Tooltips for each section in the Screenmate app.
Screenmate One does not yet support Bluetooth passthrough for phone calls — we are working on it. If you need to make a phone call while audio is connected to Screenmate One, tap the 'Release Bluetooth' button in the sidebar to hand Bluetooth back to your phone. If the method above does not work well for you, you can tap the Bluetooth icon for quick access to Tesla Bluetooth settings and choose the audio source manually. Please also note that you can make calls directly from Screenmate itself using Tesla microphone and audio (if a SIM card is inserted and calling is enabled), or from any messenger apps that can be installed on Screenmate.
On recent Tesla firmware versions, no noticeable audio delay has been observed during video playback. A slight delay may occur in games. If you experience latency issues on up-to-date firmware, please contact us.
Additional audio connection methods are in development to free up Bluetooth and minimize latency while maximizing audio quality. You can read more about this in the “Sound” settings section.
The current Screenmate One power scheme depends heavily on the specific vehicle. For example, on all Intel Model 3/Y vehicles, power is only cut when the car enters deep sleep. During Sentry Mode and “soft” sleep states, power remains on. On Ryzen-based vehicles, power interruptions are much more frequent. We are working on software-based solutions to delay these shutdowns, as well as on the Hibernate Mode feature.
If you need continuous power for faster startup or remote monitoring, you can connect the Backup Power port on Screenmate One to a USB Type-C Power Delivery port in the Tesla (Type-A ports are not suitable). You can then manage power using the USB port toggle in the Charging section of the Tesla menu.
For power independent of the Tesla, you can use a Power Delivery OBD2 adapter. Screenmate One consumes approximately 3W (200mA) on average in active mode, so it will not drain the battery quickly — even during deep sleep. However, if your vehicle has an older lead-acid 12V battery (pre-2022 models), use this mode with caution.
Please note that if you have set up continuous power for Screenmate One using either of the two hardware methods above (Tesla USB or OBD2), it will no longer reboot together with the Tesla computer when you hold the steering wheel scroll buttons. To reboot Screenmate OS, use the restart button in the system notification shade, or temporarily disconnect the USB power source to allow reboot via the scroll wheels. A software fix is planned that will enable steering wheel reboot in this configuration, as well as remote reboot from the phone app.
The gesture settings above are only active after Screenmate OS has fully started. If Screenmate OS does not boot for any reason, the system falls back to the default MCU gestures: 4 fingers to switch to Screenmate OS and 5 fingers to switch external video inputs.
Gesture-based switching between external video inputs always goes through Screenmate OS as an intermediate step, so you do not lose track of which screen is currently active.
We have not observed the issues below on the latest firmware. If you do encounter them, first update both the Video MCU and the CAN MCU to the latest versions from the Software section.
If the touchscreen becomes unresponsive, you can restart the responsible chip by pressing and holding both steering wheel scroll buttons for about 1.5 seconds. If this does not help, a longer press will reboot both computers (Tesla and Screenmate One).
On some Ryzen-based displays, after switching away from Screenmate, certain elements on the native Tesla interface may stop responding to taps. This is a 'stuck finger' issue. To clear it, place 6, 7, or all 10 fingers on the screen at once. If that does not help, reboot the Tesla computer by holding both steering wheel scroll buttons.
A similar stuck-touch issue may occasionally occur inside Screenmate OS on the same displays. Placing 7-10 fingers on the screen or restarting the touch chip with a short scroll-wheel press should resolve it.
On some Ryzen-based displays, it may still be possible to trigger the trunk or frunk open buttons accidentally while switching screens. This can only happen while the vehicle is in Park, since those buttons are not available while driving. We have already addressed this issue, but it is still best to avoid those button zones while switching inputs.
The software side of Screenmate One consists of Screenmate OS (based on AOSP Android 14, running on a Qualcomm SoC) and several microcontroller firmwares, each implementing dedicated functionality within the system. The API between the SoC and microcontrollers is under active development. If a promised feature is not working, make sure all firmwares are updated to the latest versions. We strive to maintain backward compatibility as much as possible. Currently, SoC and MCU firmware updates are handled by separate apps (accessible via the buttons above), but in the future everything will be managed from this screen and version synchronization will be automated.
If a microcontroller becomes bricked during an update and you cannot access Screenmate OS to reflash it — don't worry. We have built in an alternative over-the-air flashing method from your phone via the Teslogic Dash app (soon to be renamed to Screenmate Dash).
The Screenmate OS OTA update system is fully resilient — every block is duplicated and verified before being marked as active. A power loss during an update will not brick the system, but the update will not be completed and will need to be restarted. If you want to ensure the update finishes, we recommend starting it in the background at the beginning of a drive. About 20 minutes of uptime is usually sufficient.
We have temporarily disabled incremental (delta) Screenmate OS updates on the server due to compatibility issues, but plan to re-enable them soon. Once active, any update will be approximately 50–150 MB — a pre-calculated patch specific to your current version.
At the moment, audio from Screenmate One can be played either over Bluetooth (for example, when connected to Tesla or headphones) or through any USB audio speakers. We are working on additional output paths.
In future updates, it will be possible to stream audio over Wi-Fi through the Tesla browser with automatic connection setup.
Wired audio output to Tesla over USB is also in development. This will require an additional converter.
Gesture-based switching is configured in the Gestures section. By default, 4 fingers switch to the Tesla display and 5 fingers switch between Screenmate OS and external video inputs. Type-C and HDMI inputs still cycle through Screenmate OS as an intermediate step.
In the latest video chip firmware, automatic detection of devices on external video inputs is supported. When a device is connected, the configured external-input switching gesture will toggle between Screenmate OS output and the connected device.
Please note that outputting video via a USB Type-C cable to the 'Video In' port on Screenmate One requires a USB 3.2 or higher cable that supports high-speed video transfer (Alt Mode). If no video appears, try replacing the cable with a higher-quality one first.
If you want your device (e.g., a Steam Deck or phone outputting video) to charge while connected to the Type- C 'Video In' port, you need to connect a separate USB Type-C charging cable to the Charge In port on Screenmate One. The power source can be any Tesla Power Delivery Type-C port or an aftermarket car charger. A USB-A port is typically not suitable for this purpose.
The device connected to an external video input on Screenmate One must support the Tesla display's native resolution (1920x1200). Otherwise, no image will appear. In some cases, the source device cannot detect the resolution automatically and it must be set manually.
If your device only supports Full HD (1080p), you can either use an upscaler between the source and Screenmate One, or use a USB HDMI capture card connected to the 'Android' USB ports on Screenmate One.
Please note that audio is not routed from the video cable to Tesla's Bluetooth. If you need to output sound through Tesla's speakers, connect your source device directly to Tesla's Bluetooth. In the future, a dedicated Screenmate accessory will be available for USB audio output to Tesla, bypassing Bluetooth.
The external Type-C 'Video In' port also exposes a touch controller device via USB 2.0 lines. This means that when an external input is active, you can control the connected device through the Tesla touchscreen — if the device supports it. If the device is connected via HDMI, you can still use the TypeC port for touch input (e.g., a Windows PC connected via HDMI for video and via USB-A to USB-C to Screenmate One for touch).