LTE Modem specs are here

[Rich M]

Just some nerd stuff for anyone interested. The LTE Modem in the Model 3 is the Telit LE940B6-NA. It's a Cat 6 (300 Mbit theoretical) LTE device capable of 2-way carrier aggregation, and from the looks of the manual, 2x2 MIMO.

It supports the below frequency bands which covers everything currently in use except band 30 (2300) and band 14 (generally reserved for First net), which is not a bad compromise.

Press release on device certification:
https://www.telit.com/press-release...00-mbps-lte-advanced-automotive-grade-module/

User manual for the modem:
https://fccid.io/RI7LE940B6NA/User-Manual/User-Manual-3334482

These are great specs for what the car needs (downloading maps, streaming audio, phoning home for app integration, etc). Thanks to @scaots and @Spiffywerks we know the LTE antennas for MIMO are located in each side mirror.

 

[Michael Russo]

@Rich M , liked your post though I don’t understand any of it ... yet I know there are smarter people here who will!!!

 

[Jason Bourne]

I thought I'd heard people say the LTE antenna is in the passenger side mirror housing.

 

[Rick59]

@Rich M , liked your post though I don’t understand any of it ... yet I know there are smarter people here who will!!!

Michael, not understanding stuff is getting to be more common for me each day. Either the world is getting smarter or ...

 

[JWardell]

I thought I'd heard people say the LTE antenna is in the passenger side mirror housing.

There are definitely antennas in flex in the mirrors, but they might just be for bluetooth proximity sensing for door unlock. Of course it would be almost free for them to do both if they run separate antenna wires. Otherwise I would guess they are in the headliner or even in the display.

 

[scaots]

Here is what I just found under the driver mirror... LTE and WiFi antennae, plenty of other wires so BT could also be there besides mirror controls for folding, position, and dimming.

 

[Rich M]

Excellent! So glad they're labeled. That is an excellent placement for RF performance too, assuming the other LTE antenna is in the passenger mirror.

 

[TirianW]

Here is what I just found under the driver mirror... LTE and WiFi antennae, plenty of other wires so BT could also be there besides mirror controls for folding, position, and dimming.

Putting the WiFi antennas in the mirrors would also improve outdoor performance. I was worried about having sufficient coverage of the driveway to allow the car to connect reliably (there is no cellular coverage where I live) assuming the antenna was located inside the car. By spending the extra money to run the cable all the way outside the car, Tesla significantly improved the performance. The existing outdoor coverage I have is plenty for WiFi calling when doing yard work, but is often not enough for my cell phone to start Pandora or load a Google map while sitting in my Leaf in the driveway. I was hoping the larger than normal windows would be enough, but putting the antenna outside the car completely solves the problem.

 

[Spiffywerks]

Excellent! So glad they're labeled. That is an excellent placement for RF performance too, assuming the other LTE antenna is in the passenger mirror.

Passenger mirror:

 

[CleanEV]

@Rich M - very informative information.
I searched with the part numbers and am not able to find anything related to WiFi specs. Have you been able to?

 

[GDN]

@Rich M - very informative information.
I searched with the part numbers and am not able to find anything related to WiFi specs. Have you been able to?

A small step. I got 26.1 tonight and connected Wifi, Fing tells me it is LG Electronics. Going to a MAC address registration site it tells me LG Innotek. That narrows down the vendor of the chipset.

 

[CleanEV]

A small step. I got 26.1 tonight and connected Wifi, Fing tells me it is LG Electronics. Going to a MAC address registration site it tells me LG Innotek. That narrows down the vendor of the chipset.

A bit of searching g got me to FCC site where I found all Tesla applications - https://fccid.io/2AEIM

I am stuck on 24.7 and as of late yesterday Tesla told me that I’ve the newest software, upon questioning, mentioned that updates will be made on a rolling basis and may not be slated for my vehicle.

 

[GDN]

This is about Wifi, not LTE as the title says, but think it fits, it is about car communication. After getting 26.1 last night and connecting to LTE, the car connected and disconnected all night long to the network. Some sort of sleep cycle I guess, but there were many connects and disconnects.

Looks like it stays connected for 10 to 11 minutes and disconnects for about 20 to 21 before connecting again. Wondering after a drive or being away a few hours or even days if it would stay connected longer for upload of logs, etc. Or download of maps and software. I guess only time will tell.

EDIT:
Have been updating the log for 24 hours now. Don't know if this will give us tons of information, but the most interesting part was after the car was away from the house for an hour the Wifi remained connected for over an hour and a half. Maybe some download? Upload of logs? I'll have to investigate tools that can watch the traffic better other than just knowing if it is connected or not connected.

9:40 PM - Software install and first connection to network
10:14 PM - Offline
10:45 PM - Online
10:55 PM - Offline
11:16 PM - Online
11:57 PM - Offline
12:17 AM - Online
12:29 AM - Offline
12:49 AM - Online
1:00 AM - Offline
1:21 AM - Online
1:32 AM - Offline
1:52 AM - Online
2:03 AM - Offline
2:23 AM - Online
2:34 AM - Offline
2:55 AM - Online
3:07 AM - Offline
3:26 AM - Online
3:37 AM - Offline
3:58 AM - Online
4:08 AM - Offline
4:29 AM - Online
4:39 AM - Offline
5:00 AM - Online
5:12 AM - Offline
5:32 AM - Online
5:44 AM - Offline
6:04 AM - Online
6:14 AM - Offline
6:35 AM - Online
6:46 AM - Offline
7:06 AM - Online
7:18 AM - Offline
7:37 AM - Online
7:48 AM - Offline
8:09 AM - Online
8:30 AM - Offline
8:50 AM - Online. - took a short drive here, but Fing didn't register when it left the garage. Threw the cycle off.
9:06 AM - Offline
9:07 AM - Online
9:29 AM - Offline
11:54 AM - Online - Interesting 2.5 hour break here where it stayed offline
12:05 PM - Offline
12:26 PM - Online
12:38 PM - Offline
12:57 PM - Online
1:10 PM - Offline
1:29 PM - Online
1:41 PM - Offline
2:01 PM - Online
2:11 PM - Offline
2:29 PM - Online
2:40 PM - Offline - left garage - errands about an hour
3:43 PM - Online - returned home
5:20 PM - Offline - Interesting note here - car stayed connected almost 1:40 after being driven
5:40 PM - Online
5:52 PM - Offline
6:11 PM - Online
6:30 PM - Offline
6:50 PM - Online
7:00 PM - Offline
7:21 PM - Online
7:41 PM - Offline
8:03 PM - Online
8:14 PM - Offline
8:34 PM - Online
8:45 PM - Offline
9:05 PM - Online
9:16 PM - Offline
9:37 PM - Online

 

[GDN]

A bit of searching g got me to FCC site where I found all Tesla applications - https://fccid.io/2AEIM

I am stuck on 24.7 and as of late yesterday Tesla told me that I’ve the newest software, upon questioning, mentioned that updates will be made on a rolling basis and may not be slated for my vehicle.

Very interesting find. Fun to poke around there. The government makes it a bit hard to cover your work ! I guess they have some period of time they hide things like this, I know Apple, and likely all companies can get things hidden for a while as they lead up to a product launch and things get released.

 

[JWardell]

Passenger mirror:
View attachment 11757

You've confirmed something else here: The wifi antenna is only on the driver's side. Both sides have an LTE antenna. It's then reasonable to conclude that bluetooth also uses the wifi antenna, as they are both 2.4Ghz and sensitivity is needed most on the driver's side to unlock the door.

And for anyone else: these antennas are made out of "flex" which is what Elon has stated he wants to replace *ALL* wiring harnesses with in the future. It's common to find in cell phones and laptops where thinness and weight are important, and in unique applications like these mirrors where curvature/flexability are needed, but the weight saving and simple manufacturing mean it can mean big savings for replacing wiring harnesses, so long as you have something nice and strong to pass it through (like a Tesla battery...)

 

[eHaw]

Great info.

I wonder if anyone has a resource where the uses of each transport are explained.

Something like...

Bluetooth - Unlocking doors

Wifi - Phone App, maps (when LTE is offline)

LTE - Tesla updates, crash notifications, maps,
streaming audio, phoning home for app integration.

 

[Krash]

...I wonder if anyone has a resource where the uses of each transport are explained...

Bluetooth is also also used for device to use the device's media. If the device is a phone the car can also access call history and make phone calls for you.

I think Tesla updates are almost always done over WiFi and that you only get an update over LTE if is is super critical or you are super behind on updates.

I think streaming audio will also go over WiFi if connected.

I have heard that Tesla will cache maps over WiFi, although that has not been my experience.

I suspect that the API only talks over LTE and that crash notifications would also only be over LTE.

 

[Rich M]

...crash notifications would also only be over LTE.

As far as I know, WiFi is only enabled in Park. As soon as I shift to R in my garage the wifi indicator switches to LTE signal bars.

 

[Jay79]

I've been having to reboot to get my home WiFi to connect, is anyone else experiencing this?

 

[vts747]

I've been having to reboot to get my home WiFi to connect, is anyone else experiencing this?

I have to reboot to get browser and owner manual stuff working on LTE, and at times on WiFi. Called Tesla, they pulled the logs, apparently there may be a "problem" with LTE antenna (no clear explanation), they scheduled a service app next Friday. Interesting to find out if it will fix anything. WiFi still seems to work, for the most part, but I had to reboot today to "reconnect" it to get the browser and other stuff to work again at home. I'll post if I find out more details.