Is the A110 being tracked online?
Discussion
Hi,
Does anyone know if the A110 is being tracked online by Alpine/Renault?
I mean data (position, speed, accelerations, diagnostics, etc.) are being sent to some server for monitoring/analysis?
And does the infotainment system receive for example traffic updates through a cellular connection?
If yes, does this happen only through a connected phone (using the phone's mobile network) or would the A110 have cellular services of its own?
No, i don't plan to use the car for any illegal activities, i just don't want to be tracked.
Cheers,
Byrge
Does anyone know if the A110 is being tracked online by Alpine/Renault?
I mean data (position, speed, accelerations, diagnostics, etc.) are being sent to some server for monitoring/analysis?
And does the infotainment system receive for example traffic updates through a cellular connection?
If yes, does this happen only through a connected phone (using the phone's mobile network) or would the A110 have cellular services of its own?
No, i don't plan to use the car for any illegal activities, i just don't want to be tracked.
Cheers,
Byrge
If you have the Telematics option (standard on the S I believe) the data would be available on the car screen and on your mobile App.
Not aware of anything being fed back to the manufacturer though, but I guess it's possible if it is finding its way to a server to populate the App.
Your worry about data from the car may be misplaced though - if you have a modern smartphone tracking all of that stuff is already being done.
Not aware of anything being fed back to the manufacturer though, but I guess it's possible if it is finding its way to a server to populate the App.
Your worry about data from the car may be misplaced though - if you have a modern smartphone tracking all of that stuff is already being done.
I can't exactly tell what data they collect and how they process but as far as I remember when you are using the infotainment for the first time -at least in the EU cars- it's asking if you allow Alpine to process your data. Think like those cookie banners. I'm rarely using maps so don't know if it gets live traffic data. Another thing that I remember is that the system updated itself (again for an EU car) a few months ago over the air. I suppose this means the car is equipped with a data SIM card.
Given the general uselessness of the technology surrounding the car -the My Alpine app doesn't show that I have an extended warranty, and the dealer I bought it from couldn't print a copy out- I would be surprised if the car was capable of transmitting any consistent data. It can't even hold a DAB signal...
Thanks for your replies. So key question for me is if the car has a data SIM or not. If people that don't have their phone connected to the infotainment system did not get an update of this system that would be an indication that it does not have a data SIM. Ideas?
N.b. there are plenty of methods of reducing tracking of your phone and activity. One of them being turning off location (GPS). Data harvesting through a smartphone is off-topic in my view
N.b. there are plenty of methods of reducing tracking of your phone and activity. One of them being turning off location (GPS). Data harvesting through a smartphone is off-topic in my view
Edited by Byrge001 on Tuesday 30th September 13:52
Edited by Byrge001 on Tuesday 30th September 13:54
Byrge001 said:
Thanks for your replies. So key question for me is if the car has a data SIM or not.
No SIM card in AU delivered cars, & I strongly doubt any other market will either. OTA updates to OEM system will be via the attached/synced smart phone.However, my aftermarket head unit does have a SIM card, & its own email address, Spotify account etc
Byrge001 said:
Thanks for your replies. So key question for me is if the car has a data SIM or not. If people that don't have their phone connected to the infotainment system did not get an update of this system that would be an indication that it does not have a data SIM. Ideas?
N.b. there are plenty of methods of reducing tracking of your phone and activity. One of them being turning off location (GPS). Data harvesting through a smartphone is off-topic in my view
I rarely connect the phone and when I connect it I rarely have mobile data on. So I assume my car completed the software update on its own without using the mobile data via the phone.N.b. there are plenty of methods of reducing tracking of your phone and activity. One of them being turning off location (GPS). Data harvesting through a smartphone is off-topic in my view
Edited by Byrge001 on Tuesday 30th September 13:52
Edited by Byrge001 on Tuesday 30th September 13:54
Byrge001 said:
Just when i thought PHusername had the definitive answer ....
Haha, I did say no AU car has a SIM card.And Safak said he RARELY connects with phone data. Do we assume an update happened when there was mobile data?
I don't think anyone has anything to be concerned about this car tracking you. For what's it's worth, I plan to stay away from cars that do send constant data to the manufacturer or, worse still, the Govt / law enforcement. It will be a sad day when they all do that from new.
PHusername said:
Haha, I did say no AU car has a SIM card.
And Safak said he RARELY connects with phone data. Do we assume an update happened when there was mobile data?
I don't think anyone has anything to be concerned about this car tracking you. For what's it's worth, I plan to stay away from cars that do send constant data to the manufacturer or, worse still, the Govt / law enforcement. It will be a sad day when they all do that from new.
Have you opened up an AU infotainment system to find there is no SIM slot? The SIM could be located elsewhere in the car but this seems unlikely.And Safak said he RARELY connects with phone data. Do we assume an update happened when there was mobile data?
I don't think anyone has anything to be concerned about this car tracking you. For what's it's worth, I plan to stay away from cars that do send constant data to the manufacturer or, worse still, the Govt / law enforcement. It will be a sad day when they all do that from new.
Edited by Byrge001 on Wednesday 1st October 08:05
According to secret-classics.com "new content is now available for the life of the car via FOTA technology. This abbreviation stands for “Firmware Over-the-Air”, i.e. the installation of updates via WiFi."
This is for the new infotainment system, i guess the old can only be updated through USB stick and maybe only the nav map (at high cost). This is what the Dutch dealer told me.
This is for the new infotainment system, i guess the old can only be updated through USB stick and maybe only the nav map (at high cost). This is what the Dutch dealer told me.
As no A110 has eCall it is rather unlikely, that there is a SIM in the car.
Furthermore it seems, that nobody was asked for an extension of the services, as other manufacturers do mostly after 3 years free period.
This would suggest, that - if there is a SIM - it is free of charge for lifetime?
Never!
Furthermore it seems, that nobody was asked for an extension of the services, as other manufacturers do mostly after 3 years free period.
This would suggest, that - if there is a SIM - it is free of charge for lifetime?
Never!
Lack of eCall is a very valid point to say there's no SIM card. I'm not an expert but there're other data transfer possibilities in the age of Internet of Things. I don't know if lack of SIM card would limit the data transfer.
Let me add one more thing. If I'm not mistaken the update package contained some map updates and UI enhancements. After the update, I checked my mobile data usage because I was curious how the car handled the download. I can say I didn't notice a dramatic drop on my data package. This means either the update was really small in file size like less than 30-50MB or the car downloaded it itself. In any case I don't expect a huge download package. Because I don't think there's enough computing power and memory capacity to handle bigger update files.
Let me add one more thing. If I'm not mistaken the update package contained some map updates and UI enhancements. After the update, I checked my mobile data usage because I was curious how the car handled the download. I can say I didn't notice a dramatic drop on my data package. This means either the update was really small in file size like less than 30-50MB or the car downloaded it itself. In any case I don't expect a huge download package. Because I don't think there's enough computing power and memory capacity to handle bigger update files.
For what it's worth.
In mid-July, I used the Renault "Alliance CONNECT Toolbox" utility to download the Alpine A110 map updates to a PC; only choosing to download the five countries that I intended driving through. The size of the download to the USB stick was 13.4-Gigabyte.
For reference: A110GT delivered December 2024. Previous maps installed were from 2023, so two year out of date.
In mid-July, I used the Renault "Alliance CONNECT Toolbox" utility to download the Alpine A110 map updates to a PC; only choosing to download the five countries that I intended driving through. The size of the download to the USB stick was 13.4-Gigabyte.
For reference: A110GT delivered December 2024. Previous maps installed were from 2023, so two year out of date.
I guess this only works on the facelift version. On my 2020 car it does not. Alliance Connect Toolbox does not take the VIN i type in "due to a technical problem". A 16 Gb USB stick FAT32 i insert remains empty so that route does not work either.
Anyway, i don't use the multimedia system for navigation, i would only be interested to see possible UI updates.
Anyway, i don't use the multimedia system for navigation, i would only be interested to see possible UI updates.
Gassing Station | Alpine | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff