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Comment by rachet | Hacker News Reader

When I had a vehicle with OnStar, I located where its antennae connected to the controller and disconnected it. The vehicle was fine, nothing else was impacted. It just couldn't communicate with anything anymore.

I originally removed the power, but then most of the "smarter" electronics stopped working.

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A hardware toggle provided by the manufacturer would be a lot more respectful of the customer. That sort of respect would even get some subscriptions out of it. But that probably goes against the long term strategy for most places - that connection is for more, later.

How hard was it to disconnect, out of curiosity. Not asking for anything identifying, just wondering if it required removing panels or was just a matter of reaching an arm in the right spot.

Nice to know it can be done without anything too drastic.

"I've cut the antennas out of hardware that is part of a subscription software package I'm still paying for"

Why not write a reply with your voice instead of just trying to rephrase what they said?

They're not.

They're quite obviously pointing out that cutting the antenna does nothing about the fact that the subscription is still bundled and active.

As the other two comments point out, you can have the equipment without the software activated. So their guess/"quote" makes an incorrect assumption.

So, what value does it add? It seems to simply exist to make an assumption that makes the other HNer look bad.

This thread is about GM forcibly bundling OnStar into a bunch of their cars. Removing the antenna does nothing to prevent that.

Whether you activate the subscription or not, you're still paying $1500 for it.

Their story doesn't really apply here. Fair enough.

My issue is more with 4chan greentext being a low form of communication.

Almost anything is better than it, like "Well, you'd still be paying the subscription." Even direct snark feels higher level than greentext-style rephrasing.

Onstar remains connected (but paywalled) even when you don’t pay.

On Star is both equipment and a subscription to use it. They mean the vehicle was equipped... with the equipment. Not that they were paying for the subscription. The "mandatory" subscription is a new announcement, and does not apply to previously purchased vehicles.

The problem is that you can disconnect the antenna, but you'll still be billed $1500 for the subscription, regardless of whether you use it or not.

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