Navigation without cellular reception?

[WADan]

Hi all,
We are doing driving trip to Utah to see its national parks, and I tried to google to see if navigation would still work inside the parks (or anywhere there is no cellular reception) with mixed answers. As I understand it,
(1) Tesla stores map data in its internal memory/storage, so it continues to provide turn-by-turn navigation (GPS is still available). BUT would rerouting still work if you take a wrong way (google map using your phone would NOT without cellular at this point).
(2). You can’t route to a new destination?

((in the old days, cars have mapping data on internal CD/DVD so this is not an issue (but new CD/DVD is required to get updated map data)).
Thanks!

 

[Kennymb5384]

I have never had an issue. I lost connectivity once for a longer period of time, and it was still working for turn by turn. My map wasn't loading the screen great, but it still got me there. If you lose connectivity, but you still have phone service, you can use your phone as a hot spot too.

 

[MP3Mike]

You should be able to route to a new destination, as long as you know the exact address. (You can't do a name search.)

And map tiles are likely to not be cached, so you won't see much of a map. (But it has been a long time since I have been out of cell range to know exactly how the current software deals with it.)

 

[Srad600Volt]

So far, from what I have experienced, the map stops loading once you have no cellular reception. I get blank squares (tiles) until my reception returns. I don't know if turn by turn directions still work, I suppose you could get verbal directions without the visual map, but that would seem odd? If the car is still able to provide verbal directions, that would imply it knows where it is and where it's going so why could it not show a map with that same information? I'm actually interested to try that though. Any local mountain around here causes the reception (and maps) to drop out. I should head up and try to navigate home and see what happens.

 

[Fadiawesome]

routing works, you just need to know the full address. dont expect to be able to zoom the map tho.

 

[RandomNumber]

I suppose for peace of mind, you could download offline google maps for your area of travel, on your phone, as a backup...

 

[mark95476]

1) I go into the mountains frequently where there's no cellular reception. The map work all the time and my car has never lost my position, even when Spotify goes off or start repeating.

2) I've never tried navigating to a destination when I've lost cellular service, but I assume it should be fine since the map is there and position is accurate.

Hi all,
We are doing driving trip to Utah to see its national parks, and I tried to google to see if navigation would still work inside the parks (or anywhere there is no cellular reception) with mixed answers. As I understand it,
(1) Tesla stores map data in its internal memory/storage, so it continues to provide turn-by-turn navigation (GPS is still available). BUT would rerouting still work if you take a wrong way (google map using your phone would NOT without cellular at this point).
(2). You can’t route to a new destination?

((in the old days, cars have mapping data on internal CD/DVD so this is not an issue (but new CD/DVD is required to get updated map data)).
Thanks!

 

[Snow Drift]

Recently we got a notice at the top of the Navigation column stating that there wouldn't be traffic updates as we didn't have LTE. The map worked and our turn by turn continued.

 

[WADan]

Come to think about it, if Tesla want to achieve FSD it would have to be able to function without cellular reception.
And that means the software (to process camera and sensor data) and the mapping data have to be completely local (in the car).
I think the software is already local, and probably the mapping data. The data to perform address search is probably not.

 

[ladysbff]

You should be able to route to a new destination, as long as you know the exact address. (You can't do a name search.)

And map tiles are likely to not be cached, so you won't see much of a map. (But it has been a long time since I have been out of cell range to know exactly how the current software deals with it.)

This is accurate and great advice.

Additional tips, especially if you have anxiety about losing LTE reception:
-Install a map app on your phone that allows you to download maps offline if you are worried. I use Gaia GPS, worth every penny to me.
-Physically write down or save in your phone the address of places you think you may want to navigate to, so you can manually enter them in the nav. You may want to even just enter the addresses in the nav before losing cell signal so the address is saved. You may not know in advance what addresses will be helpful to you prior to going to Utah, so I'd suggest looking at Google maps in advance, taking note of the area, and any attractions you may want to see.
-Note that once you lose LTE signal, it may not reconnect in the car as fast as your phone. I'm not sure why this is but after coming down from the mountains this happens to me frequently. Sometimes the car won't reconnect to LTE for up to 30 minutes after I'm back in cell range. Usually I'd say it's about 10 minutes after my phone.

 

[DaveORD]

I use Here WeGo app for offline navigation backup, especially if off the beaten track, hiking, etc. Free app, can download maps for use offline when no Internet connection. Also useful to avoid roaming charges when you travel internationally.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.here.app.maps
‎HERE WeGo - City navigation

 

[brkaus]

I suppose for peace of mind, you could download offline google maps for your area of travel, on your phone, as a backup...

I always do this when I'm hiking - after getting pretty lost once. Works great.

 

[Srad600Volt]

For the record this is what my navigation screen looks like without cellular. Actually this is a few minutes after regaining cellular.

When there’s no cellular at all, all I can see are those blank tiles...

 

[WADan]

For the record this is what my navigation screen looks like without cellular. Actually this is a few minutes after regaining cellular.
View attachment 634698

When there’s no cellular at all, all I can see are those blank tiles...

Just for clarification, the car still navigates okay?
(BTW, your photo answered a question that my wife asked me yesterday if the screen actually knows the color of our car! )

 

[Srad600Volt]

Just for clarification, the car still navigates okay?
(BTW, your photo answered a question that my wife asked me yesterday if the screen actually knows the color of our car! )

Yes, the display shows your model/color MY.
Re: the navigation, I forgot to check that. This is an area I know well, so I don’t usually use navigation there. I’ll be sure to check next time.

 

[Srad600Volt]

I did manage to check this functionality the other day, and although I’ve only tried it once, It did work. I was able to route from a location that was not initially showing on the map to another known address. I was NOT able to pick any other points until I had a cellular connection. So it seems you may be able to route from a point to a known physical address, even if the maps aren’t showing. If you don’t have a physical address, you may still be out of luck (without cellular).

Also, routing took a really long time to complete, not sure why.

 

[WADan]

I did manage to check this functionality the other day, and although I’ve only tried it once, It did work. I was able to route from a location that was not initially showing on the map to another known address. I was NOT able to pick any other points until I had a cellular connection. So it seems you may be able to route from a point to a known physical address, even if the maps aren’t showing. If you don’t have a physical address, you may still be out of luck (without cellular).

Also, routing took a really long time to complete, not sure why.

View attachment 640407

Thanks a lot for checking it out!

 

[TwoMetreBill]

Compared to Here WeGo, Google maps is a POS in our Tesla Y. Without even going into the mountains, Google routes us to strange locations. Clearly Tesla is being paid by Google. Why can't Tesla allow us to overlay the screen from our phones onto the display? Tesla's display is really primitive compared to Apple and Android Auto.

 

[mr-dmitry]

Hi all,
We are doing driving trip to Utah to see its national parks, and I tried to google to see if navigation would still work inside the parks (or anywhere there is no cellular reception) with mixed answers.

It didn't work in Yosemite National Park: Navigation doesn't work from Yosemite National Park

 

[WADan]

It didn't work in Yosemite National Park: Navigation doesn't work from Yosemite National Park

you can not search for a new destination, but routing to previous destinations still work as GPS still available. Searching requires access to central server through cellular connection.