How to keep car awake for archiving without providing credentials?

[eigenphase]

It seems my archiving never finishes. There is TESLA_REFRESH_TOKEN, TESLA_NAME, TESLA_VIN, TESLA_WAKE_MODE but they come with the issue that if the car gets stolen, my account is compromised.

I am running Home Assistant already with access to the streaming API. It would be much more elegant if I could just do a web request (or ssh command) when archiving starts and ends. This forgoes all issues and I don't have to deal with another API credential.

With that command I would either temporarily enable sentry mode until archiving is completed or continuously issue the "Wake up" command that I have in Home Assistant.

[jjjasont]

# Uncomment if setting up shell notifications.
# export NOTIFICATION_COMMAND_ENABLED=true
# export NOTIFICATION_COMMAND_START="ssh root@remote-server 'command args'"
# export NOTIFICATION_COMMAND_FINISH="ssh root@remote-server 'command args'"

Check out this part in the teslausb_setup_variables.conf.sample

[eigenphase]

Oh great, thanks!

I see, WEBHOOK_ENABLED/WEBHOOK_URL also exist but these do only give me START and not START+FINISH, correct??

Also, dumb question, how can I set these variables in a running TeslaUSB ?

[jjjasont]

Yes, there is also webhook.

You should get a start & end message for both webhook and shell command

teslausb/run/archiveloop

Line 551 in 32acce0

/root/bin/send-push-message "$NOTIFICATION_TITLE:" "$message" start || log "failed to send push message"

teslausb/run/archiveloop

Line 629 in 32acce0

/root/bin/send-push-message "$NOTIFICATION_TITLE:" "${message}" finish

depending on your setup, the path of the command & file may varies. But basically you need to

1. run /root/bin/remountfs_rw to mount drive as rw
2. Update teslausb_setup_variables.conf
3. run /root/bin/setup-teslausb to setup teslausb
4. reboot.

[miles267]

Can someone please confirm whether this is a replacement to the TESLAFI API key that enables Sentry mode before and disables Sentry mode after Teslausb sync completes? I've found that using the legacy Teslafi keepawake option performs too many sentry on/off event calls to the Teslafi API that it hits the max limit and no longer is able to complete a full archive. Am seeking any other viable alternative option.

[THX723]

The revamp fundamentally changed how to keep car awake (exclusively leveraging Sentry Mode) and applies to all 3 methods (BLE, TeslaFi, and Tessie). Tesla legacy was dropped. They all work equally well with tradeoffs. The advantage of BLE is, of course, not needing a 3rd party service, but trades off a bit in security vulnerabilities and complexity in setting up. I still prefer to leverage my TeslaFi, as it's a bit less vulnerable and I'm able to monitor every usage (time and duration).

Yeah, there are still some bluez gotchas that needed to be patched up.

[miles267]

@THX723 my issue with using TeslaFi keep awake method is that the car seemed to constantly be initiating Sentry Mode on/off through the day, when connected to wifi, burning thru my command allowance. I never made it an entire month (usually about 15 days) before my 500 command allowance had been depleted at which point I could never complete a full data sync to my home network share again. So far, this BLE method appears to be a win though I'll enabled it on another car before claiming victory.

[THX723]

That can't be true with the revised code. I assume you're basing this on your old configuration (before the code update). BLE or TeslaFi, the underlying code is exactly the same, therefore same amount of sentry on/off activity. Either way, the only time TeslaUSB will issue commands is if you're connected to the server. Also it was made so TeslaFi (only) will never wake a sleeping car.

[miles267]

Yes. Unfortunately for one reason or another, my Teslausb running on my car parked in the garage was constantly enabling sentry, syncing and disabling sentry throughout the day while I was home. Not just waiting until each time the car left, returned home and reconnected to the WiFi AP. As a result, I was depleting my 500 command per month limit on TeslaFi. I’m curious to see how this BLE method works not that it isn’t dependent on a TeslaFi subscription but is all handled locally. Even if it behaves the same, it won’t be governed by a command limit since it’s using the car’s native functionality. I may once again complete full days of video sync like back before Tesla restricted the API; at least I hope. Haven’t now set BLE up on 2 cars and will continue to monitor.

[THX723]

The BLE method is great, so if it's working out for you then there's no compelling reason why you should switch. I mainly chimed in to dispel some misconceptions regarding the TeslaFi/Tessie method, which has been completely overhauled and then BLE was added on top of that. Really the main differentiator is degree of security implications -- neither are invulnerable, so the user needs to decide which fits their agendas better.

[strickersuk]

Am I right in thinking that I can use Home Assistant to enable sentry mode which will then reboot TeslaUSB and if archiving hasn't finished it will continue? If so I could write an automation to turn it on in the small hours, wait 5 minutes then monitor the bandwidth for TeslaUSB, then when it drops disable sentry mode?