I added my own WiFi to the MyLink config and it connected, does it not actually use it? I haven't tested it for anything. What happens when you do that?

 

I never could find a place to do this, but maybe I'm blind. Is it just in myLink's "Settings" section? Disclaimer: This truck's myLink software has never been updated. The Dealership tried to update it, but was having an issue with their internet connection, so I'll have to go back another time.

 

I used it for the first 3 months it was free.....

 

That's where I'm at, for now. If I find use in it, AT&T has already told me it's easy to add the truck as a device on my current plan, for $10 per month. The OnStar rep also said that I don't need an active OnStar account to use the WiFi through AT&T.

 

Using the head unit, under vehicle I believe is the WiFi settings, and under there is an option to connect an new network. I added my home on there.

And I did purchase the subscription. $20 mo for unlimited data. I get poor reception living out in the boonies, and the truck has a fairly better antenna. I also have a very limited internet cap at home, so the 2+ hours a day spent in the truck, its nice to have my phone connected and syncing/downloading app updates, and photo syncing, which generally only happens on WiFi. So its a small price to pay for additional internet for me.

 

Good to know, thank you. I'll check again, but I didn't see anything related to WiFi in my myLink settings. I'm guessing I'll have it after the Dealership gets me my update. I don't Android Auto at the moment either.

 

My phone acts as a hot spot. No need to make the car one too.

 

I used it when it was free and I liked it, I had good speeds as well. If I could buy data that didn't expire in a month I'd buy more. I don't need it enough for $20 a month unlimited, but I'd pay $20-$30 for a couple gigs if I had a few months to use it.

 

Mine terminated after the 3 month trial. Along with the navigation app, tire pressure, vehicle status, security .............

Guess my 30 grand wasn't good enough for them. Do people actually pay for that stuff when a $100 gps or a smart phone will do.

It was nice to use the gmc app to send directions to the truck but not worth the cost as I might only use it twice a year.

 

You can still access your vehicle diagnostics information inside the truck's menu system right? I'd be very disappointed if you have to have an OnStar account to get that info locally. I understand that I wouldn't be able to access it from the app.

 

It gets used in my truck all the time, can't use the phone as a hot spot when someone is on a call. With kids and grand kids its great they can use it for Netflix, amazon video, music, what ever. I purchased the unlimited plan for 20/mo, used the 3 gig up in a little over a week.

When I first tried to use it the speed was really bad, called up on-star and complained about it, they told me to keep testing it and if it did not get better call them back. It magically got better the following morning, I expect they throttle back the free data speeds unless you complain about it as it was obviously being speed controlled by the internet service provider (ATT in this case).

 

Mine just expired I used it while it was free and didn't even use a gig of data in 3 months with it I have unlimited data on my phone so I don't have a use for it really.

 

In rural southwest Wisconsin, AT&T has lousy coverage so access was awful when my kids tried using it in the vehicle. Bought WIFI coverage for one month to use on a trip to Colorado. Had good coverage most of the interstate but when we were off of the interstate, no luck. U.S. Cellular works fairly well on our phones but those ads portraying that they have coverage in the middle of no where are full of B.S.

 

Agreed! My 2016 just got updated in May, I guess there was a firmware release in late March this year but I haven't really screwed with it. They did it because I was having the system "black-out" issues leaving the entire system non-op except through the steering controls. Used to use the hotspot all the time between the laptop/ipad/ipod but was spending HOURS on the road every week and found it to be more reliable than my cell. Once I got back to every-day-commute, I called and pulled it off AT&T which was another can of worms.

I wish GM would have expanded the app store but like others, I think they gave way to Android Auto/Car Play in that they were wasting resources doing what a 3rd party will always more than likely be able to do better (in theory-despite how much I'd like to smack around both android and apple sometimes).

That Pandora "bug" was/is a pet peeve of mine in it wasn't able to pull from the hotspot. The Mylink/Infortainment systems are Android based, should have been a pretty simple thing for them to do you'd think! I know after the update, it would stream Pandora from my iphone, but if I hit the Pandora app button on the truck mylink it wouldn't work, only worked through bluetooth from my phone once I selected my phone hitting the "media" button. Which just led to being another nuisance because you couldn't tell if you were on Pandora or your phones music and couldn't skip with the steering controls leading you to go to your phone to see what it was actually doing!

 

The Mylink/Infortainment systems are Android based, should have been a pretty simple thing for them to do you'd think!

They are not. MyLink is running on a custom QNX platform -- basically RTOS Linux, which only has trivial similarities to Android's Linux underpinnings (probably closer to BSD than Linux, actually, now that I think about it). That's also one of the reasons I don't think we'll see many "apps" -- building a new app is non-trivial compared to something like Android with all the relatively high-quality library support and third-party tools and so on. Auto manufacturers seriously need to ditch the NIH-syndrome and get on the managed-framework bandwagon for their non-critical software (e.g. everything but ignition/drivetrain).

 

I added the $20/month unlimited and dropped the internet on my phone from 6 GB to 3GB which saved me 20 a month. At work and at home the phone is on wifi, so the only time I use LTE data is when I'm on the road. The truck has better signal and coverage than my phone so this works for me. My Pandora beats the heck out of the Sirius XM.

 

Well, at least several of you have said that the signal is better in the Truck, so that's a plus. My test was probably a one-off. Once I get the update, I'll weigh in with my take of the "new" system.

 

Better signal strength doesn't really tell you much about speed. However, on the rare occasions I'm on the MyLink home screen, it always shows a 4G connection so speed should be relatively good. I don't think the head-unit indicates whether the 4G connection is LTE versus the slower HSPA+ (which is often all I can get with T-Mobile with any reliability). As a real-world test, my wife hasn't complained while messing around on Facebook and YouTube and so on. Generally people need much less speed than they think. When running over just T-Mobile for Pandora and Waze, I never have drop-outs at 3G (although I don't think Waze alerts work very well with reduced bandwidth).

 

Bought $20/month unlimited data and phone minutes for use when driving through Canada. Was much lower cost than using our cell phone plan when in Canada. IT worked well.

 

Tried it, it as useless, let it expire

 

I was playing around with my Truck's built-in WiFi hotspot, and was unimpressed. I speed tested it using a tablet. I then turned on my phone's hotspot, and tested again. My phone was a fair bit faster. It's a minor complaint, and I'm sure the speed varies, but I was surprised.

System uses AT&T so if AT&T doesn't have a cell location near you when you tested then it won't perform as well. If you're using AT&T on your phone and found it better then that would be odd. I use mine from time to time by getting the day pass for $5 when I know I'm going to be in poor coverage with T-Mobile...AT&T tends to have slightly better coverage in fringe area's then T-Mobile plus the external antenna provides way more gain then a cell phone antenna. For me speed is somewhat a moot point since I'm only using it for streaming music and Waze while driving and bandwidth for those apps is well under 1Mbps.

 

For me speed is somewhat a moot point since I'm only using it for streaming music and Waze while driving and bandwidth for those apps is well under 1Mbps.

Have you ever tracked Waze bandwidth usage? I keep meaning to but keep forgetting to dig up an app that would do it. I'm on the Waze beta so it may be atypical but it definitely misses a lot more notifications as my data connection degrades. Often if I drop to 3G it won't even acknowledge reports that I submit, and on the rare occasions data goes even lower (thanks, T-Mobile) nothing works at all except the most basic navigation. I've been assuming it's very bandwidth-hungry, but maybe I'm wrong.

 

I'm also subscribed at the $20/month unlimited level. It gets used quite a bit, by my when I travel, by my sig.oth. whenever we go anywhere, and by a couple of regular passengers with whom I've shared the password. It's been useful and worked out fine so far.

 

When you (and others) are talking about these packages, are they through OnStar, or through AT&T? Is it a separate account, or have you added the truck to your existing AT&T account?

 

It is ashame that Onstar switched from Verizon to AT&T. I get 3 times the speed and coverage on my mobile. So I will use my phone as a hotspot when my trial is up..

 

Personally I think it's a shame that they don't support both.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk

 

I'm going to ask a really dumb question or two. I don't know much about WiFi and hot spots. I don't even own a smart phone (yet).


I'm planning a two month road trip through Canada and Alaska. I'd like to be able to stay in touch through e-mail and such. If the truck is set up as a WiFi hot spot, does that mean I can connect my lap top to it like I would at a hotel? Would I be able to send pics and update web sites?

 

While the truck is running, yes, it works like any other WiFi router -- as long as the truck has a cell signal. Its larger antenna means it often has a better signal than your phone can receive. That's pretty much the main benefit over using your phone as a WiFi hotspot (many, maybe most smartphones can do this now).

My guess, though, is Canada and Alaska are going to be spotty at best...

 

Ok, so an update. Got a software update successfully applied at the dealership on Thursday. I'm mostly happy, because now I have Android Auto, and I love it. I was, however, still a bit surprised to see that there were still some options not listed overall. I still see no "apps", "store", etc, and I also still don't see a "wifi" section in settings. Maybe these features aren't supported for my 2016? It isn't the end of the world for me. Android Auto is what I really cared about.

Also, everyone was right about the strong cell signal strength in the truck. I was at a golf course yesterday out in the boonies, and couldn't get Android Auto to play any music due to the very weak signal. I connected my phone to the truck's WiFi, and was listening to music shortly after. Both the truck and my phone are using AT&T towers, so it definitely showed that the truck has a clear advantage.

 

Ok, so an update. Got a software update successfully applied at the dealership on Thursday. I'm mostly happy, because now I have Android Auto, and I love it. I was, however, still a bit surprised to see that there were still some options not listed overall. I still see no "apps", "store", etc, and I also still don't see a "wifi" section in settings. Maybe these features aren't supported for my 2016? It isn't the end of the world for me. Android Auto is what I really cared about.



Also, everyone was right about the strong cell signal strength in the truck. I was at a golf course yesterday out in the boonies, and couldn't get Android Auto to play any music due to the very weak signal. I connected my phone to the truck's WiFi, and was listening to music shortly after. Both the truck and my phone are using AT&T towers, so it definitely showed that the truck has a clear advantage.

That's a bummer on the feature differences. But at least getting Android auto is a good improvement.



And I'm out in the Grand Tetons and my truck has been able to maintain reception and provide wifi just a bit further after my phone kicks off. It's been a really nice feature.

 

Just back from 12000 mile Alaska-Yukon-NewEngland round trip. Had signed up for the onstar att #20 deal and it was great. Put phone on airplane mode in Canada and was able to use computer and iPhone iPad etc via wifi.... was not tower specific ATT/Verizon... so always had a signal regardless...no roaming fee. I also live in boonies and use the wifi signal into house for streaming on occasion. (just need a 4 amp charger on the battery with the key on).

 

Not anymore. I only used my computer twice and cell phone once yet I burned through the complimentary time in 3 weeks. Then I renewed for a month and burnt through it in a week. I called them and they said my cell phone was connecting and using data every time I stepped in the car. What? I have to turn my wifi on and off every time??? What a POS system, clearly designed for maximizing their profits. I'll stick with my phone plan, at least there aren't any surprises as it doesn't burn minutes unless I am using it.

 

If you connected your phone to your truck's wifi, then yes, it'll use the truck's data every time you're in it. That isn't OnStar's fault. That would be the case with any provider. If you don't want your phone to use the truck's connection, then you need to go into your phone's wifi settings and "forget" the truck's wifi hotspot.

 

After a 1400+ mile trip, I'll take back my earlier comment about my own data usage. I forgot that T-Mobile doesn't count against your data limits for Pandora, YouTube, and certain other streaming services, so I couldn't rely on my phone usage to predict what I'd need for a long trip in the truck. We burned through our 1GB/month limit in the first few hours. Switched up to unlimited (twice the monthly price, but as my wife put it, we're unlimited-data kind of people) and all was well.

I don't like that when your data is gone, everything just goes dead.

 

I was wondering about that 1 GB data plan. I would think it wouldn't last very long, especially for streaming and perhaps 2 or more phones using the hot spot. I still have the Onstar subscription and the smallest WiFi data limit and have yet to use it. Thinking of dropping it. So, yes, it depends how data needy a household is.
We go up to our cabin in the boonies and can still get cell phone usage with data . . if we are in the "right" spot. I have Onstar for phone coverage and use mostly for short 1 or 2 minutes calls. I generally carry a 200 to 300 minute balance on the Onstar phone minutes for convenience and easy emergency use if needed.

So far, I use TuneIn, some Pandora, Netflix, YouTube, 2 weather apps, etc at home only and use a USB drive for any music I may want plus we also have XM radio ($50/yr) in the truck which I find cheaper than using data because while driving we just tend not to need data. So, a lot depends on how tied into things a person is. They sure know how to get us used to using paid services, don't they? :wink2: