Does anyone know about the legality of removing the built-in sim cards from your car, specifically in Australia?
I don’t intend on using any car smart-features when I get one. For context, I’ve never owned a car. When I do get one though, I intend to remove the sim card to prevent the car’s location from being constantly tracked. All I care about in terms a cars functionality is a radio, a CD drive (Yes, I use CD’s), and Bluetooth audio, so I don’t think removing the sim card should affect this much, if at all. Any knowledge and advice would be appreciated, thankyou!
Update: What I was referring to is an eSim, which appears not to be in the form of a physical card. Even so, if possible, I would like to disable the functionality of this eSim assuming the car I purchase has one in-built. From my research, I cannot find anything that explicitly forbids disabling or removing Sims.
If it’s a newer car, it’s unlikely that it will even have a physical sim and instead use esim.
Source: did work for a major automaker and talked to people on the teams involved
Find a car that isn’t supported for network features anymore is my primary suggestion. (Using the 3g network or before)
Thanks, I didn’t know the eSims weren’t physical cards.
Btw, 3G network is shutting down extremely soon for both Optus and Telstra (and providers using their networks), so I won’t be able to do that with any future car. Telstra is going on August 31, Optus is going in September. Your phone probably isn’t locked to 3G, but even if your phone supports 4G and/or 5G but does not support a technology called “VoLTE”, you may not be able to call emergency services after the 3G closure date. Both Telstra and Optus have provided an option to easily check if your phone is compatible after the closure. Using either Optus, Telstra, or other providers using their network, you can text 3 to the number 3498 and they will send you an automated message telling you whether your phone will be affected after the closure or not.
https://www.optus.com.au/support/mobiles-tablets-wearables/important-changes-3g
https://www.telstra.com.au/support/mobiles-devices/3g-closure
