# Apps and logging, 3rd party software. Any reviews for Model 3?



## GregRF (Sep 25, 2017)

Anyone using any of the 3rd party apps for logging and controls of their model 3s?

I've seen some mention of software like TeslaFi and Dashboard for Tesla, but not too many accounts in relation to the model 3. Please post any experiences you have had.


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## MelindaV (Apr 2, 2016)

Not exactly what you are looking for, but this post has some info you may be interested in.
https://teslaownersonline.com/threads/when-you-charge-your-model-3-will-you-track-things.3788/


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## GregRF (Sep 25, 2017)

Thanks, that is informative. I was hoping to find some people familiar with the apps and how nice they play with the Model 3, but may have to just experiment.


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## Brokedoc (May 28, 2017)

I tried to sign up for Teslab but I could never get the app to work on my android (about 2-3 months ago).
TeslaFi is pretty amazing in terms of the granularity you get from the charging data and ability to track your trips and stops and power consumption. Would be great for road warriors that need detailed logs for tax purposes.

These services are also starting to integrate Amazon Alexa functionality.


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## GDN (Oct 30, 2017)

I did a quick search, but do you find any phantom drain or any other drawbacks with Teslafi on the 3? Does it keep the car awake at all times?


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## GregRF (Sep 25, 2017)

GDN said:


> I did a quick search, but do you find any phantom drain or any other drawbacks with Teslafi on the 3? Does it keep the car awake at all times?


TeslaFi has configurable settings for when to allow the car to try and sleep. I have mine set to 10 minutes of Idle time before trying to sleep and then it stops polling the car for 12 minutes which allows the car to go into sleep mode if it feels like it (pretty much every sleep attempt either succeeded or failed at 11 minutes for me). At which point it is either asleep or it starts the 10 minute idle time over again.

The idle time is important as when it stops polling any driving data won't be captured for the sleep attempt (12 minutes in my case). So for me I'm usually stopped for either a short duration (school pickup) or long duration (work/home), but if I stop for a longer period some of my drives may not be recorded as accurately.

I don't have the latest software with overheat protection, but even the older software seems to have some version of it. On hot days the car continually wakes up once the interior is somewhere over 105F and turns on the fan until it is under 90F. So in these cases the car may have some extra drain then not using TelsFi since it will stay on for the 10 min idle time before going back to sleep each time.

I did the trial and liked it enough to pay for the subscription. I'd say give it a try. You can use my username as a referral code and get the trial period extended from 2 weeks to 4 weeks.


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## John (Apr 16, 2016)

I have Teslafi. I like to see when updates are coming out and who's getting them.
I also like to look over past drives and remind my son that 92 mph in a residential neighborhood is no bueno (every drive is plotted).
The graph of max estimated range over time is cool (mine is going up slightly for some reason).
I have Teslafi hooked into Alexa, but I haven't used that much (the app is handier than arguing with Alexa; besides, she's usually too busy recording our conversations to care).


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## NJturtlePower (Dec 19, 2017)

So how soon can you setup a TeslaFi account? Pre-delivery or no?

Will it pull any data from the car prior to account activation?

Seems to be pretty awesome for a stats and figures nerd


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## John (Apr 16, 2016)

NJturtlePower said:


> So how soon can you setup a TeslaFi account? Pre-delivery or no?
> 
> Will it pull any data from the car prior to account activation?
> 
> Seems to be pretty awesome for a stats and figures nerd


Not sure. Give it a try!


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## Alexlash (Jul 10, 2018)

NJturtlePower said:


> So how soon can you setup a TeslaFi account? Pre-delivery or no?


I tried playing around with the API pre-delivery and couldn't get anywhere; according to my delivery specialist the car is added to your account half an hour before your delivery appointment.

I'm starting to look into things - I picked up Remote S for the watch app and I've been a little underwhelmed - mostly learning curve on my end.

I added "My Tesla (unofficial)" to my Echo. Works pretty well but gives a ton of information (I don't need to know the specifics, just tell me what the current temperature in the car is .

I was pointed towards VisibleTesla for climate scheduling but what I really want is "Alexa, ask my car to turn on the HVAC at 3:30pm" and maybe some calendar integration. Might put a service together; happy to open source it but I don't want to handle other folks' car tokens so it'll be a deploy-your-own-copy situation. 

Thanks GregRF! TeslaFi looks interesting; just signed up with your code.


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## NJturtlePower (Dec 19, 2017)

John said:


> Not sure. Give it a try!


No dice....guess I'll wait until Friday


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## John (Apr 16, 2016)

Alexlash said:


> I added "My Tesla (unofficial)" to my Echo. Works pretty well but gives a ton of information (I don't need to know the specifics, just tell me what the current temperature in the car is .


"Hey, Alexa. Ask my car what the temperature is."
"The inside temperature is 94 degrees and the outside temperature is 84 degrees."

Teslafi skill for Amazon Echo.


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## NJturtlePower (Dec 19, 2017)

NJturtlePower said:


> No dice....guess I'll wait until Friday
> View attachment 11340


Nevermind me...helps if you enter your Tesla PW correctly...  Set up and waiting.... @GregRF Referral Used & Claimed.










* *** Any new TeslaFi users feel free to use my username (NJturtlePower) as your referral code at account creation for an additional 2-week trial. Thanks!  ****


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## GDN (Oct 30, 2017)

Thanks for all the feedback guys. I've got Alexa and love the lighting, thermostat and pool control, but will have to investigate what's available through the apps for the car, but I'll have to investigate the apps and what is controllable. Also for Teslafi I'm thinking the SW updates are one of the coolest things I like to see and watch and wouldn't mind participating in that. The car seems to have plenty of history, don't have kids I need to check up on, but still some interesting things. I'll do more digging.


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## NJturtlePower (Dec 19, 2017)

So started using TeslaFi at delivery and LOVE all the data and stats, but by the second day discovered the whole vampire drain deal due to Sleep Mode not being active.

I have Sleep Mode active now, but still confused about some of the Sleep Settings.

Right now just using the defaults (15min Try Sleeping / 30min Idle) and also on Nighttime Sleep Mode (10pm-6am).

@SoFlaModel3 @John @GregRF Need some help longtime users.....

So if the car is sleeping either during the day or during the Nighttime Sleep Mode and I wake it, and start driving, doesn't the TeslaFi polling automatically restart? Anytime the car is "awake" or driving polling is active is it not?

Is there any reason to change the Sleep and Idle times? And do you or should you use Deep Sleep?


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## GregRF (Sep 25, 2017)

NJturtlePower said:


> So started using TeslaFi at delivery and LOVE all the data and stats, but by the second day discovered the whole vampire drain deal due to Sleep Mode not being active.
> 
> I have Sleep Mode active now, but still confused about some of the Sleep Settings.
> 
> ...


I don't use deep sleep. The only reason to change sleep and idle times is to try and and avoid missing data when starting a drive. When idle or sleeping starting a drive is fine. The only time data may be missed is during the "Time To Try Sleeping", as during this time it stops polling the vehicle completely. I found 12 minutes for this to be good.

Changing the idle time just gives you a certain amount of time after you park to start driving again without the polling stopping. So this is based on your use case of short stops.


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## NJturtlePower (Dec 19, 2017)

GregRF said:


> I don't use deep sleep. The only reason to change sleep and idle times is to try and and avoid missing data when starting a drive. When idle or sleeping starting a drive is fine. The only time data may be missed is during the "Time To Try Sleeping", as during this time it stops polling the vehicle completely. I found 12 minutes for this to be good.
> 
> Changing the idle time just gives you a certain amount of time after you park to start driving again without the polling stopping. So this is based on your use case of short stops.


So why not use let's say 5min as "Time to try Sleeping"? Meaning your stops should be MORE than 5min on average.

In this scenario, if I drove to the store and parked, after 5min the car would try to sleep and if it did and I then left the store 20min after arriving (still set at 30min idle) there should be no data loss correct?


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## John (Apr 16, 2016)

I just left the sleep settings, etc. on default. 

I charge every night in my driveway so I wouldn't notice an impact vampire drain if it was occurring. Can't really speak to that.


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## SoFlaModel3 (Apr 15, 2017)

NJturtlePower said:


> So started using TeslaFi at delivery and LOVE all the data and stats, but by the second day discovered the whole vampire drain deal due to Sleep Mode not being active.
> 
> I have Sleep Mode active now, but still confused about some of the Sleep Settings.
> 
> ...


I actually don't use it for fear of additional vampire drain.


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## Brokedoc (May 28, 2017)

SoFlaModel3 said:


> I actually don't use it for fear of additional vampire drain.


I actually LOVE TeslaFi to monitor vampire drain. In fact, I believe the sleep settings may actually HELP reduce vampire drain.

There are a few caveats regarding TeslaFi and their sleep settings. The car settings needed for TeslaFi sleep settings to work are:

1. 'Energy Savings' enabled
2. 'Always Connected' disabled
3. 'Cabin Overheat Protection' disabled.

#3 may be a dealbreaker for @SoFlaModel3 but clearly that setting uses A LOT of power. Below is a screenshot of my home page from today. The top right shows my time in Sleep and my time in Idle along with the power used during those times. Then, I selected to view my idle and sleep sessions individually so most of the screenshot shows the stats of the individual sessions.










I was checking my loot box on my Tesla app today and every time I opened the app, my car was woken out of sleep. Terrible that you can't see the status of awards from the MyTesla webpage. I'm hoping I get my black Elon Wall Charger before my Model 3s. Having Tesla wall chargers daisy chained simplifies charging for more than 1 Tesla.


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## SoFlaModel3 (Apr 15, 2017)

Brokedoc said:


> I actually LOVE TeslaFi to monitor vampire drain. In fact, I believe the sleep settings may actually HELP reduce vampire drain.
> 
> There are a few caveats regarding TeslaFi and their sleep settings. The car settings needed for TeslaFi sleep settings to work are:
> 
> ...


Wow that's pretty impressive. I may need to give it a look. I'm definitely crazy for data!


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## NJturtlePower (Dec 19, 2017)

@Brokedoc My stats are very similar to yours for today, and I agree, I do love all the data TeslaFi brings to the table.

Now that I have Sleep Mode running I think it's a keeper for sure.


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## NJturtlePower (Dec 19, 2017)

TeslaFi's Monthly calendar view is pretty awesome too... gives a little summary on each day individually of all drives and charges and at the top summarizes your driving and charging for the full month. Great for estimating your utility bill impact and oogling over your operating costs/efficiency. 

If interested, please use my referral code/user name (*NJturtlePower*) *CaSe SeNsItIvE* for an additional 2-week trial. I'll get a $5 credit towards my annual ($50) subscription if you end up keeping it, so thanks!


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## GregRF (Sep 25, 2017)

NJturtlePower said:


> So why not use let's say 5min as "Time to try Sleeping"? Meaning your stops should be MORE than 5min on average.
> 
> In this scenario, if I drove to the store and parked, after 5min the car would try to sleep and if it did and I then left the store 20min after arriving (still set at 30min idle) there should be no data loss correct?


Looking at the raw data feed, it seems to always take 11 minutes of stopped polling for the car to actually fall asleep.


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## Brokedoc (May 28, 2017)

SoFlaModel3 said:


> Wow that's pretty impressive. I may need to give it a look. I'm definitely crazy for data!


Plus I have TeslaFi set up to text me when my car falls asleep.












GregRF said:


> Looking at the raw data feed, it seems to always take 11 minutes of stopped polling for the car to actually fall asleep.


It's a temporary pause in polling to allow the car to enter sleep. After in sleep, TeslaFi can resume polling depending on your interval settings. Based on my sleep mode measurements, phantom drain is nonexistent. Idle mode drain however can add up quickly.


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## Stats App (Jul 11, 2018)

GregRF said:


> Anyone using any of the 3rd party apps for logging and controls of their model 3s?
> 
> I've seen some mention of software like TeslaFi and Dashboard for Tesla, but not too many accounts in relation to the model 3. Please post any experiences you have had.


Here is a partial list of what the Stats app does.

A graph that shows your battery health
A graph that shows your efficiency vs. others
A graph that shows firmware distribution across users
A graph that shows miles driven per day/week/month
A graph that shows stats related to your charging sessions
A graph that shows your driving efficiency history
A graph that shows you phantom drain stats per day/week/month and location of each phantom drain
Export your stats to a spreadsheet to analyze on your desktop computer
Sends notification if you arrive somewhere and leave one of the doors or trunk(s) open (which prevents the car to lock itself)
Receive a notification (after a few minutes) if climate was tuned on remotely and you are not in the car. This helps prevent depleting the car battery if you turn the climate on remotely and then forget about it.
Send addresses from your iOS device to your car
Charging reminder notifies you if the car's battery level is low and it is parked at home and it is unplugged
Use the Widget to do all this without launching any apps:
check status of all doors
o battery level
time to complete charge (when charging)

Displays driving efficiency over past 30 miles
Supports multiple vehicles under the same account
App reminds you if the battery level is low (user specified) and the car is at home (user specified location) and it's not plugged in. Of course, the feature is optional and can be disabled, if desired.
You can change the cost for a charging session by tap-and-hold on the cost bar-chart
Integrated several forums and new sites


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## NJturtlePower (Dec 19, 2017)

In case anybody else on TeslaFi is experiencing any Sleep and Offline Messages as I was yesterday after my 28.1 update I wanted to share the response I got from James.

_Hi,_

_Unfortunately TeslaFi can't make the car sleep. It can only pause polling to try to let it sleep but it's up the Tesla and car when it's ready to sleep and it seems to change with the model 3 on each firmware release._

_I would make sure you have cabin overheat turned off. I would also recommend not using the Tesla widget since every time you view it the car will 'wake up' and the clock could start all over on when it's ready to sleep._

_A few software versions have displayed offline when the car is idle and it may be sleeping but it's not the typical way it works. It changes from version to version so for now TeslaFi just includes this in the idle session. You can disable offline notifications within settings->notifications if you receive to many._

_Hopefully this helps._

_Thanks,_
_James_

So seems this is an ongoing complication of the Model 3 updates... good news is my car had no problems sleeping at night while plugged in just seems to be more hesitant during the day.

Today at work Johnny 5.3 went into sleep after about an hour where previously it would be about 30-min. One positive notes about the 28.1 at least so far is that idle drain/loss is greatly reduced from what I was tracking on 24.7 so I guess that makes up from some of the additional idling.

My C.O.P setting was already OFF, but took James' suggestion about not using the iPhone widget for now to see if that helps brings things back to my normal.


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## airj1012 (Jan 29, 2019)

Just wanted to see if folks had a favorite iOS application to control their car. I'm looking to give the application to a family member as a gift who has a Model 3. More concerned with being able to control the car than the driving statistics. Any favorites or good reviews to compare them myself? Ones I know about are Stats, TeslaFi, Remote S. 

Thanks!


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## MelindaV (Apr 2, 2016)

airj1012 said:


> Just wanted to see if folks had a favorite iOS application to control their car. I'm looking to give the application to a family member as a gift who has a Model 3. More concerned with being able to control the car than the driving statistics. Any favorites or good reviews to compare them myself? Ones I know about are Stats, TeslaFi, Remote S.
> 
> Thanks!


Teslafi for me is far and away the favorite. It is online, so not an iOS app, but available on anything with an internet connection (even in the Model 3)


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## JWardell (May 9, 2016)

airj1012 said:


> Just wanted to see if folks had a favorite iOS application to control their car. I'm looking to give the application to a family member as a gift who has a Model 3. More concerned with being able to control the car than the driving statistics. Any favorites or good reviews to compare them myself? Ones I know about are Stats, TeslaFi, Remote S.
> 
> Thanks!


Those are the ones I know of, and I just started using "Commands" which is simple but adds Siri and Apple Watch control.
Another one to check out is TezLab

Stats appears to be the nicest app, but I won't use it because if combined with TeslaFi the car will never sleep. And Teslafi is still king for data,.


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