2021 Refresh: USB not detected in glovebox

[chrispazz]

Hello, in new 2021 M3 with USB in glovebox and firmware 2020.45.25, there is always an alert that USB is not detected and that Sentry mode will use more power.

Looking in the teslausb storage it seems to store regularly every sentry detected despite the error message present in notifications.

Anyone with the same behaviour as mine?

[marcone]

This is just a guess, but could it be that the USB port is normally unpowered, and turning on Sentry mode is what causes it to be powered?
That would mean that when you turn on Sentry mode the drive is not yet available because the Pi still needs to start up, and so the car would complain about that. Then when the Pi is booted and makes the drive available to the car, the car starts recording to it.

[chrispazz]

No it is always powered and also the PI Zero shows led activity...

[taro777]

I also could not my zero to get recognized in my 2021 m3 with usb in glovebox.

Try to use another usb cable. I have 2 cables and both works when connected to my computer but for some reason only one works in the Tesla.

Both shows the same led activity when connected to the Tesla.

[chrispazz]

Yes but I noticed that the Raspberry is working correctly and recording everything.....

[taro777]

Yes but I noticed that the Raspberry is working correctly and recording everything.....

Yes, I noticed that exact alert message as well. I have a malfunctioning camera so the warning triangle is always on for me.

[chrispazz]

If it helps, 2021 glovebox USB is a 3.0.

[marcone]

@taro777 Re: your comment that "only one [cable] works in the Tesla", are you saying it's working for you after switching to another cable?
The thing is, there's really nothing to be done on the Pi/teslausb side as far as I know. It uses standard linux functionality to emulate a USB drive, and if the car doesn't see that drive, then it's probably a hardware issue and there's nothing I can do.

The only time I've seen similar issues was when I used a Pi4 with an attached NVME drive that was drawing too much power for the USB port. The Pi would boot, but the car refused to see it as a drive and complained about "USB malfunction". I got it to work by using a power/data splitter and providing power separately.

[taro777]

@marcone yes, np. I was just trying to help crispass since I had a similar issue and I found a way around it

[taro777]

With the latest 2020.48.12.1 the Tesla no longer recognizes the rasperry. Saw you closed a similar as duplicate. My Tesla is in service now so I can’t give more than that atm, just a heads up something happend in the last update.

[marcone]

With the latest 2020.48.12.1 the Tesla no longer recognizes the rasperry

I have 2020.48.12.1 and teslausb still works for me.

[chrispazz]

I tried again with 2020.48.12.1. Tesla give the not recognized error and the small size (32gb) error but it seems to record.
I have ordered a new microsd 128gb and v30 speed. I will try to be sure that the problem is not related to the sd size or speed and will let you know.

[bkolasin]

Can confirm this is happening on my 2021 M3. I am currently on 2020.48.26 firmware, and using a Pi Zero W, with a 128GB Sandisk Ultra Plus SDXC card. The files record onto the Pi fine, and it uploads to my fileserver via SMB when WiFi is in range just fine. I am wondering if it has to do with the USB device class / parameters that are being presented to the MCU when plugged in. I haven't tried tweaking any of this, but I haven't looked much in the way of how the Pi presents itself as a USB mass storage device to the car.

[marcone]

@kolasin2 can you clarify the actual, exact, symptoms and messages? It seems odd for the car to say that "USB is not detected", but then record to USB anyway. So is the only symptom that the car shows that message, but everything else works normally?

[bkolasin]

@marcone take a look at these screenshots. You can see that the car UI is giving the "UI_a111" error. However, if I go to look at the footage, all is there on the in-car clip viewer. I also see the clips synchronizing to my fileserver over SMB.

[chrispazz]

Same behavior on my M3 also using new faster SD.
We have to make the following test: start the car without any usb device connected (it should give the same error) and then connect the Tesla usb stick to see if it recognize the drive or if it do the same as with raspberry.
If the error is not cancelled it could be a Tesla software bug...

[IMgoRt]

Model 3 AMD Ryzen here - fail
Yesterday morning I traded my pre-facelift p3d for a new (14/Feb factory gate) M3LR, took the working teslaUSB Pi Zero 2 W and put it in the new car - drive never worked, Tesla provided USB drive works faultlessly

[CodeChief]

This solved the issue for me:

1. Remove the USB
2. Restart the computer (hold down both scroll buttons on the steering wheel until the touchscreen turns black)
3. Insert the USB

We heard this so many times before, please test for a long period before announcing a "fix" as it causes confusion and wasted time. Read the last comments above, they still stand, it seems even with the new Ryzen chipset. So it's game over for RasPi, TeslaUSB and new Tesla models since 2021.

Other hardware can successfully use and extend the glovebox USB port, simple hubs and adapters don't even work with the original USB stick. The RasPi is not even designed/supported to do this kind of emulation especially not as a USB3 drive which is required. Special hardware is necessary:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003765458729.html

The chipset used here and some reverse engineering of what kind of components allow this hub to work and in addition preserve the DashCam port without errors would reveal the special hardware requirements of the Tesla glovebox. Perhaps somebody will find a hardware hack to force the correct USB ID via resistor/shorted plug or another SBC with a similar USB chipset and driver to enable it. Either way, it still appears to be primarily a hardware issue and most Tesla owners won't want to mess about with soldering-up plugs to stick into their nice new cars.

If indeed after a longer period of testing the error has gone and you never lose footage then do come back and we can all invest some time to re-test. I rebooted so many times whilst testing this and many firmware updates occurred with no improvement, to the contrary we have more errors now than last year. A Tesla firmware update as a fix is a long shot. Normal use cases include that the Pi will be removed, re-inserted and reboot itself for updates, etc... Even if rebooting fixed it temporarily, it would not be plausible as a "fix" if it had to be repeated to ensure recordings were taken.

[marcone]

I am intrigued by this note on the product page you linked to:

Installation Notes:Plug the thumb drive into the hub first and then plug the hub into the glove box usb port with force. The reason why we need to do this is that tesla has a built-in protection program for the dashcam/Sentry mode flash drive. If you can not insert the hub into the bottom of usb port at one time, it will not able to read the flash drive, you may need to reboot your center control screen and try it again

Something may have been lost in translation there, but they seem to be saying that a flaky connection while plugging in might require rebooting the center console to get things working again.
I doubt there's anything special about the chipset used in that device.

[CodeChief]

I am intrigued by this note on the product page you linked to:

Installation Notes:Plug the thumb drive into the hub first and then plug the hub into the glove box usb port with force. The reason why we need to do this is that tesla has a built-in protection program for the dashcam/Sentry mode flash drive. If you can not insert the hub into the bottom of usb port at one time, it will not able to read the flash drive, you may need to reboot your center control screen and try it again

Something may have been lost in translation there, but they seem to be saying that a flaky connection while plugging in might require rebooting the center console to get things working again. I doubt there's anything special about the chipset used in that device.

No it doesn't say anything about needing a reboot or flaky connection. The more likely takeaway is that there is actually some "protection mechanism" and they wrote firmware to work around it. The strange wording means simply that only the first port of the hub supports dashcam, nothing to do with connectivity issues.

On the positive side, it could mean it's possible Tesla could release an update to allow hubs if there was no significant physical/reliability issue in the car they are "protecting". That could help TeslaUsb, though the lack of true hardware USB3 drive emulation support on the RasPi remains as a permanent limitation (is it even worth it anymore with this SBC? RasPi 5 or another maybe better).

The rumoured update to support BT game controllers touches this area of firmware significantly. If/when that is released it would be worth investing time/risk to test again.

[marcone]

No it doesn't say anything about needing a reboot or flaky connection.

It literally says "you may need to reboot your center control screen and try it again"

The more likely takeaway is that there is actually some "protection mechanism" and they wrote firmware to work around it. The strange wording means simply that only the first port of the hub supports dashcam, nothing to do with connectivity issues.

Their product description does say that only one of the ports is for dashcam, but the part that stood out to me was in the part I highlighted, specifically "If you can not insert the hub into the bottom of usb port at one time".
Since the extra contacts for a USB3 port are behind the regular USB2 contacts, not inserting the device all the way, or inserting too slowly, could make the device appear to the car as a USB2 device or just a flaky connection since the USB2 contacts touch before the USB3 contacts. This might then require rebooting the MCU.
The fact that some people can get Teslausb to work on newer cars by rebooting the MCU or other tricks (like the person you replied to above who has since deleted their comments) further seems to indicate that USB2 devices can work in the newer cars, we just haven't figured out the exact conditions for that yet.

The rumoured update to support BT game controllers touches this area of firmware significantly. If/when that is released it would be worth investing time/risk to test again

Sorry, I don't follow. What do Bluetooth game controllers have to do with the USB port?

[CodeChief]

I've been using this hub for 2 months already with no errors or failed recordings.

I never had an issue inserting the device, I use Sentry and DashCam all the time, never had to reboot or saw any errors. Also works across a firmware update and multiple swaps of USB sticks (workaround to not having TeslaUsb) also without additional reboot or error. It just works!

But it is a tight fit against the soft covering of the glove box. That's most likely the reason for the extra badly translated wording you mention. Nothing to see here except proof TeslaUsb has little chance without new hardware. That's the point!

BT support, as said, requires Tesla to do significant work on their Linux OS driver/firmware stack in the area of USB/HID. Just a hope that when they turn their attention to this it could include an upgrade/removal of the "protection" (limitation) of the glovebox. A Tesla firmware update is the only hope you have for TeslaUsb to magically start working again if you don't focus on new hardware. That was the other point.

There is another useful hint you picked up on there about the hardware issue. It sounds like a sequence of connection before dropping from USB 3 to 2 support. But as said after multiple swaps this is not an issue of normal use for this device and it's most likely to do with users having difficulty squashing it in the first time.

It also doesn't change the fact that RasPi does not officially support device emulation last time I checked. According to the documentation I read the current solution remains a "hack" leftover in a Linux driver. This fails to work on new hardware regardless of who's fault it is.

The new hub hardware works flawlessly in my experience, over months. People desperate to use TeslaUsb should be really careful about assuming it works if you ignore the error. My experience, also of many months in that condition last year, was it would randomly skip or miss recordings. Think about it... that could be exactly when you need evidence to prove your innocence in a traffic offence or to find a criminal who damaged your car!!! That's a very bad idea, no way acceptable as a workaround. This risk needs to be understood.

The status remains, that currently and for the foreseeable future, there is no viable solution available to provide remote dashcam access and management, as enjoyed by some TeslaUsb users (with older cars).

[marcone]

BT support, as said, requires Tesla to do significant work on their Linux OS driver/firmware stack in the area of USB/HID

That seems like pure speculation. The car runs Linux, and Linux already supports Bluetooth game controllers. Furthermore, Bluetooth has nothing to do with USB.

It also doesn't change the fact that RasPi does not officially support device emulation last time I checked. According to the documentation I read the current solution remains a "hack" leftover in a Linux driver.

I don't know what documentation you read, but that's nonsense. The USB gadget driver has been part of Linux for almost 20 years, is still under active development, and supports multiple gadget types including mass storage.

[scottismyname]

@CodeChief the way you post things come across as very condescending, and it also seems like you just really want this project to fail for some reason. You also seem to post things as of they're fact, when they are just total nonsense.

Yes, we know things aren't in a great state right now but that doesn't mean we should all just pack our things up and go home.

If you want to give up on this project, go ahead. I don't get why you continue posting here though

[CodeChief]

@CodeChief the way you post things come across as very condescending, and it also seems like you just really want this project to fail for some reason. You also seem to post things as of they're fact, when they are just total nonsense.

Yes, we know things aren't in a great state right now but that doesn't mean we should all just pack our things up and go home.

If you want to give up on this project, go ahead. I don't get why you continue posting here though

Nonsense only comes from people who don't read the history or prefer to fight over words instead of taking any of the content into account. No you're completely wrong in that summary, clearly don't know how much I contributed and will continue to.

If you read my previous posts you would know I'm investing a lot of time to get a fix. But a few of the people making a more professional balanced evaluation already realized its time to get TeslaUsb working on new hardware. Not to throw it in the bin. The current RasPi models appear to be the problem. The long shot is a Tesla firmware update. See... I have to repeat again! Read the history before you comment and judge people! Don't be surprised at short answers if you don't!

[radhoo2k10]

Had my Tesla model 3 2021 facelift in for a service this week. This is what they wrote in my invoice.
"Inspected rear view camera and didn't find any issues, further
diagnosis showed Sentry mode consuming MCU temp memory
due to corrupted USB drive device. Found a raspberry device
connected as drive, this device has slow writing speed not
matching the necessary by the MCU. Due to this issue cameras
are showing slow fps speeds. Please remove this device and
connect a USB drive recommended by Tesla that supports USB
3.0 super speed writing."

Mine has been working since day 1. I had to change the sd-card at one point as it was faulty.

[CodeChief]

Had my Tesla model 3 2021 facelift in for a service this week. This is what the wrote in my invoice. "Inspected rear view camera and didn't find any issues, further diagnosis showed Sentry mode consuming MCU temp memory due to corrupted USB drive device. Found a raspberry device connected as drive, this device has slow writing speed not matching the necessary by the MCU. Due to this issue cameras are showing slow fps speeds. Please remove this device and connect a USB drive recommended by Tesla that supports USB 3.0 super speed writing."

Mine has been working since day 1. I had to change the sd-card at one point as it was faulty.

Finally some new evidence! Thanks for sharing. There are multiple takeaways in this:

1. You say you had no problems ever. Do you really mean zero issues or ignoring the alert "USB not detected on glovebox" and similar variants, plus random drop-outs you might not notice if you don't pay attention to the recording status, until you really need the footage for something serious (the only blocking issue in my opinion if you don't mind errors)?
2. Although the speed is a separate issue it's interesting the Tesla response suggests the camera streams crucial for driving (e.g. reversing camera) are slowed down by the USB drive/TeslaUSB emulation. As a systems programmer I'd expect some separation and asynchronous handling of critical data paths, i.e. AI/collision avoidance and comfort features including anything else in the OS, e.g. DashCam "app" and any other cool stuff they may add later.
3. USB3 is mandatory, not just a recommendation. We kind of know this already but more evidence of it as a hard limit and link to consequences is good for the record.
4. The test plan for future alternative hardware must include a benchmark.
5. Regarding point 2 if their software design is sound, perhaps it's the workaround feature (known from release notes) to store footage for crashes on the internal flash storage which causes the delay of the cameras. That when the behaviour of the "drive" (TeslaUSB) is not acceptable it wastes MCU time=temperature buffering it internally. Just an alternative theory.

[radhoo2k10]

1. ignoring the alert. Haven't noticed any dropped footage.
2. Had a issue this winter with reverse cam lagging alot. It was fixed with a software update as there were other who had the same problem, so I don't think it was a Teslausb issue.

[droideggs]

so looks like teslausb doesn't work any longer on a 2023 model Y due to the new ryzen MCU? i'm also unable for the tesla to detect the rapsberry pi as a USB.

[SpeedlimitsB]

Same problem here in my new model Y. You can not use the glovebox usb3 in combination with pi zero.
I have a usb adapter like someone else have here. So your pi is running on a usb2 connection instead of a usb3.
The problem I am facing now is that I get a message from Tesla ui saying that " place a high speed usb in your glovebox "

I just installed it cannot tell yet what effect it has.

Let me know what your thoughts are.

[marcone]

The issue originally reported here (the car showing a notification when a USB2 drive is present in the glovebox USB port) is a problem with the car's firmware, and not something TeslaUSB can do anything about. Rather than just closing the issue I decided to move it to the discussions, since there's a lot of interesting stuff in here.