Narrative:

Tracking on the STAR; downwind to runway xy; TRACON gave us a heading of 270 for the visual. First officer (first officer) was pilot flying; on his request; I started the 'activation and confirmation' which had already taken place automatically.aware of several previous issues (similar to this one; where both FMS failed); while on heading mode; I tried to enter an inbound course to intercept the inbound localizer radial. It would not accept the entry; and we had accepted the visual approach to runway xy. I decided to try entering by my accustomed entry mode to establish the inbound localizer line with all of the 'constraints' visible; electing in the mcdu 6L - arrival - no star - enter; the FM 1 started its synchronization when both fms failed.this failure in most cases requires around 2 minutes to unfreeze the FM and allow any entries while the fms are now in the initial/ground initialization mode (start of initialization or take-off mode) while you are at 4000 feet on a visual left base to the runway.when the other crew members had not seen this failure; it gets complicated trying to explain and act upon it; much less to request the third crew member to select 'manual mode for cabin descent to field elevation' as this system is now part of the failure; or I should say; back to ground mode with the rest of the FMS lacking any entries as in ground mode.the system was acting up prior to my last attempt when it did not accept the inbd course while in heading mode; as previously discussed in the cbs warning relating to this issue with the 330s.to recover from this failures requires entries that are too lengthy to execute while in short final if the rest of the crew is have not experienced or seen this failure before. I asked the first officer if he had the VASI lights (we both had them insight); I told him; I would select the manual speed; autopilot (in this case) could not be engaged; but we had auto thrust. We continued and configured for landing; the rest was uneventful.FMS system in the A-330 fleet have not being updated to bring the fleet to the present standards required with the additional data and procedures requirements within the fleet. This was an update that was available at no cost; but now; airbus will charge for these updates.this is a safety of flight!!if this happens during bad weather and minimums to any destination it will overtask the crew members.update the software and hardware (if required).

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A330 Captain reported a dual FMS failure as the crew was being vectored for a visual approach. Captain reported that he had experienced this before and attributes it to the FMS system not being updated and considers it a safety of flight issue.

Narrative: Tracking on the STAR; downwind to Runway XY; TRACON gave us a HDG of 270 for the visual. First Officer (FO) was Pilot Flying; on his request; I started the 'Activation and Confirmation' which had already taken place automatically.Aware of several previous issues (similar to this one; where both FMS failed); While on HDG mode; I tried to enter an Inbound course to intercept the inbound LOC radial. It would not accept the entry; and we had accepted the visual approach to Runway XY. I decided to try entering by my accustomed entry mode to establish the inbound LOC line with all of the 'constraints' visible; electing in the MCDU 6L - Arrival - No Star - enter; the FM 1 started its synchronization when both FMs failed.This failure in most cases requires around 2 minutes to unfreeze the FM and allow any entries while the FMs are now in the initial/GND initialization mode (Start of initialization or Take-Off mode) while you are at 4000 feet on a visual left base to the Runway.When the other crew members had not seen this failure; it gets complicated trying to explain and act upon it; much less to request the third crew member to select 'Manual Mode for Cabin Descent to Field Elevation' as this system is now part of the failure; or I should say; back to GND mode with the rest of the FMS lacking any entries as in GND Mode.The system was acting up prior to my last attempt when it did not accept the INBD course while in HDG MODE; as previously discussed in the CBS warning relating to this issue with the 330s.To recover from this failures requires entries that are too lengthy to execute while in short final if the rest of the crew is have not experienced or seen this failure before. I asked the FO if he had the VASI lights (we both had them insight); I told him; I would select the manual speed; Autopilot (in this case) could not be engaged; but we had auto thrust. We continued and configured for landing; the rest was uneventful.FMS system in the A-330 fleet have not being updated to bring the fleet to the present standards required with the additional data and procedures requirements within the fleet. This was an update that was available at no cost; but now; Airbus will charge for these updates.This is a SAFETY of flight!!If this happens during bad weather and minimums to any destination it will overtask the crew members.Update the software and hardware (if required).

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.