Privacy & Disabling onboard modem

[JSolo]

This recent rant by Rossman made me think of this again. Has anyone figured out how to disable the built in lte modem? I would imagine at the most basic level, disconnecting the antenna from it should be sufficient. No antenna no communications.

 

[socalvn]

No GPS no navigation?

 

[Snicklefritz]

that's what I thought when I decided to buy a modern high-tech automobile. it went something like this, "You are now going to be driving a vehicle that the government can track, and shut down if they want to." So, if that bothers me, I can always get an older car that predates all of this computer garbage.

 

[JSolo]

No GPS no navigation?

Snipping the modem antenna shouldn't affect gps, unless the same antenna is used for both.

 

[stoopid]

I'd be more worried about what my phone is hearing and tracking.

 

[Volfy]

GPS has a separate antenna, so does satellite radio, and AM/FM radio. You would only be disconnecting the antenna used to talk to cell towers. I did some digging around late lasr year, and the best I can tell, the modem antenna is buried under the top dash center and probably tough to get acces to without removing the whole dash. The modem should be under the lower dash on the passenger side, so might be easierto get to. Will need to remove the glove box and then a few items behind it.

Right now the weather is well too hot to work on the car, so I'll wait till the Fall to dig further into that.

 

[JSolo]

^^Maybe as simple as removing the terminals (1, 2?) for the cell antenna from some wire harness elsewhere in the car?

 

[ElChanclo]

Is there a fuse you can pull just for the antenna? I looked at the diagrams but couldn't see anything that looked relevant.

Other option is a Faraday cover for the fin, like a steel mesh or aluminum foil.

 

[Snicklefritz]

Other option is a Faraday cover for the fin, like a steel mesh or aluminum foil.

lol. the car's "tin foil hat."

 

[ElChanclo]

lol. the car's "tin foil hat."

That way the guberment cant track you or read your mind maaaan!

 

[Snowwhite]

The cell modem in the US pre-2022s is disabled anyhow because they couldn’t work out a contract with any of the US carriers.

 

[JSolo]

Thanks hyundai..

FCRA

 

[Snicklefritz]

Thanks hyundai..

FCRA

That includes the entire Hyundai umbrella of manufacturers I presume, or just Hyundai? Anyway, better late than never.

 

[JSolo]

That includes the entire Hyundai umbrella of manufacturers I presume, or just Hyundai? Anyway, better late than never.

Usage Based Insurance

owners.kia.com

Currently, Kia is offering Driving Score with the following vehicles:

• 2024 Sportage
• 2024 Sportage HEV (Hybrid)
• 2024 Sportage PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid)
• 2024 Telluride

 

[Volfy]

That's just what they openly admit to. Who knows what they are still doing behind the firewall. Just because data is not sent to this particular clearing house doesn't mean data isn't streamed/collected from vehicles and kept at HKG corporate. I'd still much rather cut off the data link all together.

HKG didn't stop selling our data out of goodness of their corporate heart. They got publicly shamed into doing it.

 

[JSolo]

Yup. Cap off the spout so it doesn't spill anything. Then it doesn't matter what/who/where kia/hyundai sends the non-data.

I still can't believe there's a whole section devote to this usage based crap. Sadly many will buy into it thinking it's a good thing for them.

 

[ElChanclo]

GPS has a separate antenna, so does satellite radio, and AM/FM radio. You would only be disconnecting the antenna used to talk to cell towers. I did some digging around late lasr year, and the best I can tell, the modem antenna is buried under the top dash center and probably tough to get acces to without removing the whole dash. The modem should be under the lower dash on the passenger side, so might be easierto get to. Will need to remove the glove box and then a few items behind it.

Interesting, wouldn't there be a fuse somewhere for the cell modem/antenna?

I wonder what effect blocking or disconnecting the fin would have on their data collection. If they've got another GPS module hidden somewhere for their own telemetry, then all you've done is disabled your in car radio and nav =/

 

[Volfy]

From what I can gather, the telemetry antenna plugs into the same module that all the other antennae plug into. So if you pull the fuse for that system, a whole lot of others parts won't work

 

[ElChanclo]

How fitting:

 

[Snicklefritz]

Quite a bit of scaremongering in that piece. Fact is, anyone who's been using cellphones for over 20 years has been putting out data the whole time. Even my bog standard, stupid ZTE flip phone has GPS and who really knows what else. If the battery isn't dead, it's communicating to something, somewhere.

Could you go through a Stinger and remove all the computer modules and convert the car into an analogue machine? No more computer connected than an old car? Or would it simply not run right? Obviously the "control" features would be gone. Are all the power devices, like brakes and steering, completely meshed with computer modules, such that they cannot be retro fitted to mechanical-only parts? Even if you did a complete gutting of the electronics successfully it would likely be cost prohibitive. Ironic, that simplifying a machine would make it more costly.