Ather 450 Electric Scooter Receives Major OTA Update

The Over The Air (OTA) update addresses navigation and range concerns

• While Ather has been continuously pushing out small updates remotely, this is the first major update for its 450 scooter.
• The update deals with range concerns while also adding more features to navigation. 
• You have a new display which shows a battery drain warning if the bike is ridden aggressively.
• Will soon have a third rider mode that will focus on delivering the best possible range.

Also read: Ather 450 Electric Scooter First Ride Review

Ather’s scooters have not just impressed us with their riding dynamics and experience but also their after-sales experience, be it their subscription model or OTA (Over The Air) updates which are software updates done remotely and on the go. Since their 450 electric scooter launch in Bengaluru, these updates have been restricted to minor bug fixes. Ather has now released its first major OTA update for its consumers. It primarily deals with two aspects of the user experience: navigation and range.

Also read: Ather 340 vs Honda Activa 5G DLX: Running Cost Analysis

Navigation updates:
As part of the update, the navigation app now shows alternate routes to your destination via a pop-up. The rider can accept this pop-up suggestion by pressing the starter button. The starter button can also be used instead of the toggle switch to accept other pop-up suggestions. 

Range updates:
One of the issues Ather has been facing with the 450 is the range counter shows different readouts for different customers. Instead of the government cycle, Ather relies on its ‘true’ range which is based on Ather’s own acquired data. This data collection is an ongoing process that is still in progress even after the first few batches of Ather 450 scooters have been sold. The ‘range prediction’ feature has been put on hold for now to make it more accurate. Instead, the rider will be able to see range depending on battery charge. 

Also read: Buying The Ather 340: Lease Vs Loan - Which is Cheaper?

Another update on this front is a new UI display in the form of a red glowing screen that warns the rider if he is riding aggressively. This has been done to make the rider conscious of his riding style and to help improve range.

While the previous rider modes (Normal and Eco) have been renamed Ride and Sport, there will be a new mode which will focus just on getting the best possible range. An Ather scooter with this update is already undergoing homologation.

Future updates:
The Ather app in the future will have a range estimation section which will show the predicted leftover range along with km covered, average speed and average efficiency. This will help the riders better understand their riding style and how it affects range.