4G LTE WI-FI HOTSPOT REMOVAL

[SkYLiNe00X]

Hi, everyone. I bought my MACH 1 home for about a week.
My friend asked me why I took off the Wi-Fi Hotspot for $20 back. I did not know because I focused on the Handling Package I wanted.
Is this feature unavailable for everyone because of chip shortage? Or is it just my car missing only?

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[NJMike]

Same here, think they did this too get the cars produced. You aren't the only one

 

[E=MC2]

Some got removed, some kept it - I've got it in mine.

 

[Goz63]

It was removed on my order as well. Not that $20 will make a single difference in my payment I wouldn’t have used it anyway. I have hotspot on my phone plan that if I needed it I would use that. Might be nice for families with kids while traveling. This is not going to be the vehicle I take the very young grandkids in anyway.

 

[JOKER M1]

it was removed by FORD due to supply issues so they could get the cars shipped. Now there may be a better way to word that but basically that’s why

 

[Cobra Jet]

So for $20, exactly what is missing, an actual "chip" or a circuit board? Can one who was "shorted" get the missing $20 part and install/activate it themselves?

There's no "IOU" from Ford?

 

[RTFM]

There's no "IOU" from Ford?

There isn’t. Ford communicated that this delete option is definitive. It is not possible to add the hotspot back.

 

[Vlad Soare]

So for $20, exactly what is missing, an actual "chip" or a circuit board? Can one who was "shorted" get the missing $20 part and install/activate it themselves?

There's no "IOU" from Ford?

I suspect that all the necessary components will be missing, not just the TCU. And I'm sure they will cost much, much more than just $20. That $20 reduction is just to throw dust in our eyes and make it seem like Ford is honest and won't charge for something it doesn't provide.

Here's what a quick search reveals:

And this is just the modem, to which you'd add another $35 for the antenna, plus a few hundred for the cables, depending on which of them are missing.

Then there's another issue. The modem must be activated and paired to your car on Ford's side. I couldn't use mine for the first couple of weeks after getting the car, until my unit was activated by Ford. All the communication to and from the car happens via Ford's servers.
They will never do this for a VIN that didn't have the feature installed in the factory.
You can go around this restriction by buying a used TCU and using the VIN of the donor car in ForScan for all the necessary module configurations.

A friend of mine managed to do this in his Mondeo with good results, so it is actually possible, but it did take quite a bit of work.
Frankly, unless you have an automatic and you really want the remote start, I wouldn't bother. It's a nice feature, I admit, but nothing I couldn't live without.

 

[Cobra Jet]

I suspect that all the necessary components will be missing, not just the TCU. And I'm sure they will cost much, much more than just $20. That $20 reduction is just to throw dust in our eyes and make it seem like Ford is honest and won't charge for something it doesn't provide.

Here's what a quick search reveals:

And this is just the modem, to which you'd add another $35 for the antenna, plus a few hundred for the cables, depending on which of them are missing.

Then there's another issue. The modem must be activated and paired to your car on Ford's side. I couldn't use mine for the first couple of weeks after getting the car, until my unit was activated by Ford. All the communication to and from the car happens via Ford's servers.
They will never do this for a VIN that didn't have the feature installed in the factory.
You can go around this restriction by buying a used TCU and using the VIN of the donor car in ForScan for all the necessary module configurations.

A friend of mine managed to do this in his Mondeo with good results, so it is actually possible, but it did take quite a bit of work.
Frankly, unless you have an automatic and you really want the remote start, I wouldn't bother. It's a nice feature, I admit, but nothing I couldn't live without.

Thanks for the additional insight.

I would think the harness is incorporated into the body harness - so I can't see Ford "deleting" the harnesses out of the main body. I'll agree that any sub-harness from the units to the main body link could be missing, but not those already incorporated into the main body harness wrap.

So as you mentioned, there is a work around for those who do want the features if it were included "As Built". That's good to know for those savvy enough to getting the parts and messing with Forscan to activate it.

I'll agree too that the credit reduction of only $20 on the window sticker is absurd. My guess is they had to somehow identify those vehicles that were "shorted" and just threw a line item on the window sticker; why $20 was chosen as the default value is beyond any of us... unless someone on the inside has more info... LOL!

 

[luca1290]

Wait a second.
I guess they are just removing the Wi-Fi portion of the TCU, not all the TCU itself.
That's what I know anyway.
Easy way to know: does your car pairs to the FordPass service?

If yes, then your car have the TCU, just you don't have Wi-Fi portion of it, but the GSM portion is present and active.
I don't know how many people uses the 4G hotspot anyway.

 

[Wingnutzz]

it is just the HOTSPOT that is missing. The car’s Wi-Fi is still there, but it cannot be used as a hotspot for other devices.

Wait a second.
I guess they are just removing the Wi-Fi portion of the TCU, not all the TCU itself.
That's what I know anyway.
Easy way to know: does your car pairs to the FordPass service?

If yes, then your car have the TCU, just you don't have Wi-Fi portion of it, but the GSM portion is present and active.
I don't know how many people uses the 4G hotspot anyway.

 

[luca1290]

it is just the HOTSPOT that is missing. The car’s Wi-Fi is still there, but it cannot be used as a hotspot for other devices.

Ah, ok. Since the Wi-Fi is part of the TCU then the TCU should be there.
If OP let us know if the car still connects to the FordPass backend we can understand if the LTE portion is present or not. And what antenna the car has.

Just reasoning now how can the hotspot functionality be separate from the WiFi, I always thought they were part of the same chipset. I'm quite sure they are part of the same module (the TCU) though.

 

[Vlad Soare]

Ah, ok. Since the Wi-Fi is part of the TCU then the TCU should be there.
If OP let us know if the car still connects to the FordPass backend we can understand if the LTE portion is present or not. And what antenna the car has.

Just reasoning now how can the hotspot functionality be separate from the WiFi, I always thought they were part of the same chipset. I'm quite sure they are part of the same module (the TCU) though.

The APIM (i.e. main Sync unit) has its own wi-fi antenna and is capable of connecting to an external SSID, in order to provide automatic software updates. This feature has always been present in Sync 3 since its inception.
The hotspot (i.e. an SSID to which external devices, like your phone, can connect) is a feature of the TCU.

No hotspot means no TCU. No TCU means no FordPass Connect either.

 

[luca1290]

The APIM (i.e. main Sync unit) has its own wi-fi antenna and is capable of connecting to an external SSID. This feature has always been present in Sync 3 since its inception.
The hotspot (i.e. an SSID to which external devices, like your phone, can connect) is a feature of the TCU.

No hotspot means no TCU. No TCU means no FordPass Connect either.

Thank Vlad, now it's all more clear to me.
I was wondering how, turns out it has two different wireless chipsets in two different units.

Well, not a great deal not having the TCU, it's there to enable data mining and facilitate government enforcement on people. Mine is disabled since the first week...

 

[MAGS1]

The APIM (i.e. main Sync unit) has its own wi-fi antenna and is capable of connecting to an external SSID. This feature has always been present in Sync 3 since its inception.
The hotspot (i.e. an SSID to which external devices, like your phone, can connect) is a feature of the TCU.

No hotspot means no TCU. No TCU means no FordPass Connect either.

I have the hotspot delete and am still able to remote start my car through the FordPass app. As @Wingnutzz said it is only the hot spot that is gone. My car is connected to my Wi-Fi and everything works from that perspective

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