Ctrl-Bar - physical controls buttons for MY/M3

[Greenmission]

Tough crowd!

I think it's a pretty good looking product and in theory should be useful for many people who wish for some physical controls but don't want S3XY Buttons for some reason.

It's probably not something I'd go for since I already use S3XY buttons and don't have any need for the temperature knobs, but I think it's certainly intriguing.

I would be concerned about the following though:
-How will the USB power be routed to the rear USB-C port? Is the wiring all internal or mostly hidden until it gets to the rear and plugged in externally?
-The knobs seem to be lined up with the temperature display. I think there is a non-zero chance that sometime in the future the position of that temperature display could move with a software version update. Might be better to just make it not line up from the start. Perhaps put the knobs at the far outer edges of the bar.
-Seems like there should be more than 4 buttons given the amount of real estate on the bar.

The feature I'm most interested in is actually the ambient light. I'd consider buying something that sticks to the back of the display panel to emit ambient lighting and shuts off with the rest of the lights or when you leave the car.

Hi!

Thank you for your positive feedback. For some reason some people need to hate on everything. We just want to give people a choice if they want physical buttons, LED lights and much more in their car. If they don't want that just don't buy it

Regarding your concerns:
- The USB power will be routed along the center console to the rear usb. This will be invisible, just like the JOUWA wireless phone charger that mount behind the screen
-We are considering moving the scroll wheels to the very edges, however they are in a really nice position now in terms of reachability.
-We are also looking at this. However, if we have double press as well we have 8 different functions.

I really appreciate the positive feedback, and very good points and concerns.
Would love to hear your feedback if you decide to buy one, I think you will like it!
We have a ton planned as well for OTA updates
Would love to have you as a customer!

 

[sleepydoc]

Perhaps I’m in the minority. I do prefer physical buttons, tactile feedback, etc. I find I get distracted when simply attempting to change something with the heating, cooling system. I find the complete lack of buttons stupid and understand this may be the future, and I am trying to adjust.

Due to the way Ctrl-Bar communicates with the Tesla APIs and the latency caused by such an implementation, this isn’t for me. But I will be looking for future improvements or other options hopefully, if any arrive.

I don’t know if you’re in the minority or majority but I often miss physical buttons, too. They are much less distracting and can be easily used with gloves. Adding to the difficulty with the touchscreen is the harsh ride of my MY - my hand is bouncing all over the place when I try to use the touch screen.

 

[Greenmission]

I don’t know if you’re in the minority or majority but I often miss physical buttons, too. They are much less distracting and can be easily used with gloves. Adding to the difficulty with the touchscreen is the harsh ride of my MY - my hand is bouncing all over the place when I try to use the touch screen.

Then Ctrl-bar is for you

 

[The Lorax]

To make the functions even easier to use, you should make a remote for the buttons...and then position it on the screen where it's easy to access!

 

[bobbyjae]

Is this thread an ad? Seems odd to have a post about a product then have the manufacturer defend it throughout.

Physical buttons are nice but I don't really miss it. Tesla could improve their interface by making the lower buttons haptic.

 

[marcel112]

Looks pretty good. I’ve been burned by funding product manufacturing in the past, so not sure I’ll bite.

Ctrl-Bar

Bring physical buttons to Tesla Model 3/Y! | Check out 'Ctrl-Bar' on Indiegogo.

www.indiegogo.com

Is there a bit more detail and wider screen look view?

 

[AtlTesly]

Is this thread an ad? Seems odd to have a post about a product then have the manufacturer defend it throughout.

Physical buttons are nice but I don't really miss it. Tesla could improve their interface by making the lower buttons haptic.

No this is not an ad. I have no association with the product or manufacturer. I’m new to the forum and new to EVs and just happen to be a fan of physical buttons. Nothing wrong with sharing with the community. That’s how I learned from all the knowledge that has been shared before me.

No shady conspiracies here

 

[Eto Demerzel]

I think companies can see when their name or products ping on a forum. I think anyone can, I forget how though
But it is often a tactic I see to lay in a customer to post, and then the business takes over.
@AtlTesly it's often low post counts that are suspicious so that's probably why the question.

 

[sleepydoc]

I think companies can see when their name or products ping on a forum. I think anyone can, I forget how though
But it is often a tactic I see to lay in a customer to post, and then the business takes over.
@AtlTesly it's often low post counts that are suspicious so that's probably why the question.

TMC also lets sponsor companies make posts about their products. In these cases, the poster is clearly marked as a vendor, though. I’m sure the vendor is watching as well - if I were them I’d do the same.

What TMC and its users need to be wary of is anonymous shills making posts. That doesn’t seem to be the case here but is definitely a concern. Most sites have policies against this but it’s difficult to detect and enforce.

I got an email about this device from Teslarati and probably would have created a thread myself simply because I think it’s an interesting product that others may be interested in.

 

[FlymanX]

Didn't watch the video, but under the How it works section, "The app listens for changes made to the physical buttons and then communicates this to your car using the Tesla API." I know most everywhere has cellular, but I travel back roads and no cellular is common so if I have this and interaction doesn't work then I am not the target market. That being said if you want a California, USA tester send one

 

[Keninblaine]

I just found this thread in a search for more info on this CTRL-BAR device. Comments on the Apple App store are very negative: app appears to crash when trying to initiate bluetooth. I like the look and flexibility of this device, but for $200 it needs to be reliable.

 

[BikerPeaBody]

I went to the page looks like it was still in kickstarter, its available I guess? $200 for that lil thing though?

 

[Keninblaine]

I went to the page looks like it was still in kickstarter, its available I guess? $200 for that lil thing though?

Alternatives such as S3XY buttons are pricey too. My main issue is that the CTRL-Bar doesn't appear to be fully developed and debugged yet. One of the videos, apparently by or for the developers, seemed pretty lame and unprofessional. Will keep an eye on it to see what happens.

 

[WhiteOnWhiteMY]

Alternatives such as S3XY buttons are pricey too. My main issue is that the CTRL-Bar doesn't appear to be fully developed and debugged yet. One of the videos, apparently by or for the developers, seemed pretty lame and unprofessional. Will keep an eye on it to see what happens.

I received it as a Christmas present from my fiance. While I'd love to say it's fantastic, I am sitting here on week 3 of it being utterly unfunctional with an update that seemingly made no difference to my issue. Support has gone dark for nearly a week since the update was released after I told him the update doesn't solve the issue. I've been told that the Tesla API update has caused problems with this product. I'm sitting here and don't have the heart to tell my fiance that I'd almost like to return it and opt to wait until they come out with a solution that does not require an API. A CANBUS interface with this product would be kickass, but the current functionality makes me want to slam my head into the desk. I've offered to work directly with the developer to help resolve the issue but have been declined, which is incredibly frustrating given my experience in software development.

 

[sleepydoc]

I received it as a Christmas present from my fiance. While I'd love to say it's fantastic, I am sitting here on week 3 of it being utterly unfunctional with an update that seemingly made no difference to my issue. Support has gone dark for nearly a week since the update was released after I told him the update doesn't solve the issue. I've been told that the Tesla API update has caused problems with this product. I'm sitting here and don't have the heart to tell my fiance that I'd almost like to return it and opt to wait until they come out with a solution that does not require an API. A CANBUS interface with this product would be kickass, but the current functionality makes me want to slam my head into the desk. I've offered to work directly with the developer to help resolve the issue but have been declined, which is incredibly frustrating given my experience in software development.

That’s ultimately the problem with devices like this - they’re dependent on Tesla and can potentially break at any time with an OTA Tesla firmware update.

 

[WhiteOnWhiteMY]

That’s ultimately the problem with devices like this - they’re dependent on Tesla and can potentially break at any time with an OTA update.

I don't understand the lack of updates from their promised OBD expansion for this product. It's critically needed—such a shame. I'll keep people posted, but I would recommend not purchasing this until after they resolve this issue with the latest OTA API changes.

 

[sleepydoc]

I don't understand the lack of updates from their promised OBD expansion for this product. It's critically needed—such a shame. I'll keep people posted, but I would recommend not purchasing this until after they resolve this issue with the latest OTA API changes.

If you can I would return it - that’s the best way to send a message to the company that they need to support the product. If they end up supporting it you can always re-purchase it. If not, you’ve avoided a complete waste of money.

 

[WhiteOnWhiteMY]

Now going on over a week with no replies from support. Another update to try to resolve this issue that no functions work, and the issue still persists. Sent an email to request a refund only for it to be ignored. For those who are curious what happens, it says "ERROR" whenever you command any actions on the control bar. Needless to say, it pretty much defeats the entire purpose of this product. If support would even be willing to communicate with me or at least have the developer troubleshoot with me, I wouldn't be so frustrated with this company. If I don't hear back in a few days, will likely start the process of a charge back with the bank.

 

[WhiteOnWhiteMY]

Update: Support has come back to life, although ignoring my request to start the refund process. The app has been updated twice in the last week, with changelog notes that indicate they are actively trying to tackle this problem that has bricked the bar. It also appears that some new app store reviews have cropped up, suggesting that this is not an isolated issue. As of now, the latest update still does not resolve the issue. From what I have gathered, it appears that Greenmission is requesting a key to be issued to the car, which it does. Still, for whatever reason, Tesla denies the key's usage that Greenmission is using when trying to issue commands.

Maybe if we had an OBD/CANBus interface instead of relying on cloud-based APIs, this wouldn't be a problem.

 

[JHende1]

I bought it when it first came out, delivered in October. Totally useless. Has two knobs to control temp, split temp. The passenger side knob does not work at all, either to change the temp when the HVAC temps are synced, nor does it split. I have to frequently download a new app, reprogram the buttons, and only to have them stop working a day or so later. Now, it is just sitting attached to my screen, permanently saying “LOADING”, and nothing else. I would strongly suggest not buying this. I see people talking about improvements w/ an OBD, but no word on that. Hugely disappointing.