Connecting with GPRS when WIFI is out of reach

[EVkris]

Has anyone tried to set up a communication with the APP over the GPRS network? I love the feature with controlling the heater and AC over the APP but both at home and at work the WIFI is not strong enough and I can not establish a connection. I was thinking of having a mobile phone fix mounted in the car and by this one take control over the different functions. If anyone has some experience to share I would be grateful - it's getting cold now up North...

 

[maby]

This has been discussed before, but there are some serious problems introduced by the nature of the mobile phone network. It is extremely difficult to get a mobile phone contract which gives the device a fixed public IP address and, without that, it is extremely difficult to make an incoming connection to the device.

 

[tlongdon]

you could buy the cheapest android possible, and install MOBIZEN on it. Connect the phone to the car's wifi, leave the phone in the glovebox, then control that phone over 3G from a desktop/laptop in your home. Not sure if the 12v sockets are active when the car's switched off, so keeping the phone charged would need to be tested.

 

[Stu]

Or, if iOS, 'Teamviewer' would provide the same solution.

 

[tjacobsen]

In theory a very sexy solution, provided you have a spare phone and sim lying around.
However when I tried this during the lunch break in the office I was back to square 1, I just can't get Mobizen and the PHEV app to work at the same time.
The problem is that when the phone is connected to the car it doesn't go online using the 4G connection and I looses the link to the Laptop..
there may be a solution to this in another thread I found in here "Internet and car app at the same time" but I can't get the static IP to work on my phone...

I'm back to considering a wifi extender to boost the signal from the car so it reaches the whole house (and not just one corner of the living room) why couldn't Mitsubishi make the signal just a tad stronger is beyond me...

 

[EVkris]

I also found out the possibility with teamviewer but as mentioned I've noticed that when the wifi connection to the car is established the 3G connection seem to be blocked. It caused me some problems the other day when i tried to run the parking app. I couldn't get it to work and I didn't realize that it was because of the WIFI connection blocking the path to the network. Since the range is so poor I got the parking app working when having lunch at the nearby restaurant... Why not have a SIM slot integrated in the car?

 

[BeerHunter]

I also found out the possibility with teamviewer but as mentioned I've noticed that when the wifi connection to the car is established the 3G connection seem to be blocked. It caused me some problems the other day when i tried to run the parking app. I couldn't get it to work and I didn't realize that it was because of the WIFI connection blocking the path to the network. Since the range is so poor I got the parking app working when having lunch at the nearby restaurant... Why not have a SIM slot integrated in the car?

Set IP addressing manually and your phone can simultaniously connect to cellular and car wifi - http://www.myoutlanderphev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=680

Kev.

 

[Langepistole]

I have a friend who has a Nissan Leaf and he's been delighted to demonstrate his ability to talk to his Leaf over the Internet regardless of where he is in the world! He tutted when I explained that poor ol' PHEV required me to have my Android on the window ledge a few yards away from my PHEV in order to talk wifi and perform such functions as turn on the screen demist or heater.
I believe that Mitsubishi have missed a trick here in not taking a leaf out of the Leaf book haha! It would have been so sensible to plagiarise the Nissan concept PLUS Mitsubishi could have been collecting usage data from all the PHEVs around the world like Nissan do. Such a pity.
I do agree also with the criticism regarding the main user manual - really poor English - could have been checked by a native English speaker at very little extra cost in a technical authorship company. Again, Mit have fallen short of excellence here - a shame to spoil the ship for a "ha'peneth o tar"!
However, all that said, it is still a remarkable beast. Smiles!

 

[EVkris]

If someone has successfully tried this team viewer program to control the car I would be happy to know? Meanwhile I must say that the WIFI is really a disappointment, you need to be very close to get connected and then you cannot really call it distant control. I like the car a lot but some functions has really poor user interface.

 

[maby]

I think that part of the problem with the wireless operation is that the coverage is quite asymmetric. The antenna on the car is in the rear door pillar on the left hand side - range on the left seems better than on the right.

 

[EVkris]

I noticed that my old Android phone (that I wanted to use for running the Mobizen app) had an old version of the Android OS and Mobizen doesn't work. Anyone who knows a workaround?