Tunein podcast Loading Error

[DougIngraham]

(Apologies if you also saw this on Teslas forum.)

This probably also applies to Model X.

I haven't seen this issue anywhere else except when trying to play podcasts under Tunein. My commute is only about 15 minutes so it takes me several days to get through an hour or longer podcast. Usually a new one will load up and play fine. But after several partial playings the application will either reset to the beginning of the podcast or give "Loading Error" upon entering the vehicle. Once you get loading error there doesn't seem to be any way to force it to reset. I have tried resetting the car, both screens and individually to no affect. Other podcasts can still be started unless they had previously seen the loading error. If anyone has a solution I would like to hear about it. From web searches it appears to have started in November of 2016. I noticed it a couple of months after that. I have seen it specifically with "Talking Tesla", "Science Friday", "Radio Lab", "PBS News Hour". I don't doubt that it will occur with any podcast if you pause play or exit the vehicle and turn it off several times.

Makes me nervous about trusting autopilot when simple bugs never seem to get fixed.

I love my Models S. Best car ever but these bugs are really annoying me. I would work for Tesla if I thought I would be allowed to actually fix stuff.

 

[Haxster]

I've seen the same "Loading Error" on my December 2016 S with some of those podcasts, as well as "Petting Porcupines", "Holding your Breath", "Global Cooling", and "Running Backwards".

Also, regardless on how I'm connected, the internet response brings back memories of my 2400 Baud modem. I wonder if these are related.

Hopefully, people living in "Rapid" City get faster internet speeds in their Teslas.

 

[scot]

Same issue here. This morning it was WTF. Select it in a different way and I could get one episode to play, bbut couldn't see a list of podcasts for WTF. Rebooting didn't work. Everything else worked just fine.

Frustrating.

 

[MMinehan]

I have the same issue. But a MCU reboot (holding down both selector wheels) seems to fix the problem if a particular TuneIn podcast (like Talking Tesla) gets the loading error. It's very annoying though.

 

[steinss6]

I've only had my S for a few weeks, but have experienced the podcast loading error consistently. Very frustrating. Today I figured out the work-around. If I select the Podcast from my favorites or recent screen, I get the loading error. If I go back to the "Anything" search box, type the name of the podcast, then select it, it will play fine. It will also pause and resume when I get in and out of the car. It's pretty annoying that I can't just push the "favorites" podcast button and make it play, but at least I can get it to play now.

 

[SteelSully]

Hate to beat a dead horse on this topic, but I have a June 2016 MS 75 and I've had the TuneIn 'Loading Error' problem for quite some time. For a couple podcasts (e.g., Stuff You Should Know, TechStuff, Talking Tesla, Pod Save America) there is literally NOTHING I can do to get them to play anymore.

I've tried all the suggestions (rebooting both screens, flipping through ALL the episodes, removing them from my favorites, using the 'search' bar, switching to the radio & slacker and back, using WiFi, refreshing over and over, etc...) I even called Tesla support about this issue and they said there was probably just something going on with those particular podcast(s). Its been going on for over three months now and every now and then (like tonight) I'll sit in my car for 5-10 minutes trying to get them to play again with no luck.

Tesla also suggested that I call TuneIn to open a case with them, but I feel like this is a lost cause. I used to listen to all of these podcasts on a daily basis until this started happened. Occasionally when a new 'Talking Tesla' podcast comes out I can start listening again, but as soon as I turn off my car and attempt to resume an episode - there is a 80-90% chance that the 'Loading Error' message comes up again.

Not a huge deal (only problem I've had so far with my car, so I'm not complaining!), but would love to get this fixed eventually... Any ideas?

Luckily our new Tesla Service Center in Richmond, VA opens at the end of the month, so I plan on showing them the issue soon...

 

[utvol3287]

i have this issue as well. it happened before and now after i just got my 50K mile service done. i even asked the tech to take a look at it while they were doing the service. long story short, it is not playing any podcasts. if anyone has a result at actually fixes the problem, please let me know. thank you in adavnace.

 

[Jagwease]

I contacted Tune In a couple of months back after Tesla telephone support told me,"we just provide the capability, not whether it works" or words to that effect. The service center told me that was not the Tesla way and marked it as a "concern," and that others had made the same complaint.

Tune in replied with this e-mail:

"Thank you for reaching out to us! We are aware of some podcasts failing for listeners in their Tesla and are working with Tesla to get the issue resolved as soon as possible. Sorry for the inconvenience!

In the meantime, the best way to listen to podcasts in your car is by downloading the app for your mobile device, and connecting to your infotainment system through an auxiliary cord or Bluetooth.

We appreciate your patience! And please feel free to reach out if you have any further questions or concerns."

The good news is after the last update I no longer get the "Loading Error" message, now it just simply spins and spin and spins and spins.

Still does not work.

 

[SteelSully]

The good news is after the last update I no longer get the "Loading Error" message, now it just simply spins and spin and spins and spins.

Still does not work.

Interesting... I received the 2017.32.6 update late last week too and when I was driving to work this morning I noticed I was not getting the usual "Loading Error" with the SYSK podcast (I try it once a week or so, just for the hell of it). I was so excited that I let it spin for about half my commute until I realized that it wasn't going to work after all. Well, I guess the positive news is at least they are finally acknowledging and attempting to tackle this particular issue...

Or perhaps they are just trying to rebrand the problem from "Loading Error" to "Spin Cycle".

 

[Jagwease]

Interesting... I received the 2017.32.6 update late last week too and when I was driving to work this morning I noticed I was not getting the usual "Loading Error" with the SYSK podcast (I try it once a week or so, just for the hell of it). I was so excited that I let it spin for about half my commute until I realized that it wasn't going to work after all. Well, I guess the positive news is at least they are finally acknowledging and attempting to tackle this particular issue...

Or perhaps they are just trying to rebrand the problem from "Loading Error" to "Spin Cycle".

That is my "go to" podcast to see if it will work.

I talked to Tesla phone support (Texas, you don't get to talk to the service centers,grrr Texas lege), and the tech talked to me for about 10 minutes about what was happening and how things changed, and took my logs (I do "Bug Report" every time they fail to load) and is forwarding to the programming team.

I recommend EVERYONE who has this problem contact Tech support about this issue so it is just not some crazy Texan complaining about it for months. Squeaky wheel, grease, you get the drift.

 

[zdre]

I have had this issue as long as I can remember, had local SC log a ticket with engineering, but it is still not fixed.

 

[StoXto3toY]

Same problem here..has gotten progressively worse. SC shurgs their shoulders..no real help..mcu likely being changed out for other issue soon so hopefully that resolves it.

 

[OBX John]

Glad to see I'm not the only one. I've been using the phone workaround, but why is it so hard for Tesla to play podcasts?

 

[Emcsquared]

My 2012 has had the same issue for the past year I have owned her.

 

[CinRedMan]

New owner; took delivery of 2017 MS on 9/20.

My number#1 complaint is the "infotainment" system and I'm struggling to determine if my experience indicates a problem or the "norm".

1. Speaker/Sound system (normal sound system) is poor compared to my 2004 BMW 330Ci with HK sound. Research indicates this is due to the light-weight speakers
2. LTE speed is a joke. Reminds me of AOL dial-up on a 1400baud modem. My iPhone connected to LTE 50x faster on the same exact sites. Planning to run some speed tests via dslreports to capture actual data
3. This then contributes to the following
   1. Intune playback fails
   2. Podcast; often fail to load, jumps from current to past episodes, doesn't remember last listening position.
   3. Slacker - don't get me started with slacker; huge disappointment.
4. WiFI reception (radio strength) is also extremely poor.
5. Web Browser - complete waste of time; source of anger and frustration. Thought to myself, if only I could force it to "text only" browsing... (yea, I'm old)
6. iPhone/iPod integration - horrible, even the basics are missing (note, the point is to NOT have to hold/look at phone, so don't suggest I solve this by picking up the phone!!)
   1. Browse music, playlists
   2. Access podcast
   • Note: Siri commands do work...milage my vary

 

[SteelSully]

Yep, unfortunately most of your initial observations are pretty accurate...

1) I came from a 2002 BMW 330Ci with HK sound too, and I agree the basic MS sound system doesn't compare. I quickly realized it was severely lacking on the low frequency end and soon had an aftermarket JL TW3 12" sub with a JL XD600 Watt amp installed that fit like a glove in the rear right compartment next to my rear-facing seats. It looks incredible and sounds even better. The audio shop owner admitted that they wished they had used the 10" TW3 instead (since it was such a tight fit and took them several days in parts and labor to build the custom box to the exact specs), but it only cost me $1500 for everything. Now it BLOWS away my old BMW HK system - clean and tight bass with solid medium and high ranges and I even have a little knob next to my USB ports where I can turn the gain up and down if needed when the kids are in the car (usually up per their request, not down ). Glad I went down this route instead of getting the Tesla premium sound package or getting the aftermarket NVK subwoofer. I got a much better sub, amp and sound for the same price... Someday I might upgrade the regular speakers too, but it is more than adequate now - PROBLEM SOLVED!

2) Yes, it is a joke - especially when you use the browser (and the map can be rather slow too when using satellite imagery). I've had the same thoughts around a 'text only' browser view mode, but I noticed that when I have it hooked up to my fast WiFi at home, it isn't much better. From what I've read, this is mainly due to the fact that the browser code itself is junk. I've heard rumors that Tesla is working on a new version, but I'm not holding my breath.

3) I have the same problems with TuneIn Podcasts and the 'Loading Error' issues, but it only seems to chronically affect certain podcasts - like Stuff You Should Know, Pod Save America, etc... I've since accepted this 'bug' and have discovered some new podcasts that keep me entertained during my commute. I also have the same issue where sometimes it forgets my last listening position and have just gotten around this by taking a quick look at the podcast timer before I exit the car, so if it happens to forget later - it only takes me a few seconds to recover.

4) If you are talking about the WiFi reception strength - yes, it's weak too but I always had questionable WiFi coverage in my garage. I've recently installed Google WiFi (mesh network) in my house and now I have full coverage and 'bars' throughout my house (garage, attic, basement, etc...) If you are talking about the regular radio AM/FM reception, it seems fine to me - but I rarely listen to the radio now. I actually love Slacker - 95% of the time when I want to listen to a particular song it gets it right and I enjoy the playlists it creates (and if I don't - its easy enough to scroll through a couple songs). I guess because I didn't have anything remotely close to this on my BMW (other than using my phone), I'm very happy with it - the kids love shouting out requests too, they are ALL about the bass.

5) Yep, see #2 above - I actually tried reading your post when I was driving home the other day. My commute is ~25 minutes and I actually ended up just giving up and went inside my house to jump on my iMac to read the rest. I use the browser strictly for the custom Tesla websites that were built to support it - e.g, Waze for Telsa (https://tesla-waze.excelsis.com), Tesla Weather (Tesla Weather), and the route planner (A Better Routeplanner). They all work OK (not great, just OK.)

6) I've only heard negative reviews about the iPhone integration, so I haven't even bothered to do anything but charge my iPhone in my car (now that works great, lol), view my daily work calendar and listen to Audible for long road trips.

So, yeah, I would say all your complaints are perfectly valid and I'm experiencing the same thing, but everything else is so awesome about the MS that I still can't wipe the smile off my face when driving it and I STILL find myself always looking back when walking into work to admire its style and beauty.

If Tesla eventually fixes any of these problems mentioned above, it will just be icing on the cake for me!!!

 

[XiomyB]

New owner; took delivery of 2017 MS on 9/20.

My number#1 complaint is the "infotainment" system and I'm struggling to determine if my experience indicates a problem or the "norm".

1. Speaker/Sound system (normal sound system) is poor compared to my 2004 BMW 330Ci with HK sound. Research indicates this is due to the light-weight speakers
2. LTE speed is a joke. Reminds me of AOL dial-up on a 1400baud modem. My iPhone connected to LTE 50x faster on the same exact sites. Planning to run some speed tests via dslreports to capture actual data
3. This then contributes to the following
   1. Intune playback fails
   2. Podcast; often fail to load, jumps from current to past episodes, doesn't remember last listening position.
   3. Slacker - don't get me started with slacker; huge disappointment.
4. WiFI reception (radio strength) is also extremely poor.
5. Web Browser - complete waste of time; source of anger and frustration. Thought to myself, if only I could force it to "text only" browsing... (yea, I'm old)
6. iPhone/iPod integration - horrible, even the basics are missing (note, the point is to NOT have to hold/look at phone, so don't suggest I solve this by picking up the phone!!)
   1. Browse music, playlists
   2. Access podcast
   • Note: Siri commands do work...milage my vary

I am sad to say I've had the same issues since my 2017 model S was delivered late September. I'm incredibly disappointed at the LTE and how often the GPS is offline. I love the car but I am seriously questioning my choice with all this annoying little system bugs.

 

[SteelSully]

I am sad to say I've had the same issues since my 2017 model S was delivered late September. I'm incredibly disappointed at the LTE and how often the GPS is offline. I love the car but I am seriously questioning my choice with all this annoying little system bugs.

Well, at least I'm glad to report that the "Loading Error" issue is now fixed in 2018.14! Have been able to play all podcasts (even those that never worked, such as TechStuff, SYSK, etc...) and haven't seen the loading error or 'wheels in the sky' issue since I received the upgrade late yesterday. Browser is much faster too (and renders properly for most sites now). And I'm consistently getting 8-10 Mbps via LTE now, which is vastly improved over my results with 2018.6.1 when I did the same test and got 300-500 Kbps.

 

[Jagwease]

UPDATE: IT now works - for now. No update on Tesla side. Maybe a Tune In fix

 

[YellowSpringer]

My hopes were high after reading the above but alas, no joy in MS-ville. The TYT podcast hasn't worked more than twice in the past year and even after 2018.14.2 it continues to give the 'Loading Error' msg. And speaking of 2018.14, my android can't talk to my M3 w/o obtaining a new IP address each time - a problem I didn't have before the update.