what does the AT&T data plan do?

[richl025]

Just got an email from ATT that "we have cancelled your data plan"...

Does anyone know what this means specifically for the functioning?

I do not use the hotspot function at all. If I don't renew my plan, will everything else still work? OTA updates? Navigation?

Thanks for any experience you have with this....

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[SteuLight]

I'm pretty sure that's just the hotspot.

 

[RickLightning]

The AT&T plan is designed to lower the cost of your driving by removing money from your wallet and thereby lowering your weight, and getting you more miles per kilowatt hour. It has no other useful purpose, yet people seem to sign up for it for all sorts of reasons. The only legitimate one I see is "I do business in my vehicle and need a separate data line for all the info I'm uploading and downloading, plus access to my business' systems". The crazy ones are "my kids like to watch videos so I stream those to them. Can't be bothered to hotspot a phone, or even easier simply download the video to the device. Who cares about money anyway?"

 

[Ltron]

Was that a question or a rant?

 

[mr.Magoo]

Plus the ATT plan, while relatively inexpensive, is only 4G.
Nor does the vehicle use the data for its own use, so of you want to listen to steaming music, use the youtube/news functions you still need to share a Hotspot from your phone.

Or - you can use a travel router which solves the second problem, but you're still stuck with 4G speeds.

 

[NCMike]

I use it when traveling with the kids on long trips. Its only $10/month if your an ATT plan and it doesn't count against my phone's hotspot data limit which the kids can burn through in 2 days traveling.

 

[ChrisCon]

Another edge case would be if you use an aftermarket multimedia box to stream android apps like YouTube , Disney , one of the car monitoring apps ,,+ or Waze through the center screen. , By having the ATT plan you can turn your truck on and all of the just works without user intervention ( it just boots up and works like it was factory tech ) and for the data to not be used against your cell phone plan data .

In my instance , I have an iPhone on Verizon and I’m able to keep that completely separate from my truck and not affecting wireless CarPlay.

 

[vic7780]

Another edge case would be if you use an aftermarket multimedia box to stream android apps like YouTube , Disney , one of the car monitoring apps ,,+ or Waze through the center screen. , By having the ATT plan you can turn your truck on and all of the just works without user intervention ( it just boots up and works like it was factory tech ) and for the data to not be used against your cell phone plan data .

In my instance , I have an iPhone on Verizon and I’m able to keep that completely separate from my truck and not affecting wireless CarPlay.

What do you use as a multimedia streaming box?

 

[hturnerfamily]

we have overridden all of the 'old school' hot spot, phone, integrated vehicle 'wifi', and other 'campground' wifi options by simply getting one of the new 'CELLULAR HOME INTERNET' boxes... ours from T-Mobile.
$50, flat fee, UNLIMITED monthly - just plug in the unit to any household outlet, or your truck's Outlet, etc. and you have WIFI to any device you wish, or your TRUCK...and, since it's a simple 'plug in' Internet source, we take it IN OUR TRUCK while traveling, for unlimited usage.

Sure, like any internet cellular signal-based device, you'll need coverage from T-Mobile's towers, but we've found it to be very reliable anywhere we've traveled, AND we use it at HOME for our WHOLE HOME internet - no more 'cable' or 'coax cable' 'fixed' location internet modem.

Verizon has a unit, too, but it seems that T-Mobile has a better monthly price, INCLUDING any taxes and such.
I just now cut off my MEDIACOM internet and returned their 'old' hardware. We have usage of our AT*T iPhone hot spots, yes, but since they are somewhat limited on the 'sharing' of the hot spot, having the T-Mobile internet box seems to be the answer.

Just plug it in and stick it in a window. Easy.
Move it anytime. Take it with you. : )

GET TWO OF 'UM!

 

[ChrisCon]

What do you use as a multimedia streaming box?

I use the Carlinkit AI Box with Android 12. I've owned a number of these boxes and this is the best one for the lightning because it displays correctly on the full screen and is by the least laggy. There is the same version of this with Android 13, but many of us (myself included) have had issues with Hulu working on Android 13 with these boxes. If hulu is a non issue, maybe get the 13 model.

One thing to note for the @hturnerfamily recommendation above.. I also own a verizon 5GUW home internet box . It is awesome for taking places and I use it as a backup connection if our fiber goes out at my home or business. I would absolutley use this over the AT&T hotspot in my truck as it's much faster, but the one major issue for me is they have a boot time, so in my specific edge case scenario of using a multimedia box in my truck, this would be just like using my phone's hotspot which means manually connecting each time and not working immediately when the car turns on. Then waiting 2 minutes for the initial service each time I turn my truck on.. Which can be frustrating when you just want to use the full tablet version of google maps and you are waiting and resetting stuff the moment you get in your truck. Otherwise this is probably the best idea as it provides great flexibility and no data caps plus the highest speeds.

 

[CRAIGC540]

I use the Carlinkit AI Box with Android 12.

Do you know if DIRECTV installs and works on this box?

 

[richl025]

Thanks for the replies, everyone. Certainly sounds like I don't need it!

 

[ZSC100]

Do you know if DIRECTV installs and works on this box?

Yep, if it goes on a Android phone it will work on a CarLinKit box. Also, WiFi in the truck is the absolute best experience. The truck's WiFi antennas are better than any other mobile device you can use.

 

[ZSC100]

The AT&T plan is designed to lower the cost of your driving by removing money from your wallet and thereby lowering your weight, and getting you more miles per kilowatt hour. It has no other useful purpose, yet people seem to sign up for it for all sorts of reasons. The only legitimate one I see is "I do business in my vehicle and need a separate data line for all the info I'm uploading and downloading, plus access to my business' systems". The crazy ones are "my kids like to watch videos so I stream those to them. Can't be bothered to hotspot a phone, or even easier simply download the video to the device. Who cares about money anyway?"

The Truck's WiFi hotspot is the absolute best over any mobile device. I've had multiple carriers ride with me and the truck gets better reception than any of them. It's totally worth it and I've been able to make calls over the WiFi before when I had no mobile service.

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