Chip E.

I searched, and couldn't find anything...

...has anyone located the SIM Card in the C7, and tried to swap it for another carrier other than ATT?

grandpawmoses

I'm not much help but wouldn't it take more than that? Phones usually are configured for a specific carrier and would have a system modification to work on a different carrier.

ratman6161

All depends. At work for example we have a couple of iPads that came with a SIM card for other carriers and to switch them to our Verizon data plan we just needed a Verizon SIM card (which they provided for free). But in the US not all phones even have a SIM card. And there is other hardware involved besides the card. Different carriers use different radio frequencies and multiplexing schemes so the radios on the phone have to support the carrier too. But the car may not even have a SIM card.

Some can switch carriers and some not and it also depends on what you are switching from and to.

OnStar appears to be using AT&T.

http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/con...gm-onstar.html

What are you trying to achieve? Data in the dar?

There are also other options for data in the car. For example on my verizon phone I can have wireless hot spot enabled for $30 per month and i have a grandfathered in unlimited data plan. Some factors:

1. The 4G capability doesn't do anything for me while I'm driving. Its only helpful when my wife is along but in our normal driving we would rarely use it.

2. Verizon lets me turn on or off the wireless hot spot feature at will and prorates my bill for the number of days it was on. So when we went on our 10 day road trip back in July, I turned it on, allowing my wife to use her wifi only tablet in the car. The other good thing about this is that she could use it where ever my phone was in range, not just in the car.

3. Using this method when the trip was over I just went to the verizon web site and turned it back off...no monthly plan except during the times I actually want to use it.


But...all depends on what you are trying to accomplish and a lot of other factors. I'm sort of doubting you will be able to make the car's functionality work with a different carrier. Even with a phone, its often problematic.

Edit: found this article: http://www.androidcentral.com/using-...s-connected-go

Have to agree with the author that cost wise, GM's 4GLTE mostly makes sense only if you 1. Dont care what it costs or 2. are already an AT&T customer and can add it to your existing plan for $10/month. So if you are on another carrier, I can see the attraction of wanting to switch...but I suspect it probably isn't possible.

obxchartercaptain

....The wi-fi hot spot uses Att for its carrier and I do not believe you can change it.

ratman6161

Hear is another article on the subject

http://blog.caranddriver.com/can-you...s-besides-att/

GM seemed to be telling the Car and Driver people that the ability to switch carriers might come in the future but definitely not for 2015 or 2016.

Also in the same article:

"Currently, the 4G LTE service is bundled with OnStar, and it’s a connection that runs deeper than marketing. AT&T provides the connection for OnStar service, in addition to a simple data connection for the onboard Wi-Fi hotspot, meaning incorporating other carriers requires plenty of compatibility testing to ensure OnStar service isn’t affected. "

This also makes it seem unlikely to me that we would see the ability to switch carriers any time soon...though Apple eventually relented on the AT&T only stance back in the day. Even if it happens it probably won't happen for existing cars.

Chip E.

I want to switch both the voice and data services.

I "Think" there's a federal law that requires providers to allow users to keep their number and move to other carriers. To that end...I "own" the device, so I "should" be able to have them unlock it.

As for switching SIMS between phones...it's changed. Here's an example...

http://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-us...tract-network/


SO...does anyone even know where the SIM Card is?

Jasonhol

Especially interested because I work for a different carrier!

Jason

ratman6161

You can keep your phone number, but that has nothing to do with weather or not your phone/device will actually work with the carrier you are moving to. Two separate issues.

aj98

you may need the imei number to make the change.
(on A '14) it is not simple to extract - you cant get to it on screen, dealers mechanic can.
it buried in several pages deep in the computer. along with the carrier codes etc.

i've got post on it somewhere...will have to search.

here it is:
==
check the "global diagnostic sytem 2 identification system" in the car.

i had asked dealer for the IMEI number for the phone.
got a printout with the GDS2IS heading, and 2 pages of data from
the "telematics communication interface control module" parameters.

also has firmware over the air version numbers
onstar id codes, phone imei number etc.
===
lots of other fun stuff in there; one of the entries is "remote vehicle speed limiting" and is set to "Active"

LT1 Z51

This is so OnStar during a theft can "shut down" your car.

Mike Mercury

I have switched simm cards in a vendor provided phone before, but first it had to be "unlocked"...I think some call it "jailbreaking"??? Like others have said... the operating system on the phone can be vendor-tailored as well.

I would be shocked if such a thing could be managed with an OnStar system... though I'd praise the individual that could accomplished it.

slickstick

Yea, if you don't plan on paying for Onstar (don't blame anybody there), then I don't see much benefit of just not using hotspot on your phone.

However, if you're talking on your phone a lot, I don't believe they (at least most phones and I have a newer HTC) can hotspot while talking. So, there could be some scenarios where it'd be nice to have a separate dedicated hotspot.

slickstick

Even if the modem they use cannot possibly be used with another carrier (Ex: Doesn't have the right radios) I'm sure it could be removed or bypassed to another modem. Then maybe that modem can be hard wired to existing Wifi antennas in the car. In the end, it might just be easier to leave the existing modem and hardwire a new one in the hatch. I'd be interested to see a schematic of the system.

A sierra wireless modem that accepts a sim card is about $500 and there are a variety of cellular antennas for around $100. Not sure how the signal would be if you left it inside the car, so hiding an antenna which nobody wants on their Corvette would be the most potentially challenging part. Other than that it would probably be a very easy install to add independent of the existing in-car equipment if desired.

kevincol

I haven't looked to see where it might be, but you could only use T-Mobile as an alternative. Sprint & Verizon are on different technologies and are not compatible. Also, you might not get LTE with a TMobile SIM in their phone. However, I mainly use the hotspot on my iPhone 6+. The only time I really needed AT&T was when TMobile didn't have coverage and that was when I was in remote areas and the many of the remote areas even AT&T didn't work.

meyerweb

Depends on the carrier. Verizon has never supported it, Sprint did on some phones before their latest network upgrade began, and most (all?) of their new phones don't.

AT&T and T-Mobile do, on many (most?) phones.

LT1 Z51

GSM based carriers need SIM cards (T-Mobile and AT&T as well as most of the world outside of Japan), Verizon and Sprint use CDMA but their phones all have SIM slots for International Use. If the phone if "unlocked" then you can use it on their network.

Since the C7 uses an AT&T phone you can't switch it to Verizon or Sprint since it doesn't have a CDMA antenna.

BTW OnStar used to use Verizon, I wonder when the switch occurred?

aj98

2015 model year.
2014s are verizon.

my carrier is tracphone; thier bring your own phone program allows verizon configured phones to be changed to their network...I entered the cars imei into the swap system, said I coould change it, but since I can't share minutes on my existing account w/ the car, i let the idea drop. bluetooth works well as long as i remember to bring the handeld (iphone) with me.
also note tracphone androids work on att....

point being, you may not need to change the "sim" in th car...another carrier may be able to use it as is.

LT1 Z51

Ah, this complicates things for people.

The 2014's with Verizon have a CDMA antenna and probably no SIM slot (because the OnStar Module is North America Only, or was until the AT&T switch) So a 2014 can use any CDMA carrier, but the 2015 and later will only be able to use a SIM based carrier.

CDMA carriers use the IMEI to identify which phones they allow on their network. Verizon is migrating from CDMA to GSM (LTE Advanced specifically) so they may add SIM cards to all phones soon. No idea if Sprint is on board this (they support LTE Advanced, but they might not abandon the old CDMA standard):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CDMA2000

and

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_CDMA2000_networks

while

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GSM

and

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LTE_Advanced

For the nitty gritty details.

Mike Mercury

Yep; it use to be that GSM cell network systems were the only ones using SIMM cards... as GSM required it.

Now, the non-GSM carrier phones are starting to have SIMM slots in their devices as well. It's kinda confusing.

Globally, GSM is the more widely used venue. Simm cards allow the user to go to a foreign area with GSM service (but with their contracted provider absent in this area)... pop in a SIMM card from that areas GSM provider - and still use your current device to make/receive calls & texts. You did not have to buy another phone; instead use your existing device.

But, many carriers lock their phones. I have experience with AT&T and T-Mobile (both use GSM). I moved from AT&T to T-Mobile, but wanted to use my AT&T phone. I swapped out the AT&T Simm for the T_Mobile SIMM and powered up the phone. On the screen "not an AT& T Simm" (or something along those lines) message appeared and hung there, unusable.

I found out about unlocking a carrier-locked phone, did the procedure, and then the T-Mobile Simm worked in the AT&T phone.

It's not always a hardware issue; that's what I am relaying here. Even if there is a SIMM slot "somewhere" in the C7... if the modem is carrier-locked, swapping Simm cards (for one from a different provider) may still not work.

When purchasing a new cell phone (especially one for GSM network)... you can specify you want an "unlocked" device. They will charge you more for it though...

10WhiteGS

Has anyone found the location of the card. I'd like to swap it and see what happens. I have a sim card/w number that I'm not using. Data and voice plan