Driver-Activated Over-The-Air Updates Now Standard On Mack Anthem, Pinnacle & Granite Trucks

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Mack recently announced it is making its driver-activated Mack Over The Air (OTA) updates system a standard feature on its Anthem, Granite, and Pinnacle truck. (Photo courtesy of Mack Trucks.)

Mack Trucks announced this week that it’s making its driver-activated Mack Over The Air (OTA) updates system a standard factory-equipped feature on all Anthem, Pinnacle, and Granite trucks. Mack says the system is “the next evolution in remote programming”; it lets a driver, technician, or other designated person initiate software updates and vehicle-parameter settings from the truck’s instrument cluster or by using a unique activation password at a time that’s most convenient. Software retrofits enabling the feature are available for 2019 model year Anthems, Pinnacles, and Granites.

Macks Eligible For Retrofit

The driver-activated system is compatible with Mack trucks with build dates of November 30, 2020 or later at Mack’s Lehigh Valley Operations facility in Macungie, Pennsylvania. Mack launched the remote programming OTA service in 2017, making it free for the first two years of truck ownership and available via subscription thereafter. The service is supported by the Mack GuardDog Connect integrated telematics platform, and enables multiple trucks to receive updates simultaneously. Performing retrofits, meanwhile, involves using a Windows-based Mack Premium Tech Tool application.

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Mack’s OTA updates system lets customers initiate software updates from a truck’s instrument cluster when it’s most convenient. (Image courtesy of Mack Trucks.)

13 Minutes To Completion

Prior to driver-activated support, customers coordinated updates via phone calls with Mack OneCall agents. Mack is keeping that option in place and available 24/7, but notes the driver-activated system complete updates in 13 minutes or less, “greatly reducing the amount of time the customer previously needed for updates.” Mack ran thousands of internal tests before launching a four-month, two-phase pilot program involving 15 fleets. Mack completed more than 500 successful driver-activated updates with zero issues, it says.

Source: Mack Trucks