WiFi Connectivity

[billion]

This is my first post so any feedback from veteran users would be appreciated.

I purchased my 2017 Model X 100D 12/29/17 and have been very pleased. Many questions have been answered by this forum and I love the challenge of exploring ground breaking technology. There have been a few frustrations, including the need to periodically connect to WiFi for OS updates. In the few instances where I managed to get a connection, my WiFi would drop out. I discovered that my cable operator's 5 year old WiFi router was simply outdated. I'm sure others can offer a more detailed technical explanation, but replacing my home WiFi router fixed the problem.

My question has to do with the cable system's network of regional WiFi signals. AT&T's 3G service isn't the greatest here in the Tampa Bay area. Is it possible - or even desirable - to connect to the network of WiFi signals as I drive around? Will the system seamlessly pass from 3G to WiFi and back? Should I only use the secure parts of their network?

 

[NigelM]

You should have the LTE chip, not 3G. Anyway, looks like the streaming problem has now been fixed and a center console reboot is all you need:

LTE slowness

(FWIW, we've never had any problems in the Tampa Bay area)

 

[Aljohn]

@billion. The X will switch automatically between LTE cell signal and your Home WiFi (once you add your SSID and pass code to the WiFi profile). The ATT WiFi signals are various business usually have a unique SSID. I would not add them to the X's WiFi profile. Just operate on the two--your home WiFi, and ATT LTE.

In the case of your home WiFi, the router may be too far from the Garage. Check the WiFi signal strength at the top of the center screen when parkeed in your garage. If it is low (one or two lines of the WiFi arc) you can ditch the ATT provided router for something better, or get a range extender to boost the WiFi signal.

 

[BrettS]

For what it’s worth, it’s not necessary to connect to WiFi to get firmware updates. There is some anecdotal evidence that suggests that cars connected to WiFi may get updates faster and/or more frequently, but no one really knows how Tesla decides which cars get which updates. Cars with no WiFi connection will still get updated.

As far as trying to connect to public WiFi hotspots from the car, it is likely just going to cause frustration. WiFi has a very limited range and it takes a little while for the car and the access point to connect and authenticate and likely by the time this happens you will have driven out of range of the access point anyway. Your internet connection will drop as the car attempts to connect to different access points, so you will likely have very bad connectivity as you drive through an area with a number of hotspots. It can’t smoothly transfer from one to the other, but it will need to attempt to connect to each one individually.

 

[billion]

@billion. The X will switch automatically between LTE cell signal and your Home WiFi (once you add your SSID and pass code to the WiFi profile). The ATT WiFi signals are various business usually have a unique SSID. I would not add them to the X's WiFi profile. Just operate on the two--your home WiFi, and ATT LTE.

In the case of your home WiFi, the router may be too far from the Garage. Check the WiFi signal strength at the top of the center screen when parkeed in your garage. If it is low (one or two lines of the WiFi arc) you can ditch the ATT provided router for something better, or get a range extender to boost the WiFi signal.

 

[billion]

Thanks very much.

 

[billion]

For what it’s worth, it’s not necessary to connect to WiFi to get firmware updates. There is some anecdotal evidence that suggests that cars connected to WiFi may get updates faster and/or more frequently, but no one really knows how Tesla decides which cars get which updates. Cars with no WiFi connection will still get updated.

As far as trying to connect to public WiFi hotspots from the car, it is likely just going to cause frustration. WiFi has a very limited range and it takes a little while for the car and the access point to connect and authenticate and likely by the time this happens you will have driven out of range of the access point anyway. Your internet connection will drop as the car attempts to connect to different access points, so you will likely have very bad connectivity as you drive through an area with a number of hotspots. It can’t smoothly transfer from one to the other, but it will need to attempt to connect to each one individually.

 

[billion]

After installing the new home router yesterday, this morning I received a notice that I had updates to schedule. Success!

 

[Aljohn]

@billion Great to hear. As BrettS pointed out, WiFi connectivity is not required -- it will update on LTE just fine.

 

[Solarman004]

@billion , I don't think a WiFi connection while driving will work. In my Aug 2016 MX, I have tried using my Verizon hotspot in the car while driving. The car will connect to the hotspot while in park, but immediately disconnect when I start driving. It reconnects when I park again.
I concluded that the car shuts down WiFi while driving.

 

[BrettS]

@billion , I don't think a WiFi connection while driving will work. In my Aug 2016 MX, I have tried using my Verizon hotspot in the car while driving. The car will connect to the hotspot while in park, but immediately disconnect when I start driving. It reconnects when I park again.
I concluded that the car shuts down WiFi while driving.

There was a firmware update a while ago that modified the way the car behaves with WiFi while in drive. If you connect to a WiFi access point while you are in park the car will disconnect from it when you put the car in gear. I think they assume that you are going to be moving away from a stationary access point.

However, once the car is in gear you can reconnect to the access point and it will stay connected (at least in the case of a mobile hotspot that you don’t drive away from). I saw one post that suggested that once you do this the car will remember that it is a mobile access point and no longer disconnect when it is put in gear, but during my short time testing it seemed like I had to reconnect every time I switched out of park.

 

[Solarman004]

There was a firmware update a while ago that modified the way the car behaves with WiFi while in drive. If you connect to a WiFi access point while you are in park the car will disconnect from it when you put the car in gear. I think they assume that you are going to be moving away from a stationary access point.

However, once the car is in gear you can reconnect to the access point and it will stay connected (at least in the case of a mobile hotspot that you don’t drive away from). I saw one post that suggested that once you do this the car will remember that it is a mobile access point and no longer disconnect when it is put in gear, but during my short time testing it seemed like I had to reconnect every time I switched out of park.

@BrettS , great info. I'll give this a try. Thanks for the tip.
Still, for the OP the situation is different. I don't think the car will hop from WiFi to WiFi. Plus, you would need to have each network pre-loaded.

 

[jjcyr]

Is it possible to manually delete a wifi connection? It is easy enough to add one but I see no way to manually delete one.

 

[Aljohn]

Is it possible to manually delete a wifi connection? It is easy enough to add one but I see no way to manually delete one.

Yes, while connected via WiFi. Press the wifi bar icon at the top of the screen. It will bring up a dialog box with available WiFi networks. At the bottom of the list, you will see "WiFI Settings". Click on WiFi Settings and it will bring a dialog box. Here you can select a prior or current network, and click on FORGET THIS NETWORK. Hope that helps.

 

[jjcyr]

Yes, while connected via WiFi. Press the wifi bar icon at the top of the screen. It will bring up a dialog box with available WiFi networks. At the bottom of the list, you will see "WiFI Settings". Click on WiFi Settings and it will bring a dialog box. Here you can select a prior or current network, and click on FORGET THIS NETWORK. Hope that helps.

Thanks!!