CarPlay wifi ?

flickroll

Well-Known Member
First Name
Jim
Joined
Jun 5, 2020
Threads
9
Messages
125
Reaction score
93
Location
Virginia, USA
Vehicles
Taycan Turbo
Country flag
Can anyone give a wireless Carplay status update? From what I have been reading it is supposed to be an OTA update scheduled for mid year, which is about now. I bought a Taycan Turbo which is on the Siem Confucius, scheduled to depart Emden tomorrow. If CarPlay is not wireless I just won’t use it as digging into my pocket for the phone each time I get in the car isn’t going to work for me. Thanks
Sponsored

 

BlueShoes

Well-Known Member
First Name
David
Joined
Apr 22, 2020
Threads
4
Messages
168
Reaction score
125
Location
Missouri, USA
Vehicles
Taycan Turbo
Country flag
Can anyone give a wireless Carplay status update? From what I have been reading it is supposed to be an OTA update scheduled for mid year, which is about now. I bought a Taycan Turbo which is on the Siem Confucius, scheduled to depart Emden tomorrow. If CarPlay is not wireless I just won’t use it as digging into my pocket for the phone each time I get in the car isn’t going to work for me. Thanks
Two primary gaps that I see on functionality around this right now.

First, Carplay still isn't wireless - only works when you plug the phone into the USB-C ports in the arm rest. I haven't ever used Carplay but am hopeful it works well once it's wireless b/c the other integration pieces of the PCM are flaky. Nice ideas but poor execution (ie, calendar, txt messages, weather, etc). My only complaint about what I did play with on Carplay is it's a bit cartoonish of an interface when compared to the slick interior of the Taycan. Interestingly, to get text messages to work I had to plug in to the car with a cable and then it started working wirelessly.

Second, it doesn't have wifi hotspot enabled. The hotspot is there and you can connect your phone to it but it doesn't permit internet access. Why is this a problem you ask? Well the Taycan is a damn vault. Cell signal is rough inside - if you've got 5 bars you're fine but when you dip down into lower reception areas the insulation of the car seems to attenuate the signal so much that it's not reliable which is a problem if you take calls from the car. I'm hoping that they'll get the wifi hotspot thing figured out soon and then I'll use data to make calls through the car.

I like the idea of a wirless qi charger but in practice it's not functional. Digging out the phone, opening the arm wrest, awkwardly twisting to slip the phone in there, etc. is just not what you'd do on the regular. Nice for a road trip I imagine. Then again, if you have to have the phone connected to USB-C anyway it negates the value of the qi. I only mention this b/c it also highlights a need for wireless to get sorted out.
 

flickroll

Well-Known Member
First Name
Jim
Joined
Jun 5, 2020
Threads
9
Messages
125
Reaction score
93
Location
Virginia, USA
Vehicles
Taycan Turbo
Country flag
Thanks for the reply, much appreciated. Since my Taycan will be a daily driver and carplay, cell reception, etc., matter, I am almost at the point of canceling and waiting for a 2021 when these things, hopefully, will be ironed out. Sounds like there is still a lot of work to do.
 

BlueShoes

Well-Known Member
First Name
David
Joined
Apr 22, 2020
Threads
4
Messages
168
Reaction score
125
Location
Missouri, USA
Vehicles
Taycan Turbo
Country flag
Thanks for the reply, much appreciated. Since my Taycan will be a daily driver and carplay, cell reception, etc., matter, I am almost at the point of canceling and waiting for a 2021 when these things, hopefully, will be ironed out. Sounds like there is still a lot of work to do.
I work out of my car a fair amount but really don’t care about CarPlay. If I can figure out reception I’ll be happy. I’ve been told it’s due to thermal insulated windows (which is part of the Premium Package on Turbo and I think Turbo S) but I haven’t been in a Taycan without to compare it to.
 

MTM2012

Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2020
Threads
3
Messages
24
Reaction score
20
Location
Houston
Vehicles
'20 Taycan Turbo, '19 Cayenne Turbo
Country flag
I work out of my car a fair amount but really don’t care about CarPlay. If I can figure out reception I’ll be happy. I’ve been told it’s due to thermal insulated windows (which is part of the Premium Package on Turbo and I think Turbo S) but I haven’t been in a Taycan without to compare it to.
The smartphone tray / wireless charging area connects to the car's external antenna and will boost the cell signal.
 


Genau

Well-Known Member
First Name
Dan
Joined
Dec 15, 2019
Threads
4
Messages
758
Reaction score
791
Location
Reston, Virginia
Vehicles
2020 Taycan 4S
Country flag
Well the Taycan is a damn vault. Cell signal is rough inside - if you've got 5 bars you're fine but when you dip down into lower reception areas the insulation of the car seems to attenuate the signal so much that it's not reliable which is a problem if you take calls from the car.
Here's what the Good to Know guide says about mobile phone reception. Are you saying this is incorrect? Since I don't have my Taycan yet, I can't verify.

The smartphone tray in the armrest is used to connect to the vehicle's external antenna and has a USB port for charging the mobile phone and for connecting to the PCM. Using the external antenna ensures less radiation in the vehicle and better reception quality for a mobile phone connected via Bluetooth®.
  • Keypad/code lock on the mobile phone is activated.
  • Insert the mobile phone into the smartphone holder with its back facing the side wall.
  • Please refer to chapter "Interfaces" on page 102.
 

BlueShoes

Well-Known Member
First Name
David
Joined
Apr 22, 2020
Threads
4
Messages
168
Reaction score
125
Location
Missouri, USA
Vehicles
Taycan Turbo
Country flag
Here's what the Good to Know guide says about mobile phone reception. Are you saying this is incorrect? Since I don't have my Taycan yet, I can't verify.

The smartphone tray in the armrest is used to connect to the vehicle's external antenna and has a USB port for charging the mobile phone and for connecting to the PCM. Using the external antenna ensures less radiation in the vehicle and better reception quality for a mobile phone connected via Bluetooth®.
  • Keypad/code lock on the mobile phone is activated.
  • Insert the mobile phone into the smartphone holder with its back facing the side wall.
  • Please refer to chapter "Interfaces" on page 102.
I haven’t tried it yet other than to test CarPlay And Qi charging but will tomorrow. It’s just not feasible to me to have to plug in and unplug my phone when I get in and out of the car. It’s hard to explain and could be that I’m a fatty but the Armrest tray isn’t the most easily accessible. It’s not like it’s in the change tray like area of a lot of cars.
 

BlueShoes

Well-Known Member
First Name
David
Joined
Apr 22, 2020
Threads
4
Messages
168
Reaction score
125
Location
Missouri, USA
Vehicles
Taycan Turbo
Country flag
The smartphone tray / wireless charging area connects to the car's external antenna and will boost the cell signal.
Here's what the Good to Know guide says about mobile phone reception. Are you saying this is incorrect? Since I don't have my Taycan yet, I can't verify.

The smartphone tray in the armrest is used to connect to the vehicle's external antenna and has a USB port for charging the mobile phone and for connecting to the PCM. Using the external antenna ensures less radiation in the vehicle and better reception quality for a mobile phone connected via Bluetooth®.
  • Keypad/code lock on the mobile phone is activated.
  • Insert the mobile phone into the smartphone holder with its back facing the side wall.
  • Please refer to chapter "Interfaces" on page 102.
So I tried this today... when I put the phone in the arm rest compartment I LOST signal service. I dropped a bar instantly. I had it plugged into a USB C port. I’m kind of at a loss. Maybe I’ll make a mount that holds my phone outside the window /s.

One thing to note, if you have a larger phone (mine is the iPhone 11 Pro Max) you will need to see if you can even plug in and fit. My phone kind of fits if I angle it in the compartment. I have a 90degree plug in my office I’ll need to try but the straight lightening to USB C cable I have makes the phone too long to comfortably fit in the compartment.
 


Miwa

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 3, 2019
Threads
10
Messages
825
Reaction score
856
Location
Bay Area, CA, USA
Vehicles
Taycan Turbo
Country flag
If it's not in the Qi holder, you probably aren't getting the antenna help. So reception would get worse.
 

BlueShoes

Well-Known Member
First Name
David
Joined
Apr 22, 2020
Threads
4
Messages
168
Reaction score
125
Location
Missouri, USA
Vehicles
Taycan Turbo
Country flag
If it's not in the Qi holder, you probably aren't getting the antenna help. So reception would get worse.
Curious as to why you think this. I'm not an expert on qi but I'm not sure there is any correlation with antenna connectivity and qi charging.
 

Miwa

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 3, 2019
Threads
10
Messages
825
Reaction score
856
Location
Bay Area, CA, USA
Vehicles
Taycan Turbo
Country flag
There's likely an antenna loop in the holder also to try to couple to the phone's antennas, and being next to them (or at least aligned to them) would help. It'd be separate from the Qi coils.

That or some sort of antenna amplifier in there, but it'd also have to be really short range to not run into interference issues.

You could always unplug the USB long enough to test things out and see if it makes any difference.
 

BlueShoes

Well-Known Member
First Name
David
Joined
Apr 22, 2020
Threads
4
Messages
168
Reaction score
125
Location
Missouri, USA
Vehicles
Taycan Turbo
Country flag
There's likely an antenna loop in the holder also to try to couple to the phone's antennas, and being next to them (or at least aligned to them) would help. It'd be separate from the Qi coils.

That or some sort of antenna amplifier in there, but it'd also have to be really short range to not run into interference issues.

You could always unplug the USB long enough to test things out and see if it makes any difference.
My thinking is if there is something in there that is going to help with reception, having the phone in front of the clip that is used for qi won't be materially different than actually being in the clip. We're talking a difference of a couple of inches. I'll play around a bit with it and see. Either way though, ass previously mentioned, I don't see a lot of people pulling their phones out of their pockets and purses to put them in the center console. It's just not an easy access compartment relatively speaking.
 

flickroll

Well-Known Member
First Name
Jim
Joined
Jun 5, 2020
Threads
9
Messages
125
Reaction score
93
Location
Virginia, USA
Vehicles
Taycan Turbo
Country flag
OK, so I called Porsche Customer Care today to ask about wireless Apple CarPlay. The lady ASSURED me that it currently works for the Taycan and always has. I pointed out that numerous people have reported that wireless ACP does NOT work. She said people are not connecting it properly. I seriously doubt that so many people are that technically challenged and have attempted to connect it and failed. So I’ll call again tomorrow with the hope I’ll get someone else. From what I have gathered reading about the car it is pretty clear it does not work.
 

Gogs

Well-Known Member
First Name
Gordon
Joined
Dec 14, 2019
Threads
53
Messages
1,187
Reaction score
835
Location
Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
Vehicles
Taycan 4S, 911 4S, Range Rover Sport Hybrid, Range Rover Vouge
Country flag
Assume there are setup instructions in the manual. If so, try that again and if it doesn’t work take it into the PC.
 

BlueShoes

Well-Known Member
First Name
David
Joined
Apr 22, 2020
Threads
4
Messages
168
Reaction score
125
Location
Missouri, USA
Vehicles
Taycan Turbo
Country flag
OK, so I called Porsche Customer Care today to ask about wireless Apple CarPlay. The lady ASSURED me that it currently works for the Taycan and always has. I pointed out that numerous people have reported that wireless ACP does NOT work. She said people are not connecting it properly. I seriously doubt that so many people are that technically challenged and have attempted to connect it and failed. So I’ll call again tomorrow with the hope I’ll get someone else. From what I have gathered reading about the car it is pretty clear it does not work.
I had read that (don't remember where... here maybe) that it was planned for a mid-year update. So maybe she's thinking of cars getting produced now vs. us that already have our cars.
Sponsored

 
 




Top