Hi all,

I have a 2012 A6 with the latest MMI 3G+. Over here in the UK, A6s come as standard with the SD-card based RMC navigation system, but I specified the Tech Pack, which instead got me MMI 3G+ with onboard hard-drive base navigation, online services, Google maps etc.

I believe that in the USA, Audi of America supply an onboard sim card with the car, providing 3G access for all the car's online services, and you can then connect your cell phone via bluetooth handsfree profile too. In the UK, Audi do things slightly differently - we get an empty slot in the 5F multimedia unit in the dash, and can choose to either put your own sim card in there, or (if we have a phone that supports it) connect a phone using rSAP (Remote Sim Access Profile). This allows the car to "take over" the sim in your phone and use it to go online.

Here's the thing we struggle with... rSAP is a Nokia invention, and not all current phones support it. My iPhone doesn't, for example. I can connect my iPhone via HFP (Hands Free Profile) and make/receive calls, but this doesn't get the car online.

So, why not just get a pay-as-you-go data sim and put this into the dashboard? A number of us have tried this - as soon as we insert a sim into the dashboard in a UK spec car, it disconnects the bluetooth to your phone and assumes calls will be made/received using the sim in the dashboard instead. People with iPhones in the UK can't have the phone connected to the car at the same time as having the car's online services available.

Audi UK's initial suggestion was that we all get dual-sim packages from our cell provider - one for the phone and one for the car, sharing the same number. Sadly, none of the cell providers in the UK offer this as an option. Their second suggestion was that we remove the sim from the phone and put it into the car's sim slot each time we get into the car, then transfer it back to the phone before we get out of the car. Ha! My iPhone has a micro-sim, and this needs inserting into a sim carrier to allow it to fit into the car's standard size sim slot. I'm sure my phone wasn't built to withstand inserting and removing the sim a dozen times or more a day.

We keep asking why we can't have the same system as US cars, where the car supports having a sim in the dash and simultaneous bluetooth connection to a cell phone. Audi say this is being investigated, but will need to be developed for the UK market and will require different hardware in the car...

I find it difficult to believe that the 5F multimedia unit Audi fit to US cars is any different in hardware spec to the 5F multimedia unit fitted to UK cars. I suspect the only difference is software. So... to my question:

Does anyone have a US A6 with MMI 3G+ and a copy of VCDS? If you do, could you post up the coding and adaptation for your 5F module? I would like to compare it with the coding and adaptation of mine, and see if I can use VCDS to make mine behave like a US car.

Thanks for reading this far!!

MF.

 

Picked up my new a6 today (28th dec) and have the same issue, haven't found a solution.

I have an iPad data only sim via 3 that I will use and have an iPhone with Vodafone that I paired with Bluetooth hoping to use in parallel but I have to keep ejecting the sim to switch to the Bluetooth iPhone which is a pain :-(. Will keep searching....

Apart from that the car is great!

Where do I find out more about these VCDS mods?

Reds
Rick

 

For now, I am using a Vodafone sim in the car, provisioned for both calls and data. The issue with your plan to use a data-only sim is that nobody can call you while it's in use. Before I start a journey, I set my iPhone to divert calls to the sim in the car, so that anybody calling me can reach me while I'm driving. Only if I need to make a call do I eject the sim and connect the iPhone via Handsfree profile. It's a bit of a pain having to remember to switch on (and off) call divert, but it seems the best compromise I can find.

VCDS is the new name for VAG-COM, which is software from Ross-Tech Ross-Tech: VCDS

The software is a free download from their site, but you will need to purchase a cable to connect your computer to the diagnostic port of the car. These are available from Gendan and Ilexa in the UK, and cost around the £270 mark. If you don't want to go to this expense, the best bet is to meet up with someone like me who has VCDS and will make the relevant changes for you.

Cheers!

MF.