[533502]

I am in STL and got my cer end of 2019. I did not get any such offers :\

Here's what the message looks like:

 

[chvvkumar]

Here's what the message looks like:

View attachment 504687

Just checked again, nothing for me.

 

[gcubed]

Just checked again, nothing for me.

Did you do the free trial? It comes in after you set it up.

I... better yet, my son loves it. We drive 400 miles to a mountain house at least twice a month and he’s constantly on Netflix/Disney/Zoom School. I tried using my phone as a hotspot but the actual functionality left a lot to be desired (frequent drop outs, stuttering video conferencing, etc)

 

[chvvkumar]

Did you do the free trial? It comes in after you set it up.

I... better yet, my son loves it. We drive 400 miles to a mountain house at least twice a month and he’s constantly on Netflix/Disney/Zoom School. I tried using my phone as a hotspot but the actual functionality left a lot to be desired (frequent drop outs, stuttering video conferencing, etc)

Yup I set up the free month in October 2019. No offers for me since then.

I do quite love the hotspot feature and would sign up in a great beat if I had someone else using it in the car instead of just myself using the car.

Here's my experience using it:

What did you do with your 6th Gen Outback today?

I figure every generation needs this thread. So I'll begin: I saw a 2020 Onyx today!

www.subaruoutback.org

 

[VintageTia]

Does anyone with the 2020 Outback have the ATT Wifi? I realized a need for work and wanted to give it a try, however I created an account through the MySuabru App and I am getting an error that says its not available for my vehicle, 2020 Outback Limited XT.

 

[aspexin19]

Does anyone with the 2020 Outback have the ATT Wifi? I realized a need for work and wanted to give it a try, however I created an account through the MySuabru App and I am getting an error that says its not available for my vehicle, 2020 Outback Limited XT.

I don't remember but I thought I set it up online AT&T

[edited to add] after I signed up we got hit by the pandemic. Turned out to have been a waste of money. But I'm on Google Fi.

 

[zarek]

So I just got an email from SoA offering a free trial for ATT service to activate the WiFi Hotspot. I never really though about the option much but...
Has anyone here used the Hotspot frequently? If so, how well does it work?
How long is the free plan?
Cost to purchase monthly plan (without cell /mobal plan)?
Other thoughts from users?

I wish Subaru offered the option of using AT&T or Verizon as people have different carriers. I currently use my Verizon hotspot off my phone or mifi if we need it. Hopefully Subaru will give options in the future.

 

[NEPA390]

I wish Subaru offered the option of using AT&T or Verizon as people have different carriers. I currently use my Verizon hotspot off my phone or mifi if we need it. Hopefully Subaru will give options in the future.

I rather a Sim card modem.... where I am non of the big company's have coverage. So a local start up put up towers for ems, police use . They now offer Sim cards for sale to local company's too.

 

[Roundabout2021]

We decided against it, and if needed will use the iPhones as a hot spot. I am not a fan of ATT. We had ATT before dropping it for Verizon due to ATT coverage and dropped call issues, and then moved to T-Mobile due to T-Mobile's unlimited everything plans that covered Canada. We vacation in Canada, and Verizon charged $25 in month-only increments for our single week in Canada and we ran out of data in 4 days, mainly due to navigation, email and weather apps.

That said, to make the best decision, one needs to actually know what their potential data consumption is. An iPhone or iPad will tell you that app by app. Siri (and voice transcription) is a data pig for me. I have found that using my ISP and router data tools that on my non-phone wired and wireless devices they vary widely for identical tasks. The iPad is thirsty, the WIndows laptop is next and then the WIndows desktop, with the Linux laptops and desktops being the most frugal by far.

Apart from deliberate downloads or streaming, I have found the largest amount of data use is the non-deliberate data use, such as background services, voice recognition, and constant pings and checks for analytics, updated info and software, as well as ads when browsing. I have extremely effective adblockers on the non-Apple products and that alone makes a big difference in consumption. Knowing your data consumption allows one to decide which data level of the plan would be best.

If other carriers (T-Mobile) could be used by SIMS as referenced above, or If I had children, I might consider a hotpoint, but I would then I would risk being visited by the ghost of my parents who would probably say, "Don't make me stop this car." That was their reaction to sibling taunts and boredom on long drives. I have to admit it worked for us.

 

[Jim_in_PA]

I wish Subaru offered the option of using AT&T or Verizon as people have different carriers. I currently use my Verizon hotspot off my phone or mifi if we need it. Hopefully Subaru will give options in the future.

The SIMM is embedded because ATT Wireless provides the backbone for the Starlink services as well as other telematics for Subaru. You can think of that as something akin to a virtual private network that happens to be cellular radio based. There's only one radio in the vehicle, so services for things like the Hot Spot feature must also use it. And that's locked to ATT Wireless for the reason I mentioned first in this reply. Subaru isn't alone in this...it's the same situation in most manufacturers and for the same reasons.

 

[Wineaux]

For those wondering why Subaru didn’t also offer Verizon, the main reason is that AT&T is a GSM carrier, and Verizon is a CDMA carrier. 100% totally incompatible with each other. You have a GSM cellular modem locked to AT&T as a carrier. Is it possible to social engineer another GSM carrier (Cricket, TMobile, etc) to activate the cellular modem? Possibly, if you can get to the module and find the device’s CDMI. Heck, you might even be able to swap out the SIM card with that of another GSM carrier. Would that break StarLink? Quite probably, but who knows. Will it muck up your warranty? Quite possibly, but who knows until someone does it.

One thing fore certain though… It will never work with a CDMA carrier like Verizon.

 

[Rick91981]

For those wondering why Subaru didn’t also offer Verizon, the main reason is that AT&T is a GSM carrier, and Verizon is a CDMA carrier. 100% totally incompatible with each other. You have a GSM cellular modem locked to AT&T as a carrier. Is it possible to social engineer another GSM carrier (Cricket, TMobile, etc) to activate the cellular modem? Possibly, if you can get to the module and find the device’s CDMI. Heck, you might even be able to swap out the SIM card with that of another GSM carrier. Would that break StarLink? Quite probably, but who knows. Will it muck up your warranty? Quite possibly, but who knows until someone does it.

One thing fore certain though… It will never work with a CDMA carrier like Verizon.

Your information is severely dated. CDMA is Verizon's 3G network that no one uses anymore and will cease to exist at all the end of this year.

 

[bisp]

Your information is severely dated. CDMA is Verizon's 3G network that no one uses anymore and will cease to exist at all the end of this year.

Along those same lines, the AT&T hotspot is LTE, not GSM.

 

[SW41]

I was just looking at my ATxT bill and to upgrade to an unlimited plan for the cell phone, they call out specifically I can' use the cell phone hotspot to connect a car to the internet. Probably have to get its own hotspot device. Annoying! They stuff so much stuff in the fine print.

 

[Jim_in_PA]

For those wondering why Subaru didn’t also offer Verizon, the main reason is that AT&T is a GSM carrier, and Verizon is a CDMA carrier.

Um....that was a very, very long time ago. They all use the same 4G LTE technology as well as the same current 5G technology, only varying slightly in frequencies as must be the case with radio communications.

The reason that only ATT is available is as I stated earlier...Subaru uses the ATT Wireless network as a private backbone for Startlink and telemetry, likely as a managed service. Since there's only one cellular radio in the vehicle, any optional features, such as the hotspot service, must use the same radio and that means it's locked to ATT for the service. This is consistent with other vehicle manufacturers, too. They pick a partner and that's what you use if you want the feature.

 

[lidksmy]

Wow, CDMA and GSM being mentioned - what's next, rotary phones and pagers?