The Wi-Fi Hotspot supplies internet connectivity for drivers so they can use the Samsara Driver App and manage daily tasks from their phones and tablets. As an administrator, you can also verify a driver is signed into and using the hotspot.
Each Vehicle Gateway (VG) provides a Wi-Fi hotspot that you can enable to provide internet access to your drivers. Before your drivers can connect to the hotspot, you must configure and provide a hotspot name and password.
Note
If the Wi-Fi hotspot is enabled, you cannot disable it without a connection to your cellular service. In addition, the VG will not connect to local Wi-Fi when the hotspot is enabled.
You can set up a Wi-Fi Hotspot for a gateway using the following steps:
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Select the Settings icon (
) at the bottom of your Fleet menu to view dashboard settings.
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Within Organization, select General.
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Enable Hotspot.
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Enter a Wi-Fi Hotspot Name.
Samsara recommends using the name of your fleet, or something easy for your drivers to remember and select on their mobile devices.
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Enter a Wi-Fi Hotspot Password that is difficult to guess but also easy for your drivers to enter and remember.
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Click Save.
The Wi-Fi Hotspot will be operational for all of your Vehicle Gateways. You can share the name and password of the Wi-Fi Hotspot with your drivers.
While connected to a VG hotspot, drivers can use apps and internet services. However, to minimize data usage by non-fleet activities, the following websites are not accessible while connected to the Samsara Wi-Fi hotspot:
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Google Video
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Netflix
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YouTube
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Hulu
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Spotify
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Pandora
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SoundCloud
Note
Samsara reserves the right to limit access to personal entertainment streaming services.
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From the Samsara dashboard Overview (
), select a vehicle from the list.
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Expand Gateway to view the Connected hotspot clients.
1indicates a device is connected.0indicates there are no connected devices. -
Visit the Data Usage Report for a monthly overview of your fleet Wi-Fi hotspot usage.
The Vehicle Gateway (VG) license includes up to 500MB/month of Wi-Fi data. Samsara has found that the 500MB of data usage is typically sufficient to support the routine use of productivity apps such as work order management, customer relationship management (CRM) software, emails, and driver messaging.
After the data limit is reached, the Wi-Fi hotspot limits access to only the Samsara Driver App. The app remains fully functional, regardless of whether or not the data limit was exceeded.
After you exceed the data limit, your device’s Wi-Fi management menu may indicate that there is no internet connection. This is expected behavior and not an indication that the Samsara Driver App is malfunctioning.
Data resets on the first of the month. You can view the amount of data used when you .
The Wi-Fi hotspot supplies internet connectivity for drivers so they can use the Samsara Driver App and manage daily tasks from their phones and tablets. As an administrator, you can also verify that a driver is signed into and using the hotspot.
The Vehicle Gateway (VG) license includes a fixed amount of Wi-Fi data. After the data limit is reached, the Wi-Fi hotspot will no longer be available to applications except for the Samsara Driver App. The Samsara Driver App will remain fully functional regardless of whether or not the data limit was exceeded. After the data limit is exceeded, your device’s Wi-Fi management menu can indicate that there is no internet connection. This is expected behavior and not an indication that the Samsara Driver App will have issues functioning.
Mobile and tablet operating system updates can consume a large amount of data. If your devices are left on standard update settings it is likely that operating system updates will consume a large percentage of your Samsara device Wi-Fi data cap. To reduce unwanted data consumption, review best practices for iOS and Android devices.
To reduce unwanted data consumption for iOS devices, review the following best practices:
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On the iOS device, disable settings to download iOS updates (Settings > General > Software Update > Automatic Updates > Download iOS Updates).
This will prevent your Apple devices from downloading available operating system updates. If you disable automatic downloads for devices in your organization, make sure to schedule time to update your mobile devices and tablets when connected to an internet connection that is not provided through a Samsara hotspot when it is convenient for your day-to-day operations. Making sure your devices have up-to-date operating systems will help with general device stability as well as reduce the risk of security vulnerabilities being leveraged maliciously.
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On the iOS device, enable Low Data Mode (Settings > WiFi > [name of your Samsara access point] > Low Data Mode).
This setting will stop data consumption behaviors such as automatic updates, downloads, device syncing and can be set for specific Wi-Fi networks (for additional information, see https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210596).With this setting enabled, it is important to plan regular operating system updates for your devices when they are connected to an internet connection that is not provided through a Samsara hotspot.
To reduce unwanted data consumption for Android devices, review the following best practices:
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On the Android device, disable background data usage (Settings > Connections > Data usage > Data saver > Enable the data saver mode).
Data saver cuts down your data usage by preventing apps from using data in the background.
A Samsara Wi-Fi access point remains active while its gateway operates in either high or moderate power. Often, a significant portion of a gateway’s data consumption occurs after a vehicle finishes a trip and powers down. Usage can occur when drivers are on breaks or forget to disconnect from the Samsara hotspot after they are done driving.
To reduce post-trip Wi-Fi usage:
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Adjust the Samsara VG Power Mode Settings to limit Wi-Fi usage when a vehicle is no longer on a trip. By limiting the post-trip time when the hotpot is active, you can actively reduce the volume of non-work-related data consumption.
For the maximum impact on data consumption, set the Low Power Transition Delay to 1 hour in your Samsara dashboard (Settings > Devices > Configuration > Gateways).
An added benefit to this setting is reduced battery consumption for all Samsara vehicle gateways across your fleet when the vehicle is off. Reducing the overall power consumption should reduce the number of dead batteries especially for vehicles within your fleet with lower utilization and longer time between trips.
Note
Please carefully review the implications of adjusting the Vehicle Gateway Conservation Mode settings and the impact that changes will have to the default behavior for Samsara’s vehicle gateways.
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Set the password for the Samsara hotspot and preconfigure your mobile devices and tablets to use the password. Limit knowledge of the password to a small number of individuals to reduce the number of drivers that can connect personal devices.
To supply internet connectivity to your gateway from your corporate yard, connect it to your Wi-Fi Networks. To connect the gateway, you will need to obtain the Wi-Fi credentials from your IT administrator.
Note
If the Wi-Fi hotspot is enabled, you cannot disable it without a connection to your cellular service. In addition, the VG will not connect to local Wi-Fi when the hotspot is enabled.
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Select the Settings icon (
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Select Organization > General.
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In Connection > Wi-Fi Networks, click Add Network.
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Specify the Network Name, Encryption Type and either the passphrase or credentials required for authentication.
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Save your changes.
