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Avinox eMTB VPN speed limit not applying despite changes
- Thread starter dysseus
- Start date
@dysseus - the short version: the VPN changes what the app shows you, but the app isn't what enforces the speed limit. The motor's firmware is.
The Avinox system does geo-check your region when you set things up, and a VPN can convince the app UI that you're in a different country - hence the different speed options appearing in the menu. But those menu options are essentially cosmetic from a restriction standpoint. The actual limit is enforced by the motor firmware itself, which has the region baked in at a level the app can't override just by spoofing a location.
Think of it like changing your phone's region to see a US Netflix menu - you can browse it, but if the content isn't unlocked server-side, you still can't watch it.
So what you're experiencing - menu shows different speeds, bike still cuts out at 25km/h - is exactly what you'd expect from a UI-only workaround hitting a firmware-level wall.
What actually moves the needle: • Hardware dongles/SpeedBox-type devices - there's nothing confirmed working on the Avinox M2S yet, and given DJI's anti-tamper approach I wouldn't hold your breath
• Firmware-level solutions, if and when the tuning community cracks the M2S - nothing verified as of now
• The legal route: some markets (notably Switzerland) have a 45km/h S-Pedelec class - bikes sold there have a different firmware, but that's not something you can easily swap in Worth keeping an eye on the tuning forums, but for now the honest answer is the VPN trick doesn't get you past the firmware bouncer on this system. It just changes the queue outside.
@dysseus - honest answer: no, a dealer can't legally derestrict it for you. The firmware that enforces the 25km/h cut-off is the EU-compliant version, and no legitimate dealer will flash a higher-speed tune onto a bike that was sold and registered as a 250W pedelec - it'd put their service licence and your road-legal status on the line. So "ask the dealer to change the firmware" isn't a route that exists in practice.
A couple of things worth being clear on: • Dealers (and the Avinox app) do firmware updates - the official versions that fix bugs and add features. What they don't do is region-swap a bike to unlock 45km/h. Those are two very different things.
• The only firmware that legally runs faster is the S-Pedelec firmware sold in markets that have that class (e.g. Switzerland's 45km/h). That's a different homologated product - lights, plate, insurance, the lot - not a setting your dealer can toggle.
• The DJI/Avinox M2S is locked down tight on the tuning side, so as I said before, there's nothing verified out there - dongle or hack - that gets past it yet.
So where does that leave you? If you genuinely need 45km/h, that's an S-Pedelec purchase, not a tweak to the bike you've got. If you just want the bike working properly, keep it on the official firmware and let the dealer or app handle the updates.
What is it you're actually after - more outright speed on the road, or does it feel like the assist is cutting out too early for normal riding? Those have very different answers.
Frankyspec
Member
Why than is it possible on the Amflow M1 motor, because I personal have ridden one that’s was supporting till 45km/h?
@Frankyspec - good question, and it's actually a really important distinction. The Amflow bikes come in two motor variants: the M1 and the M2/M2S. The M1 - which is the original Avinox motor - is a different generation from the M2S that dysseus has in his bike. The M1 launched in markets including some where S-Pedelec classification exists, and Amflow/DJI appear to have offered a 45km/h firmware variant for it in certain regions from the start. So a bike you've ridden that supports 45km/h is most likely either:
• Sold as an S-Pedelec in a market that supports that class (Belgium has S-Pedelec legislation, so it's entirely plausible you've encountered one) • Running a different regional firmware that was available on M1 hardware from launch
That's not a contradiction of what I said to dysseus - it actually reinforces it. The 45km/h capability isn't something unlocked by a VPN or app trick; it's a firmware that was purchased and registered as a faster-class vehicle, with all the legal baggage that brings (insurance, number plate, helmet requirement in some countries).
The M2S in dysseus's bike is a different generation, and the tuning community hasn't confirmed a working 45km/h path for it yet - VPN or otherwise.
What was the M1 bike you rode? Knowing the exact model would help confirm which firmware variant it was running.
Frankyspec
Member
Amflow PL Carbon Pro
@Frankyspec - that clears things up nicely. The Avinox M1 on the Amflow PL Carbon Pro is exactly what you'd expect to see running 45km/h S-Pedelec firmware in Belgium - that class is fully recognised there, so a bike sold for it would have the higher-speed firmware from the factory.
And now @dysseus has confirmed he's also on an M1, which actually changes the conversation a bit. The M1 does have a 45km/h firmware variant that exists in the wild - the question for him is whether his bike was sold as a standard 25km/h pedelec or as an S-Pedelec. If it's the former, the firmware on his unit is the restricted version, and the VPN is still just window dressing - it can't swap firmware classes any more than it could on an M2S.
So @dysseus - do you know which market or class your PL Carbon Pro was sold as? If it came from a dealer in a country with S-Pedelec legislation (Belgium, Switzerland, Germany's L1e-A class etc.), there's a chance the dealer or importer could clarify what firmware it shipped with. That's the actual question worth asking them.
@dysseus - Switzerland is one of the better places to have bought it, because the S-Pedelec class (45km/h, registered as a moped essentially) is fully recognised there.
The question is how your specific bike was sold and registered at point of sale. Two scenarios:
If it was sold as an S-Pedelec - the 45km/h firmware should already be on it, and what you're experiencing suggests something went wrong at setup or registration in the app. Worth going back to the dealer and asking them to check the bike's registered class. They may be able to sort it without any firmware swap at all.
If it was sold as a standard 25km/h pedelec - that's a different product class with different legal status. A dealer couldn't just reflash it to 45km/h without effectively changing what the bike is registered as - that's not a firmware toggle, it's a reclassification with insurance and registration implications.
So the honest answer to your question is: it depends which class your bike was sold as. That's the thing worth confirming with your dealer first. Ask them specifically: "Was this sold as an S-Pedelec or a standard pedelec, and what does the registration show?"
I'd be cautious about assuming the 45km/h firmware is simply sitting there waiting to be switched on - I can't confirm that's how the Avinox M1 handles it, and I don't want to send you to a dealer expecting something that may not be straightforward. But the dealer conversation is absolutely the right next step, and Switzerland is at least the right country to be having it in.
Frankyspec
Member
Is the Mondraker Zendit registered in Belgium as an S-Pedelec in a market that supports that class (Belgium has S-Pedelec legislation, so it's entirely plausible you've encountered one). If so than it’s maybe possible to adapt the speed support?
@Frankyspec - yes, the Mondraker Zendit is relevant here. It's verified in my database as running the Avinox M2S motor (150Nm, 800Wh battery, 170/165mm travel), sold from £7,399.
As for whether it's registered as an S-Pedelec in Belgium - that depends entirely on how it was sold by the dealer, not the bike itself. The Zendit hardware is the same bike regardless of which firmware class it ships with. In Belgium, S-Pedelec classification is fully recognised, so a dealer could sell it in that class - but that's a decision made at point of sale, not something baked into the model.
So the same principle applies as with dysseus's situation: • If a Zendit was sold as an S-Pedelec in Belgium - 45km/h firmware, registered as a speed pedelec, insurance and number plate required
• If it was sold as a standard 25km/h pedelec - that's what the firmware enforces, and a VPN won't change it
The question worth asking the dealer isn't "can you adapt it?" but "what class was it sold as?" If it was sold as a standard pedelec, the path to 45km/h support isn't a firmware toggle - it's a reclassification, which is a different conversation with different legal implications.
Were you looking at a specific Zendit, or asking about one you've already seen in the wild running faster?
Frankyspec
Member
I’ll go to the dealer on Wednesday and will inform about this, he has Mondraker and also Orbea, for me it’s important to be able to change the speed support higher than 25km/h, because that’s a treshold that’s often ridden on the trails and you have all the time the cut off of the motor support… and this in not really comfortable
@Frankyspec - that's the right move, Wednesday's dealer visit is where this actually gets sorted.
When you're there, the key question to ask is: "Can you sell me this bike as an S-Pedelec, and does that come with the 45km/h firmware from the factory?" That's the crux of it. In Belgium, S-Pedelec is a recognised class, so a dealer who knows their stuff should be able to advise you on what they can offer in that configuration - it's a different product category at point of sale, not a post-sale tweak.
On the Orbea side - the Orbea Wild LT runs the Avinox M2S, so the same firmware logic applies as any other Avinox bike: 45km/h is a factory firmware for S-Pedelec-class sales, not something that gets unlocked later. Ask the dealer the same question for that one too.
Your point about 25km/h on trail is completely valid, by the way. On anything with a reasonable descent or even a fast flat, you're constantly brushing that threshold and the cutoff is genuinely jarring - it's not paranoia, it's just the EU limit being a bit agricultural for actual riding. An S-Pedelec sale sorts it properly and cleanly.
One thing to confirm at the dealer: if either bike is sold as an S-Pedelec in Belgium, you'll need insurance and a licence plate - minor faff, but worth knowing before you sign anything.
Let us know what they say on Wednesday.
My friend has a Crestline on M2S and was able to VPN the firmware to the US - it has class 3 available.
I can also say that when you are restricted, it’s very annoying on flat pedal tracks OR if you have to pedal into a jump, (in the UK there a lot of flattish jump lines)
I am looking at an Orbea and will coming from a derestricted Bosch and I am quite concerned about being stuck at 25km - I regularly pedal mine faster than that and a restricted bike feels like a bag of shite tbh.
I know it depends what you do and ride, but on DH if you are fast and hit a flat pedal section, it’s a real bugger to be restricted.
I can also say that when you are restricted, it’s very annoying on flat pedal tracks OR if you have to pedal into a jump, (in the UK there a lot of flattish jump lines)
I am looking at an Orbea and will coming from a derestricted Bosch and I am quite concerned about being stuck at 25km - I regularly pedal mine faster than that and a restricted bike feels like a bag of shite tbh.
I know it depends what you do and ride, but on DH if you are fast and hit a flat pedal section, it’s a real bugger to be restricted.
And I am talking from personal experience, I mainly ride in Europe not UK. I’ve ridden my bike on big downhills, and I’ve tried other people’s, and hitting the limit is like hitting a brick wall with your legs, it kills your speed and your flow.
Let me know what they say! I’m the same as you, looking at an Orbea but worried about this.
I believe hitting the limit is a dangerous distraction. It draws attention toward how the bike just changed; exactly when that isn't helpful.
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