Your unit should be on 2.0006 and you should have testmode files on the SD card of course, else you can't move anything nowhere and can't make backups.

But yes, that's actually how it's done. Worldlicense and hacked ezrider.exe are included.

Steps are:

1. Take an SD-card (FAT or FAT32, 2GB will do the job, if Avic is already backed up, else 4GB at least!)

2. Copy testmode files and my archieve to it.

3. From any source, which provides maps for Igo 8.3 - they don't have to be from Pioneer devices - copy the map folder, dem folder, poi folder and the buildings folder to the equivalent place to the SD-card(APL2\Igo\Content). I didn't upload them for traffic reasons.

4. Put SD-card in F500BT and power it on.

5. You shoud be in test mode. Backup your My Flash Drive/APL2 folder now, if you don't already have by now. This may take serveral minutes.

6. AFTER backup, delete the APL2 folder on My Flash Drive

7. Copy APL2 folder from the SD-card to My Flash Drive

8. Remove SD-card

9. Power cycle Avic

That's it. Avic should boot up as usual.

Thanks cacab,

I will update my unit after work.

OK, I completed the update and it seems to have worked fine.

I now have north up and course up in 2d mode which indicates to me I'm running 3.0.

I used the maps from the x910bt.

Is it normal for my apl under system info to still say 2.006? Maps are 2.003.

Thanks again.

Yes, I saw that, too. But when you go to navi settings, and look there, it says Pioneer Navigation Software 2009, so that should be ok.

If you move in the LPUE080APL.HTM from the X910BT that says 3.0003, that screen will then report 3.0003 as well, just 'fixed' it. Might not be a true 3.0003 update, but at least the version screen says it is now....

I also tried using the entire x910bt flash disk, replacing the ezrider, sys.txt and license file, however the unit would not boot, just hung on the 'pioneer' screen. I thought this should work but I guess not. So I'm rebuilding it back to the 'fake' 3.0006 now.

Good to hear about the "fix" for the version issue. Thank you.

Does anybody have the stock 2.006 image for the F500BT? The 3.0 upgrade sucks...I want to downgrade! I guess if that's even possible. I did the legit 60 buck Pioneer 3.0 update. Now my unit power cycles (full boot) on every ignition cycle, whereas it used to hibernate/suspend and go nearly instant and instant off. While the boot time isn't terrible, GPS acquisition time IS PATHETIC on a cold-boot F500BT, and is making my device nearly pointless in my city driving use. I could probably live with having to turn the volume back to 20 on every boot, but not this GPS crap!

It was working so well before...gah!

Well, if that is a Wince issue, I doubt, you can revert it. Anyways, the original update to 2.006 can be found here.

That's weird, mine still hibernates when you turn the car off and comes right back up when you turn it on.

Then again, I am running the "unofficial" 3.0.

I have the stock 2.000 image available via FTP (I can put it up tonight) if you need it. I can strip out the maps and other "content" to make it a smaller download. If you want it, PM me and I'll give you an IP and user ID you can use to get it tonight.

Maybe go back to 2.000, update to 2.006, then do the unofficial 3.0 update. Works great for me.

Well, if that is a Wince issue, I doubt, you can revert it. Anyways, the original update to 2.006 can be found here.

Meaning that I will not be able to succesfully downgrade?

And I'm not alone on this, I started a thread on the General sub-forum and a few others replied that they were having the same issue.

I never heard of an operating system (WinCE) downgrade, but I hope for you, it works.

All you would have to do is use the windowsce.bin for the 2.000 / 2.006 version, flash that with a full format in service mode, and then copy in a full "my flash disk" backup from 2.000 or 2.006.

All you would have to do is use the windowsce.bin for the 2.000 / 2.006 version, flash that with a full format in service mode, and then copy in a full "my flash disk" backup from 2.000 or 2.006.

I can't see anything going wrong here at all!

But what, a new F500BT is only 160 bucks these days, so it's not a terrible proposition anymore to "brick" a unit.

I followed the info and updated (including the new EZRIDER).

I have one issue: TTS stopped working. Samantha does not play. Jason without TTS works.

Please verify if you have the same issue.

Does anyone know how to get the TTS to work again..

In my spanish unit, the sound in navigation not works. Any sound works in navigation. In the menu, av selection its working fine, but when you enter the navigation, not sounding voices, or clicks on the screen, nothing.

@parruso

The software offered here is for the us unit. There are no european languages on it. You will have to add voice and lang files yourself.

@shanawaz

Sorry, but I can't check it, because I use european voice files. So I have no tts anyway.

When I followed these steps, I lost TTS. I was able to get it back.

Instead of deleting APL2 folder in step 3, I kept it.

I deleted VBT folder from the APL2 folder on the original X910 files.

I deleted ScanSoft folder from the APL2/iGo on the original X910 files.

I copied an APL2 folder onto the APL2 folder on the F500BT, replacing all the files with the same name.

ALWAYS make a backup before you proceed with MOD!!!

1) Upgrade to the latest version 2.00600 for US users or 2.00700 for Europe users. (If don't know how to do this, please go to pioneer site to download the firmware upgrade and read the instruction.)

2) download the 3.0 dump posted on the thread: viewtopic.php?f=34&t=25751, that downloads comes with TA 2008Q4 maps.

3) DELETE the APL2 folder from the "My Flash Drive" and replace it with the one from above download. (make sure you update the sys.txt to set the device type to "PIONEER749UC" for US users.

4) Replace the ezrider.exe 3.0 with the hacked version under /APL2/IGO folder

5) Copy the generic word license to the license folder.

Thanks Cacab.

I installed the voices in Spanish. Not that I speak in Spanish, is that there is no sound in navigation. No sound or clicks when you're in navitation, or writing the destination... I installed the European version of another post. It was if someone had happened to him the same.

No sounds usually is because of incorrect device type in sys.txt.

No TTS is mostly likely because of missing the original license file. (The one came with your device)

No sounds usually is because of incorrect device type in sys.txt.

No TTS is mostly likely because of missing the original license file. (The one came with your device)

Yeek is right. I have no sound issues so far. The only prolem I have, is laggy video output. But that has nothing to do with "our" update I guess.

Please domt PM me asking how I got 3.0 to work. I paid the 60$ for it.

 

 

Will you be willing to share the 3.0 update if we contribute some $$ to share your expense?

 

 

Do as yeek says enjoy

Couldn't you please upload SD-Card dumps anyway? Maybe we can use parts of it. All I would ask for is everything but the maps, pois, buldings etc. Of course you can keep your Media ID.

BTW:

How are chances, that pioneer will offer the 3.0 update for free, next year?

No sounds usually is because of incorrect device type in sys.txt.

No TTS is mostly likely because of missing the original license file. (The one came with your device)

¿Can you tell me what is incorrect in sys.txt, please?

If you downloaded my archieve, and you use a european model, in sys.txt it has to be 749EW instead of 749UC

From what I have gathered from reading thru the posts here and in other threads, you are better off using the 'patched' ezrider 3.0, and the 'unofficial' 3.0 update rather than using the actual 3.0 update from Pioneer. The Pioneer 3.0 update apparently has some bugs and unwanted behavior, possibly due to the windows CE update. The unofficial 3.0 update described on page 4 of this thread still uses the original windows CE image.

I've been running it for about a week now on two different f500's and no problems whatsoever.

The reason why I am looking for wince update is, that I have trouble running video files. Every file is lagging around.

And picture quality is very poor on the F500BT. A video, that looks awesome on pc (640x480) is very poor on the Pioneer.