mayerkelly

I just bought a 2017 A4 Prestige and am having trouble getting decent connection speeds on the Audi Connect Wifi Hotspot. Using a Speed Test app on my phone, the download speeds are between 0.6 and 0.7 Mbps. As a result, streaming songs takes about 25-40 seconds before the music begins to play. This happens even when the LTE bars on the display shows 4 or 5 bars. Streaming Netflix videos takes at least a minute before anything plays (if at all). As a comparison, my ATT iPhone measures download speeds of over 30.0 Mbps in the same location and songs/videos begin playing within 4 seconds. I have the same result whether I use the wifi hotspot on my iPhone 6 or iPad Air 2.

I have this issue in all vehicle locations, even when right next to an ATT cell tower. The Audi dealership has looked into it but says that no one else has raised this issue with slow speeds. They acknowledge the slow speed tests from the app, but they point out that the music does eventually play and that Audi does not guarantee particular speeds. I find it hard to believe that a wifi hotspot using ATT's LTE network would be considered acceptable with speeds that cannot even reach 1.0 Mbps.

Has anyone had this problem? Any suggestions on next steps?

Thanks in advance.

wdimagineer

They won't admit it, but it looks like AT&T might be throttling data. I've seen this happen with a few vehicles (mine included) using the Connect PLUS trial. I've asked some corporate friends to look in to it.

mayerkelly

Thanks. I had not considered that. Mainly, because the upload speeds are much better - 5.0 Mbps. I suppose the only way to prove that they're throttling would be to sign up for a month of data and see if the speeds improve.

ac1991

I just bought a 2017 Q5 and I'm having the same problem. It's going really slow and it seems to be a waste of money to have it when it's not usable. I wish Verizon was available

Anyone got any updates?

superswiss

The 2017 Q5 only supports up to 3G HSPA+. For LTE you have to wait for the all-new 2018 Q5. As for the slow Wifi speed in the new A4 and other new models, I've also heard that the trial subscription is heavily throttled in exchange for being unlimited. Poor sales tactic by AT&T if you ask me.

ac1991

that sucks. i paid the $40, so i don't even know if i'm still on the trial or not... shouldn't be since i already gave them my money.

superswiss

The throttling doesn't affect you. Your connection is naturally slow due to being 3G. 3G is not fast enough for a Wifi hotspot. I don't use my hotspot at all. I wouldn't pay $40 for the system in the current Q5. I have the same generation system in my RS5. It does the job mostly, but you can forget the Wifi hotspot. I use Audi connect for the Google Earth maps, Google searches and the ability to send destinations from my phone and computer to the car, but I'm only paying $10/month as part of my AT&T Shared Data plan. The newer system in the A4 costs more per month, but doesn't really provide a lot more features.

Nuttz4Sports

As an owner waiting for his Audi to be built and delivered, why would I want to use Audi Connect? I can use my iphone as a hotspot or ipod? Not sure what other features Audi Connect offers...that might be worth it, other than the MMI app.


If the concern is wasting data on the phone plan, won't it be better to just up the data coverage with the money you would have to pay for Audi connect, especially with the bad speeds you are letting us know about.


Not judging, just trying to make an educated decision when my A4 finally arrives.

superswiss

Pretty much everything is described on Audi's website. The hotspot is only one aspect of Audi connect. I suppose the hotspot is kinda useful if you have passengers with tablets and they want to access the Internet. The same could in fact be accomplished by turning on the hotspot on your phone. Especially if you are an AT&T customer and have all your devices including the car on the same shared data plan, then yes, the car's hotspot seems a bit pointless.

https://www.audiusa.com/technology/i...e/audi-connect

Nuttz4Sports

Thanks for the response. I have already looked at the info on the website, but receiving feedback from people that actually use it tells me what the website doesn't.

As for the hotspots, my entire family uses iPhones and we are all on AT&T family share plan. I also have a wireless harddrive that we can all access to watch movies or listen to music.....