Tesla app won't work on my workplace Wi-Fi

[sweetneet]

the Tesla app on my phone won't at all while connected to the Wi-Fi here at my workplace. It says there is no internet connection (says "check internet connection"). though everything else on my phone (chrome, etc) works fine.

this has nothing to do with the car itself, as this happened before i got the car too - Tesla app woudln't work over my employer's wifi. i have to disable Wi-Fi on my phone and then the app will work fine over LTE. though now that i have the car and i want to be able to get alerts/notifications throughout the day, i'd rather not have to do this...i'm here for 9+ hours 5 days a week, it's going to be eating tons of my data if i just disable wi-fi the entire time (not just this app, but everything else i have to use my phone for during the day)

Any suggestions? from reddit searches i've found people with similar issue with the app on their home wifi, and found out that if the wifi uses a certain scheme, the tesla app will not be able to connect, and thus changing that scheme solved the issue. but i can't change anything about my workplace's wifi obviously.

in my case, the app works totally fine at my home wi-fi, just not the one at work. i have had this exact problem with a few other phone apps (e.g. a MindBody type app for booking exercise classes) so i know it's not unique to Tesla. i just wish i knew a good solution other than having to disable wifi whenever i want to use the Tesla app.

 

[ckoval7]

What is your work place's policy for blocking certain websites?

 

[sweetneet]

What is your work place's policy for blocking certain websites?

it blocks Gmail and other mail sites like yahoo (due to security concerns over potential incoming viruses etc). doesn't block things like facebook, youtube, etc.

eta: you bring up a really good point though - perhaps i need to talk with IT here and point out the issue and see what can be done. i know our IT dept has said before we can put in request to allow access to certain sites that are automatically blocked if it makes sense (and can supply reasoning/explanation for need of use).

 

[notAnExpert]

Sounds like your workplace’s network firewall is the cause. Talk to your help desk/system administrator to see if they have the flexibility to change their firewall settings to allow the apps to work.

The larger the organization you are in, the less flexible they tend to be.

A fallback approach would be to try to get on a VPN to which your workplace network might be able to connect and use the apps while on VPN. But that’s a bit more involved and a bit of a hassle.

Sometimes, companies have a less restricted semi-public WiFi for guests. If that’s available, perhaps you can add your phone to that network instead of the regular corporate WiFi.

 

[srs5694]

To elaborate a bit on @notAnExpert's reply, many workplaces implement firewalls that can block Internet traffic based on any number of criteria. These can include the port being used and the network address being accessed.

A network port is tied to a specific type of service, such as e-mail, unencrypted Web (HTTP), encrypted Web (HTTPS), etc. I've never looked into what the Tesla app uses. If it communicates via HTTP or HTTPS, it should work on any network that permits those protocols, which likely includes most workplace WiFi setups, so long as Tesla's address isn't blocked (see the next paragraph). If Tesla's app communicates via some other network port, though, then it could easily be blocked if your workplace blocks all ports but a few by default.

Similarly for network addresses. Some employers restrict employee Internet access so that they don't goof off at work or access risky sites. A blacklist might block certain specific sites (like Facebook or known malware sites), whereas a whitelist approach blocks everything except the few sites that are allowed (maybe the company's own sites and those of partners or sites deemed "legitimate" for use by the employees when at work). If your work is running a blacklist configuration, then somebody would have to have explicitly targeted Tesla's address for exclusion. This seems a bit odd, but it might have happened by mistake or because of some bizarre circumstances, like if Tesla took over an IP address that was previously used by a malware distributor. Tesla's address would most likely not be on a whitelist unless another employee had a Tesla and already asked to have it added, so if the site is locked-down enough to be using a whitelist, I'd expect the Tesla app to not work. If you employer is big into security, like (I'd hope) most defense contractors, then you may be looking at a whitelist, and it may be a struggle to get them to add Tesla's site to the whitelist.

Either way, as @notAnExpert suggests, you'll need help from your IT department to get it working more smoothly, unless perhaps you can use a VPN. Your employer might frown on that solution, though, and it might not work in any event, since the VPN providers might well be blocked, too. If a network has tight security, it's likely for a good reason, and trying to work around it with a VPN could get you in hot water, and maybe even fired.

 

[jmaddr]

The VPN is a good suggestion but the best would be to get your workplace to allow the Tesla app. If they filter based on IP address alone, that might be technically difficult for them as Tesla uses AWS which means the IP address can change without notice.

Assuming your can't get this to work through your work, IOS 13 supports automation shortcuts that will automatically run when an app is launched. So you launch the Tesla app, you can have IOS automatically shut down the wifi. Then it will wait X seconds and automatically re-enable. As fas as I can tell, it cannot execute on app minimize. If you have Android, Tasker should be able to to the same.

So Launch Tesla, wifi is disabled automatically for...say...90 seconds then it's turned back on.

 

[jleung]

Having the same problem with eero 6 . The latest update 6.1.2 messd it up. Thanks for the VPN suggestion, it works with VPN on. Contacted eero for fix.

 

[JCtx]

If you have reception, just disable Wi-Fi when you need to access the app, which shouldn't be for more than a minute, just to check charge, maybe lock car, etc. Many times Wi-Fi is restricted at work places, clinics, etc. Not a big deal is you have reception. Otherwise, it could be .