Poor wifi reception

[bohenriksson]

Hi! My 2019 M3 has always had issues connecting to my wifi network but its always worked (albeit with just one or two bars) when parked closest possible to the house with the right rear mirror (where I understand the antenna is) facing the house. Strangely enough my other stuff like iPhone shows full strength a hundred or so feet away and works just fine even farther, both 2.4 and 5 GHz.
For the latest FSD update however it took some 30 hrs to download.... Going from no reception to very slow (couple kb/s) to 200 kb/s.

Any ideas anyone please? I can't easily permanently move the router closer to the car but could I guess buy a long ethernet cable and just move it when an update is available...

Thanks

Bo

 

[PianoAl]

I have this in the garage:

 

[AtomMoose]

It’s just not great. I have an access point (AP) mounted in my garage directly above our MYLR. Despite that, I had to crank the 5GHz band power up higher than any other AP in our home to get a solid, stable connection. It needed a medium-high transmit power when I usually spec medium-low.

I also had to give the car its own SSID only broadcasting from the garage AP. Our MYLR refuses to connect to a WPA3 network and tends to prefer weak, distant APs instead of the one shouting straight at it.

Only our Nintendo Switch has a worse Wi-Fi implementation.

 

[SidetrackedSue]

I'm following this discussion as we don't have an easy wifi option and used to use our son's but then he moved his Access Point so we resorted to either the local Tesla service centre (which is a waste of my time sitting there) or a hotspot off my phone but I only have a 5GB plan and didn't want to wait to the end of the month to figure out if I could download 2023.27.6.

After 9 attempts to assorted weak APs my son had, we finally connected yesterday and then it took over an hour to download so we sort-of outstayed our welcome (the toddler didn't think so but his mom might have!)

Understanding the limitations and tech requirements really help. Simply learning where the antenna is in the car helped a lot when we first started trying download options. At my son's it is better to park on the road than in the driveway, for example.

 

[bohenriksson]

Thanks all! I bought a well reviewed Netgear WiFi extender… spent hours but can’t get it to work. It will not sense my WiFi.
Basically I give up.
Just don’t see why the antenna in my iPhone which could be maximum 4 inches long can receive a perfect signal when the one in my M3 behind the right rear view mirror, presumably of much the same size, in the same spot, hardly gets anything…

 

[uscbucsfan]

Thanks all! I bought a well reviewed Netgear WiFi extender… spent hours but can’t get it to work. It will not sense my WiFi.
Basically I give up.
Just don’t see why the antenna in my iPhone which could be maximum 4 inches long can receive a perfect signal when the one in my M3 behind the right rear view mirror, presumably of much the same size, in the same spot, hardly gets anything…

Is your Iphone also from 2019?

 

[bohenriksson]

No it’s last years model. But my data plan doesn’t allow hotspots :-(

 

[uscbucsfan]

No it’s last years model. But my data plan doesn’t allow hotspots :-(

You understand that the wifi cards improve every year, right?

 

[bohenriksson]

Well settled for a low tech solution, a 50 ft Ethernet cable! Whenever the next update is available I’ll move the router to the next room over in a window about five ft from the car. Checking it I now see 4 bars on the WiFi indicator and at least judging by loading up Netflix in the car it’s fast.

 

[stopcrazypp]

Thanks all! I bought a well reviewed Netgear WiFi extender… spent hours but can’t get it to work. It will not sense my WiFi.
Basically I give up.
Just don’t see why the antenna in my iPhone which could be maximum 4 inches long can receive a perfect signal when the one in my M3 behind the right rear view mirror, presumably of much the same size, in the same spot, hardly gets anything…

The phones probably use an optimized chip based antenna, while most other devices use more conventional antennas. The phone also likely has more updated wireless connectivity chips, which allows they to squeeze out more speed. When you are making a couple hundred million devices per year, there are optimizations and updates you can afford to make that other lower volume devices simply can't.

 

[ochompsky]

3's have atrocious wifi antenna's

 

[ltroyce2024]

I must park my 3 approximately 50 yards from my 3rd floor apartment, so I must use my iPhone to get WiFi that’s very slow. Any suggestions on a better alternative?

 

[stopcrazypp]

I must park my 3 approximately 50 yards from my 3rd floor apartment, so I must use my iPhone to get WiFi that’s very slow. Any suggestions on a better alternative?

First of all, why do you need WiFi in your Model 3? What are you using it for?

Second is if you have line of sight from your apartment to the car? Are there any walls in between (if so, are there windows)? Is the car parked outside or in a parking structure? Is it always in the same spot?

 

[ltroyce2024]

First of all, why do you need WiFi in your Model 3? What are you using it for?

Second is if you have line of sight from your apartment to the car? Are there any walls in between (if so, are there windows)? Is the car parked outside or in a parking structure? Is it always in the same spot?

Downloading Tesla updates, the car is parked outside on the street, no walls, WiFi near windows

 

[Watts_Up]

Downloading Tesla updates, the car is parked outside on the street, no walls, WiFi near windows

I also experienced bad WiFi reception at home, because the car in in a basement, so I installed a small portable WiFi extender
(for example: GL.iNet GL-SFT1200) inside my car, and I was able to connect to my home WiFi.

Also, when parking somewhere near a public hotspot, like a restaurant, now I can connect to this public hotspot
which often requires some logging or web page confirmation, and use it for the Tesla web browser or to download an update.

 

[ltroyce2024]

I also experienced bad WiFi reception at home, because the car in in a basement, so I installed a small portable WiFi extender
(for example: GL.iNet GL-SFT1200) inside my car, and I was able to connect to my home WiFi.

Also, when parking somewhere near a public hotspot, like a restaurant, now I can connect to this public hotspot
which often requires some logging or web page confirmation, and use it for the Tesla web browser or to download an update.

Does the GL.iNet require a power source? If so where do you plug it in?

 

[stopcrazypp]

Downloading Tesla updates, the car is parked outside on the street, no walls, WiFi near windows

In that case you can get a router that has antenna connections (your existing router might have them already) and get one or more directional antennas and aim it at your car. Make sure however which antenna connection corresponds to 5Ghz and 2.4Ghz and install it on the correct one your car would use.

I use this small one for my travel router (which I installed open-wrt to act as a bridge for my security system):

https://www.amazon.com/Alfa-APA-M25-directional-connector-WL-ANT-157/dp/B00R1PA9EO

It definitely works to extend the signal, although you have to spend some time aiming it (which is why I ask if you have windows and if you have line of sight). If you have a helper inside the car it may help, but if you have windows you might be able to see the car directly and just aim at it.

There are many other options on Amazon, including higher gain powered ones. If you buy the ones "shipped from Amazon" there are easy returns in case it doesn't work.

If you are using the connection while sitting inside the car, you can get a portable USB powered WiFi extender as the other suggested. However if you won't be inside the car, the car may go to sleep and the power may turn off in the USB ports.

I use a similar travel router (which I modified to add the directional antenna) for my security system in the car. I keep it powered with external 12V LFP batteries and a 12V to USB converter. You probably don't want to bother with this setup however, given you can have the directional antenna installed in your home instead (in my case I'm connecting to public Xfinity WiFi connections, so I have no control over the other end).

 

[ltroyce2024]

In that case you can get a router that has antenna connections and get one or more directional antennas and aim it at your car. Make sure however which antenna connection corresponds to 5Ghz and 2.4Ghz and install it on the correct one your car would use.

I use this small one for my travel router (which I installed open-wrt to act as a bridge for my security system):

https://www.amazon.com/Alfa-APA-M25-directional-connector-WL-ANT-157/dp/B00R1PA9EO

It definitely works, although you have to spend some time aiming it (which is why I ask if you have windows and if you have line of sight).

There are many other options on Amazon, including higher gain powered ones. If you buy the ones "shipped from Amazon" there are easy returns in case it doesn't work.

If you are using the connection while sitting inside the car, you can get a portable USB powered WiFi extender as the other suggested. However if you won't be inside the car, the car may go to sleep and the power may turn off.

Thank you!

 

[Dangerous Fish]

A Ubiquiti U6 Mesh Pro on the (external) garage wall has solved my WiFi problems. Serves both Model 3s well regardless of being parked in the garage or on the driveway. Yes, you will have to run a UTP cable to it but at least it's PoE.

 

[ltroyce2024]

A Ubiquiti U6 Mesh Pro on the (external) garage wall has solved my WiFi problems. Serves both Model 3s well regardless of being parked in the garage or on the driveway. Yes, you will have to run a UTP cable to it but at least it's PoE.

I’m parked on the street, 50 + yards from 3rd floor condo. But thanks for your suggestions and trying to help