[Cr-R1T]

Even though 5G is not generally available, Rivian should include 5G capability in vehicles to be delivered this summer. I certainly plan to have the R1T for years and during that time 5G should become more and more available. 5G is slated to be 100 times faster than 4G. See 5G vs 4G: what’s the difference? | Thales Group . Seems-out-of-line for a top-of-the-line vehicle to come with obsolescent technology.

A related concern:

The R1T will be my 2nd EV, the 1st being the Kia Niro EV. While I am generally pleased with the Kia, there is a big sore spot: over-the-air access. For the 1st year of ownership, all over-the-air services were free. After that, just 911 connect, maintenance reminder, remote charge controls (start/stop/levels). This is free for 5 years. I've attached a .pdf showing the missing services and the cost for getting them. Seems a bit much...

Wondering what services will be available from Rivian, which ones will be free, which ones will be a subscription, and what subscription costs might be.

Insights appreciated

 

[eHauler]

While 5G will be great to have at launch, Rivian is better off including it down the road as they step up autonomous tech features since it needs an improved network. When that happens, they'll have no choice but to make 5G a standard feature. I believe this is true for many other automakers.

 

[krivian]

While 5G will be great to have at launch, Rivian is better off including it down the road as they step up autonomous tech features since it needs an improved network. When that happens, they'll have no choice but to make 5G a standard feature. I believe this is true for many other automakers.

I was told 4G option is standard. I dont know if it means standard for life or standard when delivered

 

[87Ducks]

While 5G will be great to have at launch, Rivian is better off including it down the road as they step up autonomous tech features since it needs an improved network. When that happens, they'll have no choice but to make 5G a standard feature. I believe this is true for many other automakers.

My concern is if vehicle purchased in 21/22 can easily be retrofitted from 4g to 5g. It seems like something Rivian would address.

 

[Cr-R1T]

My concern is if vehicle purchased in 21/22 can easily be retrofitted from 4g to 5g. It seems like something Rivian would address.

Phones that do not come 5g able will never be 5g able...if they are 5g compatible, they can work on 4g. I assume the same with the 'phone' built into the Rivian.

 

[87Ducks]

Here is the response I got on chat. Sounds very vague and non-committal.
ME:I was wondering about the communication platform. The site says 4G and WiFi but I was wondering if the vehicle would be upgradable to 5G when that platform becomes available?
Rivian: With over the air updates, capabilities will expand as new technology is available
ME:For phones anyway, the 5g hardware is different than that of 4g. So I didn't know if this was the case with the vehicles or not.
Rivian:We'll share news of any updates as they become available. I can't confirm specifically to 5G in the future or not
ME:OK I'll keep checking. Thanks

 

[Cr-R1T]

I doubt that this is a make or break issue for those of us in the queue, but maybe someone from Rivian is paying attention and thinking about it. Can't imagine that the marginal cost of providing 5g rather than 4g hardware would be more important than the image of a cutting edge vehicle being launched with an obsolescent technology.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

Phones that do not come 5g able will never be 5g able...if they are 5g compatible, they can work on 4g. I assume the same with the 'phone' built into the Rivian.

GM has sold upgrade kits to upgrade their Onstar systems in vehicles from 2G to 3G and then 3G to LTE. So there is a precedent for this to be possible.

Whether Rivian does it, or not, remains to be seen.

 

[Cr-R1T]

GM has sold upgrade kits to upgrade their Onstar systems in vehicles from 2G to 3G and then 3G to LTE. So there is a precedent for this to be possible.

Whether Rivian does it, or not, remains to be seen.

Well, hopefully an 'unplug the old, plug in the new will work...

BTW: the Amiga was pretty cool!

 

[BigE]

I asked the question of 4G vs 5G back in early November and finally got a response from Rivian. As these vehicles are not starting to ship until mid 2021, why would you not future proof with 4G/5G now?

Here is Rivian’s response:

Thanks for your patience with this response, as this is far longer than we strive to return communications!

Our goal is to make Rivian's the best in class vehicle for our community, both in physical performance and with our technology inside the vehicle.

While we will be launching our R1T with 4G connectivity standard, our innovative over-the-air software updates will enable a consistent quality experience by always providing the most update to date features. We haven't announced too many details on our infotainment systems, but we look forward to sharing more information as we move closer to production!

We appreciate your support and feedback, Eric. If you have any other questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out to our teams again!

Have a safe new year,

Caitlin

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

Like many of their responses, there’s a lot of words there, but little substance.