Problem Registering With Lexus Portal

[jpinewoods]

I have had my new IS300h for two weeks now but a few days away and pressure of work have prevented me from exploring everything on the car.

However, I though I would try and register on the Lexus Portal for the Connected Services. However, when I try to enter what I believe is the device ID into the relevant box on th eregistration form, I get a message saying the provided device ID is invlaid.

I have looked in set-up - nav - then map data and taken down a six figure code with the pairs of numbers separated by hyphens. If I netre this without the hyphens I get the error message. On the screen after this is another number in brackets (which looks like a adte as it starts with 2013 and then what I assume is a month and a year, again separated by hyphens.

Could you tell me whether I am looking in the wrong place to start with and then how many digits I should be entering?

Thanks.

[Jardyn39]

The Navigation identification number consists of 16 numeric digits. In the car it is displayed as four groups of four digits separated by three hyphens (ie 1234-1234-1234-1234)

You can get the Vehicle ID from the car here Menu > Settings > Car > WiFi

Look for the following message: "Visit LEXUS portal (www.my.lexus.eu) or contact your local dealer. Remember this Navigation identification: nnnn-nnnn-nnnn-nnnn"

Confusingly, the actual online registration requires you to enter the 16 digit ID number with no spaces nor dashes and it would have been nice if the error messages had explained that.

The Terms and Conditions of using the system are absurd but you will need to agree in order to proceed. They are subject to the laws of Belgium, which is nice.

When all your details are entered, the Lexus site sends you an email with a link to activate your account. It took quite a while for mine to come through.

As part of the registration process you will be asked to create a user name and password. Since you will need to enter these details in the car as well, you might want to consider using all caps and numbers.

I soon wished Id used a more memorable (or easier to enter) password!

I had to enter and re-enter my username and password details several times until I managed to log in via the car. It took me a while to get my mobile hotspot setup sorted, but the car remembers all your login credentials provided there are no connection errors.

In use Ive found the mobile data demands of the system to be quite modest so far. This was something I was concerned about because of the cost, but Ive now removed all the in-car warnings about connection charges.

The additional parking and traffic information is worthwhile, but the Streetview and Panoramio functions havent been used much. In time I hope that the Connected Services will improve.

[DJP]

I've found it useful to send the car an address for nav use, whilst sitting in the office, rather than sitting in the car and keying it in.

It doesn't really save anytime but I like the functionality. Aside from that in its present form it's nothing to write home about.

[jpinewoods]

Thanks for your help. After a lot of experimentation and investigation, I eventually found the ID under the setup menu in Navigation and then Connected Services. So now I am all registered and we will try and send a route to the car tomorrow.

We will see how well that works!

[Silver Arrow]

How will the car "receive" the route? Through your tethered mobile, or does it have a 3g SIM inside it somewhere like BMW's do?

[DJP]

How will the car "receive" the route? Through your tethered mobile, or does it have a 3g SIM inside it somewhere like BMW's do?

For me it's tethering via Bluetooth or wifi if at home. You can buy a wifi hotspot piece of kit which I think is situated in the boot somewhere. It's a few hundred pounds so not worth it IMHO.

[Jardyn39]

How will the car "receive" the route? Through your tethered mobile, or does it have a 3g SIM inside it somewhere like BMW's do?

The car can connect via WiFi or Bluetooth to a suitable hotspot.

There is a dealer fitted Hotspot option (which presumably houses a SIM) but most will probably use mobile tethering as it should be considerably cheaper.

I originally wanted to use my Nexus 4 mobile as a WiFi hotspot, but my service provider refused to allow tethering on my account unless I entered into a new contract agreement (at considerably greater cost than I’m currently paying).

My Nexus 4 (Android 4.3) does not appear to be Bluetooth compatible for data, although hands free and audio works fine. The Nexus would have been WiFi compatible had tethering not been blocked, although the Battery consumption was considerably high.

In the end I went for a MiFi device (Huawei E5331) which can act as hotspot for up to 8 WiFi devices at the same time. A 3-month Prepaid SIM from amazon.co.uk currently costs £15.49. The device stays in the centre storage (charged via USB) and the connection seems very reliable so far.

This isn't ideal but it will give me time to compare alternate mobile providers and it has been useful to tether other tablet/pc devices on the go.

Before committing to any additional cost I would strongly recommend connecting via home WiFi if available. I found I could get a good connection quite a few yards from the router and you can have a play to see if you think the extra cost is justified for you.