[24521]

2017-08-11 RemoteLink no longer works unless you have Android Ver 5+ on your phone

My RemoteLink, stop working last Friday, I called OnStar, per their support it only works on Android Ver 5+

The phone application was not changed it is OnStar method of handling your RemoteLink log in.

I have two Samsung S4 phone that can not be upgraded to Android Ver 5+.

The phone work correctly and meeting all my needs in my business plus personal life, I just keep
changing the phone batteries for $6 from China

Another nail in OnStar coffin !

I already dropped the OnStar paid service due to it being over priced for little or no service.

I think OnStar is trying put themselves out of business !

 

[Tomt]

Things move on... It is no different in the Apple world. Sorry, but the S4 is a dinosaur in the wireless world...

 

[dannycamps]

They sent an email out about this several months ago. They are also dropping support for Windows Phone (my main phone) and Blackberry OS. I'm glad I have a recent Android phone as well otherwise I'd be out of luck.

 

[llninja]

I think this will continue to be a problem as there hasn't been much added to new phones lately (what else could anybody want?) so there will be many people who won't upgrade. My daughter held onto her iPhone 5 forever because the only thing we could see in the new phones were bigger screens (and better cameras). Software developers need to stop assuming the whole world upgrades as fast as they do. Plus, it can't be all that hard to support older clients with fewer features. On the server side, it's just a few "if" statements. Better yet, if the data was sent in XDML format the client can then display what it can and ignore what it cannot.

It all comes back to GM not having the best software developers in the world. Their infotainment and Onstar offerings are both proof of that.

I'm hanging onto my iPhone SE forever, I see no need to upgrade until the hardware fails and the battery stops working. I want my phone to be a phone, and fit in my pocket - I really don't understand why so many people out there are getting Phablets that don't fit into your pockets.

 

[obermd]

I think this will continue to be a problem as there hasn't been much added to new phones lately (what else could anybody want?) so there will be many people who won't upgrade. My daughter held onto her iPhone 5 forever because the only thing we could see in the new phones were bigger screens (and better cameras). Software developers need to stop assuming the whole world upgrades as fast as they do. Plus, it can't be all that hard to support older clients with fewer features. On the server side, it's just a few "if" statements. Better yet, if the data was sent in XDML format the client can then display what it can and ignore what it cannot.

It all comes back to GM not having the best software developers in the world. Their infotainment and Onstar offerings are both proof of that.

I'm hanging onto my iPhone SE forever, I see no need to upgrade until the hardware fails and the battery stops working. I want my phone to be a phone, and fit in my pocket - I really don't understand why so many people out there are getting Phablets that don't fit into your pockets.

GM has some of the best software developers in the world - the Volt is proof of this. Where they don't work is in the OnStar division.

 

[telveer]

Create a browser shortcut for myvolt.com. Its a very kludgy web interface but it should do the trick in a pinch.

 

[Upper5Percent]

Why won't Onstar support my perfectly good cell phone?...

 

[llninja]

Why won't Onstar support my perfectly good cell phone?...

Your cell phone works fine with onstar. You just need to program Onstar's 800 number into one of the 1-touch keys and you're good. The more interesting issue is getting that analog phone to work with any carrier, as I think they all went digital in the late 90s.

 

[Sean-a-Tron]

I think this will continue to be a problem as there hasn't been much added to new phones lately (what else could anybody want?) so there will be many people who won't upgrade. My daughter held onto her iPhone 5 forever because the only thing we could see in the new phones were bigger screens (and better cameras). Software developers need to stop assuming the whole world upgrades as fast as they do. Plus, it can't be all that hard to support older clients with fewer features. On the server side, it's just a few "if" statements. Better yet, if the data was sent in XDML format the client can then display what it can and ignore what it cannot.

It all comes back to GM not having the best software developers in the world. Their infotainment and Onstar offerings are both proof of that.

I'm hanging onto my iPhone SE forever, I see no need to upgrade until the hardware fails and the battery stops working. I want my phone to be a phone, and fit in my pocket - I really don't understand why so many people out there are getting Phablets that don't fit into your pockets.

Software and hardware change often in this world. It's hard to keep updating software on old devices while also keeping the latest devices up-to-date. This is especially important for apps that connect to severs. If the client device does not support the latest security protocols, devs will likely drop support for it very quickly.


OP: Which carrier is your S4 for? Those phones did get the 5.0 upgrade.

Edit: Just noticed OP is in Canada-land. You may need to install a custom recovery and download a custom OS on your phone to get 5.0 (Or newer). Most smaller wireless carriers do not upgrade their phones OS's for very long (One advantage to iPhones is that they don't let carriers meddle with their OS).

 

[Upper5Percent]

Your cell phone works fine with onstar. You just need to program Onstar's 800 number into one of the 1-touch keys and you're good. The more interesting issue is getting that analog phone to work with any carrier, as I think they all went digital in the late 90s.

Actually...As of February 18, 2008, carriers in the United States were no longer required to support AMPS and companies such as AT&T and Verizon have discontinued this service permanently.

 

[hellsop]

Actually...As of February 18, 2008, carriers in the United States were no longer required to support AMPS and companies such as AT&T and Verizon have discontinued this service permanently.

But at least one determined company keeps trying to sell me pager service.

 

[llninja]

Actually...As of February 18, 2008, carriers in the United States were no longer required to support AMPS and companies such as AT&T and Verizon have discontinued this service permanently.

OK, I was off by a decade. But I distinctly remember having to switch cell service as Cellular One (which became Cingular, then AT&T) forced me to get rid of my analog StarTAC around 1999 or 2000 because they went digital. Since the digital rates were through the roof compared to my $9.99 monthly rate plus minutes, I jumped ship to Sprint, only to jump back to AT&T for the JesusPhone.

I miss the days of $9.99 monthly rates and $0.99 phones.