What features are actually available on a FL Mk3 vRS via Skoda Connect?

I seem to have had a free trial period of 'Infotainment Online' that will expire next week and so far the only significant thing it seems to be able to do is set up Sat Nav destinations on my computer at home and have the car download them.

 

Looking in the app it hints at more features if I upgrade but doesn't really give any detail - does this refer to 'Care Connect' and is this something I can add to the car (I bought it second hand not new)? What would Care Connect actually add? I'm not particularly keen on spending money on it if the available features on the Mk3 FL are minimal!

 

I feel like i'm missing something somewhere along the line, as the Skoda Connect website lists looooaaaads of features but i've not found any way to access them so far.

Hi Kenai,

 

For me the only useful feature is the Google maps-style traffic on the sat nav.

 

I noticed it had stopped working recently, around the time I updated my iPhone to iOS12, so thought it was down to that, turns out my subscription had run out, so I just resubscribed on Friday and it’s all working again...hopefully I won’t be ending up driving up to road closures again, like I have down a couple of times recently!!!

 

For £45 a year, for me it’s worth it.

 

Cheers,

 

Nick

I guess your infotainment online is not much different than ours.... So it has:

google earth

online map update - updates the maps automatically through the hotspot or through the cars mobile data connection

online traffic inforamtion - the only useful thing i found in this service

my PoIs - allows you to insert your PoIs through the skoda portal

news - very basic RSS reader

parking spaces - shows available parking spaces around you (only on the paid parkings)

petrol station prices - shows the prices of gas around you. BUT if you have set to show first your favorite brand it does not take this into consideration

weather

online route import - you can make a route in the portal and send it to your car, however the maps in the portal are not the best

online poi search - basically searches in google maps

online destination import - you can import also from your phone which is useful

gracenote (for vehicles manufactured after 4/2017) - shows info for the song playing.

 

Care connect is something separate which includes:

shows you the parking position of the car

driving data - shows yhe info from the bordcomputer on you phone or in the portal (consumption, avg. speed, distance etc.)

online anti theft alarm - pushes a notification on the phone if alarm is triggered

area notification - you set an area and if the vehicle leaves it you get notification

vehicle status report

speed notification - notifies if the vehicle has speeded above a preset speed

honk and flash - only if you are in 500m range from your vehicle

online aux heater - for vehicles after 4/2017....

 

I am not sure if these will work if your car does not have a SIM card with data connection however...

3 minutes ago, trimata said:

I guess your infotainment online is not much different than ours.... So it has:

google earth

online map update - updates the maps automatically through the hotspot or through the cars mobile data connection

 

 

Google earth will be removed next year

 

Online map update, at 27Gb per update 2 or 3 times a year, not recommended you do that by mobile data. As it is, the online update sucks as often it fails in a late stage and then it has to start all over again, its also s..l..o...w....., sometimes doesn't work at all.

 

Update via SD card download off home computer much easier.

Just now, xman said:

 

Google earth will be removed next year 

 

Online map update, at 27Gb per update 2 or 3 times a year, not recommended you do that by mobile data. As it is, the online update sucks as often it fails in a late stage and then it has to start all over again, its also s..l..o...w....., sometimes doesn't work at all.

 

Update via SD card download off home computer much easier.

 

 

I agree with both things you said, i just didn't know about the fact that they will be dropping googled earth. Any idea when this is going to happen?

 

Generally both services are not working well, but they have to start from somewhere and improve...

18 minutes ago, trimata said:

 

I agree with both things you said, i just didn't know about the fact that they will be dropping googled earth. Any idea when this is going to happen?

 

 

Not sure about the exact dates. I believe new subscriptions/renewals might already no longer get it (so all new deliveries). Existing subscriptions will continue until next annual renewal when it will disappear.

Edited 21 October, 20187 yr by xman

Do things like traffic require a SIM or will it use data via a Bluetooth connected phone? I'm wondering if I'm not seeing certain features as it's not got a data connection when out and about - traffic for example, it's never shown anything in the native navigation. 

 

The phone app only shows trip planner and a banner inviting me to upgrade to see lock/unlock. The banner does nothing if I tap it though. 

 

(Also presumably if it doesn't have a SIM, I can't just stick my Vodafone MiFi SIM in it?) 

Edited 21 October, 20187 yr by Kenai

20 minutes ago, Kenai said:

Do things like traffic require a SIM or will it use data via a Bluetooth connected phone? I'm wondering if I'm not seeing certain features as it's not got a data connection when out and about - traffic for example, it's never shown anything in the native navigation. 

 

The phone app only shows trip planner and a banner inviting me to upgrade to see lock/unlock. The banner does nothing if I tap it though. 

 

(Also presumably if it doesn't have a SIM, I can't just stick my Vodafone MiFi SIM in it?) 

 

 

For sure it can connect throuh the mifi. I am not sure if your car can get data connection through bluetooth though

Traffic data comes from two sources

 

Via the radio using Traffic Message Channel (TMC) which is free

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_message_channel

 

And via online data via a connected data sim or connected phone. Not entirely sure how this works but it may require Connect subscription.

Yeah the TMC stuff isn't worth a ****, never anywhere near accurate or up to date, it's the online stuff I was interested in, given it was described as 'Google Maps style' in the Sat Nav. Does this actually appear in the navigation and contribute to routing/rerouting or is it just in the traffic menu like the TMC stuff?

 

To be clearer on the data connection - I was wondering if I could use the SIM from the MiFi in the car, rather than the MiFi itself, as that would constantly need charging etc. but i'm guessing if it's actually in the car it needs to be a Skoda SIM of some sort, rather than something i've put in there? (Edit - looks like for Amundsun i'd need the Car Stick, which would run me £130, so maybe using the MiFi somehow would be easiest)

 

So far, despite having the trial of infotainment online, out of the list of features trimata originally listed, the only ones that I can find or make work are the destination/poi imports from the Portal website.

Edited 21 October, 20187 yr by Kenai

I was wondering the same about what this functionality was all about. For nav/traffic updates, I've not actually used the built in sat nav beyond day 1. With Android Auto, I've switched to Waze for most of the time, occasionally Google maps, if I want the satellite view. 

 

Seems like money for nothing

I'd be using Android Auto more but my phone USB port is loose as **** (Galaxy S8) and disconnects every few minutes. I'll probably not bother renewing the Infotainment Online stuff and wait until I get a new phone in 6 months time that'll be able to connect properly.

55 minutes ago, Kenai said:

I'd be using Android Auto more but my phone USB port is loose as **** (Galaxy S8) and disconnects every few minutes. I'll probably not bother renewing the Infotainment Online stuff and wait until I get a new phone in 6 months time that'll be able to connect properly.

 

I had the same issue with my OnePlus 5. Cable wouldn't stay in, and became a pain to even charge. Turned out, I had a load of crud in the port. Used a pin to scrape in the port and got a LOT of stuff out. Now it's good as new, cables stay in.

 

Worth a try, checking your port. Even if it looks ok, might surprise you how much crap is crammed in there

https://www.gearbest.com/chargers-cables/pp_1383945.html?wid=1433363&currency=GBP&vip=15517428&gclid=CjwKCAjwx7DeBRBJEiwA9MeX_MVEp7a9efRrUWz_Oh0CQld0l2xoVwGN_9AglpTia4Y0DjpbTfcCjhoCeEMQAvD_BwE

7 hours ago, Kenai said:

Yeah the TMC stuff isn't worth a ****, never anywhere near accurate or up to date, it's the online stuff I was interested in, given it was described as 'Google Maps style' in the Sat Nav. Does this actually appear in the navigation and contribute to routing/rerouting or is it just in the traffic menu like the TMC stuff?

 

To be clearer on the data connection - I was wondering if I could use the SIM from the MiFi in the car, rather than the MiFi itself, as that would constantly need charging etc. but i'm guessing if it's actually in the car it needs to be a Skoda SIM of some sort, rather than something i've put in there? (Edit - looks like for Amundsun i'd need the Car Stick, which would run me £130, so maybe using the MiFi somehow would be easiest)

 

So far, despite having the trial of infotainment online, out of the list of features trimata originally listed, the only ones that I can find or make work are the destination/poi imports from the Portal website.

 

You don’t need a car stick if your phone can create a hotspot the car can connect to.

 

If it’s working, just left of top centre of the screen you’ll see a white globe with ‘WLAN’ next to it.

 

You’ll also know if the online traffic’s working as there will be different colour coding on your route, like Google maps, and it’ll audibly warn you of roadworks/road closures a lot more accurately than TMC.

 

As has also been suggested, clean the charging port on your phone to see if that helps the connection.

 

Cheers,

 

Nick