Commands / Guides & fixes / Quick answer

Why isn't "Hey Grok" working in my Tesla?

Short answer: Voice activation has to be turned on first: go to Controls > Audio > Grok Settings, and make sure the car has Premium Connectivity or Wi-Fi. Holding the steering wheel mic button always works as a fallback.

Confidence: mediumChecked 2026-10-16

Try these, in order

Controls > Audio > Grok Settings, turn on voice activation.
Confirm Premium Connectivity or a solid Wi-Fi connection. Grok has no offline mode.
Say it with an American English pronunciation. Tesla's notes say the wake word is trained on American English.
If it works after a reboot and then stops, owners report reboots help for a while. No confirmed fix yet.

Related known issues

"Hey Grok" wake word doesn't trigger

Symptom: Nothing happens when you say Hey Grok.

Fix: Turn on voice activation in Controls > Audio > Grok Settings (Tesla's support page; the same settings are also under Grok > Settings). Confirm Premium Connectivity or Wi-Fi, and say it with an American English pronunciation, since the wake word is trained on American English. Press and hold the steering wheel mic button as a fallback.

Confidence: medium

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

"Hey Grok" works briefly, then stops

Symptom: Wake word responds after a reboot, then stops after a while.

Fix: No confirmed fix. Owners report reboots help temporarily; some saw improvement on 2026.20. Use the long press meanwhile.

Confidence: low

Sources: [1]

Grok doesn't respond at all

Symptom: Spinner or no reply.

Fix: Grok is cloud-only. Check Premium Connectivity or Wi-Fi signal. Check status.x.ai for outages.

Confidence: high

Sources: [1] [2]

Related: Requirements checklist

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