Never used it but wondered if throwing in a SIM card would activate it? Or if other steps are needed? I know you need a PIN.

Where is the microphone in the carrera?

Thanks~

 

no, unless you have option code 666.

If you want hands free, get a Blue Tooth device like Tooki or Mobridge.

 

Option CODE 666? What is that?

If there is no 'hands free' on the Porsche phone, what use is it?

Thanks!

 

Option code 666 is the Porsche internal code for the built in phone system. The SIM Slot is there so that they only need one PCM for all cars, and they aren't making a really expensive unit for those that ordered the option.

 

I think the SIM is supposed to be for European usage for now. The mic for the phone is at the base of your steering column. (Two small mics on left and right top-side just before the dash, but it is on the column). I have the option for phone/bluetooth on my 997.2 and love it along with the steering wheel controls.

 

The options in question are for the built in phone prep. The SIM slot is there whether or not the car was built with the phone option. Adding the phone option after the fact is a PITA (not practical) unless, like the SIM slot, all cars also get the built in microphones anyway, in which case it may just be a matter of electronically enabling the feature.

With 997.2 cars, the bluetooth handsfree is a great way to go (especially in the US where you cannot get a duplicate SIM from your provider for the car, if you even have a provider that uses GSM.

For 997.1 cars, there was no factory bluetooth but the add-on systems mentioned by others do provide bluetooth functionality.

Also be aware, the 997.2 cars come with some basic bluetooth turned on by default as well, but that again, doesn't mean you have phone capability... so just cause you can get your phone to pair with your car doesn't mean you can make calls.

 

What is the purpose of the phone option in the 997.1 then? Was Porsche supposed to deliver on a Blue Tooth option?

I simply don't understand why the car is phone prepped if it doesn't work. Do Bluetooth systems like Tooki, Dension use the Porsche built-in mic?

 

My Launch edition has the mics on the steering column, but no phone options. Go figure.

 

+ 1 for the 997.2

 

The 997.1 and prior DO/Did have a phone option you could have the car built with... and in fact, it works quite well in most of the world outside of the US.

In most of the world, GSM is the standard for phones, and getting a duplicate SIM card direct from your cell provider is easy. Since the cars are sold around the world, that was the solution Porsche went with. The car would have, with the phone prep, a cell-phone built into the car.. the car has its own cell phone antenna, etc.. the car IS the phone. The owner would just plug in the SIM card and viola, the car is a clone of the cell phone you walk around with and gets billed to that provider bill.

In the US, we have a variety of technologies for cell phones (we always gotta be different, don't we) and since CDMA does not use SIM cards, folks with a lot of US providers could not interface their cell service with the 997 built in phones.. and so many cars were just not ordered with the phone prep.

In the US, you can get SIM based GSM service from T-Mobile, AT&T and a few others (Verizon IFF you buy a world usable phone, and I imagine those service plances are much more expensive) and maybe some othere carriers.. but CDMA is still a very widely used technology here. If you are on a CDMA network, then using the built-in car phone is not an option.

Thats where bluetooth comes in .. with the bluetooth prepped 997.2 (or the bluetooth 3rd party ammended 997.1) your cell providers phone is still the phone, but the car acts as the speaker, microphone, and keypad. So you keep your phone in your pocket (or whatever).. and use the car's audio system as speakers, built in mics as the mic.

I'm guessing a bit on how the cars without phone prep (be it built in phone or bluetooth options) are assembled by Porsche... as I only have the one car I ordered with Bluetooth). I was assuming that since all of the cars PCM's have the SIM slot, no mater what, so that the production,inventory and support can be simplified and made cheaper by having just one center console construction: with a SIM slot...then that same logic dictates they may just build all cars with the microphone and its wiring in the cars, regardless of whether they have a phone/bluetooth option installed. Folks with more experience in other configurations than me (easy as I have 0) can talk to the sensibility of that wild-guess on my part.

By the way, IF the car is 'phone prepped' then it does work (prepped means someone paid for a phone option in the car and the option is enabled) You just have to supply the missing hardware: either a valid SIM card, or a cell phone with bluetooth and HFP (Hands Free Profile) or SAP (SIM Access Profile).

If the car has the mics in place (maybe for voice activation option, or maybe as I had guessed, just because its easier to install them in all cars), and the rest of the plumbing, then adding the phone option to a car that didn't come with one could be as easy as having the dealers computer send an activation code to the car after you pay Porsche and get that activation code from Stuttgart, or a matter of plugging in the phone module into the PCM at the dealer (again after paying). The reason they would build a car with it all in place and not turned on: the incremental cost of putting the hardware in a single car at the factory is $5-20. The development of the hardware solution is $$$$$. The folks that pay for the development and profit of the solution are those that buy the option. So everyone gets the hardware, and its only turned on for those who pay for it. The added benefit.. is you can easily add the option later on with little fuss.

 

Thanks for the nice explanation. I use AT&T, so am I good to use it in my Porsche? Is there a way to use my iphone in the car or do I have to get another phone (and number) so as to use a new SIM card?

Also, I have the 'Nav for PCM' option on the car ('06). MY sticker does not list a phone, was the phone extra or is it included in the PCM? I have all the buttons for the phone on the console...

Thanks!

 

Approximately how much will a Tooki or Mobridge device cost? Are they easy to install DIY?

Thanks

 

Your window sticker would say Phone Module as an option if your vehicle had it. All PCM systems come with the key pad and the SIM card slot but they don't function as a phone if the option was not purchased. Sounds like you have no phone option on your vehicle. Best bet to a working handsfree phone in your car would be to use tookie or one of the other suggestions already listed.

 

IF your car did have the phone option installed (or you were able to get the factory option installed after the fact - the MY06/PCM2 guys will have to speak to that).. then to be able to use that phone (as stated, the SIM slot and keypad are standard in all cars, regardless of the internal phone electronics being there/turned on)... you would need to get a CLONE of your SIM card. AT&T in the US will not make you a clone. Welcome to the US business model for cell providers. I've heard that you can remove your SIM card, overnight it to a company somewhere (Singapore, Hong Kong, etc .. US I'm guessing too), and they will overnight back your SIM and a clone of it. Then you put your original SIM back in your phone, and slide the cloned SIM into your car's SIM slot. Your car is then a clone of your own phone. I'm not sure what happens if both try to connect to the cell network at the same time in the US.

But as it sounds, you don't have a phone option installed, and from what I'm hearing, the best solution is to go with the aftermarket add-on modules that will give you bluetooth capabilities in the MY06 cars.

 

my 05 Carrera came with a real full size payphone...and a SIM card slot