Can I connect the Taycan to my home wifi?

[W1NGE]

That's an older PCM version (based on MIB 2) that was never in Taycan's.

Indeed - fine if you have a Panamera!

Sponsored

 

[B61]

I don't believe that there is a way to connect the Taycan to your home WiFi. The car has it's own 4G antenna which it uses to connect to Porsche to download updates.

Afaik, it;s a 5G built in Taycan.

 

[abrookesuk]

That's an older PCM version (based on MIB 2) that was never in Taycan's.

oh....

 

[Firasghazal]

Tesla does this. Many people don’t have reliable cellular access from their garages. It also offloads data updates in both directions which is good for Porsche (pushes the cost) and the customer (it’s faster).

I got my Taycan from Germany, not able to connect as the integrated sim only covers Europe. Ability to connect to wifi would have been a smarter option.

 

[Firasghazal]

Understood but equally all of this can be performed when in a better reception area / on the move. The data transfers can wait given the nature of them.

Actually not when you are in a different continent

 

[dtich]

there is no good argument for no wifi. they simply need to fix this. there is no reason not to offload downloading and connectivity to a more stable, larger pipeline when possible -- good for consumer, good for network, good for P. i suspect it comes down to programming skills and lack thereof.

 

[Scandinavian]

there is no good argument for no wifi. they simply need to fix this. there is no reason not to offload downloading and connectivity to a more stable, larger pipeline when possible -- good for consumer, good for network, good for P. i suspect it comes down to programming skills and lack thereof.

It is possible to do in some markets though, so question is why limit it in most markets.

see
https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/threads/can-i-connect-the-taycan-to-my-home-wifi.3875/post-53262

 

[W1NGE]

Actually not when you are in a different continent

Perhaps don't import cars into UAE which aren't factory tailored for UAE.

 

[WasserGKuehlt]

there is no good argument for no wifi. they simply need to fix this. there is no reason not to offload downloading and connectivity to a more stable, larger pipeline when possible -- good for consumer, good for network, good for P. i suspect it comes down to programming skills and lack thereof.

I'm not contesting that there should be a WiFi option, but do you really think a company who makes the software for an entire car - even if it's "just" the PCM, though there's far more than that - can't handle WiFi connections?

 

[W1NGE]

I'm not contesting that there should be a WiFi option, but do you really think a company who makes the software for an entire car - even if it's "just" the PCM, though there's far more than that - can't handle WiFi connections?

We already know they can..it is available in Russian spec cars and disabled everywhere else.

 

[dtich]

I don't mean it exactly that way, more in the sense that they have issues with how they've ID'd the vehicles, eg. tied it to a SIM ID and not a hardware (MAC) ID, as with WIFI. So they have issues keeping the telemetry linked between the two pipelines on one vehicle (as Tesla does). Obviously, I don't know, but I imagine something like this because there is no other reason I can fathom for being so... insular.

Also, it's entirely possible that the Russian-bound Taycans have different hardware as well, as a workaround. Perhaps they couldn't do a deal with the telecoms there and instead of permanent roaming they opted for WiFi.

In either case, I also think they have structured their connectivity in such a way that the systems fail unsafe, not safe. Meaning, when they fail - lose connection to Porsche's backend - the systems that require authentication for function, stop functioning, rather than continue to function until comms are restored. I know it is not entirely this way, but anecdotally it does seem that it might be fundamentally this way.

Which is good for P and bad for consumers. This is all because of 'in-app purchases' that are so the rage these days - why sell something once when you can keep selling it again and again? When a car that has subscription upgrades goes on the pre-owned market, all those upgrades reset and the new owner needs to purchase them again. A lot of functionality is offloaded to software now, so it follows the user, not the car. Again, good for P, not so good for consumers. A car can be worth $100K, or $145K, depending on the subscriptions only, the hardware the same.

I find it all related. Perhaps I'm totally wrong.

 

[WasserGKuehlt]

I don't mean it exactly that way, more in the sense that they have issues with how they've ID'd the vehicles, eg. tied it to a SIM ID and not a hardware (MAC) ID, as with WIFI. So they have issues keeping the telemetry linked between the two pipelines on one vehicle (as Tesla does). Obviously, I don't know, but I imagine something like this because there is no other reason I can fathom for being so... insular.

Also, it's entirely possible that the Russian-bound Taycans have different hardware as well, as a workaround. Perhaps they couldn't do a deal with the telecoms there and instead of permanent roaming they opted for WiFi.

In either case, I also think they have structured their connectivity in such a way that the systems fail unsafe, not safe. Meaning, when they fail - lose connection to Porsche's backend - the systems that require authentication for function, stop functioning, rather than continue to function until comms are restored. I know it is not entirely this way, but anecdotally it does seem that it might be fundamentally this way.

Well, that's a much better argument - we're getting to specifics.

I'd say the SIM is just as much a hw identity as a NIC would be, and further, I'd expect actually that there is a deeper, root-type car identity. Consider the charging protocols, or the enablement of FoD - those are "serious money" in the sense of a non-negligible revenue stream whose integrity must be protected.

WiFi on the other hand seems to be more discretionary - it's just a convenience-type feature, one that users would expect (or not), but not one they'd be willing to spend money on. Further, its usefulness seems a bit limited to me - I know I'd only be using it at home/on my home network and absolutely nowhere else. They'd need to harden that endpoint (whether or not they consider the owner to be hostile or just preventing self-pwnage), and I do agree with you that bridging the connections (cell and WiFi) for more reliable OTA would not have been trivial. So it becomes, as always, a cost-benefit analysis and they must have decided it was obviously not worth the investment.

Regarding the unsafe failing - not quite sure I'd call that 'unsafe'; the functionalities that are critical to the safety of the car/driving absolutely do not depend on connectivity, and as a software vendor I'd argue that an interruption of connection means limited functionality - no discretionary features. Otherwise it'd be too easy to 'shield' the car in perpetuity and retain the functionality that was enabled as a free trial. We're sliding into the subscription model, though, and I am aware there are strong feelings surrounding it.

 

[dtich]

Yes, 'unsafe' here is just the nomenclature, doesn't mean actually un-safe, in this instance. In the original instance, post-war aviation and nuclear controls, it did mean actually unsafe.

 

[Firasghazal]

Nope not possible and wouldn't be good for your 12V battery either.

It can be a WiFi hotspot to connect to for certain phone to PCM functions and WiFi sharing (with data package) but nothing else.

Why would you want to?

I dont believe it would damage the 12V battery else I would have faced that with my Tesla.
It makes sense to allow for WiFi connection specially if you are travelling with your car over seas and the roaming package doesn't work.
More so, in UAE, the TRA does not have a deal with Porsche yet so the PCM functions don't work.
Porsche need to up-skill their tech team.
Allow for more seamingless integrations. Why can't Android Auto's nav appear on the dash in front of you. Why can't you download apps such as Spotify and Anghami and others. Why can't you have a customised screen with dashboard like functionalities. Weather, calendar, business news, would news...
It's about collaborating with the consumer. Anyway off topic. There are more benifits to wifi than less. So might as well.

 

[Firasghazal]

Well, that's a much better argument - we're getting to specifics.

I'd say the SIM is just as much a hw identity as a NIC would be, and further, I'd expect actually that there is a deeper, root-type car identity. Consider the charging protocols, or the enablement of FoD - those are "serious money" in the sense of a non-negligible revenue stream whose integrity must be protected.

WiFi on the other hand seems to be more discretionary - it's just a convenience-type feature, one that users would expect (or not), but not one they'd be willing to spend money on. Further, its usefulness seems a bit limited to me - I know I'd only be using it at home/on my home network and absolutely nowhere else. They'd need to harden that endpoint (whether or not they consider the owner to be hostile or just preventing self-pwnage), and I do agree with you that bridging the connections (cell and WiFi) for more reliable OTA would not have been trivial. So it becomes, as always, a cost-benefit analysis and they must have decided it was obviously not worth the investment.

Regarding the unsafe failing - not quite sure I'd call that 'unsafe'; the functionalities that are critical to the safety of the car/driving absolutely do not depend on connectivity, and as a software vendor I'd argue that an interruption of connection means limited functionality - no discretionary features. Otherwise it'd be too easy to 'shield' the car in perpetuity and retain the functionality that was enabled as a free trial. We're sliding into the subscription model, though, and I am aware there are strong feelings surrounding it.

Well look at it this way, you are thinking of how you would use it not others, unfortunatly, if you are travelling with the car, the roaming connection doesn't work. What's the alternative, we'll WiFi connection to your roaming phone. In some markets the TRA have locked access rendering the cars PCM useless, this could be overcome easily with WiFi connection. Again how you use the car might be different than how I use it and how others might.
Having both functionalities like Tesla makes more sense based on personal experience.
In fact it's cheaper for Porsche not having to sign a deal with one of the telcos and or pass it on to consumers.
Having a WiFi enabled connection solves more problems than it creates.

Sponsored