# Premium Connectivity Poll



## GDN (Oct 30, 2017)

Just a simple poll - it came up in another thread. Do you have premium connectivity and do you pay extra for it? If you've got more than one car you can vote more than once - up to 3 times.


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## Mr. Spacely (Feb 28, 2019)

$9.99 is a bargain for live traffic visualization, satellite view maps, music streaming, and internet browser. I rarely use video streaming or Caraoke, but use the other features daily...


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## shareef777 (Mar 10, 2019)

Personally, I live off my phone. EVERYTHING I do in life is tied back to it. Music (AppleMusic) and browser (favorites) are already on my phone and there's no way to sync that back to my vehicle. On top of that I've always preferred map view (vs satellite) and have found traffic information to never actually update my navigation to a faster route. In car entertainment is another one that needs to get synced back to my phone (always seem to get logged out of YouTube).

I'd be curious to know the mileage that people drive who also pay for the premium connectivity. Got my 3 in 3/2019, a year in and I put in just under 10k miles and never found any value in the premium connectivity. Wondering if those that find value just sit in their car significantly longer. I probably sat in my car more then 30min only a handful of times in the 2.5 years I've owned it.


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## GDN (Oct 30, 2017)

@shareef777 Check the poll and update answers if necessary.


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## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

While I have lifetime premium connectivity on my current car, I'll probably try going without on subsequent purchases.
I believe most of that functionality is also active if you tether the car to your phone. I'll probably make-do with that.


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## shareef777 (Mar 10, 2019)

garsh said:


> While I have lifetime premium connectivity on my current car, I'll probably try going without on subsequent purchases.
> I believe most of that functionality is also active if you tether the car to your phone. I'll probably make due with that.


I went that route for a while, but stopped bothering as there was zero change to my daily drive.


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## MJJ (Aug 7, 2016)

Most days I'll have lunch in the car and watch Netflix. Nicest lunch room I've ever had.


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## mrwug (Aug 4, 2021)

BMW charges me $50/yr just to be able to remote lock my car and another $50 for live traffic. In that light, I don't have a problem paying $10/mo for Premium Connectivity.


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## DocScott (Mar 6, 2019)

I don't own a smart phone. I save a lot more doing that than I'm paying for my premium connectivity.


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## shareef777 (Mar 10, 2019)

DocScott said:


> I don't own a smart phone. I save a lot more doing that than I'm paying for my premium connectivity.


There's quiet a difference in paying for a service you can only use while in your vehicle and one that you can use pretty much everywhere including said vehicle.


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## DocScott (Mar 6, 2019)

shareef777 said:


> There's quiet a difference in paying for a service you can only use while in your vehicle and one that you can use pretty much everywhere including said vehicle.


Yes there is: about $600 per year difference.


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## shareef777 (Mar 10, 2019)

DocScott said:


> Yes there is: about $600 per year difference.


$360 (for my T-Mobile plan): can use any time/place including international and even in the pool

$120: can use only for the limited times I'm in the car (and even less functional when the car is in motion).

3X the price for 100X more functionality and usefulness 🤷‍♂️

At the end of the day a mobile voice/data plan is a necessity (more so for jobs), a vehicle internet plan is a first world luxury.


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## MJJ (Aug 7, 2016)

shareef777 said:


> At the end of the day a mobile voice/data plan is a necessity (more so for jobs), a vehicle internet plan is a first world luxury.


I'm in the opposite camp. I can usually find a land line (I spend 90% of my time at work or at home) and if I can't, whatever it is can wait. If I was required to have mobile for work, my employer would have to provide it (even if I did have a mobile phone, I wouldn't use it for work purposes. Boundary). But having the full function of maps and streaming in my car, sure, it's a luxury, but it is a very useful one.


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## Klaus-rf (Mar 6, 2019)

DocScott said:


> Yes there is: about $600 per year difference.


There are unl talk./unl text/some data cell plans available for $15/mo.

Just Sayin!


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## shareef777 (Mar 10, 2019)

MJJ said:


> I'm in the opposite camp. I can usually find a land line (I spend 90% of my time at work or at home) and if I can't, whatever it is can wait. If I was required to have mobile for work, my employer would have to provide it (even if I did have a mobile phone, I wouldn't use it for work purposes. Boundary). But having the full function of maps and streaming in my car, sure, it's a luxury, but it is a very useful one.


You do realize you're in the extreme minority. People living in poverty in 3rd world countries have mobile devices/phones. A majority of high schoolers (and to an extent middle schoolers) have them as well. On top of that, land lines are an extreme minority now (when's the last time you saw a payphone!). Most companies are now going towards soft phones and VOIP as well. I'd wager that 99% of the forum members have at least one mobile device in their homes.

And if I were you (just a suggestion) I'd invest that money towards a mobile phone as your cars data plan won't be much help if you get stuck and/or need to reach out to someone in an emergency (car issues wether an accident or mechanical/electrical).


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## MJJ (Aug 7, 2016)

shareef777 said:


> You do realize you're in the extreme minority.


Sigh, yes, I do realize that about a great many things. I do think it's a triumph of wireless marketing that so many people think they "need" a cell phone though, especially as you point out in subsistence economies.


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## shareef777 (Mar 10, 2019)

MJJ said:


> Sigh, yes, I do realize that about a great many things. I do think it's a triumph of wireless marketing that so many people think they "need" a cell phone though, especially as you point out in subsistence economies.


Personally, with a working spouse and 3 kids, our mobile phones ARE necessities. More so then our vehicles!


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## MJJ (Aug 7, 2016)

shareef777 said:


> Personally, with a working spouse and 3 kids, our mobile phones ARE necessities. More so then our vehicles!


I'll admit that when our kids were in high school, having a mobile phone facilitated activities. But necessity? No. It's a luxury, and a concession to laziness, that agreeing in the morning that they would be at X or Y location at 3:30 that afternoon is thinking too far ahead.


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## shareef777 (Mar 10, 2019)

MJJ said:


> a concession to laziness


Strong words, must be nice living in the 80s 🙄


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## M3OC Rules (Nov 18, 2016)

MJJ said:


> Most days I'll have lunch in the car and watch Netflix. Nicest lunch room I've ever had.


Covid trained us to get takeout and eat in the car and watch Schitt's Creek.


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## DocScott (Mar 6, 2019)

I'll admit I'm being technically honest but a little misleading nonetheless. I have an iPad with cellular service. Counting fees, it's $14/month for 2GB. That's much cheaper than typical "unlimited" phone service, but it means I do have access to texting, calling a Lyft, unlocking a Citibike, etc.. It also acts as my "phone" for unlocking my Tesla. 

Incidentally, I also don't have a traditional landline; I use Google Voice and a VOIP setup, so I have no monthly cost for that.


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## MJJ (Aug 7, 2016)

M3OC Rules said:


> Covid trained us to get takeout and eat in the car and watch Schitt's Creek.


I've never worked anyplace where it's so pervasive but most of us lunch in our cars and were doing so before covid. I thought I was weird for months for doing it but then I noticed all the cars had people in them.


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## msjulie (Feb 6, 2018)

I rarely use any of the benefit of my free premium connectivity but I might use it a little once the car can stream it's cameras to me; paid for by work, my connectivity is provided by my phone so there's that too.


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## TeslaTony310 (Jan 15, 2020)

garsh said:


> While I have lifetime premium connectivity on my current car, I'll probably try going without on subsequent purchases.
> I believe most of that functionality is also active if you tether the car to your phone. I'll probably make-do with that.


Not correct. None of it works with a tethered phone, while moving anyway. Not the streaming, not the traffic visualization. The streaming of video works while parked. Haven't tried car-oake

At least, it didn't a year or so ago. Maybe they enabled it?? 🤷‍♂️


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## SoFlaModel3 (Apr 15, 2017)

Missing some categories — some will be on 1 year trials and new cars now on 30 day trials. 

I could go with the tether from my phone, but $9.99 is too cheap to not keep good functionality.


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