Podium Button Module Endurance/Clubsport driver progress
Warren King
Member
Does anyone have an idea how long driver support will be for the Podium Button Module Endurance on Clubsport bases?
I really want to give it a go, but a no working buttons basically makes the wheel unusable, surprised they're selling them like this to be honest.
Cheers
Warren
Comments
There is no new news, it’s coming when it’s ready, this year.
first all the open issues in combination with dd bases needs to be fixed, otherwise it makes no sense to release a public for other bases.
Makes even less sense to sell this wheel/button box combo at this point in time
Because you would prefer that nobody can already use it even though it’s fully compatible with the dd bases? So you would have liked to have the BME delayed by half a year to make it compatible with every base in the first place?
No, not at all, however the wheel I am referring to is marketed as a Clubsport wheel, but would leave Clubsport users without working buttons, the LED display, fine, but to not have any button functionality is poor.
That one only is called ClubSport because of the ClubSport Universal Hub - the name does not suggest ClubSport compatibility. Its not marketed as ClubSport compatible - it was clearly mentioned from day 1 that its not yet compatible with other bases than DD.
And no, the BME cant be implemented partially with just working buttons. You still have to wait for the future firmware update which has no ETA other than this year.
Sorry I disagree, it's not clear at all. Things are always clear when you're in the know, I ordered the rim (expecting it not to arrive) but it did, dissapointed for it not to work. Fortunately I ordered two rims so I have another which is working. I do not recall any notification warning me that the rim would not work, the order also said pre-order but it arrived.
The lack of communication from Fanatec has me slightly worried, no denying their products are great but they lack a bit of organisation at times and this is one of those times for me.
Im really amazed how many people complain about the missing compatibilty of the BME to the CSW and CSL Bases. It was mentioned by Thomas in his blog post in November and you can find a note on the product page of the BME and the bundles themselves.
Not everyone reads the forums. It is entirely possible that people simply bought from the webshop where it initially stated that CSW drivers would be available in Q1. Fanatec have now stated that these drivers will come later, but no firm timeframe, so there is valid reason for complaint.
Q1 is not even over, so no, there is zero reason for complaints as it was always mentioned in the Webshop description that it’s only working on DD bases for now, you don’t have to read the forums for this info.
Maurice, I believe it was mentioned more than once in this forum that the plan to release in Q1 has been dropped and that the new timescale is simply 'some time this year'.
The webshop description you mention has dropped the Q1 promise and now simply states in the future.
You seem to be suggesting that despite this, you will only acknowledge that the complaint is valid after the end of Q1? I fail to see the logic in this.
Correct me if I have missed something, perhaps you are suggesting that it will be released in Q1?
I have no idea when the firmwares for the bases will be released but officially Fanatec never mentioned that Q1 timeframe was dropped.
The Q1 timeframe was only mentioned on the German webshop page in the first place and was never listed in any other region page where it always was "in the future", but limited to CSW v2.5. However, it seems the original plan was to just release a firmware for the CSW v2.5 which maybe would have been worked in Q1 but seems they decided to release a firmware for every wheel base now (not only csw v2.5 anymore) which of course takes more time.
But, as said, officially Fanatec never mentioned that a Q1 release is not going to happen so everything is still possible. But first all issues in combination with the DD bases (and there are still quite a few) needs to be fixed before a release for other bases makes any sense.
In the end, its worth the wait!
Most people complain, that the BME does not work with their wheelbases right now! The complaint is not valid at all IMO.
I am certain it was mentioned on the English EU webshop too. Not that it matters - if it was mentioned in any webshop then it was mentioned.
BTW, it was you personally that said -
https://forum.fanatec.com/discussion/comment/38372#Comment_38372
Maurice Böschen January 15
The BME is not yet compatible with the CSW v2.5. A firmware update will be available in Q1 2020.
And then you said -
https://forum.fanatec.com/discussion/comment/38950#Comment_38950
Maurice Böschen February 5
And there We have it. Your CSW v2.5 is not compatible with the BME yet. A firmware update to get get it partially compatible (no ITM mode, just Legacy mode) is expected later this year (few weeks ago Q1 was mentioned but removed in the meantime).
This is what I alluded to earlier, not only are you denying others the right to be disappointed by this change but you are now denying that you said what I said you said.
I think it's sensible to delay the release - people are getting tired of only getting buggy betas - but you guys should be acknowledge people's disappointment in changing timeframes.
I am not denying anything, I said that Fanatec officially did NOT commented on the Q1 timeframe at all as I am not Fanatec, obviously.
at the time of writing of the quoted Messages I just quoted what’s known according to the Webshop Infos, not more and not less, this was no official Fanatec Statement by any means. I am just a private person who tries to help people here on the forums so you obviously can’t take my written words from the past against me in this specific case.
Obvious to you maybe. I've always thought you were Fanatec staff!
Now that I know you are just a regular joe I will treat your comments and opinions for what they are. :-)
As someone new to the fanatec ecosystem & having purchased the bundle that said "Clubsport", it is definitely misleading on the steering wheel page when there are two bundles labeled "Podium", then one labeled "Clubsport". Coupled with the fact when looking at wheel bases, they are labeled as "Podium" or "Clubsport" or "CSL". One would think it would be safe to assume a wheel base and steering wheel labeled as such on those pages would be "compatible" with one another, as that is seemingly what it was designed to convey.
As for the "Note" on the product page itself, that is easy to miss information, especially if you're not looking for it because you're under the original assumption that the CSW base and CSW wheel are compatible based on those labels, not even factoring in their naming scheme. It is ultimately confusing for a newcomer who is not familiar with how everything pieces together and how the websites information is laid out. Quite honestly it shouldn't even be advertised as such on that page until there is a working firmware for it. A TBA date is unacceptable.
I just want to add that as a new user of Fanatec products, I completely agree with Gargaryn and especially Daniel. I bought the CSW 2.5, V3 pedals and the Porsche "Clubsport" GTR wheel. It's obviously my fault for not reading the fine print at the very bottom of the listing. But to act as though it's easy to understand is disingenuous. If all that the word Clubsport means is XBox compatible, then Fanatec is misusing the word themselves. Why not make a note in the description at the top(as opposed to a tiny spot under NULL) or better yet...organize your site in a way that you are informed that part of your purchase isn't compatible at this time. That doesn't save people buying it individually but would at least eliminate the problem for first time buyers .
And honestly, I'm not thrilled with dropping $1500 to find out that I have an undetermined amount of time to wait until I'm able to fully use a $540 wheel I purchased. I guess they have a 14 day refund period at least...
Just thought I'd pop back to see if there had been any movement; glad to see I'm not the only one slightly perturbed about all of this.
It's literally the only thing I am waiting for before pulling the trigger on a purchase.
I just made the same mistake as Daniel: buying a Clubsport Wheel with a Clubsport Base. It's just 100% misleading as it's only in the fineprint at the bottom of the page. It would be acceptable if it's a €5 gadget from AliExpress, but here we're talking about more than €1000! I hope they fix it soon or I'll go for a refund.
Folks -- any updates on the driver? (I agree with may of the comments above having bought the wheel expecting a "reasonable" time frame to full support - 8 months + post product release has Fanatec committed to a driver release date?)
It is doable, give me a shout if you need help, all very beta and has a few niggles, but worth the effort IMO
I could never get the display to work, asked someone else who gave me guidance and I made things worse because prior to the change at least fanalab could change the colour of the LEDS.
Tried unistalling etc but it refuses to go back to how it was. Wheel still works at least.
Any update ?
PC/Xbox
Update on what? The BME is compatible with the CSW V2.5 since over 4 months now...
I have dd2 and csw 2.5. Tried to use BME and Porsche wheel with 2.5 and got this:
Tried to remove all drivers and reinstall, then “repair” - nothing happens. BME Is not working, windows doesn’t see it. Also there is no possibility to setup anything in Fanalab. What should I do?
Judging from the Screenshot of the Firmware Manager You do NOT have a CSW V2.5 but only a CSW V2. The BME is ONLY compatible with the CSW V2.5. So it will never work with your Base...
The important best of your quoted message being - "However, it seems the original plan was to just release a firmware for the CSW v2.5 which maybe would have been worked in Q1 but seems they decided to release a firmware for every wheel base now (not only csw v2.5 anymore)"
No wonder people are confused.
Aha.
BME compatibility will only come for CSL Elite PS4 Base sometime later this year. No other base was confirmed. That's the latest Info.
There wont be an update for the CSW v1, v1.5, v2 and CSL Elite v1 Bases AFAIK and it was never ever communicated that a firmware update for those bases will come. And what I write is nothing official as I am no spokesperson of Fanatec.
Maybe there should be a post making all of this clear. This forum, even this thread, is full of incorrect information. Even the product page still claims that compatibility with other wheel bases will be added - it doesn't say that this doesn't apply to the CSW 2.0 which will never be supported. If this is known, it should be clearly communicated.
I know you aren't Fanatec staff but you seem to have some kind of role in testing and community liaison on this forum - perhaps it would be an idea to have a think about what the big problem areas (including common misunderstandings) that are apparent from this forum, be that driver, hardware or compatibility related and set out a clear and regularly updated FAQ section to clarify misunderstanding and answer common questions.
Something like that would help everyone, not least you - this forum is a mess and really needs someone to spend some time thinking about how it could be more useful. It doesn't help anyone having these pearls of wisdom and outdated pieces of information scattered randomly all over the place with no definitive, regularly updated way of knowing what's right and what's wrong; what will be fixed and what won't.