Onboard Wi-Fi

Tom73 · December 2, 2023

What, if anything, do you give up if you cancel your onboard Wi-Fi? I don’t see any difference between the onboard Wi-Fi hotspot one your phone’s hotspot. Is there anything that won’t work without the onboard Wi-Fi?

EDIT: this for a 22 Sierra Limited, not the 22 refresh.

Edited December 2, 2023 by Tom73

kickass audio · December 2, 2023

My trial ended and I only have basic onstar until Christmas and then I have no coverage. So far all that dropped was anything that used data like the built in maps, play store updates, other apps like pandora, and the built in google assistant where you can press the mic button on the wheel once or just say "hey google" and give a command like turn the temperature up or send me home.

For me I always have my cell phone with me so I use android auto and have no problems with it. I so far only lack the "hey google" voice assistant or the assistant when you press and release the mic button on the wheel just one time and I can't download data on apps unless I am connected to WiFi by means of my house or my mobile hotspot service from my cell phone. I got around the google voice assistant by having android auto running and you just press and hold the microphone button for like 3 seconds and it uses the voice assistant from the phone not the truck but because of this I cannot command vehicle controls like temperature adjustments but I can live without that.

I will say that because of the lack of data connectivity on my 2023, when my radio acts up with not wanting to pair up with android auto on my cell phone, i will not have the ability to use the map screen as it keeps nagging about needing a connected service plan to use it (it will operate for visual based on your offline map but it will nag the hell out of you for not paying for a plan). When my radio fails to connect to android auto I just place the truck in park and hold the end call button for 10 seconds straight and the radio reboots itself and then it goes back to normal once it finishes rebooting the radio. I also noticed immediately after my trial for the data plan ended I had lost the little speed limit sign that appears on the driver information center. I was able to get it back to normal by turning off the speed limit sign on the info center and then turning it back on. I want to say that the speed limit sign just uses the areas you specified in your offline map area of the built in map application on the truck. For me it's damn near all of New York State and the northern half of Pennsylvania that it auto downloaded and I have a smaller offline map for just the immediate counties where I live. I update the offline map through my home WiFi and also update all my apps and check for OTA updates when I am parked at home.

Transient · December 2, 2023

Biggest reason I have wifi is so the kids can be distracted by their tablets and stfu while I'm driving. Their tablets don't have data plans, and require wifi to be online and watch Kids YouTube. It's very beneficial for long road trips, like the one I did in July where I moved from California to Florida. 6 days in the road, and the kids were well behaved.

ember1205 · December 2, 2023

You can use your truck as a hotspot for your phone. You can't use your phone as a hotspot for your truck. Using the built-in Google Maps or something? You need WiFi. Pulling all of your app and data needs through apps on your phone? You don't need WiFi.

ember1205 · December 2, 2023

15 hours ago, Transient said:

Biggest reason I have wifi is so the kids can be distracted by their tablets and stfu while I'm driving. Their tablets don't have data plans, and require wifi to be online and watch Kids YouTube. It's very beneficial for long road trips, like the one I did in July where I moved from California to Florida. 6 days in the road, and the kids were well behaved.

Your phone should be able to act as a hotspot for them as well, though, reducing the cost of maintaining services in the truck. No?

ember1205 · December 2, 2023

15 hours ago, kickass audio said:

I update the offline map through my home WiFi and also update all my apps and check for OTA updates when I am parked at home.

OTA doesn't require any particular network access I don't believe. I know that my Camaro only needs to be in an area with coverage but I don't need ANY network connections configured in the truck in order for the OTA updates to reach my vehicle.

Unless they've changed something significant, as long as you're in an area with a clear view of the sky (for sat communications) and potentially in an area with good LTE coverage from ATT specifically, OTA updates should be able to reach your truck.

Tom73 · December 3, 2023

5 hours ago, ember1205 said:

You can use your truck as a hotspot for your phone. You can't use your phone as a hotspot for your truck. Using the built-in Google Maps or something? You need WiFi. Pulling all of your app and data needs through apps on your phone? You don't need WiFi.

I try to stay as far away from Google as possible. Use Apple CarPlay. Only thing I can think of that may not work is the speed limit display. I like that function even if it is highly inaccurate. But getting rid of the onboard Wi-Fi would save $25/mo. Don’t know if the speed limit display is worth that.
Am starting to think that the onboard Wi-Fi is more of a convenience hotspot than anything else.

ember1205 · December 3, 2023

14 hours ago, Tom73 said:

I try to stay as far away from Google as possible. Use Apple CarPlay. Only thing I can think of that may not work is the speed limit display. I like that function even if it is highly inaccurate. But getting rid of the onboard Wi-Fi would save $25/mo. Don’t know if the speed limit display is worth that.
Am starting to think that the onboard Wi-Fi is more of a convenience hotspot than anything else.

Using Apple CarPlay doesn't explicitly rule out the use of Google Maps or other Google-backed services (Waze) on Apple devices.

Tom73 · December 4, 2023

8 hours ago, ember1205 said:

Using Apple CarPlay doesn't explicitly rule out the use of Google Maps or other Google-backed services (Waze) on Apple devices.

Right, it is just that I try to avoid Google at all cost. Only time that I will use Google Maps is for Street View.

Transient · December 4, 2023

On 12/2/2023 at 2:17 PM, ember1205 said:

Your phone should be able to act as a hotspot for them as well, though, reducing the cost of maintaining services in the truck. No?

Not always. Multiple kids means multiple devices, and subject to service area availability. Vehicle bodies are like Faraday cages. The metal and glass restrict signal. Glass is an electrical insulator. One advantage of the truck's wifi is the antenna is on the exterior and therefore has more range. GM's wifi service provider is AT&T.

Tom73 · December 4, 2023

On 12/3/2023 at 8:54 AM, ember1205 said:

Using Apple CarPlay doesn't explicitly rule out the use of Google Maps or other Google-backed services (Waze) on Apple devices.

Point is, I try to avoid Google at all costs

KinkyDuramax · December 6, 2023

On 12/1/2023 at 11:23 PM, kickass audio said:

My trial ended and I only have basic onstar until Christmas and then I have no coverage. So far all that dropped was anything that used data like the built in maps, play store updates, other apps like pandora, and the built in google assistant where you can press the mic button on the wheel once or just say "hey google" and give a command like turn the temperature up or send me home.

For me I always have my cell phone with me so I use android auto and have no problems with it. I so far only lack the "hey google" voice assistant or the assistant when you press and release the mic button on the wheel just one time and I can't download data on apps unless I am connected to WiFi by means of my house or my mobile hotspot service from my cell phone. I got around the google voice assistant by having android auto running and you just press and hold the microphone button for like 3 seconds and it uses the voice assistant from the phone not the truck but because of this I cannot command vehicle controls like temperature adjustments but I can live without that.

I will say that because of the lack of data connectivity on my 2023, when my radio acts up with not wanting to pair up with android auto on my cell phone, i will not have the ability to use the map screen as it keeps nagging about needing a connected service plan to use it (it will operate for visual based on your offline map but it will nag the hell out of you for not paying for a plan). When my radio fails to connect to android auto I just place the truck in park and hold the end call button for 10 seconds straight and the radio reboots itself and then it goes back to normal once it finishes rebooting the radio. I also noticed immediately after my trial for the data plan ended I had lost the little speed limit sign that appears on the driver information center. I was able to get it back to normal by turning off the speed limit sign on the info center and then turning it back on. I want to say that the speed limit sign just uses the areas you specified in your offline map area of the built in map application on the truck. For me it's damn near all of New York State and the northern half of Pennsylvania that it auto downloaded and I have a smaller offline map for just the immediate counties where I live. I update the offline map through my home WiFi and also update all my apps and check for OTA updates when I am parked at home.

Curious, when does the plan end? We both have the 2023. I found it a huge disappointment when I learned that the G-Maps inside the truck disappear under a subscription. I was really hoping it was locked into the truck. I too use my phones system way more, Apple Car-Play.

Since purchasing my 23' I haven't done an OTA update yet, it's been up to date since the pickup. Never had luck with OTA ones in my previous rides.

kickass audio · December 7, 2023

11 hours ago, ARedSierra said:

Curious, when does the plan end? We both have the 2023. I found it a huge disappointment when I learned that the G-Maps inside the truck disappear under a subscription. I was really hoping it was locked into the truck. I too use my phones system way more, Apple Car-Play.

Since purchasing my 23' I haven't done an OTA update yet, it's been up to date since the pickup. Never had luck with OTA ones in my previous rides.

Mine fully ends on 12/26/23 but my data part of the plan ended back in November 16th I believe, it was only a 30 day trial of the full plan then went to 3 months of safety+security and after that it's 3 years of the remote start/unlock through the mychevrolet app and then that is gone too.

So far for the past 3 days I setup an automation rule on my samsung galaxy s21 so when I am paired to the radio in the truck it will turn on my mobile hotspot through my cell phone and then my truck finds the hotspot on my cell phone and pairs up with that to continue everything like the built in google voice when you single press the microphone button on the wheel and the g-maps in the truck works fully as well.

Prior to last week my truck was totally offline for data when driving around and only was online when I was sitting in the driveway and connected to my home's WiFi and the only thing I lost last week was the built in g-maps and the app downloads. My speed limit sign on the drivers screen was still functional. Then on Sunday i lost the speed limit sign on the drivers screen until I paired up via mobile hotspot to keep a data connection going, even though my offline maps were still fully downloaded to the truck, including my custom maps I downloaded on my own.

i will add though that as long as you have offline maps current in the truck for a year until they need to be re-downloaded again, I was able to dismiss the nagging warning about the app not working unless I have a data plan twice and type in the address for a destination that was in the offline map zone and drive to it using the built in g-maps app. I did not have the speed limit sign nor did I have traffic updates but it wasn't totally dead without an active data connection or plan. It just nagged twice about the need for a data plan and I said dismiss both times and it never came back up on that trip again. Granted it was only a 15 minute drive but it only complained twice and then shut up about it.

Jus Cruisin · December 7, 2023

I have the data for 3 years with Supercruise. I suspect I'll put Supercruise on my next truck too, so I'll always have it. Just pay up front and then it's not a bother during ownership.. All brands will have data "needed" to fully operate the infotainment systems and other features now and in the future. I'll just pay for all that stuff when I purchase it. I'll pay for the 3 years up front. I doubt I'll ever keep anything beyond 3 years.

KARNUT · December 7, 2023

My wife uses her phone hot spot if she’s using her iPad while traveling. She uses pure talk. I use my phone for everything while traveling from navigating to entertainment. The best of the 60,70 and 80s on pandora or the Ringo channel are my favorites. I’m not going to pay extra for something I already have access to. Regular cruise is enough for me. Paying extra for anything else isn’t happening. I like to be fully engaged while driving. I use my iPhone instead of a computer, I’m using it now.