Going from No Cell Coverage to Full Coverage—Not Detected

[PianoAl]

Today I drove where there's no cell phone coverage. The car showed that with a line through the bars display.

Then, I drove right by a cell tower—a location I know to have 4-5 bars.

The car still showed no coverage and didn't respond to audio commands. Miles later, it showed that it had coverage.

I've seen this before. Is there a way to make it recheck for coverage without rebooting?

Thanks.

 

[JulienW]

Today I drove where there's no cell phone coverage. The car showed that with a line through the bars display.

Then, I drove right by a cell tower—a location I know to have 4-5 bars......

There are 4 cell companies in the US and Tesla (apparently) uses AT&T. Are you on AT&T and do you know it is an AT&T tower?

 

[PianoAl]

Good point, but driving past that tower going the other way, the car showed four bars. I'll go there another time and experiment.

So, there's no way to "Refresh" or "Rescan"?

 

[bsd107]

Today I drove where there's no cell phone coverage. The car showed that with a line through the bars display.

Then, I drove right by a cell tower—a location I know to have 4-5 bars.

The car still showed no coverage and didn't respond to audio commands. Miles later, it showed that it had coverage.

I've seen this before. Is there a way to make it recheck for coverage without rebooting?

Thanks.

Yes, this seems to be happening to me a lot lately,

 

[Matsayz]

Good point, but driving past that tower going the other way, the car showed four bars. I'll go there another time and experiment.

So, there's no way to "Refresh" or "Rescan"?

The only way I know of forcing it to recover signal is a Soft Reboot (hold both steering wheel buttons until the Tesla T comes up ~20secs) then it will be another ~30-60secs before it reaquires signal.

Sometimes mine will reaquire signal on it's own but not with any speed or urgency ever. AT&T is horrible in my area, it'd be nice if us owners could pick our network but I imagine that's a hot mess no one wants to deal with.

 

[MapGuy]

I've had many issues with connectivity (due mainly to my remote location). I found this site helpful in understanding the limitations of the system: Cell Tower Locator Guide 2020 | How to Find Cell Towers Near You

For example, as I drive south from Phoenix, AZ, I have a good LTE connection all the way through Gila Bend, but by the time I drive through Ajo, AZ, I have no connectivity whatsoever despite seeing multiple cell towers nearby. (So no voice commands, minimal navigation, etc.)
In section 2 of the website, there is a link to the AT&T coverage map that mirrors my experience with cell connections. The link to the Verizon map shows 4G LTE service in Ajo, AZ which explains the presence of cell towers, but they're of no use to Tesla drivers.
Hope this website might help with any experimentation you're doing in your area.
Cheers.

 

[Gamsberry]

This happens very consistently when I park in underground garages deep enough to have no signal and stay for an hour or more. When leaving I won't have any connectivity for ~20 minutes or a reboot.