Rivian Hotspot not backwards compatible for WPA2 security

[GreenSurf]

I purchased an R1S about a month ago and was excited as it was the first car I'd ever owned that came with a hotspot included. I have 3 young kids and hate the whole process of going on road trips with no wifi.

A week or so ago we tested the hotspot for the first time and I was surprised to discover that the Rivian hotspot would not show up as a potential network to join for my kids' Nintendo Switch devices.

I reached out to Rivian and they were great about looking into this and came back an hour or so later saying the hotspot only puts out a connection via WPA3 security protocol and is not backwards compatible to WPA2 or earlier security protocols. Unfortunately the Nintendo Switch is built with an older chipset and because of that there is no way to write a software update to allow them to connect to WPA3.

Rivian documented the issue and added it as a feature request but I have no idea how long it will take them to get to it. In the meantime, I am trying to figure out if there are any workarounds. One workaround is to use my phone as a hotspot but in discussing this with Rivian they believed that if my kids use my phone as a hotspot it will pull data from my cell account (thus incurring charges) even if my phone is also simultaneously connected to the Rivian hotspot.

I was trying to investigate if there was any sort of bridging device (like a repeater) that could both connect to the Rivian hotspot in WPA3 and then output a network / signal using WPA2 but I haven't found anything yet.

If anyone has had a similar issue and found af fix, I'd love to know. Thanks.

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[usofrob]

if my phone is also simultaneously connected to the Rivian hotspot.

Not all phones can share a hotspot while connected to a separate Wi-Fi network. I've only seen this in the last couple years. My Pixel 6 can. But, if yours can, then it's up to your phone to route the data correctly, which it probably would do.

 

[GreenSurf]

I use an iPhone and from what I can tell, the iPhone hotspot does only share the cellular internet connection which I think is what Rivian was also saying.

I am investigating something like this device but I am not sure if it can connect to a wifi network using WPA3 and then put out a signal for WPA2

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N5RCZQH/ref=ask_ql_qh_dp_hza?th=1

 

[LivingInKaos]

It's not WPA that is the issue most likely. I believe it is the hotspot is using a channel in the 5ghz band above 50. That seems to kill the ability on the switch. Unfortunately there's no way for us to adjust that in vehicle.

 

[Michal]

It's not WPA that is the issue most likely. I believe it is the hotspot is using a channel in the 5ghz band above 50. That seems to kill the ability on the switch. Unfortunately there's no way for us to adjust that in vehicle.

@LivingInKaos is correct. The Hotspot does not support 2.4Ghz devices. I had the same issue with m Escort RedLine 360c radar detector. I ended up using my phone hotspot to update it while in the car

 

[GreenSurf]

Interesting. Rivian confirmed the bandwidth was not the issue, they said it was the WPA3. The Nintendo switch supports both 5ghz and 2.4ghz

 

[LivingInKaos]

Interesting. Rivian confirmed the bandwidth was not the issue, they said it was the WPA3. The Nintendo switch supports both 5ghz and 2.4ghz

Yes, but the Switch particularly does not like channels above 50 and we can't control that in vehicle unfortunately.

 

[R1Thor]

This is dually bizarre because my son's Switch connects (well, has connected) to my hotspot without issues...

That said, haven't tested it in a few months--so I cannot state for certain that it 'still' connects to the hotspot without issues. I'll have to check on that.

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