How do I connect my pre-2021 Model S or Model X?
As of Sentry Pro 1.5.65, pre-2021 Model S and Model X vehicles with the Intel infotainment computer (MCU2) are fully supported. This covers cars built around March 2018 or later, plus older cars that received Tesla’s MCU2 infotainment upgrade.
These vehicles connect differently from other Teslas: they don’t use a virtual key (they can’t install one). Instead, you enable data streaming directly on the car’s touchscreen.
Requirements
- Vehicle firmware 2025.20 or newer (check under Controls > Software, and update the car if needed).
- Sentry Pro app version 1.5.65 or newer.
Setup steps
- Add your vehicle in the Sentry Pro app as usual. The app detects that your car uses the MCU2 platform and skips the virtual key step automatically.
- On the car’s touchscreen, go to Controls > Safety and enable “Allow Third-Party App Data Streaming”.
- That’s it — the change takes effect within a few minutes of enabling the toggle, and Sentry Pro starts receiving your vehicle’s data.
Not seeing the toggle?
If Controls > Safety > “Allow Third-Party App Data Streaming” doesn’t appear on your touchscreen, your car is either on firmware older than 2025.20 (update via Wi-Fi and try again) or it has the original MCU1 infotainment. MCU1 vehicles (built before roughly March 2018 and never upgraded to MCU2) are not supported, as their firmware never reaches 2025.20.