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Muzzman1
Active Member
I did it on my S85. I'm a complete tech geek, so I did notice a significant speed difference. To me, totally worth the $500. (I'm in socal too)
Xenoilphobe
Well-Known Member
Nice, I'm guessing maps load much faster?
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Make sure you call them in advance to tell them you want to have it done during your appointment
I can't justify the expense. 3G works well enough in SoCal and I can tether to my phone if I absolutely need anything faster. If they were giving me a hotspot I'd be singing a different tune.
Jool
Member
Had to use 3G in a loaner car and it was waaaayyyy slower than my LTE equipped car. Maps and Slacker songs load way faster with LTE!
mhs
Member
I highly recommend AGAINST it! Basically my car has been useless since I "upgraded" to LTE.
In the first 10 months of ownership (using 3G) I think my internet music stopped playing 3 times and a GPS map tile would fail to load at a frequency of every week or two.
Now that I "upgraded" to LTE the car is useless. In the morning it takes 10 minutes for the LTE modem to find service. This is not an exaggeration. I literally watch the trip computer and wait for 10 minutes. So now most days when I need to use GPS to get to an appointment I just drive my Ford). Once the Tesla finds LTE service, the map tiles will fail to load a handful of times per trip. Also I switched back to FM radio because the Internet radio frequently stops in the middle of a song, or the car will simply just stop playing music displaying a "cannot load next track" error.
BTW all of this happens with 2 to 4 bars of LTE service. This is in the Washington DC / Annapolis MD areas, which has had LTE service for 5 years. And yes I do have my energy / always connected settings set correctly. This behavior happens not just my first drive of the day but subsequent trips as well, although subsequent trips can find LTE service in as quickly as 4 minutes.
So unless you want to spend $500 to make your car useless, I would tell you to stick to 3G. After all does it really matter how quick the map tiles load and the radio buffer fills? Stick with reliability and usability.
In the first 10 months of ownership (using 3G) I think my internet music stopped playing 3 times and a GPS map tile would fail to load at a frequency of every week or two.
Now that I "upgraded" to LTE the car is useless. In the morning it takes 10 minutes for the LTE modem to find service. This is not an exaggeration. I literally watch the trip computer and wait for 10 minutes. So now most days when I need to use GPS to get to an appointment I just drive my Ford). Once the Tesla finds LTE service, the map tiles will fail to load a handful of times per trip. Also I switched back to FM radio because the Internet radio frequently stops in the middle of a song, or the car will simply just stop playing music displaying a "cannot load next track" error.
BTW all of this happens with 2 to 4 bars of LTE service. This is in the Washington DC / Annapolis MD areas, which has had LTE service for 5 years. And yes I do have my energy / always connected settings set correctly. This behavior happens not just my first drive of the day but subsequent trips as well, although subsequent trips can find LTE service in as quickly as 4 minutes.
So unless you want to spend $500 to make your car useless, I would tell you to stick to 3G. After all does it really matter how quick the map tiles load and the radio buffer fills? Stick with reliability and usability.
sillydriver
Member
I often drive 7 miles from my farm to Middleburg, the nearest town. I have LTE reception at the farm, and there is reception in Middleburg, but a big dropout down to 3G in between. I got the LTE upgrade and found it switches modes between LTE and 3G with long lags, so it spends a lot of time in the wrong mode. The result is that I almost cannot use slacker driving to town, where I could before. So for me, the upgrade was a huge mistake which has made internet data almost useless, but that's because I live in fringe area. Driving nearer to Washington DC it works fine. So my advice is to make sure you have adequate service where you live.
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I just read your post after making mine. My experience is like yours.
I did not, but might if the browser gets some attention. I have a 4G LTE hotspot and connect via WiFi to that while driving. So I have a great feel for how the two compare. Most of the lag is that browser. I feel lile putting 4G LTE in my car is about as big a difference maker as putting a K&N air filter on it.
Browser bad. Very bad.
Browser bad. Very bad.
mhs
Member
I agree. After the SC had me do various reboots, they have been "working" on this for 3 weeks now, supposedly from remote. (In other words, I'm my opinion they aren't interested).
I wonder how much they are going to charge me to put 3G back?
jamtek
Member
I did the LTE upgrade about three months ago and it is still working great! Definitely noticeable map loading improvement and Slacker functionality. I swear the audio sounds better too. Maybe the car even drives faster??
All kidding aside well worth the $500 IMHO.
All kidding aside well worth the $500 IMHO.
Wow, had no idea some were having such problems. I live in a major metropolitan area and I did the LTE upgrade on our '13 P85; much faster map loads and overall performance.
Highly recommended upgrade and at a somewhat reasonable cost.
I too wish the browser was far better/faster, but WHEN it is upgraded I'll be ready to go.
Highly recommended upgrade and at a somewhat reasonable cost.
I too wish the browser was far better/faster, but WHEN it is upgraded I'll be ready to go.
Very interesting. I have 3G and drove down to FL last Sat. When I went through the DC area to Glen Allen there was horrible traffic and my Nav would not refresh. Tiles would not redraw. I called Tesla and will have it checked next week. Now I'm wondering if it was just the area and nothing to do with my car. I switched to Wifi via a hotspot device using LTE and all worked fine post Glen Allen. Heading back up starting tomorrow so I will see if 3G or LTE hotspot works better.
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