When I acquired my 2018 F-Type a month ago, I found an unopened SIM card envelope in the owners manual binder. Be the curious type, I opened it and installed it and voila the Nav system works as does the InControl app on my iPhone.

However, I notice that 3G symbol often disappears when driving in a very civilized suburban area that normally has outstanding cell service. I'm trying to figure out if that is a limitation of the Jaguar supplied SIM card and/or the cellular radio/antenna in the car or if I paid for an AT&T SIM card it would work better.

Does anyone have any experience they can share about if its possible to make this all better.

 

I have a 2021 F Type R with the AT&T SIM Card installed. I have not been able to get the car to connect with the internet no matter where I drive. The settings are all correct in the menu, I just get the rotating icon on the screen that it is trying connect and then eventually I get the icon with the diagonal slash that means no connection. The In Control feature works fine.

The Navigation system works as it should, but without an internet connection you can't get advanced features in the Nav screen. After contacting Jaguar corporate, AT&T and my dealer, I finally found out that the additional features are a subscription service with a monthly charge. I see no reason for that even if it worked in my car as I can use the WAZE app on my phone and stream Pandora through my phone as well.
The phone has no problems connecting with the internet so there must be some bug in my car. I get a feeling that when I reach the 6 month ownership date that the In Control app may no longer work without paying AT&T. There is an available phone app called Jaguar Route Planner where it will literally guide you door to door, like if you parked you car in some public lot and had to walk several blocks to a destination that you were unfamiliar with. But without an internet connection it won't work. I tried all the tricks like taking the card in and out, switching the settings on and off, etc and never got a connection. I finally gave up.

 

If you download the Jaguar Remote app and set it up you can see when your InControl subscriptions will expire. The user SIM has (AFAIK) nothing to do with InControl (which uses an internal, well buried SIM), but (when working!) gives you additional online features through navigation, etc. In the UK some SIMs need to be registered, which you can't do in the car so you have to stick it in a cell phone initially to do that.

 

My MY17 F-Pace has exhibited similar issues on maintaining a connection, so it's not just you. Also, at least on the MY17 F-Pace, the car's module can't connect beyond 3G, so any chance for it to work ends when AT&T sunsets 3G (last I heard, 1Q22). I don't know when JLR changed to newer units, but you might have a short runway. If anyone has a MY18 or MY19, chime in if you get 4G LTE.
Given that, I've let my subscriptions lapse and my In Control functions are shut down. I'm using Waze and happy.
BTW, in addition to using the phone app, you can also check your subscription status at: Jaguar Here (the same place you get map updates).

 

I get 4G in my MY18, in the UK.

 

I think some of the Navigation features that you get if you pay for a subscription are the ability to switch the screen to a satellite image plus more or better real time traffic or emergency alerts and alternate routes.
I did receive an email from AT&T regarding how to set up the subscription account, and if you are not already an AT&T wireless customer, the fees run anywhere from $15 per month for up to 2 GB of data to $200 per year, prepaid, for unlimited data. No thanks. I can use other free apps from my phone which connects fine through the Android Auto function although they do require using a cord to plug the phone into one of the USB ports under the armrest.

 

My 2018 XE also gets 4G. I use it mostly for streaming music and traffic. OTA software updates now can be delivered that way. Haven't figured out yet if I can update the nav map that way, or perhaps via USB. I pay AT&T $20/mo - some have used FreedomPop successfully for less (or free).

 

The map updates are huge (maybe 8-10gb), so you won't get them OTA. It takes about 30 minutes to download one via cable - and it gets loaded directly onto a USB drive plugged into your computer. Uploading to the car goes much quicker, ~8-10 minutes. (A vast improvement to the older annual map updates for my MY14 that took a good 2 hours. For it, you need a nice long road trip where you know where you're going.)

 

The map updates I've read about won't fit on a 32GB memory stick .... gotta be 64GB FAT32 formatted. And they only support Windoze PC and Mac, not Linux. Why they have to use a "download manager" is beyond me - just gimme the file!