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LTE upgrade
- Thread starter dfdtruckie
- Start date
Ostrichsak
Well-Known Member
When you do the 4G/LTE upgrade through Tesla everything you need is already installed and setup. You don't need a SIM card nor do you need to set up anything with AT&T or any other provider for that matter.
Sorry I didn't mention this. I'm doing the upgrade myself and not through a Service Center
I'm doing this myself and not through a service center. Sorry for the confusion.
Ostrichsak
Well-Known Member
I generally agree with you, I hate to say it, but you're wrong this time. I just did the LTE upgrade myself. Telsa would sell me the LTE PCBA but NOT the sim card. The sim card is not self contained it is, in fact, removable. I had to order a used PCBA and sim card from some guy on ebay out of a salvage car. However, there are members that have service centers near them that will sell the PCBA and SIM card.
Ostrichsak
Well-Known Member
I haven't personally done a 3G to 4G/LTE upgrade so I can't speak from first-hand experience in this case but this is the first time I've ever read of this. In all of the posts from people doing the upgrade none have mentioned anything about having to acquire a separate SIM card and activating service themselves on AT&T. My cars are now all 4G but my 2013 car was 3G and when I looked into instructions on doing it it simply involved acquiring the 4G module and then removing the MCU and taking it apart to swap out. No mention at all of SIM card installing or activation. Am I misreading something here or has nobody talked about this previously? If I'm wrong then I sure hope someone who knows for sure with some pictures and further details can come along to correct me to save from spreading misinformation.
Sorry to confuse. No activation is required with the SIM and as far as I know, a non-tesla purchased sim card will not work, you have to get the sim through tesla or from a tesla salvage. However, the sim card and PCBA board are definitely sold separately and some SC's will not sell the sim card to buyers, but they will sell the PCBA board... such as my case. And, Im saying this from first hand experience. I just did the install myself, so can't be more first hand than that.
Who has done their own LTE upgrade?
Ostrichsak
Well-Known Member
I'm still defaulting to my point in the original statement which was that there is no SIM the OP can buy from AT&T and activate. Either they're buying a salvage which will most likely contain an activated 4G SIM card or they're buying from Tesla directly and I have yet to see it sold as a part to a customer to then install sans SIM card.
I think we need more context from the OP in order to properly answer the question. Where are you getting your 4G/LTE upgrade hardware? If it's from Tesla why not just pay them for the part installed? From what I've seen, it's one of the few things that is relatively inexpensive with the labor to install and in in most cases it doesn't make financial sense to even buy used.
You have a good SC, mine wouldn't sell me the sim card... I had to put a little more money towards a salvage unit that included the sim card. Worked out either way.
Sorry for the confusion. I'm buying and installing the hardware myself to go from 3G to 4G. I purchased a new 4G card and will be installing it myself behind on the MCU. The new 4G card requires a Sim card on the AT&T network. I'm doing the EMMC repair at the same time.
So, in short, no you cannot go to AT&T and get one of their sim cards. You need a Tesla sim card from either a service center or a salvaged tesla. Once you have that with the PCBA board its plug and play, no activation required. Good luck!
The install with parts is $500 plus tax. The parts, if they SC will provide them, are $109. That's enough of savings for me to try and do it on my own... but I'm cheap.
Hi Random155,
Did you buy the Ublox LTE connectivity from Tesla???
That seems to be the departure point from what I have read...
If you buy the Ublox LTE connectivity part from Tesla - they will/might sell you the SIM card...
If not I am not sure I remember anyone buying just the SIM card from Tesla.
Shawn
Did you buy the Ublox LTE connectivity from Tesla???
That seems to be the departure point from what I have read...
If you buy the Ublox LTE connectivity part from Tesla - they will/might sell you the SIM card...
If not I am not sure I remember anyone buying just the SIM card from Tesla.
Shawn
You absolutely need a Tesla sim. Either a sim may be in the modem if it was used or I’ve heard of it coming with when a modem was opened before. Or the service center will sell/swap you one. If you reuse your existing sim you will likely get 3g. I have not tried every single sim but don’t ask why I know the old sim gets 3g.
Using your own sim may work if you pay the service fee. However you may need a service center to update to correct apn for you.
Using your own sim may work if you pay the service fee. However you may need a service center to update to correct apn for you.
I didn't buy from Tesla. They would not sell it to me. Said something about a new service bulletin requiring vehicles to be inspected and then offering the LTE upgrade.
No, they would not sell me the sim. They said its a restricted part. So I just went with a whole Ublox/Sim from a salvage tesla I bought off of ebay. Their are members who live new service centers who sell the ublox/PCBA and sim to customers. I suggest getting ahold of one of them and see if they can grab one for you and pay them back. Its the most cost effective way of getting this upgrade done. I didn't know about this until after I bought mine off of ebay.
Upgraded by PDX SC 4 weeks ago as part of the screen bubble issue. Part of extended warranty so paid $200 included rear door mechanisn, screen, MCU gen1 and LTE. Esthetically quality if work was good, even thougt they forgot a panel underneath open. All my settings were lost.
LTE signal strength shows one bar most of time, never gets to 5 bars even when passing by a tower it shows 4 bars. Acts like there is an attenuation effect. Speed test was ~6mps slightly better than w the previous 3G (3-5mps). Does the antenna needs to be replaced ? Something is missing that would explain the attenuation.
LTE signal strength shows one bar most of time, never gets to 5 bars even when passing by a tower it shows 4 bars. Acts like there is an attenuation effect. Speed test was ~6mps slightly better than w the previous 3G (3-5mps). Does the antenna needs to be replaced ? Something is missing that would explain the attenuation.
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