CONTROLLING WI-FI SERVICE IN A VEHICLE
A method of controlling a Wi-Fi service provided by a vehicle includes detecting at the vehicle that an ignition switch of the vehicle is turned off; wirelessly receiving at the vehicle a message that controls the operation of the Wi-Fi service while the ignition switch of the vehicle is turned off; and activating or deactivating the Wi-Fi service provided by the vehicle in response to the wirelessly-received message while the ignition switch of the vehicle is turned off.
1 . A method of controlling a Wi-Fi service provided by a vehicle, comprising the steps of:
(a) detecting at the vehicle that an ignition switch of the vehicle is turned off;
(b) wirelessly receiving at the vehicle a message that controls the operation of the Wi-Fi service while the ignition switch of the vehicle is turned off; and
(c) activating or deactivating the Wi-Fi service provided by the vehicle in response to the wirelessly-received message while the ignition switch of the vehicle is turned off.
2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of monitoring a battery condition of a vehicle battery while the Wi-Fi service is activated.
3 . The method of claim 2 , further comprising the step of sending a battery condition message to a mobile device when the battery condition rises above or falls below a predetermined value.
4 . The method of claim 2 , further comprising the step of limiting the amount of time the Wi-Fi service is activated based on the monitored battery condition of the vehicle battery.
5 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the battery condition message instructs a vehicle user to remotely start the vehicle.
6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of generating the message that controls the operation of the Wi-Fi service using a messaging software application stored at a mobile device.
7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the messaging software application controls one or more vehicle functions in addition to the Wi-Fi service provided by the vehicle.
8 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the messaging software application displays a vehicle identifier and a vehicle function associated with the vehicle identifier using a display of the mobile device.
9 . A method of controlling a Wi-Fi service provided by a vehicle, comprising the steps of:
(a) generating a wireless message that controls Wi-Fi service provided by the vehicle using a software application stored on a mobile device;
(b) wirelessly transmitting the wireless message from the mobile device to the vehicle; and
(c) changing an operating mode of the Wi-Fi service at the vehicle based on the wireless message while an ignition switch of the vehicle is turned off.
10 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising the step of receiving a battery condition message at the mobile device when a battery condition of a vehicle battery rises above or falls below a predetermined value.
11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the battery condition message instructs a vehicle user to remotely start the vehicle.
12 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the software application stored on the mobile device further comprises a messaging software application.
13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the messaging software application controls one or more vehicle functions in addition to the Wi-Fi service provided by the vehicle.
14 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the messaging software application displays a vehicle identifier and a vehicle function associated with the vehicle identifier using a display of the mobile device.
15 . A method of controlling a Wi-Fi service provided by a vehicle, comprising the steps of:
(a) generating a wireless message that controls Wi-Fi service using a mobile device;
(b) wirelessly transmitting the wireless message to the vehicle;
(c) changing an operating mode of the Wi-Fi service at the vehicle based on the wireless message while an ignition switch of the vehicle is turned off;
(d) monitoring a battery condition of the vehicle providing the Wi-Fi service while the Wi-Fi service is provided using a vehicle telematics unit; and
(e) wirelessly transmitting a battery condition message to the mobile device while the Wi-Fi service is active and the battery condition of the vehicle has fallen below or rises above a predetermined threshold.
16 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising the step of limiting the amount of time the Wi-Fi service provided by the vehicle is activated based on the monitored battery condition of the vehicle.
17 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the battery condition message instructs a vehicle user to remotely start the vehicle.
18 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising the step of generating the wireless message that controls Wi-Fi service using a messaging software application stored at the mobile device.
19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the messaging software application controls one or more vehicle functions in addition to the Wi-Fi service provided by the vehicle.
20 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the messaging software application displays a vehicle identifier and a vehicle function associated with the vehicle identifier using a display of the mobile device.