regional version once you have enough free space to upgrade to the latest version of Sync 3.4.
NOTE: The Syn3 Updater can be used to create a Small Voice Package Replacement USB in the Tools section.
To install the NA version of the application voice package, download the latest version of the NA Sync System Voice file. The file can be found in the APIM IVSU Database. (Example: 5U5T-14G391-CS 386Mb Sync3 v3.2.22200).
Follow the instructions below:
- Create a USB drive (format as EXFAT) with a SyncMyRide folder.
- Copy the file downloaded above into the SyncMyRide folder.
- In the root of the USB is the autoinstall.lst and DONTINDX.MSA files which you can obtain from any upgrade you previously performed.
- You will need to edit the autoinstall.lst file so it looks like the example below but replace ‘filename’ with the actual file name you downloaded. The names on the 2 lines must match and be the exact name of the file in the SyncMyRide folder, with extensions.
[SYNCGen3.0_ALL]
Item1 = filename.TAR.GZ
Open1 = SyncMyRide\filename.TAR.GZ
Options = Autoinstall
- Insert USB in vehicle and wait for the installation to complete. You should see a message indicating completion.
- Remove the USB drive and reboot the APIM.
NOTE: Using the “AutoInstall” option for rebooting the APIM after loading the new voice file is mandatory, or the system will not delete the old voice.img and install files and rename voice_new.img to voice.img.
Once the voice file is installed, run the APIM Interrogator Utility and check the available storage at “/fs/images/”. There should be adequate storage space available as in the example below.
NON-NAV 8GB APIM with NA version 391 Application Voice file installed. Notice the size of the “/fs/Nuance/” partition is smaller and storage has been allocated to available space in “/fs/images/”.
<d2p1:PartitionHealth type=“/fs/Nuance/” total=“465M” available=“3.1M”/>
<d2p1:PartitionHealth type=“/fs/rwdata/” total=“1.2G” available=“1003M”/>
<d2p1:PartitionHealth type=“/fs/rwdata/quip/” total=“35M” available=“35M”/>
<d2p1:PartitionHealth type=“/fs/rwdata/quip/” total=“90M” available=“90M”/>
<d2p1:PartitionHealth type=“/fs/mp/” total=“1.4G” available=“146M”/>
<d2p1:PartitionHealth type=“/fs/mp/resources” total=“74M” available=“380K”/>
<d2p1:PartitionHealth type=“/fs/images/” total=“3.0G” available=“2.3G”/>
At this point, if there is adequate storage space available you can upgrade the unit to the latest Sync 3.4 version using the Syn3 Updater.
Sync Version Downgrade
If for some reason the upgrade fails, or there is still inadequate storage space available to upgrade directly to Sync 3.4, you can downgrade the unit to Sync 3.3.19052, and then upgrade the unit to the latest Sync 3.4 version via reformat (Except MY2020+) or autoinstall.
NOTE: The Syn3 Updater can be used to downgrade your Sync 3 system.
To manually downgrade the unit to Sync 3.3.19052, download 4U5T-14G381-AN_1552583626000.TAR.GZ. The file can be found in the APIM IVSU Database.
Follow the instructions below:
- Create a USB drive (format as EXFAT) with a SyncMyRide folder.
- Copy the file downloaded above into the SyncMyRide folder.
- In the root of the USB is the autoinstall.lst and DONTINDX.MSA files which you can obtain from any upgrade you previously performed.
- You will need to edit the autoinstall.lst file so it looks like the example below. The names on the 2 lines must match and be the exact name of the file in the SyncMyRide folder, with extensions.
[SYNCGen3.0_ALL]
Item1 = 4U5T-14G381-AN_1552583626000.TAR.GZ
Open1 = SyncMyRide\4U5T-14G381-AN_1552583626000.TAR.GZ
Options = AutoInstall
- Insert USB in vehicle and wait for the installation to complete. You should see a message indicating completion.
- Remove the USB drive and reboot the APIM.
This should force a downgrade to 3.3.19052. You will be able to upgrade using the Syn3 Updater application from 3.3.19052 to the latest version of Sync 3.4 via autoinstall. Set up the app appropriately for your vehicle and select NON-NAV, or NO MAPS.
Automated Removal or Replacement of Files:
To automate the above process, you can use the autoinstall.lst file below to remove Gracenotes and install Sync 3.3.19052 with the NA (US English) voice file. This process will also write the APIM Interrogator file to the USB.
Download the following files from the Software Database - CyanLabs :
GB5T-14G386-SC_85041.TAR.GZ
4U5T-14G381-AN_1552583626000.TAR.GZ
4U5T-14G391-CJ_1552513842000.TAR.GZ
GB5T-14G386-AC_1587495565000.TAR.GZ
USB Preparation
Follow the instructions below:
- Create a USB drive (format as EXFAT) with a SyncMyRide folder.
- Copy the files downloaded above into the SyncMyRide folder.
- In the root of the USB is the autoinstall.lst and DONTINDX.MSA files which you can obtain from any upgrade you previously performed.
- You will need to edit the autoinstall.lst file so it looks like the example below. Make sure the file names match exactly.
; SYNC3 Consumer Assembly Upgrade - Only for NonNav/NonEU assemblies.
[SYNCGen3.0_3.3.19052_PRODUCT]
Item1 = GB5T-14G386-SC_85041.TAR.GZ
Open1 = SyncMyRide\GB5T-14G386-SC_85041.TAR.GZ
Item2 = 4U5T-14G391-CJ_1552513842000.TAR.GZ
Open2 = SyncMyRide\4U5T-14G391-CJ_1552513842000.TAR.GZ
Options = AutoInstall
[SYNCGen3.0_ALL]
Item1 = 4U5T-14G381-AN_1552583626000.TAR.GZ
Open1 = SyncMyRide\4U5T-14G381-AN_1552583626000.TAR.GZ
Item2 = GB5T-14G386-AC_1587495565000.TAR.GZ
Open2 = SyncMyRide\GB5T-14G386-AC_1587495565000.TAR.GZ
Options = AutoInstall, Include, Transaction
- Save the autoinstall.lst file and copy the file to the USB. The file structure for the USB should now be like this:
Usb (root)
autoinstall.lst
DONTINDX.MSA
SyncMyRide (folder)4U5T-14G381-AN_1552583626000.TAR.GZ
4U5T-14G391-CJ_1552513842000.TAR.GZ
GB5T-14G386-AC_1587495565000.TAR.GZ
GB5T-14G386-SC_85041.TAR.GZ
Installation
- Insert USB in vehicle and wait for the installation to complete. This installation will reboot the APIM multiple times automatically. Do NOT remove the USB or Key Cycle the vehicle.
- You should see a message indicating completion. Remove the USB drive and reboot the APIM.
This should force a downgrade to 3.3.19052. You will be able to upgrade using the Syn3 Updater application from 3.3.19052 to the latest version of Sync 3.4 via autoinstall. Set up the app appropriately for your vehicle and select NON-NAV, or NO MAPS.