1st Time Audi

Agreed. Only stating it can't hurt to for free 3G (which has been working like a charm) versus go back to what I am used to.

If ever I am cut off, I will probably move to US Mobile, but for now, free 3G is good.

TygerTyger

So I am a first-time poster with a 2015 S4 B8 trespassing in C7 land but I had to step in on this T-Mobile thread...

As an existing but very happy T-Mobile cell-phone user (post-paid) I found I could initially get Audi Connect working for $0.

T-Mobile will currently sell an existing customer a SIM for free and send a package in the mail which contains a nano-SIM with mini-SIM and standard-sized SIM carriers. You can activate that SIM for $10 a month but T-Mobile will give your account a $10 credit for being an existing customer so it costs nothing to use the SIM and download all the Google maps and you want as well as providing your car with a wifi network.

This particular data-device plan comes at $10 for hi-speed buy-data-as-you-go, $20 for hi-speed 1GB, $30 for hi-speed 3GB (I think) and so on up to 10GB--but knock $10 off each one of those prices because of the credit. The trick is that T-Mobile is selling hi-speed 4G LTE data only! In the T-Mobile world, if you go over your hi-speed data limit, they don't charge you more for the extra data, they just knock you down to the low-speed AKA 3G rate. As we all know that Audi does not (and will not) provide T-Mobile 4G LTE modem circuitry in their cars, so all you can get is 3G anyway.

I tested this all out by ordering a data SIM off t-mobile.com for free. It arrived in the mail; I put the nano-SIM in the standard-SIM carrier; inserted that in the SIM slot and I had Google maps and in-car wifi, which I then used to update the iOS on my iPhone, which chewed up considerably more than 1GB in download usage. Everything worked fine.

But, curiously enough, anything that used the Audi Connect web-site like Google destinations, weather, etc. spat out an error message on the Audi Connect web-screen hosted on the MMI. The error message maintained I didn't have a data allotment assigned (entirely true for 4G LTE but I can actually get all the 3G data I want). So, what the hell, I threw $10 into the kitty to buy 1GB of data and now Audi Connect works like a champ (even though I exceeded the nominal 1GB of data in 3G mode fairly quickly).

I am guessing the Audi Connect client in the vehicle transmits the IMEI to it's web-site which then proceeds to look that number up on a T-Mobile web-service that returns whether this is an active paying-for-data account or not.

This is a decidedly cheaper option than the T-Mobile access Audi provides and it is also cheaper than the 4G LTE under the AT&T plan. It is very similar to the 3G service that T-Mobile provides for free worldwide, which again is much more competitively priced than what AT&T gouges their users for in order to get data at any speed in the rest of the world.

cyberdentist

I posted this a year or so ago when Tmobile introduced the free data for life. I wasn't successful. i should give it a shot now. I tried redpocket when it was working, US mobile doesn't seem to work now for some reason and this is worth a try again .

1st Time Audi

I never saw the older posts, but I am 100% on T-mobile prepaid SIM getting free data. I had initial issues with activating the SIM. I've never needed to do anything in the car. It's all been a set up on the T-mobile side. If you get the connection issue stated by Tyger, then I would call T-mobile to activate the SIM. My inital SIM setup was as a phone SIM, not a tablet SIM. It took me a few calls to get it to work, but now works great. For calling back so many time, I was given some SIM credit, which I was able to convert to a promotional 5GB/month data plan for 6 months, that's YMMV.

I'm happy to help give guidance in this process.

cyberdentist

Which # did you call to activate free data for life?

1st Time Audi

I called the number the card came with 877-464-8646.

I think you might even be able to use it in Mexico and Canada...that would be interesting. Prepaid Internet | Tablet & Mobile Internet Prepaid Plans | T-Mobile


Get free data for the life of your tablet.

Get 200MB of data FREE every month in the US, Canada, and Mexico for as long as you own and use your tablet at T-Mobile. No annual service contract and no domestic overages. (Roaming not included.)

If you use all your 4G LTE data allotment, unlimited data continues at reduced speeds up to 2G.

snagitseven

I don't believe that's true. I have the T-Mobile 200MB free plan on my iPad and when I reach that amount, the data just stops and only will continue if I buy more at at some pretty stiff pricing. $5 for 1 day/500MB pass up to $50 for a month/7GB. Or they would like to offer you one of their regular monthly plans for $20/1GB up to $80/13GB.

BTW, if you use data intensive apps like video on a device, be prepared to burn through that 200MB in about 30 minutes as I did one time on my iPad. Likewise in the car, if you use Google Earth full time and travel regularly outside of about a 20 mile radius that data won't last long. Same thing with the in car wifi. 200MB won't last a full month unless all you do are online destination searches and check the weather and such in the car occasionally or on a device, do some modest surfing.

1st Time Audi

Very true...200 MB could burn through fast. Some will be more frugal in use of overlay and don't use WiFi sharing, it should work great. I was able to get a promo deal upon activation, so those looking for a bit more data might ask when activating.

This line was copied directly from the T-mobile website. I haven't encountered a cut off since I'm in my promo period on the prepaid SIM. It might be worth a call to inquire. I'd bet they give you a credit for your trouble.

snagitseven

I think it would be hard for me to get a credit since the 200MB is free and that's all I use from T-Mobile on my iPad (I will never pay their over-priced add-on data prices). In any case, I only use cellular for very occasional use as I'm on wireless most of the time.

In my car, I use US Mobile (on the T-Mobile network) which is very inexpensive. $4.70 for 200MB, $7.70 for 1GB and so on per month and I can choose how much to buy as I renew each month,

1st Time Audi

I don't have any service with T-mobile other than this free prepaid SIM. They offered me the credit because I had to call twice to get the SIM activated correctly (I had to call to activate it since I don't have a tablet to activate it with).

I'll wait to see how my data is impacted when my promo is over, but I plan on staying under 200 MB with regular maps, no WiFi hotspot (have cell phone hotspot if the kids need it - faster anyway with LTE), Audi Connect for map destinations, and Google vicinity search.

The Google vicinity search is my most used function, but can't use up too much data since it's all data only.

How much data do you use on a monthly basis?