Mavericks have a Modem to stay connected to Ford, Who's paying for the Network connection ?

[DanielP]

Just FYI.
If it was not connected to some airport WiFi network - there was nothing happening that having that setting enabled could possibly do.
The System logs when you are connected to a wifi network, and if you are then it seems to connect once a day or less frequently to see if an infotainment center update exists.
At this point I'm doubting the Lariat has many updates either, so it would be less than a 1 minute and just bytes of data to check.

Because that's the only firmware that option deals with, and the only way to use it.
But I'm betting you weren't connected to WiFi anyway - so a moot point.

Was more likely the TCU referenced many times in this thread.
If you used Fordpass you should have received notice a notice it was being disabled by the Deep sleep message.
If you never got one then you probably had the issue of the infrequent battery drain that wiped it out faster before it could report it was going to Deep sleep.
Or the ATT network was about useless in it's location and no data got out - but perhaps the attempt to use it caused the drain.

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[HeyBales]

I'm not sure if you're just venting and reinforcing the point or saying forget it and don't try?

Consumers can and do have an eventual impact if they act in large enough groups. If they seek out the companies that have the best practices and apps etc. then avoid ones that don't.

Eg. Android still lets you turn off location accuracy. Avoid apps that's for you to turn it on. Don't grant apps to use your location when not running the app, etc. We have to at least attempt to stop enshitification.

As for your mom. I came to the realization about 15 years ago a person should always just have some sort of monitoring and alerts. Because breaches are way too common and companies don't practice good data hygiene.

Just commenting that on whatever aspect of personal data someone is or thinks they are controlling - there is plenty more worse they have no control over already out there.

Just to keep things in perspective.
Yes - location is an easy one for Android which I buried into the settings to disable history, or being enabled anyway.
When I got a reminder the other day if I'd like to enable location history for reasons - it confirmed it was still disabled, which is good because I'd forgotten to check after so many years, and realize many settings default when upgrades are done. At least that was a complaint with Facebook.

I realized with my mom - she ain't getting any more credit - blocking the big 3 credit firms from allowing credit checks or anything new was the best idea.

 

[DanielP]

Well, not having WiFi at an airport is the issue. If set on auto update your system just simply keeps searching which turns into a drain on your battery.
I left out the word “day” in my first post (10 days). Several months later I had my Lariat sit for another 14 days, and as I returned my battery was fine and therefor no issue starting the truck.

 

[Carlitos_92]

2023 model year they deleted all the modems cause they couldn’t get the parts and gave everybody a $20 credit. Oh yay but I’m fine with it because I get to control access through my phone and they only get information when I wanna give it to them or when I wanna get an update just by using the hotspot feature I’d actually turn it off if you could

No, they didn't. As has already been explained, there are multiple radios that have been in the trucks. The cellular telematics modem is still there in the 2023s, which is exactly why I can start my truck using the app.

Only the Wi-Fi modem components that would've served up a hotspot were deleted at times, due to shortages. There is still even a Wi-Fi modem for external connections in my 2023. It is not usable as a hotspot, but really only for infotainment updates.

 

[HeyBales]

Well, not having WiFi at an airport is the issue. If set on auto update your system just simply keeps searching which turns into a drain on your battery.
I left out the word “day” in my first post (10 days). Several months later I had my Lariat sit for another 14 days, and as I returned my battery was fine and therefor no issue starting the truck.

In that case let's make it even clearer.
If you have WiFi connection enabled, it's going to search for any new networks in case it finds one it can auto-connect to it knows about.

At that point the setting for auto-update would matter. Could be disabled actually - the WiFi search will continue anyway.

So really - just disable WiFi connectivity, auto-update will be disabled anyway.

I always wondered if they named this section like this to sound impressive like it's doing more, or because they had plans to indeed do more with it.

VEHICLE SOFTWARE UPDATES

Connecting to a Wi-Fi Network

Select the settings option on the feature bar.

1. Select Automatic Updates.

1. Select System Wi-Fi.

1. Switch System Wi-Fi on.

1. Select Available Wi-Fi Networks.

1. Select an available Wi-Fi network.

Note: Enter the network password to connect to a secure network.

Switching Automatic System Updates On

Select the settings option on the feature bar.

1. Select Automatic Updates.

1. Switch Automatic System Updates on.

The system is now set to check for and receive system updates when it is connected to a Wi-Fi network.
Note: You can use the system when a download is in progress.
Note: If the system is disconnected from the Wi-Fi network when a download is in progress, the download continues the next time the system is connected to a Wi-Fi network.

 

[GreatWhiteNorth]

The Telematics unit has...

... Pulling fuse 11 is your friend in many ways.

I've been troubleshooting what I consider excessive battery drain, have pretty much narrowed it down to that telematics modem. I have already toggled off auto updates, WiFi and Bluetooth, with little improvement. I just pulled that fuse 11, betcha that makes a big difference. We'll see.

 

[Orrin.kelso]

Modem connection is running even when our Mavericks are turned off and parked ? If so I wonder if this is contributing to the Battery Issues that Hybrid Owners are having. I would think Battery saver mode would turn the Modem off also but.... I wonder.

Pull fuse 11 and that will disable all of the ford connect features. I pulled mine months ago and haven't noticed any thing adverse except Ford Pass app can no longer connect to truck. If you like being able to use app to connect to truck, then leave it alone. But I got tired of the battery in my truck always running down and I don't want ford to be able collect data on my driving and sell it other parties.

 

[Jimmac]

I can't find a clear answer to this one, Yes I know when I'm driving I have Blue tooth connected on my dime for Phone, Carplay, Android Auto etc.

There is a Modem with a Sim card (removable or embedded Not sure) mounted in our Mavericks that connects to the AT&T network for connection to the Ford Computers for Updates, Telematics etc.

So my question is, Is this connection on Ford's Dime or am I getting dinged by my network carrier for usage ? I do not have a unlimited plan for Cellular and don't want to get caught in the unknown.

Monthly cost for

I can't find a clear answer to this one, Yes I know when I'm driving I have Blue tooth connected on my dime for Phone, Carplay, Android Auto etc.

There is a Modem with a Sim card (removable or embedded Not sure) mounted in our Mavericks that connects to the AT&T network for connection to the Ford Computers for Updates, Telematics etc.

So my question is, Is this connection on Ford's Dime or am I getting dinged by my network carrier for usage ? I do not have a unlimited plan for Cellular and don't want to get caught in the unknown.

While your phone is connected it's using your cell phone data plan. When your phone is not connected to the truck then it uses the onboard modem. Yes it has a SIM card but the monthly cost on the SIM card is not much and is based on data usage. What Ford and other manufacturers do is cut a deal with the cell carriers that allows them to lump all the data from all their connected cars together and pay a minimal monthly fee for all their connected vehicles. PlFord is probably paying about 25 cents per month for the Sim in your vehicle. Also note for SW updates and large data use, you must connect the WiFi on the on car modem so that it uses your home Internet for the data. Between that and using your cell phone for data when it's connected, the amount of data that is actually ever used by the onboard modem averaged across all the cars in their fleet is pretty close to 0 which is why the cost comes out to about 0.25 cents per month.

I can't find a clear answer to this one, Yes I know when I'm driving I have Blue tooth connected on my dime for Phone, Carplay, Android Auto etc.

There is a Modem with a Sim card (removable or embedded Not sure) mounted in our Mavericks that connects to the AT&T network for connection to the Ford Computers for Updates, Telematics etc.

So my question is, Is this connection on Ford's Dime or am I getting dinged by my network carrier for usage ? I do not have a unlimited plan for Cellular and don't want to get caught in the unknown.

While your phone is connected it's using your cell phone data plan. When your phone is not connected to the truck then it uses the onboard modem. Yes it has a SIM card but the monthly cost on the SIM card is not much and is based on data usage. What Ford and other manufacturers do is cut a deal with the cell carriers that allows them to lump all the data from all their connected cars together and pay a minimal monthly fee for all their connected vehicles. PlFord is probably paying about 25 cents per month for the Sim in your vehicle. Also note for SW updates and large data use, you must connect the WiFi on the on car modem so that it uses your home Internet for the data. Between that and using your cell phone for data when it's connected, the amount of data that is actually ever used by the onboard modem averaged across all the cars in their fleet is pretty close to 0 which is why the cost comes out to about 0.25 cents per month.

 

[Jimmac]

I've been troubleshooting what I consider excessive battery drain, have pretty much narrowed it down to that telematics modem. I have already toggled off auto updates, WiFi and Bluetooth, with little improvement. I just pulled that fuse 11, betcha that makes a big difference. We'll see.

Yes the cellular modems are big power users. As such the modem will turn off after less than a day of car being parked and you will no longer be able to access it remotely through the modem.

 

[GreatWhiteNorth]

Yes the cellular modems are big power users. As such the modem will turn off after less than a day of car being parked and you will no longer be able to access it remotely through the modem.

Deep sleep mode... got lots of alerts on the FordPass app. So, it's designed to keep that modem going, as long as possible, at the expense of battery life. Not a good idea considering our (really) cold Canadian winters, where getting your vehicle started in extreme cold temperatures could be the difference between life or death. Not to sound dramatic, but I've been going out and metering my battery in the mornings, and have consistently been seeing the battery down to 11.8 to 12V. I sure wish voltage was displayed on the dash.

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