Has anyone installed a lte signal booster in model 3 yet? I live in a condo and parked underground parking garage with no outlet for charging and no signal at all. I can't see my vehicle status like temperature and SoC. So I start thinking that install a lte signal booster might help to receive signal? Has anyone did that yet?
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Installing signal booster in model 3
- Thread starter Baymax123
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I am sorry, no wifi underground and I live in floor 5, even though the first floor can't have their wifi reach underground level 2
Well true, it's just I bought the condo and if I move I need to sell it and buy a new house and more complicated stuff coming
Brock-WI
Member
I think it would be much easier to get a wifi repeater and try to get that down there. True LTE extenders are very expensive and require an outside antenna and then an internal antenna. Harder to run and a lot more expensive than extending wifi for sure. This past summer using 2 of these I jumped wifi over 1000 feet, but that was outside.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01D6JEMXC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01D6JEMXC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The problem is the same for wifi or LTE. In the underground parking you cannot plug anything in because you don't have an outlet and you can't amp up a signal that is at zero anyway. So nothing there will work.
That leaves something between the 5th floor and the underground parking. Best case would be someone friendly on the first floor.
You could pay for their wifi password (check signal strength from your car first); or pay to repeat your own wifi from an outlet in their condo. But that is too complicated and won't work in a presumably wifi saturated condo building, every condo will have wifi and you won't be able to cut through the floors with all their signals; or boost LTE from there which probably won't work but you won't know until you set it up.
That leaves something between the 5th floor and the underground parking. Best case would be someone friendly on the first floor.
You could pay for their wifi password (check signal strength from your car first); or pay to repeat your own wifi from an outlet in their condo. But that is too complicated and won't work in a presumably wifi saturated condo building, every condo will have wifi and you won't be able to cut through the floors with all their signals; or boost LTE from there which probably won't work but you won't know until you set it up.
have you considered a powerline network
You can extend your LAN via the mains cable they normally come pre-configured in pairs
You can add more if you wish.
Basically connect one to your router and nearest power outlet
plug in the second powerline adapter at convenient power outlet, connect a wireless AP to the second powerline adapter.
Power outlets you're using would need to be on the same phase if you can't get a connection between the powerline adapters try moving to another power outlet or if you have access to the electrical cabinets you should be able to find out
which Phase they are on
No dodgy WiFi extenders required, it's practically the same as having a network cable between the two points
Powerline networking: what you need to know | TechRadar
You can extend your LAN via the mains cable they normally come pre-configured in pairs
You can add more if you wish.
Basically connect one to your router and nearest power outlet
plug in the second powerline adapter at convenient power outlet, connect a wireless AP to the second powerline adapter.
Power outlets you're using would need to be on the same phase if you can't get a connection between the powerline adapters try moving to another power outlet or if you have access to the electrical cabinets you should be able to find out
which Phase they are on
No dodgy WiFi extenders required, it's practically the same as having a network cable between the two points
Powerline networking: what you need to know | TechRadar
Hi thank you for your idea, well I see had wifi jumped over 1000feet. That's awosome, but I assume that's horizontal 1000feet. I need to get 5 flooer down to underground level 2. Most of the wifi extender can do horizontal 1000feet but can even do vertical 100feet. Assume I can find some wifi extender that can do vertical at 1000feet or more, I need pass through each concrete of 7 floors(5+2underground). If I assume I can find a super wifi extender that can pass through 7 floors of concrete and extent vertically enough for 7 floor. I need a place to plug it in. There is no outlet in hallway or anywhere, even they have it, I can't use it whole day.
Thank you for your idea, I am not good at signal boost. So you are saying, if I got no service, I can't use a signal booster to make it work? to use signal booster at least need to have some signal?
That's a good idea. I have used the powerline before at my home back to China. The thing is I think that can only plug into the outlet in same electrical network for example, my unit and outside of my unit is different electrical network. Also even though the whole building is in same electrical network, I don't have a outlet in my parking garage or anywhere in the hallway
Seems like you know ultimately it's near impossible or at least would involve more than you're able to undertake.
I'm in a similar situation to you but here is what worked. It may work for you as well. Go around your parking structure with your phone. Usually close to the walls, air vents etc and see which spots you can receive reception from if any. When you find one, try making a call to see if you can.
Then see if the owner of that spot is happy to trade spots with you. You should be able to then use the cars LTE or get a mifi for the car from that spot.
Otherwise parking structures are built with reinforced concrete so good luck trying to boost WiFi down there. If you do get it done please do share as I'm sure there are quite a few of us in similar situations.
smatthew
Active Member
You mean a microcell? I use one of those hooked to the router in my house because I'm in a Verizon dead spot. But, that thing only has enough power to cover probably 1/4 of an acre. They are free from VZW, so I would guess that AT&T does the same program, but I don't think it's going to be transmitting through multiple floors of concrete.
If you mean an antenna amplifier on the car, you'll spend north of $1k just to get someone to try to retrofit something on it, easily. With no guarantee of it working.
If you mean an antenna amplifier on the car, you'll spend north of $1k just to get someone to try to retrofit something on it, easily. With no guarantee of it working.
TomT
Technical Maven
JPWhite
Member
If you have line of sight from your window to the parking garage below a point to point WiFi extender may work. Ubiquiti make gear that can transmit over large air gaps. Any solution (WiFi or LTE) will require power somewhere in the parking garage structure. Without a power source you are sol.
Something like this might do the job
UniFi Building-to-Building Bridge
Judging by your questions I'd guess the installation and setup of this is beyond you technical expertise and you'd need to get help. Plus if you are going to install equipment on the parking garage structure you'd need to get the property managers buy-in, kinda like dealing with "Cynthia" at an HOA. Good luck.
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I have exactly the same problem. Asked Tesla cust svce how to deal with it, but he said never heard of that issue! Huh??? I'll 75% of Tesla owners live in larger urban areas, and of those, and least 25% (WAY more in SFO, Manhattan, Miami Beach, Chicago...) live in hi rises w/subterranean, concrete bunker, pkg. This MUST affect 25-100,000 owners...
Guess I can park outside in a short term spots by bribing or blackmailing, or both, the valets, but, only if I know what dates & what time the downloads are coming, since nobody wants to leave their car out all night if they have indoor pkg available.. Terrible solution, but may be worktable.
I wonder: what if there were a way to route the download to a small, solid state, 500GB-1TB hard drive during outside driving time - NOT to TSLA memory, and then have that drive download to the car overnight??? I'm sure their's some way to encrypt it for safety.
Anyone try that?
Guess I can park outside in a short term spots by bribing or blackmailing, or both, the valets, but, only if I know what dates & what time the downloads are coming, since nobody wants to leave their car out all night if they have indoor pkg available.. Terrible solution, but may be worktable.
I wonder: what if there were a way to route the download to a small, solid state, 500GB-1TB hard drive during outside driving time - NOT to TSLA memory, and then have that drive download to the car overnight??? I'm sure their's some way to encrypt it for safety.
Anyone try that?
smatthew
Active Member
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