Audi Connect / Google Maps
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Audi Connect / Google Maps
Just curious for all of you A7 owners out there how many of you will be renewing your Audi Connect service after the 6 months trail subscription is up? I'm on the fence as I work from home and don't drive that much. Plus i think its a neat to have but not a necessity.
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According to Salesman you can stop subscription and then, few month later, if you need to take a road trip - you can activate again.
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Just drove from Grand Rapids to Chattanooga. Very Little T mobile 3G coverage except for around Fort Wayne, Cincinati, Lexington, Knoxville. My Verizon phone has 3G the entire way. This made the Audi Connect service essentially useless (very slow). We probably won't renew for $30/mth when it comes due. Our 3G iPad had constant connection and was way faster.
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Further to this question, can someone explain how the system performs when you do not have internet connection? Does the system default to the (audi) base navigation system, or does Google Maps simply not update properly.
Thanks
Thanks
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You can run Google Earth without the SIM connected, (assuming you have made that same journey with the data connection switched on) as the images are cached on the MMI's hard drive, Google will use these images instead if a live connection is not present. For my drive to work or around my local town I have downloaded all the Google map images to 30yds zoom level and I now hardly use the live 3G connection on a daily basis. I only connect to 3G if I am travelling to a new location or I need to use the onboard web search for some reason. Given that Google only updates their maps every three years or so, it sort of made sense to do it this way, thus preserving my data download allowance. Here in the UK I have signed up with Vodafone for 500Mb data download per month for about $8 per month.
Last edited by Phantom68; Aug 23, 2011 at 12:10 PM.
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OK, I think I will apply a caveat to my last post !
I got in the car this morning, switched across to Google Earth as I have done before on many occasions, but without the data connection selected. Instead of seeing the downloaded images from the cached area on the hard drive, I was presented with the original LOW res images from when I originally got the car.
I think, but could be wrong here, that there is some sort of auto-delete on cached images on the hard drive in order to encourage you to download the latest Google maps. Slightly annoying given the satellite images will change very rarely and I was wondering if Audi has implemented this as a 'favour' to TMobile and other telco providers to ensure that those that sign up for data plans actually use them.
Can anyone confirm what I have tried to explain here, ie that cached Google images are automatically deleted from the MMI's hard drive after a four week period ?
Thanks !
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OK, I think I will apply a caveat to my last post !
I got in the car this morning, switched across to Google Earth as I have done before on many occasions, but without the data connection selected. Instead of seeing the downloaded images from the cached area on the hard drive, I was presented with the original LOW res images from when I originally got the car.
I think, but could be wrong here, that there is some sort of auto-delete on cached images on the hard drive in order to encourage you to download the latest Google maps. Slightly annoying given the satellite images will change very rarely and I was wondering if Audi has implemented this as a 'favour' to TMobile and other telco providers to ensure that those that sign up for data plans actually use them.
Can anyone confirm what I have tried to explain here, ie that cached Google images are automatically deleted from the MMI's hard drive after a four week period ?
Thanks !
I got in the car this morning, switched across to Google Earth as I have done before on many occasions, but without the data connection selected. Instead of seeing the downloaded images from the cached area on the hard drive, I was presented with the original LOW res images from when I originally got the car.
I think, but could be wrong here, that there is some sort of auto-delete on cached images on the hard drive in order to encourage you to download the latest Google maps. Slightly annoying given the satellite images will change very rarely and I was wondering if Audi has implemented this as a 'favour' to TMobile and other telco providers to ensure that those that sign up for data plans actually use them.
Can anyone confirm what I have tried to explain here, ie that cached Google images are automatically deleted from the MMI's hard drive after a four week period ?
Thanks !
Perhaps that's a way Audi implemented to conserve hard drive space?
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I'm a new owner having bought an ex demo A7 this week and only just starting to get to grips with all the tech on this great car! Hopefully someone can help with a couple of things:
The option to use a Google Map is greyed out in the Navigation settings even when I have put a SIM in the car and all other online functions are working fine - is there something else I need to configure to overlay the maps on the Navigation?
I have registered my car on the Audi website and used the address book to send a location to the car etc. The website has provided a PIN to enter in the MMI but I cannot see where to enter this. I will have another look today but appreciate if someone can point me at this setting?
Thanks and great to see a forum for what is still a rare car in the UK.
The option to use a Google Map is greyed out in the Navigation settings even when I have put a SIM in the car and all other online functions are working fine - is there something else I need to configure to overlay the maps on the Navigation?
I have registered my car on the Audi website and used the address book to send a location to the car etc. The website has provided a PIN to enter in the MMI but I cannot see where to enter this. I will have another look today but appreciate if someone can point me at this setting?
Thanks and great to see a forum for what is still a rare car in the UK.