When will Tesla modernize OTA updates?

[jjrandorin]

Why can’t you set your phone up as a Wi-Fi hotspot and then connect the car to the phone?

OP covered that. They dont want to pay for the extra cellular data. That combination (cant / dont want to do wifi at parking space, also "wont" use cellphone as a hotspot as will not pay for a plan that includes enough data to download updates), is probably a small group.

 

[Geech72]

OP covered that. They dont want to pay for the extra cellular data. That combination (cant / dont want to do wifi at parking space, also "wont" use cellphone as a hotspot as will not pay for a plan that includes enough data to download updates), is probably a small group.

Yeah I saw that as soon as I hit send and updated my original post

 

[TSLY]

People side load stuff onto phones all the time, under the guise of "I want more control".

That's on them, they know what they're installing. You're making my point. Signed Tesla firmware, verified by the vehicle and app, is secure as today's WiFi updates.

I would say majority has access to WiFi in their garages. Actually, unless you park in condo parking lots, I don't know anyone who parks at home and doesn't have access to WiFi in their garage.

True. I live in a condo. The average condo equals 50 single family homes, some multitudes more. Do you know the ratio of condo dwellers vs single family Tesla owners? I sure don't.

 

[Undecided_2]

Tesla clings to an outdated, archaic, and inconvenient OTA method.

Archaic? Hardly! Would you prefer to visit a dealership and pay/waste time for software updates?

Hotspot your phone to the car. I do that and it’s not an inconvenience. I don’t have WiFi in the garage or a decent cell signal.

I struggle to see how a few bucks for some data is an issue when these cars cost north of $60k.

 

[Stuart Watson]

Another update? Another half hour wasted in a Century City mall garage pilfering free WiFi. And I'm not alone! I'd wager a majority of Tesla owner's can't access WiFi in their garages. Why can't Tesla firmware be DL'd to a cell phone (at the owner's convenience) so the owner can choose when and where to update their vehicle? It can but Tesla clings to an outdated, archaic, and inconvenient OTA method. One of my pet peeves.

That’s an odd comment.

Everyone I know, has fast Wi-Fi in their garage… many men lift weights there and have support for SONOS etc.

if your router doesn’t stretch, buy Ubiquiti kit.. its unbelievably good.

 

[Stuart Watson]

of all the complaints never thought I would hear OTA update is one of them. Ever tried Hyundai/Kia OTA update? Me neither, doesn't exist.

"I'd wager a majority of Tesla owner's can't access WiFi in their garages." - I would say majority has access to WiFi in their garages. Actually, unless you park in condo parking lots, I don't know anyone who parks at home and doesn't have access to WiFi in their garage.

The question should be 'who can't access WiFi in their garage AND has only 1GB data plan that needs to pay extra $30 a month to get more data to be able to hotspot'. This seems more likely to be a much smaller group...

This
Spot on. I agree

 

[TarmacSurfer]

It seems to me that the last few “updates” have been regressions and I haven’t really liked them. The fattened charge / discharge bar looks… well… fat. The new visualizations are better contrast-wise but still very primitive looking (good, but a long way to go). The elimination of the regenerative braking strength selection and corresponding weakening of the default regenerative breaking is horrible and has greatly diminished my enjoyment of driving the car. Other media features are okay but I don’t really use. Eliminating boombox was just dumb IMO. I really enjoyed it. I hope that there are many more behind-the-scenes / not immediately obvious things being tweaked too that enhance operation but all in all I do not get excited when I see the orange arrow appear on the display nowadays, it’s more like “what are they going to screw with or take away now?” with a sense of dread and irritation.

 

[TSLY]

Thanks for your feedback and input. This was a "day in the life" post written on impulse after spending an hour + driving to the mall and back after hot-spotting an update. Those who have WiFi in their garages aren't aware what an inconvenience this can be month after month, a dozen + times a year. For those in my situation I think Tesla can do more. That's the long and short of it.

 

[Geech72]

Thanks for your feedback and input. This was a "day in the life" post written on impulse after spending an hour + driving to the mall and back after hot-spotting an update. Those who have WiFi in their garages aren't aware what an inconvenience this can be month after month, a dozen + times a year. For those in my situation I think Tesla can do more. That's the long and short of it.

That does sound frustrating, but all kidding aside I would shop for another cell provider. My plan is < $50/line and we get 50Gb per month of Hotspot data. It's pretty standard practice to require software updates via WiFi. Both my Samsung cell phone and iPad require me to connect to wifi in order to update their firmwares. Tesla is pretty consistent with other tech companies.

 

[Undecided_2]

Thanks for your feedback and input. This was a "day in the life" post written on impulse after spending an hour + driving to the mall and back after hot-spotting an update. Those who have WiFi in their garages aren't aware what an inconvenience this can be month after month, a dozen + times a year. For those in my situation I think Tesla can do more. That's the long and short of it.

What about a MiFi box with a cheap pay as you go SIM 1gig data plan? If you have power in your garage you can plug it in and forget about it. I have one and it works great.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-M7350-Portable-Unlocked-management/dp/B06XC16QC1/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=mifi&qid=1656183482&sr=8-3

 

[GtiMart]

You're missing part of the security explanation. Letting users download the software on another device (your phone) makes it easier for you to tamper with it and inatall a modified version. What if you install a buggy autopilot, crash, and sue Tesla? It's still doable but at least they don't make it blatantly easy.

 

[ucmndd]

You're missing part of the security explanation. Letting users download the software on another device (your phone) makes it easier for you to tamper with it and inatall a modified version. What if you install a buggy autopilot, crash, and sue Tesla? It's still doable but at least they don't make it blatantly easy.

I don’t really think it makes tampering any easier. The firmware is cryptographically signed and verified with Tesla servers before it’s installed. Unless you have access to Tesla’s private key, you’re not installing pre-modified firmware on the car.

 

[qdeathstar]

I do use my phone as a hotspot. I have a by the gig plan and upgrading to an unlimited plan costs $30 more per month. Why should I pay $360 more per year just to update a car? If Tesla augmented/adopted my solution it would solve lots of problems.

I don’t think most people have your problems. I have wifi that reaches out to my driveway.

 

[Geech72]

I don’t really think it makes tampering any easier. The firmware is cryptographically signed and verified with Tesla servers before it’s installed. Unless you have access to Tesla’s private key, you’re not installing pre-modified firmware on the car.

It may however make it easier to create code that unlocks premium features. If tesla allows owners to load software from a usb device or card a third party that somehow gets access to that key could sell me a hacked firmware that enables FSD or AB at a fraction of the price that Tesla is charging for it.

 

[ucmndd]

It may however make it easier to create code that unlocks premium features. If tesla allows owners to load software from a usb device or card a third party that somehow gets access to that key could sell me a hacked firmware that enables FSD or AB at a fraction of the price that Tesla is charging for it.

If Tesla loses their private code signing key they have orders of magnitude larger problems than people stealing free FSD.

 

[Tensorflow]

I will say that Tesla needs to update the vehicle to be able to join hotspots that require authentication (usually by agreeing to terms of use). That would allow the car to use a lot more public hot spots (think hospitals, hotels, general city wifi hot spots, etc) and maybe a lot of work hot spots if they reach out into parking lots. Or even condo hot spots if they're provided in public areas.

This is probably due to security concerns. I’ve often been told I’m not supposed to use public wifi networks for work-related stuff because those networks are not secure.

 

[kelpcar]

You're missing part of the security explanation. Letting users download the software on another device (your phone) makes it easier for you to tamper with it and inatall a modified version. What if you install a buggy autopilot, crash, and sue Tesla? It's still doable but at least they don't make it blatantly easy.

I managed patching for a 200B company, like most of the S&P 500, downloading packages for Redhat variants of Linux. GPG signing works.

 

[Corndart]

People side load stuff onto phones all the time, under the guise of "I want more control". Sometimes the firmware they add is simply hacked / open source. Sometimes it has malware. In all cases they have to do it manually with root. An entire market would instantly spring up of people either openly or less openly selling "I can root your car and install this update that does X"

This entire thread starts with an interesting premise, with no data to back it up : "...majority of Tesla owners can't access WIFI in their garage".

Stepping back, the majority of people do no such thing with their phone, and would likely have even less interest in doing so with their vehicle. Personally, I have zero trust in the integrity of a rooted + sideloaded app phone, no sane person would do this to their vehicle IMNSHO.

 

[qdeathstar]

If Tesla loses their private code signing key they have orders of magnitude larger problems than people stealing free FSD.

It seems like you can modify at least some parts of the code without needing the key. I’m not a technical guru but the acceleration boost modifications being sold by third party seem to indicate is possible.

 

[Yelobird]

Thanks for your feedback and input. This was a "day in the life" post written on impulse after spending an hour + driving to the mall and back after hot-spotting an update. Those who have WiFi in their garages aren't aware what an inconvenience this can be month after month, a dozen + times a year. For those in my situation I think Tesla can do more. That's the long and short of it.

Seems like your driven to avoid any change on your position. In my area (and likely yours) every McDonalds, hotel, Starbucks, etc have WiFI. I often use it while driving in sales. Not really a difficult problem unless your dead set on making it someone else’s problem.