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Browser function disabled after firmware update (Hong Kong)

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Today is Sunday 7th September, my Tesla asked would I like to update my firmware. Well I thought something good is about to happen. Boy, I was so wrong the icon on my 17inch has disappeared. WTF!!! Hong Kong transport department was upset about the Browser.
Is there anyway I can get the browser back ? Mods, Hacks.

I got my Model S for two days before this happened.:cursing::cursing::cursing::cursing:
 

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Perhaps this is because you can ferry or drive to "sensitive" areas ... like Shenzhen which you can reach via Rte 10.

I thought my SC once told me you could roll back to previous firmware?
 
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Test driving here in Norway I was told excplicitly there would be no browser while moving in the EU cars due to it being illegal but we can browse and drive as mich as we like now 1 year after delivery and many thousand cars sold in just Norway...
 
He has issues with the Government of Hong Kong, not China. They have no provision in legislation to allow it, and since the Fun Police run the place, it's gone. The ironic thing is no one does anything about the taxi drivers with 8 smart phones across the top of the dash allowing them to run their other businesses.
 
From the Hong Kong specific thread:

Restrictions on Hong Kong Model S spec

CAP 374A regulation 37

Cap 374A reg 37 Visual display units (Road Traffic (Construction and Maintenance of Vehicles) Regulations; ROAD TRAFFIC ORDINANCE)

(1)No person shall install or cause to be installed in or on a motor vehicle and no motor vehicle shall have installed therein or thereon a visual display unit other than a visual display unit that may be installed under paragraph (2)- (L.N. 1 of 2000)
(a)at any point forward of the driver's seat;
(b)so that the screen thereof is partly or wholly, and whether directly or in any reflection, visible to the driver whilst in the driving seat; or
(c)so that the controls thereof, other than the sound volume control and the main switch, are within reach of the driver whilst in the driving seat.

(2)Subject to paragraph (3), a visual display unit that is designed to give the driver-
(a)information about the current state of the vehicle or its equipment;
(b)the current closed-circuit view of any part of the vehicle or the area surrounding the vehicle;
(c)information about the current location of the vehicle; or
(d)any other information which is only for the purpose of navigating the vehicle,
may be installed in or on a motor vehicle. (L.N. 1 of 2000)

(3)A visual display unit which enables the display of-
(a)any television programme within the meaning of section 2(1) of the Broadcasting Ordinance (Cap 562); or (48 of 2000 s. 44)
(b)any stored visual images except for the purposes of paragraph (2)(d),
may not be installed under paragraph (2) at a point forward of the driver's seat as referred to in paragraph (1)(a) or in the manner referred to in paragraph (1)(b) or (c). (L.N. 1 of 2000)

Note that there is nothing wrong with the browser per-se, it is more related to the content that the browser can display (not about the vehicle, not navigation, and stored images). For me, I want to be able to access web apps (which don't violate the above legislation), but the result now is that everything is banned.

This does bring up the larger (global) issue of whether web browsers are a distraction that will decrease the safety of the vehicle. I'm not in favour of nanny-systems, in general, but that is a hell of a 17" distraction. A global solution is to allow the user to control this, subject to country-level restrictions. We do this every day with content-filtering systems in offices and homes (for parental control).

One suggestion I made was for the system to maintain a list of websites (just the main URL of the page, not sub-items brought in), and to allow the _user_ to tag those websites as:

  • unrestricted - can always be accessed
  • restricted - can only be accessed when vehicle is in park
  • blocked - can never be accessed

Again, the _user_ could set his browser to be either restricted or unrestricted, and that can even be enforced on a country level if necessary (depends on Tesla's legal team interpretation).
 
Browser deleted with no notification from Tesla

There was quite a bit of discussion about no web browsing for HK in a thread back in May. Maybe there's some helpful info there for you:

Restrictions on Hong Kong Model S spec

Good luck, I hope whatever regulatory agency demanded this changes their mind!

At least Tesla should have told us the Browser was going to be removed.
There much be a way I can enable my browser.Does anyone have a access code for the hidden menu ?
 
Entirely unfair and inaccurate comment. You need only remember the many dealership issues, Broder, Les Fires etc...

I hate to ressurrect a dead issue (and may it rest in peace from here on) but the Air Suspension change of last Autumn still rankles. Bad press does not excuse the removal of an existing feature without any evidence supporting the need to do so. If this was not "bowing to pressure", I don't know what it was.
 
Browser delete Version update

What version do you have (press the Tesla logo at the top to get an about screen that will show)? I wonder if this solves the mystery of why 5.14 has been released.

My Latest Version V5.12(1.6.4.41)

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It's completely disappeared. Tesla never returned my emails.

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Lerxt, I can agree more with you. 10 out of 10 minivans have a dvd head units. The dealer would even throw it in as a gift. But Tesla can just send over an update and block whatever they want requested by the government. What's next for HK. Block facebook and youtube ???

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It's completely gone. Never know, the government might block out facebook !!

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It's completely gone. Never know, the government might block out facebook !!

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I miss my browser !!


browser6_193239.jpg
 
I wouldn't consider conforming to local laws to be "bowing to pressure." Like any other car manufacturer, Tesla has to follow a country's rules. They certainly could assist local owners with getting the rule changed, but this is probably the result of a similar ban on smartphone web browsing.
This seems pretty clear to me as well. I'm fine with criticism when warranted (like the air suspension debacle noted above), but here the feature clearly violates HK law. It can't even be due to a mistranslation, the .gov.hk link presents the statute in English.

Perhaps you can fault Tesla for not lobbying for a change to the law, but you certainly can't fault them for limiting risk by removing the feature immediately. Leaving it in could open them up to fines, lawsuits, and maybe a sales ban.