plohnes Posted April 2, 2013 Report Share Posted April 2, 2013 Has anyone gotten the internal wifi system to actually work with an iPhone 4s? I was able to setup the wifi network just fine. The phone bluetooth connects and works fine. When I go an turn on PAN, see starting PAN message always followed by unable to start PAN. I don't see an option to turn tethering on, so wondering if the PAN problem is due to some AT&T restriction? I know jailbreaking or paying for wifi hotspot accomplishes the same thing, but those aren't options for me. Would be cool to have my phone providing internet service to the kid's ipods while travelling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingrider01 Posted April 4, 2013 Report Share Posted April 4, 2013 are you paying for a data plan on att that allows tethering - only the 5GB data plan or the new mobile share plans do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plohnes Posted April 4, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2013 No, on a work plan with no tethering. If I were to add tethering, would pretty much render the wifi option useless as they can share directly from the phone. Hatchman 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingrider01 Posted April 5, 2013 Report Share Posted April 5, 2013 No, on a work plan with no tethering. If I were to add tethering, would pretty much render the wifi option useless as they can share directly from the phone. but to attach it to the car you need the tethering plan from the carrier - catch 22 at least with the iphone since it already has hotspot capabilities, where as other phones don't. Hatchman 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchman Posted April 5, 2013 Report Share Posted April 5, 2013 We found out (after hours of researching and trying to get it to work) that our Verizon plan does not allow tethering with our iPhone 4s, which means it won't work with the Wifi function in the car. Yes, it is a Catch 22, if your iphone plan has tether, you wouldn't need the wifi hotspot from the car anyway, since your iphone could be the hotspot. Good info here, wish I would have read this before wasting hours trying to get it to work, Ha! Hope this helps someone some day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plohnes Posted April 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2013 thanks for the replies, you are all very helpful. There is still a use case for the in-car Wifi - it does create a network so devices in the car can connect to each other, just not the internet. Somehting at least ...Despite this limitation, still loving the car! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScubaDadMiami Posted April 6, 2013 Report Share Posted April 6, 2013 thanks for the replies, you are all very helpful. There is still a use case for the in-car Wifi - it does create a network so devices in the car can connect to each other, just not the internet. Somehting at least ...Despite this limitation, still loving the car!I am an Android phone user. I haven't yet gotten my C-MAX (just ordered). This is the first I hear of this feature. I am not sure I understand. Are you saying that the C-MAX (in case it matters which model, I am getting an SEL303A) has a local wifi network that allows devices to connect to each other (such as for passenger gaming), but that there is no external connection (to the Internet) capability in the system? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhackwyatt Posted April 6, 2013 Report Share Posted April 6, 2013 Theoretically you can plug in a USB Cellular Modem and create a wifi hotspot in the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScubaDadMiami Posted April 6, 2013 Report Share Posted April 6, 2013 Checked the Ford web site. Very cool feature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingrider01 Posted April 6, 2013 Report Share Posted April 6, 2013 We found out (after hours of researching and trying to get it to work) that our Verizon plan does not allow tethering with our iPhone 4s, which means it won't work with the Wifi function in the car. Yes, it is a Catch 22, if your iphone plan has tether, you wouldn't need the wifi hotspot from the car anyway, since your iphone could be the hotspot. Good info here, wish I would have read this before wasting hours trying to get it to work, Ha! Hope this helps someone some day. Recent iphones have hotspot capability's, earlier ones do not. Not all phones have this capability so it would be advantageous to them. Not really a catch 22, if he phone does not have it then it is useful, although having 3 or 4 other people utilizing your phone as a hotspot will blow through your data allocation quickly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingrider01 Posted April 6, 2013 Report Share Posted April 6, 2013 I am an Android phone user. I haven't yet gotten my C-MAX (just ordered). This is the first I hear of this feature. I am not sure I understand. Are you saying that the C-MAX (in case it matters which model, I am getting an SEL303A) has a local wifi network that allows devices to connect to each other (such as for passenger gaming), but that there is no external connection (to the Internet) capability in the system? Correct it has no cellular modem capabilities without tethering a cell phone with the proper data plan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchman Posted April 7, 2013 Report Share Posted April 7, 2013 (edited) Recent iphones have hotspot capability's, earlier ones do not. Not all phones have this capability so it would be advantageous to them. Not really a catch 22, if he phone does not have it then it is useful, although having 3 or 4 other people utilizing your phone as a hotspot will blow through your data allocation quickly The OP and I were both talking about the iPhone 4s, which does have hotspot capability,so it is a catch 22, just like you stated in post #4. I think everybody knows that not all cell phones have hotspot capability. It wasn't even available until around 3 years ago on the top models. And you can't blow through your data allocation if you have an unlimited data plan. Edited April 7, 2013 by Hatchman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingrider01 Posted April 8, 2013 Report Share Posted April 8, 2013 (edited) The OP and I were both talking about the iPhone 4s, which does have hotspot capability,so it is a catch 22, just like you stated in post #4. I think everybody knows that not all cell phones have hotspot capability. It wasn't even available until around 3 years ago on the top models. And you can't blow through your data allocation if you have an unlimited data plan. Doubt it, unless they are tech heads or specifically want that feature. have seen a trend that the majority of smartphone users utilize 1/10th the capabilities of their phone. My current girlfriend got her smartphone because if was cute and went well with he fashonista sense, she can care less that it has hotspot capabilities and does not even know what that is. Heck I have executives in my company that work for me and they don;t even know about it nor understand it Out of the top 3 providers - ATT, Verizon, Sprint only Sprint offers "unlimited" cell phone data currently and there are fair use policies in affect that will permit the carriers to throttle you if they determine that there is a abuse of data consumption by the user. Of the other 2 att throttles a grandfathered "unlimited" data use at 3GB for 3G and 5GB for LTE to speeds that are the same as the old 2400 baud modems. Verizon has sunseted their discontinued unlimited plans by giving the users the choice - want a subsidized phone, then get rid of the discontinued unlimited plan. Even T-Mobile and cricket with their "unlimited" plans have a fair use policy in effect that allow them to throttle. Unlimited data plans are not unlimited, they have their restrictions - throttling still allows you to get all the data that you want, just not at the speeds you feel is deserved so you still have unlimited data Edited April 8, 2013 by Wingrider01 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchman Posted April 8, 2013 Report Share Posted April 8, 2013 (edited) Out of the top 3 providers - ATT, Verizon, Sprint only Sprint offers "unlimited" cell phone data currently and there are fair use policies in affect that will permit the carriers to throttle you if they determine that there is a abuse of data consumption by the user. Of the other 2 att throttles a grandfathered "unlimited" data use at 3GB for 3G and 5GB for LTE to speeds that are the same as the old 2400 baud modems. Verizon has sunseted their discontinued unlimited plans by giving the users the choice - want a subsidized phone, then get rid of the discontinued unlimited plan. Even T-Mobile and cricket with their "unlimited" plans have a fair use policy in effect that allow them to throttle. Unlimited data plans are not unlimited, they have their restrictions - throttling still allows you to get all the data that you want, just not at the speeds you feel is deserved so you still have unlimited data Looks like even Verizon throttles/"network optimization practices" their top 5% data hogs on the grandfathered "unlimited data" plans as well. Edited April 9, 2013 by Hatchman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingrider01 Posted April 9, 2013 Report Share Posted April 9, 2013 Looks like even Verizon throttles/"network optimization practices" their top 5% data hogs on the grandfathered "unlimited data" plans as well. att does not throttle the top 5%, they throttle at 3GB and 5GB for lte, even cricket throttles, the days of the "unlimited' all you can consume for one low price cellular data are going the way of the dodo bird, this is also becoming evident in the home broadband market niche also. Verizon is forcing people off the grandfathered plans by removing the ability to get a subsidized smartphone unless you choose a new plan to replace the old unlimited plan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plohnes Posted April 9, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2013 (edited) thanks for all the great replies.To summarize:- if you have no cell phone/usb modem, you can still create an in-car LAN for sharing between other wifi devices- you can also share a starbucks/mcdonalds/etc type wifi connection with your entire car if you wanted- a limited selection of usb modems can give the car connection to the internet- a phone that supports tethering without Wifi hotspot will give your car network connection to the internet- a phone that requires hotspot & tethering together defeats the purpose of having car wifi to begin with as they could share the hotspot- beware sharing cellular internet as it can eat up data plans fast Edited April 9, 2013 by plohnes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAL Cmax Posted June 3, 2013 Report Share Posted June 3, 2013 I talked to a Ford Sync tech on the phone about this. The car WiFi feature is only for the USB only data cards. After spending about an hour trying to set it up though my phone (Verizon Motorola RAZR M with a 10 GB data plan with Hot Spot) I call tech support. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingrider01 Posted June 4, 2013 Report Share Posted June 4, 2013 I talked to a Ford Sync tech on the phone about this. The car WiFi feature is only for the USB only data cards. After spending about an hour trying to set it up though my phone (Verizon Motorola RAZR M with a 10 GB data plan with Hot Spot) I call tech support. Hope this helps. wonder how they get the drivers loaded that are specific to the USB modems, doubt that sync has every manufacturers loaded in the OS already Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScubaDadMiami Posted June 4, 2013 Report Share Posted June 4, 2013 It's likely designed for using one of the dedicated hot spot pucks that can plug-in to the USB port. Then, certain devices can potentially access both Internet and the C-MAX Intranet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingrider01 Posted June 4, 2013 Report Share Posted June 4, 2013 It's likely designed for using one of the dedicated hot spot pucks that can plug-in to the USB port. Then, certain devices can potentially access both Internet and the C-MAX Intranet. still needs drivers to be loaded - there needs to be a list of usable devices published somewhere Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hybrid dude Posted June 4, 2013 Report Share Posted June 4, 2013 I have no affiliation with this company but the hotspot device sold by Freedompop and used by me works great in the Boston area and has no monthly charges if you select the free plan, 500MB/month. Leave it plugged in the C-Max or keep it in your pocket and it works great for email, occasional web use. The free plan really does mean no monthly charges, just the cost of the device, which was recently only $38 but now is a bit more. And yes, to avoid monthly data charges, I carry three devices:1. dumbphone2. iPhone I use on wifi only and occasionally for not as reliable VoIP3. freedompop hotspot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salsaguy Posted June 10, 2013 Report Share Posted June 10, 2013 (edited) fordsyncforum.com/index.php?/topic/2791-how-do-i-create-a-rolling-hotspot/andhttp://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=31640 Edited June 10, 2013 by salsaguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingrider01 Posted June 10, 2013 Report Share Posted June 10, 2013 fordsyncforum.com/index.php?/topic/2791-how-do-i-create-a-rolling-hotspot/andhttp://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=31640 Again no information that is required, the link to the video does not work either. I do like the caveat on it the feature, where is the list of compatible USB broadband modems? "Inserting an owner’s compatible USB mobile broadband modem" - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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