TheSamba.com :: View topic - The End of 3G is the End of Volkswagen's telematics obsolete

Thu Dec 23, 2021 1:25 am

I bought a VW Atlas for my wife in 2018, actually I asked her to go drive a New Passat.
I dropped off at the dealer, and 3 hours later she called, said she was done with the test drive.
When I got there, she was sitting in a $53,000 VW Atlas with every option known to human kind.
For our use, the options on the Atlas pushing the price to $53,000 were not required.
So, we ended up buying an Atlas SE with Tech lowering the price to a point where my nose stopped bleeding.
Last week I got a Letter from VWoA saying the with the end of 3G would mean that,
(I think) the 3 little buttons in the overhead console would stop working,
and I would stop getting letter/emails from VWoA giving me status on the health of my VW Atlas.
What the hell? They can't update? So what is 3G verses 4G and 5G?

Thu Dec 23, 2021 1:50 am

Cellular networks. Your car talks to the home base via a network rolled out in 2002, which will go dark by end of 2022

Thu Dec 23, 2021 4:28 am

It is not just your car. I have dozens of customers with cell based telephone entry call boxes outside of their subdivision and private gated entry's. This will cost my customers 5 to 7k a pop to update.

Thu Dec 23, 2021 5:47 am

And you can expect a lot more of this in the future as car makers add more and more tech to their vehicles. The nav system in our 10-year-old Honda won't be supported after this year.

Thu Dec 23, 2021 6:21 am

You shouldn't be surprised by this technology advancement, look back at how many versions of Microsoft Windows are now unsupported.
The machines that ran them are long gone.

Many with aging cellular phones (me) will soon be shopping.

Dave

Thu Dec 23, 2021 10:53 am

GM's OnStar functionality is also a casualty of this obsolescence. But most cars used 3G and will lose functionality. It's not just VW.

An old VW without computers, plus a large screen cell phone, should be almost obsolescence-proof.

Thu Dec 23, 2021 12:36 pm

I just had to get a newer TracFone as mine was going off service in Feb. 2022 because it was 3G. My previous cell phone was Verizon but support stopped because it was analog. So I got a 4G Flip Phone for $20

I use a laptop with Windows 7 to access the Internet. Someday will try to get the phone set up for that.

Thu Dec 23, 2021 12:39 pm

At least you don't have to worry about not able to buy points.

Thu Dec 23, 2021 1:08 pm

Without going off topic. The last time I went to the movies, The automated ticket service was offline and when it rebooted, it was windows XP. WTF? So, the technology, does work, it just isn.t supported.

Fri Dec 24, 2021 5:51 am

Oh Whew!

Just looked into the Settings info on my phone……. I'm running 4g ….. no phone shopping just yet!

Fri Dec 24, 2021 7:55 am

Aaahhhhhhh! Lovely, at least Mineral Oil is still being made and shipped so people can still use Air Cooled VWs, among other things.

Fri Dec 24, 2021 8:36 am

Long story short technology is bad and new technology is even worse. :D

Fri Dec 24, 2021 10:05 am

Zundfolge1432 wrote: Long story short technology is bad and new technology is even worse. :D

PERFECT!