Tesla Not Waking Up - This will fix it!

A bonus of owning a Tesla is turning it on remotely. Handy for AC or heating in the summer or the cold winter months. But what if that doesn’t work? In this article, we’ll examine why and how to fix it.

Tesla not waking up is due to a connectivity problem, either in your phone app or onboard in your Tesla. Pre-2015 Teslas must be upgraded to a 5G modem as AT&T has phased out the 3G network.

To love any car, it has to behave as it should. When things start to glitch, it’s a problem. Let’s look at how to get it fixed.

Tesla Bluetooth Too Far Away

For your Tesla to wake up, it has to receive an instruction from your phone. This is usually done through Bluetooth. Bluetooth works by radio waves, and devices pair or connect, your phone and your car seeing each other on a network. This is not working because the range distance is too far or something is blocking the pairing.

You may have parked underground or in a garage where the signal is weak enough to pair. If your Tesla hasn’t woken up, chances are that you’ve only discovered this when you arrive at your car.

Check on your app that the Bluetooth is connected. If it isn’t, try disabling and reenabling it. Open your app and Press the ‘Unlock’ icon. This should activate your Bluetooth and wake up your car.

Tesla WiFi Active

If your car wakes up, it is now connected to your WiFi. Tesla recommends always having your WiFi connection on, which is faster than a cellular connection. All updates are done through WiFi, so if your car is not connected, it won’t wake up or receive updates.

However, your Tesla may use the WiFi on your phone instead of onboard WiFi. This is possibly the reason your car did not wake up. If you still have problems, try resetting your WiFi on your phone. If this does wake your car, sit in it, put it into gear, and check the dash for the LTE icon.

If the LTE has a slash through it, then this is why your car is not responding.

Tesla LTE Problems

What is LTE, I hear you ask? Well, as I say, all Teslas run on a network (AT&T). It’s part of your package when you purchase your car. LTE is basically the different speeds available, i.e., 3G, 4G, and 5G. When Tesla launched the Model S in 2012, they did a deal with AT&T to pony on their network.

Tesla is still prepared to update the software on these original models, which is pretty fantastic, really. They send updates for no extra fee.

So what has LTE got to do with my Tesla not waking? Out of the control of Tesla, AT&T has decided to withdraw the 3G network from February 2022. All pre-2015 Tesla models have 3G modems installed. The technology associated with 3G is pretty old now, and the speed of $G and 5G is so much faster and has a much greater capability.

Tesla realizes this is an issue for its original models, as many are still going strong. Tesla has already sent updates to this era of cars to alter the WiFi mode. Generally, once you shift into Drive or Reverse, your vehicle will turn off the wifi; however, if you have a pre-2015, the WiFi will now remain connected to your phone or a hotspot.

But this is not a long-term solution; you want your car to wake up when you tell it to. Don’t panic. Mr. Musk is on the case. He realizes that people love Teslas and want to hold on to them for as long as possible.

And it is the fault of AT&T (or AT&Ts decision to upgrade) that has made your Tesla have a connection fault. You may have already received an error message from Tesla to schedule a service.

Tesla offers to upgrade your modem from 3G to 5G for $200 plus tax. This will give you full access to updates and cellular connections onboard.

Schedule Service – Upgrades & Accessories – LTE Upgrade

Tesla Sleep & Deep Sleep

Your Tesla does sleep when it hasn’t been active for some time. If it hasn’t had any activity for a few days, then it will go into Deep Sleep. This is a way of saving your batteries. Sometimes, we can run into a Sleep problem when our Tesla doesn’t wake up.

The reason for this usually has to do with your 12V battery. You can’t wake the car if the battery is low. If you can get under the hood, then check all connections are good. If you can’t open the hood, then we’ll need to power up the hood release; I wrote a post about that which you may find helpful – What to do if Tesla battery dies

If you have a ‘battery tester, ’ check that the reading is good. It should be 12.35. If you have a problem, your battery may need to be replaced. They last about 4-5 years.

Reset Your Tesla

The last thing I would suggest, if nothing else has worked or you can’t seem to understand why your Tesla is not waking, is to try a reset.

There may have been a software update, and for whatever reason, it didn’t fully complete (maybe due to power or connection problems), but now it’s causing wake-up issues.

If you can sit in your car, and apply the brake. Press and hold the scroll wheels on either side of the steering wheel for up to 10 seconds. Your main screen will reboot, beginning with the Tesla logo. Hopefully, this will clear any errors and complete any updates.

In Conclusion

Teslas are packed to the brim with technology. But none of this technology is available without good connectivity. Your Tesla is having waking up problems due to being unable to see or talk to your Tesla. This is either a phone app issue, a 3G LTE issue in older models, and to a lesser extent, your 12V battery.

Don’t forget that Tesla Service is always willing to help, but it’s always nice to know that you have tried all the obvious possibilities before resorting to Customer Service.

If you have looked at your app and your onscreen messages and everything seems ok, go ahead and Reset Your Tesla.

I’ve written a ton on common Tesla issues, which hopefully you won’t ever experience, but if you do, we have you covered with these posts:

Check out the Tesla troubleshooting page for problem Teslas.

Check out the Tesla charging page for common Tesla charging problems.

Check out the Tesla category page for a list of popular Tesla posts.

If you are curious about other EV models, check out the EV FAQ category.

Tesla Not Waking Up – This will fix it!