XC60: On board modem doesn't seem to recognize SIM card

[Polestar Pete]

I just picked up a second-hand XC60 (MY18) and bought a data SIM from 3 to use with it. Before putting it into the car, I put the SIM into my phone and made sure that it could access mobile data ok.

When I put it into the car, I selected Settings->Communications->Car Mobile Internet.

After that, I got the spinning "doing something" wheel pop up that didn't go away after well over 5 minutes, so I restarted the system (switched off ignition, locked, and then restarted ignition). After that, I had the option to view the network etc.

When I tap on "Network", I don't see anything listed under "Network operator", none of the options do anything if I tap on them.

I also tried this with the personal SIM from my phone (on Virgin).

Is there anything I'm doing wrong? According to the manual, I should be able to insert the SIM, enable the in-car modem and that should be it.

I know I can get the internet by linking my phone, but I'll need the internal modem for VOC.

[MikeGMT]

The vehicle uses it's own inbuilt modem for VOC, so you don't need a P-sim for that. Is the small sim card symbol showing in the top left of the Sensus screen, but no globe symbol? Perhaps the car is in a poor signal area, I have read posts before were folk have had trouble connecting and have moved the vehicle to another area with a stronger signal which solved the problem. As far as I know you seem to have followed the instructions, ticked the connect Car Modum Internet box. Only thing I'm not sure of is if you have to use a Pin No; can't remember if I had to or not.

[Polestar Pete]

Thanks for the advice. Yes, I have a SIM icon in the top of the Sensus screen, but no globe icon. I put the same SIM into my phone when sitting in the car and got mobile data out of it - and the same with the SIM from my smart phone.

I’ve also been driving around today and at no point did I notice a globe. I didn’t get prompted for a PIN when I put the 3 data SIM into my phone and from looking at the website, it doesn’t have a PIN to start with.

When I look at the VOC settings menu, it says that Volvo ON Call is “Active” but I don’t know what that really means (it says that with no SIM too).

I guess I might need to go to Volvo about this one as I’d really like to use the VOC functionality (especially for preconditioning and trip stats).

[Polestar Pete]

By “built in modem”, do you mean that there’s a baked-in sim somewhere and the SIM in the passenger footwell is just there for non-VOC use?

[MikeGMT]

Originally Posted by Arthur Morgan

By “built in modem”, do you mean that there’s a baked-in sim somewhere and the SIM in the passenger footwell is just there for non-VOC use?

Thats correct, the vehicle has it's own dedicated built in Modem* if the car is equipped with VOC. From my understanding if you have a P-sim (personal sim) installed then VOC will use that if you have enabled connect by Car Modem Internet (provided there is a internet connection). If connection is by a Personal Hotspot, ie phone or bluetooth or you do not have personal sim installed then the car uses it's built in sim. Where this sim is located seems to be a closely guarded secret, Ive never read any posts were anyone has located it's whereabouts.

The Volvo ON Call active message, I think means that your subscription is ready to use. Presumably you have generated a User ID and have the app on your phone. As you say it may be easier to let the dealership sort out the final part of the process.

*The inbuilt Modem is solely for VOC. Other connectivity is done by Hot Spot/ Tethering, Bluetooth by phone or other mobile device.

[Polestar Pete]

Sounds reasonable to me, so I don’t need to use the personal SIM if I share the internet using my phone. However, there still seems to be an issue that needs to be looked at.

I bought this car from an independent dealer yesterday and they didn’t do anything with VOC, so I assume it’s not yet disabled from the previous owner. Looks like I need to get in touch with Volvo to get these sorted out.


Thanks for the great and clear advice.

[MikeGMT]

No it's not really necessary to have a P-Sim installed to be connected, probably depends on how much data you use and how much data you have with your phone plan. I have 12gb of data a month and always have my phone tethered and have never got near my limit yet, so I just got a Three free 200mb month sim.

[Polestar Pete]

I have 4Gb per month on my phone and I hardly ever dig deep into that. However, since I have this 3 SIM, I may as well try to use it.

The dealer seemed to open to paying for any defects (even if I get things fixed by Volvo, so the only thing I’ll lose there is time).

[MikeGMT]

Hopefully it will be just a few settings here and there that need to be made and you will be good to go.

Mike

[Polestar Pete]

From what I understand, this was a management fleet car, so it’s possible that there’s some associated settings to limit excessive data usage from the car (since sales people will abuse any mobile data that they don’t have to pay for…)