Ownership Experience Without a Smartphone?

[dsm363]

My parents are considering the Model S, but neither has a smartphone. How will this degrade the user experience of owning a Model S? Can they do things like preheating the car and checking status from a web browser?

What area of the country do they live (does it get very hot or cold)? Ask them if they would find it useful in the winter to walk out to a heated car after going out to dinner or someplace else for example. If they wouldn't find that useful and don't travel much that takes away two of the main features of rne app (preheating/cooling and monitoring your charge on the road).

To me being able to cool or heat the car from anywhere I have an Internet connection is one of the best features but they might not find it that useful.

 

[Liz G]

During the St. Louis Auto show, I meet an elderly gentleman (84 if I remember correctly) with an old Motorola flip phone, who absolutely loved his Model S. He'd had a direct delivery and had yet to have a session with a delivery specialist and was figuring out how to work the screen pretty much by himself with the help of his son in-law. Now he did corner me for a good 30 mins while I went over some of the more obscure things and showed him how 6.1 worked. But overall he'd figured out quite a bit all on his own.

He was trying to pair his phone to his car and having problems, but we never discussed the app. I'm not sure if he even knew it existed, but it sure didn't seem to be affecting his enjoyment of the car.

 

[wycolo]

> They just don't have a need for smartphones. [ratsbew]

At home do they have Internet on a Desktop?? They can run VisibleTesla on it minimized when not actually being used, with the PC in 'sleep' mode. Then when they want to check on the car, just wake up the PC, bring up VT and check the car's temperature, battery charge etc. Takes maybe 20 seconds and then they can honk the horn, initiate charging, alter the charge level, turn on the heat etc all from inside the house. On the PC the VT display is very clear and user friendly. No phone, smart or otherwise needed!
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[ReddyLeaf]

Since I don't own a Tesla, I can't say with certainty, but a smart phone should never be required and probably won't reduce the ownership experience too much. I have the Leaf, but no smart phone or home internet. It works just fine using the Leaf interface with climate control and charging timers. Yes, once in a while I want to leave a bit earlier or later than the timer, but it's not often nor a real problem. I still have legs, arms, and hands to open the car door and have figured out how to turn it on.:wink: I'll bet that other folks can figure it out as well.

 

[mzpolo]

I am officially OLD. I never in my right (debatable certainly) mind thought that a phone of any kind would be "necessary" for the total ownership experience.

 

[dsm363]

I am officially OLD. I never in my right (debatable certainly) mind thought that a phone of any kind would be "necessary" for the total ownership experience.

It's certianly not necessary but does enhance the experience I think. You don't need it though.

 

[Aussie Bob]

I am a retiree who travels extensively sometimes for long periods (months) who has just entered the smartphone age. It took us a long time to get a smartphone and we now can't live without one, especially in communication with our family.
We have a Tesla which we charge to 50% level every time we travel as per Tesla staff instructions.
The Tesla App on our smartphone saved our car battery while we were on a trip to Australia. I was showing our friends in Australia how I could control our Tesla in Canada from Australia. While doing this I noticed that our Tesla was not charging! Panic as the battery would have run down in the minus 15 or lower Centigrade temps during our winter. The car loses up to 15 rated kilometres per day if not used.
I immediately contacted Tesla emergency help from Australia who advised everything appeared to be okay with the car. I knew a Tesla owner - Peter M- who I asked to check the car. He came over the same day and noticed the car was not charging. He pulled the charging cable out of the car and reinserted it. Low and behold the charging started again. Most likely a power outage had occurred which caused the power to not re engage. Fortunately we have someone locally who has the car fob!

The jist of the story - without a smartphone and the App, the car's battery would ended up with no charge - not good for the car!

 

[wayner]

> They just don't have a need for smartphones. [ratsbew]

At home do they have Internet on a Desktop?? They can run VisibleTesla on it ...
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Not necessarily. Most (all?) new Tesla owners are unable to use Visible Tesla due to changes on Tesla's servers. The developer of VT thinks he can get around this but you never know if or when Tesla will totally shut this off.

 

[wycolo]

True enough. V.T. has worked here from home on a Desktop since installed last week. I just now installed it on a 2nd workstation which uses an internet access point in your neighborhood in fact. App instantly collapses, implying at least that it can only work with secure access to the TM site somehow [not an expert here].

Anyway, car has been parked 200 ft from the house for a few days and it is sure nice to access it from indoors. Hope the server situation can be resolved.

Btw, noticed that V.T. keeps polling every 30 sec or so as long as it is open, so I close it after each use rather than just minimizing it. This to reduce server load on the Tesla site.
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