GM Wi Fi 4g LTE on without using the accessory option.

[Canuck_Travelle]

We have a 2017 Chevrolet Silverado with Wi Fi 4g LTE, it is great to use on the road but in a park when in our RV one must leave tne iginition key on accessory, not fond of doing this while in the RV.

Has anyone did a work around to allow the WIFI to be on and turn it off easily when done?

Thinking it requires a switch to replicate the accessory being on.
Any experience from users that have tried a work around is greatly appreciated, thanks!

[joebedford]

For those other Canucks having OnStar wifi problems in USA: did you get your 2G radio upgraded to 4G?

[Canuck_Travelle]

ktmrfs
"when you didn't have wifi were you in ATT service area. not sure about the east coast, but in midwest and west there are a noticeable number of areas outside of major towns where ATT or verizon don't have any service, or wifi is 1x or 3G at best."
Yes I would say so as on our way back the WIFI from ONSTAR worked ok in both those locations, it must have been a glitch in the ONSTAR or like at the border when the Border Officer asks "Is that a Canadian or American cat?"...too funny!.....LOL

[ktmrfs]

Canuck Travellers wrote:
Not to get off topic but when travelling to Florida late October 2016 and in Kenely, NC, we had no ONSTAR WIFI, stayed overnight at a Flying "J", stopped next day around noon at Latte Flying "J" in SC, no WIFI again, called ONSTAR, after they referred the issue to "Tech Support" we were told that the new Truck was a "Canadian" vehicle and would not work with WIFI in the USA even though we had been on it from the Canadian Maritimes to Richmond VA, .....when we tried again in Brunswick Georgia worked perfect.....we thought it quite hilarious "Canadian Truck" and would not work except in Canada....BTW coming back no trouble using the WIFI in SC & NC......LOL

oh what tales some tech support comes up with at times. AFAIK as long as you can get a GSM signal it should work.

when you didn't have wifi were you in ATT service area. not sure about the east coast, but in midwest and west there are a noticeable number of areas outside of major towns where ATT or verizon don't have any service, or wifi is 1x or 3G at best.

[Canuck_Travelle]

Thanks everyone for your great help, really appreciate it!
.....Ernie & Claudette

[Canuck_Travelle]

Not to get off topic but when travelling to Florida late October 2016 and in Kenely, NC, we had no ONSTAR WIFI, stayed overnight at a Flying "J", stopped next day around noon at Latte Flying "J" in SC, no WIFI again, called ONSTAR, after they referred the issue to "Tech Support" we were told that the new Truck was a "Canadian" vehicle and would not work with WIFI in the USA even though we had been on it from the Canadian Maritimes to Richmond VA, .....when we tried again in Brunswick Georgia worked perfect.....we thought it quite hilarious "Canadian Truck" and would not work except in Canada....BTW coming back no trouble using the WIFI in SC & NC......LOL

[ktmrfs]

Canuck Travellers wrote:
Yes AT&T is Onstar' Internet provider according to what We were told by GM.

The AT&T mobile device sounds interesting, anyone know if it could be configured to work in a house, would it require an OBD connection to work.AT&T

yes, onstar wifi is with ATT and if you have ATT service for cell phones you can add the onstar phone # as another device on your line and then use the onstar phone and wifi just like another device on your service.

One advantage to onstar wifi/phone is it's capability is very close to or the equal of the cell phone boosters you can get. It can run more output power than a regular cell phone if needed and has a better antenna.

So, as I mentioned in a previous post, we have been in places where others with ATT phones had absolutely no service but with onstar we had a strong signal and good wifi. But there are also places we've been where there is NO ATT service (or verizon for that matter) even with Onstar.

Moot point if your in places with good cell service, but we very often are in remote places with pretty iffy or poor cell service.


We have Verizon phones, and same thing, places with zero normal cell service I can get a good signal at times using my wilson cell phone booster and better antenna.

[lexi51]

Canuck Travellers wrote:
Yes AT&T is Onstar' Internet provider according to what We were told by GM.

The AT&T mobile device sounds interesting, anyone know if it could be configured to work in a house, would it require an OBD connection to work.AT&T

Definitely works in the house, RV anywhere really.

Check out this thread for details
http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/29200191/page/1.cfm

AC adapters are sold on ebay and amazon from various sellers.

[Canuck_Travelle]

Yes AT&T is Onstar' Internet provider according to what We were told by GM.

The AT&T mobile device sounds interesting, anyone know if it could be configured to work in a house, would it require an OBD connection to work.AT&T

[ol_Bombero-JC]

ktmrfs wrote:

ol Bombero-JC wrote:
(IMO) OnStar is a bit expensive - unless you feel ya gotta have it.
Even w/o it, you can still have Sirus XM and standard navigation.
(Sirius will cut you a great deal -price- if you let it lapse)

Pos solution for the OP - check out AT&T ZTE Mobley standalone $20 a month unlimited plan. (Purchase the device outright, or free w/2yr contract)
You can either plug it into the OBD port in your vehicle -and- buy/make a 110V converter for your RV/home.

BTW - in either location, *you* can set the delay for length of time it stays on - including "always on".

Threads:

On RV Net

On SKPs

Plus a few more threads if you search.
Also - info on the Howardforums



~

yes, the onstar wifi is expensive if you don't have an ATT plan. no disagreement.

and IF you have good cell reception, then a stand alone hot spot is less expensive and more convenient option. and the way to go.

But if cell reception is poor with your ATT phone/hotspot, the onstar WIFI has a more powerful amplifier and receiver and better antenna so there are spots where a regular cell phone will give NO signal and onstar phone/wifi has plenty of signal.

Or, if you are like us and have Verizon and don't have coverage, AND are in ATT range, then the onstar wifi is an option.

So, for us it's a good backup. between onstar ATT service and our verizon plan we pretty much get phone/wifi service anyplace it is available. which of course does leave plenty of places we get no cell service.

Fortunately I'm *not* in a poor cell phone reception area.
Nor am I a cyber guru or geek squad member..:B

However, regarding the poor reception.....you might peruse the link to
the SKP forum for lots of antenna discussion to improve same.

Also - apparently the Howardforums have been "onto" the Mobley for much longer than the forums here or on SKPs.

BTW - forget where I saw this - isn't OnStar WiFi via AT&T?
Would seem you should be able to match the OnStar capabilities(?)

And - the reason I purchased outright from Best Buy, was the 14 day return policy. Figured if it didn't perform (at least to my expectations) I could return it.
Best Buy salesperson said they would wave the 15% re-stocking fee if I returned it.

No complaints so far - running 24-7 off 110v...:)

~

[ktmrfs]

Canuck Travellers wrote:
http://www.trucktrend.com/news/1703-gm-offering-unlimited-onstar-4g-lte-data-for-20-month/

Actually GM has offered unlimited data for $20/month starting in February 2017, I did not check if I could get it for a month and close it out after travelling from our Canadian home to Florida but I think one can, they do indicate the possibility of "throthling" for very large users which should not be a problem. That $20 I understand is also Canadian currency, I think it sounds like a good deal.
BTW Ichecked the speed when hooked up to the 4G LTE and I got 20 meg down and up in several spots between Eastern Canada and Florida which is great speed.
See above for one site on the GM offer.

interesting to see the unlimited data option. my current 1 year plan is for 10GB used in a year, not a great deal, but fits our needs when we don't get verizon coverage.

[Canuck_Travelle]

http://www.trucktrend.com/news/1703-gm-offering-unlimited-onstar-4g-lte-data-for-20-month/

Actually GM has offered unlimited data for $20/month starting in February 2017, I did not check if I could get it for a month and close it out after travelling from our Canadian home to Florida but I think one can, they do indicate the possibility of "throthling" for very large users which should not be a problem. That $20 I understand is also Canadian currency, I think it sounds like a good deal.
BTW Ichecked the speed when hooked up to the 4G LTE and I got 20 meg down and up in several spots between Eastern Canada and Florida which is great speed.
See above for one site on the GM offer.

[ktmrfs]

ol Bombero-JC wrote:
(IMO) OnStar is a bit expensive - unless you feel ya gotta have it.
Even w/o it, you can still have Sirus XM and standard navigation.
(Sirius will cut you a great deal -price- if you let it lapse)

Pos solution for the OP - check out AT&T ZTE Mobley standalone $20 a month unlimited plan. (Purchase the device outright, or free w/2yr contract)
You can either plug it into the OBD port in your vehicle -and- buy/make a 110V converter for your RV/home.

BTW - in either location, *you* can set the delay for length of time it stays on - including "always on".

Threads:

On RV Net

On SKPs

Plus a few more threads if you search.
Also - info on the Howardforums



~

yes, the onstar wifi is expensive if you don't have an ATT plan. no disagreement.

and IF you have good cell reception, then a stand alone hot spot is less expensive and more convenient option. and the way to go.

But if cell reception is poor with your ATT phone/hotspot, the onstar WIFI has a more powerful amplifier and receiver and better antenna so there are spots where a regular cell phone will give NO signal and onstar phone/wifi has plenty of signal.

Or, if you are like us and have Verizon and don't have coverage, AND are in ATT range, then the onstar wifi is an option.

So, for us it's a good backup. between onstar ATT service and our verizon plan we pretty much get phone/wifi service anyplace it is available. which of course does leave plenty of places we get no cell service.

[ol_Bombero-JC]

(IMO) OnStar is a bit expensive - unless you feel ya gotta have it.
Even w/o it, you can still have Sirus XM and standard navigation.
(Sirius will cut you a great deal -price- if you let it lapse)

Pos solution for the OP - check out AT&T ZTE Mobley standalone $20 a month unlimited plan. (Purchase the device outright, or free w/2yr contract)
You can either plug it into the OBD port in your vehicle -and- buy/make a 110V converter for your RV/home.

BTW - in either location, *you* can set the delay for length of time it stays on - including "always on".

Threads:

On RV Net

On SKPs

Plus a few more threads if you search.
Also - info on the Howardforums



~

[ktmrfs]

Canuck Travellers wrote:
Only problem is the truck shuts down after 10 minutes, I guess I could leave the key in on accessories and lock up with second key.

another option you could try, don't know if it will work or not, would be to use the remote fob to start the car, let it run for a minute or so then turn it off and see if wifi is still on for 10 minutes. I haven't tried this and it may or may not work. I'm not sure if remote start turns on the onstar, wifi etc. and if it does what happens when you use the remote to turn off the vehicle.