Porsche 718 Forum banner

Porsche Car Connect???

14K views 21 replies 12 participants last post by  DriveInHouston 
#1 ·
Hello,

In my new Cayman T I probably have Porsche Car Connect (Vodafone services) as standard. I don't have navigation on my car, so it means that I don't have what Porsche earlier called "Connect Plus" and the "Apps" function on the PCM.

See this link about 2019 model features: https://www.raycatena.com/infotainment-and-exhaust-changes-on-2019-718-cayman-boxster/

When I told my dealer after delivery about the Porsche Car Connect they are now contacting the Porsche importer in my country to understand how it's working.

My question is do Porsche activate the Car Connect function or do I have to subscribe this services like, Remote etc. by myself?
 
#3 ·
Fler Svenskar :)

As it looks as it had been changed i am not sure on how it works today.
Before you got an account at

, then you got a code from them and then the dealer uses that code so you can the the car on your mobile device.
I must say it is pretty much a useless option....


It could as you say it works in a different way so let your dealer sort it out :)
 
#6 ·
My new CGTS (2018) shows Porsche Connect on the window sticker. I signed up online and it provided the code.

I guess I now need to stop by the deal and have them enable it.

Does it require paying for a monthly SIM card to have service?

I do not have Nav in my car, just use the Apple Car Play and Waze for that. Wondering what functionality the Porsche Connect provides.
 
#13 ·
I had the same question! My 2018 CGTS also has the $1k Porsche Connect package- so far I see apple car play and the car connect app for vehicle info on my smartphone. I looked up online and read some vague concepts about embedded SIM for WiFi hotspot but the Service person said my car doesn’t have a sim. So, I wonder is that $1k only really gives you apple car play and smartphone remote app? Were you able to uncover?
 
#7 ·
AFAIK, you don't have to install a SIM card if the car comes with Car Connect. Since Vodafone uses 3g service it would seem it comes with whatever hardware is required, and it does not requires an active cellphone subscription. I believe Porsche Connect provides tbe Car Connect feature. Other Porsche Connect benefits seem to be related to Navigation.

On my car at least, it came with a complimentary 1 year subscription which supported only one of three available services. It is accessed via a Car Connect app you install on your phone. The complimentary service lets you see the car's status, gas amount, cruising range, the state of the locks and ignition. Another page shows you the car's precise location on a satellite map. It can compute a route to get there, even on foot, incase you forgot where you parked it. Another page lets you set limits on speed and distanxe that will notify you if exceeded, useful if a valet will park it or if you lend it to a friend.

I found it useful to track its location when I had dropped it off for service an d the shop might have to move it.
 
#10 ·
My dealer called my today that Car Connect could be activate in my car, but Connect isn't standard. They said that Connect and Car Connect is two different features. :unsure:???

I have to drive my car to nearest Porsche Service Center to get it activate (activate for about 10-15min). Shouldn't it be activated before delivery?

As alfaguy said about the SIM-slot, I also don't have that slot on my car, so probably the feature is built-in with a SIM. I think the car have PVTS (Porsche Vehicle Tracking System) as standard which use a Built-in SIM (GSM/GPS).
 
#12 ·
In the States (at least this year) we have Porsche Connect (free w. registration online) and Porsche Car Connect with the Vodafone App. I got it, mostly for the Geo Fencing feature and it works. I was worried that using the parking at the condo I am in (Manhattan) could be like Ferris Buehler's day off...

It is reassuring to be able to check where the car is at any time (although you get a notification when it crosses the 'fence' there is no audible alarm
 
#14 · (Edited)
I have the full capability (NAV, embedded SIM, external SIM, Car Connect). Nothing vague about it.

1) Embedded SIM At least for the 2018 718s, the car came with a year's internet connection via the embedded SIM. At the end of the year (or earlier, if you chose so) you had some decisions to make. My impression of the embedded SIM was that the connection was there, but it was slow and would act as a hotspot for one (1) smartphone/iphone via the Porsche WLAN. It gave internet connection to the NAV and some other silly Internet offerings (find Parking nearby, gas stations, Google Earth view and some others I never used). Also provides for NAV updates, although none was offered while the car is in my possession...

2) External SIM You can choose to provide the car access to the internet with your phone acting as a hotspot. I did it, just to prove it to myself, but I chose the 'external' SIM card option. There is a slot for a 1/2" SIM card on the top part of the PCM unit. Any SIM card will work, you don't have to subscribe to the ATT card that Porsche is marketing. The hotspot provided with the external SIM allows you to connect more than one devices, something that proved useful in our cross country trip (i.e. my wife connected her MacBook Air and made reservations, searches etc, while I was driving with the CarPlay on.

3) Porsche Connect Once you connect your phone to the Porsche WLAN via WiFi you can use the Porsche Connect app, a free app (different from the Porsche Car Connect app). Porsche Connect will allow you to use your phone to plan a trip, or find a destination and then pass it on to the car's NAV to navigate there. It can provide the capability to find an address with voice instructions and pass it on to the NAV with a complicated sequence, if you don't have Voice Commands activated in your car (it is a $0 option, but you have to request it when ordering, mine is a CPO and didn't have it). The alternative is to enter the address manually by typing on the screen, a process guaranteed to kill you, if you are driving simultaneously.

4) CarPlay If you have an iPhone (I didn't and I hated that I had to get one), you can forget all the rigamarole with Porsche Connect and have a decent, voice command interface, activated by pressing in the left stalk, for voice commands. It works, and you can also use GoogleMaps and Waze. It works!

The biggest pain is accommodating the cable length that will make the plugging and unplugging of the iPhone painless (2+ ft). I solved this problem buying a cheap spiral cable from Amazon (make sure it has data capability, not just charging).

5) Porsche Car Connect It is a subscription service provided by Vodafone. It provides some remote connectivity that allows you to see in your phone mileage, fuel remaining, range, current position of the car, way to go from where you are to your car, honk the horn, flash the alarms and set a GeoFence and a SpeedFence. There are a couple of other packages related to Security (something akin to LoJack) and Emergency Services, that I did not subscribe to. Cost is about $120/yr. I wanted this service because I spent considerable time in NYC this year and I left the car with the parking assistant. I wanted to make sure he didn't do a Ferris Buehler' Day Off with my Cayman.

The link to Vodafone is:


I hope that this helps, feel free to ask for clarifications, additional information.
 
#15 ·
So the only benefit of the external SIM is the ability to connect more than one device? All of the other Porsche Connect services still work? The reason I ask is that my complimentary service expires today and I am debating whether or not to renew it. I have navigation, voice control, etc. on the car. Also, we have a hotspot setup on our iPad which we always take on trips so I suppose that could function similarly as a connection device but would not necessarily link into the PCM system?
 
#16 · (Edited)
I believe this is correct. The ‘services’ which require connecting to the Porsche Connect server will cease working (i.e. Google Search on NAV, nearby parking, nearby gas, probably the traffic layer on NAV (not sure about this) Google Earth layer. I don’t know how voice integration gets affected, because I don’t have it, for instance, will NAV recognize an address via Voice without Google Search? I started Porsche Connect to get Voice Activation, in a very convoluted way, in the end I gave up and bought an iPhone to use Siri instead.

EDIT: Thinking a bit more about it, what is going to happen if you let the membership lapse and then a week later decide to re-up the service? I don't think Porsche will say no... Maybe you can ask your Service Advisor.

EDIT2: We are talking about the Porsche Connect services, which require a subscription above and beyond what will you do with the SIM. You can re-up the Porsche Connect and use your phone as a Hotspot via Porsche LAN for the 'services'.

Note: I remembered why I didn't use the phone as a hotspot. I wanted the Porsche Car Connect telematics, for the GeoFence. This requires the car to have access to the internet even when it is parked and locked. Obviously, I'd be taking the phone with me, ergo, the need for an external SIM card.
 
#17 ·
Thanks @DriveInHouston . I am all paid up until July 2020 on all the Porsche Connect services so hopefully they will not have any issues if I do not renew the external SIM with att.
 
#21 ·
Can someone clarify/confirm for me:

1. That a Verizon SIM card with a separate data plan ($10/month since I have unlimited data) will work on a 2017 Porsche Cayman 718? I called Porsche to get my Porsche ID (their system is down over the weekend so they can't issue/re-issue my ID till Monday?!?) and the customer service person said that in her sales training she was told that AT&T was the Porsche provider and that other SIMs/data plans stop working after about a month. This sounds fishy, but I'd like to confirm before I add a second Verizon data plan.

2. The only functionality I am looking for is ideally a more updated map and POI function from the Nav (2017 hasn't been updated yet and no update appears available) and traffic data, since right now the Porsche Nav plans routes decently, but during rush hour it's a nightmare and it seems to complete disregard traffic. Will adding the SIM address this or do I also need to buy the $200/year Porsche Connect advanced features plan?

Thanks!

M
 
#22 · (Edited)
1) Verizon will not work. Something about TDMA, ATT and T-Mobile work. I use T-Mobile for two years now, I have NAV and it still works...

2) I chose to forego the $200 Porsche Connect plan, but I kept the Porsche Car Connect plan. I like the find my car function and the Geo-fencing. Nav still works, but the other internet apps (cheap gas, etc) don't.

I got the external SIM card so that my wife's phone, tablet and Macbook Air have access to the internet. You can do it with the phone being thd access point, but oh, well...
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top