What Happens to Carwings in January 2017?

RegGuheert said:

DaveinOlyWA said:

probably will be celebrating its 7th year anniversary of the day its technology became outdated

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6th, methinks.

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that would have to assume that the tech was relevant on launch day. they could just move to Verizon I guess

http://gigaom.com/2012/10/11/when-will-verizon-shutter-its-cdma-networks-2021-maybe/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

DaveinOlyWA said:

RegGuheert said:

DaveinOlyWA said:

probably will be celebrating its 7th year anniversary of the day its technology became outdated

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6th, methinks.

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that would have to assume that the tech was relevant on launch day. they could just move to Verizon I guess

http://gigaom.com/2012/10/11/when-will-verizon-shutter-its-cdma-networks-2021-maybe/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Verizon isn't GSM. They would 100% have to switch out modem hardware, and then the car wouldn't be useful outside of the states. GSM is the reigning standard, they might as well stick with it.

It should be pointed out that AT&T does not hold a monopoly on providing service to GSM devices that run on the PCS band. T-Mobile also runs on that band (they ultimately bought Sprint's GSM network when they switched to CDMA). Post 2017, Nissan could simply switch carriers and send SIM cards to dealerships.

But we all know that Nissan has no long term commitment planned for this car reaching beyond 5 years. Nissan must see the LEAF as a disposable car. Drive it for 5 years then recycle it.

In all honesty, outside of the battery, I think this car has real potential to last a very long time. The car seems, to me, to be built to an atypical Nissan standard.

2k1Toaster said:

Verizon isn't GSM. They would 100% have to switch out modem hardware, and then the car wouldn't be useful outside of the states. GSM is the reigning standard, they might as well stick with it.

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i think the point of my comment was that the technology of Carwings was a mistake prior to Day One. never even should have been started

If you go to a Nissan dealership and look at a new LEAF you will see a disclaimer for CARWINGS becoming non-functional after ATT 2G goes offline. It basically says if you want CARWINGS to work after that you will have to pay to have the telematics upgraded.

mgoleta said:

If you go to a Nissan dealership and look at a new LEAF you will see a disclaimer for CARWINGS becoming non-functional after ATT 2G goes offline. It basically says if you want CARWINGS to work after that you will have to pay to have the telematics upgraded.

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I guess everyone is going to know what its like to drive a model S Leaf soon!

Too bad the LEAF can't use a WiFi network, as it would at least cover your regular parking spots (home, office, etc.), or you could even use a portable hotspot. WiFi could have saved Nissan some real coin on bandwidth as well, and make updates/interaction much faster.

I guess this explains why there still is no subscription cost info for CarWings, as they are probably waiting as long as possible, so they could incorporate the cost for hardware upgrades.

I secretly hope that the myEV IndieGoGo project will figure out a way of controlling the HVAC/charging process, but that's assuming this is even possible via CAN.

Simple solution - get rid of your Leaf and buy a Tesla Model III X when it comes out in 2017. Solution solved.

Pipcecil said:

Simple solution - get rid of your Leaf and buy a Tesla Model III X when it comes out in 2017. Solution solved.

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Feel free to fund that solution for me. :|

eclecticflower said:

Pipcecil said:

Simple solution - get rid of your Leaf and buy a Tesla Model III X when it comes out in 2017. Solution solved.

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Feel free to fund that solution for me. :|

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Ditto.

As far as the 2G goes, I'm sure by mid 2015 Nissan will have some definitive plan for it. If not, I expect 3rd parties to offer 3/4G upgrades.

Here's the big problem though, and probably why Nissan used 2G to begin with; 3G data service will cost more than 2G service. Just because 2G is being decommissioned does not mean using 3G will be free. With those 3rd party upgrades, you may have to pay AT&T for a data plan for your car, on top of the fee (if any) for using CarWings.

2G->3G isn't as simple as a lot of people seem to believe. It's more than just a hardware change. 3G GSM or CDMA would probably be a trivial difference compared to the costs for a data plan that would likely be necessary. Given that, it might be cheapest to go with CDMA on Verizon's Edge plan, which you could add to your plan for $10/mo.

Who knows what will change in the ~2.5 years left of 2G.

I actually don't use carwings anymore because I had to log in every time, it seemed. But I will say that no one was secretive about the fact that the the 2g system had short legs. I was not promised anything. I'd love to see a good hack of the whole car and I think it is just a matter of time.

DanDietrich said:

I actually don't use carwings anymore because I had to log in every time, it seemed. But I will say that no one was secretive about the fact that the the 2g system had short legs. I was not promised anything. I'd love to see a good hack of the whole car and I think it is just a matter of time.

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At one point in time, this was an actual bug. If you don't have the latest version, try updating, and see if you still experience this issue (it was resolved).

mgoleta said:

If you go to a Nissan dealership and look at a new LEAF you will see a disclaimer for CARWINGS becoming non-functional after ATT 2G goes offline. It basically says if you want CARWINGS to work after that you will have to pay to have the telematics upgraded.

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FWIW. The disclaimer also says that the dealer should not sign buyers up for CARWINGS. When I purchased my LEAF this Spring the salesman and I called Nissan together to try to clarify what he should do. The Nissan rep said to continue signing people up on CARWINGS and that Nissan was negotiating a new contract with a third party 2G provider. We will see if that actually happens.

Stanton makes a valid point and my inside source "indicates" he is correct. Nissan is aware that many of their customers rely on Carwings for a number of issues as they rely on their mobile app. I leased my first Nissan Leaf and replaced it with a purchase two weeks ago. I'm very happy with my Leaf.

Why would Nissan pay developers for a Carwings app upgrade if end state was termination? The other app was adequate for next 19 months.

bnwarner said:

Nissan is aware that many of their customers rely on Carwings for a number of issues as they rely on their mobile app.

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That's something, but not all..
Nissan also gathers a LOT of useful data by having carwings..
I think that, more than anything, will make a difference.. (If anything does)

desiv

Hi,
We received the owner notification today for updating the Telematics Control Unit (TCU).
The upgrade is a co-pay of $199 total. (incl parts/labor).

Does this only affect 2011 year models?

Is anyone accepting Nissan's offer?

Is there any existing class action in-play ? (I think its Nissan's product mistake- they should have known to put a 2G/3G module in the first place instead of cheaping out on 2011 models)

Should affected owners wait it out for a while- say till 2018 and then perform the update?

Thanks for any insights.....

^^^
This affects all US Leafs model years 2011 to 2015. We've known about this for a long time (e.g. http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=18616). Model year 2015 folks won't have to pay for the TCU upgrade.

If you wait until 2018 or whatever, then you will be without working Carwings/Nissanconnect beginning the day AT&T shuts down their 2G network in your area.

Many of the questions were answered (except the price and correct timing) at https://www.nissanusa.com/connect/faq under NissanConnectSM EV
IMPORTANT FAQS REGARDING 2G CELLULAR NETWORK CHANGES AND IMPACT TO ACCESS TO NISSANCONNECT EV[*].