Hi all my first post and my first Octavia,

 

I noticed smarklink on the screen says activate by dealer 

 

after searching I see 150 is the price is that one time or subscription. 

 

Also so is it worth having or just a toy ? 

 

Thanks 

It's a one off charge and enables Apple Car Play, Android Auto and Mirror Link.  If you don't have satnav it's well worth it.

Thanks julieD I have sat Mac but out of date few road not on it so will look into getting it installed 

You can do the map updates yourself, they're free

Oh how do you get the update?

Skoda update portal, or there is a thread here somewhere. SmartLink is worth it IMO if you listen to streamed music a lot as you can fully control Spotify, Amazon Music etc from the cars screen. If you are caught selecting a playlist on your phone once the fine is more than the cost of the SmartLink activation. Also, have the dealer match £137. The part is £122 and the fitting is 15 mins so tell them you got a quote for £137 somewhere else. It’s true because that’s what my local dealer charge.

As an iPhone user £150ish for CarPlay would be a no brainer for me, it's great. I'm not familiar with Android Auto so can't say if it would be worth it for an Android user. 

 

I use it for Google/Apple Maps (probably TomTom soon), Spotify, Apple Music, Overcast (Podcasts), telephone calls and SMS. 

 

I find the inbuilt Bluetooth stuff in the MIB2 Amundsen is good actually, much better than some other cars I've driven, but particularly on long journeys its nice to have CarPlay. 

 

It was included free from the factory on my car as it's a facelift but I wouldn't hesitate to pay £150ish for it. 

Edited 2 April, 20197 yr by uchuff

Hi did you get CarPlay fitted or was it with the car when you got it? Thanks

19 hours ago, stubev156 said:

Hi did you get CarPlay fitted or was it with the car when you got it? Thanks

its an option but you can do it retrospectively.

On 01/04/2019 at 20:43, SashaGrace said:

Skoda update portal, or there is a thread here somewhere. SmartLink is worth it IMO if you listen to streamed music a lot as you can fully control Spotify, Amazon Music etc from the cars screen. If you are caught selecting a playlist on your phone once the fine is more than the cost of the SmartLink activation. Also, have the dealer match £137. The part is £122 and the fitting is 15 mins so tell them you got a quote for £137 somewhere else. It’s true because that’s what my local dealer charge.

Trying to work out if it will be good for me.  I do already have Sat Nav and have Apple phones, just trying to decide what benefits it will give me for £150. 🙂

Only you can really say. I love it on my car and I wouldn’t go back to not having it. I’d love to see what iOS 13 brings to the table in terms of CarPlay, it’s not changed since it was released.

 

Thanks for the advice Sasha. 🙂

Just had a quote from my local Skoda dealer franchise, they will program it for £130.  Doesn't seem a bad price....

I've just received an email from my dealer to say my vRS Challenge has left the factory and is on its way to Germany before heading for these shores. 

 

The spec list for the challenge shows Smartlink+, does anyone know is this activated by default from the factory?

 

Thanks.   

20 minutes ago, shrikep15 said:

I've just received an email from my dealer to say my vRS Challenge has left the factory and is on its way to Germany before heading for these shores. 

 

The spec list for the challenge shows Smartlink+, does anyone know is this activated by default from the factory?

 

Thanks.   

Yes it is 

Thanks for confirming Kenai

On the FL it’s standard.

On 30/05/2019 at 01:14, stubev156 said:

Just had a quote from my local Skoda dealer franchise, they will program it for £130.  Doesn't seem a bad price....

 

If you dont mind me asking which skoda is this. One of my local skodas wants £199, so I'll definitely be shopping around if 130 is close by.

Down in Oxfordshire! Probably a bit too far away I guess! 🙂

Id probably save the amount as mines a diesel , Can i have the dealers name as ill try and use this as a price match.

Sytner Skoda Llandudno Junction charge £137, its £122 for the part and 15-20 mins labour.

Can you use Bluetooth audio and also the wired connection too?

 

if my wife wanted to play her songs via Bluetooth but I wanted my phone for the CarPlay features?

 

cannitnwork like that or does the CarPlay overide this?

 

sorry rey to butt in. 

If you want to play music via BT on one phone and use maps on CarPlay you certainly can on my Columbus but I know the Amundsen doesn’t allow an extra BT phone connection when SmartLink is in use. It may allow an A2DP streaming device for music but you’d have to check as I can’t remember how my old Amundsen worked.

On 31/05/2019 at 23:33, Ash007ks said:

 

If you dont mind me asking which skoda is this. One of my local skodas wants £199, so I'll definitely be shopping around if 130 is close by.

Hi sent you a PM. 

I've got it .....tested it once and never used since.  I did like the Satellite view in Google maps but that's about it.