Problem with car modem
 

Hi guys,

I have been driving my XC90 for over a year now, and I've been using the car's modem for Internet connectivity (4G SIM card with 10Gb/month of data) without any issues.

That was until the car did its first revision a week ago at a Volvo dealer (Sensus was updated as well as other apps and maps). Since then, the Internet connection in the car had been working on and off, and eventually totally stopped working a couple of days ago.

The SIM card is still recognised though, and it still shows a full strength signal. It's just the Internet connection that doesn't work anymore.

I tried puting the card in my phone, and the data plan is working flawlessly, so I'm pretty positive the issue doesn't lie with the card itself.

I also tried putting my other SIM card in the car, and the strange thing is that Internet works with that one.

What I don't understand is why the Internet connectivity is only lost with a specific SIM card, since that same card appears to be working fine in my phone.

I would rather avoid a trip back to the dealer for nothing, so any ideas are welcome...

Its got to be the Sim card thats the problem or the way its sitting in the Sim holder in the car.
If the other ard is working ok in the car it cant be the car thats giving the problem.

From your description it does appear to be the SIM card rather than the car.

Maybe the software update effected it? Was it still in when the vehicle was with the dealer? Do they need to be removed before each service and software update?

Thanks a lot for the feedback.

The SIM card is working perfectly when I put it in my phone, though, which is what is confusing me. If the card had an issue, certainly it wouldn't work properly with my phone either, right?

The card was in the car when they did the update, it could have messed with it somehow I guess.

I will try removing it and putting it back a few times to see if it helps, but the card is being recognised by the car when I put it in, so I don't think it's linked to placement.

My built-in modem hasn't worked properly since new (June 2018). Although it showed a good signal strength, most of the time nothing online worked.

I figured that I'll bring it up at the first service, but in the meantime I use the same SIM inserted into a USB wifi dongle plugged into the power outlet in the boot. It works perfectly.

Quick update: I tried the card in my phone again, and it really is working perfectly fine.

So I decided to try it again in the car. After 5 tries, it is now working fine (or at least it seems).

Again I'm not sure what was causing it, if it was a contact issue I'm guessing the card wouldn't work period, and this wasn't the case.

I hope it stays this way.

The problem reappeared, but I have traced it down now.

Basically when the car starts, in the modem options, mobile data screen, the option to automatically detect data settings is on, but the field APN reads "Internet" even though it is grayed out.

If I delete it, confirm, and then select the option to automatically detect data settings, the Internet connection starts working again.

The problem is that every time I restart the car, the option is reset to what it was, and the Internet connection is stopped again...

one thought, not sure it is relevant. Do you have your profile locked? Have you tried unlocking it, ticking the setting to get the modem working, and then re-locking the profile. Alternatively ticking the setting to get the modem working then saving the profile.

Only reason I suggest, is that following one update I found I kept getting a message about data sharing and to accept this. I would accept, then next time the car was started I got the same message. Went on for a few weeks until I re-saved the profile after accepting the message. Then it stopped.

maybe worth a try.

I get the odd funny business if the car gets confused about keys. For instance if my daughter uses my keys but sets the profile to my wife's, which also suits her more or less, and locks the car with that profile, it confuses some things when I go to reopen the car with my keys again. Its the only scenario where I have to readjust the heads-up display and edit my profile manually to get it to stay put, for instance.

This car has real 'character' and those people who claim that today's cars don't have any, should drive Volvo. Character aplenty! I love it.

I'm the only one driving the car, and I always use the same key.

I will try to lock/save my profile to see if it works and report back, thanks for the suggestion. Don't really have enough time on my hands lately to drop the car off again for a whole day at the dealer, so would be great if I could resolve this myself. Car is working great other than that.