Premium Connectivity - is it worth it?

[FairlyOldGit]

As a TESLA newbie - I've just received an email telling me "Premium Connectivity Ending 24 May 2023"

Anybody got any thoughts for/against on this at £10 per month? - I've read read what it contains but
haven't really got around to using it apart from seeing the Google 'Satellite' images.
There are probably lots of things I could save up for, with the £10 month.

 

[ATPMSD]

It really boils down to what you will use. For example it includes Steaming Music, so if you do not have Premium Connectivity and want streaming music, what will it cost you to get it?

 

[OfficialMark_H]

I’ve had 2 Teslas first for 2 years and this one for 15 months and had Premium all the time, I think you need it for live viewing of the cameras, Spotify etc as well as the live traffic on the maps. Some people just tether a phone though.

Horses for courses I think.

 

[ATPMSD]

Some people just tether a phone though.

You will want to check your data plan before going with this option.

 

[FairlyOldGit]

I am assuming you can choose to subscribe or not subscribe, month by month - i which case I think I'll let it lapse and see if I can genuinely do without it.

 

[OfficialMark_H]

I am assuming you can choose to subscribe or not subscribe, month by month

Yes you can.

 

[Rooster6655]

As a TESLA newbie - I've just received an email telling me "Premium Connectivity Ending 24 May 2023"

Anybody got any thoughts for/against on this at £10 per month? - I've read read what it contains but
haven't really got around to using it apart from seeing the Google 'Satellite' images.
There are probably lots of things I could save up for, with the £10 month.

When I had premium I found that Spotify always used to take ages to start working, when using a hotspot and tidal I never had this problem, not sure on the current status of the timing out and Spotify. I see little to no value in the premium connectivity for my use case.

 

[WyoDude]

I stopped using it to see how much pain there would be without having premium and so far I haven’t felt like I needed it to have a good experience with my car.

Like other said, depends on which features you care about.

I would suggest letting the subscription end and try it for a few weeks at least. I think you’ll know after a few weeks what impact it has on you personally

 

[SpeedBird23]

As a TESLA newbie - I've just received an email telling me "Premium Connectivity Ending 24 May 2023"

Anybody got any thoughts for/against on this at £10 per month? - I've read read what it contains but
haven't really got around to using it apart from seeing the Google 'Satellite' images.
There are probably lots of things I could save up for, with the £10 month.

For me, it is definitely worth the money. I love my music and my Spotify account gets heavy usage wherever I go. So for me, I did not think twice about renewing the premium connectivity subscription with Tesla.

 

[mjwojtukiewicz]

You're not missing anything. You can use your phone for music. Better still, I ripped almost 400 CDs to MP3 and put them on a 128Gb USB drive.
Just like all these streaming services, and premium plans for fitbits, etc. They nickel and dime you to death. One thing I found out recently. I used to record
hours of video on a USB drive. Now it just saves an hour. And they have the nerve to try and sell you a Tesla approved 1Tb drive for $350? 32Gb i enough for
1 hour

 

[GRiLLA]

I'm keeping it, but I don't have any other music subscriptions so I count it as that with added sat view maps and traffic.

 

[zknobody]

My Samsung S22 phone has a feature to share internet via Bluetooth (under mobile hotspot and tethering menu)
I'm wondering if this works with the Tesla ?

Can anyone with a Samsung and mobile hotspot check this out ?

 

[Drew57]

When 12 month free premium connectivity ended I upgraded my phone plan to unlimited data for an additional £7/month which in my case gives much more flexibility than £9.99 just for the car - I listen to a lot of music on the go & already have a family plan for Amazon Music Unlimited HD.

In the car I use a hotspot to either stream via Bluetooth (helpfully, the controls on the Tesla screen allow forward/skip-back etc without needing to touch the phone) or use FLAC music stored on a 1Tb SSD card.

If I occasionally want to use my own Netflix subscription or watch YouTube then this is also via the hotspot.

I preferred the black-grey-white Nav map rather than the Google earth version and as for traffic aware routing, this still applies even though the map doesn't display it visually.

 

[GRiLLA]

When 12 month free premium connectivity ended I upgraded my phone plan to unlimited data for an additional £7/month which in my case gives much more flexibility than £9.99 just for the car - I listen to a lot of music on the go & already have a family plan for Amazon Music Unlimited HD.

In the car I use a hotspot to either stream via Bluetooth (helpfully, the controls on the Tesla screen allow forward/skip-back etc without needing to touch the phone) or use FLAC music stored on a 1Tb SSD card.

If I occasionally want to use my own Netflix subscription or watch YouTube then this is also via the hotspot.

I preferred the black-grey-white Nav map over the Google earth version and as for traffic aware routing, this still applies even though the map doesn't display it visually.

Do you get along with the Amazon Music app, on my phone I bounce between different free trials so end up using them all and Amazon is hands-down the worst. Super clunky offline experience, dreadful 'radio' track selection and ironically has the worst integration with the Amazon FireTV connected to my main TV/Speakers. TBH I'll be glad when this 3 month trial ends.

Sure they have the HD quality options, but that's super awkward to get to work, and certainly isn't worth it over Bluetooth.

 

[WannabeOwner]

I preferred the black-grey-white Nav map rather than the Google earth version

Me too, but I do use Google Earth / Satellite for e.g. central London so I can zoom in and get a better feel for which turning I need to take when surrounded by angry traffic. Bit of a narrow use-case though ...

even though the map doesn't display it visually.

I find Waze, on phone, is more up-to-date ... actually, sometimes "one more than the other" so 2x sources helps - although one of them will be wrong, and the other right , so flip-a-coin ... I'm normally just going where Waze tells me - assuming it knows the traffic status ... but occasionally I'll take a view based on "available map traffic flow data". But I'm not sure that Tesla's real-time-traffic is from a sufficiently good data source to make it worth paying for, so for folk sat on the fence about the SUB then using something like Waze might be "better" anyway

 

[WannabeOwner]

BH I'll be glad when this 3 month trial ends

If there is no option to "leave early" that sounds like a particularly lousy trial !!

 

[Destructis5150]

I like having it. When I travel, if the destination or other chargers are in use, I typically park across from the chargers. Then I can check the sentry camera every now and then to see when the spots open.

 

[GRiLLA]

If there is no option to "leave early" that sounds like a particularly lousy trial !!

It's a free trial, so no point leaving but a perfect opportunity to moan about it. Couldn't ever see myself paying for it over any of the other services.

 

[Adopado]

My Samsung S22 phone has a feature to share internet via Bluetooth (under mobile hotspot and tethering menu)
I'm wondering if this works with the Tesla ?

Can anyone with a Samsung and mobile hotspot check this out ?

The car can link to a phone wifi hotspot (all phones do it). Alternatively you can just be connected to the car via Bluetooth and listen to music from your phone on the car, of course.

 

[Drew57]

Do you get along with the Amazon Music app, on my phone I bounce between different free trials so end up using them all and Amazon is hands-down the worst. Super clunky offline experience, dreadful 'radio' track selection and ironically has the worst integration with the Amazon FireTV connected to my main TV/Speakers. TBH I'll be glad when this 3 month trial ends.

Sure they have the HD quality options, but that's super awkward to get to work, and certainly isn't worth it over Bluetooth.

Maybe because I've been using it for several years, I don't have any issues. Select an artist or Album, play the first track and then it continues indefinitely, adding other similar music from the same genre when the original selection ends, as does Spotify.

I alternate between Uncut, Mojo, Shindig and Prog Rock magazines & listen to a lot of quite obscure music, liking the fact that Amazon Unlimited always seems to have what I want on the day of release. Several other relatives also share the Family plan so that suits us all, especially as some prefer the simplicity of listening via Echo devices.

The HD option is not relevant in the car because Bluetooth reduces everything to a low bitrate but I still find it perfectly acceptable when on the move with the accompanying road-noise soundtrack. However when using good quality headphones directly to the iPhone or especially if played via a DAC into my HiFi then HD Ultra sounds extremely good.

A good friend uses Qobuz and this offers exceptional quality but limited to a singe account and it has a more restricted selection than Amazon so all things considered I am extremely happy with the flexibility and quality (when needed) it offers.