Editor’s Note: This is Part 2 of a two-part review of the 2017 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 High Country 4×4 with the newly redesigned 6.6-liter Duramax turbo diesel. Click here for Part 1.
Overall, the information and entertainment systems on the 2017 Chevy Silverado 2500 High Country are very impressive. First up is the OnStar 4G LTE WiFi hotspot.
You may recall last month that Chevy became the first OEM to announce a 4G LTE unlimited prepaid data plan for $20 a month. Clearly, they had families like mine in mind. But would the Silverado’s WiFi hotspot survive my kids?
There’s probably no better way to test WiFi accessibility than to unleash all four of my kids and their devices in a simultaneous, digital draw-down. Their nimble fingers will access more content faster than most of us can say, “Wha-wha-wha happened?”
Admittedly, I was doubtful that the truck’s hotspot would be able to handle my kids. I was wrong—way wrong.
As soon as we hit the road, I told the kids to start streaming video. Naturally, they were more than happy to oblige. But then things got quiet—too quiet. I guess I should have known that their silence said everything I needed to hear. Still, in a manner that strangely recalled that ‘ol dreaded road trip question “Are we there yet?,” I kept asking how things how things were going. Finally, one of my guinea pigs piped up and said, “It’s great, Dad. No problems.” Four devices streaming video at once and no problems. Amazing. Now they can watch funny cats, video game clips and someone on YouTube singing 101 bottles of beer.
Next up, I decided to test the range of the signal. Having a mobile hotspot can definitely prove convenient when you’re at a jobsite. In this case, I entered the house and sat down about 150 feet away from the truck. The signal was still showing full strength on my laptop, though web access to YouTube and other sites had slowed down. Video streaming lagged a little at first, but then played well for the duration of a two-minute clip of John Wayne’s “Big Jake.”
