LTE Throttling since 11/3/17

[AMPUP]

I have posted on another thread about some issues I am seeing in my S since last friday but wanted to post here both my findings and a poll. I'm not 100% sure it started Friday, or if it started with the latest firmware release i received (2017.42 a88c8d5), but there is definitely an issue with LTE speeds and even the reception in the last week.

Background

• I live in the DC suburbs where pretty much everywhere gets you 4-5 Bars of full service on LTE (AT&T and/or Verizon).
• I'm only getting between 1-3 bars everywhere I go
• Slacker songs download at 1/10th of what they used to
• Slacker spins and skips regularly
• i used the Tesla interface to check speeds using fast.com,results are:

• Tesla LTE between 60 and 220 Kbps
• Tesla Wifi connection between 2.5 - 3.5 Mbps
• Cellphone on same wifi connection gets 45 Mbps
• Cellphone on LTE gets 3.5 Mbps

Speedtest.net gets me more on my cellphone, but it's not a fair comparison as only fast.com works on the Tesla interface.

I'm creating this Poll in the hopes fellow Tesla owners can check the Tesla browser and fast.com to see what the results are that they are seeing.

I emailed Tesla but have not heard back on any known issues.

 

[chillaban]

There's dozens of LTE bands and probably several towers within your area too. Just because a smartphone and your Tesla are on the same carrier in the same location doesn't mean that the only difference between the two configurations is throttling…

FWIW, I'm still seeing around 3mbps on LTE in the parking lot right now, a bit below the 5mbps I'm seeing on my phone.

 

[AMPUP]

There's dozens of LTE bands and probably several towers within your area too. Just because a smartphone and your Tesla are on the same carrier in the same location doesn't mean that the only difference between the two configurations is throttling…

FWIW, I'm still seeing around 3mbps on LTE in the parking lot right now, a bit below the 5mbps I'm seeing on my phone.

The comparison was to show the difference not an expectation that it's as fast as my cellphone. I'm seeing less than 300 Kbps consistently in the Tesla, the weekend I drove through Virginia. Maryland, PA and West Virginia and back and it was the same speed range wherever i went, multiple reboots et al.

 

[jjh1234]

I've noticed slacker buffering much more in the last few days as well.

 

[ABC2D]

I dont think the title of this thread is accurate as it seems to definitively establish that the problem for LTE connectivity IS throttling while it could be number of reasons: AT&T, Tesla, towers, firmware, etc.

 

[AMPUP]

I dont think the title of this thread is accurate as it seems to definitively establish that the problem for LTE connectivity IS throttling while it could be number of reasons: AT&T, Tesla, towers, firmware, etc.

I was supposed to put a ? at the end of the title, can't edit it now, but i'm sure a mod can. It isn't AT&T and it isn't the towers unless the 500 i went through this weekend all have the problems.. Firmware, it could be, which is why I put those details down and a poll.

 

[Shateam]

I've noticed slacker buffering much more in the last few days as well.

Same here. After updating to 2017.42, definitely seeing more slacker buffering too. Not sure if it's a bug or throttling as the OP suggests.

 

[AMPUP]

Mod's could you please change the thread title to " Possible LTE throttling or bug in 2017.42?"

 

[gwkeno]

I spoke with service today. There is a known bug with slacker as mine was not loading, or at least doing so slowly and skipping. Apparently a fix coming at some point.

 

[ABC2D]

Tested with fast.com - 160 Kbps and all of streaming stations skipping constantly

 

[redy]

I've noticed slacker buffering much more in the last few days as well.

Yeah, same with mine. Too many loading errors and cant play songs and buffering. Just when we are going on a long trip tomorrow. Awesome.

 

[minderbinder]

I have noticed exactly the same behavior. Songs used to load completely almost right away - now the loading barely keeps ahead of the playback (and sometimes doesn’t keep ahead). Not a media player issue, because everything works normally on WiFi. I also never see more than 3 bars, even when driving right under a cell tower.

 

[wayner]

Yeah, same with mine. Too many loading errors and cant play songs and buffering. Just when we are going on a long trip tomorrow. Awesome.

Not great but just use another streaming service on your phone, like Spotify if you subscribe to it.

 

[miken79]

Apparently a fix coming at some point.

Oh geez, another one of those answers. Grrr! So tired of the "yeah we broke something and it'll be fixed at some point" and 5 updates later it's still broken.

At least I know why I have so many issues streaming now.

 

[wayner]

Oh geez, another one of those answers. Grrr! So tired of the "yeah we broke something and it'll be fixed at some point" and 5 updates later it's still broken.

And to think that Tesla software developers, maybe some of the same people, are trusted with our lives with Autopilot.

 

[Sawyer8888]

Oh geez, another one of those answers. Grrr! So tired of the "yeah we broke something and it'll be fixed at some point" and 5 updates later it's still broken.

General interface lag with mapping and music has been pretty bad lately. I'm in S. Florida.

After 7 months of ownership, I believe I have finally moved from the "I'm tired of this" phase to the "I'm used to this" level.

Fast.com indicates a speed of 1.9 Mbps two out of the three times I ran it. 1.6 the other time. I have one bar of LTE. Maybe it's fixed? I won't hold my breath.

 

[miken79]

And to think that Tesla software developers, maybe some of the same people, are trusted with our lives with Autopilot.

Oh crap.... I had not thought of it that way

 

[JohnnyG]

I've been having the "Loading Error" issue for a week now. Coincidentally, I also got 2017.42 a week ago......
It literally does it at least twice every single time I get in the car. Sometimes it'll happen a half dozen times in one short drive.

 

[bareyb]

I've been complaining about this for a couple of months now. Constant loading errors. I got the same answer from my local service center in Sunnyvale and they told me a fix isn't going to happen until some time next year. So look forward to another six months of this....

As an aside, I have been emailing Tesla Corporate about this since October and they are NOT aware of the problem as you can see from the screen shot below. That does not bode well for a fix coming any time soon. People need to email Tesla corporate and let them know they too are having this problem.

 

[doubleohwhat]

Same issue here. At the moment, Slacker is almost unusable in my S. Been that way for at least a week or a little longer. Seemed to have started after the last update.

I've tried dealing with it by listening to music on my usb drive but that's been acting up as well. Every few songs it freezes up and I have to pull and reinsert the USB drive.

I'm truly getting sick of the lackluster media features in this car. I really hope they have this crap sorted for the 3. I feel like most of us with the S and X models have been quite patient with the media features. I don't think the model 3 owners are going to have the same patience.