What signals does MyBMW App use to connect.

[alex29a]

Hi,
I wonder if anyone knows what signal does MyBMW App use.
GPS or phone Data ? etc
Mine is Version 2.3.3 (13527) connected to my i3

[eNate]

If you're asking how the app on your phone communicates with your car, it's either a cellular or WiFi Internet link from your phone to a central server, which processes data and sends it back out via internet and finally a cellular link to the vehicle.

[JohnWasser]

Your car has either a 3G or a 4G LTE cellular modem under the back seat. Which you have, I think, depends mostly on the build date. My 2017 model (built in October of 2016) has a 4G LTE modem.

Many carriers are shutting down 3G service so if you have a 3G modem you eventually won't be able to contact the car via the app.

[alex29a]

Thanks I hope it is WIFI ( when I am at home)
cos I really don't want to use my cellphone 3g OR 4g DATA. .. unecessarily

[alohart]

Thanks I hope it is WIFI ( when I am at home)
cos I really don't want to use my cellphone 3g OR 4g DATA. .. unecessarily

The My BMW app uses whatever Internet connection that your smartphone has. If your smartphone is connected to the Internet via WiFi whether at home or at a WiFi hotspot, the My BMW app would use that connection. If your smartphone is connected to the Internet via a cellular data connection, the My BMW app would use that connection.

[alex29a]

Thanks I hope it is WIFI ( when I am at home)
cos I really don't want to use my cellphone 3g OR 4g DATA. .. unecessarily

The My BMW app uses whatever Internet connection that your smartphone has. If your smartphone is connected to the Internet via WiFi whether at home or at a WiFi hotspot, the My BMW app would use that connection. If your smartphone is connected to the Internet via a cellular data connection, the My BMW app would use that connection.

Thanks alohart. this sounds good to me. WIFI or phone Data (mine is 94Ah so prob 4G)
so when I am out and phone data is off, and when I need to connect to the App, I activate data.
great (Y)

[eNate]

Just to give you a baseline of sorts, my last 30 day cycle of MyBMW app use totaled 23 MB of data, and I use it frequently.

That's more than a sneeze, but it's a sliver of what other apps are capable of. With the smallest phone data plans measuring in the gigabytes, My BMW turns into background noise.

The 4G data your car is using is not the WiFi or cellular data your phone is using. Two different things.