ibmiked

My apologies if this is in the manual, but I am still waiting for the dealership to send me mine as it was not ready when I took delivery. Is there any way to see the volume setting in the PCM display?

Powereng

Not sure what exactly you are looking for, there are many volume settings on this car. You may want to down load the Porsche good to know app, it is basically a condensed manual for your tablet.

ibmiked

I would like to see the status of the volume move up or down in relation to maximum and minimum when I turn the volume ****. Pretty much every electronic device I know of with a volume control shows what the volume is as you adjust it and I don't see that anywhere when I turn it up or down in this car.

I'd also like to glance and see what the volume is set at. Hope that clears up my question and thanks.

hinckley

No, there is no volume level display in the PCM.

ibmiked

No one else thinks this is odd? On the main info screen I can see cell phone signal strength in TWO places, but not the volume?

OMG Noooooo....

In the 991 the only way to tell if you are turning the volume up and down is by the noise coming out of the speakers. That system works pretty sweet for me.

ibmiked

So why put a signal strength indicator for the cell phone? Either the call goes through or it doesn't. For that matter, why have engine temperature gauges? There is a warning light right on the central tach.

Powereng

So having indicators are like having a little volume bar? For the cell phone, you can first make a decision if you would even try to make a call, warning lights and gauges give you what is happening in your engine. You know there is volume as you hear sound, but do you use the little volume bar to decide if your music is to loud? I understand that breaking away from what you may be used to is hard, but Porsche just did not feel this was important.

Arcoril

So I suppose you've never had a volume issue with an external device and wondered if the lack of sound was due to the input or the head unit? Or entered an area with signal drop outs?

Must be nice. But if you ever encounter a situation like this, you might find that looking at a number or bar to gauge the volume level is far better than fiddling around and guessing. You also avoid the situation where you inadvertently max out the volume and blow out your ears when the signal returns or leave the volume at its min level and don't realize when the input is fixed.

Also, it may come as a surprise to you, but people have different opinions when it comes to this. And just because Porsche doesn't include an option doesn't mean that they feel it's unimportant. Remember how earlier PCM versions didn't have QWERTY address input? Well, it does now. It may also surprise you when an updated PCM unit is released in the future and includes further usability enhancements. Shocking, but progress does happen.

ibmiked

I guess I'm missing your point entirely. For example, the PCM tells me in large letters that my cell phone is serviced by AT&T. That has to be the most brilliantly useless piece of information they could have elected to offer (I pay the bill, so I know that duh). Or better yet, in several places the car is more than willing to tell me the outside temperature. What for? There is absolutely nothing I can do with that information. If I'm hot, I already know to use the AC, and if I'm cold, I know to use the heater.

However, when music stops coming out of my speakers and no amount of turning the **** effects that, how do I know that it's an input issue versus volume? I haven't been in a car made in the last 10 years that didn't display the volume level, so I think it's a fair question to ask why Porsche left it out. Does it improve fuel economy or save weight by not having it? I appreciate everyone chiming in and saying it's not a big deal, but obviously it seems an odd omission otherwise I wouldn't have asked.

n2cars

I agree, this a annoying flaw. Also, why can't you make a hands free call but can answer a call hands free? Overall I'm disappointed with the PCM. I'm wondering what it will cost to replace it with Apple Play?

Noah Fect

Agreed, there needs to be a volume indicator. It's an important UI affordance. If nothing else it's a safety feature, given the potential for jumping out of your shorts when you crank up the volume to hear a quiet passage and don't realize how far you've gone.

Unless they've fixed it, there is also a bug in the firmware that causes it to crank the audio extremely high in response to input from the volume control on the MF steering wheel. Easy to trigger this bug when randomly messing with the control at a stoplight.

So yeah, volume management falls well short of "Excellence" in these cars.

hinckley

I can make a call hands free. It must be because I have Voice Control? Also, I think that the new PCM in the 991.2 will support Apple Play.


It's a small feature, but I agree it's important. BMW upgraded its iDrive interface a couple of years ago to include a volume indicator. Like PCM, iDrive had not had the indicator since its inception.

n2cars

[QUOTE=hinckley;12480480]I can make a call hands free. It must be because I have Voice Control? Also, I think that the new PCM in the 991.2 will support Apple Play.

Yep, I forgot to add Voice Control to my build. I wonder if it is just software and can be added after the fact?

hinckley

I had ordered Voice Control but the factory dropped it (long story), so the dealer installed it instead. It's a standard aftermarket accessory. Fwiw, there is a hardware component to Voice Control - the directional indicator stalk is swapped out for one with a activation button on its tip.