nolove10s

So what is the deal? I imagine you have to subscribe to onstar? I thought I read that the 2016 was different than the 2015? Is it fast? Like cell phone not on WiFi fast? Like cell phone on my at home WiFi fast?

Rooster OG

It's through On Star - 4G LTE service.

https://www.onstar.com/us/en/4glte/

scottsh

It is no different than using your cell phone as a hotspot. It is exactly the same technology. Chevy claims the signal strength is better than your phone because the car has a better antenna but they can't get any better bandwidth than the cell tower provides. It would be exactly the same as your cell phone on the cell network.

Just curious, but when do you see you using your car as a wifi hotspot?

TBIRD57

i thought were making that a selling point on certain chevy models.

nolove10s

I thought there was a new piece of hardware in the 2016 model to help with Internet connection speed?

ben dover

^This.^

scottsh

I can't find any reference to better/different hardware for 4G LTE Wifi in 2016. The web site states the following:

4G LTE Wi-Fi
Stingray features an available 4G LTE WiFi connection that's more powerful than your smartphone. Through OneStar, this technology gives Stingray an incredibly reliable Wi-Fi connection. The powerful signal gives you and your passengers the ability to seamlessly connect up to seven smart devices to the Internet, giving you the freedom to roam while connected.


There is a note that WPA-2 devices only are supported (only a problem for older devices.)

I think you might be seeing the marketing hype around 4G LTE and concluding it is somehow better but most modern phones use 4G LTE. It is the exact same technology but because the car has a larger antenna than your cell phone Chevy claims it has better signal strength to the cell tower. That is what they mean by "more powerful" and "incredibly reliable."

I called OnStar and asked them what benefit the car's wifi had over my phone and this is all they could tell me about why it was better.

jcthorne

You know, if the car's infotainment system actually USED the LTE connection for something, not just providing a wifi signal to my cell phone, it might be useful. The system does not use the LTE radio for anything. Not traffic, weather, poi information, streaming, nada.

Why would I want to pay onstar an inflated markup data rate to provide cell data to my phone, via wifi rather than my phone just getting the data directly under the plan I am already paying for?

Once again the onstar folks marketing a half baked solution to a problem that does not exist. Tech that COULD be actually useful if it was integrated as part of the whole system.

scottsh

- But its OK, everybody will copy what the innovators like Tesla do eventually.

In the meantime I'll use my cell phone and console myself by pressing that high-tech button next to the brake pedal and listening to that awesome exhaust sound.

DAFFYDRUNK

Exactly. The Onstar LTE is an answer to a question no one asked. I don't know if they did something different for 16 or not but it really doesn't matter. If I need a hot spot I simply turn on the one in my phone. Onstar LTE service might be relevant if you could directly use apps like Pandora on the stereo, but the Pandora "app" in the car, for example requires you slave it off of the Pandora app in your phone.

defaria

Last time I checked using the hotspot that my phone might provide costs me $30/month extra. Then again OnStar costs too. I don't get it nor do I need it. Chevy/OnStar - come up with a compelling use case and you might get more sales.

Drh

It's a pretty good deal if you are with AT&T - as it only cost $10/month to add the Corvette to you existing data share plan. So the Corvette shares in my 15GB plan. I just took a 3500 mile trip and there were some locations where my cell phone data connection was weak. The connection through the car was better. For me, it's worth $10/month.

defaria

So you would pay $120/year ($1200 in a 10 year period) just to occasionally (when you do a 3500 road trip) get "better" coverage for "some locations". I wouldn't.

meyerweb

I can see the WiFi in a minvan, SUV or family sedan, to help keep the kids entertained on a long trip. Or for a salesman whose car is his office. I can't see it in the 'vette. At least not at the price asked.

Steve Garrett

My 2014 C7 is not equipped with WiFi, but my iPhone is. When we go to Corvette FunFest this month, my wife is joining me. She will be studying in the car (she's finishing her Master's Degree) while we drive to Effingham, IL. She'll log on her computer via my iPhone Hotspot.

scottsh

Using your phone like this makes a lot of sense - and many do the same. I was asking more when somebody would use the car over a phone as the hotspot. I can't quite come up with a reason to use it but somebody must want to or they wouldn't have the feature.

hawkeyefan

Actually it is through AT&T but if you don't have AT&T, then you can purchase a plan through onstar but at a higher price when compared to AT&T.

kevincol

I have a 2016. You get 3 months free or 3GB data, whichever comes first. They say LTE which is true if you are getting an AT&T LTE signal. I've used 80% of my 3GB. I won't subscribe because my iPhone 6+ has hot spot built in and I get unlimited high speed (currently) with TMobile.

However, having both was extremely beneficial in my road trip from BG to Seattle as TMobile did not have good coverage in SD, WY, MT and ID. But then again AT&T didn't have coverage in some of those areas either.

With most phones acting as hot spots now and there can only be one passenger, I don't see the need to actually have a Wi-Fi hotspot in the car.

Maxie2U

Maxie2U