Voice control activation - how much in UK and any good?

[Leopold1]

I've just got around to pressing the Infotainment VOICE button and was greeted with ' ... see your dealer for an activation code ..."

Can someone tell me please what the dealers in the UK are currently charging us for the activation code and, is it really worth it?

I've got Car-Net and App-Connect (using my iPhone SE) and they work fine.
I've not got around to using SIRI yet in App-Connect/Apple CarPlay

Leopold

 

[SimonHuntersBelfast]

I have the same message appearing - dealer tells me its an option that is installed by VW, but isn't/cant be activated in the UK. Useless feature

 

[Paul_W]

I have the same message appearing - dealer tells me its an option that is installed by VW, but isn't/cant be activated in the UK. Useless feature

Sounds like your dealer is misinformed. When I asked the service department in Leicester they seemed to know that it could be added. I got the impression they may have done it previously. The part number is 5G0054802A. They quoted £200 though so I decided not to bother for now

 

[Leopold1]

SHB & Paul_W, ok noted thanks.
That part number is useful.
£200 is a lot isn't it?
I think I'll leave it for the moment.

Leopold

 

[Avanti]

The voice control may have improved now, I have it on mine but earlier model, don't expect it to be like android or siri etc, but it's useful, whether £200 worth depends, if I'm driving and want to dial a number or enter a sat nav destination, then the time to speak the command is more convenient than taking my eyes off the road for longer than desired.

 

[fullenglishpint]

Did anyone go ahead with this?

 

[Paul_W]

I didn't. One thing I've just thought though, If my iphone had "hey siri" enabled and I used it to dial a contact while driving, the call would still be routed through the car wouldn't it? Obviously it wouldn't be a complete substitute for the VW voice but phone operation would surely be what's used most. It does seem a cheek that all the other manufacturers have voice control as standard while VW charges extra. £200 for what is basically a software pack is pretty disgusting.

 

[XoneDB4]

I didn't. One thing I've just thought though, If my iphone had "hey siri" enabled and I used it to dial a contact while driving, the call would still be routed through the car wouldn't it? Obviously it wouldn't be a complete substitute for the VW voice but phone operation would surely be what's used most. It does seem a cheek that all the other manufacturers have voice control as standard while VW charges extra. £200 for what is basically a software pack is pretty disgusting.

VW is nowhere near the worst for this. BMW charge you about £300 to activate Apple CarPlay.

If your phone is plugged in, im pretty sure the phone mic is deactivated and it uses the car one, which isn’t always on. That said, I think I read somewhere that if you’re using CarPlay and press the voice control button it activates Siri rather than VW voice control - will check this later.

 

[Paul_W]

Should have mentioned, I don’t have CarPlay activated either so I’d be relying on the phones internal mic. With my phone in my pocket I’d probably be pushing my luck getting it to recognise anything lol. It was just a thought anyway

 

[Jargy]

I've got the software for this, and use Android Auto.

You need AppConnect, which is the software that allows your phone to communicate properly via your car - you can still link to your phone via bluetooth without this, but AutoConnect then allows you to use either Android Auto or CarPlay directly on the screen. This means you can use Siri or whatever the Google version is called, so long as you've got a fairly new phone.

I got my 16 plate golf about 3 months ago and got it retrofitted as part of the price negotiation. Although £200 does sound a lot for a bit of software, once you get used to it you wouldn't be without it. You can phone, text, get directions, choose music and loads of other things, all just by speaking.

If I brought a car now that didn't have it, would I spend £200 on getting it? Grudgingly, as it's something that I think should be standard in today's technological society, but yes I would.

 

[Jargy]

Just thought of something I didn't mention, which is that the phone must be connected via cable to the car - it can't be used via bluetooth. This is mildly annoying, though I've worked round this with a bit of cabling and no longer find it a problem as I'd normally plug in my phone to charge it anyway.

 

[XoneDB4]

Just to confirm from my previous post - when you're plugged in with CarPlay enabled. holding down the voice button activates Siri. This is regardless of whether you have CarPlay on screen or not.

On that basis, I don't think there's any need for me to spend £200 on voice activation as calling, texting and media selection can all be handled by Siri along with Nav if I use Apple Maps. The only thing I can't do is set a destination in the VW nav, but the touch screen input is a big improvement on my old 6" discover system (no more having to go to address and then town just to type in a postcode) so I can live with that!

 

[Jargy]

I'm just hoping they improve the connectivity with the mk8 so none of us are having to find work-arounds to meet our needs.

 

[Paul_W]

I don't see much point in Carplay at the moment. I had a loan car last year that had it. It was easier to just plug my phone in rather than going though the process of syncing up bluetooth. But in my car, I already have bluetooth for calls and music, I already have built in sat nav. The only extra thing is better text message integration. But then all my contacts use whatsapp instead which doesn't support carplay. So what's the point?

Plus there's the issue of how well Siri can understand you in the car as this clip shows..

https://twitter.com/thegrandtour/status/828966562677682176

 

[Jargy]

I think this is one of those times when Android is better than Apple - I think the integration may be better. It understands commands and variations of commands really well, and even reads back whatsapp messages!