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Is there a way to have the alarm go off if somebody tries to enter the car if you have Sentry Mode?
- Thread starter spoon
- Start date
If he actually opened the door, then it would go off. But just trying does not trip it (only kicks on Sentry).
Hodginator
Member
I agree that a setting to set the alarm off if someone attempts to open the doors would be nice.
Akikiki
A'-Lo-HA ! y'all
Not exactly what you are asking for... but if your thief took the next step... there is this:
Model X Enhanced Anti-Theft
Think parking on SF streets... if a cabin window breaks - or even an arm reaches in when the window(s) are down, the alarm will activate.
Mine is quite sensitive. Perhaps overly so.
To note, you need to disable the alarm if you let passengers stay in the car w/o the FOB. If the car auto locks... the system arms in about a minute...
If that alarm fires with the wife or mother in-law inside ... you'll loose your Tesla cool in microseconds.
-TechVP
Model X Enhanced Anti-Theft
Think parking on SF streets... if a cabin window breaks - or even an arm reaches in when the window(s) are down, the alarm will activate.
Mine is quite sensitive. Perhaps overly so.
To note, you need to disable the alarm if you let passengers stay in the car w/o the FOB. If the car auto locks... the system arms in about a minute...
If that alarm fires with the wife or mother in-law inside ... you'll loose your Tesla cool in microseconds.
-TechVP
Akikiki
A'-Lo-HA ! y'all
@infiniteloop, really? Can't you imagine what it would be like at night where many cars are parked, in parking lots or large garages if every car's alarm is triggered by some teens walking by and pulling handles for fun on every car? That's why its not reasonable.
Well first of all your original comment was unhelpful and rude as OP was just asking a question.
And second of all no I don't think being able to adjust the sensitivity of an alarm system is unreasonable.
Akikiki
A'-Lo-HA ! y'all
I don't think that adding an exterior trigger than anyone - child, teen or adult could walk by and cause a caustic alarm go off in the dead of night is useful.
And no disrespect to you or the OP. You are entitled to think I was rude. My conscious is clear that I was only being brief. Not everything here requires a thousand words of explanation.
And no disrespect to you or the OP. You are entitled to think I was rude. My conscious is clear that I was only being brief. Not everything here requires a thousand words of explanation.
Thank you for the clarification. I think you may be misunderstanding what OP is asking for. They are asking if the alarm can be set off when somebody attempts to open the door (not when they walk by).
It's not unreasonable to ask as many alarm systems have adjustable settings.
It appears you two were online at the same time and you deleted the post Akikiki responded to upstream, but in any case, before your above comment, you replied to this quote (emphasis mine), which implies you'd already seen it:
Seems to me like Akikiki previously demonstrated an understanding of what OP was asking for perfectly and explained why it didn't make sense as well. Some aftermarket alarms may go off when a door handle is pulled or a car is bumped, yet there may well be regulations that prevent OEM ones from doing the same. In any case, the concern regarding the proposed functionality is equally valid, we don't need more noise pollution, and IF the noise was going to scare off a potential thief, it would do so just as well if it didn't occur until they actually got the door open.
Here is a table I made to try to make sense of the various security settings on the car's touchscreen and the Tesla App's "Controls" screen:
AFAIK, the standard security system (that comes with applicable North American cars), has an alarm that goes off if a locked door or lift-gate is otherwise opened--presumably after a window is smashed; but the window breaking itself does not trigger the alarm, correct?
With the optional Enhanced Anti-Theft System TechVP mentions the alarm also goes off if the car is tilted (e.g., an attempt to tow is made) or if something/anything moves inside the cabin. As TechVP noted in Post #6, above, the system is apparently pretty sensitive. So flying glass might set it off; certainly a moving arm through an open window (I tried that!) or a body inside will certainly set it off. It's apparently so sensitive that Tesla engineers have Cabin Overheat Protection turn off when the Tilt / Intrusion setting (the EATS system on-off control setting) is turned on. My table analyzes the relationships among the various security control settings on the car's touchscreen and on the Tesla (phone) App.
AFAIK, the standard security system (that comes with applicable North American cars), has an alarm that goes off if a locked door or lift-gate is otherwise opened--presumably after a window is smashed; but the window breaking itself does not trigger the alarm, correct?
With the optional Enhanced Anti-Theft System TechVP mentions the alarm also goes off if the car is tilted (e.g., an attempt to tow is made) or if something/anything moves inside the cabin. As TechVP noted in Post #6, above, the system is apparently pretty sensitive. So flying glass might set it off; certainly a moving arm through an open window (I tried that!) or a body inside will certainly set it off. It's apparently so sensitive that Tesla engineers have Cabin Overheat Protection turn off when the Tilt / Intrusion setting (the EATS system on-off control setting) is turned on. My table analyzes the relationships among the various security control settings on the car's touchscreen and on the Tesla (phone) App.
I'll add a little to this.
I recently wanted to show my brother the Bach music that plays when the alarm is set off. I sent him to my locked car and told him to activate the alarm. He was able to get the alarm to trigger eventually by rocking the car and kicking the tires.
At no point did he open a door or the liftgate so there must be some kind of tilt detection system in play.
I recently wanted to show my brother the Bach music that plays when the alarm is set off. I sent him to my locked car and told him to activate the alarm. He was able to get the alarm to trigger eventually by rocking the car and kicking the tires.
At no point did he open a door or the liftgate so there must be some kind of tilt detection system in play.
Interesting. So, two issues:
- Setting off the alarm without opening a door/lift-gate.
Was this is with a U.S. car (the 2019 Model S?) that had not had the Enhanced Anti-Theft System installed? Or did you install the EATS?
If not, was it purchased used and was EATS installed by a previous owner?
Do you have the Tilt / Intrusion control on the Safety & Security screen? If so, you have the EATS.
- The Bach music.
I have heard of it but am unfamiliar with the music thing. When I tested my alarm without the EATS installed, I don't recall any music. (But I shut it off pretty darn quickly so maybe I missed it.)
When I tested it again after the EATS was installed, I did hear something unusual playing in the background, but with the loud alarm I couldn't identify it. And, again, I quickly shut it off.
So I guess the music plays even with just the standard anti-theft system?
I'm still learning about these security systems.
(I need to go back and review my security system posts. The Tesla security systems can get a little complicated and depend on which model-year you have. Also, what I write here is based on my "Classic" Model X. Not sure what is happening with refreshed cars from 2021 and 2022.)
If you examine the security (now "Safety") screen of your central touch screen, you'll see that "Sentry Mode" and "Security Alarm" and two separate (slider) settings. They are related, but also semi-independent. What do I mean? If Sentry Mode is on, I believe that "Security Alarm" must be on. But if Sentry Mode is off, Security Alarm can be either on or off.
Why? Because they do somewhat different things.
To answer your question, if your car is parked in front of your house, with Sentry Mode off, the alarm can still sound if "Security Alarm" is set to "on."
So what do the two settings and their functions actually do?
- "Security Alarm" simply controls whether the car's alarm will sound if certain things happen. What are those things?
- When does the alarm go off? My understanding is that, as originally intended, the alarm will sound onlywhen a door or hatch is opened when the car is otherwise locked.
- So if I understand correctly, a thief breaks a window--no alarm.
- When he reached inside--no alarm.
- But if he then opens the car door--the alarm sounds.
- Unfortunately that lkevel of threat response has been found to be woefully inadequate when, say, parked in San Francisco. So what to do?
- Things improve somewhat if the owner has upgraded their Models S or X (only) with the Enhanced Anti-Theft System. (That option adds the "Tilt / Intrusion" slider setting to the Safety screen (see in the photo above).
- With EATS turned on, a thief breaks a window--the alarm may now possibly sound (due to flying glass inside or less likely to overall movement of the car).
- The thief reaches inside--now the alarm definitely sounds (due to movement inside the cabin).
- The thief opens the door--alarm sounds (as before).
- The thief tows the car away to a safe area (without breaking a window or opening a door)--the alarm still sounds due to "tilting" of the car.
- So all that is somewhat better.
- When does the alarm go off? My understanding is that, as originally intended, the alarm will sound onlywhen a door or hatch is opened when the car is otherwise locked.
- "Sentry Mode" was a free software upgrade (using already existing hardware) which established a hierarchy of responses to perceived threats. Depending on how close someone (without the key-fob) gets to the car, and whether there is actual "touching:"
- cameras start to record video
- alarm system is activated
- owner is alerted via her phone app
- lights flash a warning and the center screen displays a graphic (used to be HAL 9000; now from Portal?)
- eventually the alarm sounds, along with the loud Bach music
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mbp11
Member
I have a July 2018 MX that my girlfriend made me get the inside enhanced anti-theft system. This replaces the interior overhead lights with a replacement light and an ultrasound movement detector. It is incredibly sensitive- if I leave the windows down just a little and a fly gets in or a piece of leaf gets blown in by the wind, it sets off the alarm- outside horn beeps and the inside plays the Toccata and Fugue in D minor by Bach. Left one of the windows down slightly and it did it again yesterday. I mistakenly left my girlfriend's dog in the car last week while we were talking to someone out in front of our house (without putting the car in Dog Mode) and the poor dog (a beagle mix) triggered the alarm by moving around inside of the car. that got our attention fast.
So, with the Sentry mode activated, you will trigger a video recording if you get close to the car. You will trigger the alarm if you rock the car or break a window to get in. If you have the enhanced anti-theft system, more alarms will be triggered if they get anywhere inside the car. So be sure to leave your key fob in the car (or turn off the alarms) if you leave other people in the car.
Agreed on your assessment. I had the Enhanced Anti-Theft System installed in my Model X.
I posted elsewhere about the alarm going off in front of my house. Turns out that a tiny fly had been left in the cabin and was setting off the EAT system.
With just the original alarm that comes with the car I am not sure if the alarm will sound when a window is smashed and someone reaches in to grab stuff. Possibly not. I think it is only when a door is opened (if the car is "locked").
But with the EAT system, the darn thing will go off if a window is broken (probably due to flying glass inside the cabin), certainly if an arm or body enters the cabin, and if the car is "tilted" (e.g., if it is towed).
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