Comprehensive USB Bug List

[iffatall]

Why 3 months? Compilation albums worked for me since the beginning, until it was broken this year. Of course album art, something else I care about a lot was broken before. For me, the 3 month period was when both album art and compilation albums worked.

 

[Boatguy]

Of course album art, something else I care about a lot was broken before. For me, the 3 month period was when both album art and compilation albums worked.

Yeah, the album art is a disaster. When playing music, it's annoying. When streaming the Economist from my phone via Bluetooth, it's just bizarre. The MP takes the article title and finds some related song title and then shows the album containing that song. Especially annoying because my BMW gets it right (even my previous 2014 BMW) and shows the appropriate Economist cover which must be embedded in the Bluetooth feed.

 

[aesculus]

Why 3 months? Compilation albums worked for me since the beginning, until it was broken this year.

I have a Model X. Perhaps it came broken.

 

[neroden]

I always sorted my tracks in folders. I have over 128 GB of them.

Unfortunately the catastrophic rescan breakage means I can't update the firmware again. Ever. Unless they fix it.

It is clear that Tesla Engineering just doesn't care about fixing any software bugs; there must have been hundreds of reports, and this is really not a complicated bug.

 

[X Fan]

Yeah, the album art is a disaster. When playing music, it's annoying. When streaming the Economist from my phone via Bluetooth, it's just bizarre. The MP takes the article title and finds some related song title and then shows the album containing that song. Especially annoying because my BMW gets it right (even my previous 2014 BMW) and shows the appropriate Economist cover which must be embedded in the Bluetooth feed.

Streaming the Economist.....wow, that's pretty dry.

Btw: I'm old school and like the print version; thus, I get mine delivered....

 

[Boatguy]

Streaming the Economist.....wow, that's pretty dry.

Btw: I'm old school and like the print version; thus, I get mine delivered....

The British voices spice it up quite a bit!

 

[Boatguy]

Following up on a suggestion by @BertL, I reformatted all my music to high quality MP3's. Now, my car will not recognize the music. Here are the details.

• 480GB SSD drive - same one I've always used
• Formatted MS-DOS (FAT32) - volume renamed to current date each time I put it into the car
• About 105GB of music files spread across 8 folders (pseudo playlists). Each folder contains only music files, no other folders.
• All files are MP3 and play with no problem with the Quicktime player

I connect the drive to the car and it starts scanning. I leave it, come back to the car later and it shows the drive, with two volumes, one 200MB (always there for some reason) and the second volume with 449GB (not clear where this comes from) and 0 songs.

This drive was working previously fine when loaded in the same manner with mostly FLAC files (other than the re-scans and intermittent loading errors).

I removed it once, reformatted it, copied the songs back onto it, same result.

Any ideas?

 

[thecloud]

All files are MP3 and play with no problem with the Quicktime player

Do the files have a .mp3 filename suffix? (It could be that QT recognizes their content but the Tesla player just goes by suffix.)

Are the files actually tagged with Artist/Album/Title tags? (Possibly files without valid IDv3 tags are ignored.)

 

[Boatguy]

Do the files have a .mp3 filename suffix? (It could be that QT recognizes their content but the Tesla player just goes by suffix.)

Are the files actually tagged with Artist/Album/Title tags? (Possibly files without valid IDv3 tags are ignored.)

Yes and yes (verified with Metadatics).

 

[BertL]

Following up on a suggestion by @BertL, I reformatted all my music to high quality MP3's. Now, my car will not recognize the music. Here are the details.

• 480GB SSD drive - same one I've always used
• Formatted MS-DOS (FAT32) - volume renamed to current date each time I put it into the car
• About 105GB of music files spread across 8 folders (pseudo playlists). Each folder contains only music files, no other folders.
• All files are MP3 and play with no problem with the Quicktime player

I connect the drive to the car and it starts scanning. I leave it, come back to the car later and it shows the drive, with two volumes, one 200MB (always there for some reason) and the second volume with 449GB (not clear where this comes from) and 0 songs.

This drive was working previously fine when loaded in the same manner with mostly FLAC files (other than the re-scans and intermittent loading errors).

I removed it once, reformatted it, copied the songs back onto it, same result.

Any ideas?

Sorry to hear. A couple thoughts FWIW:

-- I assume you have no odd special characters accidentally part of your volume name, directory names, and track names (including non-displayable ones). They used to cause all sort of havoc with MP, but I seem to remember the bigger issues were resolved within MP some time back.

-- I assume your MP3 files were built with dBpoweramp and specified as "mp3 (Lame)"; "Quality (VBR)"; with "extreme" VBR Quality -- meaning slider all the way to the right; "Encoding: Normal" as discussed above or in the email I sent you. I've not had any issues in my MS with dBpoweramp for MacOS 16.1 or 16.2 and those settings. When I was sorta working with the developer with his beta drops as I was re-ripping my CD library last year, I seem to remember he made improvements to the underlying encoding processes late in V15 or perhaps in v16 for Mac (same code was already in the Windows version), so if you're on a lower release than me, IDK if that could be a difference between us.

-- The 200MB partition showing up on your Tesla may be the best clue. I generally consider a phantom drive sometimes showing up in my MS as an old Tesla bug that didn't cause me problems most of the time -- EXCEPT once when I was testing out multiple new USB devices and my symptoms were the same as yours, with none of my FLAC files on my USB stick seeming to be able to be found in my MS, but it all worked perfectly on my Mac. If I remember correctly:

-- I assume you're still primarily a Mac user
-- I also suspect if you try your USB stick on a Windows PC, you may find the tracks also aren't visible and upon inspection shows it as a 200MB device only -- similar to what your MS may be struggling with under the covers.
-- The issue IIRC is when we used older versions of OSX Disk Utility with default options, it built a GUID Partition Table on the device which works great in OSX/MacOS, but was not as portable to other OS (and perhaps the Tesla). For maximum compatibility, what Mac users really needed to optionally specify in Disk Utility when formatting was a "Master Boot Record" and then that phantom 200MB partition is never created that causes problems with non-Mac OS and utilities.
-- The solution and unfortunately a possible road block: When Disk Utility was "simplified" a couple of years back in macOS, the option to specify GUID or MBR was removed when the format option was replaced by only "erase". I don't know what it now defaults to (I suspect MBR) or how to change it and more complex partitioning options in macOS without a 3rd party utility. I've honestly not spent time exploring that since macOS came into being and Disk Utility became overly "simplified".
When I was exploring what was going on with "my Tesla problem" more than a year ago, I took my problematic USB stick to my PC Laptop running Windows, saw the 200MB partition, and eventually figured out I needed to repartition the device back to a single partition and reformatted the stick there. I didn't have any more issues in my MS when I brought it back to my Mac and put all my directory structure and files back in place, so I tacked it up to my "user error". Since you've reformatted your USB device (on macOS) and still have the problem, I suspect the newer "simplified" Disk Utility may not be changing the underlying problematic partition structure already there -- if so, you're gonna have to find a macOS utility with more options or use Windows to resolve the partitioning/format issue. Sorry it's all a bit complex and muddied... This crazy legacy disk partitioning/format detail is/was to me too. It's not where I prefer to spend my time. ​

GOOD LUCK. Let us know how it goes.

 

[f-stop]

Re: that extra 200MB partition - I’ve always seen this (the extra partition shows up in the car as "EFI") and assumed it to be some quirk with the Tesla MP

But @BertL ‘s description above about Mac OS Disk Utility reminded me...

Yes the newer version of Disk Utility kind of hides the setting for Master Boot Record vs GUID Partition. I’ve always assumed it didn’t matter if you format FAT32 and ignore MBR vs GUID (and never until now noticed it made any difference).

Here’s how to make sure you format as FAT32 and select MBR: when you insert your USB device it appears in Disk Utility sidebar. Select the TOP LEVEL of the device (eg mine says "SanDisk Ultra Fit Media" at the root level). Then select Erase and you’ll see pop-ups where you can select Format: FAT32 and Scheme: Master Boot Record (other choices include GUID Partition Map, etc.)

But if instead you select the volume name below the root level, e.g. "My Music" if that's the name you gave the USB drive, if you then try to erase, you'll only be given the choice of Format. No opportunity to select MBR. I guess that's how my USB drive ended up with the extra 200MB partition.

I just went back to one of my test USB devices and reformatted at the root level to MBR, and reloaded it with music. Now when I insert it into my car, the phantom 200MB EFI partition is no longer there. (btw, maybe needs more testing, but it appears that even after reformatting as MBR, my previous problem with M4A/AAC tracks suffering Loading Errors still occurs... so unlikely related to the phantom partition)

 

[Boatguy]

@BertL, yes to all the basic questions.

@BertL and @f-stop, I think formatting was probably the problem. MacOS High Sierra Disk Utility has further buried some items. It took me awhile to find the "View" options so I could see devices and volumes. Once I found that I saw that it was using GUID. So I erased (aka formatted) to MS-DOS (Fat) and MBR. Then I copied all the files to the drive, popped it in my MS and left it over night.

This morning the music is all there, the 200MB partition is gone and I played a few songs. So all looks good, but time will tell if the switch to MP3 reduces the re-scans or the loading errors.

Amazing that we have to dive into ancient PC drive format history to get music into the most advanced car on the market!

Thanks for the help!

 

[Boatguy]

Tricked by the Tesla MP again!

As reported, everything looked good on Tuesday morning, but I didn't drive the car on Tuesday, just checked in the garage. Yesterday when I went down to the car, same issue. It reported 447GB and 0 songs! Removing and reinserting did nothing, presumably because it had the same volume name.

I removed the drive, renamed the volume and reinserted it. An hour later it had loaded 45% when I drove out for a lunch engagement. When I got back in the car after lunch, it was at 30% so apparently it had restarted the load. After I got home it eventually finished loading. Last evening everything was as it should be, all folders and 11,000+ songs. I played songs from various folders, genres, etc. and all seemed good.

This morning (now Thursday), all looks fine in the garage, songs are there, music plays, etc.

I'm still on .42. I have no reason to suspect the drive. It's a PNY SSD which works fine on my computer and is much faster in a Blackmagic Speed test than any USB stick. No idea what is going on with the MP.

 

[BertL]

Tricked by the Tesla MP again!

As reported, everything looked good on Tuesday morning, but I didn't drive the car on Tuesday, just checked in the garage. Yesterday when I went down to the car, same issue. It reported 447GB and 0 songs! Removing and reinserting did nothing, presumably because it had the same volume name.

I removed the drive, renamed the volume and reinserted it. An hour later it had loaded 45% when I drove out for a lunch engagement. When I got back in the car after lunch, it was at 30% so apparently it had restarted the load. After I got home it eventually finished loading. Last evening everything was as it should be, all folders and 11,000+ songs. I played songs from various folders, genres, etc. and all seemed good.

This morning (now Thursday), all looks fine in the garage, songs are there, music plays, etc.

I'm still on .42. I have no reason to suspect the drive. It's a PNY SSD which works fine on my computer and is much faster in a Blackmagic Speed test than any USB stick. No idea what is going on with the MP.

I suspect you have memory constraints. Try less tracks if you have ongoing issues.

More detail far upthread, but after trying 1K increments of tracks from IIRC somewhere around 15K, I found the sweet spot for my MS is to not exceed somewhere around 7500 tracks (with minimized metadata)... I keep my physical USB SSD like yours to under 7K tracks, and since migrating all tracks to MP3 VBR, have only “rare” rescan occurrences. Anything over that number, and I have incrementally more problem with rescans, exceedingly long scan times (hours opposed to minutes) as the number of tracks increases, and situations as you have observed where scans will sometimes restart themselves for no apparent reason. IMHO it comes down to there is only 2GB to put all of Tesla’s code for the CID, phonebook, maps, autopilot data, and media (meta, album art, favorites, mapping to USB file location, etc) — and Tesla has chosen to not implement hard limits for its users like every other mfgr does, so when we exceed what it’s capable of, things slow down and go nuts trying to make it all fit somehow, or it gives up and reboots or rescans. It’s simply bad design and/or implementation on Tesla’s part, that could be relatively easily resolved if Tesla cared.

Good luck.

 

[BertL]

I hope everyone is having a great holiday season. My best for an early Happy New Year.

As a reminder to those encountering Media Player USB bugs or other annoyances, please ensure you take the occasional opportunity to let Tesla directly know of your concerns. Reporting specifics on your next Service Center visit, or for those in North America, an email to [email protected] will get the job done.

In that regard, the new "Ho Ho Ho" Easter Egg has kept my mind spinning the past few days, so to clear my head before the new year begins, yesterday I fired off the following to ServiceHelpNA. I don't expect a reply, or if I do, it will almost guaranteed be the boiler plate "we assure you that your concern will be reviewed by the right people". We could create a whole different thread on the real results any of us can correlate with sending in our concerns, however I continue to believe formally letting Tesla know of our problems and suggestions is necessary. Perhaps some day volumes of cards and letters on the same subject will result in change. To hopefully spur you on, here's the email I sent off yesterday:

Sirs:

I recently received Firmware V2017.50.2 3bd9f6d, and appreciate Tesla’s continued updates. I’m especially interested in the new "Chill Mode” I have enabled that may help reduce my dog’s motion sickness she experiences since I purchased my Model S in October 2016.

I am however, especially dismayed that Tesla continues to expend time and resource on more Easter Eggs, while not first resolving long-standing basic firmware bugs. "Ho Ho Ho" is cute and provides an initial chuckle, but is not something owners need and/or expect to work every time they use their Tesla. I use my vehicle's Infotainment system, including Media Player USB Playback in my Model S nearly all the time. Unfortunately, I (and other owners) continue to encounter what appear as CID and/or Media Player firmware failures sometimes multiple times per day. Many of these issues have been reported, including to a Service Center, with no real resolution for more than a year. Examples:

• Encounter “Loading Error” out-of-the-blue, listening to USB or (more recently) Slacker
• Listen to silence for several minutes when an unexpected “rescan” occurs with a USB device that was not physically removed
• USB “random” shuffle playback begins to repeat the same tracks after playing 10-20 tracks when there are hundreds or thousands Media Player can select from
• Situations where Media Player switches to a different source after exiting and re-entering the vehicle
• and other failings (and feature requests) reported to Tesla, as well as discussed in more detail in forums and threads such as Comprehensive USB Bug List which also include workarounds the community has developed to address other problems and lacking features

Having a full-function Infotainment system that “just works” without bugs and a lot of workarounds, is a basic capability I’ve come to expect from 20+ years of Lexus, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz ownership prior to my Tesla. I know not all owners use or care about Infotainment the same way and with the same priority. For me, Infotainment can be a differentiator, and it has always taken my driving experience to the next level. Because I use and interact with it so often, when it does not work as expected, Infotainment quickly becomes a major irritant despite how good the rest of the vehicle may be. I love my Tesla, which, when combined with Tesla’s Supercharger network, is clearly the best long-range luxury BEV available today. Unfortunately, Tesla’s lack of attention fixing firmware bugs, not yet catching-up to provide many of the Infotainment basics other manufacturers have delivered for years, improving the UI, spotty Service experiences, and public timeframe commitments that are seldom met, have become the reasons I no longer recommend Tesla without significant caveats. My experience is Tesla does not demonstrate they always follow-through or care about the detail before moving on to the next big thing, and I have sadly become hard-pressed to believe I will purchase another Tesla one day because of it.

I appreciate resolving mundane Infotainment problems and improving it’s basic functionality are not as intellectually stimulating or news-worthy as dreaming up new vehicles, putting a roadster into space, pushing towards level 5 self-driving autonomy, or implementing a new Easter egg. Some Tesla owners like myself have been patiently waiting a long time for solid Infotainment and Media Player USB improvements while Tesla has been growing, but time has about run out. A number of the bugs such as the “USB shuffle routine that isn’t random enough” are something a good entry-level programmer could resolve sitting behind a desk with no capital, huge cash outlay or first-of-it’s-kind design. It only requires Tesla’s Executive Team shift priorities slightly, to continually demonstrate quality counts in all aspects of what Tesla's delivers — allowing originally enthusiastic new owners like myself, that have had the time to learn and live with their Tesla, to be elated once again each and every time we’re behind the wheel — and be a proponent for change I know Tesla and many of us really desire.

Thank you for your consideration.
Bert
Model S VIN: xxxxxx
​

 

[Boatguy]

I've also sent them a New Years message.

 

[f-stop]

I hope everyone is having a great holiday season. My best for an early Happy New Year.

As a reminder to those encountering Media Player USB bugs or other annoyances, please ensure you take the occasional opportunity to let Tesla directly know of your concerns. Reporting specifics on your next Service Center visit, or for those in North America, an email to [email protected] will get the job done.[...]

A Happy New Year's greeting to you and everyone else around here, too.
And yeah, I found it annoying to get yet another cute Easter Egg while USB MP and other bugs, browser improvements, etc get ignored

BTW has anybody ever received ANY response from a bug report sent to [email protected]?

I've emailed to that address a detailed description of the USB loading error problem which as I've reported up-thread that I can reproduce with .M4A/AAC files (and in multiple cars) but not MP3 files, and I've also emailed to [email protected] - but never even received so much as an automated reply from either (its been months)

I am overdue for my 2nd annual service, so when I do that I'm definitely going to report this particular issue so that at least it's on record with Service.

 

[thecloud]

+1 to @BertL 's well-worded letter. I had the same reaction to yet another easter egg.

BTW has anybody ever received ANY response from a bug report sent to [email protected]?

Actually, yes, and appropriately enough, it was a question about the media player. This was back around the time that the hourly NPR news stream from TuneIn could no longer be played while driving, but could be played if the car was on Wi-Fi. It turned out that the content provider had switched to using a higher bit rate than Tesla supports. The response I received from the service help email address was to use my phone to stream NPR over Bluetooth to the car. Somewhat less than helpful, since I don't want to be fumbling around with the phone while driving. (I've given up on NPR as a result, and found other sources of news, e.g. the PBS Newshour stream.)

 

[iffatall]

Well, technically, I always do get a response. And not just a canned response. Usually, the conversation continues through a few back and forth emails too. But by response, if you mean actual action towards fixing a bug or an expected timeline or something, then yes, that has never happened in my case.

 

[Boatguy]

I suspect you have memory constraints. Try less tracks if you have ongoing issues.

More detail far upthread, but after trying 1K increments of tracks from IIRC somewhere around 15K, I found the sweet spot for my MS is to not exceed somewhere around 7500 tracks (with minimized metadata)... I keep my physical USB SSD like yours to under 7K tracks, and since migrating all tracks to MP3 VBR, have only “rare” rescan occurrences. Anything over that number, and I have incrementally more problem with rescans, exceedingly long scan times (hours opposed to minutes) as the number of tracks increases, and situations as you have observed where scans will sometimes restart themselves for no apparent reason. IMHO it comes down to there is only 2GB to put all of Tesla’s code for the CID, phonebook, maps, autopilot data, and media (meta, album art, favorites, mapping to USB file location, etc) — and Tesla has chosen to not implement hard limits for its users like every other mfgr does, so when we exceed what it’s capable of, things slow down and go nuts trying to make it all fit somehow, or it gives up and reboots or rescans. It’s simply bad design and/or implementation on Tesla’s part, that could be relatively easily resolved if Tesla cared.

I was a little lazy and only cut my SSD down to 9,000 tracks. It loaded (I left it overnight) and played the next day. Made my first stop running errands, came out and it was re-scanning!

Out of curiosity I plugged the SSD into my BMW i3. I was immediately able to browse and play tracks (with shuffle/random) in the top level folders (my pseudo playlists). And of course the correct album art was displayed. The i3 does support playlists, but of course there were none on my Tesla SSD. I waited a couple of minutes but it did not allow browsing by genre/artist/album. I'm busy packing so I didn't wait to see how long it would take to index the drive.

I'm out of the country for a few weeks so I'll finish the job and cut my SSD down to 7K per @BertL a month from now, then try again.

Happy New Year!