Sync Myford

[sportflyer]

As  new owners of C-Max SE, we are  a bit confused about Sync and its usefulness to us.  We seldom use the cell phone in the car . When we do ,  the passenger will answer or make calls . So voice cell phone commands are of little use to us.

.It might be interesting just to try out some of the functions so , do we have to register  to access say maintenance panel   ? Which website ?  I assume its free for three years ? 

 

Thanks

[Kelleytoons]

SYNC is a bit confusing.  In essence, it's sort of like a poor man's Onstar system.  It uses a linked cell-phone to connect (by making a call) to your Sync account and/or a live person and then you get information that may or may not be useful.

 

But the best part about SYNC (IMHO, of course) is the ability to play music from your devices, either bluetooth or (my preference) USB.  I love the fact I can call up albums, artists, or playlists by name, for example.  That part is very, very cool.

 

You can also get turn by turn directions read to you, but in the absence of a map I don't think that's useful (but that's just me -- that's why I got the NAV system and MFT in our vehicle).  And it will also make a 911 call for you automatically if you get into an accident, which is probably of some use but hopefully not.

 

You can use some of the features without registration, but some of them (like your free calls to a real live person for help with directions or your vehicle health report) you DO need to be registered.  Syncmyride.com

[sportflyer]

Sync does not seem too attractive to me.  It looks like I can access most of the features I want with it without registration.

 

I have a Garmin 3590MLMT GPS so there is no need for built in navigation system .

 

My music is not in the cellphone itself.  I simply copy the music folders  from my wife's selection from her Sansa Clip to a USB and I add my own folders . The C-Max  Audio system plays music from the USB reasonably well ( Just std Audio not Premium audio) .  Unfortunately it wont play FLAC files so I need to convert to mp3 .  I have not tried the voice commands with USB I should try for fun. Could be really cool . I need to remember some basic commands though .

 

Does registration cost $60  right from the start since I only have the base SE model.

 

 

Thanks

[shinytop]

Registration is free, at least it was on my 2014 SEL.  The dealer actually registered for me and game me my username and password.

[kostby]

Registration for SYNC is FREE, and a compatible Bluetooth-enabled cell phone number is required in the registration process to use free services, such as Vehicle Health Report.

 

Go to syncmyride.com, select your vehicle, and watch the videos and read the information there for complete details.

 

SYNC SERVICES (these are the premium services):

C-MAX SEL owners get 3 years of SYNC Services at no additional cost, but registration and annual renewal are required.

 

{edited - Thanks for the clarification below, Kelleytoons!} C-MAX SE owners with the BASE 200A or 201A Equipment Groups get all the free services, and none of the SYNC SERVICES extras listed below, unless you pay in advance, $60 per year for an annual subscription

 

 

 

 

HOW TO CONNECT WITH SYNC SERVICES

To connect with SYNC Services, press Voice and say "Services." When prompted, choose one of the following services. 
 
To end the call, Press Phone. If you are requesting directions, the call will end after the directions have downloaded to your vehicle.

SERVICE   DESCRIPTION Traffic   Hear a traffic report for your current location or en route to a personal address point like "Home" or "Work"       Directions   Get turn-by-turn directions to a destination, including personal address points like “Home” and “Work”        Business Search   Find a destination and get directions to it       Horoscopes   Hear your daily horoscope       Movies   Hear local movie listings       News   Hear top news stories       Sports   Hear sports scores and game schedules  for professional and college teams        Stocks   Hear stock reports       Travel   Receive airline, rental car, hotel, and taxi assistance from major national booking desks       Weather   Hear the weather forecast for your current location       Favorites   Connect to the Favorites selected on your owner profile, such as hometown traffic, news, and sports scores      

 

 

 

 

SUBSCRIBING TO SYNC SERVICES

Most SYNC-equipped vehicles may be eligible for a limited, complimentary subscription to SYNC Services. Your active SYNC Services subscription includes 20 complimentary Operator Assist calls per year.

Before using SYNC Services for the first time, you will need to log in to your account and activate your subscription. You'll then be ready to use SYNC Services in your vehicle.

For the best results, ensure that you have successfully paired your Bluetooth-enabled phone with SYNC and disabled the phone's caller ID blocking feature. Then, access SYNC Services by pressing the Voice button and saying, "Services." SYNC will guide you through the voice commands necessary to use all of the SYNC Services features or you can familiarize yourself with the available voice commands beforehand.

 

 

RENEWING YOUR SYNC SERVICES SUBSCRIPTION

Each year, we will ask you if you would like to renew your SYNC Services enrollment. Your renewal lets us know that you plan to continue using the service and provides us with an opportunity to keep our customer service records accurate. If you are at the end of your limited, complimentary subscription, there may be a charge to renew SYNC Services.

You can renew your subscription in-vehicle – the system will prompt you when it’s time to renew – or you can renew online by logging in to your SYNC Owner account.

Once your subscription has expired, you can log in to your SYNC Owner account to purchase an additional 1-year subscription for $60.00. Each year includes 20 free Operator Assist sessions.

Edited September 3, 2014 by kostby

[Kelleytoons]

Actually, that's not *strictly* true.  SE owners *can* get the SYNC services for "free" depending on the package (I have the same services as the SEL comes with standard, with my own SE package -- I think it's the 202 but I never quite remember).  The OP does have a "base" model so he won't, but I just wanted to clarify this for the benefit of other SE owners who might get confused.

 

I have a top of the line Garmin but it lives now in our Durango because I like the on-board NAV system much better.  There are things about it that are irritating, but nothing beats the voice commands to set destination, and it IS pretty handy sometimes to set a destination from Mapquest.

 

As a matter of fact, the voice commands in the MFT system are the main reason I like Maximis so much -- being able to set air, nav, music or make and receive phone calls all hands free is pretty damn cool.  There's a lot to like about her, but that is my favorite <g>.

[RobMax]

I paired my older droid phone and use the voice command option on our SE all the time. I haven't yet tried the turn-by-turn directions capability yet since I have a garmin, and the phone as backup. 

[FordIVTteam]

Hey everyone!

I just want to jump on and make it even easier. MyFord Touch has a complimentary subscription to SYNC Services; the MyFord (non-touchscreen SYNC system) does not, and it's $60 a year. For more information on what SYNC Services entails, check out this link:

http://support.ford.com/sync-technology/sync-services-overview-sync

@sportflyer - Congrats on your new C-MAX! I suggest taking a look at this page for a ton of great SYNC information:

http://support.ford.com/topics/sync-technology-sync#topic-items-1382154953956_topic-item-1
 

If you have more questions, please don't hesitate to holler!

Rebecca