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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Do not have, use, or want a smart phone. I don’t answer the phone at home unless it shows someone I may or may not want to talk to, so I will miss the OnStar phone service if I did need to use it. It was one of my main reasons not to have a smart phone so no one could get hold of me. Don’t call me. If I want to talk to you I will call you.
What is OnStarvreally worth? I got an email today saying my credit card was charged approx $20. I think that’s monthly. I’m inclined to drop it. I’ve driven my C7 7,500 over two years. I live in a gated community and it’s garaged. I think I’m stupid for having this. v
I had Onstar installed in 2012 on my 2011 Kia Sorento. Some of the features didn’t work and I didn’t use the hands free calling because I have Bluetooth. However I loved using Onstar for their turn by turn navigation. I recently called Onstar because my navigation stopped working and they told me “Oh we’re sorry but stopped our services on non GM vehicles.” No letter, no email, nothing. Sad way to treat a customer after 7 years.
Always pay for the minimum number of minutes. Nice to have for a “just in case”.
This is irritating but if you truely need minutes on a phone that will get out anywhere and everywhere being a true s.o.s line purchase a satellite phone. Then get some prepaid minutes for emergency use.
When I travel in November of every year, I go to an area with little or no cell phone coverage. I can’t even get text messages on my hand-held phone let alone make a phone call. Amazingly, my Onstar phone in my truck always seems to get a signal strong enough to use. Glad my truck is a 2016 so I won’t lose this capability. Yes, the minutes are expensive, but it’s peace of mind when travelling to areas where the Onstar phone may be the only “phone” that can make a call.
So GM just helped me decide not to buy GM after reading this and I’m 10O% serious. I’m looking at a new SUV for sometime soon. And I won’t buy a car that doesn’t have OnStar and all it’s features on it after using it for several years.
I use this cal feature frequently – don’t want to lose it.
I found on one or two occasions the Volt onboard phone could make a call when my smartphone couldn’t.
This Is beyond All Stupid things that a Major Company can get Away With? For 14 We have utilized Hands Free Calling Feature in Our GMC Envoy Denali and Love the Service in All States Especially California!! I am going to Dealer
Now and hope that The Repair to Hands Free will not be Met with Oh? This option is No Longer Available thru GM OnStar Service!! Ridiculous Mistake??
We were about to leave with our brand new 2020 Chevy Traverse from the dealer when the Onstar welcome call informed us there is no longer HFC available. We live and do business in an area where there is little to sketchy cell service so Onstar in our 5 vehicles is vital to our communications. It was the whole reason we bought the vehicle and the dealer did not know that HFC was taken away in 2020 models.
Nothing we can do but take a hit and try to trade our vehicle in for a 2019 if we can. Whose stupid decision was this? People who don’t realize how huge our country is and that some parts of the US will never have cell service because the topography will not allow for it…and that’s where we need Chevy and GM trucks and 4WD vehicles with HFC because no cell service works in the hills.
From Canada, I being a car guy knowing about this ridiculous decision from G M for several month’s decided to have my dealer do a search for a 2019 Buick Regal Sport back GS. I wanted the phone also and does it ever work good, can use the touch pad or just push the button on the steering wheel. I was going to order a 2020. I have been a G M customer for over 50 years and I do not understand how and the hell they managed to stay in business with all the bone head decision’s they have made like stop building sedan’s. My self I do not want another pickup or SUV all the foreign co. are doing well with cars. Hope thing’s work out for you .Barry
Agree with you Barry and Clutterbug, believe this is a poor decision and one that we customers are noticing. I myself used the phone feature during a hurricane to reach loved ones when cell phone connectivity did not work. It’s also one of the reasons I keep OnStar active (get 30min monthly). Another option that might work is having an OnStar data plan and enabling WiFi calling on your cell phone. That way when cell phone it out of tower reach it uses your OnStar data plan, assuming vehicle still have connectivity.
@DannyC, , @ Barry, thanks for the kind words!
I had wondered if enabling the Wifi in the car would allow the phone to work in an area out of reach of a cell tower, namely, my very own driveway. I did try it yesterday with success. But how well that will work in the hilly areas we live and work where cell towers basically are non existent or don’t have a very far reach, only time will tell. I am still really bummed and I will write a letter to GM/Chevy. We are loyal GM/Chevy customers for over a decade and currently have 5 of their vehicles. Pffffffft to brand loyalty!
Clutterbug-
For how many decades have we been paying a service charge on our regular landline phones that supposedly was to bring service to areas of our country where they didn’t have any or where it was very sketchy? Now there are still parts of this country they don’t have cell service? Where is all that money going then because we’re still being charged every month on the landline phone as far as I can see.
@Fastdriver. I’m assuming the bigwigs are getting all that money….since where I live in rural Ont my cell phone service is VERY sketchy, and I can’t even get real hi speed internet!!! Ticks me off royally! Those are both services I need,& I’m PAYING for!
I think you’re probably right because I highly doubt that our Onstar package dollar amount was decreased by this elimination . Of course, their prices constantly change so it’s very difficult to tell if prices went down.
I don’t know about Ontario but I do know in the United States there’s a charge on our phone bill every month supposedly for rural areas that don’t have cell service or Internet service. The charges are supposedly to supply the services to those areas! I have seen people post here that even in this country there is still a lack of this service and we have been making those payments on our monthly phone bill for decades and decades and decades! I think it’s time I call the FCC to inquire exactly what this entails.
To add insult to injury, there is a added charge on my phone bill for rural service….and I LIVE in rural! Gouge the consumer, like everything else.
Sad, isn’t it? I bet you’ve been paying for it for decades also? Maybe you should call your local phone company and ask them what’s up and see if they have a logical answer.
@Fastdriver, lol….I’m with Bell….logical answer? What pray tell is logic??! They tell me, ‘oh we are in the process up changing the old lines to Fibre in your area..’…Then I hear they are upgrading in the Maritimes….obviously they need a course on geography! But hey, my land line,internet fees just went up $6 a mos each…….
@REDD ROSE-
First off is Bell the same as ATT? Before ATT abandoned Connecticut they were upgrading the lines to fiber optic and they tried to get the other cable companies around here to help pay for this and they refused even though they would’ve been using those same fiber optic lines so I guess ATT said screw you and they left Connecticut. We ended up with FRONTIER!🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️ The only thing ATT left in Connecticut was cell phone service which I still have with them from day one actually, it started with SNET telephone company that was in Connecticut for over 125 years then it became Cingular I believe then ATT came in and bought everything up and then they left and now we have Frontier.😢😢
@Fastdriver, As far as I know all, or at least the majority of the phone lines are owned by Bell. At least in my area anyways. A person has the option of going with another company,however they are still using the old bell lines. (A friend of mine had a huge disagreement with Bell, & has gone with several other companies since, still the same lousy lack of line service). And the old lines are wearing out (for the lack of a better term). When my mother had her phone installed a year ago she had to wait while they sent in a special crew to run a new line from the Bell station in the nearest town,because none of the other lines in the cable were good anymore!! When I asked the technician why they didn’t change all the lines in that cable, he said that would make too much sense….Meanwhile the lines may or may not be compatible with any new equipment I might upgrade to! Smoke signals might be a tad tricky in windy weather, but there are times when I’m seriously thinking about courrier pigeons!!!!
@ Fastdriver…a healthy year+ later I just saw your comment. Yep. no cell service where we are. The topography prevents it.
And landlines are being taken away. Go figure!
Hi Dan I have been a G M customer since my first car (new( when I was 18 I am 73 have had lot of new car’s,since and let me tell you I could write a book on some of my ill experiences. I do not use the WiFi. I am having trouble with my USB music they have replaced the radio and ports now they tell me it my fault it worked great on our 2015 Caddy ATS coupe and it works great on our 2019 Vette G S . It will work just fine for a while then it will say ( no devise found) Well I am a car guy and sadly they are a pain in the rear end! So good luck to you and yours!. And merry Christmas from Canada. Barry.
Barry,
You need to find a young car enthusiast to help you figure that out with your USB music! I find a lot of times when you call in with issues like that, the people who are supposed to help you don’t know a whole lot. And then there’s the issue of every device being different.
Best wishes!
Clutterbug
My mother is 77 years old and has never owned a mobile phone, heck she had a rotary phone up until almost 1990.
At least with hands free calling in her Malibu I know she can call for help with her heart condition.
The OnStar equipment does LTE data so there is absolutely no reason to not include VoLTE service on the same chips.
I had a long chat with the dealer who sold me the car. He said, when he is demo’ing Onstar to prospective buyers, the hands free incoming Onstar calls feature works, but it doesn’t work once you sign up for Onstar.
He agreed with me the technology is still there, and it can be turned back on. In the meantime he is working with his GM field rep and an Onstar field rep…but we are up against a big corporation who has decided this hands free calling minutes and an Onstar number exclusive to your vehicle is not a good revenue stream.
I was at the local Chevrolet dealer on Monday and spoke to a sales person about this, he was unaware the Hands Free Calling feature was being discontinued from OnStar service for MY2020.
So make sure to ask about this and time you talk to a sales person, and perhaps this will get back to GM that it was a bad idea.
Just purchased my 4th Chevrolet SUV, the 2020 Equinox. Wasn’t informed that Onstar had discontinued hands free calling. Tried for 4 hours to get it working. Set up a service call, the mechanic and sales person tried to no avail. Contacted Onstar customer support. At that time I was informed it was discontinued in the 2020 models. I want my 2014 Equinox back. I can answer calls but can’t use voice response to make one. I am 71 so trying to dial while driving is out of the question. PLEASE BRING HANDS FREE CALLING BACK!!!!
This was very sneaky of GM – a lot of dealers didn’t read their bulletins and didn’t know either. I am sorry this happened to you too!
My car is a 2010 Buick. It has no Bluetooth capability, so I can’t do hands free calls from my cell phone. Purchasing minutes on this plan is the only hands free option. I know there’s no plan to discontinue it, but I hope they don’t change that at some point.
We used Hands-Free-Calling quite a bit on our GM vehicles. Quite unhappy when it was dropped and thinking of dropping OnStar as a service. Gets a bit expensive when used on two vehicles. Drop the turn-by-turn navigation and it will definitely be bye bye to OnStar. You guys are killing yourselves. Thinking of looking at other manufactures in 2021.
I’m with you on that. Unfortunately it is doubtful that GM is even looking at this website. Perhaps we should be writing to them directly.
I have a 2019 GMC Sierra and did not find out OnStar was not available until after signing all the paperwork. We have had it in the last 6 GM vehicles we’ve owned. I used it occasionally but I really valued it as a backup and for emergency’s. It’s still labeled as “Hands Free Calling” in the infotainment system – to funny…. I wish GM would bring it back.
No, David, I am in Canada in Sept. I purchased 2019 Buick, All 2019 GM vehicles still have the on stare H F service when I got my car the phone did not work ( I think they disabled the feature un some 19’s) So I have good honest dealer so they contacted what is called York Co. that fix and install all and anything (fix) anything on GM products elecrontic Well, they fixed my phone service and it works great hands-free or touch screen! Your dealer is screwing you around or just dumb, go to another dealer or call the 800 # for GM customer service! PS I also have it on my 2019 Corvette.
Hi Barry,
Are you referring to hands free calling where you literally can speak hands free, or are you speaking about tying a specifically given Onstar phone number to the vehicle?
I can sync my cell phone to the car and talk hands free, but Onstar has taken away from most 19’s and all 20’s the ability to give you a specific Onstar number that ties to your car. So what that means for me in our rural area is that I can no longer reliably get ahold of the driver of the vehicle, because cell service is very spotty due to topography.
Having an Onstar number took that problem away, and made us very loyal to the GMC brand.
Now they took it away.
And when I talked to my dealer – he said, the capability to tie an Onstar number to a specific vehicle is still built into the cars – GMC is just not turning it on anymore and offering that service.
So all that blah blah blah to say, there is a difference between Hands Free Calling – i.e., syncing a cellphone to the car and talking through the speakers
VS
Taking away the ability to give you a phone number for your car.
Hope that makes sense