New Navigation Coming This Weekend! (circa March 31, 2018)

[Joe F]

Perhaps a push notification to the app that map updates are available to the car is an easy change. That way you could connect to either WiFi or setup a hotspot.

Request it via your MyTesla acct and/or a tweet to Elon?

 

[FlyF4]

At the very least they should give us a USB with the maps loaded or let us download maps onto our OWN USB drive at home and personally load it onto the car via its USB connection. ANYTHING is better than this.

Yes, I wish Tesla would allow the maps to be on a web server like the Garmin maps, so they can be downloaded and put in the car with the USB slot. I don't need it, but I can see it could help others.

Or allow a map update to be requested when near a wifi spot. I suggested this option some months ago and they just looked at me like I was from Mars.

 

[Joe F]

Just tweeted this. Doubt it will get a response, but perhaps if others follow suit...

@tesla @elonmusk Can we please get push notification of map avail via app? Some don’t have WiFi access and frustration is growing. TIA!

 

[MelaniainLA]

Just tweeted this. Doubt it will get a response, but perhaps if others follow suit...

@tesla @elonmusk Can we please get push notification of map avail via app? Some don’t have WiFi access and frustration is growing. TIA!

Even Trump agrees thought be meant “not” instead of “now”!

 

[oktane]

Not a bad answer but if I was Howard Schultz (and I’m not confirming that I’m not) I would be (or possibly am) pissed.

 

[MarcusMaximus]

Yes, I wish Tesla would allow the maps to be on a web server like the Garmin maps, so they can be downloaded and put in the car with the USB slot. I don't need it, but I can see it could help others.

Or allow a map update to be requested when near a wifi spot. I suggested this option some months ago and they just looked at me like I was from Mars.

I’d note that their upload server is also REALLY slow. While the maps update was downloading, the peak speed was 11Mbps, average was around 5Mbps and I saw it go as low as 0.8. All on solid WiFi on a 1Gbps home connection.

I’m guessing they just don’t have the bandwidth to have hundreds of people simultaneously downloading their maps.

 

[patrikr]

Got 2018.12 last weekend but still don't have the new maps. I'm also on a 1 Gbps connection with a Unifi AC Pro AP right above both Teslas in the garage. Been reading the good reviews, it's hard to be patient!

 

[TKTes75]

Got 2018.12 a week ago today and still no new maps. Car has been consistently connected to WiFi on a 1 gigabit down fiber network from AT&T. I've given up on the maps. There is no rhyme or reason for this "massive" download. It will happen when it happens.

 

[Pale_Rider]

I’d note that their upload server is also REALLY slow. While the maps update was downloading, the peak speed was 11Mbps, average was around 5Mbps and I saw it go as low as 0.8. All on solid WiFi on a 1Gbps home connection.

I’m guessing they just don’t have the bandwidth to have hundreds of people simultaneously downloading their maps.

They limit the bandwidth to around 10mbps, apparently that’s as fast as the storage on the MCU1 can operate...

 

[bob_p]

1. The excuse of limited bandwidth is going to be an even bigger problem soon as sales of 3 & Y increase, quickly dwarfing the 200,000 S/X cars on the road today. Other companies have figured out how to handle many simultaneous downloads - Tesla should be able to figure this out.
2. 95+% of the map data that's being downloaded to cars will likely never be used. The map database concept was implemented when service centers would install map updates annually (with optical disks or connecting to a computer). Because this happened infrequently, every car had to have the entire map database (for North America). This no longer makes sense for cars that are always connected to the Internet. They could significantly reduce the download size by sending only the map data that's within a reasonable radius (200-300 mile radius?) and when the navigation system is requested to access data from outside of this area, it could then request a new block of map data for the new area. And because the new navigation software is actually doing the routing using a cloud server and assuming Google maps is providing the console maps from their server, the new map data might not even be needed quickly (if it's only used to display the dashboard navigation map or for offline routing).
3. The excuse of WiFi vs. LTE also is a problem for Tesla. They incorrectly assumed 100% of cars would be charged at home overnight, and are now adding urban superchargers for the owners that can't get access to overnight charging. The same is true for WiFi, not everyone can park their car in a WiFi zone - some cars will only have WiFi when at a service center - and Tesla really wants to avoid requiring those cars to come to service centers just for updates. They'll have to figure this one out too. Though some owners are reporting receiving new updates over LTE, so perhaps this isn't really an issue - Tesla appears to be distributing updates over LTE.

 

[brkaus]

Though some owners are reporting receiving new updates over LTE, so perhaps this isn't really an issue - Tesla appears to be distributing updates over LTE.

They are definitely distributing firmware updates over LTE.

The maps thing is new, and perhaps amplified because this time it is a major change and people really want it.

They have lots of options to address it, as you mentioned. I'm not convinced it is a huge problem at this time. I feel the delays are in "car selection" and not actual download. There are so many with WiFi that don't have this update yet, I don't feel it is time to panic yet.

Like firmware, perhaps they found an issue during rollout and have paused. Or perhaps they are targeting specific areas.

 

[TexasEV]

They are definitely distributing firmware updates over LTE.

The maps thing is new, and perhaps amplified because this time it is a major change and people really want it.

They have lots of options to address it, as you mentioned. I'm not convinced it is a huge problem at this time. I feel the delays are in "car selection" and not actual download. There are so many with WiFi that don't have this update yet, I don't feel it is time to panic yet.

Like firmware, perhaps they found an issue during rollout and have paused. Or perhaps they are targeting specific areas.

The maps thing is not new. Map updates were distributed to Model S, only over WiFi, starting in 2014. I think I had 3 updates in the almost 5 years I owned the car.

 

[Brettski]

Elon likes to intermingle his companies - perhaps down the road when Starlink matures they'll use that to provision updates?

 

[ahkahn]

Elon likes to intermingle his companies - perhaps down the road when Starlink matures they'll use that to provision updates?

I would imagine there would have to be some type of hardware receiver update in the existing fleet.

 

[Brettski]

Yes, I was thinking about a generational change, with new hardware.

 

[bob_p]

If the new navigation software is using a cloud server for routing (enabled with the "online routing" setting) and Google is providing the road/satellite data for the console map display, then the onboard map database may only be used for displaying the dashboard navigation map and for routing when the internet isn't accessible.

Hopefully they could use the same maps for both dashboard and console, and eliminate the problem we've had with the current navigation system in areas with road changes, where the console map is correct and the dashboard map may have you driving in blank spaces where roads have changed in the last 2 year.

If they do that, and you have internet available almost all of the time, the onboard map database should have little value...

 

[FlyF4]

I’d note that their upload server is also REALLY slow. While the maps update was downloading, the peak speed was 11Mbps, average was around 5Mbps and I saw it go as low as 0.8. All on solid WiFi on a 1Gbps home connection.

I’m guessing they just don’t have the bandwidth to have hundreds of people simultaneously downloading their maps.

yea, could be right. If so, it is easy to solve. Microsoft manages to download huge Windows files to a lot more people than Tesla.
I think you mean their "download server"?

 

[Darmie]

They are definitely distributing firmware updates over LTE.
Or perhaps they are targeting specific areas.

Wonder if anyone has made a map of this sort yet.

 

[TaoJones]

One does wonder which will come first:

1. Consumer-facing 5G.
2. Starlink and a latency fix.
3. Tesla customer download transparency.
4. Car/batch-specific release notes.
5. In-car hotspot & HUD/AR.

Smaller pot or larger stirring implement... choices, choices.

As one who is almost never connected via WiFi, I do like the customer-accessible server/USB stick option.

 

[luckyj]

yea, could be right. If so, it is easy to solve. Microsoft manages to download huge Windows files to a lot more people than Tesla.
I think you mean their "download server"?

Keep in mind that, as others have mentioned, one big bottleneck is the MCU's storage system. It just can't write data very quickly (maybe MCU2 is better?). The data coming down has to be held locally (in your car) somewhere. Once memory buffers are used up, some data must be flushed to disk before anything else can be downloaded - your car will tell the download server to slow down or even stop so that it can write some data. So no matter how fast the download server is, that limitation is what will slow the download.