2015 Model S Key Fobs Not Detected

[Thatkevinguy]

For a few months now my key fobs are not detected when approaching the vehicle, nor inside. I get the error saying key fob is not inside the vehicle, so I have to double press the key to start the car. Both key fobs have brand new batteries, and the issue was reproduced with a brand new third key fob with a fresh battery from tesla. I have attempted updating the key fobs and neither are detected in the car for this either. All of the buttons work fine, but any proximity sensing is completely non functional. Anyone experience this or know what the cause could be? I thought it would be an antenna issue but it seems unlikely that so may antennas would fail at once.

 

[Ostrichsak]

I've been having similar issues lately and even replaced the batteries in both of our fobs. Even though I used verified name brand batteries from a known source I'm still having issues similar to what you describe. Similar symptoms of approaching the car and having it not present the handles normally and/or being inside (when at home where doors don't lock) and having it say that the key isn't inside of the vehicle. It makes me wonder if there wasn't a bug introduced with one of the more recent firmware updates that went out to the older AP1/MCU1 cars.

 

[Ostrichsak]

BTW, for those who stumble upon this thread because they're having fob issues that haven't yet tried a new battery, I created this post a while back on some important things you should know about changing the battery in your fob as there's some specials steps you should take to avoid issues. It's not as straight forward as you may think. Also just to verify that the issue I'm talking about is separate from the typical battery low symptoms. This is happening on 2 of my cars that I've had for over a year now and all fobs have fresh batteries.

 

[shieldsbrown]

I had this problem. Driving down the street when the car says it can't detect the fob. I had a service tech come to my house - spent 2 hours looking at everything he could, and nothing. It was a serious issue the one time I was in an underground garage - no cell service, so I couldn't use my app to start the car.
Then, after a few moments all was well again.
I have noticed that the problem has not recurred recently. There have been at least two software updates. Bug fixed?

 

[Silicon Desert]

This is probably NOT your problem, yet just to mention my wife had this issue and it was because she had her fob in her purse right next to her smart phone. I experimented and put my fob in the same pocket as my phone and also had the same issue. Again, the may not be your issue, but might occur someday.

 

[nicedrum]

I've had this issue for, I think, the entire 2 years I've had my 2016.5 S. I'm not picky so just getting around to trying to figure it out. I wonder if some antenna got damaged during the previous owner's usage, or during service.

 

[nicedrum]

FWIW, I fixed my issue today by putting the fob directly on the center console below the USB ports and going to Controls > Service > Update Key Fob on the screen and following the onscreen instructions. This seems to have fixed the issue. Now when I approach the car, it recognizes me and I'm able to open without double-clicking the fob. More importantly, the annoyance of having to re-unlock the car after I've opened the door and shut it again, either without even leaving the car, or without going very far, is gone. My wife hated that... probably 50% of her Tesla frustration (since I deal with all service, etc).