How TF are people who live in apartments supposed to update?

[importon]

Is Tesla's mission to get everyone into an EV and FSD, or just the people who live in houses with a strong WIFI connection?

I live in an apartment building with no WIFI in the underground parking. I paid $15,000 for an additional software feature, and I pay monthly for Tesla premium connectivity. Out of all the data that comes with premium connectivity you'd think the software that runs f***n car would be a no-brainer. They are fine with me downloading literally terabytes worth of songs, and videos, but 1gb of the software that runs the car and keeps my $15,000 upgrade up to date is off limits??!

What is their plan moving forward for the millions of people who live in apartments?

 

[UncleCreepy]

I also see that you guys are in the US while I'm in Canada. It's possible that the location is the reason why my car doesn't get updates pushed via LTE.

 

[smogne41]

I also see that you guys are in the US while I'm in Canada. It's possible that the location is the reason why my car doesn't get updates pushed via LTE.

That could be I suppose.

 

[SidetrackedSue]

I also see that you guys are in the US while I'm in Canada. It's possible that the location is the reason why my car doesn't get updates pushed via LTE.

Nope. I'm in Ottawa. I've received at least 2 via the car's LTE. As I've said, they download and INSTALL on their own. I don't get a say. I'm assuming these are safety driven pushes because the rest of the stuff that has come (and gone) (and in one case come back) has waited for me to initiate the download.

 

[UncleCreepy]

Nope. I'm in Ottawa. I've received at least 2 via the car's LTE. As I've said, they download and INSTALL on their own. I don't get a say. I'm assuming these are safety driven pushes because the rest of the stuff that has come (and gone) (and in one case come back) has waited for me to initiate the download.

Interesting. And now I'm out of ideas why they leave me alone with their updates, even with the ones that were connected to a recall

 

[drtimhill]

How about pushing updates to people who paid 15k for a software feature? That’s great business no matter how you slice it. Or push updates to people who they detect are never/rarely connected to WiFi which would indicate they’re out of range.

(imaginary quote from "righteously" angry Tesla user..) "It's OUTRAGEOUS that we all have to pay EXTRA $$ every month for premium connectivity JUST because a bunch of backward guys cant figure out how to get an occasional WiFi connection to their cars!! Why should we all pay just so they dont have to drive a mile or so down the road to find a hotspot???"

There are always two (angry) sides to every argument.

 

[smogne41]

(imaginary quote from "righteously" angry Tesla user..) "It's OUTRAGEOUS that we all have to pay EXTRA $$ every month for premium connectivity JUST because a bunch of backward guys cant figure out how to get an occasional WiFi connection to their cars!! Why should we all pay just so they dont have to drive a mile or so down the road to find a hotspot???"

There are always two (angry) sides to every argument.

...and at least one of them is usually wrong

 

[thefrog1394]

Everyone on here acting like it’s no big deal to find wifi to download an update clearly has wifi at home in a garage. It’s a pain. I’ve tried sticking my wifi router out the window of my apartment but the signal isn’t strong enough. Instead I have to lock my phone in the car with the hotspot on (which requires turning off Bluetooth so that someone can’t just drive away with the car) and using the keycard to lock it.

It sometimes takes ages to download the update for some reason, so sitting at a supercharger or in front of a Starbucks is super inconvenient. Not to mention the awful wifi reception on the early Model 3 makes finding a strong enough signal in public a challenge.

And there’s no way to forget a Wifi network once you’re out of range. So anytime you park near but not quite hear enough to that Starbucks in the future, connectivity will glitch out as it tries to connect to the wifi.

On top of all that I get nagged by the car to add my home wifi every few days.

Is this a surmountable problem? Yea sure. But it’s quite a user-unfriendly PITA.

 

[HankLloydRight]

Is this a surmountable problem? Yea sure. But it’s quite a user-unfriendly PITA.

How far is the nearest Tesla Service center?

 

[derotam]

Sounds like there is a Starbucks pretty close to a normal traveled to location.

I do agree that it would be nice to forget a network. Also the WiFi nag is slightly annoying.

Whether someone has wifi at their house or not doesn't stop the firmware update check and notification. Now whether having to find wifi or use your phone hotspot maybe once a month or less to actually download an update is a PITA would be a subjective matter.

 

[JulienW]

....Instead I have to lock my phone in the car with the hotspot on (which requires turning off Bluetooth so that someone can’t just drive away with the car) and using the keycard to lock it......

I have done this for over 4 years now (except for about the first year of FSD Beta was over LTE) and while inconvenient it is really no big deal to me.

 

[Supcom]

Sounds like there is a Starbucks pretty close to a normal traveled to location.

I do agree that it would be nice to forget a network. Also the WiFi nag is slightly annoying.

Whether someone has wifi at their house or not doesn't stop the firmware update check and notification. Now whether having to find wifi or use your phone hotspot maybe once a month or less to actually download an update is a PITA would be a subjective matter.

If Tesla would add Starlink to all its superchargers, it would help a lot of apartment dwellers.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Everyone on here acting like it’s no big deal to find wifi to download an update clearly has wifi at home in a garage. It’s a pain. I’ve tried sticking my wifi router out the window of my apartment but the signal isn’t strong enough. Instead I have to lock my phone in the car with the hotspot on (which requires turning off Bluetooth so that someone can’t just drive away with the car) and using the keycard to lock it.

It sometimes takes ages to download the update for some reason, so sitting at a supercharger or in front of a Starbucks is super inconvenient. Not to mention the awful wifi reception on the early Model 3 makes finding a strong enough signal in public a challenge.

And there’s no way to forget a Wifi network once you’re out of range. So anytime you park near but not quite hear enough to that Starbucks in the future, connectivity will glitch out as it tries to connect to the wifi.

On top of all that I get nagged by the car to add my home wifi every few days.

Is this a surmountable problem? Yea sure. But it’s quite a user-unfriendly PITA.

The problem above is not the need for wifi. It's a cost-saving measure, wholly consistent with Tesla entire approach to business. If you don't like it, buy a vehicle from another company. I don't say that dismissively, but just to save people a lot of headache. It's the Musk way.

The problem above is the nagging and inability to forget networks. You really need a "This car does not have access to wifi" option to shut it up, even if the car responds that "OMG You are missing out on AMAZING new features! Are you sure?". and should always be able to forget networks.

So on those, you could try Tweeting atElonMusk and any of the inner circle to complain about it. They might listen and make the necessary small fixes.
Although, a concern would be that they won't get rid of nags because they want people who are on old firmware to update via wifi, and won't allow you to forget wifi networks because they want any opportunity to cut cell data.

 

[uscbucsfan]

If Tesla would add Starlink to all its superchargers, it would help a lot of apartment dwellers.

Many SCs have wifi and the car connects automatically. Most in my driving area have them.

 

[father_of_6]

How about pushing updates to people who paid 15k for a software feature? That’s great business no matter how you slice it. Or push updates to people who they detect are never/rarely connected to WiFi which would indicate they’re out of range.

It seems like your situation is a bit of an edge case, and you're taking your frustration out on Tesla (or us, via TMC to be more precise).

I do agree that this is a very solved problem. Perhaps consider ditching the $10/month premium connectivity and instead switch your phone plan to unlimited data.

I don't get a strong WiFi signal outside of my home, but it works. My local public library has free open WiFi with no sign-in required, and the signal reaches the parking lot. Perhaps that's an option for you.

 

[thefrog1394]

How far is the nearest Tesla Service center?

About 30 minutes. You really think driving to a service center, sitting in the parking lot for an hour, and then driving 30 minutes home is a totally normal thing to do with your $50,000 car?

I have done this for over 4 years now (except for about the first year of FSD Beta was over LTE) and while inconvenient it is really no big deal to me.

It's fine where I park, but definitely a little sketch to leave your phone (with phone key access) in your car depending on what city you are parking in.

Look I get it, it's not that big of a deal in the big picture. Tesla is amazing when it comes to software updates compared to every other manufacturer out there. I'm obviously not getting rid of my Tesla over an annoyance like this. But I'm a tech guy and don't mind dealing with workarounds. Tesla is mass market now. There's going to be a whole new set of owners who never join their car to wifi and get updates years late and permanently have update & wifi nags visible. It's just a bad user experience that could easily solved by a $3 more a month "Premium with cellular updates" plan.

 

[Supcom]

The problem above is not the need for wifi. It's a cost-saving measure, wholly consistent with Tesla entire approach to business. If you don't like it, buy a vehicle from another company. I don't say that dismissively, but just to save people a lot of headache. It's the Musk way.

The problem above is the nagging and inability to forget networks. You really need a "This car does not have access to wifi" option to shut it up, even if the car responds that "OMG You are missing out on AMAZING new features! Are you sure?". and should always be able to forget networks.

So on those, you could try Tweeting atElonMusk and any of the inner circle to complain about it. They might listen and make the necessary small fixes.
Although, a concern would be that they won't get rid of nags because they want people who are on old firmware to update via wifi, and won't allow you to forget wifi networks because they want any opportunity to cut cell data.

When I go into WiFi settings and tap on my home network, I have the option to forget it. I just tried it, and the car deleted the network and switched to LTE. What am I missing here? Do you have to be in range of a network to forget it?

 

[thefrog1394]

When I go into WiFi settings and tap on my home network, I have the option to forget it. I just tried it, and the car deleted the network and switched to LTE. What am I missing here? Do you have to be in range of a network to forget it?

Have to be in range of the network to forget it. Might even need to be connected, but not positive on that.

 

[HankLloydRight]

About 30 minutes. You really think driving to a service center, sitting in the parking lot for an hour, and then driving 30 minutes home is a totally normal thing to do with your $50,000 car?

I didn't say that. I just asked how far it is.

 

[ewoodrick]

Because the car always tells me to connect to WiFi to download the updates. It never asked me to schedule the install. The progress bar also keeps sitting at 0%.

This behaviour may or may not be specific to the currently installed software. Maybe other versions do in fact download via LTE.

The cars USED TO support cellular updates, but AFAIK, they don't do it anymore. There could be exceptions for any updates used to implement recalls (after a period of time has elapsed).

 

[ewoodrick]

Everyone on here acting like it’s no big deal to find wifi to download an update clearly has wifi at home in a garage. It’s a pain. I’ve tried sticking my wifi router out the window of my apartment but the signal isn’t strong enough. Instead I have to lock my phone in the car with the hotspot on (which requires turning off Bluetooth so that someone can’t just drive away with the car) and using the keycard to lock it.

It sometimes takes ages to download the update for some reason, so sitting at a supercharger or in front of a Starbucks is super inconvenient. Not to mention the awful wifi reception on the early Model 3 makes finding a strong enough signal in public a challenge.

And there’s no way to forget a Wifi network once you’re out of range. So anytime you park near but not quite hear enough to that Starbucks in the future, connectivity will glitch out as it tries to connect to the wifi.

On top of all that I get nagged by the car to add my home wifi every few days.

Is this a surmountable problem? Yea sure. But it’s quite a user-unfriendly PITA.

And you are sounding like it is a huge issue finding Wi-Fi.
My Wi-Fi in my garage can be flakey. When it does, I just take my phone to the car for a bit to do the download.
Starbucks, McDonalds, many locations have free WifI.
In an apartment, can you put an extender on your porch to reach the car?