Automatic time/date adjustment

[Stevei3]

Hi guys,

our clock has drifted two minutes over a period of time. Not a biggie, but it would be nice if the date/time was set using any kind of incomming data (radio, Connected Drive, nav)

Steven

 

[I33t]

+1

You can get accurate time from the GPS.

 

[Tomasz]

And... you can code the car to set time automatically from GPS. I have no idea why it's not turned on by default.

 

[Schnort]

Also surprised they don't get the time from the cellular network the car is connected to.

 

[jadnashuanh]

I seem to remember an option in the iDrive menu that tells the car to set the time/date automatically. This may be a national market choice, and not an option everywhere.

 

[GlasgowSi]

Yes automatic adjustment is mentioned in the manual but also that it is market dependent - doesn't show up in my UK spec i3 for example. Seems bizarre not to though as it is quite happy to do all sorts of other stuff wih the 3G connection and automatic time adjustment would be trivial using that.

 

[stumbledotcom]

Option is in the US iDrive menu. Even with it enabled, I've noticed my clock will drift off. Probably because my home parking is underground without a reliable cellular connection. Toggling the option off then on again will cause the clock to reset correctly.

 

[Stevei3]

Hi guys,
so now we need a US version to set the time automatically :?:
One has to wonder why. Oh well... Thanks for the heads up guys,
Steven

 

[WoodlandHills]

This is just another indication of how poorly BMW has communicated the features of this car to their customers. Why can't they print a country specific manual that documents all of this?

 

[websterize]

Option is in the US iDrive menu. Even with it enabled, I've noticed my clock will drift off. Probably because my home parking is underground without a reliable cellular connection. Toggling the option off then on again will cause the clock to reset correctly.

Where did you see automatic-time option? I see this in Vehicle info > Time/date

 

[stumbledotcom]

Where did you see automatic-time option?

Settings > Time/Date

 

[Sparky]

Funny, my menu doesn't have that option. Looked everywhere. We must have different software versions. FWIW, my KLE was replaced in December.

 

[websterize]

Whoops, time/date is in settings in mine, too, not vehicle info. Running the 07-503 software update from summer 2014 — no KLE update yet.

I had activated the GPS_UHR code, which links the i3's clock to its GPS signal, in the BKOMBI module, but that's designed for the CIC headunit, not the current NBT headunit, according to an F30 coding guide. (Another function in the same module, BC_V_KORREKTUR, which turns off the 2-mph speed correction, doesn't seem to work in my car. The F30 coding sheet says "it’s recommended not to set clock via GPS if equipped with BMW Online." Not sure of the consequence. I deactivated it since the car has the Connected Drive option.

 

[Sparky]

Yep, I believe my time is synced to the BMW servers, it's spot on with my iPhone.

 

[websterize]

HU_NBT > 3000 HMI > CLOCK_CHANGE_AUTOMATIC = aktiv

And while you're in that module :
"HU_NBT > 3000 HMI > SWITCH_MLS_MI = aktiv
I don't like the "Mls" abbreviation as I have always know "mi" to be the correct one - must be a regional thingy." user "TokenMaster"

— http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=760874

 

[jadnashuanh]

Cellular service tends to know your local time, whereas the actual time broadcast in the GPS signal is UTC (and then, your application needs to know how many leap seconds have been applied since the clock broadcast doesn't account for them - it's more accurate than the earth's rotation rate). THen, throw in that, especially in some parts of the USA, the time zone lines can wander, using the GPS time may not be the most reliable for actual local time (while quite accurate to the satellite's themselves). Right now, the internal clock time being reported verses the 'real' time is 16-seconds in advance of the satellite's clocks. IOW, your software needs to know and adjust for these, which average about every 1-2 years (the earth's rotation rate is slowing, and to keep 'noon' really noon, they adjust how many leap seconds are needed to make the displayed clock accurate verses the atomic clock in the satellites).

Probably more than you wanted to know...but, unless the gps application knows about this, the time displayed will be wrong, even if you tell it the right time zone.

BTW, there will be a leap second added on June 30, 2015 so if you're looking at a compatible clock, you'd see it count off as:
23h 59m 59s
23h 59m 60s
00h 00m 00s

This is only adjusted as needed, and if it is, it only occurs on one of two dates during a year: 31 December, or 30 June. IT could make celebrating new years off by a second!

 

[Tomasz]

Right now, the internal clock time being reported verses the 'real' time is 16-seconds in advance of the satellite's clocks. IOW, your software needs to know and adjust for these, which average about every 1-2 years (the earth's rotation rate is slowing, and to keep 'noon' really noon, they adjust how many leap seconds are needed to make the displayed clock accurate verses the atomic clock in the satellites).

Probably more than you wanted to know...but, unless the gps application knows about this, the time displayed will be wrong, even if you tell it the right time zone.

Since i3 runs on Linux all you've got to do is to install tzdata package.

 

[jadnashuanh]

Since i3 runs on Linux all you've got to do is to install tzdata package.

No idea if the i3 does, and it's probably not a great idea to try to recompile it unless you have all of the source, which, we'll never have. My guess is that they say don't do it for a reason.

 

[I33t]

Since i3 runs on Linux all you've got to do is to install tzdata package.

No idea if the i3 does, and it's probably not a great idea to try to recompile it unless you have all of the source, which, we'll never have. My guess is that they say don't do it for a reason.

It does: What OS is the i3 running?

tzdata exists on almost every linux system I have used or maintained including redhat/fedora which is the basis of the i3 OS. Could BMW have removed it? Possible, but not that likely. If they really didn't want to use it, they probably just left it there and set the system for manual timezone changes.

Given this screen that was posted earlier in the thread, it is extremely likely the package remains on the system:

 

[jadnashuanh]

When set to auto, it could use either the GPS, or the cellular network...I was under the impression, that they used the cellular network since it is more robust than the GPS unless you're way out in the boonies, and have no cellular coverage. Lots of places, GPS coverage is spotty (cities, where the i3 was designed for) but cellular is good. We'll probably never know.