8.0 Music Player Unusable

[UberEV1]

Just be prepared, there are owners who do not use USB, just streaming and radio. They may not rise up with you. It will be interesting to see level of support. Please post afterwards!

Hello tomas! I believe the frustrations do extend beyond USB . . .

I do not use USB, but sympathize with all those who have experienced the numerous troubles already outlined. But I do listen to podcasts and the performance of the Media Player remains significantly sub-par. I get "Loading error..." at least 50% of the time when calling up new podcasts, often very long delay times to start podcasts (1 to 3 minutes just to start playing) and no intelligence to resume podcast where left off during previous driving session. If my iphone can play podcasts effectively, with any number of different downloaded apps, why can't our Tesla perform at least equally well? I trust this is not an unreasonable expectation.

Further, as one of the early adopters driving a "Classic" Model S without Autopilot capability, I get excited with each major firmware update in anticipation of even the smallest improvements in functionality. Needless to say, it is disappointing when the update misses the mark and renders the car with more, rather than fewer, bugs. I guess I too should be a bit more patient and wait through at least 1 or 2 iterations on each release . . . bummer!

 

[bob_p]

Take a look at the Chevy Bolt website. While the display is smaller than the Model S/X/3, the infotainment software could have multiple areas where it is much better than Tesla's.

The Bolt will support Apple CarPlay and Android Auto - and have Google Maps navigation.

The website shows a single display that has: time, temperature. current radio station, short call history, calendar event, HVAC settings, and seat heater controls - and this is all done with a smaller 10.2" display. And it looks like users may have the ability to customize this display (edit button).

And the rear view mirror can display the rear camera (in addition to the console display).

We currently are planning to purchase a 100D/AP2.0 Model S (to replace our P85) and a Model 3 (to replace our ICE), though if the Bolt has much better onboard software (and I doubt GM will distribute releases with major bugs), it may be tempting to cancel our Model 3 order.

Unfortunately, as Tesla starts getting more long range EV competition, by the time they realize the onboard software could start impacting their sales, it will be much harder to correct the deficiencies, because it takes time to implement new software, plus they really need to make some major software process changes to improve the quality of their released software.

Some of us have been providing this feedback to Tesla - since we received our early VIN "classics".

 

[gsmith63]

Agreed that Tesla needs to get this right soon. When cars costing 1/3 the price have much better thought-out music interfaces that is a real problem. I hope Tesla hasn't been spoiled by all the fanboys and forgotten that they are selling a consumer product here. I really want them to succeed, but the 8.0 music player is absolutely NOT a positive step in that direction.

 

[Skotty]

While I know the 8.0 media player issues go well beyond this, I'm hopeful that with the higher production of the Model 3 down the road, the per unit cost of whatever ridiculous licensing fees Apple and Co. surely require will drop to a tolerable level and folks can finally have better integration with their smart phones and other media devices. They probably need dedicated interface employees for it also, as I would guess the interface specifications are poorly supported poorly documented draconian monsters.

 

[supratachophobia]

Take a look at the Chevy Bolt website. While the display is smaller than the Model S/X/3, the infotainment software could have multiple areas where it is much better than Tesla's.

The Bolt will support Apple CarPlay and Android Auto - and have Google Maps navigation.

The website shows a single display that has: time, temperature. current radio station, short call history, calendar event, HVAC settings, and seat heater controls - and this is all done with a smaller 10.2" display. And it looks like users may have the ability to customize this display (edit button).

And the rear view mirror can display the rear camera (in addition to the console display).

We currently are planning to purchase a 100D/AP2.0 Model S (to replace our P85) and a Model 3 (to replace our ICE), though if the Bolt has much better onboard software (and I doubt GM will distribute releases with major bugs), it may be tempting to cancel our Model 3 order.

Unfortunately, as Tesla starts getting more long range EV competition, by the time they realize the onboard software could start impacting their sales, it will be much harder to correct the deficiencies, because it takes time to implement new software, plus they really need to make some major software process changes to improve the quality of their released software.

Some of us have been providing this feedback to Tesla - since we received our early VIN "classics".

Makes you wonder why the The Woz said he was going to jump ship to the Bolt, doesn't it?

 

[Gizmotoy]

Great idea! If Tesla had an SDK there would be a much better open source media player within weeks! No cost to Tesla (after the SDK creation/documentation) and then we could all act on our complaints. And if people like the factory media player, they can use it.

If only someone high up in Tesla, like Elon, had conceived of such an idea and promised it to us by the end of 2014!

 

[hybridbear]

Put several large stickys on your screen, side windows, windshield, etc, that say DO NOT UPGRADE SOFTWARE....and then snap a few photos with your phone before you leave so they can't later say they didn't see the notes.

I wish I had been back to the forum to see this before I dropped my car off yesterday. The SA had it in the Repair Order notes & he said that they would not update my car. However, overnight I received a push notification on my phone that a software update was successfully installed. I called this morning to coordinate time for pick up since they said my car would be ready today and I mentioned to him that I received a notification of a software update. He said, "I told all my technicians not to install 8.0 on your car and a software update wasn't necessary for any of the repairs we did." Then the line got quiet and the next thing he said was, "Oh $h*t! 8.0 was deployed to your car." He then began apologizing and said he was going to have a talk with the technician once he got to work. He said he was going to see what they can do to fix it. He said that the technicians are trained to automatically deploy updates to cars parked overnight at the Service Center so he figures that someone forgot that they weren't supposed to install 8.0 on my car.

My car is going in for service soon and when I set it up I requested that they not download 8.0. At the time I was told that they could fulfill the request for now but at some point I will not have a choice -- Tesla will force the latest software on me.

Listen to the suggestion above from @sorka. I wish I had put sticky notes inside my car. In the future if my car is going in for service and there's an update that I want to postpone I will put a sticky note on the touchscreen saying "Please do not install software update."

I hope y'all are writing tesla. This forum may be good for venting, but it is not a formal feedback channel.

I gave feedback via e-mail to my Service Advisor because he told me that telling the Service Center is the best way to get feedback sent to Tesla. After driving a loaner with 8.0 I was able to give more feedback of things that I view as being significantly less user-friendly than 7.1.

 

[jgs]

I'm hopeful that with the higher production of the Model 3 down the road, the per unit cost of whatever ridiculous licensing fees Apple and Co. surely require will drop to a tolerable level

I can't attest to this myself but in another thread someone mentioned CarPlay requires VxWorks. If so, it's a technology problem, not a money problem. (I spent a minute trying to confirm by googling it, came up with an article that mentioned QNX, so maybe it just requires a RTOS? Still a technology problem if so.)

 

[tomas]

I gave feedback via e-mail to my Service Advisor because he told me that telling the Service Center is the best way to get feedback sent to Tesla. After driving a loaner with 8.0 I was able to give more feedback of things that I view as being significantly less user-friendly than 7.1.

Decisions are made in Fremont and HQ. an email to serviceNA gets there. A pile of them makes an impact. An email to service advisor may or may not. I think many of the service advisors are excellent, but I question whether they are best channel. I'd copy email to both.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

Makes you wonder why the The Woz said he was going to jump ship to the Bolt, doesn't it?

I believe he said the reason was because the Bolt has a lot more convenience features that his Model X lacks. He didn't say which features, exactly, but I'm interpreting his statement to mean Carplay and infotainment stuff.

Just the other day my business partner needed to go to the bathroom. We had to drive around until we found a restaurant or gas station. She asked, doesn't your navigation show us all the gas stations and places nearby like other navs? To which I said, sadly, no. She couldn't believe it and remarked "wow, can't believe this car doesn't do that, glad I didn't get one."

 

[supratachophobia]

I believe he said the reason was because the Bolt has a lot more convenience features that his Model X lacks. He didn't say which features, exactly, but I'm interpreting his statement to mean Carplay and infotainment stuff.

Just the other day my business partner needed to go to the bathroom. We had to drive around until we found a restaurant or gas station. She asked, doesn't your navigation show us all the gas stations and places nearby like other navs? To which I said, sadly, no. She couldn't believe it and remarked "wow, can't believe this car doesn't do that, glad I didn't get one."

Lexus has done this for the better part of a decade. And on a static DVD no less.

 

[Gizmotoy]

I believe he said the reason was because the Bolt has a lot more convenience features that his Model X lacks. He didn't say which features, exactly, but I'm interpreting his statement to mean Carplay and infotainment stuff.

Just the other day my business partner needed to go to the bathroom. We had to drive around until we found a restaurant or gas station. She asked, doesn't your navigation show us all the gas stations and places nearby like other navs? To which I said, sadly, no. She couldn't believe it and remarked "wow, can't believe this car doesn't do that, glad I didn't get one."

That would have been a good place for a "I don't typically need to visit GAS stations!" joke.

We have another vehicle with a navigation system that has gas station and other POI noted on the screen at all times. It seems like something that would be nice, but honestly, I'm not a fan. It crowds the map and clutters the display for something I rarely use. Depends how it's implemented I guess (easy to turn on/off?).

I agree with the sentiment in general, though. I really hope they're planning to do something about the infotainment system for the 3. As a mass market vehicle, beyond the early adopters people are not going to put up with the terrible system we've had for the past 4 years. They'll get right to the point where they realize the car doesn't have any integration at all with their phone and move on to something else. Tesla wants to position themselves as a makers of cars that just happen to be electric, and on the infotainment front, they seriously lag the competition.

 

[supratachophobia]

That would have been a good place for a "I don't typically need to visit GAS stations!" joke.

We have another vehicle with a navigation system that has gas station and other POI noted on the screen at all times. It seems like something that would be nice, but honestly, I'm not a fan. It crowds the map and clutters the display for something I rarely use. Depends how it's implemented I guess (easy to turn on/off?).

I agree with the sentiment in general, though. I really hope they're planning to do something about the infotainment system for the 3. As a mass market vehicle, beyond the early adopters people are not going to put up with the terrible system we've had for the past 4 years. They'll get right to the point where they realize the car doesn't have any integration at all with their phone and move on to something else. Tesla wants to position themselves as a makers of cars that just happen to be electric, and on the infotainment front, they seriously lag the competition.

A good nav would have POI as a layer, just like traffic and sat view. And for the love, adjust its opacity to transparent so I can avoid that extra click and delay while the tegra 3 gets around to displaying the buttons.

 

[Gizmotoy]

A good nav would have POI as a layer, just like traffic and sat view. And for the love, adjust its opacity to transparent so I can avoid that extra click and delay while the tegra 3 gets around to displaying the buttons.

That sounds pretty nice. Sold. When can I have it?

 

[trils0n]

. We had to drive around until we found a restaurant or gas station. She asked, doesn't your navigation show us all the gas stations and places nearby like other navs? To which I said, sadly, no. She couldn't believe it and remarked "wow, can't believe this car doesn't do that, glad I didn't get one."

Why didn't you search for a gas station? The POI search is linked to Google IIRC, so it is pretty darn good (usually much better than the built in POI databases with outdated info) and you can search for generic things like "gas" "restaurant" or "tacos" and it will display a whole bunch of nearby location pins just like Google.

Just type gas station (or even just "gas") into the search box and it will show dozens near you. Or you can use the voice controls: "where is gas" "navigate to gas station", you could search for restaurant or use "where is restaurant" as well, and it will find all sorts of restaurants/fast food places. Works great.

 

[BertL]

...I really hope they're planning to do something about the infotainment system for the 3....

Right. I see no reason why an awful lot of the Infotainment functionality cannot be almost a direct port and reused across the fleet. UI will be somewhat different because of IC/CID/HUD(?) variances to M3, but underlying functionality should be the same. No need to write new code how to handle radio sources, proper sorting and use of USB track tagging, SiriusXM radio, introduce Waypoints, better Voice control, etc., etc. It's what drives me mad that Tesla has just not done it already... To be successful longer-term with M3, it has to get done and it would be a huge plus NOW for enthusiasts that paid the biggest bucks to own an MS/MX to help fund future M3 and Tesla expansion.

 

[RogerHScott]

Tesla wants to position themselves as a makers of cars that just happen to be electric

Sure, long-term, but I don't think they're even going to be close with the 3.

 

[Gizmotoy]

Sure, long-term, but I don't think they're even going to be close with the 3.

Long-term? I disagree. They've been doing it since the Roadster. One of the stated guiding principals in the development of the Model S was that it was to look, feel, and act like a normal car that just happened to be powered by electricity. A goal they largely accomplished, IMO.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

Why didn't you search for a gas station? The POI search is linked to Google IIRC, so it is pretty darn good (usually much better than the built in POI databases with outdated info) and you can search for generic things like "gas" "restaurant" or "tacos" and it will display a whole bunch of nearby location pins just like Google.

Just type gas station (or even just "gas") into the search box and it will show dozens near you. Or you can use the voice controls: "where is gas" "navigate to gas station", you could search for restaurant or use "where is restaurant" as well, and it will find all sorts of restaurants/fast food places. Works great.

Good idea, I will try that next time.

 

[supratachophobia]

With a media player that lags several years behind, so basically your standard Toyota playbook? Only difference with Tesla is that OTA means they don't have to stay that way, but they choose to.