Automatically reading text messages through audio system

[bob_p]

Unfortunately, we can't do this in our $100K P85.

When I paired my smartphone with a rental Toyota Camry today, it began to read incoming text and e-mail messages to me as I was driving.

It's not just that Tesla cars are behind in providing Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, we lack the smartphone integration present in many, much less expensive, other vehicles.

 

[brooklynrab]

+1

 

[flashflood]

Yeah. Tesla is SO much like Apple that way. They invent the coolest stuff (or, at least, did when Jobs was alive), execute 80% of it stunningly well in the first version, and then just never get around to other 20%. They just do other cool new stuff instead, which is why $100k will now buy you a car that has AutoPilot but still no light in the vanity mirror; goes 0-60 in 2.5 seconds but still has the turning radius of the QE2; and has an iPhone app that was groundbreaking three years ago but hasn't changed at all since then.

There are so many simple, obvious things that could be added to the app. For example, remote camera activation. That would let you make sure there's no one sketchy near your car if you had to park in a bad neighborhood, or would let you keep an eye on your house or property while on vacation. And even more basic stuff, like checking the mileage.

 

[aesculus]

Tesla really needs to come up with an API set for the non vehicle stuff so 3rd parties can go wild. That would really differentiate them from the locked in dash folks.

 

[markn455]

My android did this beautifully on my Mid 2014 MS. When I got my 2018 MS 100D, it no longer works. I "thought" it worked when I first picked up my 100D. Now it does not work. I can't figure out why. in Android there is a utility where you can tell the phone to read aloud text messages while driving. Unfortunately, this does not seem to work in my new MS when it worked great in my 2014 MS.

 

[electric_feel]

I have an iPhone 7, and have that paired to my 2013 MS. If I’m on that input via Bluetooth, and I say, “Hey Siri, read my messages”, Siri will read new messages via the car’s speakers. I want CarPlay and Android Auto like lots of us do.

 

[markn455]

I am considering wiping my phone and starting over and see if that makes it start working again. I can't help but thing some app I may have installed broke it.

 

[Krash]

My car was reading texts in firmware 2018.10.4. I don't know that I have tried it in 2018.16. The functionality definitely comes and goes with firmware releases. My phone has never had the ability to read email that I know.

Also I don't know that I ever had the ability to instigate a text from the phone, only to respond to a new incoming message. I dont think pressing the voice command, waiting for the prompt and saying "send a text to..." does anything.

I always got a kick out of my S speakers saying "you got a new message from Bob Jones, do you want to read it?" and then I wait for the prompt and say "yes" and the S speakers say "the message is..." and then it proceeds to read me a cryptic URL one letter at a time "H T T P Colon Backslash Backslash W W W dot..." Seems like an obvious oversight by the phone engineers. I am not sure what happens if the message is a photo..

 

[Krash]

I have an iPhone 7, and have that paired to my 2013 MS. If I’m on that input via Bluetooth, and I say, “Hey Siri, read my messages”, Siri will read new messages via the car’s speakers. I want CarPlay and Android Auto like lots of us do.

Are you saying the car, when bluetooth phone paired, is always passing all audio along to the phone including "hey Siri", "hey Cortana", "Google" or "Alexa" requests?

On what firmware is your car?

 

[obie_fl]

I believe it is the phone that is listening not the car, at least that is how mine works.

 

[bob_p]

This might work only if you have the media player set to using your phone as the media source.

The input should be through the phone's microphone, which means if you are using the console phone dock, it might not work well if the microphone is covered by the bottom of the dock.

If you always use the phone as the media source - listening to music, audio books, streaming, ..., then the phone can do the text-to-voice and possibly voice-to-text.

But, if you use other media sources like AM/FM/XM, USB or the streaming services - then the audio for the phone won't be heard.

With other manufacturers getting ready to introduce competing long range EVs in the next 1-2 years, Tesla really needs to address this issue, since the other manufacturers appear to be committed to Apple CarPlay and/or Android Auto...

 

[milleron]

It's yet another resource problem. So many times in so many Tesla systems we've noted problems that are in glaring need of fixes or updates. And yet we wait many months and sometimes years with no resolution. I sincerely believe it's all because Tesla is such a small company compared to Apple, GM, Toyota, etc. I doubt that they have programmers and engineers sitting around on company time playing Canasta. I doubt that Elon doesn't care. Tesla apparently just doesn't have the manpower to address these many, many glitches. Someday, hopefully, they will, but I think it'll be a period of time measured in years. That should not be interpreted as patience on my part or a plea for patience in others. It's more as though you can poke a pig with a wet noodle as many times as you want, but he ain't gettin' out of the slop until he wants to.