Q50 Infiniti Connect and 2G network?

[Beancooker]

So it appears that Infiniti Connect will cease to work as of 12/31/2016, as that is when AT&T will shut down the 2G network.
This kind of seems like a rip off. Lease a car for 39 months, that is sold with a subscription service that is a selling point of the car, and the service will be obsolete one year into the lease?

It's not a service I will use a lot, but the fact that it appears I will be responsible for the hardware upgrade of the TCU to handle a different network to keep the car able to function as I purchased it is s***.
The other part that pisses me off, is I am sure the TCU upgrade will be ridiculously overpriced, where it should only cost a hundred bucks or so.

I wonder when the class action lawsuit will be filed? I'm sure someone will be a bit more pissed than me, and will file it.

[szh]

The 2G shutdown date from AT&T has been known for more than three years now. Unfortunately, Nissan was informed of it not too long after they released their first systems using it.

I can tell you in a limited way (have to be careful ... I have insider info) that they have been working on next-generation products to replace the 2G products, but two issues exist.

First, changes in the auto industry can take a long time (years in some cases) since design, test and manufacturing systems need to be updated.

Second, the replacement choices (3G or 4G?) had its own set of potential short-term issues - too long to describe here, but I can refer you to some articles I have written on the topic, if you want!

Equally unfortunately, they cannot stop selling the 2G version ... due to competitive and driver requirements/expectation and the "already in manufacturing" issue.

Basically, many car manufacturers are caught between a rock and a hard place to make this transition and they are trying to deal with it as best as they can. Yeah, it will mean a change to cars - my hope is that they make this change reasonably affordable or at no-cost.

We have gone through something similar in the past, BTW ... GM and Toyota and Nissan and others (since they were OnStar customers at the time) had to change all their systems when the Analog AMPS cellular system was shut down in February of 2008.

Z

[RicerX]

What a freakin mess this situation is. I'm glad I didn't even bother with this feature in my Q50. Sadly, that means I also do not have nav... and the top screen is sorta useless without it. Once I start cruising and crank up some tunes, I don't really think about it though.

I would be super pissed if I paid extra specifically for that feature though. It isn't just Infiniti - the more software-driven tech these cars get, the more glaring the disparity between technology/software lifecycle and automotive manufacturing gets. They're almost completely incompatible worlds.

[szh]

What a freakin mess this situation is. I'm glad I didn't even bother with this feature in my Q50. Sadly, that means I also do not have nav... and the top screen is sorta useless without it. Once I start cruising and crank up some tunes, I don't really think about it though.

Hmmm ... the Navigation system should still be functional in your car without the Infiniti Connect? This Connect technology is for other vehicle telematics beyond the standard Navigation, etc.

Unless I am misunderstanding what you are saying.

I would be super pissed if I paid extra specifically for that feature though. It isn't just Infiniti - the more software-driven tech these cars get, the more glaring the disparity between technology/software lifecycle and automotive manufacturing gets. They're almost completely incompatible worlds.

Yeah. Leaf owners are particularly impacted by this, by the way, since some data reporting functionality of the electric vehicle depends on information going back and forth on the communications channel.

To their credit, Nissan is working on new communications modules to replace the 2G stuff when that technology stops working on AT&T in December - the 2G at T-Mobile is continuing for now, but the SIM in the Nissan products cannot access that network, as far as I know. Not clear how the charge for this replacement will be swallowed though or the logistics for making it happen ...

Anyway, I cannot tell you much more than that, or what their time-line is, etc. Nissan and Infiniti will be in touch with vehicle owners at some point, I suspect.

Z

[RicerX]

Hey Z - I meant that the option packaging in the 2015 Q50 bundles the navigation and InfinitiConnection and their concierge stuff.

[szh]

Ah! I misunderstood ... yeah, the InfinitiConnection and concierge stuff will not function after the end of the year, as far as I know, since it is based on the AT&T 2G network for the moment.

But, I was under the assumption that they had removed that option from the "build" section of their web site, not sure though. I'll look.

Z

[szh]

At this site: http://www.infinitiusa.com/intouch, if you hover your mouse over the '*' near the top, where it says "[*]Important Details regarding Access to Infiniti Connection", you will see their notice.

Z