[Kitt]

Like many others, the on-boarding process was broken (no QR code, no SOS functionality, no legal terms) but was quickly fixed after calling VW. Yes, they could have tested better, but in the end it wasn't that big of a deal IMO.

However, the app itself... I saw on some European YouTube reviews the app received only 2 stars in the App Store, and I think that's generous.

I have a couple of issues with the app (I use the iOS version):
1) It is ignoring Apple's Human Interface Guidelines. Buttons and swipes don't work as expected. It's annoying and lazy. The app is probably not a native app but a web-app build by web developers as cheaply as possible.
2) More annoyingly, the general UI doesn't make sense either. The call to action in the account screen is "Logout." Why would you encourage people to log out of the app? It doesn't make any sense. So is the large VW tab in the middle, usually reserved for the most important feature of the app. What does the VW tab show? First of all, it isn't a tab as defined in the Apple Human Interface Guidelines (it's a modal window with no cancel or back button). Secondly, it's brings you to the garage page where the call to action is "add vehicle" (how many cars does VW I buy???) and (again) the logout button. I'm not sure where the obsession with the logout functionality comes from, but it's weird. The only way to go back is to select your own car again (and enter pin, etc). The UI is a weird mess.
3) The functionality is almost non-existent. Battery level, set. range, set temperature and that's about it. How about locking/unlocking the car? How about I can see if the windows were accidentally left open? I can think of a dozen other useful features. Hope those will get added.
4) Did anyone do user-testing?There's an option "Use auto plug unlock AC. Allow on demand charging of vehicle after a charge cycle is... Permanent" means? Yes. the sentence is really cut off on my phone. This sentence and the permanent option doesn't make sense to me at all. It actually sounds like a Monty Python skit. Maybe it is. Who knows?
5) The app is slow. It seems to read the state of the car every time you press a button. "Caching? We've heard of it"
6) The only part that seems to be working reasonably well is the "Buy plans" tab. It looks like VW prioritized the upselling features above making the app useful.

I remember VW CEO Herbert Diess claim in an interview last year that "software engineers are easy to find." Seeing the state of the Car Net app, I have no doubt the statement is true. I hope VW figures out how to hire better engineers next.

 

[Kitt]

OMG, I totally missed the app has a “find a charger” feature. It’s probably the most useless find charger feature I’ve ever seen. Why would I ever use this? I can’t see speed, price, availability, number of chargers… nothing. It also shows a few private chargers not accessible to the public. What were they thinking? I don’t think anyone who worked on this feature ever drove an EV. It would have been better to just open or install PlugShare from within the Car Net app.

Also: the map is useless. Can’t zoom in, no street names, obscures by charging stations pins, etc. The 2 stars European users gave the app are actually quite generous…

 

[ericy]

I remember VW CEO Herbert Diess claim in an interview last year that "software engineers are easy to find." Seeing the state of the Car Net app, I have no doubt the statement is true. I hope VW figures out how to hire better engineers next.

Well, code monkeys are relatively easy to find, and judging from how the app works (or doesn't work), that's what they have been hiring.

 

[xcaliburinhand]

I briefly did some digging in the app the other day just to see if maybe more data was there than what was being displayed. It is a bit of a nightmare, almost like they took three apps and crammed them together. For the ID.4 it looks like the telemetry provider is Wireless Car and I suspect VW outsourced some of the development to them.

VW and Wireless Car have been working together for two years, and this is the best they have to show for it?

Media

On the media page of the Volkswagen Group you will find the latest news and contacts of our brands and companies, dates and publications.

www.volkswagenag.com

 

[Froggy]

Okay I just got off of the line with 3 different people at VW car net service. I'll call them Tweedledee, Tweedledum, and Chucklehead. I was not told to scan the QR code in the car, in fact we signed up for it at the dealers desk. That was April 19th. Since then I have tried to scan the QR code in. I can get the QR code starting today if I drive to a parking lot a quarter mile from my house. What I can't do is get the app to scan the code. I cannot pull up the state of charge on carnet, nor schedule charging to start, or frankly to do anything else. Chucklehead said that those features are not available yet with the ID4.
Oh last thing, I have a First Edition but when I enter the VIN number it pulls up that I have an ID4 Pro.

 

[Wa.id.4]

Oh last thing, I have a First Edition but when I enter the VIN number it pulls up that I have an ID4 Pro.

Same here.

 

[BlueDH]

Same here.

Me too.

 

[ericy]

OMG, I totally missed the app has a “find a charger” feature. It’s probably the most useless find charger feature I’ve ever seen. Why would I ever use this?

It is worse than you think - it shows Tesla superchargers

 

[Froggy]

Same here.

If my insurance company set the value based on an ID4 Pro instead of a First Edition it is: underinsured by $5000, won’t cover a glass roof that a Pro doesn’t have, VW would try to replace the 12 inch screen with a 10 inch, and replace the 20 inch tires with 19’s.

 

[xmasboy]

It is worse than you think - it shows Tesla superchargers

Shows Tesla Destination chargers, not super chargers. Destination chargers are free to use, I bought an adapter that lets you connect them.

 

[BlueDH]

If my insurance company set the value based on an ID4 Pro instead of a First Edition it is: underinsured by $5000, won’t cover a glass roof that a Pro doesn’t have, VW would try to replace the 12 inch screen with a 10 inch, and replace the 20 inch tires with 19’s.

In my experience, insurance premiums are based on vin numbers. Not car options.
The leading digits on the vin should differentiate the FE from the Pro, Pro S and the AWD ID4s.
IMO, if you should have an accident bad enough to cause damage to the wheels, infotainment unit, glass roof and battery unit, the ID4 would be totaled. But then what do I know?

 

[gtwhitegold]

Adding features would be nice, but I would like them to start with making what features are available work properly every time.

 

[gorj]

Coming from Hyundai that had a good phone app that really had functions that worked it is a real letdown that Car-net is useless.

 

[ericy]

Shows Tesla Destination chargers, not super chargers. Destination chargers are free to use, I bought an adapter that lets you connect them.

No. It shows superchargers.

 

[Thenewgirl]

Coming from Hyundai that had a good phone app that really had functions that worked it is a real letdown that Car-net is useless.

Same here.
Asking a widget
More user friendly Interface that's not going through a browser.
Vehicle status
Ability to lock and unlock doors

 

[Thenewgirl]

No. It shows superchargers.
View attachment 3736

It shows all chargers

 

[NiaMoonStoneProS]

Attempted to turn on the climate control today in the parking lot of a stripe mall. I was standing maybe 5 feet away from the car and I kept getting the "timed out" message. Tried logging in and out, restarting the app multiple times. Nothing.

Man, VW needs to get their sh@! together with the usefulness of this app, in its current state it is absolutely worthless.

 

[NiaMoonStoneProS]

Today I noticed that the app isn't even reading the state of charge either. I had plugged in the charger and the app wasn't even reading that. Was this app recently updated? Looks like the update made it completely worthless.

 

[LieutenantLefse]

Attempted to turn on the climate control today in the parking lot of a stripe mall. I was standing maybe 5 feet away from the car and I kept getting the "timed out" message. Tried logging in and out, restarting the app multiple times. Nothing.

Your distance from the car doesn't matter. Car-Net is totally cloud-dependent so the signal needs to go from your phone up through the Internet to some cloud server, and back down to the car. RFC 1149 seems to be involved. I did a little experimentation and the app cannot bypass the Internet and communicate directly with the car, even if they are on the same WiFi network. Too bad.

Luckily you can still do it the old-fashioned way - enter car, hit the aux. climate button in lower left corner of screen, exit car and lock doors. Car will pre-heat or cool for up to 30 minutes.

 

[Thenewgirl]

Today I noticed that the app isn't even reading the state of charge either. I had plugged in the charger and the app wasn't even reading that. Was this app recently updated? Looks like the update made it completely worthless.

Same here, maybe a cloud issue?

There are a lot of Car-Net related posts, but I'm calling (877) 820-2290 to file a ticket