Porsche Mobile Charger Connect (PMCC) - NO INTERNET

[n2diving]

Since receiving my 2022 Taycan in May, I have been unable to configure a Porsche ID in my PMCC. The error message displayed on power up was the dreaded "Limited Service - Server Authentication Error". Googling the error message as well as several threads here suggest (assuming the problem is not a user error during setup) there is no resolution to the issue and no one seems to have been successful in fixing the problem if the PMCC has the issue. Yesterday I got my car back from the dealership, and along with the car itself the PMCC had gotten a firmware update (and a silly little decal suggesting it's a fire hazard when operating at 100% capacity.) The firmware gives a few more clues to the problem, but does not solve the issue....

The PMCC with the new firmware now clearly indicates on the display a successful login to the Wi-Fi network, but also indicates it cannot connect to and authenticate with the server due to a "No Internet connection found" error. The PMCC is indeed connected to my home wifi network, I can browse the IP address from other devices on the same wifi network subnet that was assigned by DHCP to the PMCC and see the web based management interface... which also reports the PMCC has no internet connection. This is perplexing because indeed the roughly 50 other internet-of-things devices in my house on the same wifi network are all happily communicating to the internet without issue. As a quick sanity check, I set up my Android phone as a hotspot, factory reset the PMCC and during setup on the PMCC selected the SSID and entered the password for my phone hotspot. The PMCC reported again that it was successfully connected to Wi-Fi but there was no internet. Browsing the IP address of the PMCC from my phone browser was again successful in displaying the web based management interface.

The fact that the PMCC believes it has no internet connection (when it would seem that it does) appears to thus block its ability to configure a Porsche ID in the PMCC.

The NAT IPV4 network addresses assigned to the PMCC from both my home wireless router (Google Nest WiFi router with internet bits via Comcast [DNS 75.75.75.75) and my smartphone (Samsung G22+ with internet bits via 5G Verizon Wireless [DNS 1.1.1.1]) were in the range 192.168.x.x and from my tests were perfectly fine moving internet traffic to the cloud. This appears to be some issue with how the PMCC is determining it has access to the internet. Interestingly using the PMCC to request a firmware update reports the latest firmware is already loaded, so a reasonable assumption would be the PMCC really is talking to something via the internet in order to make a determination the firmware is the current revision level.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to proceed to get my PMCC to communicate to the internet via wifi so it can authenticate with the Porsche server and allow a Porsche ID to be configured?

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[W1NGE]

Since receiving my 2022 Taycan in May, I have been unable to configure a Porsche ID in my PMCC. The error message displayed on power up was the dreaded "Limited Service - Server Authentication Error". Googling the error message as well as several threads here suggest (assuming the problem is not a user error during setup) there is no resolution to the issue and no one seems to have been successful in fixing the problem if the PMCC has the issue. Yesterday I got my car back from the dealership, and along with the car itself the PMCC had gotten a firmware update (and a silly little decal suggesting it's a fire hazard when operating at 100% capacity.) The firmware gives a few more clues to the problem, but does not solve the issue....

The PMCC with the new firmware now clearly indicates on the display a successful login to the Wi-Fi network, but also indicates it cannot connect to and authenticate with the server due to a "No Internet connection found" error. The PMCC is indeed connected to my home wifi network, I can browse the IP address from other devices on the same wifi network subnet that was assigned by DHCP to the PMCC and see the web based management interface... which also reports the PMCC has no internet connection. This is perplexing because indeed the roughly 50 other internet-of-things devices in my house on the same wifi network are all happily communicating to the internet without issue. As a quick sanity check, I set up my Android phone as a hotspot, factory reset the PMCC and during setup on the PMCC selected the SSID and entered the password for my phone hotspot. The PMCC reported again that it was successfully connected to Wi-Fi but there was no internet. Browsing the IP address of the PMCC from my phone browser was again successful in displaying the web based management interface.

The fact that the PMCC believes it has no internet connection (when it would seem that it does) appears to thus block its ability to configure a Porsche ID in the PMCC.

The NAT IPV4 network addresses assigned to the PMCC from both my home wireless router (Google Nest WiFi router with internet bits via Comcast [DNS 75.75.75.75) and my smartphone (Samsung G22+ with internet bits via 5G Verizon Wireless [DNS 1.1.1.1]) were in the range 192.168.x.x and from my tests were perfectly fine moving internet traffic to the cloud. This appears to be some issue with how the PMCC is determining it has access to the internet. Interestingly using the PMCC to request a firmware update reports the latest firmware is already loaded, so a reasonable assumption would be the PMCC really is talking to something via the internet in order to make a determination the firmware is the current revision level.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to proceed to get my PMCC to communicate to the internet via wifi so it can authenticate with the Porsche server and allow a Porsche ID to be configured?

Odd for sure.

Do you have PLC (Powerline) disabled on the PMCC? There are 2 settings - you can disable if using WiFi. Normally this wouldn't present a problem but would throw a PLC error.

Other than that check the IP address assigned is what you think it is and not a 10.x.x.x (doesn't like this range).

Did the QR code authentication during setup go ok, if not try repeating the full set up.

 

[daveo4EV]

PLC is a good start - but honestly you're not missing much - the ONLY thing the internet connect does is update the firmware (rarely) and logs charging stats (duration and time and power used)

there is not REMOTE control - you do that all via the Vehicle timers/profile and Porsche app…

yeah it sucks that the PMCC isn't on your internet - but trust me - you are not missing much at all - it's purely charging information - which after a while you'll never consult again....

all the "good stuff" start/stop charging and current charging status of the vehicle is via the Porsche app talking to your Taycan...

I would not sweat the internet connection

it might be a 2.4 ghz vs. 5 ghz thin - your wifi might be "too modern" for the PMCC…

my PMCC"s have been offline for weeks - doesn't matter - there is NOTHING I can't do remotely - the only "loss" is the lack of charging statistics in the login.porsche.com web portal - other than that there is nothing the internet connection does for the PMCC - but I"m about to replace them anyways…

https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/t...-amperage-for-normal-usage-of-the-pmcc.12384/

that and other threads will bring you up to speed.

but what critical feature are you hoping to achieve with the PMCC online?

 

[n2diving]

Do you have PLC (Powerline) disabled on the PMCC? There are 2 settings - you can disable if using WiFi. Normally this wouldn't present a problem but would throw a PLC error.

Other than that check the IP address assigned is what you think it is and not a 10.x.x.x (doesn't like this range).

Did the QR code authentication during setup go ok, if not try repeating the full set up.

Yes, PLC is disabled. Yes, I'm certain the IP addresses assigned are in the 192.168.x.x block. I have never gotten to a QR code during setup... the PMCC apparently needs the internet connection to display the QR code.

"Too modern" for the PMCC is an interesting idea... might be some compatibility issue with the access point but I also tried an Android phone hotspot and even a hotspot using a Windows 11 laptop. I've seen some YouTube videos that illustrate setup and it occurs to me that they all did their demonstrations by connecting to iPhone hot spots... so I resurrected an old iPhone. The PMCC successfully connected to a wifi hotspot from the iPhone and received an address 172.20.10.2 but still no joy... no internet connection. So, network compatibility is unlikely at this point... variety of access points, IP address blocks and internet bits.

The PMCC internet connectivity issue is just an annoying "puzzle" that I want to solve... from other discussions it seems a significant number of owners have had the same problem. Yes, I'm aware that the PMCC connectivity is of limited value and not really missing much functionality from it's absence. Now, with the likelihood that Porsche is going to "derate" the maximum current draw to workaround PMCC design flaws, the value of the PMCC declines even further for me.

 

[W1NGE]

Yes, PLC is disabled. Yes, I'm certain the IP addresses assigned are in the 192.168.x.x block. I have never gotten to a QR code during setup... the PMCC apparently needs the internet connection to display the QR code.

"Too modern" for the PMCC is an interesting idea... might be some compatibility issue with the access point but I also tried an Android phone hotspot and even a hotspot using a Windows 11 laptop. I've seen some YouTube videos that illustrate setup and it occurs to me that they all did their demonstrations by connecting to iPhone hot spots... so that's a possible experiment.

The PMCC connectivity issue is just an annoying "puzzle" that I want to solve. Yes, I'm aware that the PMCC connectivity is of limited value and not really missing much functionality from it's absence. Now, with the likelihood that Porsche is going to "derate" the maximum current draw to workaround PMCC design flaws, the value of the PMCC declines even further for me.

Have you tried the full installation when connected to your phone acting as a hotspot (to get to the QR step and pairing with your Porsche Connect ID) for internet access?

May need to factory reset first and drop you home WiFi connection.

 

[n2diving]

Have you tried the full installation when connected to your phone acting as a hotspot (to get to the QR step and pairing with your Porsche Connect ID) for internet access?

May need to factory reset first and drop you home WiFi connection.

The process is factory reset (from the display panel) then power cycle using the panel breaker... this results in a 'full installation'... where I select the desired WiFi SSID and enter the appropriate password. The status always then shows the wifi connected with the appropriate DHCP assigned IP address, but the PMCC always claims there is no internet access regardless of the WiFi network connected. The QR code is never presented, I've never even seen it except in pictures. Trying the same process using the PMCC as the hotspot does connect and I can browse the IP address of the PMCC and login to the PMCC using the browser, however since the PMCC is acting as the hotspot for connection by definition it still has no internet access.

 

[W1NGE]

The process is factory reset (from the display panel) then power cycle using the panel breaker... this results in a 'full installation'... where I select the desired WiFi SSID and enter the appropriate password. The status always then shows the wifi connected with the appropriate DHCP assigned IP address, but the PMCC always claims there is no internet access regardless of the WiFi network connected. The QR code is never presented, I've never even seen it except in pictures. Trying the same process using the PMCC as the hotspot does connect and I can browse the IP address of the PMCC and login to the PMCC using the browser, however since the PMCC is acting as the hotspot for connection by definition it still has no internet access.

Yeah but skip the WiFi connect part to bypass and rely on hotspot only so that your device is used for internet access during setup.

Some info on page 11 of the manual too.

 

[n2diving]

Yeah but skip the WiFi connect part to bypass and rely on hotspot only so that your device is used for internet access during setup.

Some info on page 11 of the manual too.

Interesting interpretation of the (badly written and poorly translated) PMCC operating manual... so I did a factory reset, put the unit in hotspot mode and connected to the PMCC hotspot with my smart phone. In hotspot mode the PMCC considers itself "Disconnected" and assigns itself 192.168.0.1 as its IP address. In hotspot mode, the setup never offers to connect to a wifi network (makes sense, in hotspot mode the PMCC is the device accepting connections, not the other way around.) I can browse the web app at that address on the PMCC using the phone browser. Attempting to pair the Porsche ID returns the error "User profiles are not available while offline." The hotspot function of the PMCC is solely for the purposes of gaining access to the web app, where there were settings which were not available from the display (such as disabling the PLC.) However with new software update to 2934 done by the dealer, the web app seems redundant.

 

[W1NGE]

Interesting interpretation of the (badly written and poorly translated) PMCC operating manual... so I did a factory reset, put the unit in hotspot mode and connected to the PMCC hotspot with my smart phone. In hotspot mode the PMCC considers itself "Disconnected" and assigns itself 192.168.0.1 as its IP address. In hotspot mode, the setup never offers to connect to a wifi network (makes sense, in hotspot mode the PMCC is the device accepting connections, not the other way around.) I can browse the web app at that address on the PMCC using the phone browser. Attempting to pair the Porsche ID returns the error "User profiles are not available while offline." The hotspot function of the PMCC is solely for the purposes of gaining access to the web app, where there were settings which were not available from the display (such as disabling the PLC.) However with new software update to 2934 done by the dealer, the web app seems redundant.

It was worth a shot - wasn't clear if you could access the internet or not that way - clearly not!

I'm out of ideas now but as mentioned earlier and as you're aware there is little or no point in having access to the PMCC.

The only thing is if you want your PMCC to upload home charging data to your Porsche Connect ID then you won't be able to until you get the unit properly connected. Again this is a fairly weak reason but if you are into collecting charging stats etc then you'll miss out on this set.

Perhaps the dealer's update impaired some functionality so I'm tempted to suggest you take it back to them.

 

[n2diving]

Perhaps the dealer's update impaired some functionality so I'm tempted to suggest you take it back to them.

As the PMCC had the issue before the update, it's unlikely the dealer did anything to make it worse. The update did however make it clear that the issue wasn't the Porsche server having the authentication issue, rather that the PMCC is unable to use it's WiFi connection to communicate with the internet and thus the Porsche server with which it wishes to pair.

 

[W1NGE]

As the PMCC had the issue before the update, it's unlikely the dealer did anything to make it worse. The update did however make it clear that the issue wasn't the Porsche server having the authentication issue, rather that the PMCC is unable to use it's WiFi connection to communicate with the Porsche server via the internet.

Sorry missed that earlier.

OK - so go nuclear and have it replaced under warranty or try on an alternative home network and if same issue then go nuclear.

 

[daveo4EV]

Yes, PLC is disabled. Yes, I'm certain the IP addresses assigned are in the 192.168.x.x block. I have never gotten to a QR code during setup... the PMCC apparently needs the internet connection to display the QR code.

"Too modern" for the PMCC is an interesting idea... might be some compatibility issue with the access point but I also tried an Android phone hotspot and even a hotspot using a Windows 11 laptop. I've seen some YouTube videos that illustrate setup and it occurs to me that they all did their demonstrations by connecting to iPhone hot spots... so I resurrected an old iPhone. The PMCC successfully connected to a wifi hotspot from the iPhone and received an address 172.20.10.2 but still no joy... no internet connection. So, network compatibility is unlikely at this point... variety of access points, IP address blocks and internet bits.

The PMCC internet connectivity issue is just an annoying "puzzle" that I want to solve... from other discussions it seems a significant number of owners have had the same problem. Yes, I'm aware that the PMCC connectivity is of limited value and not really missing much functionality from it's absence. Now, with the likelihood that Porsche is going to "derate" the maximum current draw to workaround PMCC design flaws, the value of the PMCC declines even further for me.

the "derating" of the AMP's is not a "fixed" configuration - you can set the AMP's back to "full" after the dealer changes the settings - it's more of a default setting that the customer can then make an "informed" decision if they want the faster charging rate - they do not permanently downground teh PMCC - just change it's intial default state.

Chevy does the same thing with the Chevy bolt - when charging from 120V setups - the Chevy Bolt defaults to 8 amps charge rate (rather than a "full" 12 amps allowed in a 15 amp circuit) - they do this out of an abundance of caution because most homes have crappy wiring and most 15 amp circuits are "shared" - having an EV pulling full capacity right from the get go is a questionable decision.

Porsche seems to be taking a similar tack - they are setting the PMCC to a lower amp setting to avoid overheating and betting most people won't know/bother to change the setting…

but they really are not taking anything away - or even actually fixing the problem - they are just setting it up so that the average customer that doesn't know any better won't "see" the problem. But they will suffer slower charge rates - it's kinda of a joke of a "solution" in my opinion.

 

[n2diving]

FYI... when my 4S was at the dealer for repair, I also took in the PMCC to request a fix for the inability to be paired with my Porsche ID. The returned PMCC got a firmware update which didn't fix the peering problem. The service writer volunteered they addressed an overheating problem... and indeed they did... by setting the max charging current to 20A, down from my previously selected 40A, and adding a tiny decal with a picture of a thermometer and flames.

For the Taycan, there is an unsubstantiated claim suggesting AC charging at rates under 7.6 kW might allow a cell in the Taycan battery array to overheat because of the design of the on-board AC charger. If true, this has the potential to cause the Taycan battery management system to automatically take one or more cells permanently offline in the array thus reducing the vehicle maximum driving range. Porsche has stated they are investigating the claim, but as of May 2022 the implication for Taycan owners is they may wish to avoid AC charging at less than 7.6 kW when practical.

Hmmm, seems like there might be a Catch 22 paradox: If you configure the PMCC to 30A or less charging current... then the PMCC will deliver well under 7.6kW to the Taycan which in turn might cause issues with battery life. If you configure the PMCC to deliver 7.6kW or more then you risk the PMCC overheating and causing a fire.

 

[pki]

Hi,

I'm in the same situation.
Tried all above, no succes.
My current firmware is 2934. Is this the latest?

Any other suggestions to solve this?
Thx!

 

[W1NGE]

Search for the equivalent US site but in UK - https://contact.porsche.com/uk/accessoriesandservice/porscheservice/software-update/

Software releases have been global but the most recent one went south for US PMCC owners and I think the latest update has been pulled. If you aren't on WiFi then the version you have will be the latest. If you connect to WiFI then you most likely won't pull down any update until the NA issue has been addressed (no idea if or when).

Latest update is 3014 BUT remember this was pulled for North America and so your latest will be 2934.

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