[Pod]

For what it's worth, I got an email that AT&T had cancelled my Bolt's wifi because because of a credit card snafu. To make a long story short, I got the email in the car so I pressed the OnStar button to sort out the mess. After providing updated information, the person said I was in luck as the unlimited plan was now $15 a month for life (I'm not sure if it was a promotion or the new rate going forward). Regardless - a nice surprise; I was paying $25.

 

[ZoomZoom]

For what it's worth, I got an email that AT&T had cancelled my Bolt's wifi because because of a credit card snafu. To make a long story short, I got the email in the car so I pressed the OnStar button to sort out the mess. After providing updated information, the person said I was in luck as the unlimited plan was now $15 a month for life (I'm not sure if it was a promotion or the new rate going forward). Regardless - a nice surprise; I was paying $25.

Nice!!!! Score.

 

[PA Bolt]

Is anyone using this for their primary internet provider at home?

 

[TexBolt]

Is anyone using this for their primary internet provider at home?

Here's the problem with that idea: the hotspot in the car is only active when the car is turned "ON". If you try to leave the car turned on when it's parked in your garage or driveway (even if it is plugged in) , it will shut itself off after a short time. About an hour, I think, but not sure about that. So, you would need to keep going out and restarting the car every hour (or whatever) to use the hotspot as your home connection.

 

[Tarrngtn]

We ran out of space while using Maps on a trip because we had only the minimal allocation. When I called on star they offered the unlimited for $15 and I accepted.

 

[Oleg Orel]

What is the advantage of this service, why it is better that using phone as hotspot and connect chevy to phone?

 

[GregBrew]

You can force the Bolt to stay "on" by putting it in N(eutral), and climbing out the passenger door (without opening the driver's door). Opening the driver's door forces the Bolt into "Park" which has a two-hour limit for leaving it "on". While in Neutral, there is no such time limit. This is especially useful for camping or using the Bolt as an emergency power source from the 12V auxiliary battery. Just make sure you have wheel chocks to secure the Bolt.

My Bolt has a 120A Anderson connector with a 150A fuse connected to the aux battery under the hood. I've got a ten foot #2AWG welding cable extension cord and a 1500W pure sine wave inverter to round out the emergency power source using the Bolt. With the Bolt's 1600W DC-DC to the 12V aux battery capability and assumed losses in my system, I can reliably get ~1000W of load at the inverter and the Bolt's DC-DC converter can keep up. It's enough to keep a large refrigerator running in an emergency, and I can switch that out with a 700W microwave for cooking. Good for several days of grid outage.

 

[ZoomZoom]

What is the advantage of this service, why it is better that using phone as hotspot and connect chevy to phone?

I think there are a multitude of advantages, but the trick is to find one, for each person individually, that justifies the $180/year of it. It has a lot to do with what your needs are for data, how long you stay in the vehicle, and what data is costing you on your other mobility devices with you in the car. I for one have always had an interest in it, but my time in the vehicle (15,000 miles/year) hasn't justified it. I'm also trying to lower all recurring costs in my life so adding one that I know I can live without more easily than others seemed like a slam dunk. Disclaimer: I augment my data needs through a work provided MiFi that provided unlimited data that I tend to keep in the Bolt more than anywhere else. As a result, I lowered my personal cellphone data plan to 2GB.

 

[davioh2001]

The "lifetime" aspect is of little interest because these prices keep dropping over time. I wouldn't be surprised to see it drop to 10$ a month in the future or even given away for a year or two as a sales pitch to help sell more cars. Also to add more details to those reading the thread- as far as I am aware the offer expires 10/31/19 and it also includes 6 months free Pandora premium. I think they are trying to get people used to both services so they spend $15 with ATT and $13 on Pandora every month. I am simply not doing that well to support these costs ongoing but can see using it here and there for a few months as needed during road trip months.

 

[Pod]

I wonder how many people pay for the ability to make calls from their Bolt (without a cell phone). You could save quite a few bucks by using a VOIP solution through a laptop or something and your Bolt to make calls when you're driving. Just thinking outside the box.

 

[Pod]

The "lifetime" aspect is of little interest because these prices keep dropping over time. I wouldn't be surprised to see it drop to 10$ a month in the future or even given away for a year or two as a sales pitch to help sell more cars. Also to add more details to those reading the thread- as far as I am aware the offer expires 10/31/19 and it also includes 6 months free Pandora premium. I think they are trying to get people used to both services so they spend $15 with ATT and $13 on Pandora every month. I am simply not doing that well to support these costs ongoing but can see using it here and there for a few months as needed during road trip months.

Interesting about Pandora. I got an email from OnStar today offering six months of Spotify Premium.

 

[Alathorne]

What is the advantage of this service, why it is better that using phone as hotspot and connect chevy to phone?

I've only had my Bolt EV for a month now, but I opted for the $15/month unlimited. My reasoning was that I do not pay for unlimited service with my cell phone and use Android Auto for Maps and for music. I decided using Pandora or I heart radio made SiriusXM redundant, and other charges for navigation from the MyChevrolet unnecessary. So I get signal via the ATT and connect my phone via wi-fi hotspot.

 

[p7wang]

I thought about signing up but then it's restricted to just the car. These days, people want their own unlimited on their own smart phones.

 

[Ldcarson]

I decided to sign up for it. Will try it out and see if it’s worth keeping.

 

[sly]

I gave it a go. I use Ting for my cellphone service and keep mobile data turned off, So Ting only costs $5 a month. But if I use data, the cost increases quite a bit. Using Android Auto and navigation can use quite a few MB with just modest usage, so $15 for unlimited data isn't bad. And, when traveling, I've got unlimited wifi for my laptop. And, I can use skype for unlimited global calling.

 

[Pvillerob]

I bit on the $15 deal like a pit bull. After finally getting a smartphone and exploiting the navigation capabilities and the joys of Pandora, I called OnStar was offered the upgrade. My Galaxy S7 is a bit schizophrenic about it in the Bolt's hands free system or I haven't Totally figured it out, but I use Google Voice exclusively on the phone. Love it. AT&T as a provider for OnStar? Meh.

 

[sasunde]

I got the $15 deal too, as soon as my free 1GB trial ended. I used up the 1GB before the month was up. I needed the access while travelling in rural Utah, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. If nothing else, I needed network connectivity to activate the Electrify America chargers via the app in Spanish Fork, Pocatello and Idaho Falls. Using Waze on long trips was burning up my 3GB of data with my cell phone service (although I got unlimited Pandora streaming on my plan.)

 

[ZoomZoom]

I thought about it too but went a different route, leveraging a MiFi hotspot for internet, using Sirius XM via my phone versus paying for the car to have it. Can't use Pandora, they got on my bad side when they did a full page Black Lives Matter advertisement after the mass shooting of Dallas Police Officers. So, I was using Amazon Music but songs come and go from my playlist for mysterious reasons so I'm dropping them and just using Sirius on my phone for now, the internet based subscription.

 

[p7wang]

AT&T Appreciation Offer: Teachers, Nurses, and Physicians 25% Off on Unlimited Wireless/Mobile Plans

AT&T [News Info] is offering All Teachers, Nurses & Physicians (along w/ First Responders, Military and Veterans) eligibility to receive 25% Savings on Unlimited Starter, Extra and Elite Wirel ...

slickdeals.net

... wonder if this applies to the $15/mo deal... would be great if it did, getting it down to $11/mo.

 

[micantony]

AT&T Appreciation Offer: Teachers, Nurses, and Physicians 25% Off on Unlimited Wireless/Mobile Plans

AT&T [News Info] is offering All Teachers, Nurses & Physicians (along w/ First Responders, Military and Veterans) eligibility to receive 25% Savings on Unlimited Starter, Extra and Elite Wirel ...

slickdeals.net

... wonder if this applies to the $15/mo deal... would be great if it did, getting it down to $11/mo.

I think the unlimited plan went back to $25/mo didnt it?