Problem After upgrading firmware on RA1 Uconnect 3.0 Radio on 2013 Ram 1500

EpicFish · Oct 1, 2016

So this is my first post here as I am a new owner of a new to me 2013 ram 1500. I'd had this truck for about a month now. I've been getting everything set up on the mopar owners site and last night I noticed the links over to the uconnect site. Over there I noticed a check vin for uconnect updates. Nothing was wrong with my radio at all but I thought best go ahead and check. There was an update available and from the site wording I thought I should go ahead and get it updated...

So...

I followed the instructions and went from something like version 01.XX.XX.XX all the way to the current 05.05.12.02. The install went fine.

However I plugged my iphone into the usb media port and the radio doesn't detect it. I was a bit confused. After troubleshooting by myself I discovered that not only the phone usb connected isn't recognized by the radio but the audio jack doesn't work either. So I tried an ipad.. same result... then I went and got an mp3 player... same result... android tablet... same result... So it's not device related. And I've used the phone in there every day since buying the truck and it has worked flawlessly until this update.

I got on the phone with their support and the first guy said it was an iphone problem after I explained to him it was working 2 hours earlier before I flashed it and I had tried multiple devices. He advised me to call Verizon... what a joke!!! I work in IT I'm not an idiot

So I went back and flashed it again with the same firmware.... same results. I've wind up flashing it multiple times last night with 4 different usb sticks to try to weed out any possibilities. ===>>> And the fact that I am able to flash the radio from the USB port also bothers me. I also noticed that while plugging the phone into the usb port that the phone actually charges so there is not a connection issue that some how happened at the time of flashing it.

So I called their support back again to ask if I could have an older firmware since there is no where to find it online. Luckily I got someone different but I was advised to call back Monday to beg for a previous version as she didn't have one available. I was told that is something they had never done before.

I've searched the internet all day today looking for advise and I've only found a hand full of similar posts. Apparently this has happened to some others but their end story turned into purchasing a replacement radio.

Before I get into it with Uconnect on Monday does anyone out there have a former version of the 2013 Ram 1500 Uconnect 3.0 RA1 firmware... possibly any other version than current.

I have a big feeling that they left out a driver or communication commands for the aux port module in this update.

Mpgrimm2 · Oct 1, 2016

Bump.

Are you 100% certain you still have an ra1 vs the radio being upgraded to an Ra2 by the previous owner? (Probably wouldn't have accepted the fw update though)

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

EpicFish · Oct 2, 2016

Mpgrimm2 said:
Bump.

Are you 100% certain you still have an ra1 vs the radio being upgraded to an Ra2 by the previous owner? (Probably wouldn't have accepted the fw update though)

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

Pretty sure. It looks just like this:

Mpgrimm2 · Oct 2, 2016

EpicFish said:
Pretty sure. It looks just like this:
View attachment 77767

Yeah, that's an ra1. Not sure if anyone will have any prior RA1 fw or not.

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

Ricks Ram · Oct 2, 2016

If you are not able to correct your problem or obtain an earlier firmware version you can replace the radio for very little money. Alot of people replace the RA1 radio for the RA2 RA3 or RA4 so there are quit a few RA1 radios avaliable pretty cheap. I recommend installing the RA2 5" touch screen radio if you cannot get your radio working. It has a lot more features than the RA1 plus full phone capabilities. It is a plug and play conversion. You will need the correct factory rear view mirror with microphone ,mirror harness and the radio. You can also install the switch on the left side if the steering wheel to send and receive calls and utilize radio voice commands . It is also a plug and play upgrade. There are no sales codes needed to do this upgrade. I don't have the part numbers off had for the mirror and harness but can look them up if you decide to go with a different radio. Good luck.

EpicFish · Oct 2, 2016

Ricks Ram said:
If you are not able to correct your problem or obtain an earlier firmware version you can replace the radio for very little money. Alot of people replace the RA1 radio for the RA2 RA3 or RA4 so there are quit a few RA1 radios avaliable pretty cheap. I recommend installing the RA2 5" touch screen radio if you cannot get your radio working. It has a lot more features than the RA1 plus full phone capabilities. It is a plug and play conversion. You will need the correct factory rear view mirror with microphone ,mirror harness and the radio. You can also install the switch on the left side if the steering wheel to send and receive calls and utilize radio voice commands . It is also a plug and play upgrade. There are no sales codes needed to do this upgrade. I don't have the part numbers off had for the mirror and harness but can look them up if you decide to go with a different radio. Good luck.

I dug around on crutchfield last night and found a nice selection of radios with harnesses and wiring to modify a radio to all of my truck options. If it comes to that I would rather go aftermarket than a stock radio since it opens up more doors to future mods.

How ever I had not planned on any of this. I'm really just ill about this.... their suggested update hosed my system with no clear way to roll back. Starting to feel like I fell into a trap. I hope they can send me some former firmware and the radio will respect a roll back. I would think their IT department has to have historical saved backups....

Ricks Ram · Oct 2, 2016

I understand your dilemma. One good thing as I stated is you can pick up and RA1 radio extremely cheap. There might even be members on the form that would give you their old radio for next to nothing that have upgraded to a higher radio. My truck came with the RA2 and I upgraded to the RA4. Had my truck came with the RA1 I would offer you mine.

RamCares · Oct 3, 2016

EpicFish said:
So this is my first post here as I am a new owner of a new to me 2013 ram 1500. I'd had this truck for about a month now. I've been getting everything set up on the mopar owners site and last night I noticed the links over to the uconnect site. Over there I noticed a check vin for uconnect updates. Nothing was wrong with my radio at all but I thought best go ahead and check. There was an update available and from the site wording I thought I should go ahead and get it updated...

So...

I followed the instructions and went from something like version 01.XX.XX.XX all the way to the current 05.05.12.02. The install went fine.

However I plugged my iphone into the usb media port and the radio doesn't detect it. I was a bit confused. After troubleshooting by myself I discovered that not only the phone usb connected isn't recognized by the radio but the audio jack doesn't work either. So I tried an ipad.. same result... then I went and got an mp3 player... same result... android tablet... same result... So it's not device related. And I've used the phone in there every day since buying the truck and it has worked flawlessly until this update.

I got on the phone with their support and the first guy said it was an iphone problem after I explained to him it was working 2 hours earlier before I flashed it and I had tried multiple devices. He advised me to call Verizon... what a joke!!! I work in IT I'm not an idiot

So I went back and flashed it again with the same firmware.... same results. I've wind up flashing it multiple times last night with 4 different usb sticks to try to weed out any possibilities. ===>>> And the fact that I am able to flash the radio from the USB port also bothers me. I also noticed that while plugging the phone into the usb port that the phone actually charges so there is not a connection issue that some how happened at the time of flashing it.

So I called their support back again to ask if I could have an older firmware since there is no where to find it online. Luckily I got someone different but I was advised to call back Monday to beg for a previous version as she didn't have one available. I was told that is something they had never done before.

I've searched the internet all day today looking for advise and I've only found a hand full of similar posts. Apparently this has happened to some others but their end story turned into purchasing a replacement radio.

Before I get into it with Uconnect on Monday does anyone out there have a former version of the 2013 Ram 1500 Uconnect 3.0 RA1 firmware... possibly any other version than current.

I have a big feeling that they left out a driver or communication commands for the aux port module in this update.

Hi EpicFish,

If you end up taking your vehicle into a Ram dealership for diagnosis I would be happy to follow up with them for you! Just PM our page with your VIN and contact information.

Andrea
Ram Social Care Specialist

calibrat0690 · Oct 16, 2016

I am having the same issue, but the USB will not recognize any media on my thumb drive (it used to just fine before update). I called support and they said to take the truck into dealer to have it looked at. What a crock. Now I have to be inconvenienced due to someone else's screw up. Seriously thinking of going aftermarket as well now.

RamCares · Oct 17, 2016

calibrat0690 said:
I am having the same issue, but the USB will not recognize any media on my thumb drive (it used to just fine before update). I called support and they said to take the truck into dealer to have it looked at. What a crock. Now I have to be inconvenienced due to someone else's screw up. Seriously thinking of going aftermarket as well now.

Hi calibrat0690,

I am sorry to hear about this! One thing you could try is doing a soft reset of your Uconnect system:

1) Put your vehicle into the accessories mode (ACC or RUN) **For keyless start (push-button) vehicles: push the start button twice without having your foot on the gas or brake pedal**
2) Hold down the Phone and voice recognition buttons (or the volume and tuner buttons on your radio), at the same time, for thirty seconds
3) Let go of the buttons
4) Turn vehicle off
5) Open driver’s side door for thirty seconds
6) Close door
7) Restart vehicle
8) Let the media centre load up and see if concern is still present

If this doesn't work I would recommend visiting your dealership for further diagnosis. Let me know if you have any additional questions!

Andrea
Ram Social Care Specialist

Aja3406 · Aug 15, 2017

Just curious if this problem was ever resolved and what steps were taken as I'm currently having the same issue with my truck..

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

SmilingImpact · Dec 2, 2017

Same issue

DO NOT UPDATE the firmware in your RA1 Uconnect radio.

I became a member of this forum because I am having the same issue as OP on my 2013 Ram 2500 with Uconnect RA1.

I'm not sure the unit ever worked right to begin with maybe it did, maybe it didn't I'll just share my experience with it until now.

Since I purchased the vehicle it worked ok, it didn't have a clock that stayed on when the radio was off. Maybe it was designed that way, if so, that's dumb. It shouldn't be too hard to have at least one visible clock in the vehicle without having to turn the radio on. Other than that it seemed ok. Radio worked, all buttons worked, as did the cd player, usb and aux jack.

Enter the update that crippled the RA1.

After performing the update I have lost functionality of my USB and aux jack.... PERIOD.

The usb will recognize a drive if it has the update on it because I can update it over and over again with the same result but plug in a drive with mp3s (tried 3 different ones) on it that worked the day before the update and NOTHING, like the drive isn't even there. Same with the aux plug like it doesn't exist.

I immediately called uconnect about the issue and spoke to Patrick who worked with me for almost an hour trying to solve this problem to no avail. I called back again today asking for the old firmware knowing I would be told as I was before "that it can't go beck down to an older version." so be it, I don't care, just give me the file and let me try and get it working because as it is the update has broken my radio. Of course I was told that wasn't possible today by Jessica, who suggested I contact the dealer to perform a hard reset of the unit.... yeah.... right.... cuz that will be cost effective. *sarcasm* Out of sheer curiosity I did contact the local dealer asking for a cost estimate for that procedure.... $127, I thanked her and hung up. Sorry but that's half way to the cost of a head unit I could get way more functionality with over the RA1 such as:
Lanzar - SDANDR696 - Android Stereo Receiver & Dual Camera System, HD DVR Dash Cam, Rearview Backup Camera, 7'' Touchscreen Tablet-Style Functionality Display, Wi-Fi Web Browsing, App Download, GPS Navigation, Bluetooth Streaming, HD 1080p Support, D

So that's it, looks like I'll be going aftermarket because uconnect can't be bothered. :****sweak:

I haven't found the procedure to reset the radio, I'll post what Patrick had me do just in case anyone wants to try it or correct it:

-turn vehicle to run and hold volume and tuner buttons for 30 sec
-turn vehicle off
-open door for 30 secs
-close door and start vehicle

that procedure was ineffective for me.

That really makes me think twice about my next vehicle purchase or recommendations to others, what a shame.

RamCares · Dec 4, 2017

SmilingImpact said:
DO NOT UPDATE the firmware in your RA1 Uconnect radio.

I became a member of this forum because I am having the same issue as OP on my 2013 Ram 2500 with Uconnect RA1.

I'm not sure the unit ever worked right to begin with maybe it did, maybe it didn't I'll just share my experience with it until now.

Since I purchased the vehicle it worked ok, it didn't have a clock that stayed on when the radio was off. Maybe it was designed that way, if so, that's dumb. It shouldn't be too hard to have at least one visible clock in the vehicle without having to turn the radio on. Other than that it seemed ok. Radio worked, all buttons worked, as did the cd player, usb and aux jack.

Enter the update that crippled the RA1.

After performing the update I have lost functionality of my USB and aux jack.... PERIOD.

The usb will recognize a drive if it has the update on it because I can update it over and over again with the same result but plug in a drive with mp3s (tried 3 different ones) on it that worked the day before the update and NOTHING, like the drive isn't even there. Same with the aux plug like it doesn't exist.

I immediately called uconnect about the issue and spoke to Patrick who worked with me for almost an hour trying to solve this problem to no avail. I called back again today asking for the old firmware knowing I would be told as I was before "that it can't go beck down to an older version." so be it, I don't care, just give me the file and let me try and get it working because as it is the update has broken my radio. Of course I was told that wasn't possible today by Jessica, who suggested I contact the dealer to perform a hard reset of the unit.... yeah.... right.... cuz that will be cost effective. *sarcasm* Out of sheer curiosity I did contact the local dealer asking for a cost estimate for that procedure.... $127, I thanked her and hung up. Sorry but that's half way to the cost of a head unit I could get way more functionality with over the RA1 such as:
Lanzar - SDANDR696 - Android Stereo Receiver & Dual Camera System, HD DVR Dash Cam, Rearview Backup Camera, 7'' Touchscreen Tablet-Style Functionality Display, Wi-Fi Web Browsing, App Download, GPS Navigation, Bluetooth Streaming, HD 1080p Support, D

So that's it, looks like I'll be going aftermarket because uconnect can't be bothered. :****sweak:

I haven't found the procedure to reset the radio, I'll post what Patrick had me do just in case anyone wants to try it or correct it:

-turn vehicle to run and hold volume and tuner buttons for 30 sec
-turn vehicle off
-open door for 30 secs
-close door and start vehicle

that procedure was ineffective for me.

That really makes me think twice about my next vehicle purchase or recommendations to others, what a shame.

Hi SmilingImpact,

Sorry to hear about your concerns with your Uconnect system. If you would like to send us a PM with your VIN I'd be happy to look into this further for you.

Andrea
Ram Social Care Specialist

SmilingImpact · Dec 4, 2017

ramcares said:
Hi SmilingImpact,

Sorry to hear about your concerns with your Uconnect system. If you would like to send us a PM with your VIN I'd be happy to look into this further for you.

Andrea
Ram Social Care Specialist

PM sent, awaiting response.

SmilingImpact · Dec 4, 2017

SmilingImpact said:
PM sent, awaiting response.

FYI

ramcares suggested performing the following procedure: Settings -> System Preferences -> Restore to Factory Settings.

This did not fix the problem, also the commands did not seem to be verbatim.

Shooter667 · Mar 17, 2018

I have the same issue, updated FW, auxiliary port quit working. I called uconnect and they said they hadn't heard of the issue before, and instructed me in the soft reset which did nothing for me. Thinking about making a raspberry pi head unit with android auto. The project could be fun.

Mike1S18 · May 18, 2018

Has there been a fix to this issue? I have a RA1 on a 2013 Dodge Ram 1500. Took it in for recall service, they said radio needed updated and everything was fine. Until I try to listen to my music on the thumbdrive and realized that it no longer works. I also found that the phone port is not working either. I have followed the instructions....fat 32 formatted drive, unzipped, etc etc and IT STILL DOES NOT WORK! I am not willing to pay $200 to fix a radio issue that I did not cause. Was told "those USB ports go out all the time." And, "they'll fix that on the next update." "Lifetime" warranty, that I paid for, does not cover it of course.

Where can I find an older update if the firmware is able to be reset and an older firmware version, which I know works, can be reinstalled. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks.

ScottFL · May 18, 2018

Mike1S18 said:
Has there been a fix to this issue? I have a RA1 on a 2013 Dodge Ram 1500. Took it in for recall service, they said radio needed updated and everything was fine. Until I try to listen to my music on the thumbdrive and realized that it no longer works. I also found that the phone port is not working either. I have followed the instructions....fat 32 formatted drive, unzipped, etc etc and IT STILL DOES NOT WORK! I am not willing to pay $200 to fix a radio issue that I did not cause. Was told "those USB ports go out all the time." And, "they'll fix that on the next update." "Lifetime" warranty, that I paid for, does not cover it of course.

Where can I find an older update if the firmware is able to be reset and an older firmware version, which I know works, can be reinstalled. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks.

If the dealer performed this update and took away the functionality of the radio I would not stop until they fixed it.

jhiles1 · Oct 19, 2018

Finally got a resolution that worked for me from uconnect. If you have an RA1 uconnect 3.0 the reset should work, the problem is they tell you with the radio powered on to hold the volume and tuner knob down for 30 seconds and then shut the truck off and open your truck door for 30 seconds, when in reality the following steps are more true at least for me they were. With the radio powered on press the volume button and the tuner button until the screen shuts off and let off the buttons immediately, than take the key out of the ignition and open the door for 30 seconds. Than power on the truck turn on your radio and it should work! Hope this helps some of you!

Problem After upgrading firmware on RA1 Uconnect 3.0 Radio on 2013 Ram 1500

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