New Member / Owner

[BarryC]

Hi all,

Had a partially converted T5 van few years ago and just upgraded to a Cali - love it. Just kitting it out now and trying to resist the temptation of buying too much stuff I won't use. I'm failing!

I'm quite techy and I'm on top of the Composition Media Plus unit that came with my Cali. Send me a message if anyone needs some help with theirs - some of the cool stuff I've discovered it can do include:-

- Connect to campsite / home wifi / your mobile phone
- Act as wifi access point for other devices (if it has the Car Net dongle)
- I got the Car Net dongle together with a 12GB card from Three which includes free roaming - this means the unit now has full Euro data access without burning my iPhone battery by using it as a hotspot
- Apple Car Play - can use the unit's screen as if it's your iphone / Android screen for certain apps including messaging (using voice), phone, spotify, deezer, maps
- Using Car Net on your laptop, you can look up places by address and then send them to your device via the internet. When you get to the vehicle, the destination is there ready to be selected
- Traffic, news, weather updates etc

Uk home is Middlesex area but mostly I'm in Northern Alps
All the best,
Barry

 

[WelshGas]

Welcome. I think you could soon become the Media Guru for the T6.

 

[BarryC]

Welcome. I think you could soon become the Media Guru for the T6.

Thanks! I'm useless at the proper blokes stuff like Electrics and Plumbing though :-(

 

[T6 CFO]

Welcome Barry that's good to know. Waiting for my Cali but got the Car Net Dongle ready and waiting. With three on my iPhone so will probably get the three sim. Is yours the PAYG data sim or contract?
No doubt I will be asking questions if I have any issues


Mike

 

[BarryC]

Welcome Barry that's good to know. Waiting for my Cali but got the Car Net Dongle ready and waiting. With three on my iPhone so will probably get the three sim. Is yours the PAYG data sim or contract?
No doubt I will be asking questions if I have any issues

Mike

Hi Mike - you can use any sim card (not tied to your mobile phone provider) but it's the full size sim type. I went with Three because they don't charge extra for roaming in France (and other countries listed below) but I would suggest you go with whichever phone company has the best coverage where you are.

http://www.three.co.uk/Discover/Phones/Feel_At_Home

Here's the card I bought. It's should have more than enough data for next 12 months unless I start watching Netflix on the iPAD using the Cali as wifi access point.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004K2XO1G/?tag=eliteelect-21

Cheers,
Barry

 

[T6 CFO]

Thanks Barry. That confirms it for me. Already with three and used it throughout France last year on my iPhone for everything including satnav. Good coverage where I am and was good just about everywhere in France.


Mike

 

[Hotel California]

Hi , great stuff !
Seems you found the wardrobe usefull for storing some stuff....

 

[Star01]

Now this thread really does interest me.... However I feel a bit I.T. illiterate...what is the car net dongle?

 

[Star01]

Is this it by any chance?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00PK52SAU/?tag=eliteelect-21

 

[T6 CFO]

Is this it by any chance?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00PK52SAU/?tag=eliteelect-21

Yep that's it.

Just pop a data sim in.
Works in conjunction with the coupling box and w/lan option.

Previous thread on this option:-

https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/coupling-box-and-wlan.13547/


Mike

 

[Star01]

Great. Thank you

 

[kave]

Thanks for the heads up about three uk have free roaming, males it cheaper for me to get that uk card when I travel abroad this summer than any swedish network provider. Does it require any registration to a uk citizen before use?
A cheap alternative to CarNet and that dongle is a 4G router. Works on battery and is charged via usb.