Volvo Cars

This feature worked when I was under the free trial. But when I paid for a year membership, it stopped working. I took my XC60 to the dealership per the advice from Volvo On Call representative. The two people I talked with could not resolve my issue. So they advised me to take it to the dealership. The dealership could not resolve it because it is an app from Volvo. I was lost for words. When the “Volvo On Call Service Required” message came on, I pushed the call button from the car. I was instructed to go to the dealership for a software update. Again the dealership did not know about the update. It was finally done. I was praying it would correct my notifications issue. Well it did not. It makes me wonder why I am paying for a non-service App. I was instructed to delete the app and reload. Still does not work. I love my XC60, but the lock/unlock notification was a plus for me. When I have to take my husband to the doctor/hospital I have to valet my car sometimes. The drivers do not always lock the car. This is a helpful notification. I forget sometimes to check the app to make sure it is locked. So the reminder is very helpful when it was working.

this app can do so much! I was not expecting to be able to start my car without getting something installed by the manufacture. I was totally prepared to do that until the dealer informed me that all I would have to do is download the app and sign up for a membership. Actually the membership came free for the first couple years with this car! I was so pleasantly surprised. But even more pleasantly surprised by the functionality of that. I agree with Philip you about the things that the app should be doing like accessing the cameras when the car is off, however what it does do now is absolutely fabulous! I love that I can unlock the car and lock the car from wherever I am. I love that I can start the car! I love the pre-conditioning feature because in the summertime I’d rather do that then start the car. End it really does cool the car down versus turning it on and using the AC. I love the map feature and I love that I can switch cars between other members of my family. My mom always forgets to start her car before she leaves the house and now I can start her car and mine because were both in the same family and both have a Volvo! I could go on and on. The app is worth this high car payment, i feel like i am really getting my monies worth.😊

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The only useful feature in this app would be the remote start. I say “would be” because it doesn't really work consistently. I have an xc90 T8. With that vehicle, there are 2 remote start versions. When it is plugged in, it isn't really a remote start. It is "preconditioning" and it almost never works. This may not seem like a big deal but on a cold day of the battery isn’t preconditioned, it might as well not be there. There is virtually no electric range with a cold battery and temperatures in the 30F range. The actual remote start is nice but could have been accomplished with a remote and no app. Paying nearly $15/month to use equipment I own is beyond frustrating. All of the other features of this app can be done just as well (or better) with free apps. If you're considering buying a Volvo because it's a "connected" car, think again. There's plenty of good reasons to buy a Volvo, but this app isn’t one of them.

Overall, this app is good. It's nice that for the 2018 model year, this service is included free for four years. The remote start and preconditioning feature for plugin hybrids is really nice. I use it a lot in the winter. The driving journal feature is nice as is calendar integration and the Apple Maps share extension for sending destinations to the in car navigation system. Siri control is neat but limitations from Apple are frustrating. Apple should add support for remote start and preconditioning. It seems Volvo has implemented every other command that Apple allows Siri to perform. I wish there was a way to activate cameras remotely. Along with this, I wish there was a way cameras could be triggered (proximity sensors) to record footage to an attached hard drive and be accessed by this app. But there are probably hardware limitations in the vehicle that prevent this. One persistent problem is that setting timers for the aforementioned hybrid preconditioning feature is not super reliable with several attempts often needed. Setting the timer in the vehicle is reliable so it's not a huge deal but it still needs to be fixed. Also, for some reason my app is set to use British English instead of American English for some things. So, I see a petrol level instead of gas. Again, not a big deal but I know that others see the American English labels so this should be fixed or at least user configurable.

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It seems that the problems is largely related to the car having trouble connecting to the network. Therefore since functionality of the app depends on it then the app, which already can use improvements, gets low rated. 1. Cannot configure notifications. I want to have options on what I get notified for, when and the sound. Now it is all or nothing. For example, car unlocked is random and I get notified multiple times. Yet check engine light when on and app still said “everything looks good”. 2. It often cannot connect to the car. Whether to send directions or starting the car. This I looks like network issue. 3. The setup of connecting the car via phone, via car modem, or wifi is very confusing. There are no clear instructions or documentation on that. I connect to anything other than car modem, nothing works - seems that while VOC/app is now free, they want you to subscribe to ATT...