Hello, fellow sufferers. I've finally found a place where this problem is being discussed - I was starting to think I was the only one so unlucky. Huge thanks for all the information in this section and the update instructions.
I have a 2020 Skoda Octavia with a glitchy multimedia system whose constant reboots are really getting on my nerves. The installed software version is 1810. I tried connecting to Wi-Fi and searching for updates through the system - it finds nothing, so I want to update it manually. I already found the update instructions on page 26 of this section, but I have several questions:
1) Can I update directly from version 1810 to version 1941?
2) Which version should I better update to - 1941 or 1985 (since I saw messages that version 1985 has already been released and seems to be stable too)?
3) I also saw messages that you first need to update to version 1896, then replace some unit, and only after that update to version 1941. Could you please explain what this means and what kind of unit it is, and whether this applies to my case?
@varooom and @TheWanderer , please help with advice if you have time.
Thanks in advance for your help!

Sorry I don't come here that often now.

Some people have made the transition from an 18xx to 1941 or even 1985 in one hop, although I'd tend to think that it might carry a slight risk of bricking the system.

However if in doubt do it in two steps and go from 1810 to 1941, then 1941 to 1985. If you don't feel confident about attempting this yourself then get a dealer or Skoda independent to do it for you for about £150.

I went from 1896 to 1985 having taken advice from a VAG software specialist. But I couldn't comment on whether or not it'd be fine to try from earlier versions.

I believe there is info out there if you can find it, which should explain, or perhaps there are other members who have a better idea.

Edited 5 September, 20255 Sep by scotthugh3s

Update on my earlier post. I removed the Infotainment fuse (30A?) to stop the doom loop draining the battery - this also lost navigation, parking sensors, aircon, auto braking etc but at least the engine started. However, on replacing the fuse after 5 days the system seems to be working normally. My hope is that being powered down killed any residual bugs and has now started afresh - similar to normal PC problem solving tech advice - turn it off and on again. For what it's worth the software version was already 1985 downloaded OTA.

it seems if all else fails reboot, thanks as i have a fabia monte carlo 2022. having same issue. this problem is on several skoda models. they certainly need to do something about this issue. lastly infotainment module has just been replaced but still got glitch.

Hope a reboot works. If not try pulling the fuse and leaving it out for a day or more to allow the system to die completely. I have also disabled the proximity sensor as I'd rather the system responded to my definite inputs rather than something it sensed.

On 13/08/2022 at 12:18, ScottS said:

Mid-way through a holiday in France and the Infotainment gremlins are back…

 

SOS call fail, parking distance fail and manoeuvre assist  fail, coupled with infotainment system booting, lasting about 30s, freezing and rebooting.

 

SOS light on red and multiple warnings on dash.

 

Car is coming up to 2 years old and has had repeated software issues.

 

Could really use some help from someone who has had this issue and can stop the endless reboots !!!

 

Navigation by phone is not so easy and nowadays is costly too !!!!

 

Gonna drop in to French dealer on Monday to see if they can sort it, but do not hold much hope !!!

 

Car is leased and is being rejected upon my return to UK, sense of humour failure now. Seems issues widespread with the system, software and/or hardware across the whole range and simply not fit for purpose.

 

Gutted as was hoping to get a vRS in a year’s time, but my confidence in the car/brand shaken.

I have an Octavia 2021. In September 2023 I took it to France for a holiday - as we got down south the Infotainment exhibited the issues mentioned by the OP and it remained unusable for the duration of our 2 week trip. 2 days after returning to the UK it reverted to normal behaviour. I contacted my dealer who said they could not diagnose if the system was now working. In 2024 I again travelled to France and exactly the same issue occurred - curiously at exactly the same place (a service station the Aire de Boismande). On my return to the UK the car again began working normally. I insisted the dealer diagnose the issue and they told me a software update was needed, not covered by warranty. I paid up and considered the situation resolved. In 2025 I again travelled to France - this time to the south-east. You guessed it, just outside of Valence, the same issue recurred and the infotainment system remained unusable until my return to the UK, when it began operating normally again.

I contacted my dealer and - interestingly - was told "This is a known issue associated with a country code problem. The system functions as expected. There are no instructions from Skoda on how to fix it. Please contact them directly." To cut a long story short, I have spoken with Skoda UK - they have asked me to book the car into a dealer (which I have done) and they 'will send instructions to the dealer on how to resolve the issue'. I have asked them to tell me what the fix is, but they have so far responded with 'this is not customer-facing information'.

The car is booked in for October 21st - I shall keep you posted on the outcome. :-)

I have an Octavia IV 2020, it was affected by endless reboot, the MIB was also switching on when the car was switched off , I have resolved the issue by replacing the battery since that maintenance action I had not a single reboot.

I was a little bit disappointed on left the car at the dealer to just perform a software update which cost up to 100€ for few minutes, my car is out of guaranty, I don't know why my car is not receiving the OTA.

by reading the improvement on last FW 1985 I have found that there is a fix which should improve the handling of car failures/alerts.

I have also connected an OBD interface and the only active event was the Start & Stop anomaly the MIB version is 1969, which is quite new , after the battery replacement I had not a single reboot, so when your MIB start on reboot maybe there is some equipment which is sending error or alerts and the MIB does not handle well them.

I have read that OTA updates should not be performed whilst the battery is on charge, they should not be paused or stopped once started, and that the vehicle should remain locked until the update completes - https://www.skoda.co.uk/owners/software-update-faq.

I suspect that if any of these rules are not followed then the update does not complete cleanly and the reboot doom loop occurs. However if the sytem is then powered down by removing the Infotainment fuse or disconnecting the battery then the system reboots cleanly. At least that has been my experience so far.

good morning infotainment problem had new module fitted just come back from holiday found worse than the original, had fuse out for approx. 2 days fine for trip to London o2 journey back would not play ball. have now battery disconnected will see what it's like later. did see a little while ago that Toyota recalled several thousand of their cars over infotainment problems, if they can do this why Skoda cannot do this.

I had this problem in August. The car is being checked today and I have just been informed that there is an electrical problem and the garage is contacting Skoda to approve a warranty replacement of the infotainment module.

Please keep me posted on your progress. Mine is booked in 21/10 but Skoda UK insist a software update will solve the issue. Since that was tried less than a year ago I am sceptical! At least they have agreed I won't be charged!

The garage has asked me for the videos I took as they say that Skoda UK wants more evidence before authorising replacement. The garage has already told them that they have found broken electrical connections. I am taking the videos in tomorrow.

I took videos of the module shutting down and restarting as evidence , Skoda knows of this problem and it is about time they sorted not doing the name any good if others can solve why can’t vw/skoda . Have had battery disconnected just waiting now to see if sorted problem.

Skoda extended warranty rejected the claim as being above the maximum value of the policy. My garage pointed out that I had all components cover where the upper limit was the market value of the car. The claim has been approved and I am now waiting for the part which is on back order.

Skoda like other car manufactures will try & get out of anything they can, i was told the module would take between 4to6 weeks to get in 2 days later i received a phone call letting me know the part was in whether this needs an update still having same problem. This was going in for service last week, was too early as no service needed, told the service same issues & the unit felt like second hand but told they only use new. Service is at end of year, will ask for diagnostics on electrics. Hope Rob you have more luck. Perhaps getting in touch directly with Skoda through one of the media channels they might just get their fingers out as nobody likes bad reviews.

Although my Infotainment doom loop problems are no longer apparent my recently purchased OBDeleven did find 13 logged faults for the relevent period in the onboard diagnostics, the first of which reported "Control module faulty" followed by a dozen other faults on subsequent dates. My Skoda dealer is working to fix the problem.

I've been experiencing a number of the same issues as described on this thread - and others - though now the restarting has got a lot worse over the past few days. I've read through this thread in the past, and others, and to be honest I'm starting to forget who mentioned what and where, but I had a few questions.

First, my symptoms:

For info, my car is a Mk 4, 2020 plate, which I bought second-hand in 2023. And, thanks to threads on this forum, I updated the software in the summer to 1985.

Stereo goes pop pop

I would say I've had this since the start, or close to the start, and foolishly never investigated during warranty. I would say that on most drives, after a few minutes, there's a loud pop pop from the stereo. The middle speaker then seems to drop out of the mix for a wee while, and I tend to get a few pings of "SOS Deactivated" and "SOS Activated".

Screen switches itself off an on repeatedly

I'd say that in the 1st year, this maybe happened once or twice. Then in the 2nd year, I experienced it a bit more often. I'd started to subscribe to it being a heat-related issue, because it was mostly in the summer: we returned from holiday in July to find the car battery was dead in the airport car park, presumably having run itself down because of this.

But this week, it's started happening constantly. I live in Glasgow, and it's definitely not warm here in Oct/Nov. This is happening when I'm in the car, but also I've observed it happening when I've left the car, ignition off, and locked the doors. I took a video of it at the weekend whilst I was waiting to pick up the kids. If you unmute the video, you can hear the constant clicking, as though the button is actually being pressed on and off repeatedly.

https://vimeo.com/1133484856

So I suppose I'm looking for a bit of advice/knowledge if anyone has it.

1. Are these two issues related? Or is one completely separate to the other?

2. Is it likely that I will need a new screen for the 2nd issue at least? And does anyone know how much that's likely to cost? I've not had the car long enough to have developed any sort of relationship with a good garage, so I'd likely be taking it to the Skoda approved dealer & service place in town.

3. I've heard people variously mention screens, modules, MIBs and something else (Control Panels, maybe?). Is that all different terms for the same thing?

I probably have lots more questions, but don't want to bombard the thread any more than I already have. Feeling very despondent about it: I'm worried the cost is going to be crazy, and for some reason I'd feel a lot better if it was for something important in the car itself, rather than just the bloody radio screen.

21 minutes ago, path_cobbler said:

I've been experiencing a number of the same issues as described on this thread - and others - though now the restarting has got a lot worse over the past few days. I've read through this thread in the past, and others, and to be honest I'm starting to forget who mentioned what and where, but I had a few questions.

First, my symptoms:

For info, my car is a Mk 4, 2020 plate, which I bought second-hand in 2023. And, thanks to threads on this forum, I updated the software in the summer to 1985.

Stereo goes pop pop

I would say I've had this since the start, or close to the start, and foolishly never investigated during warranty. I would say that on most drives, after a few minutes, there's a loud pop pop from the stereo. The middle speaker then seems to drop out of the mix for a wee while, and I tend to get a few pings of "SOS Deactivated" and "SOS Activated".

Screen switches itself off an on repeatedly

I'd say that in the 1st year, this maybe happened once or twice. Then in the 2nd year, I experienced it a bit more often. I'd started to subscribe to it being a heat-related issue, because it was mostly in the summer: we returned from holiday in July to find the car battery was dead in the airport car park, presumably having run itself down because of this.

But this week, it's started happening constantly. I live in Glasgow, and it's definitely not warm here in Oct/Nov. This is happening when I'm in the car, but also I've observed it happening when I've left the car, ignition off, and locked the doors. I took a video of it at the weekend whilst I was waiting to pick up the kids. If you unmute the video, you can hear the constant clicking, as though the button is actually being pressed on and off repeatedly.

https://vimeo.com/1133484856

So I suppose I'm looking for a bit of advice/knowledge if anyone has it.

1. Are these two issues related? Or is one completely separate to the other?

2. Is it likely that I will need a new screen for the 2nd issue at least? And does anyone know how much that's likely to cost? I've not had the car long enough to have developed any sort of relationship with a good garage, so I'd likely be taking it to the Skoda approved dealer & service place in town.

3. I've heard people variously mention screens, modules, MIBs and something else (Control Panels, maybe?). Is that all different terms for the same thing?

I probably have lots more questions, but don't want to bombard the thread any more than I already have. Feeling very despondent about it: I'm worried the cost is going to be crazy, and for some reason I'd feel a lot better if it was for something important in the car itself, rather than just the bloody radio screen.

When I first got my 2020 First Edition Skoda in 2023 I had the pop pop, losing SOS functionality and the navigation position going haywire which would usually crash and freeze the whole infotainment system. Generally solved by rebooting the system but sometimes that wouldn’t always work and would require keeping ignition off for around 30 minutes before re-starting.

The one big thing that solved a lot of issues was getting the Telematics Module firmware updated. Will have to be done by the dealer but it’s a relatively quick job - hopefully they’ll charge you 30 minutes labour. Not sure it will solve the screen switching off but maybe a good starting point as new screen replacement will be very costly.

18 minutes ago, spcdust said:

The one big thing that solved a lot of issues was getting the Telematics Module firmware updated. Will have to be done by the dealer but it’s a relatively quick job - hopefully they’ll charge you 30 minutes labour. Not sure it will solve the screen switching off but maybe a good starting point as new screen replacement will be very costly.

Thanks. And out of interest, how did you know what needed done? Did the garage suggest it, or did you have to instruct them what to do? My only experience in dealing with a garage on these sorts of issues before was a slightly pushy receptionist telling me that they couldn't do anything until they booked it in for diagnostics. And that makes sense, but I'm also a bit worried about getting a pretty long, drawn-out runaround.

11 minutes ago, path_cobbler said:

Thanks. And out of interest, how did you know what needed done? Did the garage suggest it, or did you have to instruct them what to do? My only experience in dealing with a garage on these sorts of issues before was a slightly pushy receptionist telling me that they couldn't do anything until they booked it in for diagnostics. And that makes sense, but I'm also a bit worried about getting a pretty long, drawn-out runaround.

Very much led by me. Whilst I have a relatively good dealership I had to instruct them to specifically update that module. Search this group as you’ll find discussion about it, including posts by myself. I have a feeling, there is a specific Skoda issued TPI regarding this - if so it will be on this group which is very handy as you can then refer to it.

My problem has not been fixed but the system has behaved itself since early September. What has been worthwhile was buying an OBDeleven diagnostic scanner, which reported 21 recorded faults with many of them relevant to the fault symptoms and date & time they occurred. I'm in discussion with Skoda UK about a warranty repair on my 2023 car.

Hello, I’m due an oil change very soon, firmware at moment is on 1800. New module does seem worse than previous had to pay towards this there does seem to be something up with the system in general as once or twice the dash cam has gone off and on. This is on a mk4 2022 plate Monte Carlo. Will update when serviced.On one of the many visits and videoing the issues they done a diagnostic on the electrical system and found the module to be faulty and is across several models 2021 on wards.

50 minutes ago, BAZZY1955 said:

Hello, I’m due an oil change very soon, firmware at moment is on 1800. New module does seem worse than previous had to pay towards this there does seem to be something up with the system in general as once or twice the dash cam has gone off and on. This is on a mk4 2022 plate Monte Carlo. Will update when serviced.On one of the many visits and videoing the issues they done a diagnostic on the electrical system and found the module to be faulty and is across several models 2021 on wards.

Monte Carlo? Do you have a Kamiq, or Fabia by chance?

I

1 hour ago, spcdust said:

. I have a feeling, there is a specific Skoda issued TPI regarding this - if so it will be on this group which is very handy as you can then refer to it.

Thanks again. So does a TPI have any effect on the blame/cost of a repair (ie it’s a known fault, so Skoda will fix it) or is it just to do with them diagnosing it more easily?

I forgot to mention too that when the radio is on, it will sometimes mute/unmute itself. I’m not sure if that points to Telematics or the screen again as the culprit.