markcincinnati

My wife and I purchased new 2014 "S" Audis at the end of calendar year 2013; hers an SQ5 Prestige 8-spd tip with the magma interior, mine an S4 P+ 7-spd DSG and with virtually all of the Prestige package options (B&O, Audi side assist, MMI) + carbon fiber trim upgrade and magma interior. Both vehicles now have over 30K miles on them and we just replaced the tires (her's 20", mine 18") with Continental Extreme Contact DWS-06's. These are great cars in every sense of the word, EXCEPT for Audi Connect.

Here in Cincinnati the indicator on the MMI screen basically says 2G about 1/3rd of the time, and the moment we start the drive between Cincinnati and Columbus, well you can basically forget about any use of the WiFi feature -- it is worse than a dial up modem.

I have called T-Mobile and Audi and asked for a hardware upgrade or an "unlocked" SIM chip so I can try something else.

When Audi Connect is receiving a full-on 3G signal, PC's or iPads in the car have good response time and can browse the Internet without issue -- and at very good speed. Sure, it's not 4G LTE, but it would be fine as wine if we had 3G full time.

Well bitching has paid off (somewhat).

I have been "selected" by my dealer rep to test his 2016 A6 demo SIM chip in my 2014 S4. There were some coding changes that need to be entered (very easy, once you see what they are) into one of the set up screens, but the result is, I am now ALWAYS at 3G and apparently, if I understand how this works, I am now on AT&T's network.

I paid $30 to Audi for another month on T-Mobile, but apparently I can now stop paying and just let the T-Mobile account go dormant.

Now, this isn't -- or won't be -- free forever. I will, somehow, have to start paying AT&T (but perhaps NOT through Audi?) for the service, and ultimately the dealer rep will want his SIM card back. In any case, I need to do this "legally" not just technically correct.

The point is, if you like Audi Connect, if you like using the features of it, but have found it, due to the T-Mobile network (which may just be crappy in SW Ohio for all I know), to be unsatisfactory, there is a work-around.

I was told that AudiUSA was the source of the work around -- but I can't confirm this.

I have nothing against T-Mobile, per se, but in our market, the signal strength and the "G" rendering is not at all flattering to T-Mobile and their marketing claims as being the fastest wireless network in the land.

When searching for an on-line destination, the response time is good to very good and when making my S4 a wi-fi hotspot, things are always acceptable and often downright zippy.

snagitseven

With MY2014 and 2015, you don't need to stay with T-Mobile. An AT&T 3G sim card will also work. Do an AW search for Audi Connect AT&T.

Dr Chill

I use US Mobile (gousmobile.com) for 250mb for $7 a month. SIM card cost $4. They also offer 100mb for $4 a month.

snagitseven

What were the settings you used in the MMI?

Dr Chill

It was plug and play in my A3. I didn't change anything in the MMI.