Thinking of Using Third-row (R1S) for Dog Transport: Any ideas?

Rivian Mom · 2025-05-15T14:45:12+00:00

I've been using my phone's hotspot for months, and my Rivian connects to it automatically to run TuneIn and Spotify through the built-in apps on the main display. To be clear, this wasn’t Bluetooth streaming but actual phone data, and the apps worked perfectly without any issues. In Monday for the first time, I saw a Connect+ message pop up, even though the truck was linked to my phone’s data. I can still stream from my phone using Bluetooth, but the sound quality and user experience weren’t as good. This issue started between over-the-air software updates, though it might be tied to a specific date in the system. I tried a soft reset, but nothing changed. Has anyone heard if Rivian changed their policy on this? I remember Connect+ used to mention it provided "data" for streaming apps, suggesting you could use your own data instead. Now, it seems like you need Connect+ just to access the apps at all. I was surprised they allowed phone hotspots to work before, so this might be a deliberate change. I’m okay with paying for Connect+ if this isn’t just a temporary glitch. Any insights would be appreciated.

RoseR1S

New member

Mar 15, 2025

We have 2 dogs Jack and Ruby and they seem to have completely taken over our back seat in the R1S. Although, we've been able to keep the second row of the R1S available to human passengers.

I've been having second thoughts about using the far back cargo area of the R1S for dog transport, mainly cause of safety concerns. I came across a thread on here from Rivian Mom which said that the safest solutions are to use either a crash-tested harness + seat belt, OR a crash-tested crate + straps in the cargo area.

Reading through that thread, I felt like a permament solution would be to make use of the third row seat with a harness + seat belt. Of course I can test this out on my own, but before I purchase an expensive harness, anybody tried this and have tips to share? Pros/cons? Thx.

Last edited: Mar 15, 2025

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