Hi all,
I bought a '97 Deville Concours a few weeks ago and live in the Phoenix, AZ area. Everything is good except for obtaining the Onstar service.
I pushed the blue button on the phone and connected to the Onstar Center. After being transferred 3 times I was told that in order to receive the Onstar service I first needed to obtain cellular service for the phone. This is mainly due to the fact that the phone is an older dual mode phone.
I then contacted my cellular provider here in AZ and was told that they wouldn't activate the phone because it was an analog phone. After trying at Verison and being told the same thing, I came home thoroughly angry. Much research was invested to find out that the phone in the car is a dual mode phone (analog & digital) so I went back to my provider with this new information. They still refused to activate the phone but now it was because it wasn't E911 compliant (no GPS in the phone). Verison said basically the same thing. More research was invested and I found that this is a TDMA phone (older digital technology) that is slowly fading out of sight as the newer technology (CDMA and GMS) are taking their place.
More phone calls and it was finally suggested that I call a provider in an area that still has TDMA phones (more rural area) and San Luis Obisipo, CA was suggested. After calling the CellularOne provider there they would be more than happy to turn the phone one UNTIL they found out I didn't actually LIVE there. They said I needed to be a San Luis Obispo county resident to obtain service from them. I tried another carrier in Bemidji, MN (not much is more "rural" than there!) and they wouldn't do it either.
My question is, has anyone else had similar problems with getting Onstar with an older setup and if so, were they able to finally obtain the Onstar service and how?
Also, if anyone has any suggestions or could offer some assistance it would be greatly appreciated. It kills me that I have a system that will automatically call for help if the airbags deploy and be able to track the vehicle if it is stolen and can't use it because the cellular providers don't seem to want my money. I don't even want to TALK on the phone (I have the newer handheld model for that) but I at least need to have the cellular service.
Thanks for any advice or help anyone can offer.
John
lanman61@earthlink.net
I bought a '97 Deville Concours a few weeks ago and live in the Phoenix, AZ area. Everything is good except for obtaining the Onstar service.
I pushed the blue button on the phone and connected to the Onstar Center. After being transferred 3 times I was told that in order to receive the Onstar service I first needed to obtain cellular service for the phone. This is mainly due to the fact that the phone is an older dual mode phone.
I then contacted my cellular provider here in AZ and was told that they wouldn't activate the phone because it was an analog phone. After trying at Verison and being told the same thing, I came home thoroughly angry. Much research was invested to find out that the phone in the car is a dual mode phone (analog & digital) so I went back to my provider with this new information. They still refused to activate the phone but now it was because it wasn't E911 compliant (no GPS in the phone). Verison said basically the same thing. More research was invested and I found that this is a TDMA phone (older digital technology) that is slowly fading out of sight as the newer technology (CDMA and GMS) are taking their place.
More phone calls and it was finally suggested that I call a provider in an area that still has TDMA phones (more rural area) and San Luis Obisipo, CA was suggested. After calling the CellularOne provider there they would be more than happy to turn the phone one UNTIL they found out I didn't actually LIVE there. They said I needed to be a San Luis Obispo county resident to obtain service from them. I tried another carrier in Bemidji, MN (not much is more "rural" than there!) and they wouldn't do it either.
My question is, has anyone else had similar problems with getting Onstar with an older setup and if so, were they able to finally obtain the Onstar service and how?
Also, if anyone has any suggestions or could offer some assistance it would be greatly appreciated. It kills me that I have a system that will automatically call for help if the airbags deploy and be able to track the vehicle if it is stolen and can't use it because the cellular providers don't seem to want my money. I don't even want to TALK on the phone (I have the newer handheld model for that) but I at least need to have the cellular service.
Thanks for any advice or help anyone can offer.
John
lanman61@earthlink.net
