Ather 450 Owner Alerts

[Shreyas (Shreyas Gupta)]

Hey Everyone!

We have identified an issue where the BMS’s wake-up circuit is failing after excessive shutdowns especially at high charge levels(SoC). The shut-down feature was designed as a vacation mode feature for long term storage requirements, and not as an everyday use case.

Since many of you do this regularly, we will find a solution for it. But while we do that, we’d recommend users to use the shutdown feature only as a vacation mode feature for the time being, and not shut-down their vehicles regularly.

[abhishek.balaji]

Hey Everyone!

We’ve initiated the home charging reimbursements for the last quarter. All the owners who are on the Ather One plan, should get their reimbursements as soon as the banks process them. Tentatively by Monday.

[abhishek.balaji]

Issues with Ride Stats sync

Hey owners,

We’re facing intermittent connectivity issues with cloud provider, Google Cloud. We’re working with them to get this resolved as soon as possible. You might experience a delay in Ride Stats showing up on the Mobile App. We’re expecting this to stabilize by the end of the week.

[abhishek.balaji]

Volunteers needed for usage report beta program

Update: We’re overwhelmed by the responses. We have enough testers and have closed signups

Perks of a connected, intelligent scooter? Get a monthly report of how you’re riding your Ather 450. Know about charging and riding habits and get suggestions on getting more from your 450.

As a part of the beta program we would want to understand your views on the report and get feedback on some specific data points.

To be a part of the beta program, you can fill out the form below by entering the email ID that is linked to your Ather Vehicle. All members of beta program would then be added to a closed group where you can detail your feedback and any issues that you encounter.

Sign up

[abhishek.balaji]

Hey @Ather_Owner

We’ve noticed that a few users are having issues after updating to the latest patch OTA (4.1.1). We’ve paused the roll out temporarily and are working on rolling out a fix for all the 450s through a patch update in the coming days.

If you’ve faced any issue with this update, do reach out to customer care and they’ll be able to help you resolve them.

[abhishek.balaji]

Hey @Ather_Owner

We’re facing some issues with our cloud provider, causing the mobile app to not load for some users. We’re working on this on priority, and it will be fixed soon.

[abhishek.balaji]

Hey @Ather_Owner,

Based on the usage data and feedback about the plans from our early owners, we’re reworking the Ather subscription plans (Connect, Charge, Service and Ather One). We’ll announce the refreshed plans in July this year. So you get an extension and you don’t have to renew the plans until June 30, 2020.

Who does this affect?

1. Those who have got their vehicles delivered before July 2019
2. Purchased the 450 on full payment or loan.

What does it mean?

If you’re on Ather One/Service plan currently:

You’ll continue on the plan that you are on currently till 30 June 2020.

If you’re on a lease plan:

Your monthly payments are unaffected, and you’ll continue getting the

If you’ve already renewed your Ather subscription plan:

We’ll reach out to you soon to either offer a reimbursement or an option to carry over the amount paid when we revise the plans.

[abhishek.balaji]

Hey @Ather_Owner,

With restrictions being imposed on public locations due to the Corona Virus outbreak, some Ather Grid locations might be unavailable over the next few days in both Chennai and Bangalore. We’re working with our hosts to update the availability of the Grid points on the app.

Before you head out to any Grid location, do check on the app for the status and plan your rides accordingly.

[abhishek.balaji]

Hey folks,

The portable chargers are back in stock. Please note that we have revised the price of the portable charger to Rs.8700 + 5% GST as part of cost rationalisation in line with the prevailing cost of raw materials, to reduce our losses.

A limited stock of the first gen charging cables are also available, for those who got their vehicles delivered before October 2019 at a price of Rs. 5664.

If you wish to purchase, you can go head over to Ather Space during working hours (10:00 AM to 5:00 PM). At Ather Space, we have taken sufficient precautionary measures to curb the possibility of COVID-19 transmission like the usage of masks, hand sanitizers and regular sanitization of Ather Space.

[abhishek.balaji]

Experience the next OTA for your Ather 450 early

Hey folks!

Update: @Ather_Owner, last few spots left in the program. Sign up today if you want to experience the next OTA update early!

The next OTA update (4.2.0) for your Ather 450 with a bunch of new features and bug fixes is almost ready. We’ll be pushing the update to all Ather 450s on the road soon.

But before that, we’re inviting you to experience the update early on your scooter before everyone gets it. While you’ll be experiencing the update early, we’re working at full speed to do final checks and get ready to roll out the update to everyone

We’d love to hear what you think about the changes, and how we can improve them. Your feedback will be directly taken up by the team to work on future versions.

To sign up, head over to the form below and fill in your details. We’re opening up the beta program only to the first 50 users who sign up on the form below.

Remember, the OTA is still a ‘beta’ and hiccups might happen. Do report these to us here, along with any suggestions or feedback.

Sign up: https://ather-energy.typeform.com/to/tPLOms

Some points to note:

1. We’d love for you to share your experience on the update and how it functions in your everyday use. You can share this on the forum on the day the update is rolled out to everyone!
2. We’re listening to all your feedback, but our current development cycles may not allow for implementation immediately.
3. Once you sign up, we’ll add you to a group on the forum in a couple of days, and an exclusive topic will be created for you to share feedback.

[abhishek.balaji]

FAME Refund for Chennai Owners

Hey folks!

If you’ve purchased an Ather 450 in Chennai, we have some good news! A refund of ₹268 is heading your way. Here’s why:

According to FAME regulations, the subsidy amount eligible for an EV can be calculated in two ways. The lower amount among the two are considered as the subsidy amount:

1. 20% of the lowest ex-showroom price across the country or
2. ₹10000 for every kWhr of installed battery capacity.

For Ather 450s sold in Chennai, we estimated the FAME subsidy amount to be ₹26,732 based on the lowest ex-showroom price in India (Bengaluru). However, while claiming the subsidy, we’ve received ₹27000 per vehicle. After discussing with the Department of Heavy Industries, we realised that they were considering 20% of the ex-showroom price in Chennai and not the lowest ex-showroom price across the country. This allows the Ather 450 to qualify for a subsidy of Rs. 27,000 as opposed to the calculated ₹26,732.

We’ve hence collected ₹268 extra for each vehicle sold in Chennai. It’s only fair that we pass this amount on to you owing to the change in the process of calculation of FAME subsidy.You’ll be receiving this refund through an NEFT transfer into your bank account.

If you’ve purchased an Ather 450 in Chennai, you can expect an email soon about the refund.

1. If you’ve added your bank account details in your Ather account, the refund will be processed automatically.
2. If you’ve not added your bank details, you’ll get an email with a payout link. You can use that link to enter your bank details to receive the refund.

Note: There is no change in the amount for Bengaluru customers since the amount has been calculated correctly.

[abhishek.balaji]

Hey folks,

We’ve worked with Autovert over the last few weeks on the discrepancies reported by owners. As we understand, this issue affected a small number of customers due to a very specific occurance - the FAQ was updated between the time they applied for the lease and the time the vehicle was delivered. As a result, some of you have been communicated that Ather Connect was included for the entire duration of the lease term, but the same did not reflect in the lease agreement. Since most lease customers came in after the FAQ was updated, this shouldn’t be an issue.

Autovert has assured us that for those affected by this issue, they have already reached out and made good, by honoring the inclusion of Ather Connect as part of the lease. Please note that Ather Connect is not part of the standard Autovert Plug plan offering.

If there are any further questions or issues, please reach out to Autovert directly at Care@autovert.in.

In related news, Autovert is also working on a mechanism to make the 4G upgrade for all lease customers easier. For those that opt-in for the upgrade, at the end of their lease term, Autovert will either reduce the retainer amount or increasing the cash-back amount. The exact details and the amounts will be disclosed closer to the upgrade rollout date.

[abhishek.balaji]

Hey @Ather_Owner,

A couple of owners had reported that there was a difference in the reimbursements they had received as part of the Ather One 360 subscription, and their actual charging sessions.

As we looked back into the data on charging sessions for previous months to identify any discrepancy, the April - June quarter stood out. One of the key reasons for this was that during the lockdown, many of us ended up plugging in our Ather 450s for longer than what we usually did, sometimes for days or weeks at a time! This resulted in a few charging sessions being missed when we calculated the reimbursement amount for the April - June 2020 Quarter.

Thanks to the community members reporting this, we were able to fix this discrepancy in the charging sessions recorded. While for a lot of you, the discrepancy is just a couple of units, we’ll still be reimbursing the amount missed for all those affected, by October regardless of if you’re under the Ather One 360 plan currently.

If you’re affected by this, we’ll be sending you an email soon with the discrepancy noted in your reimbursement. We’re also working on re-generating the ride logs for the months where there might be a discrepancy for those affected, and will keep you posted.

[abhishek.balaji]

Hey folks!

Vodafone didn’t end up shutting down 3G earlier in August. We’ve been in touch with them and they’ve given us a new date of 31st October. Post that, your scooter will move to Vodafone 2G networks.

Here’s the plan and a few updates:

The previous OTA update (4.2.2) will ensure that the essential functions and features on your scooter are stable while it’s on 2G.

As announced earlier, the 4G module upgrade for existing scooters is on track, and we’ll start installations in March 2021. We’re offering this at a nominal cost of Rs. 2500 + GST, to make it accessible for all of our owners.

We’re offering a 50% discount on Ather Connect Lite or Pro for each day your scooter is on 2G until the 4G upgrade module is available in March 2021.

Meanwhile, we’re making the option to avail a SIM Swap to BSNL 3G at our service center.

We’ll be sending you an email shortly with a link to book a slot.

[abhishek.balaji]

The Ather 450 -> 450X upgrade program is here

Hey folks!

We’re glad to kick off the Ather Certified Pre-Owned Program. It’s the first step in moving up to the Ather 450X from your Ather 450. We’ll reach out to you over email to begin this process and register for the program soon. Onboarding will happen in the order of the pre-orders done for the Ather 450X.

Here’s how it’ll work:

Register yourself as a seller

Fill up a simple form with a few details of your vehicle, usage, and ownership. This form will be sent to you over email if you’re eligible for the program.

Book a slot for the Ather Health Certificate (AHC)

Once you fill the form, you’ll be directed to a link to book an appointment for the Ather Health Certificate. We’re opening up slots to get the evaluation done for the next three weeks.

Complete the payment for the Ather Health Certificate

Once you book your slot for the AHC evaluation, you’ll get a confirmation email with a link to complete the payment.

Ready your vehicle for AHC with a simple step Before you head over for the AHC evaluation, there’s a one-time activity to get an accurate battery health score. Follow these steps:

1. Let your vehicle’s battery drain to less than 20%
2. If you were riding before this, let the vehicle rest for about 30 minutes before plugging it in
3. Leave the vehicle plugged in to charge completely overnight

Visit the service center for the AHC

The AHC evaluation will be done at our service centers in Bengaluru and Chennai by dedicated service technicians. Once the assessment is completed, we’ll share the AHC with you over email.

Meet with a buyer

We have a dedicated support team, who’ll connect you with potential buyers based on matching requirements. We’ll make this as hassle-free as possible for you to sell your Ather 450.

That’s it, you can go ahead and complete your Ather 450X order, and the AHC fee would be applied as a discount.

Note:

• The AHC has been designed specifically for the Ather Certified Pre-owned program to help you as a seller have a better conversation with potential buyers.
• The AHC is priced at Rs. 1695 (excl GST), which gets waived off when you upgrade to the Ather 450X. The fee is to ensure that we’re able to prioritize this service for genuine upgrade customers. To be true to that spirit, the entire fee would be applied as a discount when you purchase the Ather 450X. If you already completed the 450X payment, we’ll waive off the price completely and you do not have to pay for the AHC
• This program would be available only to those who own an Ather 450 and have preordered the Ather 450X. If you’re eligible, you’ll get an email to start the process.
• To begin with, we’re opening up slots for the next 2 weeks and inviting customers in batches based on their sequence in the Ather 450X pre-order queue. We will ramp up soon and open up more slots once we gain pace.

[abhishek.balaji]

Hey Ather 450 owner,

The 4G upgrade will be available from mid-March to make the on-board navigation seamless and improve the app-scooter connectivity. This over-the-ground upgrade will be made available to you conveniently at your doorstep so that you can extract the maximum out of your intelligent vehicle.

As mentioned earlier, it’ll be nominally priced at Rs.2500 + GST. We will open it up for customers in the following sequence -

• Own a vehicle that is now on 2G (Vodafone SIM) and subscribed to Connect Lite/Pro or any Ather One plan
• Own a vehicle that is now on 2G (Vodafone SIM) and not subscribed to Connect Lite/Pro or any Ather One plan.
• Own a vehicle that is now on 3G (BSNL SIM)

We’ve dropped an email to collect interest from those of you currently on 2G. If you are interested in a 4G upgrade, do fill the form out and you’ll be the first to get notified when the upgrade comes out. Also, note that the SIM swap activity will be discontinued once the 4G upgrade has been rolled out.