SiriusXM Guardian is Crazy

[ShadowsPapa]

The joys of cellular "connection" - if it doesn't work in a garage, it's not the service, it's the reception. My phone MAY or may not work in the garage, works in parts of the house. Other people come to visit and have to take their phones outside to make a call unless it's a good day. It's getting better as more towers pop up, but that's cellular connectivity........ and since everyone is moving to it for everything, I'm finding we can't get connection at certain times of days and on certain days as everyone is playing games or sharing selfies when they get off work.
1 minute to wait for a command to go through isn't any big deal, IMO, for remote stuff. So you send that command 1 minute earlier.
If you are IN the truck and want a voice command to do something local - different story, but what's happened to the USA when Americans can't wait 1 minute for something? No wonder there's road rage running rampant. And I thought I was a I want it all, I want it now, get the hell out of my way, person.

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[SwampNut]

One minute is not reasonable. That is proven by the fact that the Viper was a bit faster, and the Tesla is almost instant. So proof that it doesn't have to be shitty. The minute alone isn't the worst part. It's that you have to wait a minute or two, then go back and look at the app, and see if the status has updated. It may start, or not. And if not, it may show that in the app, or may not. It may just sit there waiting for status updated. Guardian tech support had me do factory resets and even go to the dealer for diags. End result: Is what it is.

The Tesla also works where the Jeep didn't. Coverage is half the story, my guess is that the Tesla system retries the command a lot. There's a spot in my driveway that is in a literal shadow from the cell tower. Park close to the house, and the Jeep failed 100%. Park in the same place, Tesla works. Why? Same cell network, AT&T.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

One minute is not reasonable. That is proven by the fact that the Viper was a bit faster, and the Tesla is almost instant. So proof that it doesn't have to be shitty. The minute alone isn't the worst part. It's that you have to wait a minute or two, then go back and look at the app, and see if the status has updated. It may start, or not. And if not, it may show that in the app, or may not. It may just sit there waiting for status updated. Guardian tech support had me do factory resets and even go to the dealer for diags. End result: Is what it is.

The Tesla also works where the Jeep didn't. Coverage is half the story, my guess is that the Tesla system retries the command a lot. There's a spot in my driveway that is in a literal shadow from the cell tower. Park close to the house, and the Jeep failed 100%. Park in the same place, Tesla works. Why? Same cell network, AT&T.

Antenna is a huge part of the story, and one reason that for a few years, Motorola was the ONLY phone that worked in our area, the only one, bar none. No other phone worked (we tried on the xx days to try it and be happy or return it policy) Friends with iphones, Samsung, you name it, they couldn't make or receive calls here, but if you had a Motorola phone, you could. Then I learned that LG updated to what at the time was a unique antenna idea - and we found then that LG phones also worked. While my son had top of the line Samsung stuff as he was an honorary member of the Samsung fan club (as I called him) - he couldn't do squat with his phone while here while we made and received calls, texts, whatever, with our phones. It's different now as there are more towers and most companies have finally figured out how to get reception, but that's the bigger part of things - the antenna, at least here. There are times I can use my phone but the truck can't communicate to check to see if I should have off road pages or other certain apps. I can pick things up with my phone while the truck can't, so I figure - antenna (and the fact that in this state, AT&T has poor coverage)
We had 30 some remote offices for the agency I worked with - biggest complaint - lack of cell coverage. Even Verizon had problems. There were times in this state only USCC worked.
I don't know how it is in other states, I can only speak for Iowa, but antennas, and some companies have coverage while others don't, those are the big things around here.
While in Alaska it was the opposite of Iowa - there were people getting and making phone calls, looking things up, and we had no signal.
And of course satellite is problematic here because the cloud coverage is often so dense and so many layers, even GPS struggles.

I'd love to see if a Tesla could get commands where we live - not saying anything other than I'd be interested in seeing how they work out here where we are. (and at the same time I'd get a close-up look and demonstration of the cars as I'm intrigued by them)

 

[Challenger85]

The joys of cellular "connection" - if it doesn't work in a garage, it's not the service, it's the reception. My phone MAY or may not work in the garage, works in parts of the house. Other people come to visit and have to take their phones outside to make a call unless it's a good day. It's getting better as more towers pop up, but that's cellular connectivity........ and since everyone is moving to it for everything, I'm finding we can't get connection at certain times of days and on certain days as everyone is playing games or sharing selfies when they get off work.
1 minute to wait for a command to go through isn't any big deal, IMO, for remote stuff. So you send that command 1 minute earlier.
If you are IN the truck and want a voice command to do something local - different story, but what's happened to the USA when Americans can't wait 1 minute for something? No wonder there's road rage running rampant. And I thought I was a I want it all, I want it now, get the hell out of my way, person.

It’s not the service, it’s the reception? Who the hell cares what the culprit is. If it doesn’t work where it’s parked 100% of the time it’s now useless 100% of the time at my house. What does the system being slow and laggy have to do with being impatient? If I can’t tap my watch walking out of Home Depot and unlock my doors and have the Jeep unlocked by the time I walk all the way to the back of the parking lot what’s the point? I just end up pulling out my key, what am I going to do? Just stand there and stare at my truck waiting for it to unlock for me? Remote start delays aren’t a big deal if you’re starting your truck way ahead of time. But what if you just want to start your truck as your leaving the store? By the time it starts I can be close enough to just remote start it from the fob anyways. Not really sure what you’re arguing though, it doesn’t add $25 a month convenience to my life. If anything it’s the opposite and I can’t say I’ve ever remote started my car from far enough away that I couldn’t just use the fob.

 

[SwampNut]

I'd love to see if a Tesla could get commands where we live - not saying anything other than I'd be interested in seeing how they work out here where we are. (and at the same time I'd get a close-up look and demonstration of the cars as I'm intrigued by them)

Hah, I didn't forget that I have a standing invitation to come visit you, LOL.

Another Tesla oddity that nobody else seems to have (I can't find it): You can piggyback the car from a hotspot or wifi of any kind. I've connected it to a sat phone, and to a mobile hotspot with Verizon which has slightly better rural coverage in AZ. Not the most convenient thing, but not terrible either. I connected it to a campground's wifi in the middle of nowhere.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I can’t say I’ve ever remote started my car from far enough away that I couldn’t just use the fob.

I have, but you do have to plan ahead.

It's simply not worth it to a lot of people. A lot of people are good with the smaller radio, and fewer other options, too.

Watch? I don't even wear one, let alone figure I need to control my life with one so I guess, different things are important.

I put my fingers behind the handle, it unlocks. I like simple.

The bottom line, if you don't like it, don't buy it. At least we have that choice, and the choice of at least 3 different levels of service. It's not forced on us. And it's not a Porsche or BMW and some keep reminding us. Can't expect a Jeep to have the same level of service as luxury transport.

 

[SwampNut]

Where I live, vehicles get insanely hot in summer. Having 5-8 minutes of cooling before driving really changes my happiness level.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Hah, I didn't forget that I have a standing invitation to come visit you, LOL.

Another Tesla oddity that nobody else seems to have (I can't find it): You can piggyback the car from a hotspot or wifi of any kind. I've connected it to a sat phone, and to a mobile hotspot with Verizon which has slightly better rural coverage in AZ. Not the most convenient thing, but not terrible either. I connected it to a campground's wifi in the middle of nowhere.

That makes sense - it's like my tablet has it's own SIM card and can correct directly but sometimes it's easier to connect to another device - even my phone can act as a hotspot for my tablet since the phone, oddly, has better reception even though they are the same company and same service.

 

[Challenger85]

I have, but you do have to plan ahead.

It's simply not worth it to a lot of people. A lot of people are good with the smaller radio, and fewer other options, too.

Watch? I don't even wear one, let alone figure I need to control my life with one so I guess, different things are important.

I put my fingers behind the handle, it unlocks. I like simple.

The bottom line, if you don't like it, don't buy it. At least we have that choice, and the choice of at least 3 different levels of service. It's not forced on us. And it's not a Porsche or BMW and some keep reminding us. Can't expect a Jeep to have the same level of service as luxury transport.

I’m not sure what this has to do with luxury? I simply said it doesn’t work very well and you went on a rant about people being impatient and it’s not the service it’s the reception. Now you’re talking about options and apparently have issues with people wearing smart watches too? I work with my hands all day, having a watch allows me to see what notifications I’m receiving without pulling my phone out of my pocket, control my music and respond to texts hands free. It can also unlock your car by voice if the thing decides to work.

 

[dcmdon]

I'd love to see if a Tesla could get commands where we live - not saying anything other than I'd be interested in seeing how they work out here where we are. (and at the same time I'd get a close-up look and demonstration of the cars as I'm intrigued by them)

When a Tesla is sitting in its garage, its connected to your WiFi. No cell service required.

Tesla does over the air updates at night and will use WiFi if available.

As an IT guy its pretty impressive how Tesla has their firmware update methodology down so if there is a problem they can roll back to the old version before morning when you get up and want to use your car.

It impresses me on a tech level. But I don't want my car updating overnight without my permission. Just like I don't want my router, phone, or computer updating without my ok.

 

[SwampNut]

It impresses me on a tech level. But I don't want my car updating overnight without my permission. Just like I don't want my router, phone, or computer updating without my ok.

You can select that feature. I do the updates manually. Not that I care if they're done automatically, but I can get advance releases and apply them sooner doing it manually.

 

[Blue Ridge]

My one year of ownership just passed this week and I no longer have access to the Sirius app. And wouldn't you know it, the check engine light came on that same day! The conspiracy part of my brain was on full alert, but realizing I just crossed 4K miles, I bet it's an oil change they're telling me I'm due. Though it didn't come on when I drove home from work tonight; I would have loved to have been able to look at my phone and figure out why.

 

[dcmdon]

A big plus for VW in Europe is their love of the diesel. They fell in love with 'em, I believe it was in the 60s or so. They are still the majority in some parts of Europe (if not the whole of Europe?)
VW cheated and played the system, but still their diesel is a huge reason they sell so many cars.

Yes. I forgot VW or VAG.

They sure pivoted to EVs quickly though. Prior to diesel gate, they were anti EV. Post-dieselgate. They are dead serious about EVs.

 

[JET_83]

Yeah just for the app, waste of money, totally not justified paying for.

 

[JET_83]

Toyota is so lame all around. I've driven three different Toyotas in the past year or so, and I'm shocked at what crap they are. The electronics are a bad joke. The braking, annoying, and the steering is downright 90s junk. The adaptive cruise on a 2021 TRD... I'm not exaggerating: TURNS OFF at 30MPH. So if it had to slow for traffic, at 30 it goes BEEP BEEP and just stops braking. Good luck!!!

You got that right, and their infotainment is severely outdated.

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