Online music working without data plan?
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 208
Likes: 57
From: NJ
EQE 500
Online music working without data plan?
Anybody try playing online music after the latest update? It seems to be playing for me without even turning on my hotspot. I accidentally found this out last night after asking Hey Mercedes to play SiriusXM and instead it started playing some song named Sirius and the source was Amazon Music. Tested it out some more today and it showed some Apple Music playlists that I created last week, so it's definitely syncing with my account.
ETA: did some more testing and I confirmed there's no data plan. I went to the browser and it still prompts me to buy a data plan. Also confirmed TuneIn Radio works fine, it shows current podcast episodes. Spatial music works with Apple Music, even showing the Atmos icon. Tried all this without my phone nearby and no CarPlay icon showed up.
ETA: did some more testing and I confirmed there's no data plan. I went to the browser and it still prompts me to buy a data plan. Also confirmed TuneIn Radio works fine, it shows current podcast episodes. Spatial music works with Apple Music, even showing the Atmos icon. Tried all this without my phone nearby and no CarPlay icon showed up.
Last edited by icwhatudidthere; Apr 20, 2024 at 05:40 PM. Reason: Additional info
Newbie
Joined: Apr 2024
Posts: 1
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EQE 350 4Matic
Anybody try playing online music after the latest update? It seems to be playing for me without even turning on my hotspot. I accidentally found this out last night after asking Hey Mercedes to play SiriusXM and instead it started playing some song named Sirius and the source was Amazon Music. Tested it out some more today and it showed some Apple Music playlists that I created last week, so it's definitely syncing with my account.
ETA: did some more testing and I confirmed there's no data plan. I went to the browser and it still prompts me to buy a data plan. Also confirmed TuneIn Radio works fine, it shows current podcast episodes. Spatial music works with Apple Music, even showing the Atmos icon. Tried all this without my phone nearby and no CarPlay icon showed up.
ETA: did some more testing and I confirmed there's no data plan. I went to the browser and it still prompts me to buy a data plan. Also confirmed TuneIn Radio works fine, it shows current podcast episodes. Spatial music works with Apple Music, even showing the Atmos icon. Tried all this without my phone nearby and no CarPlay icon showed up.
Banned
Joined: May 2023
Posts: 209
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just looking
Anybody try playing online music after the latest update? It seems to be playing for me without even turning on my hotspot. I accidentally found this out last night after asking Hey Mercedes to play SiriusXM and instead, it started playing some song named Sirius and the source was Amazon Music. Tested it out some more today and it showed some Apple Music playlists that I created last week, so it's syncing with my account.
ETA: did some more testing and I confirmed there's no data plan. I went to the browser and it still prompts me to buy a data plan. Also confirmed TuneIn Radio works fine, it shows current podcast episodes. Spatial music works with Apple Music sans font generator, even showing the Atmos icon. Tried all this without my phone nearby and no CarPlay icon showed up.
ETA: did some more testing and I confirmed there's no data plan. I went to the browser and it still prompts me to buy a data plan. Also confirmed TuneIn Radio works fine, it shows current podcast episodes. Spatial music works with Apple Music sans font generator, even showing the Atmos icon. Tried all this without my phone nearby and no CarPlay icon showed up.
Newbie
Joined: Apr 2025
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bugatti
Whoa, this is fascinating—I just tested this on my '23 EQS and you're absolutely right! The system appears to be using some sort of background data handshake with Mercedes' servers when authenticating your music accounts, even without an active data plan. Here's what I discovered after some tinkering:
Has anyone noticed if this works better in certain areas? I'm wondering if Mercedes hotspots are piggybacking on local dealership Wi-Fi.
Why This Might Work
- Cached Credentials – The MBUX system seems to maintain authenticated sessions with music services (Amazon/Apple) for limited streaming, likely pulling metadata/playlists via the car's built-in LTE (which Mercedes uses for telemetry anyway).
- Partial Offline Mode – Some services now cache recently played songs locally. My Apple Music showed 3 playlists but wouldn't play anything added today.
- TuneIn's Sneaky Trick – Podcasts often download episodes in chunks when you do have signal, then play later.
How to Test Further
- Try playing a new song not in your history (it'll likely fail)
- Check if album art loads (this usually requires active data)
- Note if sound quality dips (may switch to low-bitrate cached versions)
Has anyone noticed if this works better in certain areas? I'm wondering if Mercedes hotspots are piggybacking on local dealership Wi-Fi.
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 208
Likes: 57
From: NJ
EQE 500
One other interesting tidbit: when I got a 2024 EQE to replace my 2023, I logged into my Mercedes profile and my streaming accounts (Apple and Amazon) were already logged in and authenticated so my playlists and everything showed up instantly.
