Voice commands - a list of

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Boomer
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Post by Boomer »

The post is prompt by another post (re modes, warp drives and the like). I had earlier pulled together in one place a summary of all the voice commands I could find in the manuals and in more logical (for me) order. Intention was/is to print out and have a cheat sheet in the car for the first month or so.

Thought others might find it useful as well so text set out below (though lost some of the original formatting in using cut & paste). Use as you wish.



Press and say one of the following commands:

General

• "Repeat" - repeats the last voice instruction in the ongoing dialogue.
• "Cancel" - discontinue the dialogue.
• "Help" - starts a help dialogue.

Phone

• "Call [FIRST NAME] [SECOND NAME] [LOCATION]" - e.g "Call - Robin - Smith - Mobile"
• "Call [phone number]"
• "Recent calls" - displays the call list.
• "Read message" - message is read out.
• "Message to [contact]" users are requested to say a brief message.

Radio/media - "Media" - starts a dialogue for media and radio and shows examples of commands.

• "Play [artist]" - plays back music by the selected artist.
• "Play [song title]" - plays back the selected song.
• "Play [song title] from [album]" - plays back the selected song from the selected album.
• "Play [radio station]" - starts playing back the selected radio channel.

• "Tune to [frequency]"
• "Tune to [frequency] [wavelength]" starts the selected radio frequency in the selected frequency band.

• "Radio" - starts FM radio.
• "Radio FM" - starts FM radio.
• "Radio AM" - starts AM radio.
• "DAB " - starts DAB radio*.
• "USB" - starts playback from USB.
• "iPod" - starts playback from iPod.
• "Bluetooth" - starts playback from a Bluetooth-connected media source.
• "Similar music" — plays back music similar to the music currently playing back from USB devices.

Navigation - “Navigation” - Initiates a navigation dialogue and shows examples of commands.

• "Take me home" - Guidance is given to the Home position.
• "Go to [City]" - Specifies a city as a destination. Example "Drive to London".
• "Go to [Address]" - Specifies an address as a destination. An address must contain city and street. Example "Drive to 5 King's Road, London".
• "Add intersection" - Starts a dialogue where two streets must be specified. The intersection point of the specified streets then becomes the destination.
• "Go to [Post code]" - Specifies a post code as a destination. Example "Drive to 1 2 3 4 5".
• "Go to [contact]" - Specifies an address from the phone book as a destination. Example "Drive to Robyn Smith".

• "Show favourites" - Shows favourited positions in the driver display

• "Clear itinerary" - Erases all the stored intermediate destinations and final destination in an itinerary.

• "Repeat voice guidance" - Repeats the last spoken guidance.
• "Turn off voice guidance" - Switches off voice guidance.
• "Turn on voice guidance" - Starts the switched-off voice guidance.

• "Search [POI category]" - Searches for adjacent points of interest (POI) within a certain category (e.g. restaurants)4. To have the list sorted along the route - say "Along the route" when the results list is shown.
• "Search [POI category] in [City]" - Searches for points of interest (POI) within a certain category and city. The list of results is sorted according to the city's central point. Example "Search for restaurant in London".
• "Search [POI name]". Example "Search Hyde Park".

• "Change country" - Changes the search area for navigation.

Climate - "Climate" - starts a dialogue for climate control and shows examples of commands.

• "Set temperature to X degrees" - sets the desired temperature.
• "Raise temperature"/"Lower temperature" - raise/lower the temperature setting one step.
• "Sync temperature" - synchronises the temperature for all climate zones in the car with the temperature set for the driver's side.

• "Air on feet"/"Air on body" - opens the desired air flow.
• "Air on feet off"/"Air on body off" - closes the desired air flow.
• "Set fan to max"/"Turn off fan" - changes the air flow to Max/Off.
• "Raise fan speed"/"Lower fan speed" - raises/lowers the fan level one step.

• "Turn on auto" - activates automatic climate regulation.
• "Air condition on"/"Air condition off" - activates/deactivates the air conditioning.
• "Recirculation on"/"Recirculation off" - activates/deactivates the air circulation.

• "Turn on defroster "/"Turn off defroster" - activates/deactivates defrosting of windows and door mirrors.
• "Turn on max defroster"/"Turn max defroster off" - activates/deactivates the max defroster.
• "Turn on electric defroster"/"Turn off electric defroster" - activates/deactivates the heated windscreen*.
• "Turn on rear defroster"/"Turn off rear defroster" - activates/deactivates the heated rear window and door mirrors.

• "Turn steering wheel heat on"/"Turn steering wheel heat off" - activates/deactivates the heated steering wheel*.
• "Raise steering wheel heat"/"Lower steering wheel heat" - raises/lowers the setting for the heated steering wheel* one step.

• "Turn on seat heat"/"Turn off seat heat" - activates/deactivates the heated seat*.
• "Raise seat heat"/"Lower seat heat" - raises/lowers the setting for the heated seat* one step.

• "Turn on seat ventilation"/"Turn off seat ventilation" - activates/deactivates the seat ventilation*.
• "Raise seat ventilation"/"Lower seat ventilation" - raises/lowers the setting for the ventilated seat* one step.
XC40 FE [MY18] | T5 AWD Auto | Crystal White | 20" | Lava | Apr 18

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pjm007
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Post by pjm007 »

V useful Boomer. Thank you.
Two XC40s - so far! Inscription Pro T5 AWD Auto - Glacier Silver/Blond/21”, fully loaded, from Jan thro Sep 2021. Polestarred. :) Also one of the first FEs - a D4 AWD Auto - Bursting Blue/Charcoal/20" from Mar thro Aug 2018. Also Polestarred. :o
wakey
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Post by wakey »

That’s very handy, thanks! It will be like having a new friend 😬
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Mukesh
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Post by Mukesh »

Thanks for the list of voice commands .
XC40. T5. FE. Bright silver / lava interior / 20 inch alloys. Delivered 13th April .
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Boomer
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Post by Boomer »

Have to say quite impressed with the general accuracy of the voice recognition. Although can't think how many times it increases the fan speed or cabin temperature by default as its first guess.

It does struggle though when you get to a more complex music/media collection. It keeps bringing up tunes that I haven't heard in ages but then again that's no bad thing. Variety, spice and all that. If I try a couple more attempts it usually gets there or close enough.
XC40 FE [MY18] | T5 AWD Auto | Crystal White | 20" | Lava | Apr 18
Pebbles
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Post by Pebbles »

Thank you Boomer for pulling all the voice commands together - shame the info from Volvo is all over the place.

I agree accuracy of the system is pretty good, but it is pretty dire in it's user friendliness... I am really disappointed in how difficult the touch screen is to use and manage the entertainment system and thought Voice Recognition would be the answer... however it seems incapable of understanding "Play BBC Radio 4" or "Play Virgin Radio" both of which insist in bringing up a list of any vaguely related song title on my usb...

I have to say the entertainment system is difficult (impossible) to use while driving and therefore pretty useless in a car, what happened to the preset buttons - why do I have to try and navigate through layers of screens to find my favourite radio stations?

But if anyone has figured out how to find and play a playlist or find your favourite radio stations whilst driving with due care and attention I would be grateful to hear.
Silver Moose
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Post by Silver Moose »

In terms of radio, I find the only user-friendly way is just to set a few stations (I just have 5) as favourites, & then use L/R steering wheel buttons.

Voice recognition is great for many things - radio station selection not being one of them.
Real name Carl
T4 Inscription Pro ordered 13/12/2018 - collected 30/3/2019
Bright Silver/Charcoal
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Deleted User 1945

Post by Deleted User 1945 »

This is really useful - I think this thread is worth pinning to the front page. What do the the Admins think?
verao1975
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Post by verao1975 »

Thanks a lot for this list,now have to memorize it :)
T4 AT8 AWD Inscription Ice White Blond Leather :D
drjamesr
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Post by drjamesr »

But if anyone has figured out how to find and play a playlist or find your favourite radio stations whilst driving with due care and attention I would be grateful to hear.
Nothing to offer on that. The system is disappointing in general and on specifics. I cant get Voice to tune to radio 4 either and have got fed up with the computer substitute of searching for a music track. No button for 360 camera. Touch screen heating controls hard to use and half degree increments complicate for no real benefit. Can’t swipe the sat nav screen in full screen mode - it just moves the map.

Our solution is to use a human co-pilot as the car is mostly used on long runs for my wife and me. Driver operation is just downright dangerous at times. Whoever isn’t driving at the time operates the Sensus. Even then it can be difficult in a moving car to tap touch, ending up instead with unintended swiping if the road is not smooth.

Did anyone at Volvo test the system in a car on the move during development, rather than on a desk?

The saving grace is that many issues could be addressed by better downloadable software on the existing hardware. How long a wait will that be?
XC40 Inscription, D4 AWD, Pine Grey, black leather faced, 19” double spoke #924, Xenium, Intellisense surround, Winter/Htd wheel, Spare wheel
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