2018 FiST: Black Screen of Death!

[Oso]

Hey everyone!

I'm rocking a 2018 FiST and today she decided to have a little issue.

Everything with the infotainment system was working perfectly fine up until I got home and put my car in reverse.

It seems it either glitched or killed itself as it was trying to swap to my back-up cam.

Unfortunately, it's not working at all: No music/volume, not a single button is responsive, and the screen shows 0 signs of life.

I'm going to be unplugging the battery for a few minutes when I get home to see if that sorts it out. Otherwise, I'm guessing I'll have to take it somewhere to check the fuses.

Is there anything else I can try? I'm pretty mechanically limited, lmao. I have a warranty on it, but it only covers the engine.

P.S. Since I've read these can be temperamental based on temperature, it's 40 degrees (F) outside today.

Thank you!

 

[Nitelife]

I just read some F150 forum posts that were reporting similar behavior, which was solved by doing a soft-reset (you won't lose contact info, etc). Correct soft reset instructions posted below by @Capri to ST

 

[Capri to ST]

For our cars, when doing a soft reset you have to hold the seek up button while holding the power button for about 5 seconds. Here's the language from the manual-

SYNC 3 System Reset
The system has a System Reset feature that can be performed if the function of a SYNC3 feature is lost. This reset is intended to restore functionality and will not erase any information previously stored in the system (such as paired devices, phonebook, call history, text messages, or user settings). To perform a System Reset, press and hold the Seek Up (>>) button while pressing and holding the Radio Power button. After approximately 5 seconds the screen will go black. Allow 1-2 minutes for the system reset to complete. You may then resume using the SYNC system.

 

[Oso]

For our cars, when doing a soft reset you have to hold the seek up button while holding the power button for about 5 seconds. Here's the language from the manual-

SYNC 3 System Reset
The system has a System Reset feature that can be performed if the function of a SYNC3 feature is lost. This reset is intended to restore functionality and will not erase any information previously stored in the system (such as paired devices, phonebook, call history, text messages, or user settings). To perform a System Reset, press and hold the Seek Up (>>) button while pressing and holding the Radio Power button. After approximately 5 seconds the screen will go black. Allow 1-2 minutes for the system reset to complete. You may then resume using the SYNC system.

Hey! I appreciate your response.

I've tried this a few different times, and the screen never responds/there's no change. I'm gonna let it sit all day today as I'm WFH, but tomorrow, before I warm it up, I'm going to try disconnecting/reconnecting my battery.

Thank you again!

 

[Capri to ST]

Hey! I appreciate your response.

I've tried this a few different times, and the screen never responds/there's no change. I'm gonna let it sit all day today as I'm WFH, but tomorrow, before I warm it up, I'm going to try disconnecting/reconnecting my battery.

Thank you again!

You're welcome, good luck.

 

[Intuit]

Shouldn't be relevant but make sure you unplug anything connected to the USB ports.
Ford in the past has proven a neophyte when it comes to updating firmware.
If you have auto-updates enabled, I'd turn that off.

There are some USB flash drives that have an old school access light. As a test, if you boot the system with one of these plugged in, is there any activity?
If you have sound-indicator enable for touch feedback, and the system is turned up, are there any sounds to indicate that it's receiving input from the digitizer?

 

[Oso]

Hey all!

I'd like to thank everyone for their contribution. I ended up letting it sit for a full day. Approximately 10min into my drive on the following day, the Ford logo popped up on my infotainment system, and it fired right up.

I never disconnected the battery. I'm convinced it was the fact it was cold out, and it simply glitched as it tried swapping to my rear camera.

It has been fine ever since, despite it being ~15 out.

Cheers!