Sim Card - Mobile Data

DolphinNewbie | 2024-10-12 14:40 | 29 views

Hey, Im new to the site and will soon have my BYD car arrive. I wondered if someone could help me with regards to the below few points though, if anyone has found out about these things. 1. I know the car comes with a Sim Card included and i believed it was mostly used for (OTA updates / Satnav / Emergency SOS / Remote access via App). Would this sim card be used however for Spotify as an example and any other internet heavy applications, or only specific car related tasks. I heard that for the first 2 years, you get 1.5 GB of data for the car sim per month, obviously without linking to any WiFi, the car sim data would surely be eaten up easily if other apps are using it. 2. In regards to the forst 2 years sim data allowance. Does anyone know what happens after the 2 years. What costs are incurred and if any plans are known i.e. cost and volume of data. 3. I plan to hotspot my mobile phone to the car and it pick up as WiFi. If i do that, does that then mean any OTA Updates / SatNav would use my mobile data and not the car sim. In theory then not using the car sim data very much ? How does everyone else find the car sim data allowance. Does it go quickly for you and your use or does anyone else also try not to use it and instead hotspot to the mobile phone. Many thanks Autos & Vehicles

Comments (9)

ThanosD 2024-10-16 07:44

i have exactly the same questions? anybody? Mobile Phones

Raging Gallops 2025-06-02 23:35

Same questions. Will bookmark and return with info if I find any before others do.

Fishman 2025-06-05 09:43

What’s a hot spot and how do you connect and use it

BYDRIVER 2025-06-05 12:52

You can connect your phone to your BYD via CarPlay/Android Auto. This will use your mobile phone data and not your 1.5Gb allowance from BYD. You can even run CarPlay in the background while using your native BYD infotainment for navigation for example.

Jaymac460 2025-06-30 16:52

In Ireland, we get 1GB per month. OTA’s are excluded from that allowance I.E. any OTA will be provided through the sim, and you still get the full 1GB monthly allowance. The ‘onbaord’ sat Nav, Spotify, BYD assistant etc use that allowance. One of the utility apps shows how much you have used, and what is consuming that usage. If you use Spotify or Nav etc through your phone (via CarPlay or AA) then they use your phones data. I don’t know what happens after 2 years (presumably there will be a monthly subscription, but I’ve no idea what that will cost).

kuznetsov 2025-07-16 00:01

More importantly are you aware you CANNOT disable the cellular data, because the car ignores that setting? Just flip the switch within Settings "Cellular Data" and you will see the connection icon is still there in the top right corner of the screen. Also I found that after I (thought) I disabled the "Cellular Data" days later the car displayed a message that a new firmware was available for download. I contacted BYD Customer "Care" about this and they casually informed me "The connection to the network is intentional by design". Basically they breach our privacy. So rip the SIM card and use hot-spotting, preferable from a device with Pi-hole or a proper firewall/VPN. I will do some Wiresharking to see where these @ssholes are sending data from our cars...

fusion_waste 2025-07-16 23:00

Hello I own a BYD Seal in Australia for a few weeks and I have been discovering some of these things myself. 1. I think the car uses the sim connection to check for OTA availability, not for actually download it. Also it uses it to allow app remote connectivity, control and location. I think it will use the sim data for Spotify though as I tried myself and saw the data consumption for a few days. I have installed Youtube, Calm Radio and Web Browser since and disallowed these apps and Spotify from using cellular data. You can do this using the Data Usage application and this causes these apps to fail when you are not connected to a WIFI network. I only allow cellular data to navigation and voice assistant. I don't think you can turn off cellular data altogether. 2. In Australia we get 2GB per month complimentary for the first 2 years. No one seem to know what will happen after that but it's fairly likely we may be offered a monthly/yearly subscription for the 4G/5G service (Tesla style). Or maybe BYD would extend the free connectivity arrangements with minimal data allowance and offer paid subscriptions with higher data allowance. 3. I do that and works great. The only detail for me is that I use Apple CarPlay which creates a hotspot on the fly to connect to and disconnects the WIFI antenna on the car. So when I need to use an app that uses data I disconnect CarPlay, turn on my hotspot on my iPhone, turn on WIFI on the car and it connects automatically because it remembers. When I finish with say YouTube I ask CarPlay to connect again. I think OTA update availability and navigation will use whatever internet connection they have but OTA downloads will only be over a WIFI network.

Jaymac460 2025-07-17 05:15

Hi @fusion_waste Thank you. You solved a problem for me. My Spotify in the car stopped working a few weeks back (other than when it was parked at home using WiFi). I couldn’t figure out why, but based on your post above, I checked the data usage application, and sure enough, Spotify was disabled. I must have disabled it accidentally when I previously checked the usage (I hadn’t realised that ‘apps’ could be disabled from using cellular data). Again, thanks

TrsutyZubu 2025-08-26 16:21

Must be honest, this came as a total surprise - the loss of Spotify - thought was down to a black spot but no - I've only had the car 2 weeks and admittedly travel a lot for work and am an avid Spotify listener but to have used it all in this time is shocking really. Think that the only way around it is to change the sim??? Cant get my head around Apple Car Play if I'm honest - mostly as don't like the look of it - ridiculous I know! Sadly, its just the latest in a line of quirks I have found...

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