Pib

Update on above "Being Able to Register with the BYD app" this info might come in handy for Seal, Atto, or Dolphin owners when trying to register their EV with the BYD app. A few hours ago just for giggles I tried to register by selecting UK vs Thailand as the country along with my email address.....and I was able to register. I'm pretty sure I had tried this UK country selection before weeks ago and even that didn't work....but today it was working. As US person I couldn't select US since the US is not one of the countries offered in the BYD app menu. Anyway, after being able to register I thought I was now home-free, but no car info was being displayed (just an empty/black main screen on the app) as it first required me to "Add My Car" to the app. But when trying to add a car (i..e., my Atto) I could not because the app requires you to scan a QR that buried in the infotainment menus/screen and the app even tells you exactly where it's to be found...menu setting by menu setting to drill down to the QR code. But it also says if the infotainment system does not have a menus/links to the QR code then you can not add the car. Well, my Atto infotainment system did not have the menu settings/QR code needed. I even tried scanning the VIN QR code which is not the QR code the app is looking for....if scanning the VIN QR code under the front window shield the app just responds with "Expired QR Code." Now it probably not expired, it just not the particular/right QR code that the app requires. So, I drop by my BYD dealership to say, "Hey I was finally able to register if I used UK country code but can't add my car to the app...can't find the QR code the app needs to add the car to the app." I now have 3 dealership reps helping me out....two of them speak fair English. But they too soon find out the QR code didn't exist in the infotainment system nor the particular menu links to reach the mystery QR code. One of the reps call up the "expert"....I think a Rever Automotive rep here in Bangkok...Rever Automotive is kinda like the boss of all dealerships in Thailand and that expert could also speak English. He said they had found where they had made a typo in earlier paperwork regarding my email address and had resubmitted paperwork today to get it corrected but it would probably take 7 to 14 days for BYD China "in China" to make the update on its app server. He also said each country uses a different method to add a car to the BYD app. UK uses the QR code in the infotainment system approach, but for Thailand apparently it uses an email code/confirmation approach. Summary: different countries will use different approaches in allowing the app to work....and the infotainment OTA software is a "little different" for each country a BYD is sold in. I also deleted/de-activated my BYD registration under the UK country code since it was not going to work for me and possibly prevent it from conflicting with registration via Thailand country code (assuming correction paperwork heading upstream to China allows me to registered under the Thailand country code over the next 7-14 days). So, when registering with the BYD app only use the Thailand code during the registration process....if you can't register under Thailand then head to your dealership to have it resolved, because only your dealership can resolve the problem by linking "your" email address to "your" BYD vehicle via electronic paperwork they transmit to HQ China. Just FYI....just my experience so far with the BYD app.

Thanks...but I see that's an Apple Eco System app....I use Android and Windows. Plus I was looking for something free that worked on Windows. And really just for this one TM95 non-fillable form I would rather just fill it out with a pen and then scan it "if" I ever had to upload/email a complete copy. I think most LTR visa people are just looking for fillable version of the TM95 that works on "any" free PDF Reader like free Adobe Reader which resides on most Windows computers. Hopefully there is a fillable TM95 out there in internet land somewhere but the TM95 that BOI emailed me is not fillerable with Adobe Reader.

That's the very same free Adobe Reader version I have but when opening the TM95 (attached) it is not fillerable. When you open the attached TM95 is it fillable? If so, is there some setting on free Adobe Reader you are using to make it fillable. My experience in downloading other immigration forms that are sometimes fillable from the get-go....just open with free Adobe Reader and start typing in text. Blank LTR TM95 Visa 1 Year Address Report Form ตม.95.pdf I also went to the Ntiro PDF website in your other post and it seems you need to register with name, email address, etc., to download their Nitro software....I'd prefer not to do such unless I have to...but I realize that's what a person needs to do in many cases which I have done in many cases. I haven't looked for Nitro yet on other software sites to see if I can download without registering. I would really just like to get a filllable version that works with any PDF reader....like the free Adoble Reader that most everyone has on their computer.

When BYD releases a new firmware/software release I expect they stagger/spread-out which vehicles get it say during the 1st week of release, more the 2nd week, more the 3rd week, etc., to prevent their OTA servers from being overloaded/crashing due too many vehicles trying download the OTA at the same time. When your OTA shows-up it will be based on some unique numbering associated with your vehicle. Lots of software companies (like Windows) handles it this way as to when some update shows-up as available for download/install for your electronic machine. I have 3 Windows laptops and it's not uncommon for updates (especially major updates) to appear for download/install on different days for each machine no matter how many times I click "Check for New Updates" on each machine. Same for a piece of Samsung software I have on two of those laptops...same for VPN software I have on all three machines. Yeap, the staggering/spreading out of the release is occurring to prevent overload/crashing of the servers. It can get disheartening if you want to get the latest update on your machine "right now" but it's queue number in "staggering/speading-out" process has not reached the front of the OTA release line yet. When Ver 1.7 came out for the Atto my Atto didn't receive it until about two weeks after I started seeing Thai language Youtube's of people in Thailand who had received the update. In that Atto update from V1.61 to V1.7 an AVAS icon appeared which allowed turning off & on the pedestrian/soi dog warning that you are coming. P.S. I picked my Atto in late Oct and to this day I still can not register with the BYD app which allows you to see/control certain things from your smartphone. Keep getting the error of "This account is not bound to any vehicle...." What's it's saying is my email address is not registered as the owner of the car...not a unique problem as my googling shows many people have run into this problem while others never experience the problem....can register on the app just a few days after picking up their new BYD. Another case of just my luck. My BYD dealership as supposedly been trying to resolve this for over a month now as I didn't try to register with the app until early Dec 2023 and that's when I initially identified the problem to them. Just yesterday I went to my dealership for the 3rd time on this issue and once again they said give them 3 to 7 days as they need to submit electronic paperwork "again" to hopefully get the problem fixed...that is, my email liked to my Atto....only a BYD dealership can do this as they are also confirming you are the owner of the vehicle and that's the email address you want to use. This electronic paperwork ultimately ends up in China where the BYD app server is located and those China-based server administrators are the ones who link your email to your vehicle. China has me by the short hairs on this issue. I expect my current problem is caused by some "typo" in previously submitted electronic paperwork like a typo in the email address, the VIN, etc.

Actually on the PEA app a person does not need to scan QR code to select the specific charger and connector being used as a person can just manually select such within the app. The QR code just aids in ensuring the person is using the correct charger & connector. Now of course the person needs to ensure he's selected the "correct charger" he's trying to use...and if selecting the wrong one the charging would never start. But if he manually selects the right charger/connector with his finger pressing on the phone the QR code never needs to be used with the PEA app....but the QR code sure makes selecting the correct charger/connector easier.

That's a big DC/DC converter for a jump-cord. Plus, with a dead/flat 12V battery the traction battery wouldn't be engaged to provide a power output to it's charging port like for a Vehicle-To-Load setup to power the a jump-cord setup. But I guess the manufacturer could redesign their EV electronics/controls to create an internal 12V jumper, but I expect they would have a variety of reasons they don't do such with some of them being safety related. Do you know of any EV manufacturer that provides a jump-cord setup like you propose?

Last night while watching a bunch of Youtube's in bed....my nightly routine to help me fall asleep....I did a Youtube search for: battery tester BM200. Youtube came back with a bunch of videos showing use a real battery testers....hand held models that do a "battery resistance/impedance test to determine State of Health (SOH)." And in each-and-every case one of the first steps is to enter the Cold Cranking Amperage (CCA) or similar battery rating of an identically rated "new" battery. 12V batteries come in all physical sizes, CCA capacity ratings, Amp-Hour ratings, etc. High CCA ratings for big engine/high compression vehicles like diesel powered vehicles which require a lot of amp to crank, lower CCA ratings for compact vehicles with small engines which require a moderate level of amps (say around a 100A) to crank. After entering the CCA of a new battery which serves as a reference for the SOH tester the tester then does its measurements over a few seconds of the battery you are testing and then displays results like battery resistance, voltage, calculated CCA, and a Good/Pass/Replace type reading...and a key factor in making that determination was referenced to a new battery CCA rating. But in the half dozen or Youtube videos for the BM200 tester no CCA rating was ever entered when installing/using it...and it appeared to give a SOH percentage/rating based solely on comparing how low the voltage dipped momentarily when starting the vehicle (a.k.a., like cranking an ICE vehicle to life). If while starting the vehicle say it dipped to 9V I expect the BM200 would give a low SOH percentage and probably a Replace battery warning. But if dipping to the 9-11V range it would probably give a medium SOH percentage and a Weak battery warning. And anything above 11V it would probably give a high SOH percentage and Good battery reading. Yes, it sure appears it determined SOH purely based on how low the battery momentarily dipped while "starting/cranking" the vehicle versus scanning the battery to determine battery resistance/impedance to calculated a current CCA capacity referenced to a new/factory fresh battery and its CCA capacity. How low a battery dips while "starting/cranking" is definitely a good indicator if your battery has lost capacity, getting weak, etc., but it does not give you a more precise indication of how much capacity (i.e., CCA) currently remains in comparison to when it was new...also what the battery resistance is which is another good indicator of battery health. Now if you were buying the BM200 for a ICEV , repeat, a ICEV which has a starter and draws "in the ballpark of over 100A when starting a small engine ICEV, 200-300A when starting a big/high compression/diesel engine" then if it reports the voltage is dipping to around the 9-10V while starting which means the battery has lost a lot of it's original capacity/getting weak then yes it could be very useful in getting heads-up your 12V battery is reaching it's end of life....has a low SOH....time to replace it. Hopefully avoid the battery just having a heart attack one morning when trying to start your vehicle...can't even crank the engine.....gotta get someone to give you a jump....call a tow truck...call for a new battery. But a BM200 on a 100% electric vehicle would be nothing more than a device that gives you a voltage reading that would always be good right up until the point the battery just flat-out died one day. That's because since a BEV does not have a starter which draws hundreds of amp which will cause a the 12V battery to dip momentarily in voltage by around 1 to 3 volts the BM200 would always see a voltage reading of a full 12V battery which would be around 12.6V (or higher) except "just before" the battery was getting ready to have a heart attack. This morning I did some battery testing on my BEV....a BYD Atto 3 which has a 12V lead acid battery, P/N 38B20L, 12V, 36Ah, CCA 335A...specs listed right on top of the battery. It put a DC clamp-on amp meter on a battery cable while also monitoring the voltage for a dip with a voltmeter. Started the car and approx 20 to 22A was very briefly pulled...the voltage level didn't dip even a tenth of a volt with such a light draw of current. A few seconds after the car started with AC and running lights a 3.6A battery draw was shown.....when turning off the car approx 6A was shown and a voltage of 13.8V like the battery "charging/topping up" was occurring...OR, maybe the car electronics was taking care of some other tasks....because when you turn off an EV it's more of putting the car in standby/sleep mode vs being completely turned off. Yeap, more amps was being drawn after turning off the car than when running. I expect amps draw would have tapered off to very little if I had monitor the current draw longer. I did this starting tests a few times....same results each time. Very little current draw on the 12V battery....it's not worked very hard like a 12V on an ICEV. I also used my hand held battery tester to test the 12V battery....I've had the Atto for less than 3 months....I expect the battery is no more than 6 months old....after entering the CCA 335A for a new battery I ran the test....it came back with a SOH of 100%, State of Charge 98%, lower resistance reading, and a 380 CCA reading ...a "higher" CCA than a new battery which is questionable in my mind. I haven't seen that on other batteries I've tested on ICE vehicles like my Toyota Fortuner. Maybe the questionable CCA rating is due to being an in-car test vs testing the battery disconnected. Or maybe the CCA reading was correct. Some day I'll run a test with the battery disconnected from the car...see if it makes a difference. Testing the battery hooked up or unhooked on my Fortuner ICEV doesn't make a difference. But my amperage and voltage tests this morning while starting the EV shows a very light amperage draw of around 20A when starting which is very easy/places little stress on the battery....much less stress than the high cranking current draw of hundreds of amps in an ICEV.

Main traction batteries in an EV are 400-800V batteries and that would probably be just a little too high voltage to jump a 12V with. Additionally that little 12V battery is what powers/turn off and on some key components in the traction battery like the traction battery contactors (high power relay switches) that connect the traction battery to the electric drive motor when the EV is started. Now the 12V battery gets recharged from the 400-800V traction battery after that high DC voltage is converted/stepped down by EV electronics to around 14V to keep the 12V charged. Yeap, that 12V battery may be very small when standing next to that big ol' 400-800V traction battery but that little 12V battery knows that big traction battery can't power-up the car and some important stuff without him.

The TM47 paper version or online TM47 is for 90 day address reporting. As you infer the TM95 is for LTR address reporting. I know the online TM47 version has an area you can click if your visa is a BOI-related visa but Bangkok BOI Chamchuri Sq Immigration told me face-to-face two different times months apart that the online area dealt with BOI type visa's that require 90 day reporting; not 365 day reporting for the LTR or SMART visa. Told online report for LTR visa is not available. Just to confirm, does your friend have an LTR visa? And is he sure he didn't get an address TM47 receipt for 90 days vs a TM95 receipt for 365 days?

The real issue is what people want is a fillerable TM95 from the get-go....can fill it in right using a free PDF reader like free Adobe Reader that probably most ever person who uses a computer has on their computer. If some one could convert the non-fillerable TM95 to a fillerable TM95 that would work on free Adobe Reader that would be great. Is the whatever software you use free to download....what it is it?

What regulations/requirements are you talking about? After you get a 10 year LTR visa you only have an annual address reporting requirement for the 1st five years of the ten year visa. Then you have the mid term/5 year renewal process which will probably be mostly a repeat of the initial application process to show you still meet income and health coverage requirements and the renewal will be fee-free. Then you are back to the annual address report for the remaining 5 years of the 10 year visa.

What Honda model and year is that? Additionally, since you are using "miles" and "gallons" terminology a typical 100% electric vehicle (a.k.a., BEV) gets in the 120 to 150 "miles per gallon equivalent (MPG-e) ballpark"....approx twice what you say your little ICEV Honda was getting. My 2023 BYD Atto 3 BEV is rated at 134 MPGe.

Does the Thai govt have any agency that "polices" so to speak auto manufacturers....requiring them to issue recalls for defects/safety problems? Personally, I've never heard of any vehicle in Thailand being recalled for anything. I expect a recall in one country may not apply to another country even when the vehicles in both countries are identical....but if sold in one country with tough/enforced safety laws/regulations a recall will occur but in the other country with no-to-weak safety recall laws/regulations the vehicle will not get recalled unless the manufacturer voluntary does it.

Best to contact BoI LTR at their website regarding the income proof/docs required. Now days they usually reply within just a couple of business days....many times same day....use the Contact selection on their website to submit an inquiry/question. Earlier on in the LTR program they could be slow to answer but now days they respond pretty fast (unless something has changed very recently). Regarding not showing any tax returns because your current country does not issue tax returns and only using payslips/bank statements/contracts to prove income, you would need to ask BoI that question. In this very long thread there are reports of successful applicants for various LTR visas who said they didn't need to provide any tax return(s)....they just provided a lot of other income proof like pay statements, benefit letters, rental income docs, etc. And be sure to specify what "current" country you are saying does not issue tax returns as BoI will know whether a country issues/requires a tax return or not....you don't want to sound like you are really trying to avoid providing your tax return(s) by not being upfront in identifying the country. Rental income is an accepted form of income for a Wealthy Global Citizen LTR visa per the application form. https://ltr.boi.go.th/documents/Wealthy-Global-Citizen.pdf Regarding is there some where you can pay to get LTR info with 100% security...I guess you mean use a "visa agent"....maybe have a visa agent do the application with you in the background? With the LTR program there are only four agencies (agents) that BoI LTR will work with regarding applications for an LTR visa....they are what is called the "Certified Agencies"....that is, certified by BoI to help process LTR applications for an applicant....they have contracts with BoI. These four agencies will charge their own agent fee which is on-top of the govt BoI LTR Bt50K visa fee. The BoI Certified Agencies are listed at this BoI LTR webpage: https://ltr.boi.go.th/page/ca.html Lots of good/detailed info at the BoI LTR website especially under the "Application Process" menu. Notice their main webpage even has a big red warning banner talking about agents who claim to be authorized LTR agencies. https://ltr.boi.go.th/index.html :

"Aspirational" projections with the 1M farangs signing up for LTR visas over 5 years. Probably had a TAT rep pull the projection from his backside. The LTR visa income requirements were set way too high to draw a million farangs. And the govt has most likely set the new Elite Visas prices way too high unless the govt has made a decision (which they will never admit publicly) that they want to limit Elite visas to the truly well-off/rich folks....what better way to do this than raise the Elite visa prices BIG TIME. Thailand has way too high an opinion of itself regarding the number of farangs that want to retire/work here....the govt reads too many of those travel magazine surveys where Thailand always gets high ratings from tourists regarding the holiday/vacation they had in Thailand.

Yes. All covered in the renewal application instructions.

I agree the process is now harder for many but easier/less work for the State Dept/Embassies. And I'm sure the State Dept would try to reference some law/directive that now requires all passport related fees to be paid online which gets the State Dept/Embassies out of having to handle any cash, bank drafts, preparing return envelopes, etc. It saves "them" man-hours of work.

Update: I went to that manufacturers website to check on the specs of the device....it didn't show the BM200 that I saw anywhere but did show the next model up which was a BM300. Looking at the specs/manual, it does "not" do impedance/resistance checking of the battery (i.e., scanning) or do you need to enter any new battery capacity info which means it simply monitors voltage levels like when cranking to primarily determine SOH. Such a method is not a very good method to determine SOH in comparison via impedance/resistance measurement. And it's a terrible way to determine SOH for a battery that never encounters a heavy load like when cranking....in an EV there is no cranking. https://anceltech.com/collections/Heavy-Duty-Trucks-Scanner.html

To do a battery State of Health (SOH) check on a 12V battery a person first needs to know the Cold Cranking Amps (CCA) or similar rating which identifies the capacity of a new battery. And batteries come in many physical sizes and capacities...big and small. That specific capacity rating is entered into the battery tester and then the tester will do some "impedance/resistance" testing of the battery by sending some frequencies/signals into the battery....maybe call it scanning the battery. The results from that scan are then compared to some internal stored data "based on the CCA rating of a "new" battery and then gives a percentage SOH, Good, Weak, Replace type response. If above device does not allow for entry of CCA/similar new battery that actually used in your car then it's just using some generic setting that may not be representative of the "battery you have installed in your car." Or worst yet, it may not be scanning the battery at all and just using some related info like the battery's voltage level when cranking----but with an EV there is no cranking so the voltage is not pulled down hardly at all when a EV is started. I would try to find out first if this device does require the entry of some "new" battery capacity info "initially" before it put into use. Otherwise I think you just have a fancy voltage monitor that will not give much of any advance warning your battery is reaching end of life....has loss a lot of capacity from when it was new.

Yes. When starting the passport renewal process it gives instructions. BUT, you no longer just include a Bt100 Thai bank draft to pay for the return envelope with your mailed application package where you already paid the renewal fee online. You know also must pay for an envelope to be sent to the US Embassy direct from the Thai Postal Service....the Thai Postal Service has a special thing set up for it...click the following weblink: https://www.thailandpostmart.com/product/1013460000929 (It' the weblink referenced in below snapshot). Or said another way, you make an online payment to the US govt for the basic passport renewal fee and another online payment to the Thai Postal System for the envelope fee. Everything is paid for online now....the basic renewal fee and the return envelope fee. See below US Embassy Bangkok weblink and partial quote for more info. https://th.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/passports/instructions-for-ds-82-processing-by-mail-and-online-fee-payment-for-u-s-citizens-residing-in-thailand/

For me as an EV owner all of above reasons apply plus one more: the EV looked durn good!!!!

Several years ago when I last used DeeMoney just to test out a couple of transfers to two of my U.S. banks, it only took about 2-3 business days...it was pretty fast. Now keep in mind when transferring money between banks/financial entities it's pretty much done only only business days with holidays/weekends not counting. So, by launching the transfer on a Sunday/8 Jan it probably didn't really start its trek from Thailand to Canada until Monday/9 Jan no matter what the DeeMoney system may say. So, really your money transfer is only into its 2nd business day since today is 10 Jan. And then there is always the issue of how fast does the receiving bank shows the arriving money as Pending or Posted.

Below are LTR Visa applications snapshots as of end of 31 Dec 2023, 31 Oct 2023, and 31 Aug 2023 to give an idea of applications activity since the LTR Visa Program kickoff 1 Sep 2022...snapshots from the BoI LTR website that now seem to be in the groove of providing updates every month or two on their website. Averages out to 376 applications per month over the last 16 months...since the program's kickoff 1 Sep 2022. Of course when the program initially opened the number of applications per month was probably much higher....that spike you see with any new program. Now, if just looking at the last 4 months of 2023 the average was 294 applications per month. Seems the LTR program is settling into a groove of appox 300 applications per month. Please note this is applications (applies); it does not say how many of the applications were endorsed (i.e., approved). The Pensioner category is still the most popular closely followed by Work From Thailand Professional category.....Dependents category in third place. Thru 31 Dec 2023 Thru 31 Oct 2023 Thru 31 Aug 2023

Preaching to the choir I know and just for others trying to get smart on EVs, that 12V battery in the EV is extremely important to the EVs operation. See partial quote and weblink at bottom for more details. And a dead/flat 12V battery is a common cause of EVs not starting; just like it's a common cause for an ICE vehicle not starting. Usually the "not starting" just happens out of the blue while you are away from home, the morning start at your home or hotel as the battery went flat overnight, etc. I carry jumper cables in my BYD Atto EV "just in case" I ever need to jump my EV's 12V battery while I'm away from home; Ialso carry a pair in my Toyota Fortuner ICEV. I have always carried jumper cables in my vehicles since owning my first car a thousand years ago. And those jumper cables have also come to the rescue of others a few times where I have jumped the dead/weak 12V battery of another vehicle. A few weeks ago I had the 3 month/5,000km checkup of my Atto EV at my BYD dealership....one of the things they test is the 12 volt battery with a battery tester and they show you the printout of the battery's capacity, resistance, voltage, etc., and the result of Good/Pass. I also have a 12V vehicle battery tester (bought off Lazada for several hundred baht) as I occasionally check my 12V vehicle batteries especially after they get more than a year old. Normally a good quality 12V lead acid battery that is used to start small petrol engine like in many compact cars (ie.. Toyota Yaris) where the starter amperage drawn is not that great will last years and years (at least 3 years but easily 5 or more years in some cases) even in hot weather of Thailand/the tropics. And a 12V battery on an EV which doesn't even have a starter should also last years and years since there is no heavy drawn of current at any time. But a 12V battery used to start a big and/or high compression engine like a diesel engine found in many, many trucks and passengers cars (like my Toyota Fortuner 3.0L Diesel) typically only last a couple of years (or less). My 2009 Fortuner has went thru at least six 12V batteries over it lifetime (brand name foreign and Thailand made batteries). I've never got one to last longer than 3 years...usually around the 2 year point they start failing, getting too weak, and a few times simply didn't start the vehicle in the morning. That was my primary reason of buying the battery tester so when the Toyota Fortuner 12V battery started getting indications it was reaching the end of it's life/getting weak, I would use the battery tester on it to get a better idea of how much "capacity" it had remaining which gave a good indication of how many more months it would probably last. Yea...the ol' 12V battery in an EV "or ICEV" is still a primary reason the vehicle will not starting. https://community.vinfastauto.us/battery/why-do-electric-cars-have-a-12v-battery/#:~:text=First and foremost%2C it powers,onboard computer and diagnostic systems.

Since the BYD Dolphin has been selling like hotcakes since it release in late July 2023 and by Oct 2023 it began stealing a lot of sales from it's big brother the BYD Atto. Maybe BYD decided the Dolphin price and extra free stuff (like 2 vs 1 yr insurance, free install of a wallcharger, free maintenance checks) was stealing too much from the Atto sales where the Atto may be providing more profit than Dolphin sales. BYD just trying to rebalance where it would like to see more sales.....steer more sales back to the Atto. And/or maybe BYD figures the Dolphin will continue to sell like hotcakes with less freebies. Who knows....I'm just guessing. But up until late July and Oct 2023 when the BYD Dolphin and BYD Seal started being sold in Thailand the Atto was pretty much the only BYD model that people had to choose from/was interested in....and it sold like hotcakes like the Dolphin is selling right now.. But now with more BYD models to chose from, the Atto probably will not recover to its previous sales volume of around 2000 per month like in early 2023....probably start floating around a 1000 per month.