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upgrade OnStar to 4G/5G

Bleudiesel
New Contributor II

Now it is nearly February 2023 and no notice from GM about upgrading the old 2G to 4G/5G. Don't think it is going to happen. I can guess not enough customers have asked GM to do something. I did see one petition with less than 2k signatures. Not nearly enough to move the General. As noted elsewhere GM did upgrade vehicles in Canada back in 2015. There was a campaign to upgrade existing OnStar customers to 4G for free but if a customer was not signed up for OnStar and wanted the upgrade there was a charge, how much I don't know as I was an OnStar customer.

However I did find the campaign information complete with part numbers. This TSB has been deleted from GM website but is available here;

SB-10089229-2280.pdf (nhtsa.gov)

Service Bulletin Date: June, 2016

Bulletin No.: 15-08-44-001H June,2016 Page 3 Part Ordering Process and Hardware Installation - New Unsold Vehicles on Dealers Lot 1. Dealers will automatically receive OnStar® hardware upgrade kits for affected dealer new vehicle inventory beginning spring 2015. Note: Not all upgrade modules will be available at program launch, modules will be release for dealer

static.nhtsa.gov

Notes:

SB-10089229-2280.pdf (nhtsa.gov)

Service Bulletin Date: June, 2016

Bulletin No.: 15-08-44-001H June,2016 Page 3 Part Ordering Process and Hardware Installation - New Unsold Vehicles on Dealers Lot 1. Dealers will automatically receive OnStar® hardware upgrade kits for affected dealer new vehicle inventory beginning spring 2015. Note: Not all upgrade modules will be available at program launch, modules will be release for dealer

static.nhtsa.gov

 This shows the part number for the 4G module for various cars. I suspect in fact the module is the same for all cars, what changes is the packaging for sure. In any case if you have connections to auto wreckers in Canada you should be able to order a module. Good luck to us all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

15 REPLIES 15

diggerdegroff
New Contributor III

Wyman18
New Contributor

I just spent 33k on a vehicle and was expecting to have internet and everything and now as I go to sign up I find out that it's no longer available for my vehicle. When purchasing a vehicle from a lot there should be some sort of disclosure stating that it's no longer available 

Bleudiesel
New Contributor II

Dear Wyman18, let me know your model and year, and I will see if I can an upgrade here in Canada. There old vehicles in the yards, and you might one with the correct hardware for your car. best regards, Rob Blake leisterblakeATgmail.om

Michiganian1962
New Contributor

Look, the idea that GM did what it did in Canada simply for the reasons above is disingenuous.  The reality is, as with most things, consumer protections in Canada created greater legal exposure than in the US.  What has been established here is that GM CAN produce replacement hardware for 2015 and prior vehicles, and actually has.  What GM IS concerned about is the financial impact of giving them away as an obligation, like they had to in Canada.
I don't believe most of us Cadillac owners would really blink at shouldering the cost of the new units, but we are really offended that the Canadian owners were given the opportunity to choose whether to upgrade while loyal US customers were not.  No amount of pitching the phone app is going to address this.  The smartphone solution is inferior in terms of remote area network coverage, power availability, driver distraction, and visibility.   Not to mention it assumes we ALL have our phone at hand every time we drive.  Just fishing your phone out of your pocket when properly seat-belted could cause accidents.  So, please GM, stop insulting your customers and do the right thing, rather than forcing us to go to third party hardware providers to work around your support inadequacies.

ToddBallew
New Contributor II

I think this is an update, the pdf above. It has different text on it https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2015/MC-10113654-9999.pdf

For additional clarity, Canada decommissioned 2G networks in 2015. At that time, the OnStar Guardian app wasn’t available, the semiconductor chip shortage had not happened, and the age of impacted vehicles and total vehicle volume was different than the situation in the U.S. With this, if you have any additional questions regarding the 2G network sunset, please email socialmedia@gm.com with ATTN: OnStar Community/ToddBallew in the subject headline.