Roav SmartCharge Car Kit F2 Review

#38

Eventhough it’s a great feature of the F2, unfortunately, it still needs a bit of work. How it works is it pins your last location, therefore, no “real” GPS. As in my video, I found it to be a bit disappointing. I was quite excited about the car location feature. There were times where I would literally be standing next to, if not, be inside my car and the locator would say that my car was somewhere else. Don’t get me wrong, when it works, it works well. When it’s working, it shows you the exact location on a map. And you can take a picture of the location, say, parking structure in a mall. But overall, hopefully, there will be a firmware update that would make this feature more accurate.

I recently had my unit exchanged out. As usual, Roav/Anker were very helpful in troubleshooting with me. They sent me out a replacement and had me send in my old unit. Unfortunately, good ol’ post office lost my return… wasn’t even scanned in so we don’t know where it is. :frowning: But Cathy from Roav was very understanding and helpful. I exchanged my old unit out due to a display issue… sometimes it would come on and other times, it did not. I haven’t had much time to test out the replacement but will so this week. On a side note, being able to charge 2 devices while using the F2 is a real plus. I usually have my Roav C1 Dashcam and iPhone 6s plugged in. Streaming feature works well. Calls work well. Btw, a couple of days ago, there was a firmware update. Hopefully, this is what is needed to get a better reading for the car location feature. [quote=“tiagomota, post:1, topic:55733”]
does the user have to actively push the location or the charger senses the car turn off and automatically send the location to the app?
[/quote]

The location works via the Roav Charger app. When you turn on your car, the unit connects to your phone’s bluetooth and notifies you that you are now connected. And that’s how it knows when you’re driving or whatnot. When you turn off your car, it pins your last location.

Hope that answered your questions. Let me know if you have more. :slight_smile:

2 Likes
#39

Thanks a lot Nhi! It completely answered all my questions. :slight_smile:

#40

@tiagomota Ok, so I finally had a chance to go out to my car and play around with the F2 since the app update. I’m happy to report that with the app update, one can turn off the “automatically play music” feature. This made my day because I was always concerned that my iPhone’s battery was draining in the background, even when I didn’t have the car stereo on for streaming… before, as soon as the charger connected to my phone, it would stream even if the radio wasn’t on. How did I know? When I went into my Music app on my iPhone, I could see that it was playing but no sound was coming out of my iPhone’s speaker. It was a pain in the butt to have to go into my phone to turn this off.

The location feature seems a bit better with the update. This time, when I was actually sitting in my car with the engine on, it knew that I was “in the car.” Unfortunately, when I got out and walked across the street to see if it could locate my car… let’s say it still needs a bit of work. Yes, it is correct that my car is across the street BUT my locator (pin for me), pointed me in the wrong direction. My car was parked North and I was facing West. So unfortunately, I still stand by what I said about the location feature that I made in my review video. And that is, it still needs work. I think perhaps if the F2 actually had a built in GPS system/chip, or whatever you call it, it would be more accurate.

And one important thing that I found out this time around too… if you get the pop up message telling you that your GPS is not turned on (iPhone), even though you have it on, it’s because you need to allow location access to “ALWAYS” vs just the “while using the app.”

Other then all this, I’d still recommend the F2 for music streaming, making calls, and being able to charge 2 other devices while using it. And if you just want a “general” idea of where your car is. For the price, you’re getting a lot of features. You never know, maybe with the next app update, the Find My Car feature will be even better. :slight_smile:

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4 Likes
#41

That’s Great, Nhi! You should update your review with both your answers to this topic, I’m sure your experience will be valid for many people!

Thanks a lot!

#42

Gonna order this for my wife for Christmas, she’s been wanting bluetooth function in her car but refuses to let me change her radio so this is the next best thing for her.
Thanks @Nhi for your awesome review

1 Like
#43

Will do. I just have to find it. LOL.

Thank you. This would definitely be perfect for her. I wouldn’t want anyone messing with my radio stations or car for that matter. :stuck_out_tongue: For sure a lot easier to use now with the app update. :slight_smile:

1 Like
#44

Hey now, I have changed almost everything on my car from the motor to suspension and even the audio system. The only thing stock on my car is the frame and body shell haha. I can do anything

#45

@Nhi link to your video?

#46

Don’t forget to check out the youtube video. :slight_smile:

1 Like
#47

I won’t forget! thankyou

#48

Due to limits of editing older threads by users (no idea why this setting is in place), thread merged with @Nhi original review thread to help keep the questions/answers in context with what was asked, for future members.

1 Like
#49

@ndalby Thanks :slight_smile:

#50

I like the extra features on this compared witha normal car charger

#51

Tonight, I got an email from Roav, informing me of the firmware update. Eventhough I already did the update a couple days before, it was good to be notified. Here’s what it said…

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2 Likes
#52

Nice. Will make it even more usable (when it finally get to the UK)

#53

I would like to know how can I make my roav turn off when I turn off the car and it does not stay on, try to connect by BT and spend the battery of the car?

#54

I don’t think there is a way of turning it off. If your cars cigarette lighter is on a permanent live then it will always stay on and you will need to remove it from the lighter socket when you turn the car off.

My car cigarette lighter socket is connected to anlive that is only on when the ignition is turned off so when I turn my car off, the lighter socket goes off.

So it’s down to the car, not the Roav

#55

You can actually turn off the Roav by pressing and holding the call button. My car’s 12V socket actually cuts off the power when my engine is off so I don’t know if what I just said, would help you. You can certainly try pressing and holding down the Call button to see if it’s still connects via Bluetooth. If it still connects after pressing and holding the call button, then you’ll just have to unplug the SmartCharge. I know that if I was using it in my hubby’s car, we would have to unplug it because his cigarette lighter remains powered even after engine is off.

1 Like
#56

Good to know. I got my f2 on a lightning deal. Should be arriving soon!

#57

Hi, I was wondering the same thing. Lets say my sister was using my car, and she doesnt have the app. Would i be able to locate my car?