Updated my Polestar 2 in my driveway non-OTA

This all started because my car hadn't gotten the P1.8 OTA update. Not wanting to schedule a visit to the workshop I decided to look into how to do it on my own. This isn't a free process but I've never been one to shy away from spending a little money to gain knowledge.

So after a little over two weeks of faffing about trying to get the VIDA tools to work with my car, I finally was able to get the P1.8.1 update applied last night. I wouldn't recommend doing this yourself right now, because the process for getting enabled is entirely broken. Polestar support said I was the first independent trying to order software through their system. (I think this entire system might be US only right now but I'm not sure, yay right to repair laws!)



Anyway, if you're in the US, lets get started. Since this process involves needing some physical tools, getting those first is a good idea. Unfortunately for me, I found out that the standard Volvo DiCE tool doesn't allow software downloads for the platform the 2 is on (If anyone is looking for one of these, PM me). You need to have one of the VOE (Ethernet) adapters. The one I picked up is Volvo part # 9513108. Supposedly aftermarket ones will work but I'd rather not find out halfway through updating. Prior to ordering the DiCE, I tried to use my GM MDI 2. It acted like it was going to work but I could never get it to connect to the car even for diagnostics. Don't waste your time trying, even if you get it to connect, it won't do the software download either.

Create an account on https://polestartechhub.com/ . Once you do that you will be able to purchase a 3 day subscription to the VIDA system. I had to do this three separate times but if you pre-ordered the above VOE, you should only need to do this once. A quick note here, actually ordering the software for the car through the polestartechhub is currently broken, so if you don't also have a VIDA subscription through the volvotechinfo site, you won't be able to order the software yet. Tech support tried to order it for me but I ended up getting an error during the initial download to my computer. Out of frustration and curiosity I paid for the subscription to the volvo system, and discovered that the volvo account was able to order software for a polestar VIN through this login dialog.


Find the section about purchasing a VIDA subscription.
Click "VIDA For owners or individuals". Both of these options ultimately end up with identical entitlements. It's possible I'm overlooking something but it doesn't seem so.
Agree to the policy.
Start configuring a new VIDA subscription. Enter 1 in the Number of Licenses. While we only want the "Software ordering and Download" entitlement, they make you take the "Diagnostic Workflow", "Parts Catalogue", and "Service Information" packages as well. Select those and Click add, then calculate price.
Click Proceed, Add to basket.
Scroll down to continue, and pay for your order.

Here comes the fun part. They say that creating a new VIDA account is an automated process that should happen when you first purchase a subscription. This didn't happen for me, I had to create a help request to get them to create it manually. You're welcome to wait a few hours before submitting a request, but if I were doing it again right now, I wouldn't.

While you're waiting for the VIDA account to get created, go set up the VIDA software. The link is embedded in the VIDA support page under "Activating your VIDA subscription" "install instructions". Don't try to log into your VIDA account with the initial password. Once your software is installed, go into VIDA Admin and activate your account.

Once you get your account and are ready to go, open up VIDA and log in. After first login attempt you need to go back into VIDA Admin and authorize your machine.


Plug your VOE into your car, and an ethernet cable into your computer. You will also need to maintain an internet connection so you might need a USB->ethernet dongle as well.

(I forgot to get pictures for the next few steps, may update the post later but my subscription runs out soon)

Click the "Connected Vehicles" tab at the top. You should see your car automatically populate the list of connected vehicles. Click the "Connect" button. It's going to ask you to do a readout. I opted to do this the first time, but since it took several minutes, just re-used the readout all times afterwards.

Once you get through the pop-ups, click the "Software Installation" tab at the top. You should now see a page like this:

Click order. As of Jan 11, 2022, the popup that comes up from here requires an active Volvo VIDA subscriptions with software download entitlements. This is an entirely different VIDA subscription from the polestar one. Polestar tech support tells me this will eventually be fixed but they couldn't provide a timeline.
Log in and continue with the software ordering. The system says it's $0.01 to order, I'm guessing the system just doesn't let them enter in zero. Strangely I have a pending charge on my card for $1.01.

Once you've ordered the software, the button that said "Order" should now say "Retrieve". Start this process. It's a pretty big update so it can take a while to download and process. When that's done, you will be prompted to install. If your install button is greyed out like my screenshot, it means your car isn't connected.


I thought the bolded language on this is confusing. Personally I would reword this to "Important! The battery must be able to maintain the supply of power while installation is in progress" You definitely should connect the 12V battery to an external power source. The part of the screen that shows the voltage does not update while this process is ongoing. It was 5°F outside when I did my update and the 12V battery system got very low, but it stated 13V until the end. I did not connect an external source, but you might not get as lucky.



Click Install, and be ready to wait a while. I sat in the car the entire time but I don't think you need to.


It ended up taking closer to 35 minutes for the entire process. It suggested it was going to take 25. Somewhere in here it shuts the car completely off. If you're doing this outside in the winter, wear a jacket, it gets cold fast!



During Post Installation the car will cycle on and off a few times. You will get some strange beeps and some noises. The driver's display quickly flashed about being in transport mode, but returned to normal on it's own.



If you get a green checkmark, hurray! We did it! Click OK and wait for the car to finish the startup sequence.

Pre-delivery check: I wasn't sure what to do for this. After driving a short period, the car told me it saved the tire pressures, so it's a good time to make sure you have your pressures set correctly. I'm not sure if there are other calibration concerns involved, but your mirror position will need to be reset. P1.8.1 seemed to fix the "no heat" complaint as heat was already turned on in my screen.