doug97gxe

i think he is trying to hack the sync connect in his truck to use another internet connection. Personally i don't have Sync Connect but i do have a wifi hotspot in my truck from my sprint account. If i could get sync connect by itself to use my wifi hotspot that would be great... but i believe the unit might all be built into one

duck9191

I'm guessing you're trying to use a verizon lte sim? Not sure how you would set the apn settings unless the gateway has an admin panel.

doug97gxe

Verizon Sim won't work.. CDMA vs GSM

duck9191

The CDMA vs GSM argument is irrelevant when it comes to LTE as uses its own carrier completely separate from the legacy base network. I'm guessing the built in hotspot is LTE, so depending on what bands the radio is set up for you should be able get a verizon sim to work IF you can get it to register on network, which it probably won't because its more than likely locked to ATT's MNC. You can use verizon phones on att/tmobile but you won't have voice unless you can get VoLTE enabled or use a 3rd party, the LTE data is easy to make function as long as the carrier bands match.

LoneWolfTrucker

None of this matters. I am telling you, even if you can put another carrier's SIM into the modem, it won't enable the features. AT&T and Ford have this stuff tightly coupled to AT&T's network. Verizon's network will not be able to connect to Ford's backend systems. This would all be a giant waste of time and money.

RayoVac

Ok well to word it differently (and yes, I completely understand the concept around using a device to be a hotspot and then asking the device to connect via Wifi to itself) why wouldn't Ford have the vehicle recognize that it had a data connection and use that for updates instead of prompting for an SSID to connect to (which of course can't be its own SSID).

Ifallsguy

Ok, I spoke with the electronic tech specialist at my dealer. His knowledge of the system is it's exactly like the sat radio. There is no physical sim card but the information is preprogramed into the modem. He said exactly like the ESN of your sat radio, it is dedicated (hard programed) into the modem and he is not aware of any sim card. If it goes bad, it's full replacement of the unit and the modem has to be reprogramed (apparently by the parts depot) prior to shipping and installation.

That is his understanding of the modem. It is locked to the ATT network and cannot just have the network changed as there is no sim card.

LoneWolfTrucker

It is a data usage issue. Those SYNC updates tend to be 2-4GB. Multiply that by a million trucks and it adds up fast.

duck9191

Did he say what radio chipset is in it? If its qualcomm and it has some kind of access you have a chance at rewriting the esim. Programming side will still be an issue with the MCN locked to att which is a lot less likely to be fixed. Who makes the device?

Ifallsguy

No, he didn't say what the chipset is. My understanding is it's a sealed unit and the one or two he had to swap out had to be returned intact (unopened) under warranty. Only had a Ford part number (which I don't have) on it.