I posted this on Vortex, but figured ya'll may want it here too.
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EDIT: As several people have added to this thread, this is NOT the proper way to take apart your interior trim pieces. The "pull on it" method works, but will break some of the plastic retaining tabs on the AC vent trim and whatnot. My interior snapped back together just fine, but your results may vary! There are some great tips posted by others in this thread; please read them before attempting.
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I won't delve too much into the "why," but suffice to say that some of us don't want a telematics box plugged in to our car's systems. I wanted to disable CarNet, which led me on this journey.
Thanks everyone for the help in my original thread. Since people are asking, I figured I'd make a summarized post.
PLEASE post if any of the information does not apply to your MKVII or does not have the same results. I have only my car as the guinea pig, which is a 2015 Golf TDI S. Also, PLEASE post if you know a way to completely disable the module through VagCom, in order to avoid taking apart the dash.
I'll show how to get to the box, but first, what happens if you just unplug the connector?
1. CarNet will not work anymore.
2. The buttons will not do anything, and LED indicator will be off. The buttons will still be illuminated when the headlights are on.
2. Bluetooth will continue to work (apparently built into infotainment system now.)
3. The microphone will not work, so hands free calling is a one-way endeavor, and voice controls won't function. This can be fixed by installing a jumper on the CarNet connector.
4. GPS to the infotainment appears to work. (someone with navigation please confirm.)
5. A lot of DTC's will be thrown from various modules, but no dashboard CEL will result. This can be mostly fixed with a coding change.
Now, on to the fun stuff!
You'll need to take off several trim pieces in order to access the rear of the cluster. Please note, this is probably not the "proper" way to take apart the interior, but it worked for me.
Partially open the storage compartment door so you can grip the underside of the trim piece that surrounds the HVAC controls. Don't try and pull the storage compartment out without first removing the trim - it will get stuck!
Pull up on the bottom side of the HVAC control trim. It should pop free, and you can pull out the top now.
Now do the same for the display trim. Carfully pull on the edges to release each clip. You will probably break a few of the plastic tabs, but I haven't noticed anything terrible as a result.
Pull the trip piece free:
Everything exposed:
To facilitate removing the left side vent, I like to remove the headlight control. Push in the switch and turn to the right, which allows it to be pulled free.
Disconnect the connector to the switch, and remove the single screw inside the housing.
Now you can push the vent out from underneath:
And pull it free:
Now pull the plastic trim cover above the wheel out. It just pops off:
Remove the two screws:
Now pull the trim piece off the cluster. Be as gentle as possible.
Now the fun part. You have to pull the cluster free, which is attached by four points. I found it helped to use a thin flat blade screw driver to kind of release the tabs, but in the end you really have to yank on it to get it free.
And there's the CarNet box!
Remove the two connectors. You could leave it in place, or remove it. To do the latter, you have to release two little tabs on the sides and it slides out toward the driver.
The CarNet box:
To get the microphone audio working correctly again, you can install two wire jumpers in the CarNet connector pins as shown:
Put some tape over the top of the connector to protect the jumpers.
Now put everything back together, and you're done. (I'd recommend testing out the microphone before reassembling to make sure you have the right pins!)
To get rid of most of the codes (lots of "Can't communicate with emergency call module" etc.) just untick Telematics from the CAN installation list. There's a single code that will still pop up from central electric, but I'm sure that can be fixed (RossTech has not released LCH tool for this generation yet, so I'm pretty clueless.)
---
EDIT: As several people have added to this thread, this is NOT the proper way to take apart your interior trim pieces. The "pull on it" method works, but will break some of the plastic retaining tabs on the AC vent trim and whatnot. My interior snapped back together just fine, but your results may vary! There are some great tips posted by others in this thread; please read them before attempting.
---
I won't delve too much into the "why," but suffice to say that some of us don't want a telematics box plugged in to our car's systems. I wanted to disable CarNet, which led me on this journey.
Thanks everyone for the help in my original thread. Since people are asking, I figured I'd make a summarized post.
PLEASE post if any of the information does not apply to your MKVII or does not have the same results. I have only my car as the guinea pig, which is a 2015 Golf TDI S. Also, PLEASE post if you know a way to completely disable the module through VagCom, in order to avoid taking apart the dash.
I'll show how to get to the box, but first, what happens if you just unplug the connector?
1. CarNet will not work anymore.
2. The buttons will not do anything, and LED indicator will be off. The buttons will still be illuminated when the headlights are on.
2. Bluetooth will continue to work (apparently built into infotainment system now.)
3. The microphone will not work, so hands free calling is a one-way endeavor, and voice controls won't function. This can be fixed by installing a jumper on the CarNet connector.
4. GPS to the infotainment appears to work. (someone with navigation please confirm.)
5. A lot of DTC's will be thrown from various modules, but no dashboard CEL will result. This can be mostly fixed with a coding change.
Now, on to the fun stuff!
You'll need to take off several trim pieces in order to access the rear of the cluster. Please note, this is probably not the "proper" way to take apart the interior, but it worked for me.

Partially open the storage compartment door so you can grip the underside of the trim piece that surrounds the HVAC controls. Don't try and pull the storage compartment out without first removing the trim - it will get stuck!

Pull up on the bottom side of the HVAC control trim. It should pop free, and you can pull out the top now.

Now do the same for the display trim. Carfully pull on the edges to release each clip. You will probably break a few of the plastic tabs, but I haven't noticed anything terrible as a result.

Pull the trip piece free:

Everything exposed:

To facilitate removing the left side vent, I like to remove the headlight control. Push in the switch and turn to the right, which allows it to be pulled free.

Disconnect the connector to the switch, and remove the single screw inside the housing.

Now you can push the vent out from underneath:

And pull it free:

Now pull the plastic trim cover above the wheel out. It just pops off:

Remove the two screws:

Now pull the trim piece off the cluster. Be as gentle as possible.

Now the fun part. You have to pull the cluster free, which is attached by four points. I found it helped to use a thin flat blade screw driver to kind of release the tabs, but in the end you really have to yank on it to get it free.

And there's the CarNet box!

Remove the two connectors. You could leave it in place, or remove it. To do the latter, you have to release two little tabs on the sides and it slides out toward the driver.
The CarNet box:

To get the microphone audio working correctly again, you can install two wire jumpers in the CarNet connector pins as shown:

Put some tape over the top of the connector to protect the jumpers.
Now put everything back together, and you're done. (I'd recommend testing out the microphone before reassembling to make sure you have the right pins!)
To get rid of most of the codes (lots of "Can't communicate with emergency call module" etc.) just untick Telematics from the CAN installation list. There's a single code that will still pop up from central electric, but I'm sure that can be fixed (RossTech has not released LCH tool for this generation yet, so I'm pretty clueless.)
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