oblio98

Anyone have this issue? I can't remember what the process was when I first got the car last July and signed up with AT&T, but because I had issues with the latest update failing, I reset my Infotainment back to Factory Defaults. When it booted up fresh, the HotSpot was off. When I activated it, I got the "Server Not Available" message and it's been like that ever since (about 5 days).

I checked my AT&T account and it's fine. So what I don't remember is if there was something I had to do in the Infotainment to activate the HotSpot. Anyone know, or anyone else ever see this issue.

I'd appreciate it if you'd let me know.

THANKS

garunas

oblio98

I haven't had a chance to get to the dealer about this, but I still have the problem. I wonder if it's a software problem?

I use that connection with my radar detector, which uses wifi info for warnings and stuff, but I wonder how many owners actually have the service? I suppose I'll stop in to the dealer sometime this week, but I don't hold any hope that they'll know anything about it.

If you go to the AT&T website for this feature, there is absolutely no link anywhere for support at all.

https://myvehicle.att.com/#/login

Madd Dog

ToniRDX19

Lance H

My car is also showing Service Unavailable, but when I connect to the HotSpot with my phone, it actually works fine. I can see the data consumption on ATT website as well.

oblio98

Son of a gun, you're right! I brought my phone out to the car with the sole purpose of checking the HotSpot and it was there, the password had just changed. I would guess that happened either on the software update or when I reset the unit back to factory defaults.

Anyway, my radar detector is back on line, and everything seems to be working now, except for that "Server Not Available" screen.

ceb

So le me ask a very foolish question - what is the advantage of using the AT&T hotspot versus using your current phone as a hotspot?

Lance H

Because there is 3 months' ATT trail, save some data for my phone

89kraus

In theory the built-in cell radio should be able to achieve a stronger more consistent signal than a cell phone, especially in area's of marginal coverage.
The antenna can be larger, and can transmit with more power as it does not have to balance battery life vs cell reception like a phone.
The antenna location can also be optimized so that the metal vehicle body does not interfere as much.

I've also heard that some cell phone wifi chips are not really optimized for being used as a hotspot, and the more devices you connect at the same time, the slower the wifi becomes.
I don't know if this is still an issue or not. Regardless using your phone as a hotspot will drain the battery faster, or possibly overheat the phone if plugged in and used as a hotspot for long periods of time.

Personally unless you are on the road constantly and your car is basically your office, or you have several small children who need to be entertained, I don't think it is worth it. But everyone's needs are different.

gqchicago

I'm having the same problems others have reported here. I signed up for the AT&T service, and on the car, a 2019 Acura RDX SH-AWD A-Spec Apex Blue Pearl.

no matter what I do, the screen says "server unavailable error"

I called Acura support, they transferred me over to AT&T car support:
866-595-1222 direct support for in car ATT services

They were very helpful, first, they reset the cell tower connection to the car, then got level 2 support on the line. The account checked out ok, everything is activated and turned on. Oh, you will get a separate phone # assigned for your car's service, during signup, it's helpful if you have this information and your VIN # written down somewhere.

Level 2 engineering ran a complete set of diagnostics and communication to the car. It all checks out green on their end, but I still get the error. We also rebooted and reset the car several times, and enabled/disabled the hotspot. Same results.

They want me to coordinate a call with Acura now.

They have no records of this being a known issue. The service and car is supported and officially supposed to be working.

In the meantime they will not charge me for account fees while we are troubleshooting the issue.

Now I need to find a spare hour to get both Acura and AT&T back on the phone together.

AT&T wanted me to take it to a dealership. They kept asking if the hardware in the car is ok....I personally think it must be because it's a brand new car, and other vehicle data communication services are working just fine. Your Acura car communicates with AT&T for other car services already, Acura pays fees to AT&T to use their data network to "talk" to the cars....even if you don't sign up directly yourself.

So if the other car data services are working ok, and they can "ping" the car and all is green, and only the AT&T Wifi hotspot feature isn't working correctly, then we are speculating that it is a software problem with the Acura software in the vehicle.

I feel like this issue is something the dealer is not going to be able to cope with?

oblio98

Forget the dealer, he won't have a clue. It's obviously a bug with the latest firmware download, as it happened to me after D.1.1.2 went in. Prior to that download, it always showed the proper info.
The fact that everything works yet the display is wrong indicates to me that it's just a display bug in the car. The wrong screen is being sent to the monitor, that's all.

Madd Dog

My ATT hotspot never worked, and I never got any satisfying answers from anyone. Since I am on Verizon, don’t have kids in the car, and my wife and I never go over our data limit, I never saw the need for it anyway.

hans471

I have yet to figure out the AT&T "trial" offer. I go in to attempt to connect and I get "server not available". I gave up.

I did learn, by accident, that Verizon would give me unlimited data on our phones for the same low price as we paid for just 4 Gig. Seems if you are a long time customer and over 55 they will do this...but only if you ask, :-)

We use our phones all the time as "hot spots" for our computers so I will just use it for the car also I guess.