Premium Connectivity cost $9.99/month for many Model 3 versions

[JCtx]

I asked the Tesla manager, and he said since everybody has unlimited phone data (problem is it gets much slower after 'x' GBs), that Tesla doesn't offer HotSpot Wi-Fi anymore, so there's nothing to fix, other than put it back, I guess. The car supposedly has a modem for that, but freaking Tesla is not using it. And just like I said, you cannot use any of the 'premium connectivity' features with my phone except Spotify. All others don't work, probably due to limited bandwidth. But they do work fine from my house, once connected to my home Wi-Fi, so there are no apparent problems with the car. But very frustrating not to have the ability to watch a movie while charging, or do anything else, other than playing the stupid games from the toy menu. Ha ha.

 

[jjrandorin]

I asked the Tesla manager, and he said since everybody has unlimited phone data (problem is it gets much slower after 'x' GBs), that Tesla doesn't offer HotSpot Wi-Fi anymore, so there's nothing to fix, other than put it back, I guess. The car supposedly has a modem for that, but freaking Tesla is not using it. And just like I said, you cannot use any of the 'premium connectivity' features with my phone except Spotify. All others don't work, probably due to limited bandwidth. But they do work fine from my house, once connected to my home Wi-Fi, so there are no apparent problems with the car. But very frustrating not to have the ability to watch a movie while charging, or do anything else, other than playing the stupid games from the toy menu. Ha ha.

Tesla never offered "wifi hotspot" on a model 3, if you mean the ability to connect your phone to the tesla to use its data... which is the way that term is normally used.

What tesla did offer was connectivity using the car to services like netflix / spotify etc directly, and that worked in my car up to about a month ago. After reading this message from you in a few different threads, I am going to go drive around the corner away from my house to test if something has changed in how this operates for me.

I will report back.

 

[MP3Mike]

And just like I said, you cannot use any of the 'premium connectivity' features with my phone except Spotify. All others don't work, probably due to limited bandwidth. But they do work fine from my house, once connected to my home Wi-Fi, so there are no apparent problems with the car. But very frustrating not to have the ability to watch a movie while charging, or do anything else, other than playing the stupid games from the toy menu. Ha ha.

That sounds like a problem with your phone or the data plan you have on it. You can certainly watch Netflix while charging either using premium connectivity or via WiFi with the car tethered to your phone.

 

[JCtx]

Thanks. But I REALLY doubt you'll be able to watch Netflix from your data; It doesn't have enough bandwidth. You need Wi-Fi for that IMO, but curious about your results. And at the very least, it'd look like crap, because there's no way you could see anything in HD. So premium connectivity is basically useless to us. I won't renew it. My wife doesn't even like using google earth, so that was probably the only usable feature. Oh, and Spotify does work, but it actually works much better from the phone anyway (where you can listen to your downloaded music off-line, which you cannot do from the car), so don't need it either.

 

[Knightshade]

I asked the Tesla manager, and he said since everybody has unlimited phone data (problem is it gets much slower after 'x' GBs), that Tesla doesn't offer HotSpot Wi-Fi anymore, so there's nothing to fix, other than put it back, I guess. The car supposedly has a modem for that, but freaking Tesla is not using it.

Again the words in your post, in that particular order, don't make any actual sense.

The car never offered hotspotting, so there's no "anymore" and nothing to "put back"

The modem is what provides the cellular connectivity to the car not to the peoples phones inside the car.

That's always been how that works.

And still does.

And just like I said, you cannot use any of the 'premium connectivity' features with my phone except Spotify.

.... what?

Premium connectivity has nothing to do with your phone

At all.

You can use it to play spotify on the car using the spotify interface on the display in the car



Your phone could, alternatively, and having nothing to do at all with premium connectivity, run the spotify app on the phone, and stream that content to the car over bluetooth though.

All others don't work, probably due to limited bandwidth

Again a sentence where each word makes sense- but not in that order. Nothing the car does is particularly bandwidth intensive, and the cellular connection provides plenty of it for any of those services.

. But they do work fine from my house, once connected to my home Wi-Fi, so there are no apparent problems with the car.

They work fine ONLY on wifi only in cars that do not have premium connectivity.

In cars that have it they work fine without wifi as well.

But very frustrating not to have the ability to watch a movie while charging, or do anything else, other than playing the stupid games from the toy menu. Ha ha.

Let's take a moment and pretend you don't even own a cellphone, so we can remove a lot of the confusion from your posts.


In that situation, if you actually have premium connectivity, you should be able to run any of the video or audio streaming apps built into the car (netflix, hulu, youtube, etc) any time the car is in park. Charging or not. Wifi or not.

I did this just the other day (well, parked, not charging, but it works then too) while waiting to pick someone up.



If that does NOT work then either:

You do not actually have premium connectivity (for most owners this is a paid service after the first 1 month or first year)

or

Something is actually wrong with your specific car.



You can verify if you have premium connectivity or not checking your tesla account (might also be listed under the upgrades tab in the app)


The nearest I can glean from your posts, maybe, is you DO NOT HAVE premium connectivity, and Spotify has only been "working" because you're actually streaming it from your phone- not playing it natively in the car- which again is an entirely different thing.

 

[MP3Mike]

If that does NOT work then either:

You do not actually have premium connectivity (for most owners this is a paid service after the first 1 month or first year)

or

Something is actually wrong with your specific car.

Or:

3) He is charging in a spot that doesn't have good AT&T cell coverage. (But he says Spotify works, so maybe that rules that out.)

 

[jjrandorin]

Tesla never offered "wifi hotspot" on a model 3, if you mean the ability to connect your phone to the tesla to use its data... which is the way that term is normally used.

What tesla did offer was connectivity using the car to services like netflix / spotify etc directly, and that worked in my car up to about a month ago. After reading this message from you in a few different threads, I am going to go drive around the corner away from my house to test if something has changed in how this operates for me.

I will report back.

I never drive anywhere anymore (cause covid) but drove about 1.5 miles away from my home, pulled into a local fire station parking lot and tested. There is absolutely no change in the functionality of premium connectivity in my car, and I am one of the latest firmwares (2020.48.30).

Specifically, I had no issues at all watching netflix, using the cars LTE connection, while being subscribed to premium connectivity just like I could on previous firmware versions. I dont use my phones connection as a hotspot so I was not tethered to my phone for data in my car (although my phone was connected for bluetooth as normal which has no bearing on this).

I verified that my car showed a LTE connection launched netflix, selected my user, and watched about 7 minutes or so of a random show on netflix.

So, @elptxjc you need to get your car checked out if you can not launch netflix using the cars LTE connection (and have ATT coverage where you are, which should be a given but will mention anyway). The "Tesla manager" telling you "Tesla doesnt offer hotspot anymore so there isnt anything to fix" would be a correct statement if you asked about using the car as a hotspot, but watching netflix using the cars connection has nothing to do with it being a hotspot.

Since you mention you are a mechanical engineer, I am sure you can agree that the terminology is important. Using the car as a hotspot means "I want to connect my phone or other device to my car, and use the cars data connection to provide internet for my other devices". The car doesnt do that.

What premium connectivity does do, however, is let you watch youtube, netflix etc without a phone, using the cars data connection, provided you have ok coverage for ATT (which is what the car uses). Either you dont have ATT coverage where you were testing, or there is something wrong with your car.

 

[jjrandorin]

Thanks. But I REALLY doubt you'll be able to watch Netflix from your data; It doesn't have enough bandwidth. You need Wi-Fi for that IMO, but curious about your results. And at the very least, it'd look like crap, because there's no way you could see anything in HD. So premium connectivity is basically useless to us. I won't renew it. My wife doesn't even like using google earth, so that was probably the only usable feature. Oh, and Spotify does work, but it actually works much better from the phone anyway (where you can listen to your downloaded music off-line, which you cannot do from the car), so don't need it either.

Wrong... I have been watching netflix using my cars premium connectivity since that was available... for well over a year now. And wrong, it looks great.

I apologize for being direct, but you have posted "it doesnt work" in a few different places here, and I am not clear on what actually isnt working for you. As mentioned a few posts ago by @Knightshade , the things you are saying are all mixed up and "dont go together".

So, either you dont actually have premium connectivity (SR+ only get it free for a month is my understanding, LR / P get it free for a year ), or you are someplace with bad ATT coverage. You keep mentioning "your phone" and "hotspot" and neither of those things have anything at all to do with "tesla premium connectivity" ZERO.

As mentioned, if you have premium connectivity, you can go someplace in your car, and watch neflix using the cars interface without connecting to a phone at all.

NOW... people WITHOUT premium connectivity, have to use their PHONE as a hotspot to connect the CAR to the phone. Thats sort of what you keep describing, sort of.

1. check your tesla account online via a computer and see if you have premium connectivity showing there. If no, then you dont have premium connectivity.

2. if yes, take a drive around the corner, without your phone (leave the phone at home). Drive far enough away from home to be somewhere that wifi doesnt reach. Open netflix, and see if it works. If not, see if the car has an internet connection.

Netflix not only works fine in my car off the LTE connection (that I used since basically I got the car, when I was driving into work every day), it looks great if you have a decent cellphone coverage from ATT. No buffering, etc, and a picture that looked just fine on the cars high def screen.

 

[JCtx]

People, I'm not stupid. You CANNOT watch Netflix over the air on my car, period (and neither using my phone as hot-spot). And Tesla manager said it's normal, at least now, so maybe you don't own a 2021. And I DO have premium connectivity until 01/04/2022 (just bought the damn car). By the way, to run AT&T LTE, you DO NEED a modem. So if car doesn't have one, you can't have LTE in your car. That's exactly how it works on my Ford vehicles, where my wife can connect her iPad to my cars. The Model 3 has no connected modem, so how the hell can it provide an internet connection? Tesla manager said the car does have a modem, but Tesla is not using it anymore. Whether that's true or not, I don't know, and don't care, since it's not operational anyway. So makes zero sense to waste my time with a service visit for a non-existent issue. Will call Tesla directly one of these days, just to hear it from them. I'm glad your older cars still have it.

Again, I cannot use any of the premium connectivity features without being connected to my home Wi-Fi, except Spotify... which might not even be part of it. So 'PC' is useless to us, since we never use google earth, don't need Spotify, and can't use any of the other streamed stuff. Not a big deal, since we've never had that availability, but it'd be nice to have it, due to having to spend idle time charging the car. I guess I'll walk instead, which is good for the body .

 

[dmurphy]

People, I'm not stupid. You CANNOT watch Netflix over the air on my car, period (and neither using my phone as hot-spot). And Tesla manager said it's normal, at least now, so maybe you don't own a 2021. And I DO have premium connectivity until 01/04/2022 (just bought the damn car). By the way, to run AT&T LTE, you DO NEED a modem. So if car doesn't have one, you can't have LTE in your car. That's exactly how it works on my Ford vehicles, where my wife can connect her iPad to my cars. The Model 3 has no connected modem, so how the hell can it provide an internet connection? Tesla manager said the car does have a modem, but Tesla is not using it anymore. Whether that's true or not, I don't know, and don't care, since it's not operational anyway. So makes zero sense to waste my time with a service visit for a non-existent issue. Will call Tesla directly one of these days, just to hear it from them.

Again, I cannot use any of the premium connectivity features without being connected to my home Wi-Fi, except Spotify... which might not even be part of it. So 'PC' is useless to us, since we never use google earth, don't need Spotify, and can't use any of the other streamed stuff.

You are confused.
The only reason you wouldn’t be able to watch Netflix over the air is because you’re not in AT&T territory (Tesla uses ATT’s network domestically) or something is broken.

The car has a modem, it’s used and whomever told you anything else is either confused or just full of it.

The entire raison d’etre for Premium Connectivity is for exactly this!

So either get your car checked or look at the network bars on your screen.

Sorry, but you’re flat out wrong. You absolutely can and should be able to watch Netflix and use the other streaming apps without any phone tethering whatsoever.

 

[JCtx]

I'm not confused; you just don't listen. There's perfect AT&T reception where I live. My Ford vehicles use AT&T for the HotSpot Wi-Fi, and work perfectly. You can see those cars' Wi-Fi networks from my phone (I renamed them); you cannot see crap from the Tesla, because it doesn't have it, so it can't connect to the internet. I know it SHOULD work, but Tesla apparently stopped including hotspot wi-fi. That's the way it is. Will report what Tesla says, but expect it to be the same answer as a large store (Austin) manager said. End of this discussion for now folks.

 

[thefortunes]

People, I'm not stupid. You CANNOT watch Netflix over the air on my car, period (and neither using my phone as hot-spot). And Tesla manager said it's normal, at least now, so maybe you don't own a 2021. And I DO have premium connectivity until 01/04/2022 (just bought the damn car). By the way, to run AT&T LTE, you DO NEED a modem. So if car doesn't have one, you can't have LTE in your car. That's exactly how it works on my Ford vehicles, where my wife can connect her iPad to my cars. The Model 3 has no connected modem, so how the hell can it provide an internet connection? Tesla manager said the car does have a modem, but Tesla is not using it anymore. Whether that's true or not, I don't know, and don't care, since it's not operational anyway. So makes zero sense to waste my time with a service visit for a non-existent issue. Will call Tesla directly one of these days, just to hear it from them. I'm glad your older cars still have it.

Again, I cannot use any of the premium connectivity features without being connected to my home Wi-Fi, except Spotify... which might not even be part of it. So 'PC' is useless to us, since we never use google earth, don't need Spotify, and can't use any of the other streamed stuff. Not a big deal, since we've never had that availability, but it'd be nice to have it, due to having to spend idle time charging the car. I guess I'll walk instead, which is good for the body .

1) It's not normal. Those of us with Premium Connectivity watch Netflix regularly.

2) Yes, it has a modem. That's how we watch (or listen to Spotify, etc...).

3) No, Tesla has NEVER allowed you to hotspot from the car's modem to your device like your Ford.

 

[Kevy Baby]

I have Premium connectivity. I had no issue connecting to Netflix over the weekend (while charging at a SuC) or while having lunch today (damn COVID - I am sick of eating in my car).

Ironically, I carry an old mobile hotspot in my car (since I cannot get WiFi out to my car from my condo). I actually turn OFF WiFi (which disconnects the car from the hotspot) and use the Premium to get Netflix (with virtually no issues).

 

[jjrandorin]

I'm not confused; you just don't listen. There's perfect AT&T reception where I live. My Ford vehicles use AT&T for the HotSpot Wi-Fi, and work perfectly. You can see those cars' Wi-Fi networks from my phone (I renamed them); you cannot see crap from the Tesla, because it doesn't have it, so it can't connect to the internet. I know it SHOULD work, but Tesla apparently stopped including hotspot wi-fi. That's the way it is. Will report what Tesla says, but expect it to be the same answer as a large store (Austin) manager said. End of this discussion for now folks.

There is no "hotspot wifi" so yeah you are confused. Tesla doesnt (and has not ever) broadcast a wifi hot spot on the model 3 and that has zero to do with being able to stream netflix (having a modem in the car doesnt mean it broadcasts a hotspot for other devices to connect to).

Stop asking the tesla manager about "hotspot", you are likely confusing them too.

 

[Kevy Baby]

...you cannot see crap from the Tesla, because it doesn't have it, so it can't connect to the internet. I know it SHOULD work, but Tesla apparently stopped including hotspot wi-fi.

Let's clarify a little

A Model 3 with Premium Connectivity should be able to receive services such as Netflix, streaming audio, and map satellite visualizations via LTE (note that this is not via receiving WiFi). Note that this does NOT include firmware updates excepting for the occasional emergency update (not something brought up here, but a frequent question).

If you have Premium Connectivity and are unable to watch Netflix ON YOUR CAR'S BUILT IN SCREEN, then there is something wrong with your car (since the "AT&T Coverage" matter has been eliminated).

A Model 3 without Premium still has LTE reception, you just can't use the Premium services noted above.

A Model 3 does have built in Wifi for connecting to a user-provided network such as your home WiFi or a hotspot on your phone or other device.

The Model 3 has NEVER EVER provided the ability to connect devices via WiFi to use the car's LTE bandwidth to say surf the web or stream music TO YOUR DEVICE (phone tablet, etc.). The Model 3 will send data via WiFi to your network for diagnostic and reporting.

 

[acarney]

I'm not confused; you just don't listen. There's perfect AT&T reception where I live. My Ford vehicles use AT&T for the HotSpot Wi-Fi, and work perfectly. You can see those cars' Wi-Fi networks from my phone (I renamed them); you cannot see crap from the Tesla, because it doesn't have it, so it can't connect to the internet. I know it SHOULD work, but Tesla apparently stopped including hotspot wi-fi. That's the way it is. Will report what Tesla says, but expect it to be the same answer as a large store (Austin) manager said. End of this discussion for now folks.

Hey Elptxjc man, sorry to say this, but you bought a broken car. Cellular data services should work with it. It’s how the Tesla app on your phone talks to you car. It’s how your car’s navigation figures out when you need to supercharge and where the supercharger is. It’s how the Nav shows you how many stalls at a supercharger are occupied at the time. It’s how the basic 2D maps load and work (not the Google earth images but the standard maps).

If you pay $9.99/mo it’s also how all the music services on your car and video services work.

The car has a built in LTE radio (modem) to connect to the cellular network. The car does NOT have the ability to broadcast that data to other devices.

Connectivity is a key part of Tesla. They gather anonymous data from the cars to help make the fleet better. Your car is broken. I’m sorry.

 

[dmurphy]

I'm not confused; you just don't listen. There's perfect AT&T reception where I live.

One of us has been in the wireless industry for 20+ years; the other is confused. I’ll leave you to determine which is which.

If your Netflix isn’t working in the car, it’s broken. Get it checked out.

There’s no need for WiFi in any form - station, access point, none of it. The inbuilt LTE modem is all you need. If it’s not working, open a service case.

 

[stopcrazypp]

People, I'm not stupid. You CANNOT watch Netflix over the air on my car, period (and neither using my phone as hot-spot). And Tesla manager said it's normal, at least now, so maybe you don't own a 2021. And I DO have premium connectivity until 01/04/2022 (just bought the damn car). By the way, to run AT&T LTE, you DO NEED a modem. So if car doesn't have one, you can't have LTE in your car. That's exactly how it works on my Ford vehicles, where my wife can connect her iPad to my cars. The Model 3 has no connected modem, so how the hell can it provide an internet connection? Tesla manager said the car does have a modem, but Tesla is not using it anymore. Whether that's true or not, I don't know, and don't care, since it's not operational anyway. So makes zero sense to waste my time with a service visit for a non-existent issue. Will call Tesla directly one of these days, just to hear it from them. I'm glad your older cars still have it.

I have a 2021 SR+ I just took delivery a bit more than a week ago. My Premium connectivity trial is only for 30 days. I didn't try Netflix (I don't have a netflix account anyways), but I tried Youtube and it works just fine in good quality and the car definitely is connected to LTE.

There's definitely something wrong with your car if LTE doesn't work. The Tesla most definitely is using the LTE modem, there's a big LTE logo and reception bar on the top of the screen (do you not see it?). That's how it gets all the basic maps and also how a lot of the functions in the app work.

Tesla says explicitly that Video Streaming is supported by Premium connectivity.
Connectivity

The only other thing I thought of that might result in Netflix only working on your home wifi is if you got a free subscription as part of your home internet or TV. In such a case, it might not work outside your home wifi (or hotspots provided by your internet provider). However, that's not Tesla's fault. I suggest trying other video streaming like Youtube that doesn't require a subscription to see if that is your issue.

 

[Kevy Baby]

(moderator note: We are well into a year since this change was made, so I no longer see a need for a master thread on this topic. The thread is still open for replies, but is now unstickied and removed from master thread status).

You know I am blaming you for this current discussion. You could have just quietly unstickied this thread. Bit NOOOoooo - you had to mention it

 

[jjrandorin]

You know I am blaming you for this current discussion. You could have just quietly unstickied this thread. Bit NOOOoooo - you had to mention it

Lol, thats fair hehe. In full disclosure however, as many have likely noticed, i tend to say what I am doing (where possible). There isnt any requirement from the mod team on this, and its up to each individual on how they want to handle that, but I happen to like transparency where possible so I try to practice it as well.