[greyroc]

We haven't got our T-Roc yet (SEL on order), so unfortunately don't have a manual, but have been trying to research the toys like Car-Net etc.

Getting a bit confused though, lots of conflicting information about, so wondered if someone could please put me right on the following points..

1) Does the car have an internet connection using an onboard SIM ?

2) Does the car connect to internet using WIFI (when at home on drive etc.) or a mobile phone acting as a hotspot?

3) If there isn't an onboard SIM and Internet connection, has anyone found a suitable 4G WIFI or MIFI dongle that the car will connect to ?

4) I read somewhere that the SEL comes with a 3 year subscription to Car-Net, is this correct, what does this subscription actually give you ?

5) Am I right in thinking that Car-Net will enable remote monitoring of car (Locked, location, Journey information, security notifications etc.) ?

6) Am I also right in thinking that Car-Net will allow upload of stuff to the car (SAT Nav destinations etc.) ?

7) When connected to internet (onboard SIM or WIFI) do the Sat Nav maps update or is that a dealer job for a CD or similar ?

My only experience of VW's gadgets was a brief play with Android Auto in a hired Polo while on holiday which I thought was nice, but I think the T-Roc SEL has a bit more than that so I am keen to find out exactly what we are getting.

 

[Laurenb92]

I've only just set the car net up and to be honest I don't think it's that great. It does have a sat nav and it uses ur phone as a hotspot, I have the r line and I have 3 year subscription with it.

When you get your car you will be given a car VW connect that monitors your cars location/fuel/driving style etc and from what I can see the car net does basically the same as that. It tells you the news and weather aswell and also can help navigate you to car parks and places of interest (but if you have sat nav it does that anyway)

Maybe I'm not using it properly. My car came with sat nav and even if it didn't you don't need it because the car play connects to google maps and brings up the maps on your screen. And the rest of the things the car net does is what the VW connect already does. If it wasn't free I definitely wouldn't be paying for it.

 

[BH1805]

Greyroc, the owners manual is here:

https://www.trocforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=531

Brian

 

[CJD]

Some of the functions of car net are dependant on having an external connection such as your smart phone or WiFi to work otherwise it just tells you there's no connection. A few features will work independent using its own inbuilt gsm SIM card ( built inside the dashboard). This allows your car to connect to the car net app via a smartphone & pc. It will tell you if the cars locked or unlocked, tell you the fuel tank level, allow you to remotely flash the lights & horn & tell you mileage service info as well as limited info on the last few trips including distance travelled & mpg ( that parts pretty basic & not as good as the vw connect data plug). The one feature that car net does have however where it really does shine is its location tracker which uses its gsm sim built into the dashboard to give you a tracking device that operates independently of any phone connected in the car etc. It allows you to set upto 10 boundary areas on a geographical map & if the car leaves or enters an area then it notifies you by email in real time & shows it's current location on a street map. You can also set speed alerts & if the car exceeds the limit you set then it again alerts you ( great if you ever let anyone else borrow the car & want to keep tabs etc). I got car net as standard with my SEL model & whilst most of it is pointless, for me having a free tracker gives massive peace of mind that it will be recovered very quickly if it's ever stolen.

 

[greyroc]

Thanks for the replies..

So the T-Roc does have a onboard built in SIM, I really wasn't sure, couldn't find definitive information.

Like mentioned, the built in tracking facilities sound excellent, well worth having !!

So which functions of Car-Net are dependant on having an external connection to WIFI or Mobile Phone hotspot ?
Interesting that not everything works using the onboard built in SIM, I wonder why they did that ??
Wouldn't be a lot of good if the tracking or security features wouldn't work when away from your WIFI, would make them pointless.

Still very confused about the differences between Car-Net, VW Connect and data plug facilities though !!

 

[Laurenb92]

My car net doesn't work at all without me turning on my hotspot or connecting it to an alternative internet connection

 

[Smarttask]

I'm sorry but if the T-Roc has a SIM card tucked away somewhere please tell me where it is and who's paying for it.. with out using my iPhone as a hotspot I can't connect to CarNet ... I have a 4G dongle but haven't tried using that yet but in the manual it says you can use one .

 

[greyroc]

Seems to be a common theme brewing here, Car-Net doesn't seem to work without WIFI or a mobile phone being used as a hotspot !!

Kind of makes it pointless, because it is hardly a 'Connected Car' if you are not sat in it with your mobile phone on..
Makes the security notifications and location stuff worthless, as that is required to keep an eye on things when you parked up.

Are we absolutely sure the car has a SIM and some kind of onboard data connection ?

I really can't get to the bottom of it, so much conflicting information.

 

[Smarttask]

This may help.. https://www.volkswagen.co.uk/technology/car-net.

 

[greyroc]

This may help.. https://www.volkswagen.co.uk/technology/car-net.

Yep, have seen that and read through it multiple times..

It kind if implies a 'Connected Car' without actually saying how the connection works.
For example, it says you can monitor your car "whilst browsing the shops or sat in the office" which certainly implies the car is connected to the internet using somekind of inbuilt data connection (SIM). Unless of course they mean it has to be in range of a WIFI hotspot somehow ??

But based on the experience of many users (both here and on the Tiguan forums) it appears nothing works unless connected to WIFI hot spot !!

Still not entirely sure how it is supposed to work.

It certainly sounds like it has its own data connection, but I am surprised by the amount of posts saying that nothing works unless connected to mobile phone, as that then implies that the car is DOES NOT have its own data connection.

Anyone had any experience of it working correctly and can shed any light, can the car be monitored if it isn't connected to WIFI hotspot ??

 

[Radders]

I also assumed it would have a built in SIM, the same as my Audi A4 that has a three year subscription that uses the SIM for all data functions in the car such as Google Maps, traffic etc.

Bit of a pain having to tether it to your phone but in real life I use my Audi connect about once every six months.

 

[Smarttask]

Where I think it all becomes a bit confusing is that all the VW range have different specs.. For instance the Touareg has the possibility to insert a SIM card directly into the car.. the same as the electric cars which use Car-Net e-Remote.. But they way they publicise Car-Net you would think all VW models would be the same but they're not.. If I were you I would go into the dealership with a copy of the letter you wrote here and aske them to answer your questions.. I hope this all makes a bit of sense...
I use Car-Net mainly for car parks, petrol stations when I'm in a place I'm not familiar with.. you also get the price of petrol/diesel at the suggestion petrol stations...

 

[CJD]

Quite a few people are noting that their car net only works when connected to home WiFi or a mobile as a hotspot. My car did this & would never transmit the data through to my smartphone meaning the tracker did not work & the only bits of car net that did work when tethered to wi fi or phone was things like the weather display on the car net screen in the car. When you turn your ignition on, if at the top of the large satnav/ infotainment panel you don't see a car icon with a balloon or if you get a car icon with a cross then your car net is not functioning & you should complain to the main dealer. It took me 7 visits over 6 months & 3 parts of car net to be changed before the system finally worked as it should. If you go onto the car net app on a smartphone & it says it is unable to connect or retrieve data & does not show your fuel level next to a large t roc outline then your car net is not working. Hope this helps as it's been a very long battle to get mine working

 

[Dolphinfriendly1012]

I don't know if this will help, but I have trawlers around to try and see if I can find anything out about this. My previous tiguan had car net but would only work, intermittently mind, when tethered to my phone or home wifi. Now in regards the embedded sim, I intially thought it would be as I think previously mentioned, in the unit as a sim card slot like the previous generation a4 was. It appears that this isn't the case, unless there's been some changes, and it is buried in its own unit somewhere. From what I've read, which I know can't remember what site as I've read so many, that the sim card is a 2g enabled only. This means that it cannot transmit or receive data only phone or sms. This makes me think that it's able to carry out the basic functions via sms and use phone signal to locate for the tracker via mast triangulation, also the emergency side would would through voice call. Anything else will need a data connection hence tethering of phone or dongle. If this is wrong then apologies but seems a bit of a minefield and no doubt varies from country to country.

 

[Dolphinfriendly1012]

Just found this, I wonder if this is what is hidden about the car somewhere

https://www.parts-depot.co.uk/genuine-vw-accessory-bluetooth-rsap-wireless-lan-sim-card-reader---5g0-051-473-101-p.asp

As a side note I think this is probably what everyone was thinking it should look like

 

[greyroc]

From what I've read, which I know can't remember what site as I've read so many, that the sim card is a 2g enabled only. This means that it cannot transmit or receive data only phone or sms. This makes me think that it's able to carry out the basic functions via sms and use phone signal to locate for the tracker via mast triangulation, also the emergency side would would through voice call. Anything else will need a data connection hence tethering of phone or dongle.

Aaah, that could make a lot of sense, perhaps a 2G only connection built into the car !!

For anything other than 'basic functions', a tethered mobile phone acting as a hot spot is then required to provide real data.

That would then exhibit the behavior that most of seeing, in that not a lot (if anything) works unlsess a mobile hotspot is used !!

Could that be the answer, anyone know more?

 

[trocsel]

The Car-Net app has a Help link to volkswagen-car-net.com and there is a lot of useful help information on there. FAQ's etc.

Also, in the help for Security & Service, Emergency Call Service, scroll down and there is a link to
"Service description as a PDF"

This is a very good guide about Car-Net.

https://www.volkswagen-car-net.com/portal/delegate/documents/security_service_en_GB

 

[JoDicken]

So why can i not connect to my office internet connection

 

[JoDicken]

Any body else tried to play files with artist logos on the screen and if so does it work , mine dont

 

[Impala]

This is a very old topic and the subjects are better covered in many others.

Regarding connection to your office internet connection, there are many possible causes. Firstly, being an office internet connection, does it have a wireless router and is it in range from your car ? Next up, is the wireless network 2.4GHz or 5GHz (my T-Roc can only use 2.4GHz but new cars may support 5Ghz or both). Then there is the wireless security to consider. Is the wireless network encrypted, do you know the SSID and password, is the SSID hidden, has MAC filtering been enabled ? I could go on, but it would be easier if you provided details or your setup rather than a vague question like "why can i not connect to my office internet connection".

Regarding artist logos, I presume you mean the album cover art for music files you have stored on a USB drive of some sort connected to the car. Again this is covered in several topics, and there are some problems with known solutions and workarounds. See this topic for a summary ... https://www.trocforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=2141