Remove Modem/SimCard from a Car (lemmy.ml)

submitted 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) by WreckingBANG@lemmy.ml to c/privacy@lemmy.ml

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I want to buy a new car, but it needs to be privacy friendly. Sadly you cannot really buy any new Car that is.

Has anybody any experience on making your modern car not phone home to its company, by removing the hardware it uses to do?

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[-] 0xtero@beehaw.org 6 points 9 months ago

Yeah, that'll most likely disable the car / limit it. They often have anti-tamper detection in critical ECUs as well.

[-] PaddleMaster@beehaw.org 8 points 9 months ago

Your comment makes me wonder if one could get around AT by installing faraday cages around where the chips are.

I block telemetry on my IoT devices and they still work. I’m curious if cars would be bricked if they couldn’t call home, or if you could selectively allow certain messages through.

[-] domi@lemmy.secnd.me 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

I'm curious if cars would be bricked if they couldn’t call home, or if you could selectively allow certain messages through.

I can't speak for every car but at least Teslas do not mind being offline. You cannot control which messages they send because they connect via a VPN to the mothership. So it's an all or nothing kinda deal.

You can also pretty easily remove the SIM card on older models with just a few screws. Newer ones use eSIMs, never looked into how to get rid of that one but I assume it is more complicated.

Your comment makes me wonder if one could get around AT by installing faraday cages around where the chips are.

The antennas are usually external, mounted somewhere else in the car and can be unplugged. Never checked if it can still get a signal without the antenna though.

edit: Also, the PCB itself is mounted inside a faraday cage because the entire thing sits inside of RF shielding.

this post was submitted on 12 Jan 2024

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