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Dealership sells it for $400 and it’s not available as an after market. The SIM card will match the car’s VIN according to them. This is some highway robbery when I could get GPS on my phone for free! Is there a way for anyone to create an “open source” SIM card to activate any car’s GPS systems? I don’t get why something so simple is made complicated or exclusive ($$$).
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What kind of car is it? Sounds awfully strange to me that the gps system, which uses satellite information not cellular data, requires a sim card to operate and that such a system would be fitted to a car but not actually working. Normally they fit a full gps navigation system or a unit that allows the car’s systems to work like they should, but without the navigation system built into it. I.e; reversing cameras and radio but no nav.
The navigation system in our car works off an SD card, but that’s for up to date maps and came with the car (maker option, paid for). An updated card is about
$200$150$100 IIRC. It doesn’t need data to function, but if you allow it access to the interweb, it can offer traffic updates and a few other niceties we don’t really need so don’t let it access the interweb, although it’s usually bluetoothed to my phone because I like to listen to music. If I tell it, it’ll connect to the interweb but it doesn’t need it to function.Sounds really strange to me.
After some googling, Mazda? It’s not a sim card, it’s an SD card and something that can’t be readily hacked or circumvented by the sounds of it. Path of least resistance would be to extract the card from them by any means possible and insert it yourself (armrest apparently?) and yes, it locks to the VIN after 100km/62 miles so a used one isn’t going to work either.
It’s so they can fit a standard unit to every car (saving $$$), and have everything work like it should (ease of manufacture), but hit you for that extra $400 if you really want navigation (nav is still an option).
Good luck,
Stu.
That’s the thing, it’s not something you need to do right now, if ever, if the car is able to do all you want of it without the added in navigation. And there may be a work around or an out of date copy sometime in the future if you don’t need the latest update.
Heck, navigation has been available here in Japan for nearly 20 years in one form or another, and we only just got it on our most recent car and if there’s anywhere on the planet where navigation is really needed, it’s here. We managed to get around ok most of the time, but decided it was time for me to get upset at a box in the dashboard than Mrs. Schtoo when she’s navigating. She’s not great at it which doesn’t help.
That said, it’s nice to have and as the one we have is the latest and greatest, it gives directions through the dashboard, talks to you and plays music through bluetooth all at once. Even shows pictures of what you’ll see when you come to an on/off ramp on the highway.
Still not fool proof though as this especially talented fool manages to miss exits and entrances with all the help possible…
Stu.
Im confused on what your trying to do… if your just trying to get a GPS to work on your cal you can buy one for like $100 a new one…. but are you trying to get a tracker so you can track your car where it is if its stolen…. those are 2 diffrent things… one will req a service one is free…. to track your car you will have to pay a service no mator what… even a cell provitor service… if not it can not talk to you and tell you where it is… you can do stuff like a 2 way radio but you will have to be with in range of it for it to work
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