No connectivity for a few minutes after starting car

[Shock-On-T]

I recently booked a service call because since my MCU2 upgrade my car doesn’t connect to the 3G or LTE network for three or four minutes every third or fourth time I start it. I can be halfway to my destination before it connects to the mobile network.

Tesla service phoned me to say that this was a software issue that was affecting everyone and it would be fixed over the air one-day and I could go ahead and cancel my service booking, which I did.

I told him it was strange that it only started with the MCU2 upgrade and they said it was just a coincidence.

To test this assertion, is everyone else already also getting this problem?

 

[Hairyman]

Very occasionally the car wakes up with no connectivity announced on the screen, but goes away within a few seconds of me getting in

 

[meloccom]

Normally my car is fine but a few days ago I left the garage with a blank map and 3G showing 4bars and TuneIn radio working. It took 3 or 4 minutes before the map appeared, but all at once, not square by square as often happens with connectivity issues. I assume it was just my MCU1 taking a while to start all services but it could be software related too.

 

[BCTS]

ShockonT.. Having exactly the same experiences after the MCU2 Upgrade on my 2015 P90DL. I logged a fault also and was advised to cancel as well.
It's getting a bit frustrating now, perhaps they could just give me a Plaid to ease my pain

 

[Shock-On-T]

ShockonT.. Having exactly the same experiences after the MCU2 Upgrade on my 2015 P90DL. I logged a fault also and was advised to cancel as well.
It's getting a bit frustrating now, perhaps they could just give me a Plaid to ease my pain

Yes I will take a plaid in lieu as well.

 

[Brian May]

Had similar experiences after upgrading to MCU2. In areas known to have good reception.

 

[Wol747]

It seems to be an issue with pulling away from the WiFi signal in the garage and reconnecting to mobile - sometimes works sometimes takes forever.

 

[technerdx6000]

I've noticed this on my Model 3 a few times now since updating to 2021.4.18.2

 

[Brian May]

I have seen delays in connecting even when there was previously no wifi. And good mobile signal.

 

[Shock-On-T]

It seems to be an issue with pulling away from the WiFi signal in the garage and reconnecting to mobile - sometimes works sometimes takes forever.

It happens all over Sydney. I’ll get back in the car and there’s no connectivity for 3-4 minutes.
5 bars on my phone, busy areas.

 

[Flatbat]

It happens all over Sydney. I’ll get back in the car and there’s no connectivity for 3-4 minutes.
5 bars on my phone, busy areas.

Doe it make any difference or improve things if you keep your car awake? For example having sentry mode active or climate control on for the period you ar ay form your car.

 

[moa999]

Haven't noticed no connectivity, but have found the latest version for me 2021.4.18.2 seems to stick to the first network found.. which in my case is often 3G rather than LTE/4G.

My car is parked deep underground - no mobile or Wifi, and so it only gets a signal as I near the carpark exit.

Recently that seems to be 3G. Previously the car would then move to LTE, but doesn't seem to happen with this version.

 

[Silicon Desert]

Tesla service phoned me to say that this was a software issue that was affecting everyone and it would be fixed over the air one-day and I could go ahead and cancel my service booking, which I did.

I told him it was strange that it only started with the MCU2 upgrade and they said it was just a coincidence.

This rings a bell. I had the very slow (and sometimes no connect) issue immediately after an MCU2 update. As it turns out they made a poor re-connection to the MCU from the antenna. I was also getting worse signal in some areas. I wouldn't just take their word for it that this is a coincidence.

Since they properly connected the antenna during another service visit, I never had another issue and my car connects IMMEDIATELY when I pull out of my garage.

It is NOT a software update affecting everyone as it isn't affecting me.

 

[BCTS]

This rings a bell. I had the very slow (and sometimes no connect) issue immediately after an MCU2 update. As it turns out they made a poor re-connection to the MCU from the antenna. I was also getting worse signal in some areas. I wouldn't just take their word for it that this is a coincidence.

Since they properly connected the antenna during another service visit, I never had another issue and my car connects IMMEDIATELY when I pull out of my garage.

It is NOT a software update affecting everyone as it isn't affecting me.

Silicon Desert:
You are located in USA rather than Australia, so the issue with finding a connection could be perhaps associated with Differing 3G/4G Bands in our location. My Signal Coverage when working seems to be as good if not better than my Mobile Handset, so I would think it shouldn't be an antenna issue, but I could be wrong.

 

[conman]

The issue with MCU2 is it automatically goes into low power mode if enough time passes. When this happens the connectivity is completely severed and needs to be re-established which takes a variable amount of time. The only way to prevent this is to do something which ensures your car is always connected and in high power mode. Usually enabling summon and standby at home will fix it. This is the same fix for USB music not resuming after it goes into low power mode. Yes it's a stupid workaround, and yes it wastes charge unnecessarily.

 

[Shock-On-T]

Doe it make any difference or improve things if you keep your car awake? For example having sentry mode active or climate control on for the period you ar ay form your car.

I haven’t got sentry mode (AP1 car). I haven’t tried leaving climate on.
My old MCU1 had options for power saving, always connected etc but the MCU2 seems to have none of that. Maybe that’s something to do with it?

 

[Shock-On-T]

This rings a bell. I had the very slow (and sometimes no connect) issue immediately after an MCU2 update. As it turns out they made a poor re-connection to the MCU from the antenna. I was also getting worse signal in some areas. I wouldn't just take their word for it that this is a coincidence.

Since they properly connected the antenna during another service visit, I never had another issue and my car connects IMMEDIATELY when I pull out of my garage.

It is NOT a software update affecting everyone as it isn't affecting me.

Thanks for the info.
strange thing is that it will connect after 3-4 minutes even if I just sit in the car after unlocking. I would have thought a loose connection would just never start working.

 

[Silicon Desert]

Thanks for the info.
strange thing is that it will connect after 3-4 minutes even if I just sit in the car after unlocking. I would have thought a loose connection would just never start working.

good thought, however, the loose connection I had was causing a delay and it would connect in many area, but with weaker signal, and in my driveway where I used to get 3 bars in the car, I got nothing and it would not connect until I drove down the hill closer to the tower. After the MCU upgrade and after they reconnected the antenna, I started getting much better reception in many areas than before the MCU upgrade.

EDIT: And to add that when I went to the service center, I told them in advance they likely forgot to connect the antenna and to look for that. I came to that conclusion because of how it was acting, and I am an electronics design engineer and INTIMATELY familiar with the MCU and its design.

Again OP, there "may be" a marginal connection to the MCU or related antenna issue based on what you are saying. You would not be the first to have this occur and certainly won't be last. I know of 2 other cars where this problem occurred and was confirmed to be a connection issue. Not saying it is certain to be the issue, but something to consider.

Question, when it does connect after a delay (not moving the car), what is the signal level?

 

[Silicon Desert]

Silicon Desert:
You are located in USA rather than Australia, so the issue with finding a connection could be perhaps associated with Differing 3G/4G Bands in our location. My Signal Coverage when working seems to be as good if not better than my Mobile Handset, so I would think it shouldn't be an antenna issue, but I could be wrong.

Thanks, good thought, but that that is not it. The service department confirmed that there was a poor connection of the antenna after my upgrade. The indication to me was that I no longer got any signal at home whereas it worked before the MCU upgrade as I just mention to OP. They fixed the connection and now reception is perfect everywhere.

 

[BCTS]

Had an issue today where I parked the Car in Commercial Car Park using Summon because it was a tight squeeze. Came back 4 hours later and couldn't use Summon to extricate the Car because connectivity to the Car was completely offline. Had to open one door and eventually after 2 minutes or so it re-connected to LTE and I was able to extract it again.