Can The Onstar People Hear Me?

[djfcars]

Don't get me wrong, I'm a law abiding citizen. But is it possible for the Onstar people to listen in on a conversation if they want to?

Of course if my wife was talking it would probably put them to sleep.

Now you know I'm being funny about that 8^)

 

[ShapeShifter]

The OnStar equipment in your truck is basically a 3 watt analog cell phone with a built in data modem. (A typical hand-held cell phone is 500 mw, or 1/2 watt.)

When you are talking to OnStar, you are making a regular cell phone call though the cell phone provider, to the OnStar call center. Besides just talking to them, the data modem portion of the system can also transmit various vehicle information to the call center, and can receive commands from them.

When you use personal calling to call your wife, you are not talking to OnStar. You are simply making a regular cell phone call through the cell provider, to her. So, the people at OnStar cannot listen in, as they are not involved in the connection.

However, just like any cell phone, it is possible for someone with the right radio equipment to listen in on the conversation, just as it is possible to tap into hard-wired telephone lines.

So, is it absolutley secure? No, nothing is. But it's no different from any other cell phone. The key is that OnStar is not your cellular provider. It's just a call center, the number for which is essentially pre-programmed into your truck's system.

-- SS

 

[djfcars]

Shapeshifter-
I should of worded my post better-What I meant was can Onstar Listen in on a conversation in the cab of the AV when they want to?

Thanks for the reply,
Djfcars

 

[ShapeShifter]

I should of worded my post better-What I meant was can Onstar Listen in on a conversation in the cab of the AV when they want to?

Sorry, I obvioulsy misunderstood the question, and made an assumption.

But again, it all revolves around the fact that it's basically a cell phone call. There is no connection between your truck and anybody else until you push that button. Even when someone calls you, nothing happens until you push the button to answer it.

The ace in the hole is that OnStar can call the truck for remote door unlocking, or for stolen vehicle tracking. What happens at that point? I don't know what happens inside the cab with regards to a voice connection, but I would think that there would really be a privacy uproar if they could suddenly and unilaterally make a voice connection with the cab.

Note that in the case of airbag deployment, they can talk to you to see if you need help, but keep in mind that the truck automatically called them in that case. They did not initiate the call to you.

Am I the final authority on this? Of course not. But I don't think that you have anything to worry about.

-- SS

 

[milb440]

Don't get me wrong, I'm a law abiding citizen. ?But is it possible for the Onstar people to listen in on a conversation if they want to?

They can't, but when I tune my radio to 87.7 fm, and turn Onstar on at the same time, I CAN HEAR YOU!

I understand what you mean about your wife...
but she can't hold a candle to some of my wife's "conversations"

By the way, WHAT did you eat yesterday afternoon?
Some of those noises you made on the way home from work scared the heck out of me!

Seven