Using Starlink (mini) wifi with Tesla Cybertruck, only for navigation?

[GmP]

I recently got a Starlink mini and when going into an area with no cell reception I used it with my iPhone and iPad, works great.

Of course the Tesla maps/routing also doesn’t work in those Places. Googling about it I read several warnings that when you connect the car to the Starlink wifi, it will also download and upload a lot of other data, and will blow through the $50/50GB plan in no time.

Did any of the several Starlink users on this forum find a way to use Starlink for in car navigation, but not allowing “other data” usage?

How many days of “Tesla data” fit into the 50GB? Or is that not predictable?

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[rsilvers]

50 GB is huge. Navigation was designed around minimizing cell data and is not even a tiny fraction of that.

 

[GmP]

50 GB is huge. Navigation was designed around minimizing cell data and is not even a tiny fraction of that.

Correct. My concern is not the Navigation data, but all “other” data that Tesla up/down loads. If not on cellular, and not on home WiFi, can I stop it from using Starlink WiFi? But still have it used for Navigation?

 

[rsilvers]

I don't think so, but not sure why you would want to stop it from using Starlink since you don't get charged by the amount of data.

 

[GmP]

I don't think so, but not sure why you would want to stop it from using Starlink since you don't get charged by the amount of data.

Starlink roam has two levels. A 50GB for $50 or an unlimited for $165. I want to stay below 50GB, since I use it only a few times each month, no use for unlimited data. And when I don’t expect it to use in a month I deactivate for that month upfront and pay only $5.

 

[Loudness]

Starlink roam has two levels. A 50GB for $50 or an unlimited for $165. I want to stay below 50GB, since I use it only a few times each month, no use for unlimited data. And when I don’t expect it to use in a month I deactivate for that month upfront and pay only $5.

They recently boosted it to 100GB, check it again:

And if you exceed the cap, you can still use it, it just has data limitations. It should easily be enough for nav: Policy Link

 

[Fugue]

I use the $5 plan. Haven't had an issue with navigation.

 

[Fodderof4]

I use the $5 plan. Haven't had an issue with navigation.

when did you last use it? That plan doesn’t work when moving now.

stop moving and it works.

Bob

 

[iceberg5xx]

I think @GmP’s point is that when our CTs connect to Wi-Fi, they can upload a surprising amount of data. This is my last week of home network usage: 64 GB uploaded in what I’d consider a normal week.


That suggests the truck may be sending telemetry, camera/event data, software logs, or otherwise behaving as if it has unrestricted broadband available. On a 50 GB Starlink Roam/Mini priority plan, that could burn through the monthly cap quickly.


What I don’t know is whether Tesla queues those larger uploads until the vehicle is parked and on Wi-Fi. My truck is almost always stationary when connected to my home network, so it’s hard to tell if that’s intentional behavior or just coincidence.


If that is how it works, one possible workaround for Starlink users might be disabling Wi-Fi access to the truck while parked, or only enabling it when needed for updates.

 

[CyberT]

I recently got a Starlink mini and when going into an area with no cell reception I used it with my iPhone and iPad, works great.
Of course the Tesla maps/routing also doesn’t work in those Places. Googling about it I read several warnings that when you connect the car to the Starlink wifi, it will also download and upload a lot of other data, and will blow through the $50/50GB plan in no time.

Did any of the several Starlink users on this forum find a way to use Starlink for in car navigation, but not allowing “other data” usage?

How many days of “Tesla data” fit into the 50GB? Or is that not predictable?

I had this data use question before. https://www.cybertruckownersclub.com/forum/threads/high-cybertruck-data-usage.38161/ Mongo's first reply was to disable the data sharing, since then I haven't gone over my data limits.

 

[iceberg5xx]

Totally understand, particularly if you are paying overages. Bummer is these uploads help improve FSD and other features.

 

[GmP]

Thanks everyone for responding.

My take-away:
There is no simple setting in the car WiFI that “splits” traffic into the (massive) data up/down loads versus (just little) navigation, entertainment traffic. That would be a very useful feature I would think, also for the “premium connectivity” load.
However:
-the $50 plan is 100GB (not 50GB as I thought)
-when going over the 100GB, the costs will not increase, but the speed will slow down.
-when still a concern, limit or switch off “data sharing” as that consumes a lot of bandwidth.

Based on this I will use it “as is” and see what the usage is going to be.

 

[Fugue]

when did you last use it? That plan doesn’t work when moving now.

stop moving and it works.

Bob

I'm just now learning this. That is disappointing.

 

[CyberT]

I'm just now learning this. That is disappointing.

As we all were too

 

[EWELON]

data sharing sends the shadow AI info to tesla. meaning if you dont have fsd on and you yourself are driving, the fsd predicts your behavior and tries to guess what youre going to do. that data is sent to tesla to help with training. thats how I understand what shadow ai does.

so if you do a lot of self driving then that data upload could theoretically be larger (this is total speculation by me)

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