app connectivity with the car WIFI/CELL

[Jackob]

Hi All , and happy new year
picked my model S a week ago.
trying to clarify this issue with car connectivity via app.
in my parking place there is a weak Wi-Fi but no cellular reception.
I can upgrade the Wi-Fi signal but cannot do it with cellular.
i cannot connect the car from my flat which is 18 flours above via app.
strengthening the Wi-Fi signal will solve the connectivity issue with app?
tnx , jackob

 

[Tam]

Hi All , and happy new year
picked my model S a week ago.
trying to clarify this issue with car connectivity via app.
in my parking place there is a weak Wi-Fi but no cellular reception.
I can upgrade the Wi-Fi signal but cannot do it with cellular.
i cannot connect the car from my flat which is 18 flours above via app.
strengthening the Wi-Fi signal will solve the connectivity issue with app?
tnx , jackob

Definitely. You don't need cell signals. Wifi is preferable.

 

[DerbyDave]

Without cell service, the car will not wake up. On my 2020 model the car must have cell service.

 

[BitJam]

Without cell service, the car will not wake up. On my 2020 model the car must have cell service.

The car will not wake up remotely from the app without cell service. I was surprised to learn this but here is a thread about it:

Cellular needed for App to connect

MYLR 2020 vin 048xxx. I've been spending the summer at a location that does not have cellular service. It does have a strong wifi signal. My app refuses to connect to the car via the wifi, so if it starts to rain, I have to go out to the car and manually close the windows. Is this normal...

teslamotorsclub.com

WiFi shuts off when the car sleeps. It needs a cell ping to wake up. So, yes, you're out of luck without a cell signal. I'm not sure if WiFi stays on when the car is awake for sentry, cabin overheat protection, etc., but maybe worth a shot if you don't mind burning the power.​

 

[DerbyDave]

Agreed. @Tam says you don't need cell service. The OP issue is "i cannot connect the car from my flat which is 18 flours above via app." He cannot always access the car without cell service once it is sleeping.

 

[GtiMart]

...so it would work with wifi if the car never feel asleep, as when leaving Sentry mode on. I would not recommend however, both for energy consumption and because it helps the car to sleep from time to time.

 

[Tam]

...so it would work with wifi if the car never feel asleep, as when leaving Sentry mode on...

In my experience:

The car works even with the cell signal alone.

Same with exclusively wifi alone.

If the car is asleep in cell or wifi, you can wake it up. It does not need to be awake unless you want it to, not because of wifi.

 

[BitJam]

The car works even with the cell signal alone.

Same with exclusive wifi alone.

If the car is asleep in cell or wifi, you can wake it up. It does not need to be awake unless you want it to, not because of wifi.

The thread I linked to above contradicts this. They say that when the car is asleep then you need a cell connection or a Bluetooth connection (or a key card I presume) to wake it up in order to enable wifi. The issue/problem seems to be that wifi is disabled when the car is asleep so wifi can't be used to wake it up.

I wonder if scheduled departure would help. Does scheduled departure even work if the car is asleep and there is no cell signal to wake it up?

 

[Jackob]

I just talked with Tesla’s representative and they say that if the car location has no cell reception they can’t awake it , so WiFi alone is not enough .I’ll keep update if I have any other news