2012 Model s WiFi does not see networks

[Joe Condrey]

Hey all,
I’ve scoured this forum and been looking all over the web for a similar issue and can’t find anything thus far…

Main issue:
When I tap the WiFi icon at top right to connect to a network the dropdown menu appears and says “searching for WiFi” with the cycling circle for approx 30 seconds then seems to timeout without displaying any options.

This is a 2012 model S with the original MCU still installed. (3g was never upgraded to LTE)

History:
I bought it used and lost warranty, had been driving it since 2021 on this and just kept on truckin even after the 3g disconnected. I’ve never cared to connect to WiFi since it still functioned.
About 6 months ago the gearbox blew out and the car became immobilized. I had it towed to my driveway where I would periodically recharge the 12v and HV battery. Finally swapped out the drive unit with a used one from a salvaged Tesla about a week ago. Once back off the jacks, I rebooted and had the car driving. I did one test drive around the neighborhood and put it in park, it now has a handful of errors:
GTW_f208 “unable to start vehicle”
GTW_f084 “software update required”
GTW_f014 “software update required”
MCU_w008 “Air Pressure in tires very low”
MCU_w007 “navigation unavailable”

The air pressure is a nuisance error due to the batteries in the wheels being dead, so not worried about that. Same with the nav unavailable, that’s obvious since 3g has been disconnected for almost a year.

I assume the “unable to start vehicle” is due to the two software updates being required.

Initially after the drive unit swap the car would power on, let me shift and drive then would lock me from shifting after I put it in park. Somewhere either on this forum or another I discovered that toggling the “wheel configuration” is the deepest level of computer reset available from the GUI. So I spent a couple days of powering on, rolling the car forward, then reversing back to its parking spot, hitting parking brake, getting locked out, then toggling the wheel configuration so the shifter would unlock and let me drive again. (I performed this cycle roughly 30 times)

Now the car seems to be allowing me to get in and drive despite the caution error “GTW_f208 unable to start vehicle” still displayed through my entire test drive. I’ve slowly increased the radius of my test drives from home but do not entirely trust that it won’t lock me out at some point.

I believe getting a connection to the internet and updating everything would clear most of these codes, but the WiFi is acting as if it is completely dead. So with all that, has anyone found a way to get the WiFi working when it seems to be in that timeout state?

 

[DerbyDave]

Go into WiFi settings, and delete the existing network shown and then re-add your network.

 

[Joe Condrey]

Go into WiFi settings, and delete the existing network shown and then re-add your network.

Definitely a good suggestion. I have already attempted deleting previous networks and manually typing the name of my network as well. It pauses for about 30 seconds upon adding the network but never actually connects to the network. I've attempted this with an SSID and then again entering my router settings, unchecking the requirement for password, the repeating the delete network process from model S and re-re-entering the network with no password this time.
Unsuccessful both times. It very much seems like the wifi in the car is disconnected or broken.

 

[DerbyDave]

Yeah, it might be a broken module in the car. One last thing to try to find out the problem origin might be to create a hotspot with your phone, and then try to attach the car to that hotspot.

 

[Joe Condrey]

Gave that one a try too, just to make sure. Now the real question: where can I find a replacement wifi module? Can't find anything online anywhere.

 

[DerbyDave]

I wonder if WiFi is included in the LTE module since there is no mention of it in the parts catalog? Hopefully it wouldn't require a new MCU! Of course, the car's WiFi antenna could be having problems. Perhaps they have stopped supporting the WiFi that was included with the old LTE card.

 

[Zuikkis]

Also I think MCU1 supports only 2.4GHz wifi. Make sure your network is not 5GHz only..

 

[scgaskill]

I wonder if WiFi is included in the LTE module since there is no mention of it in the parts catalog? Hopefully it wouldn't require a new MCU! Of course, the car's WiFi antenna could be having problems. Perhaps they have stopped supporting the WiFi that was included with the old LTE card.

Don't think so. I recently bought a 2014 MS60 with MCU1. The wifi worked but the 3G didn't of course. I bought a LTE module off eBay and replaced it myself. Now both wifi and LTE work. Not sure where the wifi is, if it's another module.

Id suggest getting a LTE module, just make sure it comes with a SIM card. I bought mine off eBay for $65 back in Oct '23. I also replaced my bubbling IC display. The used IC display was $175 on Ebay.

That worked but had a message on the display saying it required a firmware upgrade. I had a service appointment to install a splash shield under the car and the SC did the firmware upgrade and charged me a half hour labor.

Total spent. $410. The MCU2 upgrade would also have fixed both problems, but the SC quoted it at $2750. I saved $2340 but still have the slower MCU1 processor.

 

[Zuikkis]

Total spent. $410. The MCU2 upgrade would also have fixed both problems, but the SC quoted it at $2750. I saved $2340 but still have the slower MCU1 processor.

That pricing is not correct.

Infotainment Upgrade | Tesla Support

Upgrade your Infotainment system to access new features, and for a more advanced and smoother user experience.

www.tesla.com

"This upgrade is available for $2,250 plus applicable tax, including installation, for vehicles equipped with Autopilot Computer 2.0 or 2.5 and for $1,750 plus applicable tax, including installation, for all other vehicles. "

I have done the upgrade on two Teslas, 2013 MS and 2016 MX .. it was the lower price on both.

I feel it's worth that price, especially if you don't have LTE or have screen bubbling issues etc. You get both screens replaced with MCU2.

MCU1 has other potential issues, like the navigation SD card going bad.

 

[scgaskill]

That pricing is not correct.

Infotainment Upgrade | Tesla Support

Upgrade your Infotainment system to access new features, and for a more advanced and smoother user experience.

www.tesla.com

"This upgrade is available for $2,250 plus applicable tax, including installation, for vehicles equipped with Autopilot Computer 2.0 or 2.5 and for $1,750 plus applicable tax, including installation, for all other vehicles. "

I have done the upgrade on two Teslas, 2013 MS and 2016 MX .. it was the lower price on both.

I feel it's worth that price, especially if you don't have LTE or have screen bubbling issues etc. You get both screens replaced with MCU2.

MCU1 has other potential issues, like the navigation SD card going bad.

That's what I was told verbally, $2750, which I wasn't ready to spend, so didn't have them give me a formal estimate. Since then, they've told me several conflicting things regarding licensing SuC, the CCS retrofit, etc that I don't have much faith in them. Yesterday I went to a different SC to get a "second opinion" regarding the SuC and CCS charges.

Nonetheless, $410 is still $1840 less. Completely agree that the MCU1 has other potential issues I may have to deal with later. I've got a CarShield extended warranty and if my MCU1 dies then I'll submit it to them to get replaced.

I don't need it for movies and games or for the faster processing, my car isn't licensed for Navigation, it's a bare-bones base model. I was just pointing out that there are options other than going to the SC and forking over two grand.

 

[scgaskill]

That's what I was told verbally, $2750, which I wasn't ready to spend, so didn't have them give me a formal estimate. Since then, they've told me several conflicting things regarding licensing SuC, the CCS retrofit, etc that I don't have much faith in them. Yesterday I went to a different SC to get a "second opinion" regarding the SuC and CCS charges.

Nonetheless, $410 is still $1840 less. Completely agree that the MCU1 has other potential issues I may have to deal with later. I've got a CarShield extended warranty and if my MCU1 dies then I'll submit it to them to get replaced.

I don't need it for movies and games or for the faster processing, my car isn't licensed for Navigation, it's a bare-bones base model. I was just pointing out that there are options other than going to the SC and forking over two grand.

Oh and my 2014 has AP1 hw, not AP2.0 or newer, so maybe that's why they quoted it higher

 

[scgaskill]

That's what I was told verbally, $2750, which I wasn't ready to spend, so didn't have them give me a formal estimate. Since then, they've told me several conflicting things regarding licensing SuC, the CCS retrofit, etc that I don't have much faith in them. Yesterday I went to a different SC to get a "second opinion" regarding the SuC and CCS charges.

Nonetheless, $410 is still $1840 less. Completely agree that the MCU1 has other potential issues I may have to deal with later. I've got a CarShield extended warranty and if my MCU1 dies then I'll submit it to them to get replaced.

I don't need it for movies and games or for the faster processing, my car isn't licensed for Navigation, it's a bare-bones base model. I was just pointing out that there are options other than going to the SC and forking over two grand.

And we're kind of getting off topic.

The OP's issue is that his wifi isn't working and he has no cellular connectivity so cannot get OTA software updates to clear alerts after replacing his drive unit himself.

My point of mentioning the cheap LTE upgrade he could do himself was to get the software updates and fix the cellular connectivity he should fix at some point anyway. If he can replace a drive unit I'm sure he can install an LTE card and It's a cheap fix.

If he wants to get the MCU2 upgrade for all it's benefits, great, go for it, but the post wasn't about whether or not he should get an MCU2, it was to fix his wifi connectivity to get software updates.

 

[ucmndd]

Oh and my 2014 has AP1 hw, not AP2.0 or newer, so maybe that's why they quoted it higher

AP1 is $1750, as stated on the infotainment upgrade page linked above.

 

[vcor]

Another idea - disable your WiFi's 5 GHz, at least temporarily. Some older 2.4 GHz limited WiFi devices can get confused with 5 GHz (likely poor software). I'm not sure the original Tesla had this issue, but it's worth a try. I've had this issue with several WiFi devices in my house. A pain, but does make those items work when only 2.4 GHz is made available.

 

[scgaskill]

AP1 is $1750, as stated on the infotainment upgrade page linked above.

 

[scgaskill]

Yeah, got it. Like I said that's what my SC verbally told me, which is why I don't believe them unless they actually make a formal quote, which I didn't do because I wasn't about to spend two grand for an MCU2.

My point was that, to get OTA updates to clear the OP's errors, rather than try to fix the wifi maybe he should upgrade his cellular to LTE which will get him software updates and he should probably fix anyway, and it's a cheap fix for an MCU1.

The OP was asking about fixing his wifi to get software updates to clear his errors, he wasn't asking about the benefits of MCU2 and whether or not he should do the upgrade.

In my response I also happened to mention how I also fixed my bubbled IC display for much less than the cost of the MCU2 upgrade, whether it's $1750 or $2250.

 

[scgaskill]

OK, now my LTE is still working (after the DIY upgrade) but I've noticed my wifi isn't! Earlier in this thread I said they were both working after the upgrade but now I'm not so sure I actually checked the wifi after the upgrade. The LTE worked so I didn't care about the wifi.

I noticed the wifi wasn't working a couple weeks ago and I did the suggestions here, deleting and re-adding the network, and using my phone as a hotspot. It couldn't connect to the home wifi but it did connect to the phone hotspot sitting on the console in the car.

So I thought that the wifi signal in the garage was low, and my car is in the driveway, so I added an access point in my garage to the mesh network to boost the signal. Still didn't work, and now the phone hotspot isn't working either.

I'm wondering if when I did the LTE upgrade maybe I put the wifi antenna on the wrong connector on the circuit board. I re-watched the YouTube video I originally watched before the upgrade but it's not clear if the wifi is on that LTE card and if it is, which antenna goes to which connector on the board.

The guy In the video does point out a connector he says is unused and to not put the GPS antenna on it or the GPS won't work, but my GPS and LTE are both working, just not the wifi. I'm hoping to find for sure if the wifi is on the same card as the 4G LTE and if it is, something showing which connection is which so I don't fix one and break the other. I'm not looking forward to taking out the MCU again but will do it if I have a better idea of what I'm looking for.

My assumption is that the time the wifi connected to my phone the signal from the phone may have been just strong enough that the card connected to it even without a working antenna. But that's just a guess. Today I noticed that there's a software update but I need to connect to wifi to download it so this is now a more pressing issue than it's been the past few weeks. I'd like to fix it on Saturday if possible.

 

[Zuikkis]

It's very likely just misconfiguration in your local wifi.

MCU1 needs 2.4GHz with 20MHz bandwidth. Some wifi routers have 40MHz band which will not work. In some routers it's possible to select 20/40MHz so it support both type devices, but even that might be too much for MCU1 to grasp. 20MHz only is the safest choice.

 

[scgaskill]

No, it was working when I first got the car 5 months ago, before the DIY 4G LTE upgrade. After I wrote the post last night I laid in bed thinking about it and decided to get up and go out to the car and try again, it had been a few days since I last tried it, before the notice of the new firmware.

As luck would have it, I was able to get the car's wifi to connect to my phone but I found that I had to put my phone on the shelf below the MCU. When I move the phone out from under the MCU, even just a foot or so, the wifi signal dropped to almost nothing. The signal from the garage just in front of the car is not strong enough to connect to without an antenna.

This confirms my suspicion that I either plugged the antenna onto the wrong connector making it useless, or maybe I didn't snap it on well enough and it vibrated loose and popped off. W/o a working antenna the connector and card can "see" and connect to the signal if its close enough, or I suppose if I could boost the signal enough.

I was able to download the firmware and upgrade the MCU, but to really fix it will require taking out the MCU and finding whats wrong. I've had it out twice, first for the DIY LTE upgrade and a second time to replace the dented bezel, so I'm not worried about it, but it is still a bit of a pain, and now there's not as much urgency.

And my wife always tells me that if I mess with stuff like this long enough, I'll find a way to break it! I hate to admit it, but she's usually right! (don't tell her I said that!)

 

[vcor]

Thanks for the update. Any chance you can pull off the side bottom panel and look at the connections behind MCU1? If wrong, I doubt there is enough room to move them around, so a full MCU1 removal is likely.