Bronco Trail App - any fixes?

Mike T · Jul 18, 2023

I was wondering if any fixes had been done with the trail app? I was in CO when it released and it worked somewhat the first day and after that all sorts if bugs ( don’t press the red button. Lol). We be heading west again soon and there are no trails i. Our area to see if it has been updated/fixed and have not heard or seen any rumblings since that first couple of weeks. Anyway l was just wondering so not to attempt to get it working and end up being frustrated again.

UncleTerry · Jul 18, 2023

Looks like they’ve made some updates but haven’t used it yet to confirm if it’s effective.

Ford Bronco Bronco Trail App - any fixes? IMG_0150

brkdncr · Jul 18, 2023

Yes there have been fixes but it has a few significant issues that generally can’t be fixed. I’ll list two, but there are others.

1st is user adoption. They artificially limited their market to bronco owners. No idea why. You simply Won’t get decent trail reviews by preventing all other ford (and non-ford) drivers from using the app.

2nd is bugs. They had no problems releasing an app that did not work. This screams of poor QC. Troubleshooting a phone while on a trail is frustrating.

onx offroad is a much better app with more people and more user-generated content like trail status.

dgorsett · Jul 19, 2023

I also used it the first day or two and thought I'd like it. I tried it recently and couldn't even get it to start on the Bronco, it works on just the phone. I have no patience for tech so probably won't use it again unless I see positive reports here.

cr117 · Jul 19, 2023

Personally, I'm not surprised by this, I don't see Ford as a software developer. You're probably better off using an app from a company that specializes in this sort of thing.

A couple of examples:

DefNotBuddyLee · Jul 19, 2023

Mine just disappeared after the last update. With that said, I love the idea and appreciate what Ford is wanting to do, but I think this is an area they could save a few $ and leave be. Gaia and OnX are well established and have a larger community base to provide additional support with downloadable trails, so no need in my mind to compete with them.

Taco2Bronco · Jul 19, 2023

DefNotBuddyLee said:
Mine just disappeared after the last update. With that said, I love the idea and appreciate what Ford is wanting to do, but I think this is an area they could save a few $ and leave be. Gaia and OnX are well established and have a larger community base to provide additional support with downloadable trails, so no need in my mind to compete with them.

If Ford did that (just offer the integrated use of another app), they’d have to pay to grab all that yummy data.

CPL_Rabbit · Jul 19, 2023

Another vote for the fix being OnX Offroad. And, if you only use it a couple times a year, a temporary email address takes 30 seconds to set up.

Taco2Bronco · Jul 19, 2023

OnX may have saved my butt a few weeks ago when I was in Moab going the wrong route- rather a route that was too long for what I could do. Now I may have smartened up at some point on my own but OnX set me straight.

Figmo · Jul 19, 2023

brkdncr said:
onx offroad is a much better app with more people and more user-generated content like trail status.

Disclaimer: ONX is better - just not on the Bronco screen. If your goal is something to run on the dash screen avoid ONX.

ONX has a great app if you use their tried and true web interface and they are really resting on their laurels allowing existing customers to sing their praises based on THIS interface.

But those of us with 12" screens on our Broncos are looking for an app to run on the dash via CARPLAY (or Android Auto), not something to run on our phone or tablets. If we wanted to use our phone...there are tons of other options out there beside ONX that are equally as good.

ONX via CARPLAY is nothing like their web interface. In fact, it ranges from unusable to barely usable at best - depending on your need.

Just a heads up. Anytime somebody says "ONX IS BETTER" just know they are not talking about "when run on the Bronco dash screen".

Rick Astley · Jul 19, 2023

cr117 said:
Personally, I'm not surprised by this, I don't see Ford as a software developer. You're probably better off using an app from a company that specializes in this sort of thing.

A couple of examples:

https://www.onxmaps.com/offroad/app

https://www.gaiagps.com/

Gaia is drastically better than onx for an actual trail app.

But i'll give Onx credit, they spend about 10,000 times more than Gaia for marketing, so that's something!

cr117 · Jul 19, 2023

Rick Astley said:
Gaia is drastically better than onx for an actual trail app.

But i'll give Onx credit, they spend about 10,000 times more than Gaia for marketing, so that's something!

Completely agree, I prefer Gaia as well. There's a slight learning curve in understanding how to effectively use all the features, but once you get a hang of it, it's pretty awesome.

vrtical · Jul 19, 2023

I use ONX and I use my 12" screen for the front cameras so it either runs on my phone or surface. I have a dash suction mount for the surface or you can get a console mount.

nwGTS · Jul 19, 2023

I tried it this weekend and couldnt get it to work.
1) You need to sign into your Ford account on your phone before it will load on CarPlay. Well that's useless when you're out of cell range where half of their trails are located.
2) You can't start it while moving. Switching between maps or Spotify and the Bronco Trail APP? Can't do it. It gives you an error on screen that disappears after the vehicle comes to a stop.

What a dumpster fire APP.

brkdncr · Jul 19, 2023

Figmo said:
Disclaimer: ONX is better - just not on the Bronco screen. If your goal is something to run on the dash screen avoid ONX.

ONX has a great app if you use their tried and true web interface and they are really resting on their laurels allowing existing customers to sing their praises based on THIS interface.

But those of us with 12" screens on our Broncos are looking for an app to run on the dash via CARPLAY (or Android Auto), not something to run on our phone or tablets. If we wanted to use our phone...there are tons of other options out there beside ONX that are equally as good.

ONX via CARPLAY is nothing like their web interface. In fact, it ranges from unusable to barely usable at best - depending on your need.

Just a heads up. Anytime somebody says "ONX IS BETTER" just know they are not talking about "when run on the Bronco dash screen".

I’m on a 12” and it worked, which was better than my experience with the bronco app.

but definitely submit feedback to the app devs if you want feature changes or improvements.