Fixing mobile data for imported model S

[Martgadget]

Long story, short version:

Friend of a friend has imported a 2016 model S to the UK which I believe was originally purchased in Hong Kong, or elsewhere in Asia. The 3G data services don't work on the vehicle, in the UK.

They have tried asking local Tesla centre to rectify this, and on first request they appear unwilling to assist.

Some googling suggests that sim replacement on the S is a full screen MCU removal rather than an easily access owner job

Does anyone have any advice as to how to get the sim swapped? Is this for some competent 3rd party UK company to do, or should Tesla actually be pressed and will do this at a cost?

If this is actually a US car ( I have asked but am waiting for info on original sale location) is it even replaceable?

Any advice much appreciated.

Mart

 

[Martgadget]

Reading other threads here it also looks like an MCU replacement might fix this as well. I assume the UK dealers will do this on request? (The thread was a US one)

Thanks

 

[jimboinuk]

I'm currently going through the long and frustrating experience of trying to get Tesla UK to data connect my imported car. Mine is a 2014 P85+ which I've had from new when living in HK. Depending who you speak to, Tesla staff may say they can't because of the "modern frequencies" ( - unconvincing as I don't see HK purchased Apple iPhones having a problem in the UK), or that the Tesla server will not recognise the car even with a UK SIM card ( - one of their technicians tried this before I was going to upgrade the MCU). Current status is that the car has no data connectivity and even when hotspotting it has no navigation features so I'm having to use Google Maps on my iPhone.

I'm wondering whether this is a way for Tesla to minimise the cross border movement of their cars?

Anyone have a good connection at Tesla or know who in their hierarchy to contact?

 

[NewbieT]

It’s got to be technically possible, at the end of the day the car is just a computer. Whether Tesla is willing to do it is another thing.

Modem/Antenna
HK & China have a different iPhone model number to the ‘global/UK’ model in part because the cell frequencies / channels are slightly different albeit with plenty of overlap. The modem in a Tesla might vary by region or they may have a modem covering all possible channels to minimise variances. Either way the modem should work but might drop out a bit more coverage wise depending on location and network. If you’re brave take the wing mirror apart and compare model numbers with the ones on eBay or the parts catalogue (Parts Catalog) to see if the antenna is the same. It doesn’t guarantee the modem will work but it’s one less piece of hardware to rule out.

SIM
The Model 3 is now an e-sim but a 2014 S probably still has a physical sim. The tricky bit will be if Tesla have setup restricted IP ranges to access their firewalls based on the sim deals they’ve done. If so, an alternate sim won’t work.

Even if the modem / antenna are ok and the firewalls aren’t IP range restricted the car might need coding to accept a different sim e.g. network APN settings for 4G/LTE.

Tesla have started providing training and software to 3rd party garages (Tesla Service).Perhaps look for an independent Tesla specialist?

 

[jimboinuk]

Many thanks for your input here. Great info.

When I previously took my car to the service centre they did a test using one of their own SIM cards in my MCU to check whether it would work. It did - apart from the map navigation. The main screen shows a map of my local area but there's no ability to use it to navigate with.

The uptake on Teslas here in the UK seems a bit slower than other parts of the world but will have a check around to see if there are any independent Tesla specialists.

 

[NewbieT]

These guys fit Tesla components in old cars. Probably have a feel for the electrics - might be worth a call. Welcome to Electric Classic Cars

 

[jimboinuk]

Thanks. Appreciate the info. Got me thinking about what to do with my model S in a couple of years......!

 

[Adopado]

The uptake on Teslas here in the UK seems a bit slower than other parts of the world

I just read that the UK is the biggest Tesla market in Europe!

 

[Durzel]

I think being brutally honest you probably won't get anywhere with this.

Tesla are not particularly motivated to do anything "custom" with cars. A non-UK spec car would need its gateway configuration changing, at the bare minimum, since there are a bunch of config settings that pertain to the European market ("ece_restrictions", "eu_vehicle" to name but two).

It may or may not be the case that different hardware is required, the easiest way to find out is to go on the EPC (Parts Catalog) and look for the parts you think are involved and change the country from UK to HK or whatever and see if they change.

The only exception to the above I would say is if you've got a contact sufficiently high up in Tesla tech circles that has more elevated access to the mothership to make changes that a service centre can't (or won't). Even then I would suspect that any gateway configuration changes are logged and audited.