I kind of knew this question would lead to data not being available. I wonder what else is impacted by this. I guess this is a downside to the Tesla-Android solution?
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CarPlay solution for Tesla by Michal Gapinski using Raspberry Pi with Android
- Thread starter timeshifter
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- android auto carplay
I have one from raspberry pi which both ends are usbc, but one is female and the other is male. So, male end plugs into rpi, female end connects to another usb cable which goes to 12v usb converter plug.
this switch that I have only works with the 12v charger plug. I tried connecting it to the usbc ports in the car, but none worked. The switch I have also have a led indicator, and it does not lit up with the car‘s usbc ports.
because of this, I am kind of considering getting the centre console usb hub conversion to up the power delivery. But I am not sure if I want to spend the $ right now. My 21 y got the last batch of data ports in the center console, but not ccs charging. however, I opened that center console usb panel and routed a cable nicely down to the rpi which I leave under driver seat, so I’m currently not using the switch.
I run telsmate and do not notice it using much data. I use Tello and noticed it uses less than 1gb for a month. Please note that I don’t drive the car much and my wife put more miles on it, and while she is driving she would use tesla nav sometimes because she prefer some features of it.
what really would use a lot of data is if the car downloads software update, I had 2 occasions that it blew my data limit. It’s no big deal, I either get more data, or wait till home and lose a bit of record in teslamate.
case in point, yesterday we were going somewhere close for a walk, and I got in car and noticed it is downloading software and using the tesla android WiFi instead of my home WiFi. Since it’s a nearby place we were going, I just unplugged the rpi and not use it.
So I drive a lot. Around 2000 miles a month. Sometimes as much as 3000. That said Im just now started with the 1GB plan for $6. I figure at most I'll go over it.. and switch to the 2GB plan for $10. I certainly agree the biggest data usage would be OTA updates.
I love CarPlay. But what I really love is Waze, Apple Maps, SiriusXM, Podcasts, and Apple Music. I really don't need Waze or Apple Maps to go out and run errands, shop, or drop off/pickup up my kids. And while I listen to podcasts daily.. they still work fine over Bluetooth. Also, Tesla just added a native version of Apple Maps. So what Im really saying is that as awesome as CarPlay is... I really plan to leave mine unplugged unless going on longer trips (over 50 miles). Im guessing that habit alone will keep it from using lots of data and help to manage the Tesla-Android WiFi.
Is there any way to set the priority of WiFi networks on the Tesla console screen? If I made my home wifi #1.. and Tesla-Android #2.. then in theory it should always use my home network for software updates & data tracking when parked at home.
I had to see for myself. I left the house at 10:39. I fired up the Pi without the modem connected and drove to an 11:00 appointment. I left that appointment at 12:22. I plugged the modem back in and used CarPlay, etc. on the drive to lunch.
Teslafi shows me being parked for 1 hour 42 minutes. It did notice some range loss during that time and noted "A drive may have occurred during this idle session. The range loss and kWh loss is not included in the daily summary."
So for that reason alone I don't ever want to use my system offline to save a few bucks on a data plan. I'd like to find a way to do it for less than the $25 per month I'm paying now.
Also concerned about what else I might be giving up. I've noticed that remote access to the cameras don't work as well when the Pi is on.
Wonder about emergency services? Apparently the Tesla will contact an emergency dispatch automatically. Does it know how to do that if it's connected to WiFi?
Teslafi shows me being parked for 1 hour 42 minutes. It did notice some range loss during that time and noted "A drive may have occurred during this idle session. The range loss and kWh loss is not included in the daily summary."
So for that reason alone I don't ever want to use my system offline to save a few bucks on a data plan. I'd like to find a way to do it for less than the $25 per month I'm paying now.
Also concerned about what else I might be giving up. I've noticed that remote access to the cameras don't work as well when the Pi is on.
Wonder about emergency services? Apparently the Tesla will contact an emergency dispatch automatically. Does it know how to do that if it's connected to WiFi?
Model Y Owner's Manual | Tesla
Learn about the automatic and manual emergency call system.
www.tesla.com
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I agree. We are not so tied to CarPlay either. We like having it, because we already have podcast and music that we follow there and the tesla system is quite limited for that. I also set certain podcasts for auto download at home to minimize my own data usage overall.
on a recent trip when both of us are in the car and the passenger can operate what entertainment to put on, the need to have CarPlay is lower as well. But if you are driving on your own, having CarPlay there is quite useful.
btw, Tello can be renewed early to roll over data and minutes. I buy more data sometimes, then change to smaller plans as needed when it gets near renewal. This may be too much work for some though.
So, maybe best to power down the rpi when you leave the car?
less than $25 a month should not be difficult. If you want to try Tello, which is T-Mobile network, I can send you a refer code. This will benefit me 10 Tello dollar but also give you 10 Tello dollars so you can try it for a low cost? Anyway, any Tello user can send you referral too. Just an idea.
I had to see for myself. I left the house at 10:39. I fired up the Pi without the modem connected and drove to an 11:00 appointment. I left that appointment at 12:22. I plugged the modem back in and used CarPlay, etc. on the drive to lunch.
Teslafi shows me being parked for 1 hour 42 minutes. It did notice some range loss during that time and noted "A drive may have occurred during this idle session. The range loss and kWh loss is not included in the daily summary."
So for that reason alone I don't ever want to use my system offline to save a few bucks on a data plan. I'd like to find a way to do it for less than the $25 per month I'm paying now.
Also concerned about what else I might be giving up. I've noticed that remote access to the cameras don't work as well when the Pi is on.
Wonder about emergency services? Apparently the Tesla will contact an emergency dispatch automatically. Does it know how to do that if it's connected to WiFi?
Model Y Owner's Manual | Tesla
Learn about the automatic and manual emergency call system.www.tesla.com
Yeah, think of it this way. Your car WAS always connected to the internet. Every Tesla in the US comes with free basic LTE connectivity to AT&T I believe. So its constantly uploads & downloads information. When you add the Tesla-Android CarPlay connection.. you are redirecting all your car's traffic to the Raspberry Pi.. if that Pi doesn't have an internet connection there is no way for your car to upload/download anything.
I won't say the LTE USB modem is necessary for the vehicle to work while using Tesla-Android CarPlay. But I will say the modem is necessary for the vehicle to work as it DID previously.. while using Tesla-Android CarPlay. As for cheaper data plans.. try that Tello plan we all talked about. Really shouldn't need more than 2GB per month.. which is $10 bucks.
ElectricAnt54
Active Member
Ahhh yes Vilros. I use that too. To make it work I had to use a cable which had usb-a male on one end which plugs in to cigarette lighter & the other side is usb-c male which plugs in to the vilros cable’s usb-c female . The vilros cable’s usb-c male plugs in to raspberry pi. The vilros cable only supports power and will not transmit data so you can’t include it in the cable chain if connecting pi to computer.
Why did I use a usb-a (male) / usb-c (male) cable instead of usb-c (male) / usb-c (male)? Every time I tried no power was supplied to the pi. Not sure why & vilros ignored my help request.
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To save data or for better camera performance? Either way it's not worth the added inconvenience for me. I'm in and out of the car several times per day. So if I have turn on the Pi when getting in the car it becomes a real headache. I'd have to wait almost two minutes for the WiFi to be ready. If I start driving before then then I'll have to switch on WiFi on screen, etc. A big hassle. Or, I could just wait about 5 minutes or more and everything will eventually automatically connect, although I'll probably still have to refresh the browser page.
I'd be happy to try your referral code. But I'm not sure it will be any cheaper for me.
I started with this system in July. I've been using way more than 2GB per month. I posted the stats a few pages back, around December 5th or 6th. For this billing cycle that started on the 6th I've turned off satellite images for the Tesla navigation. I'm up to almost 3GB so far, but most of that came on Dec 12th. Not sure if that's because nav images got turned on, which happened once, but I think it was earlier. Or it might have been a Tesla update.
I wish the process of entering and leaving the car was more streamlined with this system. Would be nice if the system magically slept when you left and woke up when you came back to drive.
You can get Tello for 5GB data no call/text per month (which seems to fit your usage) for $15 per month.
having lte will definitely allow car to connect to the internet, subject to coverage of your cell network. however, I have had occasions when it is hard to access car remotely while I know the rpi is running, hence lte is running, to see its status.
Even when car is at my home, which should connect to my home network, sometimes it takes quite a while to see its status or wake it from sleep.
Rpi will turn off due to power cut off to usb sockets or 12v cigarette socket once it sleeps, but if you are charging or on sentry mode, then those outlets will still be powered. in this situation, you may prefer to cut power to rpi so car goes back to its own cell network or your home wifi so it does not eat up your lte modem data should OTA update comes in. right now, there is no way to defer download once it sees an update and car is wifi connected.
this is the area where there are quite a few requests to have some sort of network preference or management. right now, you need to understand cars behavior and your preference and choose what to do.
Tesla wifi also do not allow any preference setting for user to choose accordingly, many would want car to connect to home instead of rpi when at home.
I’m just thinking out loud, but it sounds like a VPN Network might solve this. This might allow Tesla‘s Network to continue to operate while Tesla-Android utilizes the VPN network. I’m not sure if this even makes sense but again I’m just thinking out loud.
For now it seems like unplugging the Rpi is the only sure way to disconnect it.
If you had a power switch connected and powered off when you leave the car overnight or for long periods, would sentry mode or charging initiate power again?
For now it seems like unplugging the Rpi is the only sure way to disconnect it.
If you had a power switch connected and powered off when you leave the car overnight or for long periods, would sentry mode or charging initiate power again?
ElectricAnt54
Active Member
No. Well not at least switches I've been recommending as they are physical switches and not digital. My pie has always stayed deactivated.
So im embarrassed to say that I haven't been able to get the Tello service working using the LTE modem above. I was breaking my head trying to figure out what could be wrong. Did I buy the wrong model? Did I activate the card? Did I choose the wrong service plan?
Thank God you posted this picture. So I could immediately tell that I inserted the SIM card in upside down lol. Even worse, I see there is a little graphic that even shows you the right way to insert the card and the form factor of the SIM (Micro SIM). As you can imagine everything is working now and Im incredibly embarrassed. I will say I just had LASIK surgery a couple of weeks ago and my eyes are still fuzzy when focusing. Supposed to be 6-8 months of healing time until my vision is normal. So maybe I just couldn't see all of this information when I originally got the SIM + modem
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