For every vehicle, there are three ways to check the WiFi status, so you can always keep track of every WiFi device and its hotspot usage.
WiFi hotspots show the following three statuses:
- Enabled means Wi-Fi hotspot is enabled, and data usage is under the threshold.
- Throttled means Wi-Fi hotspot is enabled, but speed is limited due to going beyond the threshold.
- Disabled means Wi-Fi hotspot is disabled due to extremely high usage (this should not happen, but is a backup in case someone goes through too much data too quickly).
Viewing the status of a vehicle’s WiFi hotspot
Through the vehicle’s Live view
- Log in to FleetDashboard, and go to Fleet View > Live.
Click the vehicle you want to view the Wi-Fi hotspot status for.
- The status (enabled, disabled, or throttled) of the vehicle's Wi-Fi hotspot appears under the Other Details section.
You can see the number of GB used if the Wi-Fi hotspot status shows Enabled.
Through the vehicle’s profile
- Log in to FleetDashboard, and go to Fleet View > Live.
Click the vehicle you want to view the Wi-Fi hotspot status for.
- Go to the Profile tab.
You can see the WiFi hotspot status (enabled, disabled, or throttled) and GB used in front of the WiFi icon.
Through the WiFi Usage Summary report
- From your Fleet Dashboard, go to Reports > Vehicles.
Click WiFi Usage Summary.
From the WiFi Usage Summary screen, you can see the WiFi hotspot Status, Data Used, and WiFi Threshold for every listed vehicle.
FAQs
How can I increase the overall Wi-Fi hotspot data plan for my fleet, not just the per-vehicle threshold?
There are two different limits for Motive Wi-Fi hotspots:
- Per-vehicle hotspot threshold you control in the Fleet Dashboard (e.g., default 3 GB). Once a vehicle hits that threshold, Motive can throttle or disable the hotspot for that vehicle. You can raise or lower this per-vehicle threshold in Admin > Vehicles > Edit > Threshold to throttle WiFi hotspot, but only within the data allowance of your company’s plan.
- Overall company data plan (pooled data) is the total data allowance your fleet has for all hotspots combined. It is part of your Motive subscription or data add-on and cannot be changed self-serve in the Fleet Dashboard. When your overall data plan is exhausted, hotspots across the fleet may become throttled or disabled, regardless of individual vehicle thresholds.
To increase the overall data plan, you must contact your Motive Account Manager or Motive Support/Billing and request a plan review and upgrade for additional hotspot data. They will review your current contract and hotspot usage trends, propose different plan options where available, and apply any approved changes to your account.
Put simply, raising the per-vehicle Threshold to throttle WiFi hotspot does not increase the total data your fleet can use. It just changes how that total pool is divided across vehicles.
What is the exact throttled speed rate for the Wi-Fi hotspot after the 400 MB data limit is reached?
The throttled speed is 74 kbps.
How can I find out what my company's WiFi data plan is, and is data allocated per device or company-wide?
Motive WiFi hotspot data is allocated as a company-wide pooled plan, not per device. Your total data allowance covers all Vehicle Gateways in your fleet combined. To view your current plan usage: go to Reports > Vehicles > WiFi Usage Summary. This report shows your total allotted data, total consumed, remaining data, and per-vehicle usage breakdown.
The per-vehicle threshold to throttle setting found in Admin > Vehicles > Edit, controls how much data an individual Vehicle Gateway can use before it is throttled, but this is drawn from the same company-wide pool. If your entire company's data pool is exhausted, all devices will throttle simultaneously, regardless of individual vehicle thresholds. To increase your company's total data plan, contact your Motive account manager. They can review your usage trends and propose additional data options.
Why does my Motive vehicle show high Wi-Fi data usage when I'm not intentionally using the hotspot?
Even when drivers are not actively streaming or browsing, other apps on connected devices, such as social media, OS updates, or cloud sync apps, automatically use data in the background when connected to the Vehicle Gateway's Wi-Fi hotspot. Devices may also auto-reconnect to saved hotspots without any action from the driver. Additionally, other phones or devices in the cab may be connected and consuming data without the driver's knowledge. To reduce unintended data consumption:
- Turn off Wi-Fi on your device when you don't need the hotspot.
- On Android, go to Settings > Connections > Data Usage > Wi-Fi data usage to see which apps are using data and restrict background access for apps you don't need.
- Ask your fleet admin to review the WiFi Usage Summary Report to identify which vehicles or time periods are showing the highest usage.
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