luxpow Posted July 28, 2016 Report Share Posted July 28, 2016 MFT had a way to set up a car WiFi network with a plethora of connectivity options. In Sync 3 (2016 Edge), I cant find any such thing. It seems the car can now only be a WiFi client. Is this how its supposed to be or am I missing something ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted July 28, 2016 Report Share Posted July 28, 2016 It's not available as far as I know. The built in modems only support sync connect which I think is why there is no data plan charge. Almost every cell phone nowadays can be a wifi hotspot so it's really not that useful of a feature and would simply be another monthly fee and something you'd have to upgrade - regardless of what GM tells you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luxpow Posted July 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2016 My 2014 Ford Escape had the possibility to be the WiFi hotspot itself and use the phone via USB/BT/WiFi as the internet uplink. There was no modem inside the car or associated data plan charges. The only part that I wanted to use from that was this : I could use the Cars WiFi SSID presence as a trigger for my phone to turn bluetooth on/off. Else BT eats up my phones batter like anything. My phone doesnt have NFC and I am not buying another phone anytime soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted July 28, 2016 Report Share Posted July 28, 2016 Well that's certainly a unique use case. You could get a cheap travel router and leave it plugged in with an adapter/inverter. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luxpow Posted July 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2016 That's a fantastic idea. I could do that or use a cheap Android phone with a car charger and keep its wifi hotspot always on. But that would be clutter in the car and drain cars battery and/or cause other electrical and thermal issues. But worth it if it can be extended to serve same purpose as sync connect by connecting it to obd port ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted July 28, 2016 Report Share Posted July 28, 2016 What do you use the bluetooth for and what kind of phone do you have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjonis Posted July 28, 2016 Report Share Posted July 28, 2016 My 2014 Ford Escape had the possibility to be the WiFi hotspot itself and use the phone via USB/BT/WiFi as the internet uplink. There was no modem inside the car or associated data plan charges. The only part that I wanted to use from that was this : I could use the Cars WiFi SSID presence as a trigger for my phone to turn bluetooth on/off. Else BT eats up my phones batter like anything. My phone doesnt have NFC and I am not buying another phone anytime soon. Do you have Android? I had an app that would automagically connect/disconnect the BT to save on the battery. It was a free app. If you have iOS, it "just works" and doesn't suck the battery like Android does. At least on my iPhone 6s. Otherwise you could also use IFTT (If this then that). You can even get these little tags and put one in your car and when the phone gets near it (although it may require NFC, I don't recall) it kicks off the task. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted July 28, 2016 Report Share Posted July 28, 2016 An app would be the best solution - but how would it know that you're in range of a bluetooth connection without bluetooth being on? Or does it just turn it on long enough to check for a connection then turns it back off? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luxpow Posted July 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2016 Akirby is right. An app would obviously be needed but the problem is finding the correct trigger for turning bluetooth on. I just started using the app called "Tasker". Right now it is set to periodically turn BT on, scan nearby BT devices and stay on if Sync is found. But problem is the frequency of checks. When the screen is on, it scans every 30 seconds, when screen off then every 600 seconds. The periodic scans will still drain the battery and, AND it still would not turn BT on the moment I get in the car. I have wifi on all the time anyways, so a trigger based on that would be more ideal for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted July 28, 2016 Report Share Posted July 28, 2016 Sounds like you need a new phone........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
factor99 Posted July 28, 2016 Report Share Posted July 28, 2016 I leave my BT on all the time, When I updated my Android phone to Marshmallow the BT started using almost half of the battery even though Marshmallow has better battery saving options. t turns out my Gas Buddy app was the cause. When I uninstalled Gas Buddy, the BT battery use went back down to negligible. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luxpow Posted July 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2016 I leave my BT on all the time, When I updated my Android phone to Marshmallow the BT started using almost half of the battery even though Marshmallow has better battery saving options. t turns out my Gas Buddy app was the cause. When I uninstalled Gas Buddy, the BT battery use went back down to negligible. Thats interesting. How did you find the culprit ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
factor99 Posted July 28, 2016 Report Share Posted July 28, 2016 A quick search told me that the issue was caused by apps that constantly access the BT, There were one or two mentions of Gas Buddy so I uninstalled it to see the effect. . 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjonis Posted July 29, 2016 Report Share Posted July 29, 2016 An app would be the best solution - but how would it know that you're in range of a bluetooth connection without bluetooth being on? Or does it just turn it on long enough to check for a connection then turns it back off? Rats, I forgot that it doesn't turn on automagically. I used an IFTTT with the tag thingy (but I think that required NFC) so that when I put it in the car holster (one of those that mount on the dash/windshield and you charge it). I'll post the name of the app I used (in my case, I had--still have-- the Samsung Galaxy S4 which is notorious for Bluetooth issues after the Android upgrade) - so had to use a third party app to enable both BT profiles (the Galaxy S4 has a nasty habit of turning BT on, but only enabling one profile, and my Pioneer Head Unit wants/needs BOTH of them). I will say my iPhone is 800% better on battery than the Android. (obviously there ARE other drawbacks). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luxpow Posted July 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2016 (edited) Rats, I forgot that it doesn't turn on automagically. I used an IFTTT with the tag thingy (but I think that required NFC) so that when I put it in the car holster (one of those that mount on the dash/windshield and you charge it). I'll post the name of the app I used (in my case, I had--still have-- the Samsung Galaxy S4 which is notorious for Bluetooth issues after the Android upgrade) - so had to use a third party app to enable both BT profiles (the Galaxy S4 has a nasty habit of turning BT on, but only enabling one profile, and my Pioneer Head Unit wants/needs BOTH of them). I will say my iPhone is 800% better on battery than the Android. (obviously there ARE other drawbacks). Maybe you used the app called Tasker as well. Thats what I am using also but it is trivial to use. I tried setting it to periodically turn BT on to see if Sync3 is nearby, If so, keep BT on else turn it off. But this simple "profile" doesnt work reliably. So I am now setting it to turn BT off if I am connected to WiFi (since that means I am at home/office) and turn it on when not connected to WiFi. When turning BT on, it stays on for 15 minutes and then turns off if not connected to anything. But still so many other cases to handle. The app has a learning curve to cross. Edited July 29, 2016 by luxpow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
factor99 Posted July 29, 2016 Report Share Posted July 29, 2016 When i had my BT battery drain issue I tried an auto BT app (can't remember the exact name and there are a bunch with similar icons - blue with the BT symbol). It wasn't perfect but it worked well. It may have known I was in the car though location (ie, when the BT disconnected) and velocity. The description said it would know the difference if I was taking the bus (but I have an Edge, why would I take the bus!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luxpow Posted July 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2016 (edited) I feel so silly for not thinking of ESP8266 for taking akirby's idea to fruition. Its a tiny $6 WiFi module which supports both client and AP (access point) modes. I should be able to build a quick circuit that plugs into one of the USB ports in car. When Car turns on, so will the circuit which creates a WiFi network my cell can detect to turn BT on or off. Or I might just make it a battery powered circuit and recharge/replace batteries when needed. Now I am feeling smart again :-) Edited July 30, 2016 by luxpow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted July 31, 2016 Report Share Posted July 31, 2016 Or get an iPhone and join us on the Dark Side..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enigma-2 Posted August 1, 2016 Report Share Posted August 1, 2016 (edited) Orrrrrrrrrrr, turn your Optimus Prime mode on your Android and prepare to battle the evil Decepticon iPhone throughout the universe. Edited August 1, 2016 by enigma-2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luxpow Posted August 22, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2016 Built it finally ! I keep this plugged in car's USB port. When car starts, it emits a WiFi network SSID. Mobile phone use app called "Tasker" to turn BT on/off if this SSID is seen/notseen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted August 23, 2016 Report Share Posted August 23, 2016 You're welcome! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luxpow Posted August 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2016 (edited) You're welcome! Well actually thanks to you twice because I did end up buying a new phone (S7 Edge) as well :-) (for different reasons) I could use NFC tags with new phone now but AFAIK it would still need me to take my phone out of pocket to tap somewhere. Plus NFC would need to be kept on always (even though it might use very little battery, its still extra) Hey, now my car and phone are both "Edge" :-) Edited August 23, 2016 by luxpow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted August 23, 2016 Report Share Posted August 23, 2016 Never understood the benefit of the "edge" feature. Do you actually use it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luxpow Posted August 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2016 Never understood the benefit of the "edge" feature. Do you actually use it? Nope. It just makes the phone look good and bigger. It is actually more issues than use. holding the phone is a PITA as you basically end up touching the screen with multiple fingers and the real touches dont register. So had to get a case which fortunately was not hard to find. Now no issues. There are widgets designed to display some stuff on the edge like a ruler, data usage meter, news feed etc. Some look pretty but I dont see why displaying something on edge is better than anywhere else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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