It's not redundant in the US, it's completely useless as it doesn't allow access to the internet. They should just disable it here so it doesn't confuse people, as nobody should ever connect to it.
Yeah man, it was super easy. Just plugged in and pressed Start on the Charging app and it did its thing.
Oh man that's annoying. Sorry to hear that.
Well, my sales rep said not to even bother with the Connect app. Just too buggy. The Taycan enthusiast sites and app reviews seem to indicate the same.
Have you read the manual, I think you'll find I'm correct BUT you must have the optional data package for internet access (monthly fee - Verizon / others)?
I did notice that in the online settings. Something along the lines of, "This requires an paid subscription package." At the time I was under the false impression that I was supposed to connect my iPhone to that Taycan SSID and use it as a gateway. Turns out that wasn't the case.
Good to Know is really handy! Thanks for that. There are plenty of Porsche manuals online but they're in PDF form with insanely small print - horrible for reading on a phone. The app makes things much easier.
I slide the phone into the charging slot in the console and then use a lightning to usb-c converter to plug the cord into the usb outlet in the console. I got a short cord so that there would be less cord to coil up in the console.My Taycan Turbo S was delivered a couple of days ago and I've been having a blast with it! Seriously the best car I've ever driven. Did my first free charge at Electrify America and everything worked flawlessly. Some pics, and then some questions:
Private Mode
Some of the material I've read indicates that Private Mode basically shuts off the cellular radio. Is that the case, or does it just disable certain data from being transmitted to Porsche? I only ask because while exploring the system, I saw this note:
So it appears that, should I decide to use Private Mode, the built-in cell service is actually still on, correct?
What's a typical example of when I would want to use Private Mode?
Wired CarPlay & Cord Management
Wireless CarPlay kind of works but not really. Connecting to the car's wireless hotspot seems to disable internet access, which means some of the apps that depend upon it won't fully work (e.g. real-time Waze alerts, etc).
Long story short, I decided to just use wired CarPlay instead. Not a big deal but for those of you who are using wired CarPlay, what's the secret to fitting both the phone and the USBC-to-Lightning cord in the center console? That center console is really tiny. By the time I plug the cord into my phone (iPhone XSMax), it's too long to fit in there and comfortably close the console lid. I assume the center console is where the phone is supposed to live when plugged into the USB, correct? Or am I supposed to run the cord out through a special hole and rest it in the cup holder? Or is there some other USB port and storage area I'm supposed to be using instead?
Bluetooth
Why is Wireless CarPlay not available over Bluetooth? Is there something about the Bluetooth protocol that provides insufficient bandwidth for app-to-car communications? A post on this forum indicated that might be the case and furthermore, newer versions of Bluetooth allow for more bandwidth. If indeed that is the case, is a Bluetooth upgrade something that could be done OTA or is it a hardware-specific thing that we're just stuck with until the next model year(s)?
About Hotspots
This is more of a philosophical design question than a tech question. What's the rationale of having the car act as a hotspot? Pretty much everyone has a hotspot in their pocket via their phone, and unlimited data plans are cheap. Why not have the car act as a client to the user's hotspot (or the user's / dealer's WiFi network when parked at home or the shop) rather than having each car have it's own cell radio, SIM, etc.? Seems like leveraging the user's own hotspot would be a lot simpler and cost effective than having the user be forced to connect to a car-specific WiFi network infrastructure. There must be some reason Porsche designed things the way they did. Does it have to do with automatic OTA updates, perhaps?
Parting Thoughts
All in all, I'm loving this car! I swear I've beaten more yellow lights in the last two days than in the last two years. It's an absolute marvel of engineering. Next step is to get the radar detector installed and I'll be all set.
