1st Time Audi

I was reading that you need to have Roaming On - not sure if I have it like that only car, but it seems to help others in forums.

HamOnRye

I activated my new 99¢ SIM over the phone. I told him it was for a data-only hotspot and that I wanted the 200MB/month for life plan. I gave him the IMEI and when he asked what kind of device it was, I told him it was an automobile. He assigned it a phone number and a PIN and said activation would be complete in a couple of hours.

Four hours later, I put the SIM in the slot and it appears that it did an auto-setup. Google maps is working, it's showing a 3G connection, and the IMSI # is different from the Audi Connect IMSI. Data usage has reset to zero.

But I'm unable to connect my laptop to the internet when I'm in the car. It shows my Audi network but there's no internet access. If I put back my Audi Connect SIM, then it works just fine.

How do I get the hotspot to work with my laptop?

1st Time Audi

Nice job on getting setup. Some have been having issues.

Dumb question, but do you have hotspot turned on in your car?

schalliol

It looks like the APN is set automatically when you put the SIM card in. I haven't had good luck getting this to work. I bought a few of these 99 cent cards, so if someone in event past has been able to get them to work via a new activation, please detail the steps you took (if you activated with your IMEI, what did you say to get them to take it). Thanks!

HamOnRye

Where would I do that? And since the hotspot works when I use my Audi Connect SIM, wouldn't the hotspot already be turned on?

1st Time Audi

Maybe I misread your message. I guess you selected your network and entered the security password to access your car's hotspot, but data doesn't transmit to the computer?

1st Time Audi

So the two recent examples of it working, the user set up the SIM with T-Mobile, and gave it to T-Mobile the car IMEI, and it was only inserted in the car. This includes one of my SIMs.

For the three that haven't worked (including another one of mine), the SIM was set up with T-Mobile, and they were only put into an iDevice, and it worked, before putting it into the car when it failed. The only variable is the IMEI, which I don't think really matters.

In my mind, unless it's the IMEI, I think it's about only putting the SIM into the car first, and not into another device. That's my best guess right now. I will try it when I can get to T-Mobile and get a new SIM

HamOnRye

Looks like the phone call to T-mobile only gets you an assigned phone number and a PIN after you give them your IMEI. That allows you to enter your car hotspot where you're directed to a T-mobile site. There, you set up an account by using the PIN, an email address, and a password. Once I did that, I discovered that I had 0 MB of data at my disposal. That's why my laptop wouldn't connect to the internet.

When I called them, I got the bad news that my IMEI was not a tablet and that I wouldn't be getting the 200MB/month for life...just like everybody else who has tried this lately. I think T-mobile has cracked down on using these SIMs for anything besides a tablet. It appears as though this deal is dead for use as an Audi Connect substitute.

Wasted a buck and some time so no biggie, but I'm posting this as a warning to others.