Tesla appears to be testing an upcoming feature for free vehicle Wi-Fi access to hotspots from AT&T, Comcast, Xfinity, Orange and more.
According to screenshots shared by @Analytic_ETH on Thursday, the Tesla owner says, “since late last year, there have been hints in the firmware that @Tesla was looking to support “Public Hotspots”. I’ve been able to enable this feature, and confirm it works.”
New Upcoming #Tesla feature: Free access to public hotspots from, AT&T, Comcast, Orange, and more!
Since late last year, there have been hints in the firmware that @Tesla was looking to support "Public Hotspots".
I've been able to enable this feature, and confirm it works! 👇🧵 pic.twitter.com/L1jJMg24O6
— Matt Pilsbury, SourceHat (@Analytic_ETH) April 21, 2022
Tesla needs to first enable the feature on your car for it to work, explains @Analytic_ETH. “Once enabled, your car generates a [Trusted Platform Module]-based private key for use on these wifi networks. After that, you can just select the relevant network and the car will negotiate a connection!”, said the Tesla owner.
“On the backend, the firmware refers to Tesla’s Product Partners Issuing CA for authentication purposes, indicating that this feature stems from an upcoming partnership,” notes @Analytic_ETH, sharing the following list of Wi-Fi networks discovered as part of this test: XFINITY, xfinitywifi, CableWiFi, attwifi, att-wifi, AT&T Passpoint, ChinaUnicom, CMCC, ChinaNet, KPN, KPN Fon, Ziggo, Telekom, Telekom_FON, UPC Wi-Free, Upc, UPC WifiSpots, orange, Orange_FunSpot, SFR, SFR WiFi, SFR WiFi FON, SFR WiFi Mobile, and Telia wifi1x.
According to developer @greentheonly, the latter confirmed Tesla was indeed in the testing phase of this Wi-Fi feature.
“While it looks like the upcoming feature, they seem to be in the testing phase now (measure hotspot speed). Nonetheless it’s definitely done in collaboration with those operators as e.g. xfinity requires a 802.1x keys in order to join the hotspot,” said @greentheonly.
For Tesla owners without a Premium Connectivity paid subscription that offers 24/7 network access, this free Wi-Fi feature looks to offer internet for vehicles to stream media and more, for free.
Back in November, Tesla started rolling out Starlink internet at its Superchargers, but this expanded Wi-Fi hotspot feature may be featured at the company’s destination chargers located at local businesses.
If you’ve seen this feature on your Tesla, feel free to send us info at tips@teslanorth.com.
