Connect+.... I call bullshit

[godfodder0901]

Four pages of whining drama.

I haven’t signed up because the only thing I want is Apple Atmos, and it’s totally broken in my truck. None of the other features give me any value.

Pretty sure Atmos in Apple Music works while tethered.

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[SwampNut]

Pretty sure Atmos in Apple Music works while tethered.

Yes, definitely. I'm saying that I might be talked into it for the overall convenience, but since it's broken for me, moot point.

That is ALSO stupid. Like most people, I've fully reached subscription fatigue. $15 here, another $10 there, even $5 for some dumb thing, and the others for $20, etc etc. Just a couple weeks ago I set a goal to get all of them into one of those subscription trackers and really figure out what all this bullshit is costing us. I need to get off my ass and do that.

One of the monthly fees is the cell bill which includes 40GB of tethered data; which could be used to run the Rivian apps. And which makes the Rivian hotspot feature worthless.

Remember the senator who said, “A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking real money."

 

[jskyler]

Rivian isn't the only automaker where satelite map view is behind a pay wall. Audi I believe was the first and when our trial in my wifes Q5 ended we no longer had it.

I strongly believe this OEM trend towards subscriptions is not the way to go outside of areas where it is clear that a service costs the OEM money on a monthly basis - i.e., LTE. What really, really, bothers me about what Rivian has done with Connect+ is the following:
1) Alexa no longer works as it depends on the data connection. No other OEM has DISABLED their voice assistant because you are not paying for data. This is a very flawed decision.
2) There is no other seamless option to provide the in-car experience. I've not bothered with the Android Auto or CarPlay discussions because I got everything I needed. That is to say, I could play my music, I could ask Alexa to dial a phone number, and I could navigate easily. Now that this is gone, I dislike that I don't have another option and most other OEM's (not Tesla) allow for this flexibility.

With all of these features gone, my car has REGRESSED in capability and is less useful to me than comparable vehicles unless I pay for Connect+. It feels like I'm being forced into purchasing to enjoy some of the basics in the car.

This has me seriously rethinking my R2 reservation and starting to explore the other OEM's who, admittedly are not as forward thinking as Rivian, but at least understand there is a base level of service expected at this price point.

 

[bummin]

I have no issues with the $150, advancements in a software defined vehicle requires continuous investment in your teams to create software. I do however wish Rivian and other automakers would allow us to go with our current providers for cell service. AT&T is weaker in my area than Verizon and T-Mobile. I did testing for a month using all 3 providers, and Verizon consistently one in speed and low latency. 5G UW support would be a nice upgrade for most of us, not sure how embedded modems are in hardware.

I am waiting for all mfg who build software defined vehicles to build a paywall for enhancements for vehicles. No MFG promises lifetime upgrades, only that vehicles can be upgraded via OTA updates. Most companies only provide security fixes for free, updates come in a bundled service plan. Not that any of us like paying extra for stuff we got for free in the beginning, but Rivian would be smart to adopt this practice. Say $299/yr for updates and enhancements like we get now, and more for fully customizable themes and features you can play with year round. Halloween may be a novelty, but I am sure there are some hardcore Night Rider fans that would love the gui to look like KITT and be functional while driving.

Doubt they can get the air suspension to inflate fast enough for the famous jump Kitt does, but some cool dash graphics and sounds when you hit 88Mph would be sweet. Might even drown out the siren and lights behind you as you just did it in a 55mph zone

 

[boosted20v]

I strongly believe this OEM trend towards subscriptions is not the way to go outside of areas where it is clear that a service costs the OEM money on a monthly basis - i.e., LTE. What really, really, bothers me about what Rivian has done with Connect+ is the following:
1) Alexa no longer works as it depends on the data connection. No other OEM has DISABLED their voice assistant because you are not paying for data. This is a very flawed decision.
2) There is no other seamless option to provide the in-car experience. I've not bothered with the Android Auto or CarPlay discussions because I got everything I needed. That is to say, I could play my music, I could ask Alexa to dial a phone number, and I could navigate easily. Now that this is gone, I dislike that I don't have another option and most other OEM's (not Tesla) allow for this flexibility.

With all of these features gone, my car has REGRESSED in capability and is less useful to me than comparable vehicles unless I pay for Connect+. It feels like I'm being forced into purchasing to enjoy some of the basics in the car.

This has me seriously rethinking my R2 reservation and starting to explore the other OEM's who, admittedly are not as forward thinking as Rivian, but at least understand there is a base level of service expected at this price point.

I don't disagree with you on OEM's as a whole but it's most of them at this point. I mentioned it in another thread but I had to pay $35 a month to have LTE a working Nav period (let alone satalite view) and the use of Google Assistant. Granted it had AA/Car Play but not being able use native maps at all without a subscription was a bit much.

 

[godfodder0901]

I strongly believe this OEM trend towards subscriptions is not the way to go outside of areas where it is clear that a service costs the OEM money on a monthly basis - i.e., LTE. What really, really, bothers me about what Rivian has done with Connect+ is the following:
1) Alexa no longer works as it depends on the data connection. No other OEM has DISABLED their voice assistant because you are not paying for data. This is a very flawed decision.
2) There is no other seamless option to provide the in-car experience. I've not bothered with the Android Auto or CarPlay discussions because I got everything I needed. That is to say, I could play my music, I could ask Alexa to dial a phone number, and I could navigate easily. Now that this is gone, I dislike that I don't have another option and most other OEM's (not Tesla) allow for this flexibility.

With all of these features gone, my car has REGRESSED in capability and is less useful to me than comparable vehicles unless I pay for Connect+. It feels like I'm being forced into purchasing to enjoy some of the basics in the car.

This has me seriously rethinking my R2 reservation and starting to explore the other OEM's who, admittedly are not as forward thinking as Rivian, but at least understand there is a base level of service expected at this price point.

1) Alexa still works for vehicle control.
2) There is a seamless way: auto Hotspot from your phone. Everything works just like it did before, save the satellite maps overlay and the rich POI results.

 

[jfmuva]

This simply isn't true. I do not have Connect+ and use the apps via tethered phone every day. They all work great. If they don't work for you, something is wrong with your setup or carrier/plan.

Sounds great! Can you please tell me how to connect my phone with unlimited data so I can use Spotify and Alexa?

 

[godfodder0901]

Sounds great! Can you please tell me how to connect my phone with unlimited data so I can use Spotify and Alexa?

Setup a hotspot on your phone. Connect the truck to that hotspot. Done!

 

[tate16t]

Sounds great! Can you please tell me how to connect my phone with unlimited data so I can use Spotify and Alexa?

This video may help somewhat. I don’t believe Alexa will work with this approach.

 

[godfodder0901]

This video may help somewhat. I don’t believe Alexa will work with this approach.

It does.

 

[Mark_AZR1T]

It does.

Can you control Amazon Music via Alexa with this approach? Alexa Play Enter Sand Man....Nope..

 

[godfodder0901]

Can you control Amazon Music via Alexa with this approach? Alexa Play Enter Sand Man....Nope..

100% you can. I do it litteraly every day.

 

[gultin]

Hard to read through the entire thread here ?, but can someone be a dear and summarize what "Connect+ features" currently WILL work and what WONT work from Rivian's side when I tether the vehicle to my phone's hotspot (assuming of course that my phone's data plan isn't blocking anything)?

 

[godfodder0901]

Hard to read through the entire thread here ?, but can someone be a dear and summarize what "Connect+ features" currently WILL work and what WONT work from Rivian's side when I tether the vehicle to my phone's hotspot (assuming of course that my phone's data plan isn't blocking anything)?

It's pretty clear on their site but here you go:

1. Satellite imagery
2. Rich POI search reaults
3. Gear Guard Live Cam

That's it.

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