A6 avant face lift - 4g or 3G and data plans

[Barticus]

Hi guys

Another forum newbie. I've been told that car being built now and here in 2/3rd week in May. Can't wait. Decided to spec s line, tow bar, tinted glass and the sat nav upgrade. I do 22k miles per year and wanted the gadgets to keep me company. Wanted an alloy wheel upgrade but decided against as I've spec'd the firmer suspension and the missus wouldn't let me add any more options.

I've been reading with interest the various threads and disappointed as an iPhone user rsap is not supported. But as its a work phone would prefer to keep it separate. Phoned the dealer and they said normal size sim and 4g supported. Some threads suggest its 3G only.

2 questions

1) does the better tech pack sat nav support 4g
2) the dealer said about 1gig usage per month. Looking at plans for 2gig per month data only and best price is £11 per month through BT as an existing customer. Has anyone got a better deal they can tell me about.

Many thanks

[M1tchy]

The new Audi connect pack (new facelift cars) support 4G. Older ones like mine only support 3G.

The dealer must drive to the moon every day to use that much! Once you have driven a route (your daily commute for example) the car caches the data on its HDD so doesn't need to re-stream it. I now use about 600mb a month including the wife using the Internet.

There are loads of plans out there and a thread about 10 pages long on here somewhere. I've been using the disposable 3 SIM cards for about £17 for 3GB or 3 months and never run out. I now have a second sim on my contract that shares its data through EE and again it's not out me over my contracted allowance.


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[Westyfield2]

The pre-facelift cars only support 3G. Not 3.5G HSDPA or 4G LTE.
The facelift cars should apparently support 3.5G HSDPA and 4G LTE

I'm using a Three pre-paid data SIM like M1tchy above. I'd be most intrigued to know if the UMTS module inside the MMI unit could be replaced on a pre-facelift car to enable 3.5G HSDPA or 4G LTE...

[M1tchy]

Ooooo, good point. I wonder if it can be changed! [emoji3]


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[Westyfield2]

From what I know, the UMTS/GSM connectivity is just a board inside the unit. That way Audi can supply different versions for different markets.

The question is, would a newer board from an A3 or facelift A6 work inside of our units?

[Splash]

Welcome Barticus.

A lot depends on whether you are wanting just data, or calls too. An inexpensive place to start and test the concept is with EE's £1/week data pack which gives 100Mb + 10 mins + + 10 texts. You only need to top-up £5 so it is an easy place to start. Your initial data use may be higher as you play about with queries etc. etc. and as already mentioned, the "Best Value Data SIM" thread has loads of info.

Keep in mind the ability to receive calls on the SIM is handy if for many reasons including being low on battery when a divert can make all the difference to what's left when you get out at your destination.

I'm in a 2G area, so we rely on photon morse as a backup when out of signal- but I'm not planning to upgrade to xenons. ;)

[Barticus]

The pre-facelift cars only support 3G. Not 3.5G HSDPA or 4G LTE.
The facelift cars should apparently support 3.5G HSDPA and 4G LTE

I'm using a Three pre-paid data SIM like M1tchy above. I'd be most intrigued to know if the UMTS module inside the MMI unit could be replaced on a pre-facelift car to enable 3.5G HSDPA or 4G LTE...

Thank you for all your replies. I think I'll get a pay as you go data sim and see if 1gig is enough. Visiting lots of new destinations and may find street view handy to find those difficult locations. Wife may also use wifi in car. Happy that it's 4g too. Only a few weeks to wait now.

[bingodingo]

I have a facelift that supports LTE/4G. I am using a 4G EE sim bought off eBay. Data only. You 6GB for use over 3 months from the day you activate for £15. Works very well.


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[Barticus]

Thanks that's a good tip.

[Barticus]

just to let you all know. If you're an EE customer already they have a tablet data only plan which you can add as a second line for £10 per month 24 month contract and you get 2gb of data on their extensive 4g network. You also get free an Alcatel mini tablet with an rrp of £100. If you sold it on eBay you could get 5/6 months of data for free. The guy in the shop was very helpful and supplied me with a multi sim to fit into the dash!