[copebmw]

I just picked up my new 2024 iX last week. I’m loving my first electric vehicle. Such a nice car!

I did my first charge at a public station yesterday and had an issue and wondered if this was normal. This was a fairly new EA station.

I have the EA Plug and Charge contract properly loaded in the car, and the feature is turned on. I also have the EA account set up in the MY BMW app. I had never used it before yesterday.

When I plugged the car in, the charger took a moment to communicate with the car, then came up with a “guest” screen showing prices. I figured it needed a moment to notice the Plug and Charge account, but it sat there quite a while and then the car said “Charging Error.” I unplugged and plugged in again and tried again with the same result.

I then remembered that I had put the BMW free charging card into the Apple Wallet, so I pulled that up and, after unplugging/replugging, tapped the card reader. That gave an error that the reader wasn’t working, and I should use the app.

Finally, I used the My BMW app and tapped “Charge Here.” It knew where I was, and I chose the charger number. It then came up and asked me to accept Terms and Conditions, which I did. After that, it started charging and worked well.

I wonder if Plug and Charge didn’t work because I needed to accept the Terms and Conditions first? That seems plausible. I’ll definitely try again the next time I use an EA charger. I’d really like Plug and Charge to work, especially for my wife.

Does this seem normal? Does anyone have advice or similar experience? And any tips and tricks for charging would be appreciated. This is all very new to me.

Thanks.

[Kennethjk]

Same thing happened to me, exactly the same thing.

When I went back to the plug and charge section in the car, the EA contract was gone and I can’t get it back.

When I first got the car the contract loaded without an issue within the day, now it’s gone. I called Genius , they couldn’t help, they told me to call EA and they told me to call BMW.

Someone else on the forum has had success finally getting thru to EA and having them resend the contract to the car.

[Tigershark321]

So the guest screen issue happened to me a little over a week or two ago in Seattle. I told them exactly what I was seeing and had a little translation issue between me and the representative. What was confirmed is that the EA servers communication with BMW's server was "down"/"Malfunctioning" so plug and charge won't work when that happens. But you can open the BMW app and do it manually and it will work normally as usual.

I did discover how to get that stupid apple wallet EA card that is connected to the vehicle finally that some have it and others can't figure it out. You have to set up an EA account in the EA app and just use the same login credentials to make it easier. Once that is set up with a card, then you go back to the myBMW app -> charging -> Electrify America -> manage my plans -> payments & apple wallet -> add to apple wallet and just make sure the default is at the top "membership" area for the 30 minute charging contract.

THEN you can share that card with your spouse or person if something like this happened if the plug and charge doesn't work from the apple wallet part when you bring up the card and share from there.

[copebmw]

The contract is still showing up in my car, so hopefully it will eventually work.

For me, after I got the car, it took 3 days before the Plug and Charge contract showed up in the car.

[thebishman]

So when you picked up your car, and assuming the software was current, Plug & Charge was available within the car.

This is a totally separate procedure to activate from the 2 years of free 30 minute charging you’re entitled to at EA as the first owner of a new iX. Most salespeople will activate the free charging at time of delivery.

However, either your Salesperson or yourself had to call EA directly to have the Plug & Charge certificate sent to the iX; BMW does not activate this; only EA. This is how P&C gets activated, and it generally takes at least a few days for EA to send it.

Also, some EA reps get the free charging and the P&C feature confused!

[copebmw]

When I picked up the car, the genius that ran me through the car’s features and set up Plug and Charge. The contract did not show up in the car, though, until 3 days later. It now shows up properly and shows active.

[copebmw]

Interesting re: the EA app. I don’t see how to set that up with the same account I’m using in the My BMW app.

[LVBMW]

Originally Posted by copebmw

Interesting re: the EA app. I don’t see how to set that up with the same account I’m using in the My BMW app.

You don’t need to setup an EA account, and this is generally not recommended as some have reported it causes a conflict. Through the myBMW app charging section just click the green “active” next to Electrify America and then the “manage my plans” on the next screen. It should take you to a special pass through EA page where you can click “payment and Apple wallet” to put the free charging card into your Apple wallet.

[copebmw]

Originally Posted by LVBMW

Through the myBMW app charging section just click the green “active” next to Electrify America and then the “manage my plans” on the next screen. It should take you to a special pass through EA page where you can click “payment and Apple wallet” to put the free charging card into your Apple wallet.

Thanks. This is exactly what I did. I’ll have to see if this is all working the next time I charge at EA.

[LVBMW]

Originally Posted by copebmw

Thanks. This is exactly what I did. I’ll have to see if this is all working the next time I charge at EA.

Just as a backup in case plug and charge doesn’t work, but I have had good success with P&C working 90% of the time.

[copebmw]

Originally Posted by LVBMW

I have had good success with P&C working 90% of the time.

That’s good to hear! I hope to have the same.

[Kennethjk]

Originally Posted by Tigershark321

So the guest screen issue happened to me a little over a week or two ago in Seattle. I told them exactly what I was seeing and had a little translation issue between me and the representative. What was confirmed is that the EA servers communication with BMW's server was "down"/"Malfunctioning" so plug and charge won't work when that happens. But you can open the BMW app and do it manually and it will work normally as usual.

I did discover how to get that stupid apple wallet EA card that is connected to the vehicle finally that some have it and others can't figure it out. You have to set up an EA account in the EA app and just use the same login credentials to make it easier. Once that is set up with a card, then you go back to the myBMW app -> charging -> Electrify America -> manage my plans -> payments & apple wallet -> add to apple wallet and just make sure the default is at the top "membership" area for the 30 minute charging contract.

THEN you can share that card with your spouse or person if something like this happened if the plug and charge doesn't work from the apple wallet part when you bring up the card and share from there.

I did this and worked although I don’t remember if I used the same login credentials with my existing EA account. I can’t remember when I set up the BMW EA stuff if it asked me to “link” my original EA account. I deleted my regular EA wallet pass that was already in my wallet so there was no confusion.
Plug and Charge works perfectly with my Mach E.

[freshxdough]

Try again at another charger and see. Perhaps you hadn’t accepted everything yet. You should simply just be able to plug in and it will take a shirt while then it will start charging.

[Tigershark321]

Originally Posted by Kennethjk

I did this and worked although I don’t remember if I used the same login credentials with my existing EA account. I can’t remember when I set up the BMW EA stuff if it asked me to “link” my original EA account. I deleted my regular EA wallet pass that was already in my wallet so there was no confusion.
Plug and Charge works perfectly with my Mach E.

I tried several times from a previous thread without doing those setup steps and it never worked. After I added everything to the EA app then it let me add the free 30 min to my wallet as a backup. I just used my same login credentials though it may not matter, but it makes it more seamless.

[JSTARR]

It is useful to have an EA account along with plug & charge. When it's working correctly, you get the free 30 minutes without interaction beyond plugging in, and if you stay connected and need a few more kwh it will continue without needing intervention but billing your account for the overage beyond 30 minutes.
There are a few good service reps at EA who can straighten out account issues, but in my case it seemed to take having dealer mgmt make a call to get their attention & call me to kindly offer help.

[copebmw]

A quick follow-up:

I went back to an EA station today to charge, and Plug and Charge worked perfectly. Plugged in, it communicated with the car for a moment, and then started charging. This is very, very nice!

[LVBMW]

Originally Posted by copebmw

A quick follow-up:

I went back to an EA station today to charge, and Plug and Charge worked perfectly. Plugged in, it communicated with the car for a moment, and then started charging. This is very, very nice!

Great to hear! It’s wonderful when it works.

[Kennethjk]

After e mailing EA a couple of weeks ago I just heard back and they resolved the problem. My EA contract is now back in the car and plug and Charge should be fine

[Windshieldfarmer]

Originally Posted by copebmw

A quick follow-up:

I went back to an EA station today to charge, and Plug and Charge worked perfectly. Plugged in, it communicated with the car for a moment, and then started charging. This is very, very nice!

Fantastic…nice indeed. This is how Tesla superchargers work…all the time. I’m hoping Plug and Charge becomes a reliable norm in the next few years.