Cheap wifi

[Dan sloan]

I guess the Onstar unit has a built-in wifi in the vehicle? Sounds like a heckuva deal!

If so then its back to how good is the ATT coverage cell wise. Verizon was #1 for years, I've had best luck on the road for years with ATT traveling the entire western US but... one day I'll tell a funny story on myself trying to troubleshot a new phone connection in a bad spot on the top of a hill next to the ranch exit on south side of I80 somewhere between Salt Lake and Laramie...in the freezing cold winter wind blowing 30 kts...
Yes, ATT had literally hundreds of miles of dead zone on the interstate in the Red Desert with no cell service back then...
"Baaaaaaa...who's your daaaaddy!"

I'm sure its gotten better since...
And new phones are much better radio signals wise. Trust but verify those coverage maps...

I'm interested to hear how the T-mobile deal with Starkink is working out...so far text only but that saves paying for a garmin device to text updates to family from the back country.

Onstar uses gps for location and cell for data, they say they use various, some say att, but the antenna and output are better than a cell phone.
My cellphone uses Verizon 5g , in Maine I had no cell phone unless I turned on the hotspot., recently in nh at a notorious dead area , again the hitspot worked.
So I'd say so far for me it's great, im heading to Wisconsin next week and will report back .
It may not be actually satellite, but seems better than regular cell phone, also satellite is $400 for the equipment and $50 a month for service, whereas onstar is $24 a month and no antenna purchase.
They'll give you a free trial , if it's not good enough no loss

 

[JohnC]

Can anybody tell me why onstar is a GM only product? Sirius radio can be found in all makes and models.

 

[Dan sloan]

Can anybody tell me why onstar is a GM only product? Sirius radio can be found in all makes and models.

Because gm owns it

 

[JohnC]

Because gm owns it

And they're profitable enough not to want to sell it across brands?

 

[The Postman]

Unlimited and you can cancel anytime. I just finished my free trial and now am a paying customer.

Thanks Dan!
Starlink had a $175 deal for the mini in some markets but the price is back to $399, so you make a good point. If you get good enough reception in every where you camp, and no antenna needed, $24 is about the best price I've seen.

Starlink is only for those places where cellular is not available.

If you do have the antenna and want to turn off service in between, you can, and Roam now has a standby option for $5/mo for just texting capability.

 

[dirty6]

And they're profitable enough not to want to sell it across brands?

Give and take

They could “give” and make money by selling it across brands

Or they could “take” (actually, “keep”) and maintain it as a brand exclusive to increase the value or their own brand

Just a question of which path the suits and accountants perceive as most advantageous

 

[JohnC]

Give and take

They could “give” and make money by selling it across brands

Or they could “take” (actually, “keep”) and maintain it as a brand exclusive to increase the value or their own brand

Just a question of which path the suits and accountants perceive as most advantageous

True. But I see Toyota licensing their hybrid technology to other manufacturers when hybrids are extremely popular. Seems like a win win win for Toyota, other manufacturers, and consumers. That technology drove me to Toyota when it was brand exclusive. Onstar will not drive me to GM because of that exclusive feature. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who feels that way.

 

[Dan sloan]

And they're profitable enough not to want to sell it across brands?

Idk about that, they've made several bad decisions recently, listening to biden and jumping into evs, and their 6.2 liter engines are falling apart. I love my gmc vans though, no issues im on my 5th, I hear the corvette is great too. But financially, they may not make it. Perhaps they think having an exclusive is the way to better sales. I think a few other manufacturers have something similar but not sure

 

[Dan sloan]

So, just got back from the campinn campout, NH to Wisconsin and back. Had wifi all the way, watched YouTube videos every night.
However, I have to use the wifi hotspot on my phone, then open my phones hotspot while in the camper otherwise too much buffering to watch some TV, mainly hidef. Otherwise thats it. Im guessing the aluminum shell lowers the reception. The onstar uses 2 att cell antennas, and the GPS antenna.
The onstar is only on when the key is on, im working on a fix. Since I have 2 batteries in my truck , I thought I could just leave it on all night instead of getting my lazy butt up to shut it off. Big mistake,by morning my battery regulator had shut down the starter battery and locked the doors with my key inside. Key fob and onstar wouldn't unlock because the battery was shut off.apparently you need to remove the key and reinsert to turn the starter battery on again, so, $180 later for the locksmith to unlock , and unnecessarily jump the battery, lesson learned. Bring spare key, or get up and shut it off before bed.

 

[Sweeney]

So, just got back from the campinn campout, NH to Wisconsin and back. Had wifi all the way, watched YouTube videos every night.
However, I have to use the wifi hotspot on my phone, then open my phones hotspot while in the camper otherwise too much buffering to watch some TV, mainly hidef. Otherwise thats it. Im guessing the aluminum shell lowers the reception. The onstar uses 2 att cell antennas, and the GPS antenna.
The onstar is only on when the key is on, im working on a fix. Since I have 2 batteries in my truck , I thought I could just leave it on all night instead of getting my lazy butt up to shut it off. Big mistake,by morning my battery regulator had shut down the starter battery and locked the doors with my key inside. Key fob and onstar wouldn't unlock because the battery was shut off.apparently you need to remove the key and reinsert to turn the starter battery on again, so, $180 later for the locksmith to unlock , and unnecessarily jump the battery, lesson learned. Bring spare key, or get up and shut it off before bed.

Woopsie! There seems to be some active threads about how to enable onstar continuously in several threads -- and dead batteries seem to be a common observation....apparently onstar is a battery hog. I have to admit, I'm a little jealous - this is chepaer than my hotspot ($40) wich has a sizable, but still capped data.

Sadly -- my 2018 Commercial van does ot have this feature

 

[Dan sloan]

Woopsie! There seems to be some active threads about how to enable onstar continuously in several threads -- and dead batteries seem to be a common observation....apparently onstar is a battery hog. I have to admit, I'm a little jealous - this is chepaer than my hotspot ($40) wich has a sizable, but still capped data.

Sadly -- my 2018 Commercial van does ot have this feature

I found the breaker for it and will connect it to my second battery, but im going to put a switch on it, so I can turn it off when not using it. Or, it could leave it and hide a second key somewhere. It did drain the battery down to the cutoff point overnight. Im not sure why, maybe the 3 antennas? 1 gps and 2 at&t . I know they mention to only use a switched circuit a few times in the documentation
If your van is gm they probably have dealer install option. Seems pretty straight forward, there's 3 buttons on the dash and 1 power connector. Perhaps there's some extra antennas?

 

[Sweeney]

I have onstar, it just does not have the wifi option. What would be interesting (and you need a tool to do it) is to measure the power consumed by the onstar module -- I assume there is just 1 pin carrying 12 volts to it --- you would need to put an amp-clamp on it to see how much power it is actually drawing.

I would think you could put a SPDT switch to select between the vehicles starter battery, and a house battery -- I saw your tow vehicle, I don't think I'd be wanting to cut wires to do that. unless you are darned certain of what you are doing! But, if you have a large house battery it might serve you well as opposed to the start battery...

 

[Dan sloan]

I have onstar, it just does not have the wifi option. What would be interesting (and you need a tool to do it) is to measure the power consumed by the onstar module -- I assume there is just 1 pin carrying 12 volts to it --- you would need to put an amp-clamp on it to see how much power it is actually drawing.

I would think you could put a SPDT switch to select between the vehicles starter battery, and a house battery -- I saw your tow vehicle, I don't think I'd be wanting to cut wires to do that. unless you are darned certain of what you are doing! But, if you have a large house battery it might serve you well as opposed to the start battery...

I agree, and I may just leave as is and hide a second key somewhere.my dc to dc charger does have a current usage feature, but it would be the whole onstar package and anything else lurking. Maybe I'll splurge and the clamp you mentioned. From the wiring diagram there's just the one fuse

 

[Sweeney]

Well --- it appers it MIGHT have data afterall. $35 for onstar is a waste of money to me - but $55 for unlimited data starts to become more interesting

 

[Dan sloan]

Well --- it appers it MIGHT have data afterall. $35 for onstar is a waste of money to me - but $55 for unlimited data starts to become more interesting

Yes it does, but, $400 for the antenna, and you need 110volts. They also let you only pay for the months you use it

 

[Dan sloan]

Yes it does, but, $400 for the antenna, and you need 110volts. They also let you only pay for the months you use it

Also, you dont need to pay $35, it's $25 for just wifi

 

[Sweeney]

Also, you dont need to pay $35, it's $25 for just wifi

They do just wifi? I'm surprised that the $35 isn't a prerequisite....or am I misunderstanding?

Yes it does, but, $400 for the antenna, and you need 110volts. They also let you only pay for the months you use it

wait, now I' am confused! This is starlink? It has some advantages but not sure it makes much difference to me. I'm a indiana native who doesn't get too far from my home, and 9 out of 10 places we stay routinely have good cell coverage, and that is without a high-gain mobile antenna.

 

[The Postman]

I just checked Starlink- they are running discounts on the mini- that can fit on a dasboard, for $299, and maybe $199 on Amazon Prime/Black Monday type deals.
Roam is $50/mo
And you can go to
Standby for $5/mo for text only.

Availability was the issue in past, with too crowded metros etc but looks like the map is pretty much wide open, I guess from the extra sats overhead.

They have a dc option to plug in to car...pretty big power drain still, so it would have to be engine on for awhile, do my work, download a movie or two to ipad and then turn off.

Nice way to stay in touch with family streaming ...still need to see the sky so in big woods you could drive the TV for awhile I suppose, get what you need then back to camp...hmmm.

I thought camping was to get away from it all...

But Sweeney, ya know I expect a professional review here any day now..."RV Geek Youtube" channel?

 

[Dan sloan]

They do just wifi? I'm surprised that the $35 isn't a prerequisite....or am I misunderstanding?



wait, now I' am confused! This is starlink? It has some advantages but not sure it makes much difference to me. I'm a indiana native who doesn't get too far from my home, and 9 out of 10 places we stay routinely have good cell coverage, and that is without a high-gain mobile antenna.

That's my understanding, I told them I just wanted wifi and they offered 3 mos full service trial, said if I wanted to cancel at the end I could, or just continue with wifi only. I went ahead and kept it all.

 

[Sweeney]

That's my understanding, I told them I just wanted wifi and they offered 3 mos full service trial, said if I wanted to cancel at the end I could, or just continue with wifi only. I went ahead and kept it all.

That might be worth it if I can pull off the same thing. Honestly, I’m able to cheat ever so slightly in that this becomes a business expense for me, but it still has to make me money. It’s about the same as I pay for my hotspot, but there’s a data cap (but I have yet to run into). I think the bigger selling point is the better antenna. Sticking the hotspot on the roof of a camper then forgetting it overnight is not something I’ve done less than once.