WiFi Switch in Settings/WiFi

[jsg]

Hi there!

When I switch off the WiFi switch in Settings/WiFi, I am still able to link to the Bolt's WiFi via my Android phone. I expect that this connection would be severed once I switch WiFi off.

Anyone know anything about this?

Thanks in advance!

Jerry

 

[keijidosha]

Hi there!

When I switch off the WiFi switch in Settings/WiFi, I am still able to link to the Bolt's WiFi via my Android phone. I expect that this connection would be severed once I switch WiFi off.

Anyone know anything about this?

Thanks in advance!

Jerry

Page 146, 147, 159 of the Owners Manual;

"Wi-Fi
This feature allows for a connection
to available protected Wi-Fi
networks in range of the vehicle to
be turned off or on.
Select Off or On.

Manage Wi-Fi Networks
Select to manage a list of available
protected networks. Wi-Fi must be
set to On for this feature to be
accessed.

Software Update
This allows the ability to search for
updates when connected to Wi-Fi if
updates are available.

Downloading Over-the-Air software
updates requires Internet
connectivity, which can be accessed
through the vehicle’s OnStar Wi-Fi
hotspot, if equipped. Optionally, a
secured Wi-Fi hotspot such as a
mobile device hotspot, a home
hotspot, or a public hotspot can be
used.

 

[SeanNelson]

When I switch off the WiFi switch in Settings/WiFi, I am still able to link to the Bolt's WiFi via my Android phone. I expect that this connection would be severed once I switch WiFi off.

Page 146, 147, 159 of the Owners Manual;...

I have a feeling that there's some confusion going on here between:

- the WiFi hotspot that's in the car which allows folks with smart phones to access the Internet via the car's cellular connection, and:

- the WiFi settings in the Bolt which allow it to connect to your home WiFi network in order to download software updates, etc.

 

[BillHowland]

Yeah I'm concerned about this as well. I tend to be 'electrosensitive' and never get headaches unless I'm in my Bolt Ev for too long, as for instance at a public charger. The 4G LTE is low-power microwave energy (low power at least as compared to a microwave oven).

As a teenage ham radio operator, I was over at a friend's bedroom at the time when he was running around 800 watts at a frequency less than 1/100th of what a microwave operated at, and I started feeling very sick. I asked where is the antenna? "Just out the window" was the reply.

So, in lieu of being able to turn off the wi-fi I get out of the car when at public charging stations, and do not drive too long a stretch at any one time.

 

[GetOffYourGas]

The 4G LTE is low-power microwave energy (low power at least as compared to a microwave oven).

The WiFi is in fact about the same frequency as your microwave oven (2.4GHz), but it is much lower power than your microwave oven. A 1mW signal (0dBm) is very strong for a small space like the Bolt. I suspect it is 1uW (-30dBm) or lower. That's 1 millionth of a watt. Your microwave oven is about 1,000W. That's 1 billion times more power than the wifi in the Bolt.

 

[SparkE]

Well, yeah, but a microwave oven is basically a faraday cage (designed to stop electromagnetic signals from escaping) - that's why the 'window' on the door looks like a screen door.

Also why if you want privacy, and are anal about it (like me) when you want a totally, completely private conversation you unplug the microwave and tell everybody to turn off their cell phones and put them in the microwave. (You unplug it to make sure nobody accidentally forgets and turns on the MW, which would do bad things to the phones.)

Also the reason I don't have an Alexa or Echo - no way in hell do I want my conversations ending up in the cloud.

 

[Bolt2019]

Hi there!

When I switch off the WiFi switch in Settings/WiFi, I am still able to link to the Bolt's WiFi via my Android phone. I expect that this connection would be severed once I switch WiFi off.

Anyone know anything about this?

Thanks in advance!

Jerry

Hi. New here. About 3 weeks into a 2019 Bolt LT. Lovin' it.

I found that with the wifi too. I found that Onstar held it open even if you have turned it off in the normal settings menu. So I found it in the myChevrolet app and can turn it off there. THEN it's off. Although I have been getting to like the mobile data.

 

[GetOffYourGas]

Wow, thank you for sharing that tip! It does bother me that turning WiFi "off" through the infotainment system does not actually turn off the signal.

 

[Bolt2019]

Wow, thank you for sharing that tip! It does bother me that turning WiFi "off" through the infotainment system does not actually turn off the signal.

Lotsa things about Onstar bother me. I should test turning that off in the app and then see if I can turn it on on the screen and see if it works on its own or if it turns on the Onstar one anyway. Later Too many bugs.

Edit: It's pretty useless. I turned off wifi in the app (you can also do it on the web page). Turned on wifi on the screen. It does NOT turn on the Onstar wifi. It can connect out to wifi networks. I can't connect into it. Seems to me about all you can do is look for software updates. Other than that...pretty useless.