Porsche Connect - Necessary or Nice to Have?

[yucatown]

Hi all, I’ve been reading posts on issues with Porsche Connect and I’m hoping I can get some clarification as to its use. I’m awaiting delivery of my Taycan and I’m trying to educate myself as much as possible in advance.

First, can the Taycan be charged at home without the app? That is, must one have to have Porsche Connect set up in order to charge the car at home? Second, are there any other key vehicle functions that are 100% dependent on one having a Porsche Connect account synced to the car? And lastly, are there features that Porsche Connect offers that you find you can’t live without?

Thanks in advance!

Sponsored

 

[W1NGE]

Hi all, I’ve been reading posts on issues with Porsche Connect and I’m hoping I can get some clarification as to its use. I’m awaiting delivery of my Taycan and I’m trying to educate myself as much as possible in advance.

First, can the Taycan be charged at home without the app? That is, must one have to have Porsche Connect set up in order to charge the car at home? Second, are there any other key vehicle functions that are 100% dependent on one having a Porsche Connect account synced to the car? And lastly, are there features that Porsche Connect offers that you find you can’t live without?

Thanks in advance!

100% not required but ...

Alternatives are My Porsche web site and in car PCM for controlling charge settings etc (timers and profiles)

That said, use the app - it's free and more convenient to use - why would you not use it?

You'll need a Porsche ID regardless in order to login to your car which is also used for My Porsche and Porsche Connect App.

 

[Tooney]

Related to your question: does the Taycan's navigation unit require Porsche Connect subscription in order to provide basic GPS functions: position on the map, routes to a destination, etc.?

I understand that getting traffic reports, weather, satellite views may require Porsche Connect, but how about just basic navigation features?

 

[W1NGE]

Related to your question: does the Taycan's navigation unit require Porsche Connect subscription in order to provide basic GPS functions: position on the map, routes to a destination, etc.?

I understand that getting traffic reports, weather, satellite views may require Porsche Connect, but how about just basic navigation features?

Not sure but I would never be without a subscription - no logic / point to it given the small cost involved. Ask your dealer. I suspect it is independent of Porsche Connect Services. Navigation Plus is a connect service as far as I'm aware but the generic navigation I don't believe so.

 

[Tooney]

W1NGE, I ask because I have a 2013 Lexus. Lexus has a subscription comm service called Lexus Enform. It provides emergency assist and other services. I subscribe to it. It is not necessary for basic GPS nav unit functions. Seven years after I bought the car, Lexus said Lexus Enform uses phone technology that is now obsolete, we will not update car's hardware, so Lexus Enform is no longer available to you. Because nav unit does not require subscription, I still have nav function.
I agree with subscription, but on that car it was obsoleted by phone technology changes.

 

[SWORDER]

Depends on the person. Some love it and some despise it.

My mind was already poisoned against Connect by the haters and by the time my TTS arrived in early June 2021, I had no interest in it. Not to mention my sales rep expressed to me the same opinion conveyed in the Connect AppStore reviews: it's an unreliable app, bordering on useless.

Be sure to balance that negativity though with the positive feedback on this forum from a lot of users! They see it as a "must have" and it works for them.

For me personally, I never used it so don't miss it. I've been driving the car for nearly 2.5 months now and haven't yet been in a situation where I've needed it. I gather that a lot of people use it to pre-set the interior climate of the car on exceptionally hot/cold days. In San Diego, CA. we don't really do that kind of stuff. So might be a locale dependent thing too.

 

[W1NGE]

W1NGE, I ask because I have a 2013 Lexus. Lexus has a subscription comm service called Lexus Enform. It provides emergency assist and other services. I subscribe to it. It is not necessary for basic GPS nav unit functions. Seven years after I bought the car, Lexus said Lexus Enform uses phone technology that is now obsolete, we will not update car's hardware, so Lexus Enform is no longer available to you. Because nav unit does not require subscription, I still have nav function.
I agree with subscription, but on that car it was obsoleted by phone technology changes.

Bear in mind you'd need to subscribe to something after 3 years to keep anything alive - Porsche Connect ID for logging on as I'd assume driving in Guest mode would irritate after a while & LTE service - so I think there won't really be an option to not do it unless you can live without everything else that has a core dependency.

 

[W1NGE]

Depends on the person. Some love it and some despise it.

My mind was already poisoned against Connect by the haters and by the time my TTS arrived in early June 2021, I had no interest in it. Not to mention my sales rep expressed to me the same opinion conveyed in the Connect AppStore reviews: it's an unreliable app, bordering on useless.

Be sure to balance that negativity though with the positive feedback on this forum from a lot of users! They see it as a "must have" and it works for them.

For me personally, I never used it so don't miss it. I've been driving the car for nearly 2.5 months now and haven't yet been in a situation where I've needed it. I gather that a lot of people use it to pre-set the interior climate of the car on exceptionally hot/cold days. In San Diego, CA. we don't really do that kind of stuff. So might be a locale dependent thing too.

So how do you log into your car - Porsche Connect ID, right? Remember it's not just the app (we can all live without that).

 

[SWORDER]

So how do you log into your car - Porsche Connect ID, right? Remember it's not just the app (we can all live without that).

I've never logged in. It's been in 'private' mode since day one so I couldn't even log in if I wanted to.

That's not to say I won't in the future encounter some situation where I'll need to login. I just haven't yet.

And although I've never used the app, I do have a Porsche account and those same credentials would presumably be used for the app should I decide to use it in the future. I use those credentials to login to the Charging App for the free EA charges -- just have never used it with Connect or to login to the car remotely.

 

[W1NGE]

I've never logged in. It's been in 'private' mode since day one so I couldn't even log in if I wanted to.

That's not to say I won't in the future encounter some situation where I'll need to login. I just haven't yet.

And although I've never used the app, I do have a Porsche account and those same credentials would presumably be used for the app should I decide to use it in the future. I use those credentials to login to the Charging App for the free EA charges -- just have never used it with Connect or to login to the car remotely.

So how do you handle OTA updates if you've never been in non-Private mode?

 

[smohr33]

I use preconditioning daily. After using it for months, I would not want to be without it now for that alone. The rest doesn't provide much of a benefit to me.

 

[Tooney]

For me personally, I never used it so don't miss it. I've been driving the car for nearly 2.5 months now and haven't yet been in a situation where I've needed it. I gather that a lot of people use it to pre-set the interior climate of the car on exceptionally hot/cold days. In San Diego, CA. we don't really do that kind of stuff. So might be a locale dependent thing too.

My question is about the Porsche Connect subscription service, not the app.

In using your car, has your car/nav unit made use of "satellite map", "real time traffic info", or "weather"? My understanding is those vehicle features require the Connect subscription, but not necessarily require use of the app.

 

[dragcity]

My question is about the Porsche Connect subscription service, not the app.

In using your car, has your car/nav unit made use of "satellite map", "real time traffic info", or "weather"? My understanding is those vehicle features require the Connect subscription, but not necessarily require use of the app.

It's quite hard to tell what will and won't without Porsche Connect as for all it's been bundled together and its all free for the first 3 years I think, after which there will be a small monthly charge I imagine.

The car also has Apple Car play so if you didn't want to continue with Porsche Connect for navigations and such you could always just default to using waze or google maps, so you're future proofed from that point of view.

 

[ciaranob]

W1NGE, I ask because I have a 2013 Lexus. Lexus has a subscription comm service called Lexus Enform. It provides emergency assist and other services. I subscribe to it. It is not necessary for basic GPS nav unit functions. Seven years after I bought the car, Lexus said Lexus Enform uses phone technology that is now obsolete, we will not update car's hardware, so Lexus Enform is no longer available to you. Because nav unit does not require subscription, I still have nav function.
I agree with subscription, but on that car it was obsoleted by phone technology changes.

Same thing happened with my 2015 BMW M4 - subscription service non-renewable as outdated phone tech and no hardware upgrade path from BMW - NBD and the Nav works 100% fine w/o the sub. service and don't really miss the RTT info TBH - would assume but cannot verify this would be the case with the Porsche - seems like it would almost be required though just for safety reasons alone?

 

[SWORDER]

My question is about the Porsche Connect subscription service, not the app.

They're part of the same package. Everyone gets a Connect subscription free for three years, whether you ask for it or not. Sales rep will set it up for you as part of your pickup routine.

In using your car, has your car/nav unit made use of "satellite map", "real time traffic info", or "weather"? My understanding is those vehicle features require the Connect subscription, but not necessarily require use of the app.

Well, again, if these services do require a subscription you're still ok because everyone gets a subscription for free for three years.

As to whether or not it's required for nav, etc... I'm not sure. Since I typically run out my lease at three years, I never gave it much thought. All I can say is that I run my car in "private" mode, which I think means it doesn't login to Connect services, and I haven't had any problem with nav, etc. Furthermore, firmware updates download just fine.

Sponsored