Blink 2.0

[goohan]

Received this email yesterday. When my Blink SD card was replaced, I was told I was to be a beta tester for the 2.0 firmware. Anyone else have any information on this? I wasn't told what new features might be in 2.0, but was informed that it would clean up all of the patches that had been put in place since the first release.

Hello, Software Beta Tester!

Last week we invited interested Blink users to assist us by beta testing our next generation of core software. You were one of the many people who were generous enough to offer their keen bug-spotting eyes, and we're excited that you have agreed to be one of the first users of our new software.

Beta testing will begin in the next couple of weeks, and will last about a week. We’ll be emailing you soon with more details and instructions on how to prepare for software beta testing.

Thanks for your participation, and we look forward to working with you in the upcoming weeks!

Best regards,
The Blink Team

[lonndoggie]

I got the beta tester email, too.

I'd posted a while back that they called me out of the blue and said I needed a new SD card. They came out and decided I didn't, especially since my entire Blink unit was replaced in August.

Later that day, I got an email about the beta program, asking if I was interested, and saying they might have to do a site visit. I have no idea if the visit they did that day qualified or not, so maybe I'll get to see them again.

We'll see...

[TurboFroggy]

I signed up for this about 3 weeks ago. Got the new firmware just over a week ago. it has been good thus far. Menu sayings have updated some, like it knows when your charge timer turned the car off and says "charging complete". The menus seem a little faster. The network test actually works each and every time. However the build-in wireless is still crap and can't even see my access point. I am using the Netgear WNCE wireless adapter.

There are some new menus, a couple levels deep on the info screen now, can't remember them off the top of my head.

I didn't see the lengthy upgrade process, it just happened and I never noticed. My charging was not interrupted as far as I know.

Here is the email from them:

The new Blink software will be pushed to your charger today, and we look forward to you using it and letting us know if you encounter any bugs. If your vehicle is currently charging, the software update process will begin as soon as you unplug your vehicle from the charger. Please note that while the software is updating, you’ll be unable to charge for a short period.

As a reminder, the remote software update will happen in a few steps:

The Blink system will update and install a Conversion Utility to facilitate the upgrade process. Once this initial update has happened, your Blink unit will reboot itself.
After your Blink has rebooted, you may temporarily use your charger as usual while the Conversion Utility runs in the background, downloading the new software core files.
Once the Conversion Utility has finished downloading the necessary files, your Blink charger will display a screen which says “Your Firmware is Being Updated”, at which point you will not be able to use your charger for 15-20 minutes.
Your Blink charger will undergo a factory reset (a 30 minute process), after which your charger will reboot to the new software core.
To check whether the new software download is complete, go to Settings --> Device Info --> Firmware Version. You'll be able to tell you have the new software by the firmware version, which will be 2.0.20111213.

If you have any issues downloading the new software core, please contact our Blink Support Center at 888.998.2546 (BLINK). Simply identify yourself as a software beta tester, and your question will be taken care of.

Blink Support Center

Contact the Blink Support Center for any customer support issues. Our Customer Support Specialists are available 24/7.
1.888.998.BLINK (2546)
support@blinknetwork.com

Thanks,
The Blink Team

[lonndoggie]

I'd posted elsewhere that I also got the update a few days ago, but got the "The new Blink software will be pushed to your charger today" message today.

And, as with TurboFroggy, so far so good. I did get a spurious ERROR notification on my phone in the middle of the day (when the car was away from the Blink), and when plugged in waiting for the LEAF's timer, it now says "Waiting to charge", not "Not Charging".

Looked at its log today--instead of the constant error messages I was seeing, I see only checks back to the mothership to see if there are any new entries (no, there aren't).

I'll have to dig into the screens--hadn't noticed any more depth, but I didn't have them memorized, either.

[scm6079]

2.0 is a SIGNIFICANT improvement, in pretty much everything. All of the screens are faster, everything is more stable - and the crashes are gone.

Some things I think are cool that I've seen:
* If you override the one-time charge schedule you can now see that on the charge schedule details screen, and clear it.
* Now you can configure your units to get info in Metric (not everyone likes US units!)
* Much faster response to state changes (e.g. plugging in)
* New "current charge details" sidebar when your car is waiting to charge that shows the current kWh used and other data
* Changes to the "last charge detail" sidebar to be a bit more useful
* WiFi Network search now finds more networks (but, like TurboFroggy said the wifi hardware is still not very good)
* Minor font changes in every menu
* Charge schedules work well now

[cyellen]

I would agree scm6079...this is a much improved Blink. It seems to take a bit longer to configure/test the wi-fi, but once it is all set, it seems to be holding strong. I have avoided the powerline adapter, etc. and I'm just connected over wi-fi. Everything seems to be running much more stable and the screens are super responsive.

Good job Blink, EcoTality, EVProject...

[JPWhite]

I agree it is much better than any Blink Firmware in the past.

Here is something I have never seen before

System Uptime
8 days, 4 hours, 45 minutes

Web interface is quick and doesn't fail after 24 hours.

I have noticed that the cost per kWh on the stats screen is too high compared to the unit cost I put in. I have a ticket open with Blink. They want me to recheck in January, in case I munged something up putting in the cost per kWh.

[linkim]

2.0 is a SIGNIFICANT improvement, in pretty much everything. All of the screens are faster, everything is more stable - and the crashes are gone.

Any of you testers have a feel for when the beta testing ends? Blink 2.0 sounds like a quantum leap in performance over the 1.8 or earlier versions.

[Ready2plugin]

I just got off the phone with Blink since my unit failed to charge my car for the second time and was told that 2.0 should be available at the end of January. He told me it was a total rewrite of the operating system and was pretty excited about it.

[zevrulz]

I just got off the phone with Blink since my unit failed to charge my car for the second time and was told that 2.0 should be available at the end of January. He told me it was a total rewrite of the operating system and was pretty excited about it.

Anyone who has experience in writing industry grade and reliable software will tell you how bad of an idea a total rewrite is (and even worse if it's a complete operating system). There's absolutely nothing to be excited about and I'm not looking forward to get it pushed to my unit. BTW, my unit died two days ago after less than 4 weeks of use. Maybe it was the 1.8 revision which caused it, no idea, but it took me a few phone calls with BLINK to get them a contractor sent my way.
I know it's a bit late for a Santa wish list (I'm willing to wait until next Christmas), but here it is for a BLINK 2.0:

- a unit That Just Works (TM)
- no touchscreen: why is there a touchscreen, what is it good for? When was the last time you had to calibrate a touchscreen (This is so last millennium)?
- no features, no gimmicks: what's the point of the timer function? My Leaf has already all the necessary brain and knows exactly how to charge it's own battery whenever I tell it to. Having a timer on both sides could lead to deadlocks (i.e. no charging at all).
- small, compact, unobtrusive unit which blends perfectly in. Not an huge, bulky, in your face box (Look at the Tesla charger, ok it comes with a premium but I'm ok if it's a tad bigger)

All these would also considerably reduce development, production and transportation costs and we, the alpha testers, would be instantly gratified. How does that sound?