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2013 mkz built in wi-fi use?


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Does anyone understand how this is supposed to work. I activated the wifi and put the password and it said connected in the ipad, and then tried to connect to the internet and no pages load. How does the wifi signal get to the car? Nice feature if it worked.

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If you're talking about connecting the car to wi-fi that was intended to be used with the built-in web browser that hasn't arrived yet so it's pretty much worthless until they add a feature that can use it.

 

You can also set up a wi-fi hotspot in the car using a usb broadband cellular modem so all devices in the car can use that one connection. But that's a different feature.

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So you need your own modem to use the hotspot connection? I thought it was a free roaming wifi hot spot connection for some reason, but I guess that's asking for too much.

 

The only way that would work is if it had a built-in 3G or 4G/LTE modem which would be silly because you'd be stuck with it for the life of the vehicle and stuck with one carrier/transport. This way you can use any modem that your or anyone else already owns and you don't need a separate device or data plan.

 

So go ahead and tell us why the person who decided that is an idiot.

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If your carrier supports it, you can also use your smartphone by tethering the car to it via Bluetooth and offer the car's Wi-Fi hotspot over your phone's data connection/plan. I've used it in my Fusion Energi with my AT&T Lumia 920. But not all carrier data plans support tethering.

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So go ahead and tell us why the person who decided that is an idiot.

What is your problem? Do you just like to fight with people. Your posts are always argumentative. I'm just looking to share, learn and vent here just like everyone else. Chill... you don't seem to have any sort of sense of humor.

 

(in any case) my dealer told me this morning that it is supposed to be able to connect to nearby hotspots like malls and Starbucks, but I can see how that would be useful for much. I wonder when the new app software will be coming out for the MKZ?

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What is your problem? Do you just like to fight with people. Your posts are always argumentative. I'm just looking to share, learn and vent here just like everyone else. Chill... you don't seem to have any sort of sense of humor.

Exactly, no reason to troll people, let's all get along and move along...

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What is your problem? Do you just like to fight with people. Your posts are always argumentative. I'm just looking to share, learn and vent here just like everyone else. Chill... you don't seem to have any sort of sense of humor.

 

(in any case) my dealer told me this morning that it is supposed to be able to connect to nearby hotspots like malls and Starbucks, but I can see how that would be useful for much. I wonder when the new app software will be coming out for the MKZ?

could not agree more XG!

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What is your problem? Do you just like to fight with people. Your posts are always argumentative. I'm just looking to share, learn and vent here just like everyone else. Chill... you don't seem to have any sort of sense of humor.

 

It seems like every post of yours complains about something and calls Ford or someone else an idiot because something doesn't work the way you think it should work.

 

I only argue with things that I think are incorrect or unfair.

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The only way that would work is if it had a built-in 3G or 4G/LTE modem which would be silly because you'd be stuck with it for the life of the vehicle and stuck with one carrier/transport. This way you can use any modem that your or anyone else already owns and you don't need a separate device or data plan.

 

So go ahead and tell us why the person who decided that is an idiot.

 

GM just announced today they're teaming with AT&T to offer 3G and faster Wi-Fi in vehicles. The original posters comments do not seem that far fetched or silly afterall.

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GM just announced today they're teaming with AT&T to offer 3G and faster Wi-Fi in vehicles. The original posters comments do not seem that far fetched or silly afterall.

 

I didn't say it was far-fetched or impossible. I said it would be silly to offer an embedded solution.

 

Go ask all of those folks who had analog On-Star embedded cell phones that no longer work because the cell companies switched to digital and they couldn't be upgraded.

 

With a dedicated/embedded cell modem you're forced to pay for a new phone number/subscription/data plan (even if it's embedded in the vehicle cost) and you can't really use that connection outside of the vehicle. Since it's tied to AT&T (or any other single provider) you may not get service everywhere and if you're not in a AT&T LTE coverage area you won't get the fastest data speeds anyway. And what happens when the next generation service appears - can you upgrade your existing modem? Will it cost extra?

 

 

Ford's solution is far better - plug in a USB cell modem of your choice from the vendor of your choice and use it for no extra charge. When it's not in the car you can use it for other devices. You don't have a separate phone number or pay for a separate plan. You can upgrade and stay current. You can switch carriers. You can borrow one from a friend for that road trip.

 

It's about flexibility and choices and GM's plan (just like OnStar) gives you neither.

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  • 2 weeks later...

So, just to clarify... does the WiFi work if you, let's say, park your MKZ outside of a McDonald's and leech off the signal there? Or do you absolutely have to have a USB 3G/4G modem linked to a wireless carrier? I'd really like the WiFi to work as a standalone feature.

Edited by VirtualAmerican
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It works (if you can get connected). But here's the thing - if MFT can connect to wi-fi then so can each of the other devices in the vehicle so at that point it's worthless. The USB stick works when you can't get a wi-fi signal. The original reason for the wi-fi connection was to use the built-in web browser when you don't have another device, but due to all of the problems with MFT the first 2 years.

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It works (if you can get connected). But here's the thing - if MFT can connect to wi-fi then so can each of the other devices in the vehicle so at that point it's worthless. The USB stick works when you can't get a wi-fi signal. The original reason for the wi-fi connection was to use the built-in web browser when you don't have another device, but due to all of the problems with MFT the first 2 years.

 

Oh OK, I understand. Regardless, I don't believe Ford has enabled too many Internet-dependent features in MFT/MLT for Canadian-purchased vehicles, so I'm not sure what kind of use I will have for this anyway. But the technology is there, and that's certainly cool.

 

Sure ain't your granddaddy's Lincoln (or your old man's Ford) anymore!

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Oh OK, I understand. Regardless, I don't believe Ford has enabled too many Internet-dependent features in MFT/MLT for Canadian-purchased vehicles, so I'm not sure what kind of use I will have for this anyway. But the technology is there, and that's certainly cool.

 

Sure ain't your granddaddy's Lincoln (or your old man's Ford) anymore!

 

I meant to say that due to problems with MFT they never got around to adding the web browser.

 

I see it being very useful in the future - it could be used to automatically download updates, health reports, etc. even when no phone was connected. I expect the next version of MFT to do a lot with it.

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I meant to say that due to problems with MFT they never got around to adding the web browser.

 

I see it being very useful in the future - it could be used to automatically download updates, health reports, etc. even when no phone was connected. I expect the next version of MFT to do a lot with it.

 

Sounds good to me. Historically speaking, has Ford/Lincoln been good with providing major MFT/MLT updates to current owners (not just newly built cars) without them having to pay to acquire them (compatibility allowing)? i.e. Can I expect to be able to use the web browser when it comes out without having to shell out additional cash to Ford for the update?

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Sounds good to me. Historically speaking, has Ford/Lincoln been good with providing major MFT/MLT updates to current owners (not just newly built cars) without them having to pay to acquire them (compatibility allowing)? i.e. Can I expect to be able to use the web browser when it comes out without having to shell out additional cash to Ford for the update?

 

MFT debuted in September 2010 on the 2011 Ford Edge. The first version was 1.8. Over the next year Ford released a new version of the software every 2-3 months trying to stabilize it. Early last year they released version 3.0 and mailed the update to every owner on a usb stick including a new SD card for Nav owners. Since then Ford has released 3.2 and 3.5 versions. Nobody that I know of has ever paid for a MFT upgrade even if it was done by the dealer. You can download your own updates from syncmyride.com for free and that probably won't change.

 

At some point Ford will stop providing new updates for MFT once a totally new version comes out but not sure when that will happen.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have a wifi connection built into my Audi's MMI, it uses google earth in the nav screen, provides a pretty good voice activated local search and wifi hotspot connectivity. Once the trial ends, the cost becomes 30/mnth through Tmobile. There are some alternative carriers like Tru who offer mbyte/$.12 pay as you go, but this is cumbersome and requires you to be savy with this stuff. IMO the feature is pretty lame, google earth is stupid and I can tether with my phone, so the only useful feature is searching for a destination via voice and sending to the nav for guidance - this actually works pretty well if you've tried Android 4 or later voice recognition.

 

What Ford is doing is far smarter, most cellular providers are going towards multi-device shared data plans and probably 9/10 people who own cars like this have smartphones. Besides, there will need to be a pretty significant leap in tech to actually make data within a cars infotainment useful, which is sort of catch 22 since driver focus should be on the road, not the center console. I'm interested to checkout the Tesla which to my understanding pretty much has a full fledged ipad in the console.

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