You may wish to upgrade your APIM firmware to get features like radio logos and calm screen.
Before starting this process, it is recommended that you try making the asbuilt changes to enable calm screen and radio logos first, as 2018 and onward vehicles are likely to have this update anyway.
NOTE: Once you have made the asbuilt changes, perform a master reset of your APIM and check that radio logos and calm screen stay enabled. If they disappear, you will need to follow this guide to make the changes stay permanently.
Health Warning: This is NOT the same as updating to Sync 3.4. It involves specialist hardware, risking having your Sync module (APIM) ‘bricked’. Many users successfully carry out this procedure, but it is extremely important that you follow the instructions carefully.
Make a backup of your asbuilt data before commencing any updates.
PUT THE CAR ON A CHARGER – THIS IS NOT OPTIONAL!
Make sure your laptop is charged up fully, and is reliable. Make sure it wont sleep/turn off during the firmware updates.
Use a decent adaptor – recommend a good branded one like OBDLink EX (cheap ones probably will kill your APIM permanently). Do note that just because your adaptor works for ‘normal’ AsBuilt configuration, firmware updates are much more intense so good quality hardware is mandatory.
FORScan 2.4.x requires a paid license to download and install firmware files, and enforces the use of specific adapters (including OBDLink EX).
APIMs starting with the letter ‘G’ at the beginning of their part name (e.g. GJ7T-14G370-CM) are known to be more difficult to flash and users report an increase frequency of them being bricked. Letters H, J, K and upwards are much more resilient.
Take note of your current versions, if you need to revert for any reason you will need these files. Download these files first from the FORScan site using the download button at the page.
Once you have downloaded the original files, then download the available files for the upgrade. This will download the necessary files ONLY but NOT install them at this time (Internet connection is required).
Once download is complete, make sure to use Test run SBL .
This will cause the APIM to reboot, and will start again as normal. Make sure the log states the process was successful.
Next, click on the Program! button. If your battery is too low, it will NOT allow you to proceed.
Once the process has completed we can now enable Radio Logos and Calm Screen, Click the Stop button at the bottom and select APIM (AsBuilt Configuration).
NOTE:
IF YOU HAVE DAB (UK/EU): Set 7D0-02-03 to X 6 XX-XX (keep the X’s at your current value) and press Write.
IF YOU DO NOT HAVE DAB (USA/Rest of world): Set 7D0-02-03 to X C XX-XX (keep the X’s at your current value) and press Write.
Once done, restart your APIM and you should have options for Station Logo in Radio Settings and Calm Screen in Display Settings . If you do not immediately see these options, carry out a master reset.
UPDATE: Issues with Sirius: There are known issues with Sirius radio logos not displaying, despite this update. It can take a number of days for them to appear if at all - unfortunately there is no known ‘fix’ if they do not appear at this time.
For those that are trying to get the FORSCAN 2.4 beta, I got this DM from the Forscan forums:
Version 2.4.0 has serious issues, so we have stopped testing on it. We currently work on version 2.4.1 that will most likely be publicly available. It is recommended to wait for 2.4.1 (no exact ETA yet, though). We can provide 2.4.0 if you want to use it at your own risk (knowing it has serious problems).
Updated the original post with instructions on how to firmware update your OBDLink EX
Added stark health warning about the risk of bricking your APIM
@Fma965@josharmour - I’ve updated the prereqs to say latest 2.4.x version rather than just 2.4, I’d advise always going to grab the latest version as I am aware Forscan regularly bug squash newer versions. Probably best not to use any older versions people link for reasons mentioned above.
The files are different for each APIM model, due to the risk of bricking your module I do not recommend doing this manually. The above steps will allow you to flash your APIM to a newer version thst will allow radio logos and calm screen.
Today I’ve receive my Obdlink ex device, and I’ve update the firmware. As I had my car profile saved, I’ve test the apim firmware module to check if automatic downloads are available, it seems to be working for me…
I’ve just tested the download capability, I didn’t update the apim firmware yet… Just the obdlink firmware… Next week I will give pics of the catastrophe… I will make the update at work, in my garage I have no were to plug the battery charger…
Well, finally I’ve updated my apim calibration files, no issues, everything was OK. Downloading, SBL Test and Program. Before updating I made a backup of the Car Profile and the APIM asbuilt configuration. Everything is working OK, radio logos (I cannot check calm screen because I’m still on 3.3 software version). But now I have the DTC on the APIM, U2100. I tried loading the asbuilt file I previously saved but it says no changes and, although I re-write, the DTC is still there. I cannot download the ASbuilt original file from motorcraft because my sync3 is a retrofitted unit, originally my Focus has a SYNC1 Unit. If I try to download, obviously I get the message that number of blocks do not match the actual number of blocks. Also, before starting I get the message “firmware part number GB5T-1G373-AA do not match with expected GB5T-1G379-AA” . This correspond to the Sound Profile / Calibration…In any case everything seems to be working OK. Following @Louage steps everything should work… Thanks a lot to him for his help and patience
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