2019.12 - Updated browser, software on demand, new games and more

[diplomat33]

Got my first little drive this morning on 2019.12.1.1 and auto steer seems much better than 2019.12.1.

 

[Knightshade]

I really hate the way the updates are rolled out. It’s horrible. Some get it some don’t, so random. Not premium at all.

Which "premium" cars do better routine software/feature updates to their cars on an ongoing basis again?

 

[WileyTheMan]

I really hate the way the updates are rolled out. It’s horrible. Some get it some don’t, so random. Not premium at all. Way more android like ha

I get where you're coming from, but a few things to consider:

1) They don't have the ability to blast updates of this size to everyone simultaneously. Few companies do, let alone car companies.
2) Tesla use customers as integration/beta testers to minimize the internal testing team size (cost savings), which is one reason why there are so many versions out there.
3) The randomness of update delivery is purely to get a fresh data sample to help flush out blocking issues quickly.

I'm not a big fan of #2, because that should be an opt-in scenario. I get why they do it, but it's a touch sleazy IMO.

 

[GoSharks]

Which "premium" cars do better routine software/feature updates to their cars on an ongoing basis again?

If one of the perks of a Tesla is supposed to be OTA updates, they should be delivering them without having to contact Tesla Service. I say this as somebody who is still on 5.15. I was one of the first ones to receive 5.4 and 5.15 this year, but haven't gotten anything since.

I have an appointment scheduled for later this week.

 

[Tslynk67]

Hi Folks, just got this this today - popped-up when I turned-up at Tesla Service Centre, as is often the case.

Was previously on 2019.8.5 3aaa23d, now upgraded to 2019.12.1.1 4b1dd29

XP100DL, Belgium

 

[Tslynk67]

I'm confused by the auto high beam thing- isn't that how it always worked? (switching down to low beams if it sees an oncoming car)

Didn't work very well IMO, so maybe this is an iteration

 

[Tslynk67]

We don't have auto high beams at all yet in Europe, so I welcome this update.

Not on M3, perhaps, but on S&X yes,

 

[SeBsZ]

Yes, I wrote a few posts later that I was talking about Model 3 explicitly

 

[azred]

I get where you're coming from, but a few things to consider:

1) They don't have the ability to blast updates of this size to everyone simultaneously. Few companies do, let alone car companies.
2) Tesla use customers as integration/beta testers to minimize the internal testing team size (cost savings), which is one reason why there are so many versions out there.
3) The randomness of update delivery is purely to get a fresh data sample to help flush out blocking issues quickly.

I'm not a big fan of #2, because that should be an opt-in scenario. I get why they do it, but it's a touch sleazy IMO.

Agreed re #2. I watch Teslafi firmware tracker and hope I am not in the first three or four days because that seems to be the shelf life of the “failed” beta tests. When I had both cars on 8.5 for several weeks that seemed like a good place. Both cars are now on 12.1.1 and that one seems to still be rolling out in huge numbers, so that is encouraging but the next couple days will be key. For those people who were mad they didn’t get 12 or 12.1, they should be grateful as both were quickly pulled.

 

[Lostb0y]

Look, I’m not comparing this to other cars. They absolutely have the ability to push out software updates at scale. 140k clients is a drop in the bucket for my line of work with over 400k devices. We push deployments nightly. So that isn’t an excuse.

Totally understand the slow approach for testing and such.

 

[mtndrew1]

Look, I’m not comparing this to other cars. They absolutely have the ability to push out software updates at scale. 140k clients is a drop in the bucket for my line of work with over 400k devices. We push deployments nightly. So that isn’t an excuse.

Totally understand the slow approach for testing and such.

Can people die if your software has a bug?

 

[Falkirk]

I got the update (12.1.1) last night and was looking forward to a more useful browser but I can't believe it still doesn't handle dropdowns! Went to Costco's travel site and it breaks down on the first page trying to pick a destination. At least now it shows the options but they are positioned way over to the left and are not clickable.

We'll get there one day!

 

[CrazyM3]

Hi Folks, just got this this today - popped-up when I turned-up at Tesla Service Centre, as is often the case.

Was previously on 2019.8.5 3aaa23d, now upgraded to 2019.12.1.1 4b1dd29

XP100DL, Belgium

What do you mean turned up?

 

[towndrunk]

I really hate the way the updates are rolled out. It’s horrible. Some get it some don’t, so random. Not premium at all. Way more android like ha

You have the wrong Android. Our Pixel phones have updates the first Monday of every month.

 

[Fernand]

It's funny that everyone has a beef. Update buggy? Whine.
No buggy update for me? Whine. Update on demand is a
great idea. FWIW, I think they're doing the updates very well.

 

[JBT66]

What’s the rush with getting an update with in the first week or two of availability? Usually after 5 or 6 weeks everyone has been upgraded.
Even those that lag a bit it’s. It not like there are these huge changes of new features being missed and again they are eventually sent out.
Sure 5% more performance, charging a bit faster, etc etc. they are cool but it’s not like you don’t have a GREAT car in the mean time.

 

[jkoya]

For the software update feature in 2019.12.1.1, is it true or false you still have to wait for Tesla to push the update to your car ? Will we still get update notifications on the phone app ??

 

[MP3Mike]

For the software update feature in 2019.12.1.1, is it true or false you still have to wait for Tesla to push the update to your car ? Will we still get update notifications on the phone app ??

Yes, you still have to wait for an update to be assigned to your car. The difference is that you can see if you have an update pending and that you need to get WiFi connected to download it sooner. You will still get a notification on the phone after it has downloaded and it is ready to install.

 

[jkoya]

Yes, you still have to wait for an update to be assigned to your car. The difference is that you can see if you have an update pending and that you need to get WiFi connected to download it sooner. You will still get a notification on the phone after it has downloaded and it is ready to install.

Cool - Thank you for the clarification !

 

[OCR1]

I get where you're coming from, but a few things to consider:

1) They don't have the ability to blast updates of this size to everyone simultaneously. Few companies do, let alone car companies.
2) Tesla use customers as integration/beta testers to minimize the internal testing team size (cost savings), which is one reason why there are so many versions out there.
3) The randomness of update delivery is purely to get a fresh data sample to help flush out blocking issues quickly.

I'm not a big fan of #2, because that should be an opt-in scenario. I get why they do it, but it's a touch sleazy IMO.

#1 Makes no sense to me. The downloads are less than 1GB. Tesla has only sold a few hundred thousand cars. It should not take six weeks to update everyone.

As for #2 and #3, I’ve seen people make these statements in this forum but do we really know that any of this is for real? Has anyone ever received an explanation from Tesla on how and why they choose to distribute firmware upgrades?

I’m not complaining because it takes so long, I’m just trying to understand how much of this is just stuff that people in this forum have created as folklore that has been passed down over the years versus confirmed information from someone who knows what Tesla’s methodology for software distribution is really based on.