Tweaking the software XC90

[chocko]

Hi There,

Just got myself an XC90 and as with every car Ive owned I want to play with the software. This was rather easy on VAG vehicles but I cannot find much info for Volvo's.

Middle East Volvos are delivered with a bunch of stuff disabled which is annoying so I would like to see if I can have a play and enable some of it.

We dont even have the ability to use the Volvo App over here

Top of my list are:

- Remote start
- Ability to lock doors while car is running

No prizes for guessing why I want those

[uro1]

The short answer is: Not possible.

I saw similar threads on other forums and so far nobody seems to have managed any "coding" on the Volvo platform.

VOC works over a special inbuilt modem that only connects to Volvo servers. Without that modem there simply is no interface to connect to. I guess Volvo does not have a dedicated server for your area hens no VOC. Even if you have the hardware inbuilt. You would have to simulate a Volvo server and get the car to connect to it - in short forget it.

[Quacker]

Originally Posted by chocko

Hi There,

Just got myself an XC90 and as with every car Ive owned I want to play with the software. This was rather easy on VAG vehicles but I cannot find much info for Volvo's.

Middle East Volvos are delivered with a bunch of stuff disabled which is annoying so I would like to see if I can have a play and enable some of it.

We dont even have the ability to use the Volvo App over here

Top of my list are:

- Remote start
- Ability to lock doors while car is running

No prizes for guessing why I want those

I'm surprised that the option for unlocking one or all doors and automatic locking while moving is not available to you. These are just a couple of tick-boxes in Sensus to toggle the functions.

[Calc]

Originally Posted by uro1

The short answer is: Not possible.

That's what they used to say about the Land Rover software etc.

Given enough skills and time, most things can be worked round seemingly - perhaps it's a question of finding where the server addresses are stored in the software and redirecting them...?

I'm not saying it will be easy, or even that it will definitely happen - but I suspect that it could.

[uro1]

Originally Posted by Calc

That's what they used to say about the Land Rover software etc.

Given enough skills and time, most things can be worked round seemingly - perhaps it's a question of finding where the server addresses are stored in the software and redirecting them...?

I'm not saying it will be easy, or even that it will definitely happen - but I suspect that it could.

That was a statement about practical implementation and not theoretical possibility and qualified in the following paragraph.

Originally Posted by uro1

I saw similar threads on other forums and so far nobody seems to have managed any "coding" on the Volvo platform.

[berrymanuk]

you can't tinker with the SPA cars like you could with the older ones. The VIDA app is now cloud based, and requires authentication every time its hooked up to a PC.

I'm gutted too, as there's a few things I could do with enabling on my S90..

If you had access to their domain, QNX Car2 development kit and knew Linux/BSD inside out, pretty sure tinkering would be a breeze! Customisable DIM displays and everything

[yeoman]

Originally Posted by berrymanuk

you can't tinker with the SPA cars like you could with the older ones. The VIDA app is now cloud based, and requires authentication every time its hooked up to a PC.

I'm gutted too, as there's a few things I could do with enabling on my S90..

If you had access to their domain, QNX Car2 development kit and knew Linux/BSD inside out, pretty sure tinkering would be a breeze! Customisable DIM displays and everything

Care to speak in English?

[nu11eaf]

Originally Posted by yeoman

Care to speak in English?

If you open the bonnet and look under the jump spring sprocket valve there is a black box with the intermediate swirl linkage, which in turn connects to the biasrod, if you unhook this and connect up your dynamic ring gear and set it to WTF it all becomes crystal clear.

[Quacker]

Originally Posted by nu11eaf

If you open the bonnet and look under the jump spring sprocket valve there is a black box with the intermediate swirl linkage, which in turn connects to the biasrod, if you unhook this and connect up your dynamic ring gear and set it to WTF it all becomes crystal clear.

Don't forget the critical adjustment of the sprangleweaver spring, otherwise the frogliodingle capacitor might blow.

[berrymanuk]

Originally Posted by yeoman

Care to speak in English?

LOL! Haven't had a chuckle within a forum for a while.

The long story short - VIDA app used to be available on DVD so you could find hooky versions of it, and a volvo-specific OBD-II adapter (big plastic thing tied to a laptop via USB or left free to roam via Bluetooth - but now its fully internet based, with a change in the connection too.

QNX Car2 is the software platform that most car manufacturers - JLR/Volvo/Ford/GM/ - all use for their infotainment and driver information module displays as it stands currently. The actual bit you see - the pretty digital dials, Sensus - is written on AutomotiveLinux (an alternative to Windows/MacOS) which is secure and extensively customisable, within certain constraints of the underlying software.