UConnect wifi

[JeepGeezer]

Getting up to speed on a new car can be both fun and a pain. Fun to learn new stuff, but a pain when you can't find out something that should be clear. This is my second post in about 5 minutes asking a question about stuff that should be clear to me, but is not. In this case it is the subscription wifi for the Wrangler.

I generally carry a small hotspot with me when we travel. I have a $10/month data plan that gives me 2GB - not much, but then I only need the data for our iPads and, if I bring it, my laptop, and I try to not too much stuff on the computer when we are "relaxing" somewhere away from home. My normal navigation software is on my smartphone and that does not need wifi since it has all of that unlimited cell data to use.

I would normally have declined the UConnect wifi subscription because I have the hotspot, but the plan is only $20/month for unlimited 4G service, so that seems better than $10/month for 2GB, but then I don't really know if there is anything in the Wrangler that actually uses wifi or if it is only for external devices like computers and tablets. If it is for the Wrangler internals, then perhaps it is not too bad a plan to have. If it is only for external devices, then it is probably a waste, so that is my question. Does the 22 Wrangler Sport S actually use any wifi data? Or is it just wifi for other devices?

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[jmccorm]

Does the 22 Wrangler Sport S actually use any wifi data? Or is it just wifi for other devices?

The WiFi plan (should you choose to accept it) is for you and your use alone. The vehicle does not need it. Anything the vehicle actually needs, if capable, it will get on it's own through a private cellular account which effectively acts as invisible magic that you don't even need to know exists.

Related, any time I visit the dealer, this offfer pops up in the inbox. But even for "free", I can't say yes. Then again, I suppose my Raspberry Pi could take advantage of it. Hmmmmmm.......

 

[hface119]

At the end of the day, your mobile hotspot from your cellular provider is going to be better service. Jeep's is definitely overpriced, but I could see where it might be nice to have it in a pinch... but any cell phone can act as a personal hotspot and it's more likely to have newer cellular chips with better connections than the static chip inside the Jeep. So maybe if you didn't have your phone, or your mobile hotspot on you... but for some reason you did have a laptop, you could connect the laptop to the Jeep. lol

 

[JeepGeezer]

My thought was that the Jeep wifi might be needed internally by the Jeep software. Perhaps the built-in nav system needed it to see what traffic was like so it could re-route if needed, or perhaps it was needed to find fuel prices or perhaps to do updates. If that was the case then maybe it was worth $20/month for unlimited service.

If it is just wifi for our use, then it is largely useless for us. When we travel we will pull the Jeep behind an RV and so we are actually in the RV and that is where we would need wifi, not in the Jeep, and that is why I carry a portable hotspot when we are on the road.

Thanks for the information.

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