Hi folks,

 

I have a 2016 model Superb which my son is taking on holiday. Its the first time he is taking my car for a long drive on his own and despite the fact that he has a lot of local driving experience I would feel

more relaxed if I could keep track of where he is, also in case of mechanical trouble or an accident.

 

The car has a separate SIM card in the SIM card reader in the glove compartment. Is there any way to use Skoda's software to keep an eye on where the care is without interaction from the driver?

 

I do not use the SIM card in the car for phone calls or storing contacts. We use our regular phones for all calls.

 

Hope you can advise.

 

regards,

Jan 

If he's happy to install Life360 on his phone, and you install it on yours (iOS and Android versions available), you'll be able to see where each other are all the time. It's not foolproof as it relies on GPS and a data connection of course, but it's pretty good and accurate on the whole.

On 6/23/2017 at 00:57, CheshireBumpkin said:

If he's happy to install Life360 on his phone, and you install it on yours (iOS and Android versions available), you'll be able to see where each other are all the time. It's not foolproof as it relies on GPS and a data connection of course, but it's pretty good and accurate on the whole.

 

 

What CheshireBumpkin said.. I've used Life360 at Glastonbury last year so we could keep a track of where people were...even on this scale it worked pretty decent....

There was me about to launch into how it would be fun to take it round Castle Combe.......

So basically, with all the smarts in the car and the motto "Simply clever", none of the digital presence in this model 3 is really usefull.

The dealer sold this car as a 2016 car but up to 2017 specs. Unfortunately it would seem that it is no more than a stop gap model dressed up to look like something more. 

 

Well the one thing the car does have going for it is that it has loads of inside room. 

Apparently it's a bit hit and miss and will show the parked position, but what about the skoda connect app.

If this was the updated car (2018 spec?) and had the connected services (and they were subscribed too - free for 12 months) then you can check where the car is via a web page or using the Skoda Connect app.

 

Sounds like yours doesn't have this.... I assume you've not got the red SOS button in the roof near the rear view mirror.

 

Note this connected stuff (location, vehicle status, etc. ) does not need the use of a SIM in the infotaintment system (Skoda Connect stuff does). But vehicle location for example does not. I thought it might but checked when away from home (so home wifi not available). It can take a few minutes for the app to update location or if you're close enough flash lights and even honk the horn.

 

Edited 11 November, 20178 yr by rtj70

No my car was built in 2016, by was said to be the 2017 spec.

 

And you are correct, I have no SOS button, no wireless charging and no 220v outlets. 

 

But from your reply I understand that there are two different connection variants...

 

"Skoda Connect stuff"  and  "SIM in the infotaintment system" ?

 

As far as I can tell none of Skoda's apps works with my car!?

 

I do have a SIM connector in the glove compartment, but have no idea what this can be used for. My assumption was that the only use could be as

a "standard" mobile phone type connection which uses the Columbus entertainment system as the "handset". Is this correct?

 

I had hoped that the Skoda apps could connect to this SIM connection to obtain and send information and/or commands to the car's various systems.

But that does not seem possible?

 

In addition, none of the Entertainment system mirrorlink type connections work. With my old phone Samsung galaxy S3 I had the most succes. 

I could connect and found one or two apps (Google Maps and some music app) that kind of worked. But why use Google Maps when my car has a

perfectly good navigation system for free?

 

The music app kind of worked but the display orientation would change or you could not do back screens and such so yoe ended up constantly 

stopping the app, breaking the connection and restarting everything. Also, you could not scroll through the music as a worning would keep on

appearing saying that further screen operations were blocked as the car was in motion !?

So the only option was to connect my phone over bluetooth and use my Spotify account directly.

 

 

 

I don't have wireless charging of a mobile or 220v outlets... because I did not specify them. Will try again with my Qi charging pad in the car. It works but not sure if I need to raise it a little to work reliably.

 

If you have a SIM slot in the unit in the glovebox then you have two option: (1) insert a SIM with a data plan or (2) setup the car to use a Bluetooth rSAP connection to your mobile which means it takes over the SIM in the phone.

 

But this is used only for Internet access for the Infotainment system such as live traffic, new feeds, weather, etc. For the other sub-systems on the newer cars it has it's down data connection (Free for 12 months but you need to register the car).

 

As for MirrorLink, you are better of using Android Auto. You can use and control Spotify from there.

Out of curiosity I tried the area notification today. Set it to be the area around the car (can you resize it?) and then when I left home I got an alert in the Skoda Connect app and an email. Notified within minutes.

 

Not sure what you could do if someone had taken your car mind ;-) Can you request a location when it's being driven - can't try that because it would be illegal to use my phone whilst driving.