Model S - USB Port Compilation Thread

[gctseng]

I was reading more about USB ports on the Tesla as I'm thinking of "expanding" the ports on the Model S to passengers (read "kids") in the rear seat (e.g., let them plug in USB devices to play their music) in addition to charging devices. Along the way, I found a few threads that had to do with the USB ports in the Tesla and thought it may be useful to others to have a compilation as well as my own investigations.

GENERAL INFORMATION
Each Tesla USB ports provide 1 amps at 5V, and both are remain "on" even when the power is off (unlike the 12V plug).

USB HUBS
See my upcoming post with full details coming...
Tested with travel, un-powered generic USB hub, and powered USB 3.0 hub.
Result=working with mice (wired USB)

USB MICE AND KEYBOARDS
USB Keyboard and Mouse

Result=working with mice (wired USB), not working for keyboards

USB DRIVES FOR MUSIC (AKA "thumbdrives" and also SSD's)
Small question about using a USB stick to play music...
Hardwiring a 12V or USB-powered SSD - possible?

Result=working

USB NETWORK ADAPTERS
MODEL S EXPERIMENT: Plug in a USB wifi adapter in the usb socket,?

Result=not working

FORMATTING USB DRIVES
Proper way to format USB thumb drive?

Formats supported
YES: Fat, Fat32, ext3, ext4.
NO: exFAT

Recommended Formatting Software
Windows: Free Partition Manager for Window PC | MiniTool Partition Wizard Free Edition

Special characters in file and folder names can cause the Model S to choke

OLDER POSTS
Has Anyone Implemented USB for Rear Seat Passengers?

Let me know if I'm missing anything, but I know about the floppy drive and older USB devices working and I just need to find the post. I didn't post anything outside of the TMC website, but I can if I don't find the information repeated in a thread here.

 

[gctseng]

ITEMS USED

1. USB Powered (3.0) Hub*

Anker® Uspeed USB 3.0 4-Port Hub + 5V 2.1A Charge-Only Port, 12V 3A Power Adapter and 3.5-foot USB 3.0 Cable Included
Amazon.com: Anker® Uspeed USB 3.0 4-Port Hub + 5V 2.1A Charge-Only Port, 12V 3A Power Adapter and 3.5-foot USB 3.0 Cable Included: Computers Accessories

Apple System Information
USB 3.0 Hub:
Product ID: 0x0812
Vendor ID: 0x2109 (VIA Labs, Inc.)
Version: 85.81
Speed: Up to 5 Gb/sec
Manufacturer: VIA Labs, Inc.
Location ID: 0x15200000 / 14
Current Available (mA): 900
Current Required (mA): 0

2. USB Non-powered (2.0) Hub

I don't have a link to the product since I found this in my "generic computer stuff" drawer, but I believe it's got the same internals as this IO Gear 4-port Hi-Speed USB hub:
IOGEAR - GUH285 - 4-Port USB 2.0 HUB

Apple System Information
AX9254 HUB:
Product ID: 0x2254
Vendor ID: 0x068f
Version: 1.00
Speed: Up to 12 Mb/sec
Manufacturer:
Location ID: 0x14200000 / 5
Current Available (mA): 500
Current Required (mA): 100

3. USB Thumbdrive

Generic USB drive, again found in my parts drawer, volume titled ASUS.

Apple System InformationUSB DISK:
Product ID: 0x0165
Vendor ID: 0x1307 (USBest Technology Inc.)
Version: 1.00
Serial Number: 000000000013A8
Speed: Up to 480 Mb/sec
Manufacturer:
Location ID: 0x14200000 / 15
Current Available (mA): 500
Current Required (mA): 98
Capacity: 505.4 MB (505,413,632 bytes)
Removable Media: Yes
Detachable Drive: Yes
BSD Name: disk4
Partition Map Type: MBR (Master Boot Record)
S.M.A.R.T. status: Not Supported

Volumes:
ASUS:
Capacity: 505.4 MB (505,354,752 bytes)
Available: 483.4 MB (483,409,920 bytes)
Writable: Yes
File System: MS-DOS FAT16
BSD Name: disk4s1
Mount Point: /Volumes/ASUS
Content: DOS_FAT_32
Volume UUID: 6A418B59-8C12-3A9F-88F1-0D447D6EF991


RESULTS

Mouse and drive worked on both hubs (cursor was movable, music was detected), and funny enough is that if you turn off the Tesla using the screen, you can "wake it" by moving the mouse, like you can if you touch the screen--not surprising because the computer was probably in "sleep" mode.

I haven't plugged in multiple USB drives to see what happens, but I will tomorrow and see what happens.

Miscellaneous results note:

Before anyone asks, yes, I did try plugging the USB cable of each of the hubs to USB jack of the other to see if the Tesla could handle multiple layers:

1. Mouse->USB2->USB3->Tesla: Works!
2. USB Drive->USB2->USB3->Tesla: NO
3. Any device->USB3->USB2->Tesla: NO

I didn't have time to mess around more with it because I don't think anyone really needs to stack multiple hubs, especially because you can probably just buy a 7-port hub if you need that many or even just get two hubs (one for each Tesla USB port).

 

[dbfish]

I have a 10,000mah battery charging at all times in the car, with dual 1A ports ready for recharging passenger devices. When it's needed I just hand it over. This is the one I have:

Amazon.com: Poweradd Accessories

These ports are nicely mounted but require a bit more work!

Rear Seat USB Ports, Aftermarket Tesla Accessories, parts for Model S | Aftermarket Accessories for Tesla Model S

 

[wayner]

I have tried a Netgear/Sierra 763S Wifi hotspot that also can offer a tethered network connection over USB but the Tesla did not appear to be able to connect to the network over USB. Of course it can connect to the hotspot via Wifi and give you an LTE connection.

I am wondering if the Model X will have more backseat connectivity?

 

[Toasty]

would this work?