The Lexus Enform App Suite was updated on 11 August 2021 to Version 2.22.900.11. The Lexus Enform App web page says Android 6.0 and up is required. My Samsung phone has Android 10. I uninstalled the prior version and tried to install this updated version but it says the app is incompatible with my device. I do not know whether it is my phone or if the app itself is defective. One of the reviewers for this app said it does not work with Android. Another Lexus screwup? Has anyone else tried to install this app on an Android phone?

I have a Lexus 2016 ES350. Lexus makes greats cars but their technology sucks. This along with the fact the Safety Connect feature on this car is being terminated on 31 October 2022 I doubt I will never buy another Lexus when I trade this car off next year.

 

Yes, one of many Lexus Tech screwups--you still buy Lexus for their mechanical reliability, and longevity, not for their tech. I do not trust their tech at all. For my 2017 ES 350, this remote start gave me so much trouble, they gave me an extra year for free. I would get messages on a Friday afternoon that they were performing scheduled maintenance with their remote start, and other messages that it was unavailable to use on the coldest day of the year, WTF. I have an I-phone and I had to remove the app and download it repeatedly to make it work. Biggest piece of *****. The Crapp suite is useless, anyway. I would just use the apps on my Iphone. With Safety Connect sunsetting on October of 2022, is a huge embarrassement. Just keep you cell phone to dial 911.

 

Just got off the phone with Lexus tech support regarding why this app does not install on my Android phone. The only advice they could give me was to buy another phone. Totally unacceptable. Even though I have the latest version of Android (Android 10) tech support could not tell me what other Samsung phones are compatible with this app. According to the Enform web site you only need Android 6 and above on your phone. No other specifications are listed. I am not about to go out and replace a two year old phone and spend another couple of hundred dollars on a new phone only to find out the app is not compatible with that phone either. So goodbye Lexus. Never again will I buy another Lexus vehicle. When the Safety Connect feature ends on this car I will trade it off and buy something other than a Lexus.

 

Lexus and Toyota have given clear indications that they are abandoning Enform (Lexus) and Entune (Toyota). Besides the lack of decent support for the systems, many of the the apps that were originally a part of the Enform/Entune app suites are no longer a part of it because, I think, of licensing issues.

Since about the 2020 model year (depending on the model), apps are no longer run through the Enform or Entune app suites. Instead, on newer models, they are run through the newer Lexus or Toyota apps, and about the only app that they are compatible with is Alexa, which either doesn't connect or it doesn't stay connected most of the time.

The good news, though, is that most of the things that used to be a part of the Enform or Entune app suites are available either through other parts of the infotainment system or via Bluetooth streaming from your phone.

Also, I believe that the newest Android version is at least 11, not 10.

 

So, I drive my 2017 ES 350 without dealing with that Lexus Crapp Suite, and never needing to deal with the garbage remote start ever again, well I have my cell phone. As long as I keep my I Phone with Verizon service, I am fine. I do know that I am very happy with everything else about the vehicle in that it is very reliable, and could go for 150K with no issues. Ever see the ratings of the various Lexus apps hovering around 2 -3 stars, well that tells you something.

 

Got a new 2021 RC and was wondering if it was worth bothering to install on my phone(s)...then I noticed that some of the WiFi stuff relies on ATT wireless with whom I will never deal if I can help it. SO, one more of the "bells and whistles" that salesmen tout that ain't worth the air being blown about. There's an 800 phone number to call if I want to cancel the 3 month free trial....why?

 

Auto manufacturers cannot write good software--it's not what they do. And farming out/licensing software is always a risk (I tell companies not to do that) as we see now with Enform/Entune as you have no control and you're beholden to their schedules and cost. At this point in the tech world, leave things to Apple CarPlay and Android Auto--concentrate on making those interfaces work well (wired and wireless). Older folks with simple phones aren't going to want "tech" in their car anyway--too confusing. If you have some other device (< 5%) deal with it--connect your blue tooth device and listen but you won't have maps, etc., displayed.

I will still buy an ES in a few years (at this point). The reliability is off the charts. My 2014 is seven years old, 110K miles, and zero issues other than regular maintenance (OK, two recalls, but I'm OK with recalls). I don't use Lexus Enform as I use my iPhone connected to Lexus head unit (darn, no Apple CarPlay for me). Anyway, I think you're selling yourself short to not consider Lexus because of the tech. Few cars have decent tech once you start using it. And, unlike phones and computers, for a company to spend big labor bucks on upgrading software (write, test, verify--your life may depend on it!) when there are only 50,000 or so cars that helped pay for the software the first time around (unlike 10,000,000+ phones) is very expensive. Car makers are not for wanting to update their software. You're pretty much stuck with what you buy. That's just basic business.

 

Lexus: "buy our cars for our mechanical reliability--not for our tech. " If our mechanical reliability was as good as our tech we would be extinct like Sterling, Edsel and DeSoto."