Try going for a long drive. First time I tried , got the on screen message that not enough power was being
created to allow upload. Having engine working and not idling cured that and all other uploads since.

 

Worth trying, I have also just ordered a SanDisk 65gb drive from Amazon for £8.99 to try and if it doesn't work then I can put my music on it much to my partners disgust.

 

@andspenka..... Could be your man....I'm quite sure he maybe able help... 😊😊

 

Thanks @balders

So 3.0 19205 is quite old now, the latest version is currently at 3.4 20136 officially but you won't get that due to the fact the file partition was changed between 3.0 & 3.3.

That being said, there is a way to get the latest version by using an alternative program. There are a lot of people that don't want to go down this route as it's not supported by Ford, even though it uses genuine files from the Ford servers.

If you're interested, send me a PM.

 

I assume you have checked the contents of the USB drive before you put it in the car. Should be 2 files and one folder containing the updates. More info here in the FAQ section:

SYNC_3_USB-Update-Guide.pdf (ford.co.uk)

Also the version of Sync 3 you have is the latest version - it was released in 2019

Cars from 2019 had version 3.2 or 3.3 originally with the new APIM hardware as mentioned by @andspenka that can be updated to 3.4

Map updates can be done to both versions, but some of the downloads occasionally come without the DONTINDEX.MSA file from the Ford servers. Although there is nothing in that file it stops the Sync3 system indexing the drive and speeds up the initial phase. If you add it (If missing) it should get to the 'updating system' message quicker. Once that happens sit back and relax for an hour or so and then after a key cycle another hour or so to complete

 

So far I've performed 3 SYNC updates and 2 maps updates, have hit all sorts of problems but managed to complete all updates succesfully. So yes, it's not a 100% bulletproof process, it can get a bit tricky, but it does work in the end. Even performed a (small) SYNC update OTA, so that works as well

Make sure USB flash is a decent one (doesn't need to be a specific brand, type or even speed, as long as it's large enough), format it appropriately (doesn't need to be empty, I've done a couple of updates with my carry-it-with-me-all-purpose USB stick), make sure you unzip the file correctly, verify the contents, get in the car, plug it in the driver's USB and go for a drive. It might take up to 10 minutes to begin or it might start right away, had both happen to me as well. SYNC updates finish in one go, map updates require a key-cycle in the middle of the process. Afterwards, SYNC updates create the xml file which you need to upload to the Ford server, map updates (usually) don't, so you need to perfrom a Scan for Updates from within SYNC to let the Ford server know you updated (or you can use the specific tool found on the Ford site).

 

Metal bodied USB drives are best too, as the faster ones get hot very quickly and throttle back the transfer rate.

 

Well it's finally running on the new SanDisk I bought, and I am down to 3 things as to why, firstly the brand of the flash drive which shouldn't really make a difference, secondly the format of the flash drive being "native" exFAT 128k blocks which I plan to test with another flash drive, or finally that the doors were locked which I normally don't do

 

In Windows it should be exFAT - anything else will cause a problem. You are not using a Mac by any chance ?

 

Nope Windows 10 and Debian Linux

 

When I had a Peugeot I had to use Microsoft Edge because when using Chrome it always failed. Wonder if Ford is fussy about browser being used.

 

Well its finally updated though when I got back in the house, I did a compare of the SanDisk flash drive that worked and the Adata drive that didn't and the only difference that I could find was the Adata drive had a GPT partition table and the SanDisk had a MBR partition table. Anyone who wants to check which table the drives they tried should reference this Link
Now I am running a test having converted the Adata drive I was using to MBR partition table (Windows Instructions on how to do this here) and putting the update files on it to see if its recognised and I will try it next time I am in the car.
If anyone that's had issues in the past with USB drives @The Ace mentioned issues with different drives and wants to test their drives to see what type of partition table they have and posting back if they worked or not it would be helpful for anyone else (SanDisk drives come MBR partition table as standard, I asked their live help)

Just in case anyone non-technical reads this post, If you follow the Windows Instructions I posted, do not use DiskPart unless your 110% sure you know what your doing (and then still don't do it) its way too easy to select the wrong drive and Bork your PC for which I am not responsible.

Partition editors will do the same operation (Windows Key + X and select Disk Management) however I used a professional grade partition editor to do my USB drive and the free ones that I know of don't have this kind of functionality apart from Gparted Live which involves creating and booting from either a cd or flash drive

 

Its the partition table version, just tested the Adata drive I changed to MBR earlier and its recognised straight away. Planning to email Ford about the instructions they have Online and get them to update it.

 

Useful to know. Good luck with getting access to anybody at Ford on this !

 

True, but given its the whole global Ford range with sync 3 that's affected and seems to be a long running problem I plan to do my utmost to get them to fix the instructions, it's not exactly hard to edit and upload a pdf

 

I only ever buy sandisk or kingston anyway. Kingston works ok on sync 2. I have never heard of Adata.

 

Guys, it's rarely (if ever) a matter of type or manufacturer, most decent brands will work just fine, as long as they are genuine and not counterfeits (I've seen my share of bogus "Samsung" sticks and memory cards). Sandisk, Kingston, Samsung, AData, Verbatim, Intenso, these are all perfectly legitimate brands to buy and use their USB sticks/cards/drives.

 

Agreed this issue has nothing to do with flash drive brand it's all about the drive being formatted exFAT with an MBR partition table

 

@Gregs24 You called Ford's response right, "the sync3 team see no reason to update the instruction at this time" because according to them the format in windows sets the partition table to MBR (it doesn't) messaged them back pointing out that the answer is BS and outlined the tech reasons why including that MBR tables are now described by Microsoft as "legacy".