Portable wifi hotspot for Software Updates to my M3 Highland

[Jason Brown]

I don't want to mess around with connecting my iPhone hotspot, so I would prefer to get a device I can leave permanently in the car to handle SW updates as & when they turn up.

I have really good 5G on my road, where the car will be parked each night. I'd like to charge the device by USB-C & store it next to the USB connection.

Has anyone done this successfully?

 

[jjrandorin]

Its going to turn off every time your car goes to sleep, since the USB ports turn off when the car goes to sleep (unless you keep sentry mode on all the time, which is a huge waste of energy.

Let me re phrase that. It wont turn off as soon as the car goes to sleep, if its the tyoe of cellular hot spot with its own battery as most of them are. That battery will run down and then when its empty, then the hotspot will shut off. The car will not charge it all night unless you leave sentry mode on.

 

[Watts_Up]

If you have an OBD2 plug, the pin 16 will still stay on, even when the car goes to sleep.

 

[Lindenwood]

I usually get software updates pretty early in the evening. If the device is charged when you get home, I suspect you could download the updates and update before the device dies.

Provided the device you choose has sufficient battery life, and the car is powered up for long enough each day to ensure it starts each evening charged, it seems like a reasonable enough solution!

Though, question… what is the specific hassle of just connecting your phone as the hotspot every few weeks when an update drops?

 

[Jason Brown]

I usually get software updates pretty early in the evening. If the device is charged when you get home, I suspect you could download the updates and update before the device dies.

Provided the device you choose has sufficient battery life, and the car is powered up for long enough each day to ensure it starts each evening charged, it seems like a reasonable enough solution!

Though, question… what is the specific hassle of just connecting your phone as the hotspot every few weeks when an update drops?

Yes, it’s not that much really is it! I am a sucker for these kinds of challenges: I have to park on the road & my WiFi won’t extend there. I think I’ll just let this one go…

 

[Lindenwood]

Yes, it’s not that much really is it! I am a sucker for these kinds of challenges: I have to park on the road & my WiFi won’t extend there. I think I’ll just let this one go…

Hah fair enough!

 

[RTPEV]

Yes, it’s not that much really is it! I am a sucker for these kinds of challenges: I have to park on the road & my WiFi won’t extend there. I think I’ll just let this one go…

I'm pretty sure the car will give you a notification when there is an update ready to download (and tell you to connect to WiFi to do so), so it's not even like you have to set it up all the time. And you can even do it while driving, so when you get this notification when you hop in the car, just turn on your phone's hotspot and let the update download as you drive.

 

[Watts_Up]

Yes, it’s not that much really is it! I am a sucker for these kinds of challenges: I have to park on the road & my WiFi won’t extend there. I think I’ll just let this one go…

You could install a small portable WiFi extender (for example: GL.iNet GL-SFT1200) inside your car if your Tesla cannot connect to your home WiFi.
Or when you park somewhere near a public hotspot, like a restaurant, you could use this hotspot to download an update.