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Hi all, I've got a 2020 C43 that is basically fully loaded. I'm about to do a long road trip and wanted to setup the wifi hotspot for the car for my girlfriend to use while I drive. ATT let me create an account through their connected car portal for unlimited data. Unfortunately, when I try to activate the hotspot in the Connected settings menu there isn't an option -- just a check box for wifi. If I click it, it either tells me it is connecting or disconnecting the wifi. The internet status shows it is connected. I called MB and was eventually told that my vehicle "module" does not have hardware compatability for hotspots. Is this true? I find it hard to believe that a 2020 Mercedes that is otherwise connected and has a car modem (plus some random WiFi option) is incapable of functioning as a hotspot. Any one else ran into this or am I missing something? Thanks a ton- Dave
According to the owner's manual, it's the same procedure as in the 2019. Once you have the service activated, then you need to go to System | Connectivity and choose Set Up Hotspot. I've had mine active for the complementary 30 days, but didn't renew. It was working fine. The main Wi-Fi setting is Wi-Fi in general. If you turn that off, then all the Internet connectivity is deactivated and the COMAND system won't be able to provide traffic data etc. The HERMES LTE module in these cars is essentially a Wi-Fi broadband router, and the COMAND system connects to it via Wi-Fi, so the Wi-Fi option needs to be checked, but the Hotspot is a seperate function that can be enabled or disabled and needs to be configured.
According to the owner's manual, it's the same procedure as in the 2019. Once you have the service activated, then you need to go to System | Connectivity and choose Set Up Hotspot. I've had mine active for the complementary 30 days, but didn't renew. It was working fine. The main Wi-Fi setting is Wi-Fi in general. If you turn that off, then all the Internet connectivity is deactivated and the COMAND system won't be able to provide traffic data etc. The HERMES LTE module in these cars is essentially a Wi-Fi broadband router, and the COMAND system connects to it via Wi-Fi, so the Wi-Fi option needs to be checked, but the Hotspot is a seperate function that can be enabled or disabled and needs to be configured.
Interesting-- thank you for the detail! Unfortunately I dont have any option in the System | Connectivity menu. All that is listed there is Bluetooth (box check on or off), Wifi (box check on or off), and Internet Status. When I click Internet Status it simply shows the 4G LTE connection is active and doesn't provide any additional info. I wonder if I need new firmware? The car atleast says it is up to date.. MB said over the phone they could see that my ATT connection was setup and registered properly to the car. Very frustrating..
Is it possible because I didn't get the multimedia package I am unable to access the hotspot? I opted out of that because it seemed redundant with standard android auto/apple car play...
Is it possible because I didn't get the multimedia package I am unable to access the hotspot? I opted out of that because it seemed redundant with standard android auto/apple car play...
Ah, that was gonna be my next question. You said your car was fully loaded, so I assumed you had the multimedia package. But yes, that's your problem. W/o multimedia package there is no hotspot among other things. Here's what the connectivity menu looks like with the multimedia package and also the options under the hotspot.
Ah, that was gonna be my next question. You said your car was fully loaded, so I assumed you had the multimedia package. But yes, that's your problem. W/o multimedia package there is no hotspot among other things. Here's what the connectivity menu looks like with the multimedia package and also the options under the hotspot.
ugh thanks so much!! did not know i was opting out of the hotspot when i didnt select multimedia-- thought it was just nav and touchpad. wonder if a dealer can activate it or if its hardware. the car certainly has an LTE modem at the least
ugh thanks so much!! did not know i was opting out of the hotspot when i didnt select multimedia-- thought it was just nav and touchpad. wonder if a dealer can activate it or if its hardware. the car certainly has an LTE modem at the least
As far as I know, it's a different head unit if you get the multimedia package. W/o it you don't really have the COMAND system. The order guide states that it is required for the Driver Assistance Package, Digital Instrument Cluster as well as MB Apps and WiFi. You'll be better off just letting your girlfriend use your phone's hotspot.
Last edited by superswiss; 05-21-2020 at 02:58 AM.
So no real advantage over using your phones hotspot. Just convenience I guess.
I agree with that. One could argue that, by using the vehicle hotspot, you benefit from the improved signal attenuation provided by the vehicle antenna. My argument is that the gains, if any, are nominal. I'm also a systems engineer for what it's worth.
Last edited by batman719; 05-21-2020 at 11:49 AM.
Reason: typo
So no real advantage over using your phones hotspot. Just convenience I guess.
Right, the main advantage is that the car's antenna is external, so it doesn't have to fight the inherit faraday cage that the body puts up. Phones inside of the car have to increase their output power somewhat to get out, subjecting the passengers to a stronger signal than outdoors. In areas with a weak signal, the external car antenna may provide a connection, while the phone inside of the car wouldn't get a strong enough signal. I was considering it for an improved connection as I sometimes drive in areas that have a weak signal or barely no signal, but ultimately after the free 1 month trial ran out, it didn't seem to be worth paying for another device on my AT&T plan just for an occasional slightly improved signal. Another use case for it would be if you had an Internet connected dashcam, then it could stay connected to the Internet while the car is parked and alert you if something happens. The built in MB Apps also require the Wi-Fi hotspot to be activated if you want to use them.
Right, the main advantage is that the car's antenna is external, so it doesn't have to fight the inherit faraday cage that the body puts up. Phones inside of the car have to increase their output power somewhat to get out, subjecting the passengers to a stronger signal than outdoors. In areas with a weak signal, the external car antenna may provide a connection, while the phone inside of the car wouldn't get a strong enough signal. I was considering it for an improved connection as I sometimes drive in areas that have a weak signal or barely no signal, but ultimately after the free 1 month trial ran out, it didn't seem to be worth paying for another device on my AT&T plan just for an occasional slightly improved signal. Another use case for it would be if you had an Internet connected dashcam, then it could stay connected to the Internet while the car is parked and alert you if something happens. The built in MB Apps also require the Wi-Fi hotspot to be activated if you want to use them.
My hope was for better signal than a phone hotspot (both 4g lte and wifi in the car), a third network option - my phones are VZW and Tmobile-, and not draining the battery of a phone or overtaxing it if I was using carplay/Android auto for waze. As it turned out the hotspot off the VZW iPhone wasn't fast/stable enough to keep her logged into her VPN so we used my pixel on T-Mobile which I was also using to run waze and stream Spotify. It worked surprisingly well though the phone got pretty hot and android auto became occasionally sluggish. Could've switched the waze/Spotify over to the iPhone if it got too bad I suppose. Nonetheless would've been nice to have an elegant in car solution with possibly better network and wifi performance. Wouldn't have seen my continuing to pay $20/month for it but wouldn't have an issue activating for a month when I had a long drive and wanted the option.
Fwiw I do have the digital dash and mb apps. I think they may have broke the packages out differently for 2020s vs 2019... Still unclear what the hell the wifi box is for in the connection settings.
05-20-2020, 04:34 PM
No hotspot in 2020 C43?
