Thoughts on Wi-Fi Connect?

From what I understand, the only benefit is if you have a car full of people and they all want to use your hotspot on a long trip. I use Carplay from my phone and will never need any of the Toyota, SiriusXM or AT&T subscriptions. The “cloud navigation’ isn’t even close to Apple or Google maps.

 

I can defend most of the paid services as having value to at least somebody, but Wi-Fi Connect is really tough. It saves you the 5 seconds it takes to turn your phone into a hotspot. Also, the data limit is a bit higher than some mobile plans(22GB/month before possible slowdown/my Verizon phone plan is 15GB).

Only value I could possibly see is if you are hauling at least two or three other people around daily and want the ease of not constantly setting up a hotspot. But $25/month is a lot to pay for saving yourself pausing for 5 seconds to turn on your phone hotspot before sticking it in the charger.

Also, the plan is through AT&T. In my neck of the woods, their coverage sucks. (It's all Verizon up here.)

Also, also of note: It's $20/month if you are already an AT&T customer. You can also get a discount if you prepay; $120 for 6 months, $200 for a year. Something called Warner Bros. Discovery RIDE is also included in all plans. I think it's free access to some WB content. Looks like some HBO Max, CNN, truTV, tbs, and adult swim/Cartoon Network. Seems like it's geared to kids and carpoolers. Can't say it sounds at all worth any money in an age where almost every adult already has a phone and the subscriptions they want, and most families have already figured out how to get all their kids' devices running.

And you can't even get rear seat devices/displays built into a Prius anyway. There's a tiny sliver of me that could see a tiny, tiny bit of potential value in a Sienna or Grand Highlander or something, but not a Prius.

 

The wifi connect did nothing for me and actually was more of an aggravation as my phone wanted to always connect to it. I'm glad it's gone now, although I swear I still see it in the wifi available list when I'm in the car. I really don't see the purpose of it. We run Spotify/google maps/anything through our phone's data plans anyway.

One thing that I really haven't dug into yet is the maps showing when a phone is not connected. I have a 2014 Jeep Cherokee and even if we do not connect our phones, the map can always show. For the 2023 Prius, IIRC, you must have a phone connected to pretty much do anything (if you don't have its on wifi plan like mentioned here).

To mention, when I say "anything", I'm not referring to FM radio. We use Spotify. (Do people still listen to commercial radio? How weird!) lol

 

Without Toyota's ATT wifi hotspot services, will Google maps still be accessible?

 

There is a small argument the built in cellular with outside antenna will have better coverage than a phone’s small antenna inside a metal box.

The lack of built in navigation that was essentially free and required no cellular on earlier models is a downgrade especially on trips. It would be like XM if it was only available on your phone - plenty of dropouts.

Toyota’s use of AT&T cellular in your car continues even after the wifi no longer works. Remote and Safety Connect for a year and Service Connect for ten years. Complete with vehicle tracking unless you specifically turn off the cellular.

 

You can use your phone with carplay to show the real time maps. Requires that you have a data plan though.

 

5th gen does not have built-in satellite navigation?

 

Yes. The built-in navigation is tied to the Drive Connect subscription, not the Wi-Fi Connect subscription.

 

The highest trims have a cloud based subscription nav. Costs monthly and dependent on cellular. Not like the earlier years. So CarPlay/aa run by your phone becomes the map and is subject to dropouts. I have heard google maps has a downloadable to your phone offline mode.

 

Google Maps definitely has an offline map mode. Although I usually use Apple Maps in CarPlay, when I travel into an area with sketchy cell phone coverage, I made sure to download the area into Google Maps before I leave and then use Google Maps for that trip.

The next major release of IOS (IOS 17) is supposed to provide the facility for the iPhone.

 

And all the previous gen's were satellite nav? Free-and-unfettered nav? Well until you needed a map update.

My 2010 dash looks like this btw:

 

I had DVD-based Nav in my 2006 and HDD-based Nav in my 2014, both satellite connected and "free", aside from absurdly expensive map updates. (I upgraded the DVD on my 2006 a few times finding discs on eBay back then, but never upgraded my 2014 NAV a single time, as I relied on Waze / Apple / Google on my mounted phone much more...I was still running 2013 maps in the 2014 car up until I let it go in August 2023. ). It was a nice 7" display though!

 

We're still listening to CD's in our '10's JBL 6 disc system. Funny that that's now hilariously "old-school". Have a clip on one of the centre air vent grills, to hold an iPhone, for occasional Google Maps duty, and an ancient Garmin satellite Nav tablet on a suction cup mount, clinging to the little corner triangle window. The latter has some advantages over Google Maps: always "on", satellite driven. Basically just our "where the heck are we" gizmo.

I may be coming down with @Tombukt2 itis...

 

I set up the Wi-Fi hotspot thing, but never used it yet and I don’t see a need for it. I have unlimited on my phone as do my whole family. I can’t think of anyone that I associate with that doesn’t have unlimited plans nowadays..

On the other hand for the digital key, do I need to keep paying for any services to keep that going eventually or will that always be there since I have digital key as an option?

 

You need remote connect for digital key to work. The car comes with a 1-year trial, but you'll need to pay $15/month after the year is up.

 

Our one year subscriptions (trial) run out tomorrow (edit: on our '23 Camry hybrid). We have had not figured out exactly what we will lose. I'm a geek (I repair software problems on computers, mostly for old people), and I still can't figure out just what is connected to what. For what these cars cost, the nice amenities should be available forever.

That said, I put a deposit on a Prius anyway (my guy says it is getting off the ship/customs/whatever they do at Portland.). Sigh.

 

???

You must be talking either about a different Toyota or a different trial. There's no way any of the one-year trials on a 2023 Prius could be running out already.

30-day trial: Wi-Fi Connect - turns the car into a Wi-Fi hotspot using AT&T 4G
1-year trial: Remote Connect - allows control of start/stop, locks, lights, and climate control through the Toyota app on a smart phone
1-year trial: Drive Connect - car-based navigation and access to a live person to give you directions
10-year trial: Safety Connect - emergency call for help, roadside assistance, stolen car locator
10-year trial: Service Connect - access to maintenance info, reminders on scheduled maintenance, in-app service appointment scheduling

 

Thx. I think I had the digital key confused with the other 10 year option, as someone else stated there’s so many different options and plans that are options or needed. It gets confusing.

Is the $15 a month paid to AT&T or is that through Toyota directly for the digital key?