Dr.Aronis

Hi, I'm posting this here because this is a very active forum.

I am trying to learn the ins and outs of the WiFi and internet connectivity in my 2013 A8.

I missed the 3 year deal for the T-mobile (dealer did not tell me and they closed D'ooh).

Perhaps that was a good thing.

Here goes.

I need concrete information. I have the current connection working but it is VERY poor. I could not get any connectivity to the internet with an notebook or iPhone, until today when I turned DATA ROAMING ON.

My set up shows m2m.tmobile.com as the server (or close to that) and the user name and password are blank.

The SIM PIN entry is GREYED out, as I put this pin in before after getting it from the Audiconnect website.

I get 5 bars G3 at my work location (2g at home). Google Earth works fine, as does the audi information news stuff, weather, etc.

I was trying to setup a netbook and a couple iPhones to test iTunes Home Sharing in the car. When I tried to turn on home sharing (iTunes apparently needs an active interent connection to keep it turned on?) I found that I had to turn on Data Roaming to do this, and then I was able to load a website (This one, LOL) but then I lost the connection (still 5 bars 3G). Then I was able to access the Shared Connection via the iPhone and the play list loaded in "Video" and also in "Music" (two separate aps on iPhone now), but the video would not play, while music would.

Now I tested the set up with the netbook in the house where I have an Apple Time Capsule as the WiFi router and was able to stream video to TWO iPhones simultaneously (two different movies) off the netbook. My connectivity speed in the Car's WiFi said connection strength Excellent, and had max bars on the WiFi indicator on both devices.

But it appears that the WiFi connection speed is simply not adequate to stream video.

The other matter is the Internet connectivity. It basically (5 letter word here begins and ends with S).

Does the PAID account with T-mobile offer any better connectivity????? The Rep on the phone said "NO".

Why do I have to have DataRoaming on? Does the paid account establish your Local Connection so DataRoaming can be turned off?

What say you experts????

Thank you,

Mike

Dramsey

My guess would be that you simply have very poor T Mobile reception in your area. The fact that you have to turn on Data Roaming would seem to support this. Btw, you should check with T Mobile: I think a significant extra charge applies when you use roaming.

Your home WiFi is much faster since its backed by your home Internet connection, which is going to be much, much faster than even the best 3G cellular connection. Streaming video in the car is probably rarely going to be a viable option.

Dr.Aronis

Why would the Internet connection speed effect streaming in the wifi network notebook to iPhone via iTunes? That does not use the Internet connection accept to let you turn on Home Share.

Need input from Apple knowledgeable folks.

Mike

Dramsey

I am an Apple knowledgeable person. Worked there for years. Wrote "MacPaint 2.0" (man, that was a long time ago...) That said, I've never used iTunes Home Sharing, but from your description (and checking with Apple) it's obviously using the Internet connection for something.

Since I don't (yet) have an Audi I can't try various things with my devices, but from your experience I'd guess the problem is due to the very slow Internet connection you have. It seems as though Home Sharing uses the Internet connection to validate DRM on content, so if these videos you're trying to stream are from the iTunes Store, perhaps a slow Internet connection is indeed the problem.

Here's what I'd do to test this theory: import a non-protected video into your iTunes library. You can rip a DVD (Handbrake!) or a video from the iPhone.

Now try to stream that video and see if the performance is any better. If it is, then the slow Internet connection is to blame for the poor performance of DRM video; if not, then it's something else.

rycelover

Having max wifi connectivity does nothing for your data connection; this simply means that the wifi antenna within your portable device is picking up a strong signal from your wifi router - in this case, your Audi. For example, I have wifi tethering with my Galaxy Note 2, so I connect my laptop and tether through my cellphone. The wifi signal is at full strength because both devices are within 1 feet of each other. However, I'm in a deadspot in my house and I have 1/2 bar of data on my phone. Therefore, the internet speed on my laptop will be painfully slow, despite the five bars of wifi coverage.

s5blitzer

Mike,

I assumed you checked the T-Mobile coverage map. Hope this helps.

http://t-mobile-coverage.t-mobile.com/4g-coverage-map

karch22

I like how their map from a distance shows a lot of green, appearing that their coverage is great, but zooming in my area shows barely 2g availability. T-Mobile is terrible in my area and most places I have travelled.

Dr.Aronis

Thank you. I was planning on that this weekend. I have some home movies I can use.

I'll post back.

Mike

Dr.Aronis

I just checked the T-mobile map and it shows " Excellent for 3g/4g at my location.

So I don't understand the roaming issue. It should have worked fine at that site without roaming.

I think it was configured incorrectly by the dealer. The sales person was a newbie to this technology.

Mike

Dr.Aronis

I fired up Handbrake today. Its currently scanning the first video I chose to 'rip'. It's been about 20 minutes so far and it's doing the first scan....

Really, I stopped bothering with Handbrake and MacTheRipper because the whole process of ripping a dvd to the iPhone is so darn slow!

I'll see if the video will stream in the car....

This still remains a question..

Once I get a video streaming that is NOT A DOWNLOADED copy via iTunes and has not copy right protection, will iTunes still need to be in contact with the iTunes server to allow the Home Sharing to work while we drive in and out of Cell Network connectivity?

I have been reaching NonApple streaming apps which work with wifi hard drives and idevices....there are many..

Mike