Volvo on Call app - Experience?

Kkumar99 · Dec 29, 2015

Bigote Joyride said:
I'm pretty sure you'll need internet. Sorry for that, I have misread your post. What's happening to me. :facepalm:

I think for me the app's feature is underwhelming. I wish it has more features like turning on the heated windshield, adjusting the temp, etc. It's slow but the response is quick (depending on the weather). I would have love to have this feature for as long as I have the car but I don't think it's worth the price Volvo is asking for.

It's not worth anything if you still have to pay for data plan on top of that. I'm sure att will try to gouge us too for their 3g internet once pricing is announced.

ashay21 · Dec 29, 2015

Kkumar99 said:
Bigote Joyride said:

It has nothing to do with AT&T data plan. https://volvo.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/9170

Sending destination to the car can be done through the internet. http://forums.swedespeed.com/showthread.php?271257-Send-destination-to-car-from-the-web

After your 6 months complimentary Volvo On Call Subscription you will have to pay for it and it's not cheap. https://volvo.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/9172/related/1

Click to expand...

But will the car receive the information without a data plan or being tethered?

This is a great question...doesn't the vehicle use data via the ATT 3g for activity like remote start, unlock/lock, send to nav, etc? If so..this might be $$$ total for both VOC and data.

Gc52 · Dec 29, 2015

I could be wrong but I think the xc90 actually has two SIM cards- one for the AT&T (or other data in Europe) and one for on-call/diagnostics/etc. so there should not be a fee other than the VOC fee.

Or like ashay is saying, it includes the AT&T charge. Funny, I haven't checked to be certain what's working but I am on my paid VOC plan now and pretty sure my cars modem is still connected.

ashay21 · Dec 29, 2015

Ok. I did some research and I think I found the answer from another board/post:

"VOC does not need a data plan. The Volvo on Call subscription includes the communications needed to support the features. It's a very small amount of data compared to, say, streaming music. The car is always connected to support at minimum the emergency lifeline services, which do not require a subscription."

So it looks like we don't need the 3G ATT once it expires to continue with VOC subscription.

Kkumar99 · Dec 29, 2015

Gc52 said:
I could be wrong but I think the xc90 actually has two SIM cards- one for the AT&T (or other data in Europe) and one for on-call/diagnostics/etc. so there should not be a fee other than the VOC fee.

Or like ashay is saying, it includes the AT&T charge. Funny, I haven't checked to be certain what's working but I am on my paid VOC plan now and pretty sure my cars modem is still connected.

Well for now the att data plan is continuing without charge as they have not announced pricing, so if you're in the US, you probably still have your data going.

Kkumar99 · Dec 29, 2015

ashay21 said:
Ok. I did some research and I think I found the answer from another board/post:

"VOC does not need a data plan. The Volvo on Call subscription includes the communications needed to support the features. It's a very small amount of data compared to, say, streaming music. The car is always connected to support at minimum the emergency lifeline services, which do not require a subscription."

So it looks like we don't need the 3G ATT once it expires to continue with VOC subscription.

hopefully this is the case!

Bigote Joyride · Dec 29, 2015

ashay21 said:
Ok. I did some research and I think I found the answer from another board/post:

"VOC does not need a data plan. The Volvo on Call subscription includes the communications needed to support the features. It's a very small amount of data compared to, say, streaming music. The car is always connected to support at minimum the emergency lifeline services, which do not require a subscription."

So it looks like we don't need the 3G ATT once it expires to continue with VOC subscription.

Jeebus! I'm confuse now... can you share to us where you got this info? This is great since I don't think I would need data plan for my car.

iron_man · Dec 29, 2015

ashay21 is correct. The VOC and the ATT SIM card are two separate things. Each uses a different data connection. When you renew VOC, the communications it needs is inherent to the feature and is always included. For the ATT 3G data connection, for now it will remain FREE even after the 6 month trial period UNTIL Volvo and ATT come to some agreement as to what to charge for the data plan. Volvo has indicated that it will remain complimentary for the time being. My only hope is that they don't drop the ball and all of a sudden cut people off on the 3G connection without notifying the owners first. Where I live we have a strong ATT connection and we use the 3G connection all the time for the apps such as weather, Yelp, Pandora and it has worked really well. I like not having to tether my phone and the kids love it because they are able to stream Netflix off the car's wifi hotspot...and surprising it works really well for them without any buffering issues on Netflix.

MikeAllard · Dec 29, 2015

Streaming Netflix can be very expensive - do you pay for data use?

ashay21 · Dec 29, 2015

MikeAllard said:
Streaming Netflix can be very expensive - do you pay for data use?

That's why there are unlimited data plans

Both my wife an i have them. Makes the most sense for us these days.

reeg2 · Dec 29, 2015

Bigote Joyride said:
I wish it has more features like turning on the heated windshield, adjusting the temp, etc. It's slow but the response is quick (depending on the weather). I would have love to have this feature for as long as I have the car but I don't think it's worth the price Volvo is asking for.

No need to wish, the XC90 will already de-ice both windshields on startup. Settings under the climate menu, I believe.
The temp will stay on the last used temp - which in cold weather, should be as warm as needed to help de-ice.

iron_man · Dec 29, 2015

MikeAllard said:
Streaming Netflix can be very expensive - do you pay for data use?

Nope. Because they use the car's Wifi hotspot capability which feeds off the included, complimentary ATT 3G data. I pay "nada" for it. That's the best part!

tgold · Jan 4, 2016

Bigote Joyride said:
After your 6 months complimentary Volvo On Call Subscription you will have to pay for it and it's not cheap. https://volvo.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/9172/related/1

Either I am confused or Volvo USA is. It seems to me that 95% of the Volvo On Call subscription is already included within the warranty of my new V60. As far as I can tell a $200 payment will gain me nothing but a 12 months extension to the use of that smartphone app. It's a nice enough app but $200 for one year of use is simply absurd. I fear that Volvo has lost track of what the package contains and how it overlaps the features of their new car warranty. Any comments?

Bullhead · Jan 4, 2016

Mine worked just fine every time I used it but after 6 months free subscription, won't pay $200 annually for, for something I can do with my key fob. Half that price a maybe but I even doubt that.

tarrbot · Jan 4, 2016

ashay21 said:
Sorry..what do you mean by 'pre-heater'....? I don't see a way to adjust cabin temps via VOC app. Do you mean just starting up the car to warm it up? Also, curious...how long do you guys set the time for? 5 min?

I'm assuming that because s/he's in Norway the 'pre-heater' being referenced is an engine pre-heater for cold climates.

http://accessories.volvocars.com/en-is/XC90(16-)/Accessories/PrintDocument/VCC-482423/2016

Tibits · Feb 28, 2016

Looks the Volvo On Call app for iPhone was updated in the US app store (v3.3.0). Some of the new features are quite useful and a step in the direction that will have me feeling better when I have to pay for VOC.

An option popped up for me to activate Calendar Card functionality. Basically you authorize the VOC app to access your calendar, and a 5th tile (below Until Empty Tank) you can access your immediately upcoming calendar events and send their location directly to the XC90. I keep detailed business, personal, and shared family calendars in iCloud, therefore this feature is extremely useful for me.

Also, the VOC app now utilizes 3D Touch on my iPhone 6S. The quick access functions available are Send Destination, Flash Lights, Unlock, and Start Engine. Release notes indicate improved Driving Journal functionality, however I have that toggled off, so I can't comment.

All in all a step in the right direction, and promising that Volvo is serious about improving this app and functionality.

reeg2 · Feb 28, 2016

Tibits said:
Looks the Volvo On Call app for iPhone was updated in the US app store (v3.3.0). Some of the new features are quite useful and a step in the direction that will have me feeling better when I have to pay for VOC.

An option popped up for me to activate Calendar Card functionality. Basically you authorize the VOC app to access your calendar, and a 5th tile (below Until Empty Tank) you can access your immediately upcoming calendar events and send their location directly to the XC90. I keep detailed business, personal, and shared family calendars in iCloud, therefore this feature is extremely useful for me.

Also, the VOC app now utilizes 3D Touch on my iPhone 6S. The quick access functions available are Send Destination, Flash Lights, Unlock, and Start Engine. Release notes indicate improved Driving Journal functionality, however I have that toggled off, so I can't comment.

All in all a step in the right direction, and promising that Volvo is serious about improving this app and functionality.

Great news. I hadn't even noticed!

MP_76 · Feb 28, 2016

Tibits said:
Looks the Volvo On Call app for iPhone was updated in the US app store (v3.3.0). Some of the new features are quite useful and a step in the direction that will have me feeling better when I have to pay for VOC.

An option popped up for me to activate Calendar Card functionality. Basically you authorize the VOC app to access your calendar, and a 5th tile (below Until Empty Tank) you can access your immediately upcoming calendar events and send their location directly to the XC90. I keep detailed business, personal, and shared family calendars in iCloud, therefore this feature is extremely useful for me.

Also, the VOC app now utilizes 3D Touch on my iPhone 6S. The quick access functions available are Send Destination, Flash Lights, Unlock, and Start Engine. Release notes indicate improved Driving Journal functionality, however I have that toggled off, so I can't comment.

All in all a step in the right direction, and promising that Volvo is serious about improving this app and functionality.

Agreed. It's only been 2 days, but I'm liking the app so far. I've tried the lock unlock and it's worked pretty well. It even notified me when the case was unlocked whilke I was at the park.

Send destination is much easier than typing it in. Overall it's pretty good. Will be trying it more to see if it will be worth it after the 6 months.

jquill · Feb 28, 2016

Tibits said:
Looks the Volvo On Call app for iPhone was updated in the US app store (v3.3.0).

It looks like they also fixed an issue where trip information exported to an .xls spreadsheet was in Metric units even when US Units were specified in the Settings options. The exported data units now match the Settings option. There is, however, still some room for improvement; the exported data does not report the fuel economy (MPG) but instead exports the distance traveled (Miles) and fuel consumption (Gallons). The fuel consumption is only exported to one decimal place which can result in incorrectly computed MPG figures on shorter trips.

ab601 · Feb 28, 2016

Ive only been using the app for a couple of weeks. When I first started using it I noticed that with the Driving Journal the actual route between point A and B was shown on the map and you could see the speed, mpg etc. at different points on the route. This feature seems to have disappeared, it now just shows start and finish location on the map and not the route taken. Anyone else noticed this / or is there a setting somewhere that I have missed ?

Volvo on Call app - Experience?

Kkumar99

ashay21

Gc52

ashay21

Kkumar99

Kkumar99

Bigote Joyride

iron_man

MikeAllard

ashay21

reeg2

iron_man

tgold

Bullhead

tarrbot

Tibits

reeg2

MP_76

jquill

ab601

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