Updates and Unaware Tesla Owners

[mtndrew1]

I have never seen that message. I have seen messages from the car saying there is an update available and asking me when it should schedule installing it. But maps updates? I've never seen a message about that. I wonder if there is a setting I don't have turned on for the maps?

If your car has regular access to WiFi then we’re talking about different things.

When exclusively on cellular the car should notify owners that an update will come through if they connect the car to WiFi. It does so for maps.

If you are receiving a message to schedule your update then your car has already downloaded it and there’s nothing to notify you of other than you need to install it.

The discussion here is about owners who have no idea that they would be receiving an update if only they would connect to WiFi.

 

[neptunesfinest]

I personally haven't connected my car to wifi since i live in a condo and my parking spot is out of range. That said, I've received 4-5 software updates over LTE since late October when I took delivery. I've never received any notifications asking me to connect to wifi for map updates though.

 

[ModelNforNerd]

.50 seems to be rolling out right now, but my car is at the detailer and not on wifi....so I'll probably have to wait until I get it back to download it.

I'm on 48.12.1 though...so I'm not complaining.

 

[Chris350]

I'm sitting at 48.12.1 also....

I haven't received an update via LTE in months.... Only over Wifi (car is connected to WiFi maybe 3 nights a week between 11pm and 8am).

 

[mswlogo]

I'm sitting at 48.12.1 also....

I haven't received an update via LTE in months.... Only over Wifi (car is connected to WiFi maybe 3 nights a week between 11pm and 8am).

It’s sounds like what folks are saying is once the cars sees you regularly on WiFi it will wait until it sees WiFi again for subsequent updates. If that’s what Tesla does, it makes perfect sense. It would use the least LTE bandwidth (which Tesla pays for) and most customers would update promptly on either. It’s those that transition for long period on and off WiFi that take a hit.

Now what does it take to forget past history of being on WiFi. Who knows. Maybe unpair it from WiFi. If it has no pairings it would have to know WiFi isn’t an option.

 

[TexasEV]

Oh horrors, some owners are driving around with firmware that’s a few months old!

@Chris350, many owners here including yourself apparently are eager to have the absolute latest update, some even too eager, but I don’t think that’s true for the average user now that Tesla is past the early adopter stage. What they care about is the car works as intended. When they have a problem Tesla will push the latest firmware if that’s the issue, and if they take the car for service the service center updates it routinely. Until then, so what?

Tesla knows what firmware version every car is on. If it’s a problem then Tesla will deal with it.

 

[Kichwas]

What possible better method could there be?
- noting that one feature of v9 is updating from you phone precisely to answer that question...

There are people on the road today driving ICE cars that have a driver airbag full of metal shrapnel...
A recall has existed for years to fix that...
At least in a Tesla the potential to actually tell that driver to get it fixed exists...
- And I know that’s a hardware analogy I am mapping to a software story here... But only because the same is true for software in most ICE cars... obvious example being folks driving around with outdated GPS... my brother actually strapped a Garmond GPS in front of the car GPS on his old ranger...
My old Jetta had all kinds of stereo issues... and my only recourse was a dealer visit... often when I went in for service they’d tell me they could also fix an assortment of “minor recalls” that nobody had bothered to notify me of because they were for little things like a defective sensor or... computer software upgrade...

 

[RayK]

I am aware of updates. I have received one successful update about a month after getting the car (7/3/18). I believe that one was done over LTE; I was playing with the vehicle's WiFi at the time but I have a very low signal in my driveway from my home access point. A couple of weeks ago I went to the Santa Clara service center and asked them to push the latest update to me (I'm still on 28.1). I received the notification of an update while in their parking lot and scheduled it to update in the early morning the next day. When I got in the car there was a notice of a failed update. Since then there have been no indications of another update being downloaded/scheduled. A month ago I tried linking the car to my phone's hotspot. Left the phone inside the car overnight but it never got an update. Planning to call or go back to the service center and ask for another push.

If anyone is wondering why I'm considering updating my car, after saying for some time that I wasn't interested, it's because I have a new fob and need to update. Otherwise I'm happy with what I have now.

 

[EldestOyster]

So, if a download has failed, and there's nothing we can do to restart it, and it can only be restarted from the service network....sounds like it's up to the folks who created all this to work out which vehicles have old firmware (or haven't been heard from) and issue a restart. Assuming it's as important to them as it is to the O.P.

 

[ProphetM]

I'm on firmware version 48.1 and have been waiting over 3 weeks since that update for 48.12 with the new easter eggs. I'm connected to wifi in my garage every night. The signal was kind of weak so I bought a range extender for better signal. That's been active for nearly a week and still nothing. I've never gotten notification of a failed update, though. The last update I got pulled down by the car was 42.2. At least a month went by and several new firmware versions, none of which I received, until finally I asked a local Tesla tech who had 48.1 pushed to me. I'm at a loss to explain why I can't seem to get the newer updates. I'm going to ask for another push again soon as they're up to 50 now. I really wish there was a way to tell the car to check for updates.

 

[lolder]

You do not necessarily get all the updates others are reporting. The times you get them may vary.

 

[angelman]

I wonder if I can drive to the local Tesla SC and use their free wifi to try and trigger an update... I just want to play pole position damn it!