Home Articles WiFi Guide and Troubleshooter for Tesla Vehicles

WiFi Guide and Troubleshooter for Tesla Vehicles

Our Tesla WiFi guide shows you the why and how of WiFi along with troubleshooting tips and tricks. (Jan-2023 update).

Why Connect to WiFi?

Tesla recommends connecting to WiFi while at home if you have a network connection available. Often, software updates through WiFi get priority over those Tesla sends over the cellular connection. You can also use WiFi to tether the vehicle to the internet through your phone. This can save you money after the free period of free cellular connection expires, or if you have a poor cellular connection in your normal travel area and have a better connection via your phone.

Requirements

  • 2.4 GHz WiFi (All Model 3/Y and S/X cars built after Feb-2018 have 5 GHz support as well).
  • Must use WPA or WPA2 security, or no security (The obsolete WEP standard is not available)
  • Allows a VPN with UDP without a short timeout (see technical below for explanation)
  • WiFi must have an internet connection

Making a Connection

One the display, tap Controls, and then at the top of the display, tap on the signal strength indicator. If no WiFi is connected the icon may be a cellular icon, or may be a WiFi logo.

select wifi

A list of available and previously set WiFi connections will appear.  In the example below, it is connected to the WiFi “HoneyPot”. 

WiFi dropdown

Tap the one you want and if never accessed before, enter the password for your WiFi router. It will remember the connection and automatically connect when in range.  If you travel to another location and it has WiFi, you can use the same process to add additional connections.  You can also tap Wi-Fi Settings to add a new connection, password and mode.

We’ve identified a minor Tesla bug that if your password has a single quote symbol, the password will be rejected. This should be an allowable password character and we’ve laboriously confirmed all other symbols on a US keyboard work fine in a password.

Most Tesla sales offices and service centers have free WiFi. Many Superchargers also now have free WiFi. These local networks connects automatically without needing any entry. If your vehicle is in for service and has an open service order, and the vehicle needs a new update, the update is normally downloaded automatically while at service.

Antenna

The vehicle’s WiFi antenna is in the right side mirror housing on both LHD and RHD vehicles. The best signal strength occurs with a minimum of walls and objects between the antenna and your WiFi router. The image below shows the mirror with the back removed. The smaller rectangular antenna on the left is the WiFi antenna. The larger antenna is for cellular.

WiFi Antenna

Technical

The vehicle’s WiFi hardware is located behind the main display in the older S/X, or in the MCU module in the 3/Y and the newer S/X LR/Plaid. When a connection is made, Tesla uses a VPN (Virtual Private Network) with UDP (User Datagram Protocol). What this means is the data passed through the connection will be secure and low-latency.

Testing in Your Vehicle

When the vehicle is connected via WiFi, at the top of the main display the five-bar cellular signal strength indicator changes to the WiFi icon with arcs for signal strength indication.

You can try any of these three easy tests:

  • Maps – Move the map to a new location or zoom out. The gray areas should fill in quickly.
  • Music – Select Streaming and select a category to play. Confirm the music plays.
  • Web – Select the browser and enter a site like Tesla.com or TeslaTap.com.  The site should display, although the page loading can be quite slow, especially on older vehicles with MCU1.

Testing WiFi

We built a WiFi Meter app for Android phones and tablets. While we don’t think you need it (and it costs all of $0.99), it may be helpful to some.  It gives you a far more precise indication of signal levels at different locations, a speed test and a number of other WiFi details and helps to explain what it all means.

WiFi Meter

Oddities

When the vehicle is using WiFi and you drive away outside its range, the vehicle automatically switches to the cellular connection. This switchover can take a few seconds, and if you’re listening to Streaming music, it may force the next song to start playing, even if the prior one was not completed.  It seems more transparent when switching from cellular to WiFi.

Troubleshooting

Weak Signal

Many owners find they get a weak signal in the Tesla from a home router. Typically, the router is far away from the garage and the signal must penetrate many walls, greatly reducing the signal level. If the tests above are slow or erratic, you may want to improve the signal to your vehicle. Solutions to consider include:

  • Move the location of your WiFi Router
    If you can move the WiFi router closer to the vehicle, it should increase the signal strength. Often hard to do, so one of the other solutions may be required.
  • Get a new WiFi router
    If your router is more than a few years old and/or a bottom end cheap router, it likely performs poorly in general.  Most routers that are provided by your Internet provider are also usually bottom end devices that will contribute to the problem. Look for a premium WiFi router that connects to your internet connection. Note that there are different connection types – DSL, cable modem or Ethernet to your internet equipment. See below for our recommendations.
  • Get a WiFi Extender (also called repeater or booster)
    These devices are located halfway between the router and your Tesla. It picks up your WiFi signal and then re-transmits it – extending the range of your WiFi. The device only needs a power plug – no other wires are necessary, although most also provide one or more router ethernet ports. See below for our recommendations.
  • Move your vehicle to a better position
    You may get some improvement by just moving the vehicle.  Position the vehicle so that the right side mirror is closer to your router.

Doesn’t work or you never get updates

Here’s our list of possible fixes:

  • Reboot
    If WiFi had been working fine, but just stops working, try a reboot in the Tesla. Press in both scroll wheels for about 15 seconds, until the main display goes black. A reboot takes less than 120 seconds, but WiFi may take some additional time to get reestablished – less than 4 minutes.
  • Remove and Reconnect
    Go into the vehicle and select the antenna icon at the top of the display and go into WiFi. Remove your current connection, reconnect and enter the password.
  • Use 2.4 GHz WiFi (S/X built prior to March-2018)
    Most WiFi routers use 2.4 GHz or a mix of 2.4 and 5 GHz. If your router is set to only accept 5 GHz or perhaps a setting of “N only”, the vehicle will not connect. Change the router’s settings to allow 2.4 GHz. Newer high-end routers allow both 2.4 and 5 GHz communications at the same time, which may be beneficial for your situation.  Model S and X built after February 2018 include hardware and software to support 5 GHz, as does all Model 3s and Model Ys.
  • Change Router Band
    On your router, check if the router is set to a congested or non-supported band. The Tesla hardware support bands 1-11, the standard in the USA. Some countries allow additional bands that Tesla cannot use, so if you’re outside the USA, be sure to use bands 1-11.  Due to reduced interchannel interference, channels 1, 6 and 11 can often be a bit more reliable than other channels.
  • Use WPA/WPA2
    On your router, confirm your WiFi is set up for WPA or better WPA2.  If you are using the obsolete and insecure WEP standard, the vehicle will not connect.  It will connect if you have no security, but we don’t recommend anyone leave a WiFi router set to No security. It’s not an issue for your vehicle, as all communications are encrypted.
  • Unblock VPN connections
    While most routers have no problems with VPNs, some may have an option to block/allow VPNs or it has a firewall that blocks a VPN. Check your router to see if there is a VPN blocking option and set it so it does not block VPNs.  VPNs use port 1194. Some routers have a firewall that blocks everything other than ports 21, 80 and 443. Allow port 1194 as outgoing. Note this is not the PC’s firewall, which doesn’t matter. This is a setting within the router itself and does not affect the security of your network.
  • Change UDP timeouts
    Some routers have a short UDP timeout that can screw up Tesla updates and downloads. If you can find UDP timeouts (not all routers have this option), for Unreplied and Assured, set the values to 60 seconds.
  • Switch to a Guest Network
    Most routers today offer a guest network option with a separate SSID WiFi Name.  Some complex home systems that have a DLNA server in the network (even if wired), seem to cause connection problems with the Tesla and/or make the Tesla keep connecting and disconnecting. A guest network connection on a separate IP, without any DLNA servers, often makes it all work.

Auto connects at one place, but not another place

For example, it works at home, but will not auto-connect at your summer cabin.  Check if both locations use the same WiFi SSID name. Only the details from one SSID name can be saved. If this is the case, change one of the WiFi SSID names so that they are not the same.

Recommended WiFi Routers

There are hundreds of WiFi routers, but like most products, there is considerable variance in the quality of WiFi supported, features and price. We’ve compiled a list of highly-rated WiFi routers over a range of prices that could enhance your WiFi to your Tesla and other devices in your home.  All support dual-band 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, have Gigabit Ethernet ports, and support the standards – 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac.  Prices are the street price as of Jan-2023 and may change.

Linksys TRENDnet TP-Link ASUS NetGear
Model E8450 TEW-827DRU AX73 RT-AX3000 R6700AX
Photo Netgear X10 AD7200
Cost $98 $150 $180 $160 $85
Released Oct-2020 Nov-2021 Mar-2021 Jan-2020 Nov-2020
Ports 4 4 4 4 4
USBs 1 0 0 1 1
MU-MIMO No Yes Yes Yes No
Other WiFi 6, WPS
AX3200
WiFi 6, Mesh
AX3200
WiFi 6, WPS
AX5400
WiFi 6, WPS
AX3000
WiFi 6
AX1800

MU-MIMO – allows multiple simultaneous communications on different channels. Especially desirable with 4K video and other devices on the WiFi network.

Recommended Extenders

Use an extender to provide more quality WiFi coverage in your house or garage. There are quite a few low-cost extenders in the $20-40 range, but most lack power and/or feature that you may want for other devices in your house. All those below support dual-band 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz and support the standards – 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac.  Prices are the street price as of Jan-2023 and may change.

TP-Link Linksys Amped NETGEAR TP-Link
Model RE650 RE7310 REC22A EX5000 RE550
Photo
Cost $100 $100 $46 $42 $70
Released Mar-2022 Jun-2021 Mar-2015 Jan-2020 Mar-2021
Ports 1 0 1 0 1
Other WiFi 6, One Mesh
AX3000
WiFi 6, WPS
AX1800
WPS
AC1200
WPS
AC1200
One Mesh
AC1900

44 comments

Anaroo 16-Mar-2024 - 2:29 am

Hi,I have a weird problem which started in Nov last year. Something has been choking my internet. I could not work out what it was. The choking to the point I had no internet connection has been happening at random I changed the modem from my provider but no help checked the wires between the house and the garage/home office but nothing helped. Finally accidentally I discovered that my car MY (22) does it whenever the wifi is disconnected all works fine the moment I connect the car to wifi boom. No internet. I have tried forgetting the network rebooting the car and connecting again but no no help. Any idea what might be causing it and what solution there is?

Moderator 16-Mar-2024 - 8:23 am

That’s a new one. One guess is the car is attempting to download either an update or map (which can be quite large), but is getting blocked, so it keeps repeating and/or issuing a request. Is there any chance you have a firewall in your router that might be blocking the Tesla connection? You also might try going to another WiFi connection to see if the download can complete (presuming that’s the issue). For example, you could go to a Supercharger (no need to charge) and seeing if you can get the download. Most Superchargers have WiFi, but not all. The downside is there is no indication in the car that a download is in progress, only when the download is complete will it ask you if you want to install it.

One other thought – do you have reasonable bandwidth? Perhaps at least 10 Mbps? If you have a very slow connection (like 1 Mbps DSL) some car updates could take a day or longer and would explain the chocking. If you figure out what it is, we’d love to hear of the resolution.

Arctic_wolf 20-Apr-2023 - 9:53 am

This is an awesome article! I have a quick question- I got my Y recently and tried everything to get an update but couldn’t. Finally I put in a service request and they immediately pushed me the latest update! Do you know why I couldn’t get it before? Or is it possible they pushed it via LTE instead?

Now there’s another update and once again I cannot get it

Moderator 20-Apr-2023 - 10:16 am

Updates are stagged and can appear anytime from immediately upon release to 6 or more weeks later. Nobody outside of Tesla knows who or when you will get a release in the normal process. We know that owners with a WiFi connection usually get priority over those using only LTE. Also, be aware not every car gets every release. Some releases have specific fixes or features that are only for specific versions of the car. For example, there could be an update to FSD, but owners without FSD would not get that update. There is one option that can help get releases sooner (but still somewhat random on timing). Go to Controls -> Software and go to “Software Selection Process” and have “Advanced” selected.

Arctic_wolf 21-Apr-2023 - 4:56 pm

Thank you for your reply! Yes, I’m on Wi-Fi and also have “Advanced” selected, but had no luck and then Tesla Service suddenly was able to push it when I asked, so that was confusing me. I suppose it wasn’t my turn yet according to their normal process.

My only other guess was that my router is far away and when the car goes to sleep, it switches to LTE and wasn’t pulling the update due to that? And maybe Service forced my sleeping car to switch to Wi-Fi and pull the update.. or they manually pushed it via LTE (but I’m guessing that’s not likely).

Either way, seems like I’ll have to continue manually asking them for the update.

Moderator 22-Apr-2023 - 8:16 am

When manually pushed, it will be sent no matter if WiFi or LTE is available. When the car awakes, it will check WiFi first and if not available it goes to LTE. To see if an update is available, you can go to Controls -> Software and it should show if you are up to date or not. Generally, you’ll have to be patient, although it seems to be common that the very first update may take a month or two on a new car. If you’re on forums, you’ll see new updates appear and it could be weeks before you’ll get them. One reason for distributed rollouts is if there is a problem with a version, they can stop the rollout where it hasn’t affected all owners yet, make a fix, and then send the new fix out. I would not bug service for each new update. It may be your specific car will never get a specific update as it could be for a different model or different or older configuration of your car.

Arctic_wolf 23-Apr-2023 - 8:52 pm

Ahh I see. Understood, thank you so much!!

cozypilot 5-Jun-2023 - 4:48 am

Great article but it did not help with my 16S. I wish I would have pinpointed when it stopped connecting but I didn’t. It was an extreamly frustrating problem that I wasted hours on.
I tried:
Having Tesla try to fix the problem over-the-air three times; I thought it stopped on an update.
Rebooting the car and the gateway multiple times.
Parked the Tesla in the back yard next to the gateway.
Trying to connect with all the different WiFi protocols.
Forgetting the WiFi
Turning the WiFi on and off.
Inspecting the antenna; I had dinged the mirror cover on the garage door and I had the door apart to fix the handle gear.
The best I could get it to do was get it to connect but it would drop the connection in 20 seconds.
The fix was to have Xfinity send me a new gateway! I had their XB7 and now I have an XB8.
With only that change it now again automatically connects when I pull in the Garage like it did with the Netgear gateway I had that got erratic when I upgraded to GB Internet.
It now connects au

Moderator 5-Jun-2023 - 7:31 am

That is a strange one. Thanks for passing it on.

Another David 20-Feb-2023 - 5:26 pm

Hey thanks for this article! It’s very informative.

The clock on my 2022 Model 3 was 5 minutes slow for a number of days and the Service guys couldn’t figure it out. It turns out that the problem was something I inadvertently created due to controls on my home network.

My car is only configured for the one WiFi network – the one at my home. When away it’s (currently) using premium connectivity. When at work it’s away from my WiFi for ~9 hours.

I use a custom DNS server (Pi-hole at the moment) on my home network. For various reasons I have it translate common NTP server names to my own internal NTP time servers so that all devices use those internal time servers instead of trying to go out to internet time servers.

It seems that the Tesla was querying my local DNS servers for 0.pool.ntp.org 1.pool.ntp.org 2.pool.ntp.org and 3.pool.ntp.org and due to my custom configuration it was getting IPs for my internal time server only. Typically the car seems to disconnect from WiFi and then go back to the cell/mobile network. For some reason it was caching the custom time server’s IPs and not doing another DNS lookup when it changed to the cell/mobile network (this is unlike most smartphones).

Anyway, it’s obscure but it might be worth warning people not to fiddle with the DNS results of, or block access to the pool.ntp.org servers.

Thanks!

Moderator 21-Feb-2023 - 8:14 am

Thanks. I’m sure it is useful for someone in the future!

Andrew 3-Feb-2023 - 6:13 pm

Have a 2021 Model Y and with my old router I had no issues and the car connected just fine. Since my router was over 5 years old I got a new one and ever since, the car won’t connect. I’ve made several attempts and each time the car doesn’t see the network. So I add the network but each time it asks me if I want it to “forget” or “cancel”. I usually select “forget” (since it’s the only choice that partially works) and then I can usually see my network, however it still will not connect. Does anyone have a similar issue where they’ve gotten a new router and have trouble connecting? Thanks in advance.

Moderator 4-Feb-2023 - 9:24 am

I’ve not heard of a similar case, but several things to try. Select forget so there are no WiFis in your list. Reboot (press both scroll wheels in for 10 seconds). Once booted up, try adding your WiFi again. Be aware there is a bug that a password with an apostrophe will not work (I’ve tested all other allowed symbols). If you still can’t connect, on your router, limit the router to 2.4 GHz (i.e. disable 5 GHz). Try again, it may work. Your Tesla is supposed to be 5 GHz compatible, but 5 GHz typically has a shorter range than 2.4 GHz which might be the issue.

cozypilot 23-Dec-2022 - 1:11 pm

My 16 S no longer finds any WiFi signals but it worked in the garage for years. Now if I tap top right to open up the WiFi it finds nothing, not even my phone hotspot sitting in the car. Of course my phone sitting in the Tesla finds my house and my neighbors. Tesla says I should get the Infotainment upgrade for $3000 to fix it but maybe I just have a bad antenna or connection. I did have the door apart to fix the broken gear, but I doubt I disturbed the wire from the antenna to the MCU. Tesla says there is a WiFi module that could be bad but they will not sell me one. Does anyone have a link to where the WiFi connections are in the door. I could pull the connector out of the MCU and try to check continuity to the antenna but I suspect the antenna has an amplifier in it so that will not work. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

Moderator 25-Dec-2022 - 4:00 pm

I’m not aware of any amplifier on the WiFi antenna line. The line does go through the door to the mirror, as the WiFi antenna is in the mirror housing. You might take a look at the connections. The service manual may be helpful too. Go to service.tesla.com and open a subscription (it is free). I suspect you might have broken the antenna connection, but I’ve not heard of it happening before. I’ve had the door panels off without any issues when I upgraded the speakers in one Model S I owned.

tomsax 4-Sep-2021 - 5:11 pm

We have a Model X built in December 2017. It had been connecting to our WiFi network just fine, the guest network on an Orbi mesh, but stopped a few months ago. I’ve been working with Tesla to figure out what the problem is. It won’t connect to the Orbi, an Apple Airport or even directly to the ZyXEL C2100Z modem/router/AP supplied by our ISP, CenturyLink. I’ve tried disabling all firewall settings and disconnecting everything else from the ZyXEL so it’s just the Model X. It connects to the AP, gets an IP address, spins for maybe a minute, then silently fails. It will successfully connect to my iPhone X personal hotspot and also to a friend’s network using the same Orbi hardware. Tesla gave me list of requirements for the WiFi, all of which I meet, and a vague statement about what it does to test whether it has a connection to the internet (DNS some popular services, ping, port 80 connections). If I hook a laptop up to the ZyXEL exactly as I’ve done the with the X, it can DNS, ping and do port 80 connections just fine. The vehicle logs apparently report that the internet connection test fails, but doesn’t specify what the issue is.

Tesla suggested I should call my ISP, but I can’t say anything other than the X doesn’t like our network connection and Tesla can’t or won’t tell me what the issue is.

I can’t find any sign the ZyXEL is blocking port 1194, VPN or UDP. Is there a way to test whatever it is that the X needs to make the VPN connection?

Moderator 5-Sep-2021 - 3:03 pm

I’ve not used the ZyXEL modem/router, but a couple of things to try. First, confirm you are not using 192.168.20.xx as your local network. Most systems default to 192.168.0.xx or 192.168.1.xx. Tesla uses the “20” address and will conflict if you are using that same IP address block for your local address. If that’s not an issue, I did see this one post about making VPN work on ZyXEL which might be related: https://community.zyxel.com/en/discussion/3356/site2site-vpn-tunnel-inbound-traffic-blocked

tomsax 16-Sep-2021 - 2:30 pm

I believe I figured out what the problem is. The Model X with the December, 2017 Infotainment hardware gets into a mode where it tries to renew a DHCP IP address lease by sending out a confusing pair of messages to the DHCP server. It sends a DHCP Discover request then immediately a DNCP Request. That seems to confuse the ZyXEL’s DHCP server, causing it not to reply. Instead of timing out and trying a fresh DHCP Discover request, the Model X gives up and fails to continue the connection attempt. I have pcap logs of the network traffic showing what happens in a normal fresh connection, a normal lease renewal and this goofy case if anyone wants to see them.

Norman 28-Jan-2020 - 11:15 am

Not sure if anyone can help with what this issue is. The M3 tries to find networks but sees nothing even though my iPhone and laptop detects 10 or more from within the car. It can’t see the phone as a hotspot and can’t see the apple time capsule network when less that 2 feet from the car. Thanks

dropframe 20-Jun-2019 - 8:32 am

I have a EnGenius ECB9500 WiFi router. It has WPA(TKIP), WPA2(AES) or WPA2 Mixed as choices. I use AES. Is that compatible? When I try to log into my network it says to check my server DHCP settings.

Moderator 20-Jun-2019 - 10:39 am

WPA2(AES) is your best choice. Tesla is compatible with WPA and WPA2. Your router should also have DHCP enabled (it’s usually the default).

Dougk71 28-May-2019 - 5:01 am

UDP packets aren’t guaranteed to be delivered unlike TCP packets. UDP has less overhead and is often reliable enough in many applications.
The Tesla mobile app is restricted to newer versions of Android OS so older phones can’t install it.
Third party Tesla Android apps are less restrictive but lack full functionality.

Sean 25-Oct-2018 - 1:21 pm

I read in another forum that on some routers, the default subnet can overlap with the Tesla’s internal network range.
I changed the LAN on my (Australia) NBN router from 192.168.20.x -> 192.168.21.x and the WiFi connected.

Reference:
https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/another-wifi-bad-actor-solved-wink-home-control.103293/#post-2439936 – ShockOnT (Post Dec 2, 2017). Thanks ShockOnT, this has been driving me crazy!

Other details:
NBN router – H268A
Channel = 6
Mode = 802.11b/g (not b/g/n)
Beacon Interval = 100ms
Transmitting Power = 100%

Moderator 25-Oct-2018 - 2:41 pm

Good info – hope it helps others!

MclovinsTesla 24-Mar-2018 - 8:17 am

March 1 build, my model S has 5ghz WiFi enabled.

Moderator 24-Mar-2018 - 9:16 am

Great to hear! 5 GHz is a new feature with the MCU2 unit shipping in new cars built after February 2018.

NewTMan 2-Dec-2017 - 5:01 am

Should add having Wink anywhere on the network (Original Wink as well as Wink 2 connected by Wifi or ethernet) causes the Tesla Wifi to reinitialize. Even with my Teslas isolated on a Guest network and Wink on my primary it still causes the Tesla Wifi to re-initialize. Only completely disconnecting Wink fixes the issue.

Moderator 2-Dec-2017 - 9:37 am

Thanks for sharing. My only suggestion is to check if there is updated software for the Wink. Sounds like they have problem that trips up the Tesla connection. There also could be a bug in Tesla’s WiFi, so perhaps a future Tesla update will improve it for you.

NewTMan 15-Nov-2017 - 5:38 pm

After many tries I can still not get my 2017 Model X or 2017 Model S to remain connected to Wifi at my home. I have an Orbi router system and have the Teslas on their own Guest network with no other devices. They both connect for a period of time (up to 30 minutes) and then drop or renew the connection. I have tried everything at this point, not sure what the issue is.

Moderator 16-Nov-2017 - 8:44 am

It seems the Orbi is known for having problems with dropping WiFi connections. You might check to be sure you have the lastest software in your Orbi. This thread may also be helpful: https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi-Wi-Fi-5-AC-and-Orbi-with/Orbi-dropping-internet-connection/td-p/1316164

NewTMan 7-Jun-2018 - 3:28 am

It turns out the issue was a compounding one. Wink conflicts with the Tesla WiFi in the same way DLNA servers do. This has been confirmed by many users.

In addition the Orbi WiFi system does not completely segregate the Guest WiFi network so even if the Teslas are on the Orbi Guest Wifi, Wink still causes conflicts.

The solution ended up being setting up a completely separate WiFi network with a separate router just for my Teslas.

Moderator 9-Jun-2018 - 2:05 pm

Thanks – it is sure to be helpful to others!

Focusp 23-Aug-2017 - 2:37 am

You don’t mention using Summon over WiFi in your article. I cannot get it to work reliably, it keeps saying lost connection if it starts at all, even though streaming music and maps work well and I get several bars on the WiFi icon in my Tesla. I use a TP-Link Powerline Wi-Fi extender in my garage with the Powerline sender plugged into my router, because I found the range extender didn’t work well with my Tesla. With WiFi off the Summon is slightly better, but the mobile signal is very weak in the garage, so it is still not reliable.

Any suggestions on getting Summon to work reliably over WiFi?

Moderator 23-Aug-2017 - 8:52 am

My guess is there are too many delays in the data between your phone/WiFi/router/ISP and Tesla, and it sees the delays as a lost connection. Not sure what can be done to fix this.

AbouHaRga 16-Jul-2017 - 12:29 am

I can’t see the AP network i using Engenius ENS620EXT outdoor
i try to use B/G/N and B/G but still not work
but i can connect from my iPhone and my laptop without any problem

Moderator 16-Jul-2017 - 10:38 am

See the troubleshooting notes above. WiFi might be in N only, or 5 MHz only (neither will work with the Tesla). If you’re near a sales or service center, you can confirm WiFi works as it auto-connects at those locations.

Whitmarsh 1-Mar-2017 - 12:14 am

You never mention differences between LHD and RHD cars: for example, you say here that the antennae are in the passenger-side mirror and show the LH mirror – but, for RHD cars, are they still in the LH mirror or are they moved to the RH? It would help if you used the terms ‘left-hand’ and ‘right-hand’ rather than ‘driver’ and ‘passenger’.

Moderator 1-Mar-2017 - 8:41 am

A fair issue. We don’t have access to RHD cars, so we don’t know if Tesla elected to swap item positions or keep them the same as LHD cars so we only report what we know. Generally you can assume all our talks are based on LHD cars. We estimate 98+% of all Teslas are LHD.

Whitmarsh 6-Mar-2017 - 6:02 am

OK – though I don’t think the 98+% will hold good for much longer: UK, Ireland, Hongkong, Japan, India, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa ……

Anyway, I can confirm that the antennae are in the RH mirror (passenger for LHD cars, driver for RHD), so it would be clearer to say that so as to cover the world.

Something else that it would be useful to add: Tesla’s wifi supports only bands 1 – 11; I understand that these are the bands used in the USA but, in Europe (at least), we also use other bands and, if someone’s router is set to use one of those, the wifi won’t work.

Moderator 6-Mar-2017 - 8:34 am

Thanks for the notes – I’ll update the text with this info!

Whitmarsh 13-Mar-2017 - 11:08 am

Thanks for adding those notes but you now say: The vehicle’s WiFi antenna is in the passenger side mirror housing on both LHD and RHD vehicles..

That is not so; as I said before, on RHD cars, it’s in the driver’s side (RH) mirror.

Moderator 13-Mar-2017 - 12:59 pm

Yep, I screwed that up! Now fixed. Thanks for the additional note.

David 23-Feb-2017 - 4:54 am

Can’t connect to WiFi
Got a new router, bought an extender, the router is in the garage, still I get a very low signal ( hardly one bar)
Anyone with suggestions?
Thanks

Moderator 23-Feb-2017 - 8:39 am

One bar may be fine. The signal indicator is not all that sensitive, but the real test is if it works well enough for streaming. If music streams fine (go through at least one song), your signal is fine and I wouldn’t worry about it. At some locations I get zero bars, yet the signal is still fast enough to handle maps, streaming, etc. as if it were on LTE.

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