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LTE upgrade is on the way
- Thread starter artsci
- Start date
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- Model S User Interface
Talked with my SC in Marietta, GA and they don't have them and say no ETA. They were sticking to the story that they will be on the website to order. Once on the website I could order and schedule.
mknox
Well-Known Member
That's an odd comment. A number of years ago, GM upgraded my analog based OnStar with (at the time) 3G for free, and a friend of mine told me his new Buick is being upgraded to LTE in a couple of weeks, also for free.
gjunky
Trifecta: Solar and both cars are EVs
Can you tell us what model you have and where you have the different parts installed in the car?
Artsci...
Is it possible they also relocated the antenna in the process? That may account for comparably better phone service as well as the other features.
Is it possible they also relocated the antenna in the process? That may account for comparably better phone service as well as the other features.
As my good friend SUPRKAR did the install for me while I was doing lighted appliqué installs for at our group install in DE I don't know the details. I do know that he located the Wilson unit under the driver's side kick panel and placed the antenna on the crash bar under the nose cone. I think he also made direct connects from the Wilson unit to the GPS and wifi antenna in the car. But let me check with Bill and report back.
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No, they just make new connections from the LTE PCB to the antenna.
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Just talked to SUPRKAR. It gets more complicated. If I have it correct in the setup he used the Tesla antennae in the mirrors are disconnected and there are two other antenna connected to the Wilson unit, one in the driver's side kick panel, that picks and enhances internal signals, like my cellphone, the other for external signals such as GPS -- that's the one on the crash bar under the nose cone. He implemented this solution because the Wilson antenna were better.
He recommends that those who want to install the Wilson booster and antenna have it done by a professional. I was lucky enough to have Bill install mine.
R²B
All Star
The difference is that you pay for the OnStar service, and Tesla hasn't figured out the economics of its service yet. OnStar's price is incredibly expensive, until you tell them you're disconnecting it and they offer you the half-price (or less) deal to keep it going. Price is $20 per month just for the automatic "call the police" safety service, bumped up to $25/month to add the "shut my car down if it's stolen" option, and bumped up to $35/month for that plus the navigation advisor that will look a location up and give you either turn-by-turn directions or push it to the in-car nav.
Want the in-car Wi-Fi based on LTE? 1GB is $15, 3GB is $30, 5GB is $50 per month in addition (higher cost if you aren't subscribed to the safety/security/directions plans).
Of course they can afford to upgrade your gear at $1k/year (directions + 5GB)! The margin on those services is incredible.
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You're going to find it varies per person... for me, the retrofit was absolutely worth it in my corner of the world. My coverage problems (map tiles go blank, radio hangs between songs) all went away and I have coverage where I didn't have it before.
But if you're just a city driver in California? Maybe not - your service and coverage might be just fine already.
I'm waiting to hear what the other first buyers think too...
Flasher and I have similar comments on the LTE versus Artsci. This may be due to the Wilsin antenna. I agree with everything Artsci posted Except browser speed. I had my daughter help me with an unscientific test. We have two model Ss. The LTE is in the P85+.
we took the two cars to within 200 yards of a cell tower showing full LTE on the car, our two iphone5 phones and full bars on the other car with 3G. We tried loading several websites that we had never loaded in the cars or phones before. The phones loaded in 2-3 seconds. The cars in the normal 10-15 seconds...NO difference between cars.
the LTE does give better coverage...I live in an area with lots of 3G dead spots, This connectivity and the faster map loads is worth the price IMO. Slacker is better with LTE
After reading about the antenna And Artsci's browser improvement I am tempted to get a booster
we took the two cars to within 200 yards of a cell tower showing full LTE on the car, our two iphone5 phones and full bars on the other car with 3G. We tried loading several websites that we had never loaded in the cars or phones before. The phones loaded in 2-3 seconds. The cars in the normal 10-15 seconds...NO difference between cars.
the LTE does give better coverage...I live in an area with lots of 3G dead spots, This connectivity and the faster map loads is worth the price IMO. Slacker is better with LTE
After reading about the antenna And Artsci's browser improvement I am tempted to get a booster
I'm not seeing browser improvements, either - and (as pointed out upthread) a way to test that is to put your car on good Wi-Fi. If the browser doesn't improve when on Wi-Fi, 3G vs. LTE isn't going to help you. My experience is that the browser just sucks rocks regardless of whether there's 1 Gbps to the car or 1 Mbps to the car.
mknox
Well-Known Member
I think that's a fair comment that as a paid service they can afford upgrades. Having said that, I had several years "free" with my Cadillac and can't even remember if I had started paying for it by the time I traded it in. I had everything except the OnStar Nav, but the car had built-in Nav anyway. I was originally only supposed to get something like 6 months free from Tesla and remember, at the time, thinking it wasn't as good a deal. Of course, that changed and it is indeed a good deal.
My buddy's Buick is fairly new. I think he's still on the "free trial" period, but maybe they're hoping to sell the LTE WiFi service to him with his upgrade. I don't think the Buick free trial is as long as Cadillac.
EDIT: Thinking back, my upgrade was actually on my previous GMC Envoy and I was indeed paying for the OnStar service at that time.
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I installed Wilson equipment at our hunting lodge to get us better coverage inside the building. I'm rather surprised they can make a booster work inside a car without making direct antenna connections to the radios in the car, only because antenna separation is the most important element that affects maximum gain. They want at least 25 feet separation between external and internal (repeater) antennas on the home units. That's not to say they can't do it, but you have a very limited space to work with. I'm happy that it works for you, artsci!
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On my Chevy it was the first year that was free, I believe. I suspect you're right w/ Buick vs. Caddy.
AMPUP
Member
Good news, I'm having mine done at the same SC in a couple of weeks when in for service, so interested to hear the results and full cost.
MarcG
Active Member
Just got off the phone with my service center. They quoted me a price of $500. The parts should be here for my appointment late next week. This is for the Burlingame SC by the way.
Father Bill
Member
Hi Artsci,
Thanks for the info on the booster. I am not sure I want anyone monkeying around the Tesla telematics system until well after my warranty runs out. After that maybe I will look into a booster.
Peace,
Father Bill
Thanks for the info on the booster. I am not sure I want anyone monkeying around the Tesla telematics system until well after my warranty runs out. After that maybe I will look into a booster.
Peace,
Father Bill
AMPUP
Member
Sorry Artsci, totally missed an entire day of. Postings...oops, thanks for the information.
vdiv
Chief Grump
Ok, had my car in at the Tyco Rd., Tyson's Corner, VA service center to fix the rear parking sensors among other things, and asked to have the LTE retrofit performed. Here's that part of the invoice:
Michael, the service advisor, said it would be their first time so they will be extra careful
For the labor they have to take the top of the dash off, pull out the MCU, and replace the comm module.
The signal strength indicator now shows stronger signal for LTE (lots of factors affect that, psychologically its better. Data throughput is a bit faster loading the map tiles, and starting Slacker stations. The browser I don't use, it seems a bit faster, maybe. For some reason now the TuneIn inet radio doesn't work, will try again later.
My car was one of the last produced in May with the 3G cell radio and that bugged me a lot. Not anymore. Welcome to 2015!
Michael, the service advisor, said it would be their first time so they will be extra careful
For the labor they have to take the top of the dash off, pull out the MCU, and replace the comm module. The signal strength indicator now shows stronger signal for LTE (lots of factors affect that, psychologically its better
. Data throughput is a bit faster loading the map tiles, and starting Slacker stations. The browser I don't use, it seems a bit faster, maybe. For some reason now the TuneIn inet radio doesn't work, will try again later.My car was one of the last produced in May with the 3G cell radio and that bugged me a lot. Not anymore. Welcome to 2015!
