So another Skoda mess.... i am not happy.

 

We purchased top Edition with Columbus standard. After seeing fancy brochure and videos showing screen of the app; remote controls and data stats i was thinking this will come with the car. 

 

Obviously this is not the case, as i am here writing this. I was explained by dealer that Care Connect needs to be purchased for 3 years, its not a add-on license but factory fitted option, so you cant change your mind once car left factory.

 

I just don't get the product strategy - whilst some manufactures let you have these functions as standard (i.e. my BMW) with Skoda you either buy it at car's birth or cant have it after, most manufactures strive now towards software/license based revenue, so more of annual subscriptions are now seeing being offered, so Skoda potentially locking themselves out of the additional annual revenue: Hello Mr customer would you like to purchase or renew your Care Connect subscription? 

 

I emailed Skoda dealer below, dont know what will come out of this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

also if thats not enough everyday i log into Skoda Connect app and see embedded message saying: Upgrade to show lock/unlock

 

Its almost like teasing, this is what you could of had.

 

 

Edited 26 February, 20188 yr by vadimo

I wasn't sure about Care Connect either but I asked my dealer a couple of days after I placed my order whether the SOS button comes as standard or not and thankfully I got a straight answer.  Ordered Care Connect just in time before my order was locked.  Missed the boat on the spare wheel though! 

There is already a bit of a discussion on this on the next page of this forum

see Care Connect 3 years & Infotainment Online 1 year 

Edited 26 February, 20188 yr by Boiledbeef
repetition

Vadimo, so when I pick my Edition up exactly what do I get? So what do you get with connect because like you I thought you got both. 

56 minutes ago, Boiledbeef said:

There is already a bit of a discussion on this on the next page of this forum

see Care Connect 3 years & Infotainment Online 1 year 

 

Sorry, I remember now I’ve reread the above.

3 hours ago, Karman said:

 

Sorry, I remember now I’ve reread the above.

 

you get just Infotainment Online 1 year - you would think that both go hand in hand at least for first year and are subscription based licenses.

I guess because Care Connect automatically calls emergency services if you're in a crash, maybe there are additional sensors/hardware for it? Unless it really is just the extra button, in which case I would expect them to add it to all cars really.

I think you are paying for GSM SIM modem to be installed with activated SIM card hence it's factory option only.

But you get infotainment online as standard right? I thought that used a SIM card too?

I have the Edition/Columbus. When I signed into Skoda Connect for the first time I was offered a list of free options as follows.

 

Emergency call

18/01/2032

 

Proactive Service

14/02/2032

 

Remote Access

14/02/2021

 

Infotainment Online

19/02/2019

 

I assume at the renewal dates I will need to pay to continue the service (but I have no idea what). However the Emergency Call is effectively free of life, as is Proactive Service (where you car communicates to a preferred dealer and they contact you to arrange your next service - optional).

 

I have also signed up for a cheap SIM only so the car now has its own phone number! PlusNet gives me 1.5GB data, 2000 mins and free texts for £5 per month (obviously it is only the data I am interested in, although it is a different network to my phone which means if I am out of coverage the car might not be). I don't believe the SIM is needed for the Emergency Call as Skoda pay for this, I would assume there is something in the Columbus that facilitates the call. Ditto the Breakdown Call.

 

The SIM allows the car to upload/download data  which I can access on my computer at home as well as through the Skoda Connect app on my phone. One useful piece of data is the car's location which, should it ever be stolen, could act as a pseudo tracking device, at least until the thieves twig how it works.

 

You can also sit at home and enter all your favourite satnav destinations and have them sent to the car, as well as change the news RSS feed that the Columbus uses.

 

But the real fun thing is to have Google Earth displayed on the satnav - a much better option that the standard format.

 

Finally, some of the up/downloads can be done without the SIM card if you can get the car close enough to the router in your home  using the WLAN option. This would probably be the preferred option when maps need to be updated and the amount of data could be large..

 

 

25 minutes ago, JohnD5314 said:

I have the Edition/Columbus. When I signed into Skoda Connect for the first time I was offered a list of free options as follows.

 

Emergency call

18/01/2032

 

Proactive Service

14/02/2032

 

Remote Access

14/02/2021

 

Infotainment Online

19/02/2019

 

I assume at the renewal dates I will need to pay to continue the service (but I have no idea what). However the Emergency Call is effectively free of life, as is Proactive Service (where you car communicates to a preferred dealer and they contact you to arrange your next service - optional).

 

I have also signed up for a cheap SIM only so the car now has its own phone number! PlusNet gives me 1.5GB data, 2000 mins and free texts for £5 per month (obviously it is only the data I am interested in, although it is a different network to my phone which means if I am out of coverage the car might not be). I don't believe the SIM is needed for the Emergency Call as Skoda pay for this, I would assume there is something in the Columbus that facilitates the call. Ditto the Breakdown Call.

 

The SIM allows the car to upload/download data  which I can access on my computer at home as well as through the Skoda Connect app on my phone. One useful piece of data is the car's location which, should it ever be stolen, could act as a pseudo tracking device, at least until the thieves twig how it works.

 

You can also sit at home and enter all your favourite satnav destinations and have them sent to the car, as well as change the news RSS feed that the Columbus uses.

 

But the real fun thing is to have Google Earth displayed on the satnav - a much better option that the standard format.

 

Finally, some of the up/downloads can be done without the SIM card if you can get the car close enough to the router in your home  using the WLAN option. This would probably be the preferred option when maps need to be updated and the amount of data could be large..

 

 

If I plug my phone in (and use android auto), can I use the data on that SIM card to access the services? 

I've just ordered my Karoq but didn't go for the Care Connect option but do you get offered these items when you register anyway.  How does the Emergency call work if there is no red button? Or have I completely misunderstood as I am confused by this.

 

Thanks

 

Mark

2 hours ago, Janner74 said:

If I plug my phone in (and use android auto), can I use the data on that SIM card to access the services? 

Not really sure, you need Android V5 and above for Android Auto and my phone is V4. Also, the MirrorLink didn't work. I would think it is easy to test - if you use Android Auto you can use some (compatible?) apps from your phone, but see if the Skoda Connect button on the Columbus gives you anything useful, e.g. newsfeed, weather etc.

I use AA extensively (Pixel 2 XL on android 8.1) as does my wife with her S8 on 7.0. Neither worked with Mirrorlink last time I checked - but that doesn't bother me. Mirrorlink is an older tech pre-dating AA and CarPlay, basically mirroring whats on the phone, so without the inherent safety emphasis built into the modern car apps.

 

Nav is particlarly good as there's a choice of apps - Google Maps, and Waze - which I rate highly.

 

Again, like Apple, apps have to be compatible to pass the auto safety requirement, and are listed here:

 

https://play.google.com/store/apps/collection/promotion_3001303_android_auto_all?hl=en_GB

 

I don't see Google Earth.

 

AFAIK Skoda Connect sends data to the phone, so needs the hardware built in to achieve that.  Whether you could use the phone hotspot to access the rest I don't know. I'd be surprised if you could, as I'd expect Skoda to want to get their two penn'orth out of it.

Edited 27 February, 20188 yr by Michael G

4 hours ago, Janner74 said:

But the real fun thing is to have Google Earth displayed on the satnav - a much better option that the standard format.

Your 1.5GB of data won't last long with Google Earth displayed instead of the map.

17 minutes ago, Horacecoker said:

Your 1.5GB of data won't last long with Google Earth displayed instead of the map.

 

indeed and it doesn't cache well so you always will be streaming data, its frustrating even on my smartphone

11 hours ago, Horacecoker said:

Your 1.5GB of data won't last long with Google Earth displayed instead of the map.

 

I really don't think you can say that - it remains to be seen what usage I have for the time I drive and for the areas I drive in.

 

I will have a better idea after a month, but as some guidance I can get my usage from PlusNet and hours driven from the Driving Data from the car. Combining these I have used about 3.5Mb/hr driving time. Scale that to a 30 day month (based on 8 hrs driving every day) and it comes to 841Mb.

 

Admittedly the original data set is small and the area is pretty much the same around where I live but if there is no caching (as suggested elsewhere in the thread) then it could be a reasonable indication. If it is streaming then it can certainly do it as fast as I can drive!

 

Time will tell. I will report back after the first month.

30 minutes ago, JohnD5314 said:

 

I really don't think you can say that - it remains to be seen what usage I have for the time I drive and for the areas I drive in.

 

I will have a better idea after a month, but as some guidance I can get my usage from PlusNet and hours driven from the Driving Data from the car. Combining these I have used about 3.5Mb/hr driving time. Scale that to a 30 day month (based on 8 hrs driving every day) and it comes to 841Mb.

 

Admittedly the original data set is small and the area is pretty much the same around where I live but if there is no caching (as suggested elsewhere in the thread) then it could be a reasonable indication. If it is streaming then it can certainly do it as fast as I can drive!

 

Time will tell. I will report back after the first month.

 

As data limits get bigger (I'm on 26Gb/month now) these issues will diminish, as the fear of huge bills from use in Europe already has.

 

Streaming/buffering and "consumption" will vary with the app and 4G coverage.

 

We've likely done our last long run now but before roaming charges were abolished, I measured our continuous use of Google Maps driving across to Lake Como, in and around, and back. Over the 2 weeks, it used about 400Mb.

 

I occasionally stream music and have never had it buffer, although these days we're mainly in and around the Leeds/Bradford conurbation, and London. No issues with coverage.

There is a massive difference using Google Maps when compared with Google Earth...

1 hour ago, freedie said:

There is a massive difference using Google Maps when compared with Google Earth...

 

I'm not arguing. I'm simply making the point that given the inevitable rise in data allowances, useage just isn't the issue it was.

 

I use the free Earth version. I can't imagine why anyone would want to leave it running whilst driving along. Google Maps conversely does need to refresh and update with live traffic etc.

 

Please yourself.

On 27/02/2018 at 18:02, JohnD5314 said:

I have the Edition/Columbus. When I signed into Skoda Connect for the first time I was offered a list of free options as follows.

 

Emergency call

18/01/2032

 

Proactive Service

14/02/2032

 

Remote Access

14/02/2021

 

Infotainment Online

19/02/2019

 

I assume at the renewal dates I will need to pay to continue the service (but I have no idea what). However the Emergency Call is effectively free of life, as is Proactive Service (where you car communicates to a preferred dealer and they contact you to arrange your next service - optional).

 

I have also signed up for a cheap SIM only so the car now has its own phone number! PlusNet gives me 1.5GB data, 2000 mins and free texts for £5 per month (obviously it is only the data I am interested in, although it is a different network to my phone which means if I am out of coverage the car might not be). I don't believe the SIM is needed for the Emergency Call as Skoda pay for this, I would assume there is something in the Columbus that facilitates the call. Ditto the Breakdown Call.

 

The SIM allows the car to upload/download data  which I can access on my computer at home as well as through the Skoda Connect app on my phone. One useful piece of data is the car's location which, should it ever be stolen, could act as a pseudo tracking device, at least until the thieves twig how it works.

 

You can also sit at home and enter all your favourite satnav destinations and have them sent to the car, as well as change the news RSS feed that the Columbus uses.

 

But the real fun thing is to have Google Earth displayed on the satnav - a much better option that the standard format.

 

Finally, some of the up/downloads can be done without the SIM card if you can get the car close enough to the router in your home  using the WLAN option. This would probably be the preferred option when maps need to be updated and the amount of data could be large..

 

 

 

So without a SIM card does the emergency call and Proactive service use a paired mobile phone.  Due to take delivery of my Karoq Edition in 2 weeks.  When I asked the salesman this question he didn't know.

 

17 hours ago, pryorkshire said:

 

So without a SIM card does the emergency call and Proactive service use a paired mobile phone.  Due to take delivery of my Karoq Edition in 2 weeks.  When I asked the salesman this question he didn't know.

 

I'm afraid I don't know for certain. The emergency service is functional even without user registration and activation of services, according to the handbook, and an FAQ on the Skoda website says the calls are paid for by Skoda.

 

Some other forums for the Kodiaq say a SIM is built in

 

Nowhere have I seen it stated that a paired phone or external SIM are necessary for these functions.

 

Sorry I can't be more definitive.

 

Edited 3 March, 20188 yr by john999boy

Not a Karoq - I’m close to 1 year in  with a Columbus in my Kodiaq and have received notification that I must pay if I wish to renew the App functionality.

 

Skoda can go ram it.

 

(a) if they can’t be bothered to throw in 21st century functionality for free, then I don’t need it. I have better things to spend my cash on.

 

(b) as a Grumpy Old Man I have little or no interest / enthusiasm for dashboard gadgets and gimmicks that add nothing to my driving experience. In fact they are just mobile phone extensions and we know these distractions kill people.

 

I think Skoda may get the hint if we simply Vote With Our Feet (wallets).

I'm not going to pay for it when it runs out. Google maps is my ideal stanav. "Hey google" voice for other stuff. Android Auto is for me. So I've bought a cheap 2nd hand android that I'm going to leave plugged in the car. This will give me data, maps, songs etc. I'll see how that goes. 

 

Phone will cope better the more RAM it has. I went for the HTC m8 on ebay. ~50 as it had some scratches.