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Is there a way for somebody to TRACK my movement with Carnet?

10K views 25 replies 13 participants last post by  mrez 
#1 ·
Or any other way on a 2021 I'd 4?
Is there something I can turn off to prevent this?
 
#2 ·
Not for private citizens with the app, there's not nearly enough functionality in the app. But if someone hacks into the CarNet servers, then certainly.
I am not aware of controls to prevent any tracking, but that point is quite moot anyway. With a 4G modem on board you can be triangulated from cell tower usage by anyone with carrier access (i.e. the carriers themselves and any law enforcement agency with the flimsiest of pretense). And if you disable the car's modem, you still have one or more smartphones in the car with you that can be tracked the same way.
 
#26 ·
Not for private citizens with the app, there's not nearly enough functionality in the app. But if someone hacks into the CarNet servers, then certainly.
I am not aware of controls to prevent any tracking, but that point is quite moot anyway. With a 4G modem on board you can be triangulated from cell tower usage by anyone with carrier access (i.e. the carriers themselves and any law enforcement agency with the flimsiest of pretense). And if you disable the car's modem, you still have one or more smartphones in the car with you that can be tracked the same way.
When I was in Canada, my cell roaming was disabled, and was connected to the hotel's wifi. Still the cell company, verizon, charged me $276 because Car-Net was communicating with cell towers via the car's Hum connection or Car-Net connection for 72 hours. I protested to verizon that the car was parked in the garage basement and could not communicate with a cell tower; they wiped off the charge. My dealer does not know how to cut off Car-Net. What to do? I'm next driving my subaru to Canada unless VW has a fix. What's the use of Car-Net in Canada anyway, since emergency services are not applicable there?
 
#4 ·
Technically, VW could, because thats how car-net works (whether VW are tracking us, we can't say for sure), but not yet from end-user / car owners at the moment. To prevent that, if there is a way to disable the 4G cellular modem on the car via settings I'm not sure yet, or I recall there is a "telephone" fuse in the fuse box presumably for the modem, you can try to pull the fuse to disable the modem, but it might turn the car computer crazy.
 
#6 ·
BMW has this crazy service where I can request a data dump via their website, and about a day later they produce a report for download that includes location, battery info, driving info, state of the car, etc.

I imagine this is available due to some sort of German or EU consumer protection regulation, who knows, but it's interesting stuff.

I'd bet VW makes a similar report available. Anybody got the deets?
 
#8 ·
Turning on board modem to transport mode will disable it to some point.
But there is still way to pinpoint location on the sim card even when modem is not connected or even have power to the modem or sim card.
So for people who want no way to get tracked....
Modify EV ...remove satellite radio.....GPS for navigation....complete modem removal.....living any handheld device out of your presence.
And not to forget WI-FI and Bluetooth short range that also can be used for pinpointing someone location.
One of tools to use would be military grades jammers short range so you don't get attention from government officials or agents in the field.
Good luck and stay safe.
 
#10 ·
In retrospect: think you can, as it mentions Car-net:
Yes, since all EU citizens, even those currently living in the US or elsewhere are subject to / can get the protections of the GDPR. How much info do you have to provide to prove that it is you and not some impostor to get the data dump? @Nai3t How many hoops does BMW make you jump through?
 
#15 · (Edited)
So... If I'm understanding this.. If I block her access to car net, she AT LEAST can't use that to track me.
This has been an absolute horror.
Biggest mistake ever taking her with me to buy the car.

if she wants to track you, she’ll add an apple AirTag or a tile into the car, or install some software on your phone.
Currently there are so many easy ways to track people. Wouldn’t worry about carnet at all, as it can’t show your location to other users (yet)
 
#17 ·
I am going to be THAT guy. The answer is yes.

However... In doing so, you will screw yourself. Or at least you will screw the VIN.

How? Deactivate the data side of the shark fin antenna. There are many, many, many "foil cap" wearing individuals who have step by step tutorials on YouTube. No, I am not going to link them.

Point is, yes... Yes, you can make it so that VW cannot track your purchased VW. & Yes, you can make it so Big Brother cannot watch you.
 
#23 ·
Well, don't drive into Canada. This what happens. I drove from VT border to Montreal, about 1 1/4 hrs. Parked in a hotel basement garage; no cell phone connection. After 72 hrs, drove back to VT border. So approximately 3 hrs out of 72 hrs within cell tower range. No calls or messages on cell phone which was on hotel wifi. My additional charges due to car-net connection to tower, $276.
 
#24 ·
Your phone is more effective and more likely to be used by anyone wanting to track you. Your car's technology is too old! ROTFL... no kidding. But car tech has been hackable for eons, too... WITH a smartphone. Seriously... if you don't want to be tracked, why do you have anything electric?
 
#25 ·
I haven't used CarNet yet, so maybe someone else can say if this applies. For Audi services anyhow, someone has to be designated as the 'key' owner. That person can add or revoke any permissions for any other person attached to the car. If you are the key owner, and CarNet supports that concept, you can just remove them from the account, change your password, etc.

If you aren't the key owner, then before you get into modifying the car... are you the ACTUAL owner? If you aren't, then you could be setting yourself up for a bunch of legal trouble if you start ripping things out of the car, damaging it, etc. Maybe, in that case, you should just give the car back and find a different one? Just because they don't show it now doesn't mean they can't or might not in the future?

We Connect ID App 1.4.0 | VW ID.4 1st Max - YouTube

If you are worried about uncle sam or others tracking you, then yeah, you need to be more drastic about it. Technically you just need to wrap aluminum or something around the antenna. Not even remove it. But others have suggested many ways to do that.
 
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