ISmart is your car online?

[glend14]

This topic is deleted.

 

[BpoolZS]

Paranoia.

[ Moderator: snarky comment deleted. Be respectful, even when you disagree. ]

 

[glend14]

Deleted

 

[gazza487]

They have been adding this sort of thing for years, it’s just that we see it now. I believe one of the 1st was GMs on star, they could use it to do all sorts of remote things in the event of the car being stolen and this was long before we had EVs. The Ismart app on my4 isn’t great, it often doesn’t work - could they send a command to really break things - probably. Would they ever do it - nope it would be suicide - every existing vehicle would have every last bit of connectivity removed by the smart people in this land the company would be toast forever. Also, just adding they cannot even get OTA updates working - the ones via diagnostics at a dealer leave something to be desired also - says enough to me.

As for data collection - the device I ensure I carry with me and purposely ensure has charge has accelerometers, microphones, cameras, gps and a variety of connection methods into the world/my home network. Thats just my phone. Many moons ago I worked for an online retailer - there was a data breach or some investigation and the bosses asked the developers (overseas) if there was definitely no records of peoples credit card details. No no except for on my pc. You would never know is my basic point even if they did and shouldn’t. Best not to worry - if they really want to monitor me driving to work in traffic, enjoy ?

 

[glend14]

Deleted

 

[Coulomb]

A snarky comment by @BpoolZS has been deleted. Please be respectful of others, even when you don't agree with them. No formal warning was issued this time.

 

[Gomev]

This topic is aimed at determining what the ISmart app is doing in your car and phone, and for those that do not have it, should you opt out from having it installed?
So my MG3 Hybrid+ was delivered to me in mid-July this year, and it did not have ISmart. Recently I was notified by my dealer service people that my car is subject to a recall, to install ISmart in the car. So as many people know, it also uses an app installed on your phone, to enable certain functions to be conducted remotely from your phone like unlocking the car, etc. I was told iSmart install into the car requires a software change in the car. What concern me is that is this effectively putting my car online, ie are they installing a SIM card or similar connectivity device, to enable my car to be able to communicate. I do not want my car to be online.
Recent paranoia in the USA concerning the banning if any Chinese tech in cars sold there, on security grounds, does not help dampen my concerns about online cars.
So what do you know about the iSmart recall? I am treating it as a non-safety related recall and choosing to ignore it. But I am concerned that some MG techo will install it when I take the car for service. Paranoia or a right to opt out?

I think you said it yourself.....'Recent paranoia in the USA'
You are here on this forum, so presumably using a computer or smartphone, maybe you use social media as well, so your personal info is already widely known and shared. I'm not sure how much use it would be to a foreign government to know when you unlock your car doors or turn the heating on.

Just for fun if you are on Facebook, ask Facebook (you can download it) what personal data it holds about you and what it shares. I did and was shocked beyond belief and haven't used it since.

 

[Anon70]

There are a few reasons why the car links to the outside World. One is the SOS feature where the car can notify the emergency services if the car has been in a crash. In theory this is only activated in extreme situations.

Also every time you use a public or smart charger the charger will be communicating with its back end servers to report on the cars location and state of charge, it might also have access to the cars unique identification, which may just be an ID for the charging system or the cars VIN number.

For GPS traffic updates and other internet related info the car will have to know where it is and may communicate this back to various servers so they don't give you a traffic report for a location 1,000 of miles away.

So even without iSmart functions active your car may be in contact with the outside World.

 

[Bill Hoal]

I have just started my 2nd year of ownership (MG4) and have ismart installed in the car and my phone. I have not seen any information concerning subscription payment beyond year 1, neither have I been asked to pay. Can I ask where you got your information from please?

 

[cliver1956]

I also would like to know where the info re subscription payments comes from? From what I can see it's a pretty essential facility (albeit pretty poor at the moment). Won't be impressed if they start charging after year 1.

 

[siteguru]

I'm coming up to two years of ownership (2nd service next month) ... iSmart still works fine (as well as it can at the moment) without any nags about payment.

 

[cliver1956]

I'm coming up to two years of ownership (2nd service next month) ... iSmart still works fine (as well as it can at the moment) without any nags about payment.

Thanks, that's good to know.

 

[Gadget Geek]

I seem to remember that you get 5 years free subscription to iSmart, and after that you have to pay for it.

 

[Sloucher]

I seem to remember that you get 5 years free subscription to iSmart, and after that you have to pay for it.

Can you remember where you saw this please? The reason I ask is that when I bought my car (two years ago), I was told that iSmart was subscription-free.

 

[Gadget Geek]

I believe it's in the settings menu for the infotainment screen. Connected Services Expiration, and it gives you a date 5 years from when you activate the iSmart account.

Live & Connected Services Expiry.

Noticed when going through the SatNav settings that there is a preset cutoff date for all live services Seems to be 5 years from car activation. Will not affect me as I dont keep a car anywhere near that long, but do wonder how it will affect in the future if owners will be able to pay to...

www.mgevs.com

 

[siteguru]

That's for "live services" ... the SE model doesn't have any such services (weather, satnav etc.) but iSmart still works, so I don't think that restriction relates to iSmart connections.

 

[jollyman]

This topic is aimed at determining what the ISmart app is doing in your car and phone, and for those that do not have it, should you opt out from having it installed?
So my MG3 Hybrid+ was delivered to me in mid-July this year, and it did not have ISmart. Recently I was notified by my dealer service people that my car is subject to a recall, to install ISmart in the car. So as many people know, it also uses an app installed on your phone, to enable certain functions to be conducted remotely from your phone like unlocking the car, etc. I was told iSmart install into the car requires a software change in the car. What concern me is that is this effectively putting my car online, ie are they installing a SIM card or similar connectivity device, to enable my car to be able to communicate. I do not want my car to be online.
Recent paranoia in the USA concerning the banning if any Chinese tech in cars sold there, on security grounds, does not help dampen my concerns about online cars.
So what do you know about the iSmart recall? I am treating it as a non-safety related recall and choosing to ignore it. But I am concerned that some MG techo will install it when I take the car for service. Paranoia or a right to opt out?

I guess nobody landed on the moon either

 

[glend14]

Gone