Car Computer - SD Card

[sadiqomar]

Hi Guys,

I live in Sri Lanka and order a Model 3 from the UK. The SIM card that came pre-installed with the car wasn't working so I found a guide on how to change the SIM and took it to a garage and was able to get this done. However, whilst chasing the SIM, the person doing this for me mistakenly removed the SD Card from the car computer. When re-installing it, rather than going into the slot the SD card fell into the part of the car computer in between the slot and the metal plate and I am now unable to recover it without taking apart the car computer, which I was reluctant to let them do.

My question is, is it an issue to not have the SD card in the card computer? I saw that it was an 8GB Mini SD Card, so can I buy one and insert a new SD Card or do I have to get one from Tesla? Any advice would be helpful.

I have a Model 3 manufactured in September of 2019, with FSD and HW3.0.

Thanks.

 

[Perscitus]

Good question. Why dont you try it and let us know, post up your experience and findings.

Hopefully some of the Ukrainian and Central/Eastern European owners chime in re the SD card. They typically end up unchaining their American-sourced Teslas to provide data and allow EU supercharger network charging.

Would be great if you could cross reference the eSIM replacement guide as well. Even if just for a EMEA-spec HW3 car.

 

[Travelandlive]

Hi Guys,

I live in Sri Lanka and order a Model 3 from the UK. The SIM card that came pre-installed with the car wasn't working so I found a guide on how to change the SIM and took it to a garage and was able to get this done. However, whilst chasing the SIM, the person doing this for me mistakenly removed the SD Card from the car computer. When re-installing it, rather than going into the slot the SD card fell into the part of the car computer in between the slot and the metal plate and I am now unable to recover it without taking apart the car computer, which I was reluctant to let them do.

My question is, is it an issue to not have the SD card in the card computer? I saw that it was an 8GB Mini SD Card, so can I buy one and insert a new SD Card or do I have to get one from Tesla? Any advice would be helpful.

View attachment 563256

I have a Model 3 manufactured in September of 2019, with FSD and HW3.0.

Thanks.

Sd cards are just sd cards.... unless tesla preloads it with something , it's not going to do anything different.
You wont mess anything up inserting a blank sd card in, so I would try it.

 

[sadiqomar]

So I closed the car up and drove it home and it seemed to work without an issue.

On the SIM card change guide, I found a copy of the Tesla Service manual available online at cardiagn.com. I downloaded it, went through it and created a guide for the garage to follow (Some parts shown are for LHD, but are the same on RHD model as well). I have attached the guide incase anyone wants to take a look. Whilst doing it, we realized we didn't have to actually remove the passenger side knee airbag. The Car Computer was accessible without it. The other difference is the actual SIM card change process, it shows a HW2.5, where as my car has HW3.0 installed. I am still waiting for the SIM card to get activated from my carrier and will let everyone know if the installation worked once that has happened. (Please note: prior to doing this I reached out to Tesla and Signed a Non-Tesla SIM card Waiver form).

Re SD Card, my concern was what Travelandlive mentioned on whether there was any preloaded software? I will see how it goes and post if I get any messages form the car on the SD Card.

 

[sadiqomar]

Hey Guys, I just wanted to post an update. I noticed after the SD card was removed, that the car was giving me a "Reduced Power Mode" warning. I also noticed that car was much slower to wake and that it was not entering a "Deep Sleep" state for a few hours, which was causing my battery to drain much faster than anticipated.

I spoke to a few repair shops in the UK, whom have worked on MCUs and they recommended that I just buy and install a regular SD card. They said the MCU would format it as required and create the necessary files. I also spoke to a Tesla Service center and found that they recommend a "Class 4" SD card.

I was able to do this. For the first couple of hours after installing the SD card, I did not notice any difference in the behavior of the car (The Errors were still popping up), however after a couple of hours everything reverted back to normal.

 

[Travelandlive]

Glad it worked out for you.

 

[Corga]

Hi Sadiqomar,
Did you manage to get your sim card working as well ?

 

[sadiqomar]

H

Hi Sadiqomar,
Did you manage to get your sim card working as well ?

Hey, I did. I had to talk to Tesla. They have to change the APN settings. The first few people I spoke to said I had to send it in (however my car being in Sri Lanka, that was an issue) so I tried calling again a few times. Eventually I got someone who was able to make the change remotely.

 

[Candleflame]

i seem to recall reading a few posts here on the SD card issue - apparnetly any sd card will do fine. The car uses the sd card to hibernate and write log data, hence it struggels to go to sleep and takes ages to wake up.

 

[apacheguy]

The SD card is used by the gateway to write logs. It is not necessary for the car to write logs in order for the vehicle to sleep. This issue is probably caused by a bug in the gateway where it refuses to sleep unless it can write to the SD card.

 

[rapperkey]

I brought my tesla model 3 version 2021 from the US to Vietnam. The sim card on the car is not working. I can't connect to the vehicle through Summon.

I have a few questions that I hope someone can help with:


It seems that he has successfully replaced the sim card on his M3 however I am not sure that the documents he provided match my car because the model I have is a 2021 model 3.

2/ Can I expect Summon or FSD to work in Vietnam after a successful sim card replacement?

Thanks in advanced!

 

[jjrandorin]

I brought my tesla model 3 version 2021 from the US to Vietnam. The sim card on the car is not working. I can't connect to the vehicle through Summon.

I have a few questions that I hope someone can help with:


It seems that he has successfully replaced the sim card on his M3 however I am not sure that the documents he provided match my car because the model I have is a 2021 model 3.

2/ Can I expect Summon or FSD to work in Vietnam after a successful sim card replacement?

Thanks in advanced!

I have seen people mention changing the sim card but have not seen anyone say that will enable any of the tesla navigation, etc to work. I would expect nothing to work that requires data to the car, but if you end up with something different happening let us know.

 

[rapperkey]

I have seen people mention changing the sim card but have not seen anyone say that will enable any of the tesla navigation, etc to work. I would expect nothing to work that requires data to the car, but if you end up with something different happening let us know.

I read on this forum that Summon will only work when there is an active sim card. I want to replace sim card on my M3 2021. Can you tell me where is the sim card on tesla model 3 2021 located?

 

[jjrandorin]

I read on this forum that Summon will only work when there is an active sim card. I want to replace sim card on my M3 2021. Can you tell me where is the sim card on tesla model 3 2021 located?

No, I can not tell you because I have zero idea. I have no need or desire to swap sims, and have not researched it other than to know there are threads here with people asking and no response on positive outcomes when they do in relation to features that require navigation, etc.

 

[gollygui]

The physical SIM card is here, the blog is written in Thai but you can see the picture. However, in order to get the imported car to work in unsupported countries, it requires someone to do some coding to the car computer. I was told that would cost $1000 for that service alone but I did ask my importer to include that with my purchase. So my car is working with the physical SIM but i do not have auto summon feature.

 

[root17]

Hi to all , I just to share my experience. I bought a Tesla Model Y 2021 in the US, I ship it to Panama (where I actually live), Obviously when the car arrives in panama there where no data connection.
I proceeded to contact a friend that works in tesla and he came to Panama and proceeded to change physically the Simcard into the MCU and changed the APN and it worked perfectly.
And yes, summon will work much more accurate and perfect when you have a sim card inserted than using a simple hotspot.
And definitely navigation will NOT work., so I can say FSD is not necessary as you will not get to use it., so in my case what’s working? The answer is: Auto Pilot (on well marked roads) , Summon (used to push out or pull in the car into ex. A parking space), Smart summon (used to call the car to you from a parking space to your nearby location), Autopark (works very well also), so I can say in my case it worth to purchase the enhanced auto pilot and not FSD …
Another thing is that I managed to replace my air filters myself , it’s pretty easy , If anyone need a tutorial for this you can lookup in YouTube it have many videos explaining it step by step.

 

[waterysk]

I read on this forum that Summon will only work when there is an active sim card. I want to replace sim card on my M3 2021. Can you tell me where is the sim card on tesla model 3 2021 located?

Hi, how many tesla's are there in Vietnam?

 

[waterysk]

Hi Guys,

I live in Sri Lanka and order a Model 3 from the UK. The SIM card that came pre-installed with the car wasn't working so I found a guide on how to change the SIM and took it to a garage and was able to get this done. However, whilst chasing the SIM, the person doing this for me mistakenly removed the SD Card from the car computer. When re-installing it, rather than going into the slot the SD card fell into the part of the car computer in between the slot and the metal plate and I am now unable to recover it without taking apart the car computer, which I was reluctant to let them do.

My question is, is it an issue to not have the SD card in the card computer? I saw that it was an 8GB Mini SD Card, so can I buy one and insert a new SD Card or do I have to get one from Tesla? Any advice would be helpful.

View attachment 563256

I have a Model 3 manufactured in September of 2019, with FSD and HW3.0.

Thanks.

Hi, i would be a great issue to your Tesla. As for now you won't be seeing any changes, but you won't be able to update your Tesla. It may seems like a small 8GB capacity but it holds all your car logs and activities. Even if you purchased a new SD card it won't do much boss, and Tesla won't even sell the SD card to you without bringing the car back to the origin country.

Hope it answers your questions.

 

[bannedgoose]

Hi to all , I just to share my experience. I bought a Tesla Model Y 2021 in the US, I ship it to Panama (where I actually live), Obviously when the car arrives in panama there where no data connection.
I proceeded to contact a friend that works in tesla and he came to Panama and proceeded to change physically the Simcard into the MCU and changed the APN and it worked perfectly.
And yes, summon will work much more accurate and perfect when you have a sim card inserted than using a simple hotspot.
And definitely navigation will NOT work., so I can say FSD is not necessary as you will not get to use it., so in my case what’s working? The answer is: Auto Pilot (on well marked roads) , Summon (used to push out or pull in the car into ex. A parking space), Smart summon (used to call the car to you from a parking space to your nearby location), Autopark (works very well also), so I can say in my case it worth to purchase the enhanced auto pilot and not FSD …
Another thing is that I managed to replace my air filters myself , it’s pretty easy , If anyone need a tutorial for this you can lookup in YouTube it have many videos explaining it step by step.

So navigation wont work with the sim swap? What about the modem replacement? Is the modem the MCU?

What about the guy who paid $1000 to have it correctly coded?

 

[bannedgoose]

The physical SIM card is here, the blog is written in Thai but you can see the picture. However, in order to get the imported car to work in unsupported countries, it requires someone to do some coding to the car computer. I was told that would cost $1000 for that service alone but I did ask my importer to include that with my purchase. So my car is working with the physical SIM but i do not have auto summon feature.

So after the sim swap I need someone to properly code my car to become completely compatible?