Mercedes Mbrace Shutdown. Are you affected? We have solutions.

What’s happening?

Mercedes-Benz has announced that on December 31, 2025, they will permanently shut down their mbrace® connected services platform.

After that date, vehicles that rely on mbrace will lose app-connected features such as:

Remote start
Remote lock and unlock
GPS tracking
Vehicle location and status updates

Mercedes will not offer any retrofit or upgrade, leaving thousands of vehicles without the connected functionality that owners use every day.

Our Solution

At Mid City Engineering, we’ve been designing and building vehicle interfaces for Mercedes-Benz for over 15 years — longer than Mercedes themselves have offered remote start.

If your vehicle is affected by the mbrace shutdown, we have a proven replacement. Our SmartKey Starter® remote start and security interface provides remote start right out of the box using your factory key fob. Pair it with Compustar Drone®, and you’ll have access to full connected control — from anywhere in the world. Not only will you have your vehicle connectivity back, you will also have a host of other great features to use.

Features include:

Remote start via OEM key fob
Remote start from your phone or extended range key fob
Remote lock/unlock from phone with Compustar Drone add-on
Remote immobilization
GPS tracking
Vehicle monitoring
Alarm notifications

In addition to the out of the box features, there is the Compustar DAS II digital security sensory add-on. This $30 sensor packs an anti-theft punch by adding shock sensing, tilt sensing, glass break sensing, and tow sensing to your vehicle using the OEM horn as the alarm- and is plug & play with the SmartKey Starter®. Paired with the Compustar Drone, when the alarm is armed you can receive push notifications telling you the security sensor has been triggered or a door has been opened.

mbrace Shutdown FAQ

How do I know if my car is affected by the mbrace shutdown?

If you’re currently using mbrace, you’re affected. The service will no longer function after January 1, 2026, and Mercedes is not offering a replacement or upgrade path.

Here is a list of the vehicles being effected by the shutdown. Click on vehicle to see compatible Mid City system:

How do use the Mid City remote start?

Our remote start works from the OEM key fob out of the box by pressing either the panic button on the key or, if your key does not have a panic button, you will use a lock-unlock-lock sequence.

Can I also start from my phone?

Yes. The Compustar Drone smart phone control module works plug & play with our systems. From the Drone, you will be able to use an app on your phone to remote start, stop, lock, and unlock. In addition to replacing the mbrace functionality, you will also have lots of new features available like alarm notifications, remote vehicle immobilization, live GPS tracking and vehicle status.

I had to pay a subscription for mbrace- do I have to pay a subscription for this system?

If you just want to remote start your vehicle using the OEM key fob, no subscription is required. If you want to be able to use your phone to control the vehicle from anywhere, there is a subscription for the Drone Mobile application. The good news is that the subscription fees are much less than what you are used to and they have all kinds of discounts if you pay yearly or multi-year. You can see all the available plans at: dronemobile.com/plans

My factory remote start only ran for 10 minutes, is that the same with your system?

The SmartKey Starter® default run-time for passenger vehicles is 15 minutes. For Sprinters and Metris, the default run-time is 1 hour. You can easily change the run-time using the instrument cluster menu.

My remote start shuts down when I open the door- is that the case with the SmartKey Starter®

Nope! When remote started, the vehicle will stay running when you open the door. You will also have full Keyless Go functionality (lock and unlock from the door handle) while the vehicle is started remotely.

My factory remote start only let me do two remote starts at a time- am I limited to a number of remote starts with the Mid City system?

Nope again! DAS4 vehicles have no limit on number of remote starts. DAS3 vehicles can be remote started 5 times before having to drive.

I already lost mbrace with the 3G shutdown- am I still able to get this system?

Absolutely! We cover most Mercedes Benz vehicles going back to 2008. Click here for full compatibility list.

Mercedes Mbrace Shutdown. Are you affected? We have solutions.

What’s happening?

Contact us