Mobile Hotspot on S580
Member
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 166
Likes: 69
From: California
'23 S580 Manufaktur and '21 GLE 53 Coupe (Past MBZ: 2020 GT63, S65, S63, E55, CL65, S550, C32)
Purpose of the in-car hotspot?
This may be an ignorant question so I apologize in advance...what is the purpose of the hotspot? It is only if one does not get decent speed/connectivity from a cell phone? Or perhaps if one's phone does not offer a stable/fast connection to other devices in the car. I have found Apple Car Play streaming from Apple Music and the other apps, etc to work well. For reference, I am in the US on 5G.
Newbie
Joined: Feb 2023
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
2022 S580
This may be an ignorant question so I apologize in advance...what is the purpose of the hotspot? It is only if one does not get decent speed/connectivity from a cell phone? Or perhaps if one's phone does not offer a stable/fast connection to other devices in the car. I have found Apple Car Play streaming from Apple Music and the other apps, etc to work well. For reference, I am in the US on 5G.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 6,497
Likes: 335
From: Europe
223.168 & 213.012 & 906.633 & 214.005
Do you ever have the need to connect your laptop to a network without the hassle of trying to find a Starbucks near by, or other passengers in the car that needs a WiFi, and finally having another network that might be better than the one your cellphone offer depending on the area you’re in.
Speed is not better if everyone in the car are sharing the single cellphone connection (from the car) rather than everyone using their own, possibly from different networks, sharing the local network load.
I've seen valid arguments in favour of wifi hotspot from the car but don't consider speed one. I might miss some details about the local market though, always try to keep an open mind.
Member
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 166
Likes: 69
From: California
'23 S580 Manufaktur and '21 GLE 53 Coupe (Past MBZ: 2020 GT63, S65, S63, E55, CL65, S550, C32)
@Rufus-SF and @Diesel Benz thank you for the explanation. I thought the hotspot was also used for some functionality with the MBUX (besides the in-car web browser). I did get a pop-up on the MBUX this week about new Google Services being integrated. I thought it may be used for that too.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 2,296
Likes: 1,481
23 S580 Executive
You can light up the whole car with your phone, the hotspot via a separate plan is just a free money generator.
I travel very extensively, often for months at a time. While you can get to rural areas that may have regional carriers as the only possible connection, your car won't connect to those either because most such connections use one large carrier like Tmo or AT&T. That's most likely what's what on your phone already unless you live in one of those rural areas.
Nowadays, the one man who has a connection in a particular place while others don't is a rarity, 25 years ago you saw it frequently, but it's unusual now. Even overseas, my phone works in over 150 countries, and I've only been to a few where it doesn't.
Also, how many people do you know that don't have data on their phone? I don't know any. You've got the younger kids but how many of them aren't what set up to connect their gadget to their parents cell? All my grandchildren are set up that way.
Car companies love it when you buy a separate plan for the car because they get a cut. Carries love it because they get to charge you twice for the same data you probably already get with your unlimited cellular plan. Both get data from the car they otherwise wouldn't which they get to sell.
I can completely see why they push these plans; why people buy them is a bit of a mystery to me. I know there are some use cases but I can't think of a single real world person I know that would benefit.
I travel very extensively, often for months at a time. While you can get to rural areas that may have regional carriers as the only possible connection, your car won't connect to those either because most such connections use one large carrier like Tmo or AT&T. That's most likely what's what on your phone already unless you live in one of those rural areas.
Nowadays, the one man who has a connection in a particular place while others don't is a rarity, 25 years ago you saw it frequently, but it's unusual now. Even overseas, my phone works in over 150 countries, and I've only been to a few where it doesn't.
Also, how many people do you know that don't have data on their phone? I don't know any. You've got the younger kids but how many of them aren't what set up to connect their gadget to their parents cell? All my grandchildren are set up that way.
Car companies love it when you buy a separate plan for the car because they get a cut. Carries love it because they get to charge you twice for the same data you probably already get with your unlimited cellular plan. Both get data from the car they otherwise wouldn't which they get to sell.
I can completely see why they push these plans; why people buy them is a bit of a mystery to me. I know there are some use cases but I can't think of a single real world person I know that would benefit.
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 42
Likes: 10
CLS53
To give you guys an update on this, I just got my car back from dealer (who told me they did a reflash) and still no luck with the wifi, has anybody else had any success with this? I had viewed above post saying they recommended updating the mbux software... My software version is now E25O.403
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 267
Likes: 56
From: Maryland
2023 S580 (current), 2019 Range Rover HSE V6 (current),2021 S580, 2018 S560 4Matic, 2015 S550 4Matic
To give you guys an update on this, I just got my car back from dealer (who told me they did a reflash) and still no luck with the wifi, has anybody else had any success with this? I had viewed above post saying they recommended updating the mbux software... My software version is now E25O.403
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MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 2,296
Likes: 1,481
23 S580 Executive
Yeah, I had a flash in december that fixed the hotspot and while I'm not at the car I want to say 326, it doesn't appear you got the latest flash. That flash was the latest at the time and recommended to fix the hotspot, it's what I brought the car in for when it was done. Sounds like Philly has a later version so it's iterated after that.
Newbie
Joined: Dec 2023
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
S Class
Hotspot Fraud
There hotspot doesn’t work! Have gotten the complete runaround from Mercedes and believe they are now selling us premium level cars with false advertising. Makes no sense that a simple feature like a hotspot is not working in a Mercedes luxury vehicle. If I don’t get resolved soon, I am going to contact a lawyer this may be a class action lawsuit.
Super Member
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 759
Likes: 258
From: Boston
AMG
There hotspot doesn’t work! Have gotten the complete runaround from Mercedes and believe they are now selling us premium level cars with false advertising. Makes no sense that a simple feature like a hotspot is not working in a Mercedes luxury vehicle. If I don’t get resolved soon, I am going to contact a lawyer this may be a class action lawsuit.
https://www.daimlerna.hotspotdrive.com/#/
Newbie
Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
From: Las Vegas, NV
GLE 450 SUV 2020
Requirement for Hotspot Drive
I'm confused. I have a 2020 GLE5450 and when the 3 year free connectivity was up, I was led to believe that in order to maintain data connectivity to the vehicle for system updates such as maps and MBUX I needed to establish a data contract with Daimler-NA through T-Mobile. I did this (after a lot of going back and forth between the dealer and Daimler-NA) in July 2022 when I signed up for 1Gb/mo. I now looked back at my past data usage and its zero! I've never used any data through Daimler-NA but my vehicle's system and maps are up-to-date.
Is the data contract only for the vehicle's hotspot? I've been trying to get an answer from my local dealer for two weeks and no one will return a call.
Is the data contract only for the vehicle's hotspot? I've been trying to get an answer from my local dealer for two weeks and no one will return a call.
Newbie
Joined: Dec 2023
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
2024 S580EV4
HI, I just took delivery on a 2024 S580e PHEV. MB has STOPPED supporting the wifi in the vehicle because they are eliminating collecting payments for 3rd party providers. However, T-mobile is taking over the whole process. Once you register at hospotdrive.com, you then connect with a phone or laptop while in the car to the car's wifi (preloaded SSID and password). When you connect, you'll log into your hotspotdrive.com account and then a message will appear to add the vehicle. You choose a data plan and pay a one time fee. They offer unlimited data at $25/mo in the US or $240/year. Using my phone's speed test, the Download speed was 50-60 Mbps and the upload speed was 30-40 Mbps. Works seamlessly, and the service is really through Deutsche Telekom in Germany. Their customer service was outstanding--my account didn't allow vehicle addition and they fixed it on the back-end very quickly and are very very responsive by phone and email.
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