I feel it was a bad decision on Ather’s part to have used a 3G sim module in the first place. Now asking the customer to pay is ludicrous. I for one, do not use my scooter that extensively and would not want any connected features at all. I would happily ride the scooter without any sim services and will get any updates during service. Is this a possibility? I certainly am not a fan of their subscription model, and I definitely do not want to pay for a sim module upgrade.
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This has been told to Ather by many customers including myself about the need for 4G and vodafone chance of deprecating the 3G. This was discussed even before a year. Ather said they are working on it. It is disappointing to see it wasn’t touched upon till on and now say 4-5 months for development testing etc. Very very unplanned and careless 
. I would say being irresponsible as well as 450 is sold with major features rely on connectivity.
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Already spend the whole savings for buying the bike and in 6 months asking money to upgrade the hardware is not so good. If vodafone is unable to provide then they should find a substitute or a solution which is bared by Ather. We have paid for the 3G Vehicle and due to your incompetency you are making this upgrade and making us pay for that is not nice. They made a promise while buying that 3G would be perfectly fine for bike’s communication. In less than 6 months the promise expired. For example if there is a defective product in newly manufactured car, the manufacturer would develop a alternate product and replace them with out any cost as the customer had already paid for a fully functional vehicle. It’s not like years since we bought it so we are upgrading to latest tech. We bought it months back. Don’t know where you guys are leading. I have a 450 and have pre-ordered 450X too.
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I’m of the same opinion, I would just use the bike without connected features as I don’t look at it much & don’t think it’s polished enough to pay so much. Unfortunately all Ather plans include “Ather One Connect”, they should consider launching plans excluding connect features since they goofed up connect part. Paying for connect subscription if I choose not to upgrade the module is ridiculous. If they do something like “free upgrade with one year subscription”, I could probably think about it.
I loved everything about Ather so far & wasn’t expecting this from them. First not thinking through hardware for one of their core selling point “connected vehicle” and then asking customers to pay for their shortcomings.
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It really is a shame that Ather didn’t foresee these developments. Especially when Vodafone is already struggling and 3G will slowly be phased out.
Not even 3 months since I took delivery of my vehicle, and I already am being forced to pay for something that I don’t have control over.
Moreover, I’m still surprised why Ather didn’t choose 4G for a premium scooter when it was already around for over 5 years at the time of Ather 450 launch.
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There must be options to select like
- Shifting to Bsnl 3G at free of cost
OR - Upgrade to 4G module at extra cost
It is better to upgrade with Wifi connectivity so that we can rely on our own mobile network signal for future connections of Maps in scooter.
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This is horrible. Why do we need to pay extra for these things? They should have foreseen this situation as we develop fast in terms of 4G and LTE. I guess they should give this upgrade as a free upgrade rather than pay extra for 4G. Its something what Ather should be doing to hold back their customers. I would probably just scale down on the subscription from Ather one. But definitely I wouldn’t accept the fact that Ather is charging for the upgrade. It’s just a bad decision from their side.
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After going through ather experience, this was expected.
Ather should upgrade the 4G module for owner’s free of cost or at deep discount, for owners that have bought it over one last year as this will be treated as manufacturing defects & should be covered under warranty. All ather owners should voice this issue, previous owners were voicing their concerns with 3G, ather should not be left Scott free for their failure
@abhishek.balaji Is there an option to run Ather without this connectivity. I am happy with current version and would like to opt out of connectivity and future updates
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They should allow the customers to keep the scooter without any plan or payment. When it comes to renewal time I’m not going to pay and will pay happily as i go for service. I hope Ather doesn’t arm twist customers into paying for firmware updates in future
I can understand Ather has taken quite a big hit by launching the 450 at the price they did (which is still perceived premium) but it is quite clear they left a lot of things fall through the cracks and they are constantly on the back foot tackling issues.
I’m sure it is very easy for me to sit at the comfort of my home and type this out while folks there might be slogging off but the point is if they have decided to stay in the two wheeler space, they really need to think through hard on pricing (subscription) and building a strong customer base that does not feel left out or taken for a ride.
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Dashboard upgrade is not possible currently, since it’s financially and technically unfeasible. I think I had responded on the same question earlier as well. The 450X uses re-designed architecture internally, so it’s not just about swapping the dashboard, but the wiring and some of the power electronics would have to be replaced as well, which would become really expensive. 4G LTE is the way to go if you plan on keeping your Ather 450 for a few more years.
On a personal note, I’m happy that this solution is available, since 3G was becoming unreliable. I’ll go for the upgrade, which would allow me to retain the 450 for a few more years. Plus, the latest patch OTA addresses some of the lag related issues for navigation and the dashboard, which I’ve been testing for about a week so far. You can expect the OTA to be rolled out next week to everyone.
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Hey Srivats,
When launching the 450 back in 2017/18, 3G was still dominant in terms of connectivity, especially automotive grade. We can’t use off the shelf parts meant for phones/tablets/laptops etc, cos automotive components have to withstand higher degrees of heat, vibrations etc. We were continuously in touch with Vodafone to estimate when they would sunset 3G, but that decision has happened much sooner than we anticipated.
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Yep, you can use your Ather without any subscription plan as well.
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You don’t have to pay for the subscription if your usage is low, or the features don’t make sense for you. The Ather 450 will still function well without any subscription.
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If we dont subscribe for any connectivity plans, will the documents uploaded in App earlier can be displayed in Dashboard screen.??
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It is really sad that ather is going to charge is for the upgrade. Firstly ather was very ignorant when there were discussions about 3g decommission and were adamant when customers said. Now they say this in few days. Pathetic state of support from ather. Next why should we pay. Technically is under warranty, you have to provide free upgrade, else if I have to pay them I should have the freedom to choose my operator of my desire. Really disappointed and yet again shows how ignorant ather is. Also no update on fixing bms issue which a defect is known.
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Hello, I love the ather scooter and I have no problems with the ride itself, but I don’t want to be rude with the message. The ather when delivered , it wasn’t mentioned as to which SIM , is being used. Also I believe there was no contractual agreement between you, the company, and Vodafone, the service provider. But there is a contractual agreement between you, the company, and us, the ather customers , who have paid the for the services to be provided and I believe that most of them are still under their warranty. So when Vodafone pulls the plug I believe that ather is responsible to it’s customers and not Vodafone. So please just have a review with the legal team , about the contractual obligations to avoid any consumer former case, as this would seen as a vehicle recall due to the defective components.
I have no problems with the the ride, but I believe that you guys are doing it in a hurry, due to Vodafone, and I believe that you are coming up with a short term solution of partnering with BSNL , but on the long run BSNL is not the way forward due to it’s reputation, I am sure some areas might have good coverage but in my area it’s very bad and would be the last choice due to it’s service and reputation. I mean seriously how many of us use BSNL as their primary SIM?
Also with respect to the hardware upgrade, I believe it should be paused until all the queries have been clear, because a upcoming company such as yours ,requires a good word of mouth and this won’t be helping it , as from the customers perspective you are twisting the arms of the very enthusiasts who supported the idea and adopted the ather scooter.
A Brief moment of introspection is required where you guys just head back to the drawing board to come up with a better idea, as some may suggest WiFi, freedom to choose service provider, etc. But I would say that the critical communication components should have been in the storage space for easy access and also to avoid the tampering of the waterproofing on the screen.
Please do your best, to come up with a solution and I do hope that you won’t hurry up and damage your brand. All the best.
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@abhishek.balaji so the discount is only on the Ather one plan and not the other plan which also have connectivity as the backbone of the plan? Also another doubt, do we have the control of the sim this time(recharging of plans and function as a standalone to Ather subscription plans) or is it handled by Ather itself??
It’ll be applicable as long as you’re in Ather Connect/Service/Charge/One. On changing network operators, I’ll have to check with the team and get back to you on this, when I have more information.
1 Like