Dear members,

 

A few days ago I purchased an approved Skoda Octavia Scout 4*4 from a dealer and after browsing through the Infotainment menu, I had selected Smartlink to access Android Auto. It said I needed to contact the dealer so they could activate the feature. Today I have called the dealer and the woman I have spoken to didn't have a clue. She said she has never heard of needing a code to activate Smartlink and then she said that I needed to connect the phone with a USB cable. Anyway, she has been told by another colleague (as I could hear them both talking) that I had to visit the dealer and pay around £250 to activate Smartlink as the car was "very old" and Smartlink didn't come standard at the time. Can anyone please clarify if Smartlink didn't come as standard in the Skoda Octavia Scout back in December 2015? Thank you.

 

Gerry

It wasn't standard for a car dating from 2015.

Smartlink was only available with MIB2 units. Generally accepted that these were made from build dates mid 2015. (Week 22 / May 2015)

 

If its a 15 plate it will be MIB1, 65 plate generally MIB2 but there will be some exceptions due to registration dates.

 

To have it activated is usually dealer only and back in 2018 the figure of £125 was the norm. I'm sure I've seen companies other than dealers offering activation. 

2 minutes ago, steved83 said:

Smartlink was only available with MIB2 units. Generally accepted that these were made from build dates mid 2015. (Week 22 / May 2015)

 

If its a 15 plate it will be MIB1, 65 plate generally MIB2 but there will be some exceptions due to registration dates.

 

To have it activated is usually dealer only and back in 2018 the figure of £125 was the norm. I'm sure I've seen companies other than dealers offering activation. 

License plate is 65 as it was first registered during the last week in December 2015. So I would imagine it's MIB2. 

You can find details out on what you have if you hold down your menu key for 10s or less.

 

Look around for the Software Train value, it will be like MSTD_EU_SK_Pxxxx or MST2_EU_SK_ZR_Pxxxx

 

That can show what MIB you have.

Next question that might help, is does the car have Sat Nav.

The

The car has European Satellite Navigation and another button with live traffic updates

2 minutes ago, GerryZabala said:

The

The car has European Satellite Navigation and another button with live traffic updates

When you get a moment, go to car and take pictures.

 

Software Train and also screen & buttons for verification.

A few pics to see if this info is relevant

And you have working NAV on the unit?

Yes

 

2 minutes ago, GerryZabala said:

Yes (to Navigation)

 

It's official, you have MIB II

Also you can see from your Software Train you have MST2

 

You can update your firmware to 0253, and because you have Nav, you can use some "tools" to add smartlink.

Word of caution, could potentially brick things (not likely, but standard warning)

 

I have same firmware and unit in my own car, enabled smartlink for free... but my phone is not actually supported after all that.

https://compatibilitylist.skoda-auto.com/

 

Stick your VIN into this link, see if your phone is on the list.

I have the XIAOMI Redmi Note 10 pro and it's not in the XIAOMI list. I have used Bluetooth to play Spotify via the media menu and the phone works very well too.

1 minute ago, GerryZabala said:

I have the XIAOMI Redmi Note 10 pro and it's not in the XIAOMI list. I have used Bluetooth to play Spotify via the media menu and the phone works very well too.

I dare say you will be in my boat then, get the smartlink activated... just to be told "your name's not on the list"

Having the MIB II, would smartlink then come as standard to the previous owner? Would dealers switch the feature off so new approved car buyers need to pay to get this activated? I am thinking of sending an email to Skoda UK customer service.

16 minutes ago, GerryZabala said:

Having the MIB II, would smartlink then come as standard to the previous owner? Would dealers switch the feature off so new approved car buyers need to pay to get this activated? I am thinking of sending an email to Skoda UK customer service.

I've never heard of dealer's deactivating features.

 

Unless you change your phone, you're stuffed sadly.

1 hour ago, GerryZabala said:

Having the MIB II, would smartlink then come as standard to the previous owner?

 

Nope - Smartlink was a £150 option in both the May 2015 and July 2016 brochures:

 

However, by the Nov 2017 brochure it was standard across the range:

 

1 hour ago, GerryZabala said:

Would dealers switch the feature off so new approved car buyers need to pay to get this activated?

 

It's more likely it's never been activated on your car.

 

Unless the advertisement claimed smartlink was enabled, I think you're going to have to pay the enablement fee I'm afraid...

2 hours ago, GerryZabala said:

Having the MIB II, would smartlink then come as standard to the previous owner? Would dealers switch the feature off so new approved car buyers need to pay to get this activated? I am thinking of sending an email to Skoda UK customer service.

It wasn't activated as standard on a 2015 vehicle regardless of whether you have the appropriate hardware (ie MIB2). 

 

You need to get it enabled, there are people / companies who offer this service outside of the dealer network for a relatively reasonable fee. 

 

If the car was advertised as having it, you could try to persuade the dealer to enable for free as it missold to you. 

Thank you very much guys. Everything falls in place now and it makes sense. You lot are very helpful! 

5 hours ago, GerryZabala said:

Having the MIB II, would smartlink then come as standard to the previous owner? Would dealers switch the feature off so new approved car buyers need to pay to get this activated? I am thinking of sending an email to Skoda UK customer service.

I had to have Smartlink activated on my 2016 model with a MIB2 when I bought it last month, seems the (only) previous owner never bothered.

15 hours ago, PetrolDave said:

I had to have Smartlink activated on my 2016 model with a MIB2 when I bought it last month, seems the (only) previous owner never bothered.

Did you have to pay for the activation?

46 minutes ago, GerryZabala said:

Did you have to pay for the activation?

Of course, I didn't go to my local Skoda dealer as they would charge almost 50% more and couldn't do it for several weeks (I wanted CarPlay working ASAP so I could use Google maps) so I went to a company I found in Redditch (Google is your friend...).

Given you're around London, it might be worth pinging this company: https://www.vagcarcoding.com/

 

I've never used them but their owner(?) is an active member on the Ross-tech forum.

@GerryZabala Unless you are going to change your phone, none of your efforts will work.

 

I enabled this on my car, to be told my phone is not compatible.

 

You checked yours before with same results (not compatible)

That compatibly list is useless and well out of date...

 

My phone isn't listed and works perfectly.

 

Googling for an XIAOMI Redmi Note 10 pro and android auto is inconclusive. It seems to be down to phone configuration and which apps are installed to whether it'll work. It's probably worth plugging it in to a few Android Auto enabled cars to check it works before paying to have smartlink activated.