v7.1 Feature MISSING?!

[S4WRXTTCS]

This would allow you to use the Tesla app as a key to your house when you go for a walk (you likely carry your cell phone with you anyway) without needing your keys. It allows you to get in to your garage to start driving your Tesla, without needing a key to your garage. There are a multitude of reasons beyond summon (which, let's face it, in it's current incarnation is more of a gimmick than a useful feature)

I just have to laugh because during the summer for awhile I was leaving my Tesla outside when I went biking. Why? Cause my battery was going to dead in my keypad garage door. Now a normal person would simply replace the battery, but not me. I'm far too lazy to bother with that. What I did as a backup was to use my cellphone to open the Tesla in order to hit the homelink button. So having it accessible on the Tesla app would have been a real bonus because then my Tesla could be in the garage, and not forced outside to be used as a $90K garage door opener.

One of these days my over reliance on technology is going to come back to bite me.

 

[Festerfeet]

'Face' is extremely important in Chinese culture, in fact it can lead to disastrous problems between Westerners and locals when communicating. I swear I have met some people who would rather lose loved ones than lose face.

Perhaps more importantly driving capabilty is at best variable. The amount of times I haven't been able to park in my condo car park due to abandoned vehicles in the middle of the car park where the driver wasn't able to park in a space or just couldn't be bothered is a real problem.

Full autonomous driving and parking cannot come soon enough to China.

 

[DCGOO]

Until I update my garage door system, it would be handy to have - if I have a Tesla in the garage & need to give someone garage access - sure, I'd like to have it. Perfect world? No. But still handy to have at times.

One of the other problems is, the only "current state" feedback path from the GDO is visual. The car has no positive way to know whether the door is actually open or closed without "visually" (sensors) testing for it when it attempts to leave the garage. There is only an "activate" signal sent toward the garage. It could open or close the door. The garage door needs to send a reply message back acknowledging its action. AFAIK, none do that. This is more a limitation of garage door openers, than software on the smartphone app.

I am not inclined to send a command to my garage door unless there is a positive means to verify its current state, and verification the action has taken place.

 

[3s-a-charm]

I love the idea of using my app as a remote garage door controller however I could also see accidentally opening the garage door from the app and coming home to an empty garage. There are 3rd party apps and garage controllers that can do this already as well as keypad openers for outside your garage. Perhaps best to leave home automation to those companies?

 

[PaulR]

Indeed, you don't need the Tesla app to control your garage door. I had this before I got my Tesla:

Chamberlain MYQ-G0201 MyQ-Garage Controls Your Garage Door Opener with Your Smartphone - Garage Automation Products - Amazon.com

and if you have an iPhone (available also I believe on Android) you can use this:

Chamberlain MyQ Home Control on the App Store

I believe the above is based on the HomeLink system....

 

[Chris TX]

I could also complain about this and how the auto open doesn't open my gate AND my garage, but I've been happy with the auto presenting soft buttons for years.

Go Tesla!

 

[smac]

Just a thought is the summoning issue related to the style of garage doors?

Especially in the UK it is common to have "up and over" doors that swing out a few feet during opening. The videos I've seen have the car park too close to the door prior to the opening and shutting cycle to accommodate this style of operation. I guess you'd have similar issues with side hung swing doors, but these are far less likely to be automated here.

 

[asudan]

Tanner, I'm sure the HomeLink button will migrate to a more accessible place in the future. I'm also sure the engineering team working on Summon needed to open/close garage doors, so grabbed the HomeLink button and put it on their screen (vs. negotiating with the larger team for space higher up on the menu hierachy). Not such a dumb decision, really, just a team focused on their task at hand, not thinking that others would like access, too.

Again, I'm sure it will migrate to a more accessible place in a future update. Easy to see why everyone would want this, whether or not they have AP.

From what I can tell the SUMMON option only comes up when you and your FOB are within range of the car, right? So if that is the case the homelink feature in the app isn't as useful as people seam to moan about. I mean - if I just wanted it to open the garage door and I am already 10 feet from my car I'd just open the door. Homelink integration was designed for the CAR to need to open the garage door, not the owner who wants to take the trash out, etc.

In the future no doubt they will open this up so you can use the homelink option remotely - for whatever reason - and I bet at that point it moves to the main screen.

I love how expanded capability leads to people who are upset it wasn't implemented exactly how they would have envisioned it.

- - - Updated - - -

This would allow you to use the Tesla app as a key to your house when you go for a walk (you likely carry your cell phone with you anyway) without needing your keys. It allows you to get in to your garage to start driving your Tesla, without needing a key to your garage. There are a multitude of reasons beyond summon (which, let's face it, in it's current incarnation is more of a gimmick than a useful feature)

Understood... but really? My garage doors have a keypad on the outside if I need to go for a walk, etc. Also if it really matters you can spend $200 on a garage door opener with internet connectivity (or less!) or even get a door lock that is remotely controlled. Why someone would want their car to be the conduit to opening the garage door is beyond me.

 

[FlasherZ]

Of course, Tesla does need to hear the feedback. So, it's a good idea to (kindly) send your feedback to the appropriate service e-mail address for your region.

 

[tezzla]

Just a thought is the summoning issue related to the style of garage doors?

Especially in the UK it is common to have "up and over" doors that swing out a few feet during opening. The videos I've seen have the car park too close to the door prior to the opening and shutting cycle to accommodate this style of operation. I guess you'd have similar issues with side hung swing doors, but these are far less likely to be automated here.

Excellent point, since I've had the roll-up type for 10 years I've forgotten about those wooden doors. I think you'd have to set the parking distance to 24" for it to work?

 

[green1]

One thing we don't yet know, is the mechanics of how this all works.
We know the app won't show the summon screen unless the car is unplugged and you're within 10ft, and this limits the ability to use homelink. but we don't know if homelink itself requires this.
The reason this is important is because if homelink doesn't require this stuff, and it's just a stupid decision on the app, it leaves the door open (pun intended) to third party apps using the API to implement what we're looking for.

 

[Whitmarsh]

Excellent point, since I've had the roll-up type for 10 years I've forgotten about those wooden doors. I think you'd have to set the parking distance to 24" for it to work?

Not sure what you mean by 'those wooden doors but they are not, I think, what smac is talking about. In GB we have metal or fibreglass doors that lift backwards into the garage and lie flat above the entrance; when they start to lift, their bottom edge comes out a foot or two. I wondered how Summon would cope with this when I saw the first video because the car was almost touching the door. I wonder why it has to get so close, given that HomeLink will work from many feet away.

 

[golfgypsy]

I can see the Summon screen on my app well beyond 10 feet. I'm sitting in my office at the other end of my house from the garage. I'm not about to see if the Summon will work unless I can see it. The car is not plugged in.

 

[GlmnAlyAirCar]

Voice. Of. Experience.

+1...

 

[DCGOO]

Not sure what you mean by 'those wooden doors but they are not, I think, what smac is talking about. In GB we have metal or fibreglass doors that lift backwards into the garage and lie flat above the entrance; when they start to lift, their bottom edge comes out a foot or two. I wondered how Summon would cope with this when I saw the first video because the car was almost touching the door. I wonder why it has to get so close, given that HomeLink will work from many feet away.

We have doors like that here, but only in locations where it never snows, so not very common.

 

[freeewilly]

One of the other problems is, the only "current state" feedback path from the GDO is visual. The car has no positive way to know whether the door is actually open or closed without "visually" (sensors) testing for it when it attempts to leave the garage. There is only an "activate" signal sent toward the garage. It could open or close the door. The garage door needs to send a reply message back acknowledging its action. AFAIK, none do that. This is more a limitation of garage door openers, than software on the smartphone app.

I am not inclined to send a command to my garage door unless there is a positive means to verify its current state, and verification the action has taken place.

I'm thinking the same thing. Without a confirmation, it's a dangerous tool to use.

 

[JenniferQ]

I have found it opens when I arrive, but so far have not seen it close it, even once I'm in the garage. Is it supposed to or is that a safety feature for it not to? I guess I really should go sit in my car and read the release notes again, but hope someone here knows.

 

[ohmman]

I have found it opens when I arrive, but so far have not seen it close it, even once I'm in the garage. Is it supposed to or is that a safety feature for it not to? I guess I really should go sit in my car and read the release notes again, but hope someone here knows.

It closes after you leave, but only if you open it using the Homelink button in your vehicle. That is, you can't open the garage door with the wall button, then expect the car to close it. You have to get in the car, open it, and then after backing out it should work.

 

[Nitrogen]

A couple of things I noticed.

Prior to 7.1, when parked and opening the door the music would go to a lower level and the volume would increase when the door was closed. Now it just stays at the same level which I really don't like at all.

Also when using navigation and nav volume is set to 11, it still does not mute the radio enough to hear the nav instructions if the volume of the radio is fairly high.

 

[liuping]

It closes after you leave, but only if you open it using the Homelink button in your vehicle. That is, you can't open the garage door with the wall button, then expect the car to close it. You have to get in the car, open it, and then after backing out it should work.

I open the garage door from the wall button (otherwise I can't get around to the driverside of the car ), and it auto closes when I get to the spot on the driveway where I set the homelink position.

Did you reset the homelink position after updating. It may be necessary fore the auto close to work.