Streaming Explanation

[dusty22]

I am a novice at this and don't know the basics. Can someone explain how streaming works in these cars? I have a 22 M3 LR with premium connectivity.

I'm not blaming the car but I would like to understand the 'mechanics' of streaming so I can better understand any anomalies I come across.

Over the past 12 months, on a route I frequently travel, there is a half a mile section of road where I sometimes lose any song I'm playing. I try something else but all streaming stops. The bars on the signal strength don't seem to change. I have also lost the google map a couple of times but that doesn't always happen when the music stops. Then there are times when everything works well at this same spot. I even took a test drive in a new M3 standard range and the same thing happened at the same place.

I suspect some type of electrical interference. The area is mostly residential and the road passes through an intersection that contains the usual small businesses; 7-11, Starbucks, Bank, Hardware etc. All of this is in a large, population dense suburban area with extensive cellular coverage.

 

[E90alex]

What do you mean mechanics of streaming? It pulls the music from the cloud through an LTE data connection just like your cell phone would. If the data connection is poor or congested then it won’t be able to download the song or maps or do anything else that requires data.

Since it happens regularly at the same spot with different cars then it’s some issue with the AT&T LTE network in that area. Could be signal interference or congestion or network throttling or any number of things. A (postpaid) cell phone will typically have higher network priority and likely better antennae and modems so therefore get better signal/data speeds than the Tesla can.

 

[dusty22]

What do you mean mechanics of streaming? It pulls the music from the cloud through an LTE data connection just like your cell phone would. If the data connection is poor or congested then it won’t be able to download the song or maps or do anything else that requires data.

Since it happens regularly at the same spot with different cars then it’s some issue with the AT&T LTE network in that area. Could be signal interference or congestion or network throttling or any number of things. A (postpaid) cell phone will typically have higher network priority and likely better antennae and modems so therefore get better signal/data speeds than the Tesla can.

Mechanics, like how it works. Your answer is a good start. I had no idea where the music came from when I bought this car. I figured some of it out over a year's time; for example the LTE connection. I assume that if I travel to areas with sporadic cell coverage, the music will come or go. Or, does the car download some of the content and the music will play for awhile and then stop until i get near a cell tower again.

 

[E90alex]

It’s not a constant live stream like a zoom call if that’s what you’re asking. The app will buffer a certain amount just like any smartphone streaming app, but how much is not exactly known and will vary depending on the app/service. I’ve seen reports that the Tesla Streaming buffers one song at a time but it’s not specifically documented by Tesla anywhere that I know of.