GM Discontinues OnStar Phone Feature: Exclusive
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GM Authority has learned that General Motors is officially discontinuing its OnStar phone feature, otherwise known as Hands-Free Calling, or HFC. The feature was first made available in the late ‘90s, making it the first built-in calling features provided by an automaker on the market.
For those who may be unaware, the Hands-Free Calling OnStar phone feature is a separate system from the Bluetooth-based smartphone hands-free calling system. Operated primarily via voice recognition and/or the central infotainment screen, the system enables phone calls without the need of a separate cell phone. Users purchase minutes through OnStar, and each vehicle is assigned a unique phone number, enabling both outbound and inbound calls.
Initially, the OnStar phone feature was a unique offering, and because it hit the market prior to the proliferation of cell phones (way before there was even such a thing as smartphones), it was definitely ahead of its time. But now, with the majority of customers already owning a Bluetooth-equipped smartphone that can connect to just about any modern infotainment system, the OnStar HFC system is more or less obsolete.
“We routinely evaluate our services to provide the best experience for our members,” General Motors’ Advanced Technology Communications, OnStar and Connectivity representative, Stephanie Lang told GM Authority. “In this spirit, we have decided to discontinue HFC for MY20 and newer vehicles. Members can use Bluetooth pairing, or Apple CarPlay and Android Auto projection, to make phone calls while keeping their hands on the wheel.”
That said, a particular subset of people – particularly those who don’t own a cell phone – may not like the departure of the OnStar phone Hands-Free Calling feature. That said, the amount of people who don’t own at least some kind of a cell phone, be it a traditional mobile device or a smartphone, is dwindling every day.
It’ll be interesting to see which legacy OnStar features will be phased out next. Turn-by-turn navigation seems like one possibility, given most smartphones come equipped with similar capabilities… but at this point, that’s mere speculation.
Update: Ms. Lang has informed us that Hands Free Calling will remain active for members with model year 2019 or older vehicles, and that these members will still be able to buy HFC minutes.
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OnStars loved ones have been called and are gathered around the bed…. The plug will be pulled soon….
Ii will miss this feature as I do use it . Much easier to push a button and say the number or just a word like “home” .Plus my I phone is old and the cost of a new one is Tooo much.!!!
Thats bad news. Especially when I just bought a new 2020 silverado. with a payment plan ending 7/13/21. Would have been better to be upfront about the situation then to lead me and probably thousands of others. Sader then that they were aware of the ending july of 2019
A feature I never used. As long as the emergency and telematics functions remain I’m fine with this
Believe it or not, even though we are in our early 30s and have modern smart phones, my wife and I have actually used this call feature on a couple occasions as “emergency” communication. It worked when a cellphone had no reception. It was rare, but it was a nice backup to have when she needed to call me for something less than a true emergency that on-star help would handle, but important none the less. I assume it was almost never used as a whole though by most customers, so it only makes business sense to drop it.
We seniors use it because it was easier for to use our voices than our hands especially if you have a illness like I do. Cancer.
Never used it and will never miss it. My phone is more useful.
Not for seniors who find that the cell phone is a little complicated when you are in your car. Voice is the easiest way to go.
In our area, signal is spotty and weak. A full power boosted phone was a great selling point. It will be missed in rural areas!
Turn by turn is not necessary either, especially when the implementation on our phones is so much better. I’ve had umpteen GM cards in the last 15-20yrs with On Star, never, ever used it *except* for the remote start via my phone feature. Much to my (and my wife’s) dismay, they have eliminated that as a free feature. Now they want you to pay $12-15/mo for that + navigation. Sorry On Star, not going to do it. If it was say $5/mo just for remote start we might be talking. But there is no way I’m going to pay $15/mo for a feature I might used 2-3x a month (obviously more in the winter to warm up the car)
t to have a backup should i need it, or should I lose cell signal. I honestly cant say I’ve used this feature a lot (about 5 times for a total of maybe 25 minutes) but it’s great to have.
I sure hope T by T nav isnt going away. Like I mentioned, I have a smartphone, but sometimes it’s a lot easier to just push a button and tell someone where you want to go instead of having to put all the information into your phone via the center screen or the phone itself.
I would love to know if this is another one of GMs cost cutting measures….just like not making the seatbelts adjustable in the new Silverado.
What happens to the service on a 2014 Impala????? Will it still be usable in in 2020 and future????
We asked about this, but so far haven’t received an answer.
However, it is my understanding, unconfirmed by GM, that the service will continue working… it’s just not being sold/bundled on new 2020 or newer vehicles.
Update: just got word that Hands Free Calling will remain active for members with model year 2019 or older vehicles, and that these members will still be able to buy HFC minutes.
Article updated accordingly. Thanks for your patience 🙂
So… my OnStar Guidance plan will be cheaper then since I’ll lose 30 Hands-Free Calling minutes per month correct? 😉
Only if you buy a MY2020 vehicle or newer, all My2019 or older vehicles will retain hands free calling.
Chris – long chat with dealer who sold me a 2020 Chevy Traverse and I only found out about the loss of the Hands Free Calling feature as we did the welcome call. His research netted the fact that GM discontinued the HFC feature in some 2019 models. They set a budget for it, and when the numbers were reached, that was it. It would be good if someone else would find out if what I was told is correct.
GM/OnStar HFC – The HFC feature is the BEST reliable source that I gladly pay for! This is why I purchase GM vehicles. Cell phones are not as reliable. When a person is driving, there are always issues on connections / phone calls with smart phones. PLEASE, please rethink your decision to discontinue HFC. With laws prohibiting holding cell phones in one’s hand, the HFC feature is the most safest hands-free call while driving.
Not meaning to jump on the dis On Star wagon, it will seem that way.
Many things affect cell phone service when the phone is inside of a moving vehicle. The main reason the On Star “phone” seems more reliable is the outside antenna. Back in the bad old days of analog stupid cell phones (normally termed mobile phones) an outside mounted antenna was required, unless you wanted to pull over to talk on your phone.
The On Star phone in my 2011 Silverado was pretty decent, even included a directory memory in the on board system and excellent voice recognition. However my 2014 SS was sub-par in the On Star phone area. The Bluetooth connection had a much better interface for making and placing HFCs. In the last 2 years there has been no occasion to use the On Star HFC.
The car mounted unit is 5 watts output vs. 0.5 for a portable cell phone. That plus the outside antenna should give better coverage. But coverage also depends upon the cell carrier.
The power difference was a big factor in the analog days. The latest info from “How stuff works” is that On Star uses 3 watts vs a newer cell phone’s 0.6 watts. However the digital system used now negates the signal strength issue for the most part. The basic rule seems to be it either connects or it does not. The difference in range can come down to mere feet in most cases when using transmitted power as the comparison.
Having an antenna outside, away from all the signal blocking materials, and having a ground plane, is still the primary factor. Granted, ground planes and arcane things like “full wave” and “quarter wave” antennas are not as important when the 800 and 1900 system of frequencies are used they still play a part.
This is correct, a weBoost Drive signal booster or similar product will work just as well as OnStar… if not a bit better.
“…a particular subset of people – particularly those who don’t own a cell phone – may not like the departure of the OnStar phone Hands-Free Calling feature…” wait, that means there are people who don’t own a cell phone that likely have a car new enough for OnStar? Really?
Yes, really.
The age of one’s vehicle doesn’t have a direct correlation to the age of one’s phone, or the presence of a phone, for that matter.
And the hands free calling systems in vehicles go way back to around 2003, right after the signal conversion. So yes, a lot of GM cars equipped with OnStar can make calls via the hands free calling feature.
Amanda, 3 of my vehicles have on star capbility, but I don`t own a smart phone.
My situation as well.
They should at least have an Obama free phone no?
After having 4 On Star cars since 2011 I just pulled the plug on all On Star services. Inexplicably on June 29 the service would no longer connect either by phone or internet. AT&T phones work for calls and ‘net access just fine, but I had to drive 35 to 50 miles for On Star to work. I had kept it for the last 2 years mainly for the unlimited data. I was going to cancel XM in favor of the streaming music apps built in to the NOX.
As my smart phone works just fine for navigation duties getting along without On Star is working out A-OK.
Agree with most everyone above. I’m a huge fan of Onstar and still have it active on my Buick, but I never even used the free minutes on my phone. No loss on this IMO.
I have found on my hunting trips in the west that a wilson electronics cell signal booster works wonders in remote areas. If you rely on OnStar HFC you might want to try this. As a last resort you could could use a Delorme Inreach satellite phone. I believe they have a “for emergency service only” package available. I rented a unit on an above timberline hunt in Colorado in case of emergency or if I needed to call a packer if I was successful. Didn’t need to use it.
I’ve never used their on star, I don’t have a smart phone, nor do I intend on getting one. My old flip phone works just fine,(when there is a signal), for my hands free, I believe it goes through Blue Tooth, so I’m assuming that’s still a go. I don’t use their sirius music either, preferring my own. I`ve been a GM fan for many many years, however, If GM keeps on deciding what I `should`like, then when the time comes for a newer truck, I`ll look elsewhere.
Another bad Corp. action. On Star Get out of your meetings/office and use an old GM engineering action. When an issue occurs get the real facts. “See” —“Smell” —- “Feel” the issue/problem and determine what the real world facts are. This was an guideline we used way back in the 1950’s
Sadly when contacting On Star about the sudden loss of service in my area they ignored the information with which I was providing. Instead the many people I talked to relied on the standard prompts shown on the “customer complaint/issue” screens. Which lead them to state that it was the Equinox was a fault. Something dispelled at the dealership.
Thus after 8 years I am no longer an On Star customer.
OR notify us via the total info you have on us phone, email, snail mail etc. and ask US what WE think since we’re the PAYING customers instead of relying on a bunch of 6 or 7 figure salary big wigs sitting around a table! Makes sense to me, but what do I know?
My radio works well linked to my phone as it will do HFC, Texting and even read a text to me and I never have to toch my phone.
the coverage for Cell is pretty extensive now as few areas are not covered nor are many people with out a phone able to use bluetooth anymore.
Odds are the number of subscribers are just so low it is not worth covering anymore.
I wonder what it actually cost GM to keep that feature in our cars since we had to purchase minutes if we wanted to make use of it?
I owned two Buick regals. I do not think it’s a good idea to discontinue !! One of GMs advantages was On Star & having a second phone. I liked having another number for an emergency and in case my cell phone died. I used the emergency service a few times as well. I also liked the ease of pressing a button and talking with someone from On Star. Lastly , the easy way directions were directed onto your screen from an onstar executive was awesome !! I preferred that to the navigational system. I think GM is making another big mistake !!!
It figures, OnStar has been as reliable AS MY 2017 Acadia Denali. I have owned/Leased GM and had OnStar on all seven of my vehicles. And yes, the phone feature is not used very much, however neither is the Sun/Moon/Sky roof feature which GM charges a fortune for. I have used the phone approximately a dozen times when there was no cell service/signal available. I have not used my spare tire either, however it is sure nice to have in case of an emergency. Hopefully OnjStar will still offer it as an option in a package. As for my use of OnStar, it has been a total disaster. Incorrect information, no information, Customer Service offers no help, and the Supervisors could not care less. I keep OnStar for only one reason and that is to summon medical help or a police emergency. Other than that, save your money.
Nice to know I’m not the Lone Ranger when it comes to the Customer Lack of Service.
I didn’t use it often but it was great to have when I left my phone at home. May discontinue my Onstar subscription.
NO phone no onstar they can go to that hot place down bellow!