Prepare a USB drive to update the Ford SYNC 3 system in your car. Pick your region, SYNC release and maps, and Syn3 Updater
downloads the packages, checks them, copies them to the drive and writes the autoinstall.lst / reformat.lst the head unit needs.
This is v3 of CyanLabs' Syn3 Updater: a cross-platform rewrite (Windows, macOS, Linux) on .NET 10 and Avalonia.
Download the file for your system from the Releases page. To check a download,
compare its checksum with SHA256SUMS: sha256sum -c --ignore-missing SHA256SUMS. Replace <v> below with the version (for example 3.0.0).
Download Syn3Updater-<v>-win-x64.zip (win-arm64 on ARM PCs), extract it and run Syn3Updater.exe. It asks for Administrator rights,
which it needs to format USB drives. There is no installer: delete the folder to remove it. The app is not code-signed, so SmartScreen may
warn: click More info, then Run anyway.
Download Syn3Updater-<v>-macos-arm64.dmg (Apple Silicon) or -macos-x64 (Intel), open it and drag Syn3 Updater onto Applications.
The first time, right-click the app and choose Open, then Open again (the app is only ad-hoc signed).
The .deb, .rpm and Arch packages install the USB tools the app needs (util-linux, udisks2, polkit, exfatprogs). Use the linux-arm64 files on ARM.
| Distribution | Install | Remove |
|---|---|---|
Debian, Ubuntu, Mint, Pop!_OS (.deb) |
sudo apt install ./Syn3Updater-<v>-linux-x64.deb |
sudo apt remove syn3updater |
Fedora, Nobara, RHEL family (.rpm) |
sudo dnf install ./Syn3Updater-<v>-linux-x64.rpm |
sudo dnf remove syn3updater |
Arch, Manjaro, CachyOS, Omarchy (.pkg.tar.zst) |
download the file, then sudo pacman -U ./Syn3Updater-<v>-linux-x64.pkg.tar.zst |
sudo pacman -R syn3updater-bin |
Anything else (.tar.gz) |
tar xzf Syn3Updater-<v>-linux-x64.tar.gz && cd Syn3Updater-<v>-linux-x64 && ./install.sh |
./uninstall.sh |
- Arch: download the package first and install the local file. Installing straight from the URL fails because releases carry no signature file.
The package is not in a repository, so pacman never offers updates: repeat the steps for a new version. An AUR package (
syn3updater-bin) is planned. .tar.gz: installs for your user only (nosudo) and adds a launcher entry../Syn3Updateralso runs straight from the folder, but that does not register thesyn3updater://link handler.
Start the app from the application menu (on Linux also with syn3updater in a terminal).
See the guide at https://cyanlabs.net/docs/Syn3Updater.
The install mode (AutoInstall, Reformat, Downgrade) is chosen automatically and protects MY20 units. The rules are in docs/install-mode-logic.md.
Diagnostics (the button at the bottom of About) checks the tools and permissions your OS needs, the data / download / log folders, the API key, the Syn3 Updater and Ford servers and the clock. Each failed check says how to fix it, and Copy report puts the result on the clipboard.
Linux is the only platform the author has run on real hardware. The Windows and macOS drive code is covered by tests but has not been tried against real devices, so please report problems.
Logs start with a system section (OS, architecture, runtime, desktop, install location, available tools, free space). The home folder is replaced by ~, so logs are safe to share.
On start-up the app asks GitHub for a newer build on your update channel and shows a banner with a link. It never downloads or installs anything. Choose the channel in Settings > Update channel:
| Channel | Gets |
|---|---|
| Stable (default for releases) | tested releases, e.g. 3.0.0 |
| Beta (default for test builds) | the newest release or pre-release, e.g. 3.0.0-test8 |
| Nightly | not available yet |
Choosing a different channel offers that channel's newest build even if its number is lower, for example a Beta tester who picks Stable is offered the latest stable release.
If the app crashes, the next start asks whether to send a crash report. Nothing is sent unless you click Yes, and the question is asked once per crash. A report holds the error and where it happened, the app version and update channel, and your operating system. Your user name and home folder are removed. If you had opened a car's log, it also holds that car's VIN, which helps with troubleshooting. You can also add a short comment about what you were doing (optional; email addresses and your home folder are removed from it). It goes to CyanLabs' own GlitchTip server.
Links such as syn3updater://Region=EU;Release=3.4.19274;Maps=Navigation_Map_Name (used on the CyanLabs website and forum) open the app and preselect the
region, release and maps. A link only chooses options: it never starts a run, never formats a drive and cannot name a file or path.
- Building and testing: build from source, the API token, tests, UI previews
- Releasing: CI, the package formats, secrets, update channels, the v2 Launcher
- Platform behaviour: how drives are listed, formatted and ejected on each OS, and how
syn3updater://is registered - Differences from v2
- Install mode logic
GPL-3.0, see LICENSE.