Can we hack the OnStar to be just a cell phone?

[StuporDave]

I see where some people have found the OnStar module and made it not so smart. But has anyone taken the module out and looked for a SIM card, ( Now that OnStar is using AT&T ). Does anybody think we can register it as a regular cell phone and be done with OnStar but keep the connectivity of the unit? I read on another forum a while back that someone was able to use his BMW as a Verizon phone.

 

[sonic_braaappp]

if you have the mylink radio, you could just connect your phone to the bluetooth and do everything from the touch screen

 

[Swordsmith]

It would be cool to have the buttons on the rearview functional, though. Plus the Onstar hardware is independent of your phone, so no battery worries, you could have a separate phone number for the car itself, and maybe the reception is better with a built in antennae rather than the little thing found in cellphones.

I'm not interested enough to do the exploration work, but if someone else does it and it turns out to be simple, I might copy them

 

[StuporDave]

From what I have been reading on the web, it seems that the OnStar box is a cell phone/GPS rolled into one that has a phone number that belongs to OnStar. My thinking is if we could change the phone number, (SIM card) and we would still have the functionality without the OnStar leash. I don't care about the services that OnStar provides. At least not at the price they offer it for. I love the OnStar ap. I have seen where people said that the SIM card is embedded in the module. There has to be someone out there that can get around this.

 

[AdmiralRS420]

If this is possible we could use our plans Internet for the hotspot instead of on star's ridiculous prices.

 

[Hdmanny]

It would be great if this could be done. I will have to see what I can find out about Onstars hardware.

 

[The Champ]

I spent 16 years in the wireless industry. I remember when the only phones available were permanently wired into the car.

But everyone wanted to be able to carry their phone on their person.

Why would you want to have service limited to only the car? As already mentioned, the MyLink radio will already hook up to your phone via bluetooth.

 

[StuporDave]

This is what I am thinking about this whole "Hack the System" idea. I picture the OnStar communications nothing more than a Cell phone with some type of protocols that allow OnStar and more importantly the OnStar app to access the information about the car and control the car, ( i.e. Doors, start the engine, oil life, tire pressures, etc.) If I could get access to my car without going through OnStar, I could still use my app. I have a friend that could more than likely get my phone to access my car directly if I had a number that was free from OnStar. I have no urge to make calls from the OnStar system, I have a cell phone for that. I don't want any of the services that OnStar offers. I have lived without the accident assistance for 46 years, I can pass on that. All the other services they provide I have through other sources. So really, all I want is the App. If they provided a small fee for that, I would buy it. The way I figure it, I own the car and the equipment, I should have that option.

 

[laborsmith]

I am sympathetic to what you want. As the foremost advocate for OnStar in the whole wide universe, what you want is not a simple prompt.

As a side note and this may show the limits of my knowledge but although it is true you (or your lender own the car you do not own the algorithm that fuels the chip. I am certain if this is wrong someone who actually knows will correct me.


Laborsmith

 

[StuporDave]

Laborsmith, you could very well be right in the possibility of some type of copyright infringement on modifying the code in the OnStar app to bypass the system between my phone and the car, well. That is a risk I am willing to take. I have a tech friend that writes code. He says phone apps are pretty easy. He thinks he can do what I want to do, as long as I can get the car out from under OnStar's thumb.

 

[ecohauler]

As long as you're not modifying it for some malicious purpose, there's no harm in modifying OnStar, just like any other hardware in your vehicle. There may be laws on the books in some states against ******* your own electronics, but they'll never stick. The module is included in the car because GM hopes you'll pay for the service, but you own it (or will, when the loan's paid off). Basically, as long as you're not modifying the OnStar module to plant a virus in the OnStar network, you're safe.