We just recently got tied into the cell phone circut in the san Antonio area so I bought some phone time and decided to program in some personal numbers only to find out the personal phone hook up dom't work. I can't recieve or transmit personal calls but ONSTAR its self works, when I can get the ONSTAR operator on line. Made an appointment with the dealer for tomorrow, but was wondering if any of you have had similar experiences. Also going to get the upper left ball joint replaced because it don't hold grease. There's a lkittle hole in the bladder around the ball joint. Dealer said he thought the warranty would cover it, hope so. About 15K on the jewl now and its running like a dream.If the klunk,klunk doesn't come back I'll be happy.):h

The way I understand it, if Onstar works, the phone should work. Have you contacted Onstar?? What do they say??

On-Star contacted me about using their system as a cell phone. Said it would be nice to have for an emergency. Isn't that what the basic system is for??? I have no interest in talking with anyone when I'm driving. Enjoy the quiet time.

[QUOTE=donn]The way I understand it, if Onstar works, the phone should work. Have you contacted Onstar?? What do they say??[/QUOTE ]


Have talked to Onstar three times but thet haven't helped, thats why its going back to the dealer tomorrow. Right now I can't raise Onstart either.The way Onstar works is, or so I understand, is if you want to contact them you push one button and your connected directly with Onstar and if you push another botton you are again connected with Onstar( phonr call section), they then ask for for you call number/nametag and then route your call to the cell phone net in the area of the number called area code. In my case, Onstar just recently got a contract with a local cell phone net so we can use the personal phone part of Onstar. I'm not sure if I have trouble with the Onstart connection, my truck equipment, or the local cell phone net. I only want the phone so my extended family can find me wen they want( emergency only) or vice versa. A cell phone won't give me the coverage Onstar should, I frequently get out of the area of coverage for a cell phone (been there).

If I had to do over again Onstar would not be on my truck unless I won the lottery or something like that.

i believe it takes a day to get a number. at least the last two trucks i had did. you get it through onstar, at least i did. minuets are through the roof , it is all hands free if you got the steering wheel controls.;)

I just took them up on their offer to add 100 minutes to the trial 30 for $19. Figure since it is analog, it will work in more areas than my Nextel service does here in AZ.

I did notice that in order to answer an incoming call, you have to press the * button on the mirror. The wheel control does not work.

BTW, I kinda think that the OnStar service is a bit of a joke. Two, well maybe three of the best features can either be easily defeated by default or knowledge, and the third could be by not having cell service.

Examples:
Door unlock service. Not available after what 48 hrs of truck sitting idle. I've lost my key before on a trip, and when I got back home, I had to take a taxi to my house to get the spares, and then taxi back to the airport to get the car. What a PITA.

Stolen car. Once the battery is disconnected, no Onstar, ie no tracking.

Accident in BFE where there is no cell service. No "help is on the way Mr. Smith."

i believe it takes a day to get a number. at least the last two trucks i had did. you get it through onstar, at least i did. minuets are through the roof , it is all hands free if you got the steering wheel controls.;)
I've had the number almost a month, now I'd like some service. Hope to find out tomorrow where the problem is.You were lucky to get a number so quick, I had the truck 14 months before we got the service in our area and then it took me a week to get the number.Now I need to find out why it don't work. Hopefully the dealer will fix it tomorrow. Twenty nine years ago I was the service manager for RCA two way commnercial radio in this area and we never had problems like this. but again we didn't have the system complexity they do today.

We haven't had any problems using our On-Star system as a telephone. Actually, we purchased extra minutes in both vehicles and, in the truck, we have found them to come in handy. We travel all over the country with a 5th wheel RV Toy Hauler and, often times, our cell cannot find a signal. On-Star has always been there when we needed service.

04 and 05 are not analog, they are digital. can be added toa verizon wireless plan for $20/month and share minutes. Analog in 03 and below. I am checking on the converting mine (03) to digital, may be cost prohibitive. way better than $.40/min average through on star.

my o4 is not completely digital, its digital ready. go to the onstar website and you can learn all about it.

Peekok is right. Even the '05's still use an analog signal, they are just ready for the future change to digital. Some '04 are ready, some will need an upgrade, and I think others are SOL. Like he said the www site explains how you can test your '04 for upgradability.

interesting...

thats what I get for "confiriming" my info with the parts guy !

I use mine all the time. It's a PITA without a keyboard as it hates my voice, or doesn't like it when the kids are screaming, but all in all it has been very useful.

I hate cellphones to begin with. But it has saved my bacon a few times to have a phone that is charged at all times in my truck.

I had the 30 trial minutes on my truck that ended up going unused because it couldn't understand my "2". I finally gave up. My cell phone was much easier to use and with the large number of enties I've got loaded in the phone book of the phone, much easier to use. I've let On-star lapse on both the 2500HD and the Tahoe. Aside from accident reporting, vehicle unlocks and theft tracking, my cell offers me much more flexibility. I can use it in the house or office for my long distance instead of a calling card. When I'm on the internet, people who really might need to get ahold of me can through the cell (dial-up connected without DSL). Plus I've got a phone available when I'm on my motorcycle. My wife has her own cell phone too and shares my minutes through Verizon. I've got a daughter who will be driving in 2 years and I'm sure we will add a third phone and some more minutes to share. On-star is a great product, I'm not knocking it. It just didn't fit for our needs. I encouraged my 75 year old dad to keep the On-star active on his Olds van (which he has) even though he carries a cell phone for emergencies. It's a great safety net for him with the GPS tracking and the red cross hot button, since my mother is a partially paralized stroke victim.

So you can get cell service through Verizon and not go through onstar? That I might go for, wasn't planning on renewing the onstar though.

If I understand what I read on Verizon's site, you still must have On-star active on the vehicle. It's just that the phone minutes for the vehicle phone can be shared through your Verizon contract instead of being carried separately through On-star. In other words, you are an On-star subscriber.

Q. How do OnStar subscribers sign up for this new Verizon Wireless plan?
Current OnStar subscribers in the eligible markets who have vehicles equipped with OnStar digital hardware will be able to sign up for the America’s Choice<SUP>sm</SUP> Plan with OnStar if they are an existing Verizon Wireless subscriber or by purchasing a newVerizon Wireless handset and signing a new Verizon Wireless agreement. Learn more about the plan by contacting OnStar at 1-888-4-ONSTAR (1-888-466-7827) or click here (http://www.vzwshop.com/OnStar/?page=ProductOverview). New eligible OnStar subscribers will get information about the plan from OnStar during the first few months of their subscription.

Does anyone know if I can get internet service in my truck through Onstar or verizon hooked into Onstar? I could really use it for work since I'm in the field all day. How about a fax in the truck also? Thanks for any info.

Jim

Have learned the Onstar satelite is in such a position here this time of the year that my area isn't covered. During the summer the satelite will be in right position so we can use it in the area.Onstar can work and the phone system not work. They are two different systems. If you can reach the reach Onstar satelite you may not be able to have Onstar satelite connect you to a fully functional cell/land line system. Complicated isn't it. Radio Shack has a little hand held system for $150 and $10 a month' It doesn't do what Onstar does but it may take care of most peoples emergency needs.

No, no and no.

Onstar is currently 100% analog cellular service utilizing Verizon, or those subcontractors that Verizon has agreements with. It has absolutly no ability to communicate with a satellite now, or in the future.

In a couple of years, the service will change from analog to digital, but it will still be a cellular based service.

Bill, I don't know what the guys at Rat Shack are trying to sell you, other than some other cell service, perhaps from Sprint. Or, for $10/month maybe they are trying to sell you Sirius Satellite radio...

oilbrnr is right on the cellular service. maybe bill is talking about the gps part of onstar which has to be sattelite based, but im pretty sure they are using the same geosynchronis millitary sats everyone else is.

No, no and no.

Onstar is currently 100% analog cellular service utilizing Verizon, or those subcontractors that Verizon has agreements with. It has absolutly no ability to communicate with a satellite now, or in the future.

In a couple of years, the service will change from analog to digital, but it will still be a cellular based service.

Bill, I don't know what the guys at Rat Shack are trying to sell you, other than some other cell service, perhaps from Sprint. Or, for $10/month maybe they are trying to sell you Sirius Satellite radio...

No one in fradio shack is trying to sell me anything, I just happened to see one of thier advirtisements and thought I'd mention it. I still can't get OnStar or truck phone service while sitting in my yard but I can use my daughters Verizion cell phone fro here at the house. When I get far enough out of this area I can connect with the satelite which in turns dials into Verizion and they in turn pass my call on to whom ever. In my case I don't call cell phones, only line connected phones. If it works different than that, the ON-Star tech fed me a line.

Uh, ok last post and then I give up. There is NO, ABSOLUTLEY NO INTERACTION WITH ANY SATALLITE! Do I need to repeat that last statement? Bill, buddy, this OnStar system is all land based, analog stuff. It is more likely that you are in an area that does not have the old analog service, and has converted to digital.

FWIW Onstar has 2 functions,
#1 The Onstar system in your truck has a built in GPS that will tell the computer the location of the truck. This uses the standard singnals sent down by many satalites. The system dose not comunicate with the satalites at all. It simply recieves radio singals from sereral sat's and trianglates your position.

#2 The Onstar system in your truck has a land based, cellular phone system that can send and recieve information from Onstar and be used as a cellular phone.


So in the event of a crash and the air bags deploy, the computer in the truck knows your position from the built in GPS and senses the air bag deployment and will automatically call onstar and give them the info. Onstar will then call you back and see if your ok. Or if your locked out you call onstar from a outside phone, give them the password and they will call the truck and tell the computer in the truck to open the doors. This all occurs via cellular phone service.

It is a common missconception that Onstar uses satalite phone service. It uses standard Verizon cellular service. Idont know if it is analog or digital. The one big difference between your handheld Verizon cell phone and the Onstar system is, handhelds are limited to 1/2 watt of output power and the Onstar system is a full 3 watts, simular to the old box phones people used to cary around. I hope this helps. ):h