Gary JR

Not a lot you can not do with a smartphone and AAA card.

JR956678

It's confusing.

You indeed get a year of Porsche Car Connect services with a new (capable) Porsche vehicle. You also get a year of Porsche Connect services as well. BOTH services require a wireless connection to the internet. IIRC I have heard that the PCM actually has more than one cellular radio that connects to the internet.

One is enabled through the use of the SIM card in the front slot. You get a "trial" AT&T SIM card and after the end of the trial period you can either sign up for a data plan and keep the SIM card active, forget about it and stop using it, connect the PCM to a mobile phone "hot spot" to provide data services, or get a regular SIM card from your existing provider and on your existing plan and use that. Like most any GSM phone, it doesn't matter so much who provides the SIM card as the PCM will work with more that "just" an AT&T SIM card. Regardless of which option you pick, Porsche Connect services need an active internet connection to work - either a valid SIM card from a cellular provider or a mobile phone tether. If the trial SIM card has expired without being renewed then Porsche Connect services will no longer work.

Porsche Car Connect also needs an internet connection but I am not 100% certain it uses the same cellular radio as Porsche Connect. I have heard it said that the PCM has a second cellular radio that is used for "manufacturer purposes" and there is a SIM card for that radio as well but it's hidden to keep end users out of that portion of service. For example this could be how PCNA could disable a stolen car or provide location information to law enforcement. Porsche Car Connect either uses the first cellular radio connection or it uses this second cellular connection and I don't really know which. I guess I could find out by pulling the SIM and seeing if I can still connect to the Car Connect service.

ETA: So I just tested Porsche Car Connect. First I removed my AT&T SIM card and then launched the Car Connect app on my phone - and it connected to the PCM in the car and updated to the latest car information. IMO this sort of confirms that there is indeed more than one cellular connection in the PCM. One I know is used for Porsche Connect services because they won't work without a front panel SIM with an active data plan, and the other is used for "manufacturer" related services and Porsche Car Connect uses that second connection.

AeroStormGT

I think you are missing one digit in the SIM number.

JR956678

^^^ This. AT&T uses a 19+1 (or 20 numbers long) SIM ID number and the screenshot only has 19 numbers in it.

freeman727

You guys are right. I was missing one digit. I guess my trial expired, which is strange b/c I took delivery of the car on 4/28/17. It doesn't matter. The Porsche Connect services are the state of smart/connected cars at the moment. I'm underwhelmed and like others have said it is worse than apps on the phone. I just need to get a good phone mount.

Until we can have Kit from Knightrider or mind reading technology, I will stick with my phone.

JR956678

No disagreement on my end. Most of the apps are actually things I not only don't need my car to provide - I rarely if ever use them on my phone. The only things I think are / might be useful out of the Connect services are the software update and the NAV map update features. While my new car doesn't have any updates for either, my old one actually did have a map update that included the state where I live and I did update it online. That said - I could have tethered my phone or even could have connected to my home WiFi service to do the update.