[Kbecker]

Back when I got my 2020 Bolt, I connected it to my home WiFi. But I still haven’t figured out what, if anything, this is used for. It’s definitely able to connect, my router knows about it.

Does connecting it serve any purpose? If so what?

 

[Bolt2019]

Don't just think of home internet. You can also connect it to your phone hotspot. On a very infrequent basis I will do that and check for any software updates on the infotainment screen. Nothing since I got it. Not sure what else it would like to do connecting out to the internet.

 

[garyd9]

This is slightly less than a month worth of data reported by my router. (Got the car on Dec 30th) I'm still in the trial periods for SiriusXM, onstar, etc:

 

[Kbecker]

Well, the things you do from the app, like remote start, or checking the state of charge. The car has to be communicating somehow. I am not paying any OnStar subscriptions. I think the 2020 came with at least some free connectivity stuff but I can’t recall what. I have never remote started it away from home but if I wanted to, would I be able to? Or is that using my home WiFi?

 

[garyd9]

Well, the things you do from the app, like remote start, or checking the state of charge. The car has to be communicating somehow. I am not paying any OnStar subscriptions. I think the 2020 came with at least some free connectivity stuff but I can’t recall what. I have never remote started it away from home but if I wanted to, would I be able to?

Even if you aren't paying for onstar, it can (and will) still use the onstar SIM/connection to move data. Some of that is to support services that you might still have (remote start from the app, tire pressure, SOC, etc) and some of it is OnStar collecting your data for... God only knows what.

I'm not convinced it's using my wifi for that. I can see when my car is actually connected to my access points, and it doesn't stay connected when the car is off. It connects once in a while (maybe twice a day for just a couple seconds) when the car is turned off, but I'm still able to remote start. When the car is turned on, it does try to connect and hold the connection.