Having had my T6.1 now since January 2020 I think I’ve finally got most things to work with the Discover Media system. There’s been a lot of trial and error, so I thought I share my experiences.
First thing to note is the first day I collected my new T6.1 the Discover Media unit locked up in a boot sequence and was unusable. I had to wait for 3 weeks for VW to fit a replacement. I’m not sure if some of the issues I’ve experienced are related.
WeConnect:
This took a lot of setting up for some reason. I created the account via the web portal but in the vehicle it would not connect. After many failed attempts I found this this method to work:-
eSIM & Cubic Telecom
Having got the WeConnect to work next on the list was the eSIM. From the WeConnect portal you are sent to the eSIM providers (Cubic Telecom) site where you can register your vehicle (VIN) and personal details. They ask for a lot of personal details such as a copy of your passport to verify your ID. Once verified you can purchase a data package. I bought a 30 day 2GB package and it wouldn’t connect! I was testing using the internet radio function.
You are given a few options under the eSIM menu all the options gave me error messages saying “For technical reasons information about data plans is currently unavailable” or “Currently unable to load the required data. Please try again later”.
For 30 days I tried everything I could and ran through fault finding with Cubic Telecom, eventually the 30 days expired. Cubic were adamant that the issue related to vehicle so I booked it in with VW to be checked out uder warranty. The day before it was due into VW I decided to buy another data package so VW could test the eSIM data connection and have no excuses. Would you believe it this data package worked !!! Nothing changed in the vehicle, same geo location so the issue must have been with Cubic. I’m now trying to get a refund on the data packages I bought.
Apple CarPlay Audio Stuttering Issues
I started noticing a really bad audio stuttering when using the Apple Carplay – wired or wireless connection. It was more noticeable when SIRI was reading messages or giving Google map directions. For about three weeks I was unable to find the cause, I updated my iPhone (IPhone XR) tried all the settings. Then after trying to fix the other issues the stuttering went away.
What I found was I’d disabled the eSIM to use my iPhones hotspot. The Discover Media unit was trying to re-establish the hotspot connection, but my iPhone won’t allow this until I open the “Personal Hotspot” menu. I think it was this process causing the stuttering. Once connected to the hotspot the audio stuttering didn’t re-occur. And if I select eSIM as the data connection there are no issues. Easy fix but it took me a few weeks to work it out.
Hopefully the above is helpful. They aren't probably the preferred solutions but it’s how I got things working.
And sorry for waffling on …..!!!
First thing to note is the first day I collected my new T6.1 the Discover Media unit locked up in a boot sequence and was unusable. I had to wait for 3 weeks for VW to fit a replacement. I’m not sure if some of the issues I’ve experienced are related.
WeConnect:
This took a lot of setting up for some reason. I created the account via the web portal but in the vehicle it would not connect. After many failed attempts I found this this method to work:-
- Disable the eSIM data connection (I couldn’t get this to work, see later) and connect to your mobile phone hotspot.
- Set Privacy settings to lowest level of security.
- Login from the Discover Media – this let me connect
- Setup yourself up as the primary user, you’ll need two sets of keys to do this.
eSIM & Cubic Telecom
Having got the WeConnect to work next on the list was the eSIM. From the WeConnect portal you are sent to the eSIM providers (Cubic Telecom) site where you can register your vehicle (VIN) and personal details. They ask for a lot of personal details such as a copy of your passport to verify your ID. Once verified you can purchase a data package. I bought a 30 day 2GB package and it wouldn’t connect! I was testing using the internet radio function.
You are given a few options under the eSIM menu all the options gave me error messages saying “For technical reasons information about data plans is currently unavailable” or “Currently unable to load the required data. Please try again later”.
For 30 days I tried everything I could and ran through fault finding with Cubic Telecom, eventually the 30 days expired. Cubic were adamant that the issue related to vehicle so I booked it in with VW to be checked out uder warranty. The day before it was due into VW I decided to buy another data package so VW could test the eSIM data connection and have no excuses. Would you believe it this data package worked !!! Nothing changed in the vehicle, same geo location so the issue must have been with Cubic. I’m now trying to get a refund on the data packages I bought.
Apple CarPlay Audio Stuttering Issues
I started noticing a really bad audio stuttering when using the Apple Carplay – wired or wireless connection. It was more noticeable when SIRI was reading messages or giving Google map directions. For about three weeks I was unable to find the cause, I updated my iPhone (IPhone XR) tried all the settings. Then after trying to fix the other issues the stuttering went away.
What I found was I’d disabled the eSIM to use my iPhones hotspot. The Discover Media unit was trying to re-establish the hotspot connection, but my iPhone won’t allow this until I open the “Personal Hotspot” menu. I think it was this process causing the stuttering. Once connected to the hotspot the audio stuttering didn’t re-occur. And if I select eSIM as the data connection there are no issues. Easy fix but it took me a few weeks to work it out.
Hopefully the above is helpful. They aren't probably the preferred solutions but it’s how I got things working.
And sorry for waffling on …..!!!