craignhp

I just got a letter from Audi yesterday saying that there will be a hardware upgrade available (at no cost) in March. It will allow T-Mobile systems to operate at the higher speeds after they upgrade their systems. Not 4G from what I understand, but at least the 3G will work reliably again. T-Mobile already sent me a free mobile hotspot with a year's service and a $200 gift card apologizing for the crappy signal. This is great news from Audi - and it's the right thing to do. Wonder if this will fix the AT&T slower speed issue for our 2012-14 cars?

jasonlitka

There isn't really a "slower speed" issue for AT&T, it was by design. It's simply that the cellular radio didn't support the bands used by AT&T's 3G network.

If this is truly a hardware upgrade then they're probbly upgrading to the same part used in the 2014 & 2015, meaning that yes, you'd have access to more of AT&T's spectrum. No LTE though.

NaplesQ7

Who did you contact at T-Mobile to complain? Since day one I have not been happy with the signal strength, especially for what I pay for the service. Thanks..

craignhp

I never complained to anyone. Just got a package from T-Mobile a month or two ago with a mobile hotspot, a year's worth of LTE service, and a $200 gift card. They said the service in Indianapolis was going to be upgraded as of February 28th and my car would have areas that would only be able to receive 2G coverage. Then I got the letter from Audi yesterday saying that they're going to put in some hardware to fix the issue. Maybe call your service rep and see if they have the parts in yet? I'll get my installed when I go in for the fuel rail recall next month.

Tman007

I called Audi Connect yesterday to probe on this issue -- I mentioned that I'm not satisfied with the wi-fi bandwidth/speed and it seems to be slower than it used to be... They eventually transferred me to a T-Mobile tech, who walked me thru a few troubleshooting steps, and then concluded that the only remaining option was to have my dealer check my hardware and MMI version (which I've already had upgraded.

When I pressed about future T-Mobile network upgrades, they said that none of that would affect Audi Connect service in existing cars -- except in Indianapolis, where there was a specific issue that would have caused degraded service so they needed to send out hotspots to those ~200 customers.

So this doesn't sound promising, but let's see if anyone else hears anything different. OP, let us know if you do get new hardware...

NaplesQ7

I called AudiConnect last week and they sent me a new SIM card to try first. I live in SW FLA and the new card is worthless, same bad Wifi service and connection speeds.

craignhp

Wow, I guess I'm blessed to live in Indiana. I'll get the T-Mobile upgrade - the letter does say new hardware, and the fuel rail recall service done in the next couple weeks and let you know. Going for a long drive next month from Indiana to Orlando - that will be a good test of their network and service.

Yakivegas

I have a brand new 2015 A4 and live in central Washington, Audi Connect is through T-Mobile (currently on the 6 month free trial). The connection speed is 2G only and absolutely atrocious. IF I can get a connection to actually work, download speeds are only around 0.4 Mbps. Most times I can't get any data transfer at all.

If I could switch to AT&T (and I have seen reports of some folks having success getting an AT&T SIM card to work with the newer hardware) and get consistent 3G speeds, I might consider paying for the service, but even then the value is iffy for me.

TimTheEnchanter

It's definitely worth a try on a 2015. I get significantly better connection speeds on my 2014 with AT&T than I ever did with T-Mobile. But obviously, how much better also depends on where you live. In my case I already had a shared data plan with AT&T so adding my car was only another $10/mo.

Yakivegas

I actually found a few areas with 3G reception with T-Mobile, got around 2Mbps download speed, sluggish but functional. AT&T's coverage here is much better.

Once the trial runs out, I'll look into the AT&T options. Might be tricky to figure out the best data plan. We have two phones on grandfathered AT&T Unlimited data plans, so we can't just add the car to a shared data plan.