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Before I bought my most recent vehicle, I did my research and figured out how to physically disconnect the modem / telemetry unit.
by NotYourLawyer 2y ago
Before I bought my most recent vehicle, I did my research and figured out how to physically disconnect the modem / telemetry unit.
- sodality2 2y agoIs this actually feasible for some decent percentage of cars nowadays? If so, where did you research?
- NotYourLawyer 2y agoYouTube. I think in most cars it’s gonna be a discrete component that can just be unplugged. The big question is what functionality you lose, and whether you can live with that tradeoff.
- colonial 2y agoAnecdotally, my 2023 Kia's infotainment unit is one big plastic box that I was able to access by just prying up some plastic and undoing a handful of screws. I was applying some dielectric grease to the USB port used for Android Auto (in order to prevent intermittent disconnects while driving) but I wouldn't be surprised if one of the many other cables plugged into it led to a cell antenna on the exterior. There are also software options; I was able to disable the "telematics" in the same vehicle by inputting a (frankly schizophrenic) combo of rolling back the date, touching random invisible trigger zones in menus, and entering a leaked PIN to access the appropriate service menu on the infotainment unit. Figuring all that out was unfortunately quite difficult, although I imagine you might be able to get "official" help if your local dealership is friendly and willing to bend the rules. I had to settle for a lot of keyword massaging on Google.
- NotYourLawyer 2y ago> I was able to disable the "telematics" in the same vehicle This is only sufficient if you trust software, which you shouldn’t. Hardware disconnects are reliable. Cut the power.