derekrice Posted October 13, 2017 Share Posted October 13, 2017 I am anxiously awaiting my 2018 Expedition. I am curious as to anyone's experience with the WIFI hotspot technology coming out of Ford now. How is the performance? What terms are you able to get from AT &T on rate and usage etc.? Are you able to set it up to only use it when you need it, i.e., long trips? How is the streaming? Multiple devices? Would be interested in some real world first hand experience with this technology. Thank you in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted October 13, 2017 Share Posted October 13, 2017 It's essentially just a cell phone permanently mounted in the vehicle. Same as using your phone as a wi-fi hotspot. Cost is $20/month with up to 22 GB of data. After 22 GB of use in a month the speed drops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boredinbirmingham Posted October 13, 2017 Share Posted October 13, 2017 It's essentially just a cell phone permanently mounted in the vehicle. Same as using your phone as a wi-fi hotspot. Cost is $20/month with up to 22 GB of data. After 22 GB of use in a month the speed drops.Are there any pros to using the car WiFi hotspot over just using your phones? I believe I read that there is a 50 foot radius the car covers which Im sure the phone cant but is the reception any better? Just wondering if its worth the cost of the subscription. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted October 13, 2017 Share Posted October 13, 2017 Not sure. It's possible it has a stronger antenna than a cell phone. But with the cell phone it's portable and you can take it anywhere even in another person's car. You can upgrade or change carriers anytime you want and you can use your existing data plan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boredinbirmingham Posted October 13, 2017 Share Posted October 13, 2017 Not sure. It's possible it has a stronger antenna than a cell phone. But with the cell phone it's portable and you can take it anywhere even in another person's car. You can upgrade or change carriers anytime you want and you can use your existing data plan.So it sounds like youre saying the carrier service is locked with the car? So I pay a separate bill for the car service instead of adding it to my regular cell plan? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted October 13, 2017 Share Posted October 13, 2017 So it sounds like youre saying the carrier service is locked with the car? So I pay a separate bill for the car service instead of adding it to my regular cell plan? It is AT&T only. It looks like existing AT&T customers can add it to their existing data plans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boredinbirmingham Posted October 13, 2017 Share Posted October 13, 2017 (edited) It is AT&T only. It looks like existing AT&T customers can add it to their existing data plans. Ok, good to know... especially since Im already with AT&T. Illsee how I like the initial free trial and decide on continuing service after that. I can see how it would be useful if you had the entertainment screen package and used a sling box to stream to your vehicle but we decided against that for this go around. Thanks again for your tips! Edited October 13, 2017 by boredinbirmingham Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derekrice Posted October 13, 2017 Author Share Posted October 13, 2017 To me the key will be if you can opt in and opt out easily. I would have no need for it 50 weeks out of the year, but those 2 weeks or so of vacation travel it would be nice to opt in and save the cell phone data plan. Absent that, I think I'd be likely to pass on the service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boredinbirmingham Posted October 13, 2017 Share Posted October 13, 2017 To me the key will be if you can opt in and opt out easily. I would have no need for it 50 weeks out of the year, but those 2 weeks or so of vacation travel it would be nice to opt in and save the cell phone data plan. Absent that, I think I'd be likely to pass on the service. You just summed up my needs as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted October 13, 2017 Share Posted October 13, 2017 It appears to be a month to month service so you should be able to activate it when needed, but check with AT&T to be sure. https://myvehicle.att.com/#/ford/learn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonj80 Posted October 13, 2017 Share Posted October 13, 2017 Can you change the SIM to use a different provider if you want? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted October 13, 2017 Share Posted October 13, 2017 Can you change the SIM to use a different provider if you want? I highly doubt it. That stuff tends to be embedded in the firmware. Think what Apple does with the iPhone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted October 13, 2017 Share Posted October 13, 2017 No idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonj80 Posted October 13, 2017 Share Posted October 13, 2017 I highly doubt it. That stuff tends to be embedded in the firmware. Think what Apple does with the iPhone. ? You can change a SIM in an iPhone pretty easy. Just need a paper clip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted October 13, 2017 Share Posted October 13, 2017 ? You can change a SIM in an iPhone pretty easy. Just need a paper clip.doesnt it still not work right unless its jail broken? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derekrice Posted October 13, 2017 Author Share Posted October 13, 2017 I still would be interested in hearing from someone who has the system and is using it today in a Ford. This would speak to akirby's point about perhaps the antennae is better and thus would be superior to using your phone as a hot spot. Personally when I have used a hotspot on my iPhone in the car its not been a great experience... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boredinbirmingham Posted October 13, 2017 Share Posted October 13, 2017 I still would be interested in hearing from someone who has the system and is using it today in a Ford. This would speak to akirby's point about perhaps the antennae is better and thus would be superior to using your phone as a hot spot. Personally when I have used a hotspot on my iPhone in the car its not been a great experience... This is good to know, I have not tried this yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MKX1960 Posted October 13, 2017 Share Posted October 13, 2017 To me the key will be if you can opt in and opt out easily. I would have no need for it 50 weeks out of the year, but those 2 weeks or so of vacation travel it would be nice to opt in and save the cell phone data plan. Absent that, I think I'd be likely to pass on the service. He talks about the WiFi at 7:45 in the video. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoonerLS Posted October 13, 2017 Share Posted October 13, 2017 doesnt it still not work right unless its jail broken? It doesn't have to be jail broken, it just needs to be unlocked. Once you're out of your contract with AT&T, they have to unlock it if you request it. After it's unlocked, you can use it with any comparible carrier. You might be thinking of the Apple Watch Series 3 GPS+Cellular, which uses an eSIM, but the iPhone has always used a removable SIM card. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sullynd Posted October 14, 2017 Share Posted October 14, 2017 You might be thinking of the Apple Watch Series 3 GPS+Cellular, which uses an eSIM, but the iPhone has always used a removable SIM card. iPhone 4 Verizon did not have a SIM. Early iPhones could not be unlocked* If the Ford system uses a SIM, it's not a given that it would work with any carrier, it might work on TMO, but would be unlikely to work on VZW, Sprint, or one on their MVNOs. *officially Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoonerLS Posted October 14, 2017 Share Posted October 14, 2017 iPhone 4 Verizon did not have a SIM. Early iPhones could not be unlocked* If the Ford system uses a SIM, it's not a given that it would work with any carrier, it might work on TMO, but would be unlikely to work on VZW, Sprint, or one on their MVNOs. *officially They could always be unlocked--that's how they first got to T-Mobile while still an AT&T/Cingular "exclusive." The ability to unlock them is a legal requirement, not technological. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sullynd Posted October 14, 2017 Share Posted October 14, 2017 (edited) They could always be unlocked--that's how they first got to T-Mobile while still an AT&T/Cingular "exclusive." The ability to unlock them is a legal requirement, not technological.No, they could not. When they were first sold you had to JB to unlock them on TMO. The legal requirement came later. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_iPhone Edited October 14, 2017 by sullynd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoonerLS Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 No, they could not. When they were first sold you had to JB to unlock them on TMO. The legal requirement came later. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_iPhone Unless I missed it, that article doesn't say anything about not being able to unlock the phones, just that buyers were using jailbreaking as a means of unlocking them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sullynd Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 Unless I missed it, that article doesn't say anything about not being able to unlock the phones, just that buyers were using jailbreaking as a means of unlocking them. See "Activation and SIM lock bypassing" there's a whole section on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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