Disabling Jeep's ability to communicate, and its implications

[TheSolarWizard]

does the 7" u connect have this? I occasionally get an "updating" screen at the top of the dash so I suspect it does

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[Alpine Warthog]

does the 7" u connect have this? I occasionally get an "updating" screen at the top of the dash so I suspect it does

The 7 inch doesn't have any comms aside from the sat and am/fm antennas. However if you take your car to the dealership for oil changes or warranty they'll be able to get your info that way.

 

[TheSolarWizard]

lol well im about to completely nullify my remaining powertrain warranty so that's a relief

 

[BourbonRunner]

@OP: I'm a GenX who's first car was an Olds Cutlass Supreme with a wheezy Rochester carb and I have a penchant for old German iron. They're mechanical and electrical nightmares and very maintenance intensive. They need more attention than a Kardashian.... but I can't quit them.

I'm also with you- I hate the telematics. Our 2023 Bronco Sport asks every damned time if you want to turn it on or off. Drives me batty. I don't want anyone watching my car. Especially knowing what I do in that BMW.

 

[Jimmy07]

I hope yet becomes never. The thought of going into limp mode over connectivity is ridiculous, especially in a Jeep of all vehicles.

It would be a shame to lose off-road pages -- I literally just sold my Tazer within the last month! lol

Unfortunate timing aside, thanks for the heads up. I'll probably look into LTE1 and LTE2, then see what the car does once they're gone.

Disconnecting the antennas won’t stop anything, only slow it down. The only way to absolutely stop all data transmission is to remove the wireless card from inside the 8.4 radio. Plenty of threads on other forums about this, as all 8.4 radios are the same.
https://www.cumminsforum.com/threads/how-to-disable-uconnect-8-4-cellular-intrusion.2552829/

If it’s a 2024 with the UC5, then you remove the separate telematics box (the radio module itself for UC5 has no connectivity capability).

If it’s a 7” radio JT capable of SXM guardian and WiFi hotspot, then you remove the separate emergency assist module (same as a telematics box), but you’ll have to do some wire rerouting to get hands free mic working again.

 

[PuddleJumper]

I do wanna add a side/positive note for these monitoring systems. When apple updated their phones to detect crashes and call emergency services. I thought it was invasive, i didn't want my phone tracking what i did on my motorcycle (turns out the bike does it anyway lol). Then came an eventful rainy day and a distracted driver that fled the scene. No one knew where I was. I would've died in that ditch if it wasn't for that damn iphone. It told my wife and my mom it had detect a crash and where. It call 911 via Sat when i couldn't get up and disable the 1 min warning after it detected the crash. the longest 8 min of my life later and I had a county sheriff and EMT pulling my helmet off. My bike had landed on me and despite luckily not breaking anything i couldn't move and i could barely breathe. Not fun being in that much pain and watching the ditch your in fill with water. drowning under my bike is not the way i wanted to go. So whenever that stupid OnStar/SAT SOS accidently actives whether my button happy younger brother pressed it or i jumped the truck a little to hard. Its nice to know that whether its me or a loved one in my truck, if shit goes sideways. someone is coming to get them. True independence is great till you need a helping hand and your powerless to help yourself. We often forget Nature is brutal and doesn't care.

 

[BuyHold]

https://www.cumminsforum.com/threads/how-to-disable-uconnect-8-4-cellular-intrusion.2552829/

This is great.

I hope someone here can try this and report back with pictures.

I really don't understand why people think that NOT wanting to be tracked is some sort or paranoia. Arguments like "your phone does it anyway" and whatnot are silly. People should be able to have more control over their digital privacy.

 

[Undergrad-Peso]

Disconnecting the antennas won’t stop anything, only slow it down. The only way to absolutely stop all data transmission is to remove the wireless card from inside the 8.4 radio. Plenty of threads on other forums about this, as all 8.4 radios are the same.
https://www.cumminsforum.com/threads/how-to-disable-uconnect-8-4-cellular-intrusion.2552829/

If it’s a 2024 with the UC5, then you remove the separate telematics box (the radio module itself for UC5 has no connectivity capability).

If it’s a 7” radio JT capable of SXM guardian and WiFi hotspot, then you remove the separate emergency assist module (same as a telematics box), but you’ll have to do some wire rerouting to get hands free mic working again.

Looks like I'll be messing around in that area to get one of the two LTE antenna anyways. Thank you for sharing this, I'll be looking into it, too. I have a 2020 so I'm not sure how much more things have advanced since that year.

I do wanna add a side/positive note for these monitoring systems. When apple updated their phones to detect crashes and call emergency services. I thought it was invasive, i didn't want my phone tracking what i did on my motorcycle (turns out the bike does it anyway lol). Then came an eventful rainy day and a distracted driver that fled the scene. No one knew where I was. I would've died in that ditch if it wasn't for that damn iphone. It told my wife and my mom it had detect a crash and where. It call 911 via Sat when i couldn't get up and disable the 1 min warning after it detected the crash. the longest 8 min of my life later and I had a county sheriff and EMT pulling my helmet off. My bike had landed on me and despite luckily not breaking anything i couldn't move and i could barely breathe. Not fun being in that much pain and watching the ditch your in fill with water. drowning under my bike is not the way i wanted to go. So whenever that stupid OnStar/SAT SOS accidently actives whether my button happy younger brother pressed it or i jumped the truck a little to hard. Its nice to know that whether its me or a loved one in my truck, if shit goes sideways. someone is coming to get them. True independence is great till you need a helping hand and your powerless to help yourself. We often forget Nature is brutal and doesn't care.

Absolutely miserable. Glad it saved your life. This does seem like a tech-negative topic so I'm glad you shared that. I don't hate the idea that I have an SOS lifeline built right into my car in case of emergencies. I'm glad it's there and that it can and has saved lives. In other devices, such as a phone, I'll be keeping that on if I ever get an iPhone -- but I won't be keeping that on in my car, where that telematic data is also being collected with the potential of being used against consumers. I'd rather just send no data at all and have a separate device that will SOS for me, like in your case the iPhone or as mentioned a Garmin

 

[Jimmy07]

I have a 2020 so I'm not sure how much more things have advanced since that year.

Doesn’t matter what year it is, if the radio is an 8.4 UC4, the process is the same.

 

[Tyandpi]

This is great.

I hope someone here can try this and report back with pictures.

I really don't understand why people think that NOT wanting to be tracked is some sort or paranoia. Arguments like "your phone does it anyway" and whatnot are silly. People should be able to have more control over their digital privacy.

Looks like John Spartan gave this a try in a 2022:

https://www.cumminsforum.com/threads/big-brother.2569144/#post-29693627

Page 2 shows what was needed to achieve GREAT SUCCESS!

 

[kcmudbug]

does the 7" u connect have this? I occasionally get an "updating" screen at the top of the dash so I suspect it does

The 7 inch doesn't have any comms aside from the sat and am/fm antennas. However if you take your car to the dealership for oil changes or warranty they'll be able to get your info that way.

Mine does. Any time there's a hiccup - TPMS sensors not installed on my new wheels for a couple days, didn't get gas cap tight, etc. I get an email within a couple hours saying I need to get it in for service ASAP along with current mileage and other info specific to my Gladiator. There was also a hiccup in Jeep corporate's computer system back in mid Feb that caused connected services errors on the radio, error / warning lights, and emails to take it in for service.

I don't want my info shared, but what concerns me more about the communication is that Jeep's corporate computers having trouble can affect my vehicle.

 

[Lost1wing]

@OP: I'm a GenX who's first car was an Olds Cutlass Supreme with a wheezy Rochester carb and I have a penchant for old German iron. They're mechanical and electrical nightmares and very maintenance intensive. They need more attention than a Kardashian.... but I can't quit them.

I'm also with you- I hate the telematics. Our 2023 Bronco Sport asks every damned time if you want to turn it on or off. Drives me batty. I don't want anyone watching my car. Especially knowing what I do in that BMW.

Not my first, but I had a 1969 Buick Skylark with the Rocket 350, which was not wheezy.

 

[BourbonRunner]

Not my first, but I had a 1969 Buick Skylark with the Rocket 350, which was not wheezy.

By the time the G-body was built that 350 had become a 170hp 305. It lost more power through the torque converter than it made.

 

[Coldtoes]

I find it interesting the Cummins threads have one post that states unplugging the antennas isn't enough, that the units can still pickup cell signal, just not as well. There was no further discussion about that, just taken as fact. It seems unlikely but I'm curious if anyone who had disconnected the antennas but not removed the cell board/telematics box, found it could still connect?

 

[PuddleJumper]

I find it interesting the Cummins threads have one post that states unplugging the antennas isn't enough, that the units can still pickup cell signal, just not as well. It seems unlikely but I'm curious if anyone who had disconnected the antennas but not removed the cell board/telematics box found it could still connect?

mine couldn't but i guess mileage varies

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