This is basically a slam piece. Yes, our Teslas and our friends were not accessible via the app for a while, and it raised some eyebrows - but unlocking via Bluetooth during this outage was not an issue for anyone I know. "Tesla drivers left unable to start their cars after outage" as a title is beyond misleading. Remote unlock / remote climate were down, but nobody was "unable to start their car", you just had to walk into bluetooth range for it to unlock instead of being able to do so remotely from anywhere with an internet connection. Interestingly enough, no author info/credentials on this article.
The app and car communicate directly over Bluetooth for a number of functions, like lock/unlock, popping the trunk, and starting the car. This outage didn’t affect that (I drove my Model 3 during this time period).
You can start the car over the internet, too, but this is not typical, and the app actually warns you when you try to to do this.
Finally, the Model 3/Y have backup keycards that Tesla encourages you to keep with you just in case your phone dies. The app tells you this when you first pair your phone.
Yeah this article is complete bullshit written for clicks, like most other modern journalism. I have an $83,000 Audi e-tron. The app to unlock and lock the car, as well as remote start has not worked since they did a “back end upgrade” in July and Audi engineers can not figure out how to fix it.
There are no articles written about how “Audi users locked out of cars since July” since that doesn’t pass the sniff test but when you bring up Tesla all logic goes out the window.
The Tesla App seems to be divided into convenience features (which use an Internet connection) and a key (which uses Bluetooth).
The key part does not rely on Tesla's servers to operate (except probably for initial setup?). I had no problem unlocking or starting my Tesla during the outage.
Sadly, the App (convenience part) isn't 100% reliable. It occasionally fails to connect to the car and the only way to get it to work is to force close it. However, I have never had the key part fail to work.
It’s really important for Tesla drivers to consider the keycard as a key that you must carry at all times, and the app as a (blissful) convenience that mostly works. I’ve had my phone die while running errands, not realizing I wouldn’t be able to unlock the car to charge my phone. I just keep the keycard in my wallet, definitely will keep doing that with the added potential for server outage.
In the dead phone scenario, one thing I didn’t realize was that I could borrow a phone, call my wife, have her remote unlock and also start the car so I can get on my merry way while my phone gets sufficient charge to boot back up.
This would affect pre-2021 Model S and X models (pre refresh).
They lack the Bluetooth unlock. The Model 3 and Y would be unaffected as they've always had the Bluetooth unlock. The post-referesh X and S also are unlockable via Bluetooth.
Regardless, always carry your keycard or fob. The Bluetooth connection or pairing isn't always reliable in my experience.
* Unlock by NFC keycard
* Unlock by bluetooth using the app
* Remote start by app (over the cell network)
AIUI the latter was down. I don't think the bluetooth would be down - that one works even without cell service - but I didn't try it during the time of the outage. Regardless, you really should carry the keycard around just in case your cellphone runs out of batteries or something.
This is the world being built around us. You don't own anything and even the stuff you do own has a lot of caveats that sure make it seem like you don't own it.
> "There will be a secondary mechanism to get in or out of the car beyond the app, the difficulty will come for drivers if they are not carrying it," he said.
Deadlocked inside your car because the app is down is a scary thought in summer.
[+] [-] raven105x|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] DFHippie|4 years ago|reply
This is typical for BBC articles. E.g., https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59358070 or https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-derbyshire-59359263. I have no idea why this is their policy, but it isn't a special feature of this article.
[+] [-] dagmx|4 years ago|reply
All 3, Y and 2021+ S and X will work with just Bluetooth.
[+] [-] unknown|4 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] ejdyksen|4 years ago|reply
You can start the car over the internet, too, but this is not typical, and the app actually warns you when you try to to do this.
Finally, the Model 3/Y have backup keycards that Tesla encourages you to keep with you just in case your phone dies. The app tells you this when you first pair your phone.
[+] [-] shiftpgdn|4 years ago|reply
There are no articles written about how “Audi users locked out of cars since July” since that doesn’t pass the sniff test but when you bring up Tesla all logic goes out the window.
[+] [-] jaak|4 years ago|reply
The key part does not rely on Tesla's servers to operate (except probably for initial setup?). I had no problem unlocking or starting my Tesla during the outage.
Sadly, the App (convenience part) isn't 100% reliable. It occasionally fails to connect to the car and the only way to get it to work is to force close it. However, I have never had the key part fail to work.
[+] [-] ethagknight|4 years ago|reply
In the dead phone scenario, one thing I didn’t realize was that I could borrow a phone, call my wife, have her remote unlock and also start the car so I can get on my merry way while my phone gets sufficient charge to boot back up.
[+] [-] leobg|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] dagmx|4 years ago|reply
They lack the Bluetooth unlock. The Model 3 and Y would be unaffected as they've always had the Bluetooth unlock. The post-referesh X and S also are unlockable via Bluetooth.
Regardless, always carry your keycard or fob. The Bluetooth connection or pairing isn't always reliable in my experience.
[+] [-] PretzelPirate|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] bdonlan|4 years ago|reply
* Unlock by NFC keycard * Unlock by bluetooth using the app * Remote start by app (over the cell network)
AIUI the latter was down. I don't think the bluetooth would be down - that one works even without cell service - but I didn't try it during the time of the outage. Regardless, you really should carry the keycard around just in case your cellphone runs out of batteries or something.
[+] [-] eropple|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] masswerk|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] dane-pgp|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] powerbroker|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jtbayly|4 years ago|reply
I hate it enough with my computer and phone.
[+] [-] bluefirebrand|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] cube00|4 years ago|reply
Deadlocked inside your car because the app is down is a scary thought in summer.
[+] [-] xaine24|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] akmarinov|4 years ago|reply
It’s made so that you can unlock your car if you’re 5 levels deep in a parking structure.
[+] [-] bluefirebrand|4 years ago|reply
Just seems silly to have to break a window because of an internet outage.
[+] [-] unknown|4 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] echopurity|4 years ago|reply
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