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New to Energi - Connecting to Wireless


James Kirk
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Hey guys, picked up a new 2014 Energi yesterday.  Really love the new car, however, I'm having extreme difficulties connecting to Wireless.  I have a secure Wireless SSID and when I try and enter the password in, the only alpha letters it lets me input is a capitalized "A".  I can't put anything else in.

 

Perhaps I'm missing something here, but the manual doesn't tell me how to do anything differently.

 

Thanks, and glad to be a part of the forum and community.

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Welcome to the board and your new car. :)

 

To be honest, WiFi connectivity as a client is useless.  There is zero benefit to connect your car to your home's access point.  However, you can use the car as a WiFi hotspot if you connect a data dongle in to one of the USB ports in the car.  Not sure why they included a client mode, as it doesn't send or receive anything over that interface.

 

All MFM connectivity takes place over the built in 3G data radio. 

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From: http://www.ford.com/cars/focus/features/Feature20/#page=Feature20

 

"MyFord Mobile subscription complimentary for five years from vehicle sale date as recorded by the dealer. Subscription fees apply after five years. MyFord Mobile requires a compatible 2G independent cellular network. Evolving technology and cellular networks may affect future functionality."

 

The 2G network they are talking about is AT&T. Unfortunately this is ancient technology. From http://cd2migration.att.com/ all AT&T 2G will be shut down by Jan 1, 2017. It's been reported that in some locations they have already shutdown their 2G service, depending on their need for bandwidth in any specific area.

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If you connect your car to your home WiFi, does it provide a backup data path for MFM if your home doesn't have sufficient 2G or 3G coverage?

 

Related question - is there a screen/display in the car that can tell you whether you have sufficient 2G or 3G coverage for MFM at the moment?

 

Thanks,

Mike

No.  The built-in WiFi has no connection to MFM.  It also limits the client security key to 10 characters.  Obviously whoever made that decision knows nothing about security.

 

No.  There is no way to know the MFM data transceiver's signal strength.  Mine doesn't work most of the time with the car in the garage.

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No.  The built-in WiFi has no connection to MFM.  It also limits the client security key to 10 characters.  Obviously whoever made that decision knows nothing about security.

 

No.  There is no way to know the MFM data transceiver's signal strength.  Mine doesn't work most of the time with the car in the garage.

 

The length of the key does not effect the strength of the encryption - it's the other way around - the strength of the encryption dictates the length of the key.    10 characters is the length for a 64 bit encryption  key.  If you wanted a longer key you would need stronger encryption - for example 128 bit encryption uses a 26 character security key.  BTW - I don't think having 64 bit encryption on your car's wifi is a huge (ie:...knows nothing about security.) security flaw.  Given the 'value' of the asset, no one is going to waste time and resources to hack it.  

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You missed the point.  I'm not talking about the WiFi server in the car.

The limitation is on the WiFi client software.  If the Wireless access point that you want to access has a key longer than 10 characters it is impossible for the car to connect to it.  If there is any limit at all on client software it should be 63 characters.

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The length of the key does not effect the strength of the encryption - it's the other way around - the strength of the encryption dictates the length of the key.    10 characters is the length for a 64 bit encryption  key.  If you wanted a longer key you would need stronger encryption - for example 128 bit encryption uses a 26 character security key.  BTW - I don't think having 64 bit encryption on your car's wifi is a huge (ie:...knows nothing about security.) security flaw.  Given the 'value' of the asset, no one is going to waste time and resources to hack it.  

The problem is that I would need to lower the encryption strength on my home wifi network in order for the car to be able to connect to it.  I'd never do that.

 

If there was any value in activating this connection, I'd probably put an access point in the garage and run that network in a DMZ. But I won't do that unless someone can explain what that connection is used for.  Right now I don't see any value in it.

Edited by njmike
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