Concrete Garage No Wireless Updates

[bibyjord]

I'm done with this F****G Powerline S***T !

I just purchased 50m of ethernet cable, connectors and a new wifi .. next week I'll try to see if this solves the problem.
It'll be "easy" to test with a flying cable but if it works it'll be quit a job set up the cable property ...

keep you posted

 

[Lanzer]

Jus to said I moved my wifi to the garage, the M3 was able to see the "original" network (so no Powerline involved) but when it tried to connect it returned a different error (Can't reach <wifi name>. Can't get an IP address, Check DHCP server settings) but I believe this one is due to the fact that there was no line there, just a wifi hotspot.

The fact that you're seeing a different error is slightly more encouraging, though the strange thing is that all wifi routers have their built in DHCP server to assign IP addresses. You should get an error where you can connect to WiFi and get an IP address within your private network, but can't access the internet because no wide area network (public) connection is available.

Be sure the TP-Link bridge is turned off during this test as a bridge can claim the broadcast calls for DHCP address assignments and cause issues. The same test can be done with your phone connecting to the router in the garage also. These steps are there to help identify if your TP-Link bridge is the culprit, or if there might be some settings in your router that's causing the issue. Depending on the return policy at the store, it might also be worth your time to just try another WiFi extender for troubleshooting.

I do hope that you can still return the TP-Link bridge if this doesn't work. If you ended up dragging a cable to the garage, I suggest spending a little more money and get a mesh WiFi router. They had dropped in price recently and is much preferred over having two regular WiFi routers. This way your other devices such as your phone can also get WiFi in the garage.

If you don't get mesh WiFi and have two separate routers, what's gonna happen is that your phone would connect to the garage router when you get home, then when you get inside the house, the phone will struggle to get internet signal through the garage WiFi and often won't be smart enough to automatically switch to the home WiFi. The intermittent service gets annoying over time. Might as well get a better system from the start.

 

[ZoomsansVroom]

The mesh router is an excellent idea. I did not do that, and wish I had.

 

[bibyjord]

thanks @Lanzer for your suggestions.

Yes I can still return the Powerline, money in the bank!

Actually I didn't understand what do you mean with "mesh router". I just bought this one:
https://www.amazon.it/gp/product/B011RACHN4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Also a friend suggested to use the Powerline but with a wifi router at the end and ask the M3 to join this network.
In this way the M3 maybe won't understand that I'm using the Powerline and I'd save the pain to install a 50m cable.

 

[mswlogo]

You need LTE and WiFi to get updates.

WiFi alone won’t do it.

 

[bibyjord]

You need LTE and WiFi to get updates.

WiFi alone won’t do it.

that's interesting ... this means that basically all stuff is completely unseful.

are you sure about it?

 

[mswlogo]

that's interesting ... this means that basically all stuff is completely unseful.

are you sure about it?

Yes (and maybe no). But normally yes

When the car sleeps it shuts down WiFi to save power. It gets a signal that an update is available over LTE and wakes up, connects to WiFi and then downloads it over cheaper / faster (to Tesla) WiFi.

Now With more recent updates you can now know an update is available (via LTE while driving around) and as soon as it sees WiFi it downloads. But I’m not sure how immediate that is (once you park near WiFi) and how much control you have to start it once your tagged.

The control and visibility has changed a lot lately and I’m not sure if you’ve already been tagged for an update (via LTE) if you can go straight to WiFi and get it immediately. Or if it sleeps on LTE for a short while before it starts. I’ve not had enough updates with new changes to be sure.

You definitely needed both before, not sure if you can squeak by with manual intervention now and not need both simultaneously while parked.

Also there is a subtle difference of downloading vs installing. And what networks are needed to initiate each step.

It definitely updates smoothest if it has both. But Tesla might realize that some folks that’s not easy and have changed things very recently.

 

[MacGreiner]

But with V10 you can manually connect to wifi and it performs a scan for new updates - right?

 

[dp13]

I live in a condo made of concrete and the unattached garage is the same type of construction and I don't have wireless service to my garage and therefore don't get updates. The garage is only about 20' from my back bedroom which has reduced wireless. I an not a tech and can hardly understand some of the posts. My router is located at the far end of my condo. What are some possible solutions to getting software updates?

I also live in a condo and have a similar problem.

I ended up using the personal hotspot on my cellphone while driving to and from work once a week and so far it works pretty well.
I do this every Wednesday and if there is a software update, by the time I get home, I get the notification that there's a new update to be installed.

 

[bibyjord]

PROBLEM FIXED!

My final update on this thread as I managed to fix this finally.
This is my configuration now:
- PowerLine TP-Link TL-WPA4220 to extend my LAN from my apartment to my garage
- Access Point wifi TP-Link TL-WA901ND
both devices configured just using the defaults and the M3 immediately connected and downloaded the OTA update.

I hope this could help someone else who has the same problem.

 

[Lanzer]

I'm glad that things are working for you finally.

Adding a router to the power line extender is definitely a solution. In this setup the actual DHCP handshaking and IP address assignment happens inside the garage without any interference. That's assuming you're using the default access point mode. This setup is very robust, the only gotcha is that some applications such as some video chat app or games will not work because your IP address is translated twice behind the wide area network, (without going into silly details) but for the Tesla you'll be fine.

A mesh Wifi router was suggested on post #6 on page 1 if you're interested. The advantage of mesh Wifi is for you to have wifi devices work seamlessly across the house and the garage. If you don't plan on using any phones or laptop in the garage's wifi, or don't mind manually switching between the two networks, there's no need to worry about it. It's an extra $100 to install a mesh WiFi instead of just adding a small router in the garage.

This video explains what a mesh WiFi network better than I can

Have fun with V10

 

[NWPILOT]

Oh, I forgot to ask, are you not able to park outside near your unit where you have wifi until it updates? I don't know your setup there so you probably already would have done that if you could?

and that however the building is 2-3 reinforced concrete walls between the router and the Tesla and no it didn't work. However I did install a extender device in the bedroom closest to the garage and I now working well enough for automatic downloads.

 

[NWPILOT]

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[Pilotpem]

My garage is also pretty poor for the existing WiFi, the signal there is pretty degraded due to the thickness of the walls and such. The plug in mains WiFi extenders won’t work for me because the garage is on a different ring to the main house, so I have been thinking about running a network cable from my office where there is a switch and add something like a Ubiquity UniFy Wireless Access Point in the garage. Before all that hassle and expense though, I wondered whether anyone has any information on what sort of wireless signal strength is suitable as a minimum, or if unknown what sort of size the download is so I can work out whether it’s worth it?

 

[Pilotpem]

This 50Mbps WiFi Repeater Wireless Signal Booster, 2.4 & 5GHz Dual Band WiFi Extender with Ethernet Port, 360 Degree Full Coverage WiFi Range Extender Repeater, fixed my problem
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Off topic but that’s a lovely RV-12 @NWPILOT, did you build her?