My assumption is this was just a 'push it out the door now and finish later' thing. They clearly advertise a lot of functions that are not included. And most of the functionality that is included doesn't work. At least for me.

• Lock / unlock randomly shows one status or the other but pressing the button does nothing
• doors open are seemingly random and do not represent reality
• I have not tried the charging function
• I was able to change the temperature setting once, but the next time I tried it didn't work
• Window defroster does seem to work at least the two times I tried it
• Battery settings, baffle me. I keep setting Target state of charge to 80% but next time I open the app, it shows 100%. It always stays at 80% in the car though.

 

I guess VW is really dragging its feet if its intention is to "finish later." Wasn't FE a 2021 MY? We now have MY2023 and the functions is fairly limited. Maybe some FE owners can chime in on whether there has been any improvement since its release. Since this is my first ever EV, I don't have anything to compare to. However, based on what I have read about other EVs, the ID4 app functionality seems to be bare bone.

GR

 

Even a cursory search on the forum would reveal lots of info about the app, much of it negative and making similar observations.

One common issue noted by people with 3.1 software in 2022-2023 MY cars is that the app shows that doors are unlocked when they are not actually unlocked, which is kinda useless info anyway because you couldn't do anything about it via the app even if the doors were actually unlocked.

I have a 2021 with 2.1 software and the most recent myVW app on iOS. From the start, the app has only had very limited functionality compared to what's provided on ICE VWs. I've never seen any claims that the myVW app would provide the same functions on both ICE and ID.4 vehicles, by the way.

For my 2021 with 2.1, the app only does a few things, and has never claimed or tried to do more than these few things. Basically:

• Show current SoC and charging info (if charging)
• Turn charging on/off
• Turn climate on/off
• Set climate target temperature.
• Turn defrost on/off (this has never worked as a separate function from climate control)
• Set a few charging options like target state of charge and release charging connector automatically
• List some ownership info like preferred dealer, last service visit etc.
• Receive notifications
• Set some account options

From the start, VW has never claimed that it was providing more than the above features — so they have never promised that the app has or will have remote lock/unlock, geolocation of car, or anything else.

Opinions will differ about this, but my take is that the few things it does provide are pretty clearly the absolute minimum viable product. For my needs, they provide the functions that I use most often, and they currently work pretty much every time I use them, which is a big change from last year's versions, which were much more hit or miss.

From a design and functionality standpoint, the biggest differences between now and last year's versions for me are that:

• the app's feature screens have been shuffled around a bit
• they played around with removing and then adding back certain key current charging info (like current SoC as a percent rather than as "miles")
• they removed the requirement (recently) to log in with a PIN in addition to a password every time

One limiting factor with the app's responsiveness is that all network communications with the car are done via an encrypted IoT cellular service. Every request from the app first goes via the internet to a central VW server, which then relays the request to the car via the cellular network — even if the car is only 40 feet away from your phone. The central server then receives data from the car and sends it back to the app. It might not be apparent to new users, but the speed of this process has actually improved (at least for me) over the past year.

I think that @VW TECHNICIAN mentioned once on these forums that most problems with the app "not working" were usually caused by cellular network connectivity problems (weak signal, etc.). But who knows?

Overall, the app seems to disappoint people more often than not, depending on their expectations. But for me, the features it does provide work, even though those features are limited.

 

Even a cursory search on the forum would reveal lots of info about the app, much of it negative and making similar observations.

Yes, complaints about the lack of app functionality has been discussed quite a bit on here. This is the first car I have had with any app, so I don't have anything else to compare it to.

My own observations (running on Android):

• I still need to enter the PIN on occassion, even after the latest update.
• Locked/Unlocked and door open indicators are not always accurate, and that seems to be a matter of timing and cellular signal strength. Ignore them.
• SOC tends to line up fairly well with the car.
• Charging activity seems to show on/off accurately when charging. I have not initiated charging with this function yet.
• Climate on/off and temperature works for me as expected. This is the function I use the most to get the cabin warmed up before I go somewhere.
• Window defroster is supposed to work in conjunction with Climate ... just controls if defrost is included when Climate turns on.

I would like the app to do more, sure, but it could be worse. Hopefully it will happen. In the meantime, I just know what the shortcomings are and adjust accordingly.

 

Ive had my FE 19 months now and things are improving. Car came with 2.1, I now have software 3.0. The latest app update allows you to manually sync the car if you do have an issue with preheating or incorrect SoC showing. The preheating now works first time every time for me. Windows/Doors/Locked status always seems accurate, although shame you cant lock/unlock from the app (I could do this on my 2019 VW T-Roc).
Software 3.0 has improved some things, like the battery not heating itself until lower temperatures meaning those short journeys are just a bit more efficient in winter time!
I would prefer if they moved the charging menu back to vehicle section in the infotainment - not sure why they still cant show the kW speed in the car yet they can in the app.

 

I have a 2023 AWD Pro S, the SOC and door status on the App are mostly incorrect.
The status in the message I get when charging is completed has the correct SOC. Also I have been able to start and stop charging remotely via App, even at EA but does depend on the wireless network.

 

I’m confused, more than usual, is there an iPhone ”MyVW” app for each model year? I have a 2021 Pro-S and the app I have is version 2023.1.1-4. This version has no selection for locking and unlocking doors as others mentioned in this thread.
In addition, the app is really slow in activating the few functions it does have like climate control.
when I compare the MyVW app to the functionality of my friends Tesla app there is no comparison. Tesla has well thought out software in both their phone app and in the car - Light years better in every way than VW. Side by side the MyVW app looks primitive.

 

I’m confused, more than usual, is there an iPhone ”MyVW” app for each model year? I have a 2021 Pro-S and the app I have is version 2023.1.1-4. This version has no selection for locking and unlocking doors as others mentioned in this thread.
In addition, the app is really slow in activating the few functions it does have like climate control.
when I compare the MyVW app to the functionality of my friends Tesla app there is no comparison. Tesla has well thought out software in both their phone app and in the car - Light years better in every way than VW. Side by side the MyVW app looks primitive.

The myVW app is the same for all U.S. ID.4s, but the feature set is slightly different based on the software version in your car.

 

The app has gotten worse for me with each update over 11 months. About 6 months ago they removed the display of the date/time of the data. Since the app only works about 50% of the time when I attempt any function, this has made it worse than useless to look at my SOC or other data, since its often wrong and no way to tell when it was last correct. With the latest update it often fails early in the morning and displays the message "12v battery is being conserved due to extensive use of remote services" even though I have not used any remote services. It appears to be due to a weak 12v battery which I have confirmed with car scanner, its getting down to 11.7-11.5v every night with no load on it. Its worse when its cold out, like the -10F I had recently there was no way to use the app to pre-condition the car. The only fix that has worked for me is to charge the car for at least an hour which also charges the 12v, and then go sit in the car which wakes it up, then wait about 15-30 minutes and the app starts working again. This appears to be an issue where the car enters a "deep sleep" power conserving mode where the cell connection is shut down, and takes a long time to get fired back up again. This could explain why its been 50% failing for 11 months at doing any of its app functions, and they only recently started displaying that message that may help explain why its so bad.

 

About 6 months ago they removed the display of the date/time of the data.

The Updated Time Stamp still appears on my app. iPhone app ver: 2023.1.1-4.

Everything is correct on screen except the Est. mi. ...... although that might be correct in these 22° F temps.

 

I experimented by changing notification option for the ID4 to "allow notifications" and I'm getting better response when it comes to status update of the car. Graphically, it shows car is locked (instead of unlocked). Not sure if that's the workaround. Car is parked on same spot..so I know it's not network issue, rather it's functionalities.

 

That’s a good point! I know iOS apps can rely on notifications to get status updates from a server. Good chance they’re using this technique.