Mercedes Me HotSpot - Not so good
#1
Member
Thread Starter
![Cool](https://mbworld.org/forums/images/icons/icon6.gif)
I tried linking my EQS 450+ to a T-Mobile MiFi, but the car would continuously re-connect, making it useless. So I thought I would check out the HotSpot service available from within the car settings. It required a lengthy registration process that is free - sure the registration is free, the plan is not. BUT, it seemed like the unlimited annual plan was fairly priced, just $240. It even had the T-Mobile logo on it. I forgot that T-Mobile is actually a European company. The performance sucks. In fact, it appears that maybe all traffic is being directed to Germany and back to the US. I need to do a trace route to find out more.
Speedtest.net connected to a server in New York, even though I am in silicon valley. And it was getting 16Mbps down, 4 up. I usually get at least 40 down and 20 up with my personal hotspot.
And then sadly, when I connected YouTube, the browser performance was pathetic. It was playing maybe 2 frames per second.
All of this is to say, if you ever want to stream some video while charging, you better bring an iPad.
Speedtest.net connected to a server in New York, even though I am in silicon valley. And it was getting 16Mbps down, 4 up. I usually get at least 40 down and 20 up with my personal hotspot.
And then sadly, when I connected YouTube, the browser performance was pathetic. It was playing maybe 2 frames per second.
All of this is to say, if you ever want to stream some video while charging, you better bring an iPad.
#2
Member
Thread Starter
Further evidence that this is not using a US carrier, I received an email that I was charged a tariff:
Dear <redacted>,
thank you for choosing the HotSpot Drive unlimited premium US tariff!
The charge due for this tariff will be debited via your registered payment method. You will receive a separate confirmation of this payment.
The tariff will be automatically extended for another period at the end of each contract period unless you cancel it up to 6 days prior to the end of the current period.
The general terms and conditions of business are used as a basis for the contractual relationship; these are available at https://daimlerna.hotspotdrive.com/#...sandconditions.
Information on data protection is available at https://daimlerna.hotspotdrive.com/#/infos/privacy.
Enjoy HotSpot Drive!
With kind regards,
Your HotSpot Drive Team
Your customer number: <redacted>
_________________________
T-Systems North America Inc.
1901 Butterfield Road, Suite 700
Downers Grove, Illinois 60515 USA
thank you for choosing the HotSpot Drive unlimited premium US tariff!
The charge due for this tariff will be debited via your registered payment method. You will receive a separate confirmation of this payment.
The tariff will be automatically extended for another period at the end of each contract period unless you cancel it up to 6 days prior to the end of the current period.
The general terms and conditions of business are used as a basis for the contractual relationship; these are available at https://daimlerna.hotspotdrive.com/#...sandconditions.
Information on data protection is available at https://daimlerna.hotspotdrive.com/#/infos/privacy.
Enjoy HotSpot Drive!
With kind regards,
Your HotSpot Drive Team
Your customer number: <redacted>
_________________________
T-Systems North America Inc.
1901 Butterfield Road, Suite 700
Downers Grove, Illinois 60515 USA
#3
MBWorld Fanatic!
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Europe
Posts: 6,383
Received 297 Likes
on
249 Posts
223.168 & 213.012 & 906.633 & 214.005
Are you interpreting that you have used a roaming service because you were charged? The bill is from using a Mercedes service, Mercedes pays the carrier for their network use.
Connectivity used to go through Germany at some point. I don't know if it still does today. Obviously adds delay and hurts ping times but streaming is not so delay sensitive, perhaps some other issue
#4
Member
Thread Starter
I think they are using the German T-Mobile as their carrier, rather than US. There is no reason to be charged a tariff if they were using the US carrier. T-Mobile is owned by Deutsche Telekom. More hops, especially if you are going over an undersea cable and back, is going to affect both latency and bandwidth. I still need to find a way to do a traceroute through the browser to see, though.
The following users liked this post:
hlothery (04-19-2022)
#6
MBWorld Fanatic!
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Europe
Posts: 6,383
Received 297 Likes
on
249 Posts
223.168 & 213.012 & 906.633 & 214.005
I think they are using the German T-Mobile as their carrier, rather than US. There is no reason to be charged a tariff if they were using the US carrier. T-Mobile is owned by Deutsche Telekom. More hops, especially if you are going over an undersea cable and back, is going to affect both latency and bandwidth. I still need to find a way to do a traceroute through the browser to see, though.
Your car connects to internet with a subscription paid by Mercedes. The deal Mercedes has is for low volume traffic like Mercedes Me (Connect) remote features plus maps updates very infrequently. The hotspot service increase data volume significantly. This is why Mercedes needs to pay more and you need to pay more if you want to use that service in your car.
In Europe Mercedes mainly uses a deal with Vodafone and they use roaming in European countries that do not have Vodafone networks.
#7
I tried linking my EQS 450+ to a T-Mobile MiFi, but the car would continuously re-connect, making it useless. So I thought I would check out the HotSpot service available from within the car settings. It required a lengthy registration process that is free - sure the registration is free, the plan is not. BUT, it seemed like the unlimited annual plan was fairly priced, just $240. It even had the T-Mobile logo on it. I forgot that T-Mobile is actually a European company. The performance sucks. In fact, it appears that maybe all traffic is being directed to Germany and back to the US. I need to do a trace route to find out more.
Speedtest.net connected to a server in New York, even though I am in silicon valley. And it was getting 16Mbps down, 4 up. I usually get at least 40 down and 20 up with my personal hotspot.
And then sadly, when I connected YouTube, the browser performance was pathetic. It was playing maybe 2 frames per second.
All of this is to say, if you ever want to stream some video while charging, you better bring an iPad.
Speedtest.net connected to a server in New York, even though I am in silicon valley. And it was getting 16Mbps down, 4 up. I usually get at least 40 down and 20 up with my personal hotspot.
And then sadly, when I connected YouTube, the browser performance was pathetic. It was playing maybe 2 frames per second.
All of this is to say, if you ever want to stream some video while charging, you better bring an iPad.
Trending Topics
#8
Member
Thread Starter
I was trying to watch in the browser built into MBUX, not on my device. Essentially, I am trying to see if I can get a Tesla-like experience where I can stream content on the hyerpscreen while charging. It's a bit of a passion project. I am always trying to find ways to compensate for the features I had on my old Tesla.
#9
I was trying to watch in the browser built into MBUX, not on my device. Essentially, I am trying to see if I can get a Tesla-like experience where I can stream content on the hyerpscreen while charging. It's a bit of a passion project. I am always trying to find ways to compensate for the features I had on my old Tesla.
![](https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbworld.org-vbulletin/2000x1504/2a4958dc_0203_4ec9_b721_25f2e18a2b4e_528030dcd5788ee26416a6a955042b5a9231e2e6.jpeg)
The following users liked this post:
diggs718 (07-20-2022)
#10
Member
Thread Starter
That's what I meant, I was watching trying different channels on the center tablet with no issues on any of them. Loading took a little while but after it buffered it didn't fall out of sync. Motion was fine too. I took a pic as an example since I was amazed it actually worked
I will try a speedtest tonight, on my way home from work, too. I'll also take another attempt of connecting it to my mobile hotspot device.
Brian
#11
Can you try a speedtest.net and take a screenshot of your results? What are you using for internet service, by the way? Did you sign up for the hotspot, tethering to your phone/house wifi, or using whatever came with the car by default?
I will try a speedtest tonight, on my way home from work, too. I'll also take another attempt of connecting it to my mobile hotspot device.
Brian
I will try a speedtest tonight, on my way home from work, too. I'll also take another attempt of connecting it to my mobile hotspot device.
Brian
#12
I think they are using the German T-Mobile as their carrier, rather than US. There is no reason to be charged a tariff if they were using the US carrier. T-Mobile is owned by Deutsche Telekom. More hops, especially if you are going over an undersea cable and back, is going to affect both latency and bandwidth. I still need to find a way to do a traceroute through the browser to see, though.
#13
Member
Thread Starter
you're onto something with this. my Speedtest had a ping of 161 and originated from a Duestche Telekom IP address. I only got 3mbps down. it does seem like it may feed through a proxy server in Germany. I'm amazed I got video to stream earlier. perhaps worth us filing a bug report or calling the Mercedes EQ support team.
All of this makes me think it's really the browser that sucks. My hotspot can reliably get 30-40 Mbps down and 10-20 up.
#14
Tonight I was able to reliably connect with my personal mobile hotspot and the Mercedes cellular data service. Both had the same data rates in speedtest, although the hotspot (t-mobile, as well) had a much lower ping. Both had crummy streaming. When you were streaming before, were you really getting smooth frame rates? I wasn't getting anything close to 24 or 30, on either hotspot.
All of this makes me think it's really the browser that sucks. My hotspot can reliably get 30-40 Mbps down and 10-20 up.
All of this makes me think it's really the browser that sucks. My hotspot can reliably get 30-40 Mbps down and 10-20 up.
#15
I tried linking my EQS 450+ to a T-Mobile MiFi, but the car would continuously re-connect, making it useless. So I thought I would check out the HotSpot service available from within the car settings. It required a lengthy registration process that is free - sure the registration is free, the plan is not. BUT, it seemed like the unlimited annual plan was fairly priced, just $240. It even had the T-Mobile logo on it. I forgot that T-Mobile is actually a European company. The performance sucks. In fact, it appears that maybe all traffic is being directed to Germany and back to the US. I need to do a trace route to find out more.
Speedtest.net connected to a server in New York, even though I am in silicon valley. And it was getting 16Mbps down, 4 up. I usually get at least 40 down and 20 up with my personal hotspot.
And then sadly, when I connected YouTube, the browser performance was pathetic. It was playing maybe 2 frames per second.
All of this is to say, if you ever want to stream some video while charging, you better bring an iPad.
Speedtest.net connected to a server in New York, even though I am in silicon valley. And it was getting 16Mbps down, 4 up. I usually get at least 40 down and 20 up with my personal hotspot.
And then sadly, when I connected YouTube, the browser performance was pathetic. It was playing maybe 2 frames per second.
All of this is to say, if you ever want to stream some video while charging, you better bring an iPad.
#16
Member
Finally got around to trying mine and sure enough, it’s not working. Has anyone had any success getting the hotspot to work?
#17
Member
The following users liked this post:
StormingHabs (05-20-2022)
#18
#19
Member
#20
I took my car to dealership and asked them to do a MBUX software update. They didn't see any new software version available, but did a software reset and the WIFI hotspot started working. This is very strange though.