We all can decide whether the upgrade is worth it based on how we value it. I have a late Feb 2018 S so I wish I had taken delivery a month or so later or Tesla would give a prorated discount. Due to the pandemic I have been driving a lot more to SoCal instead of flying the last few months and the black screen came up on every drive, the Service Center told me it has nothing to do with the eMMC or display but they will check so I basically told them just to order the upgrade for me so I don't have to keep guessing and worrying. I doubt Tesla will ever give a free or discounted MCU2 upgrade due to the recall request and even if it may in the future I do not want to wait. I need my car functioning properly as I need navigation and climate control working on road trips so for me the 2500.00 is just the cost that I have to pay for my purpose, expensive or not. I just hope they would have it done for me soon as I need the car in another month or so for trips down SoCal.
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Tesla infotainment system upgradeable from MCU1 to MCU2
- Thread starter MurrayJimW
- Start date
Ostrichsak
Well-Known Member
Slow yes but at least it worked. I haven't had a browser session work at any speed in any of the MCU1 Teslas I own in years.
Browser used to actually work. not great but it did. People used waze on it. I also heard people on here say the OG model S concept they showed them running youtube on the MCU. Now it doesn't load anything, often just a white screen.
Personally if mcu2 upgrade was less than $1K, I wouldn't think otherwise. But 2500 + 500 for FM, I'm out. I might just opt for the emmc replacement. It currently does everything I need it to. Smoother map scrolling, searching, and a web browser with a few games is not worth $3000. Heck I rather save that money to buy an over priced 3080 gaming computer and enjoy games in the comfort of my room. For the rest, I will use my phone when I am road tripping.
mspohr
Well-Known Member
Waze stopped working because Google changed their code. You tube has never worked on MCU1.
FlatSix911
Porsche 918 Hybrid
I have not been able to run Waze on MCU1 for the last month... a frozen screen and failure to load any images. Very disappointing Tesla!
whitex
Well-Known Member
Waze worked just fine on MCU1 in 2013, even 2015. Somewhere around v9 Tesla starter writing software for MCU2, with MCU1 being an afterthought. Owning a 4 year old Tesla is worse than owning a 4 year old iPhone, the updates are still coming, but they were written for much more capable hardware. At least on a 4 year old iPhone the browser still works.
mspohr
Well-Known Member
Waze stopped working because Google changed the maps and code. Check the Waze thread for all the ugly details
Youtube never worked on production. But there has been discussion on here. People have seen the concept model s mcu running youtube fine. I personally can't verify that though
FlatSix911
Porsche 918 Hybrid
I believe this issue was fixed last year... Waze was working with MCU 1 until December 2020.
whitex
Well-Known Member
Perhaps Waze changed, however I had a simple static page (no scripting or anything else fancy, plain old HTML) running on IIS until last year which also stopped working when v9 rolled out except once in a blue moon (perhaps once every couple of weeks), while I changed NOTHING on the site. So Waze changing code was just coincidental to Tesla breaking the browser. Contacting Tesla Service I got the familiar statement along the lines of "it is a known problem, we recommend factory reset, or wait and it might get fixed in the next update soon".
PS> I got Waze working on MCU1 once in 2020, right after I did a factory reset after replacing emmc - it stopped working the very next day, so maybe google changed Waze back just for one day in 2020?
mspohr
Well-Known Member
I'm sure you understand that it is unlikely that anything changed with the browser for one day and much more likely that the inconsistent results you observed were due to local factors. The MCU1 browser has always been slow and has resisted any efforts to improve it... most likely due to the underlying hardware insufficiency. Many are quick to blame Tesla for any random problem they observe. However, reading this thread reminds me of the story of the blind men and the elephant. Lots of people with limited information trying to make sense of the beast... except the blind men didn't blame the elephant.Perhaps Waze changed, however I had a simple static page (no scripting or anything else fancy, plain old HTML) running on IIS until last year which also stopped working when v9 rolled out except once in a blue moon (perhaps once every couple of weeks), while I changed NOTHING on the site. So Waze changing code was just coincidental to Tesla breaking the browser. Contacting Tesla Service I got the familiar statement along the lines of "it is a known problem, we recommend factory reset, or wait and it might get fixed in the next update soon".
PS> I got Waze working on MCU1 once in 2020, right after I did a factory reset after replacing emmc - it stopped working the very next day, so maybe google changed Waze back just for one day in 2020?
The fix for the MCU1 problems is MCU2.
Ostrichsak
Well-Known Member
It's not my responsibility to spend thousands of dollars to keep basic & fundamental functionality of the car I bought functional.
Those with an MCU1 would argue a better understanding of MCU1's hardware limitations to know what "upgrades" they ask of it via software is the job of the Tesla engineers. Farts, games and all sorts of ancillary things should have been left out. People want to argue that it's "not that much resource dedication" but each one is a drop in a buck and eventually that bucket fills. In this case it took years but it's a great example of better understanding what hardware platforms are capable of what features/options and being more selective of what firmware versions what hardware platforms get.
Ask anyone with an MCU1 and no plans to upgrade if they'd love a more stable version of their OS that omits a lot of the ancillary options that they rarely use and I think you'll get a resounding & consistent answer.
There - fixed that for you. The Intel Atom processor powering the MCU2 is certainly no powerhouse but it is better than the Tegra in the MCU1.
MUCH more than just a faster processor...
MCU2 is a more powerful Media Control Unit, which enables a smoother user interface and features that aren’t available on MCU1. As for the hardware differences, MCU1 is equipped with NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 processor while MCU2 is based on Intel’s Atom E8000 Series CPU. From a technical standpoint, these are two entirely different architectures.
MCU2 is a more powerful Media Control Unit, which enables a smoother user interface and features that aren’t available on MCU1. As for the hardware differences, MCU1 is equipped with NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 processor while MCU2 is based on Intel’s Atom E8000 Series CPU. From a technical standpoint, these are two entirely different architectures.
whitex
Well-Known Member
Yes, we know that Elon's universal fix for all that breaks is just buy a new Tesla. To him a new Tesla is the same as new running shoes to most of us.
mspohr
Well-Known Member
whitex
Well-Known Member
No, $2,500 won't even get you a Tesla MCU2 "fix" with FM radio.
HenryT
Active Member
No, $2,500 won't even get you a Tesla MCU2 "fix" with FM radio.
...or a night-time reversing camera.
