Constant issue: Tesla not recognizing my phone (to start car)

[artnalex]

Weird. I’ve never had this issue before, but ever since I received the most recent Holiday update….my car keeps sporadically telling me to use my physical keycard, as it is not recognizing my iPhone XR. I have a June 2020 MY…and this phone has worked with no problems up to this point. Almost 2 years now.

Things I’ve tried several times:
(1) I’ve deleted my phone from the cars memory….and then added it back. Problem persists.
(2) I’ve rebooted the system by pressing both scroll wheels. Problem persists.
(3) I’ve rebooted my iPhone several times. Problem persists.
(4) I’ve toggled Bluetooth on/off several times. Problem persists.
(5) I have my settings such that the Tesla app is always tracking me (not just when the app is open).

This is so random, as the system recognizes my phone 50% of the time. So, the other 50% of the time I need to pullout my physical keycard to start the car.

Wondering if anyone else has had this issue, and what they did to resolve the issue.

 

[NeverGoingBack]

Happens to my wife sometimes …… and me sometimes (but rarely). We pull out our phones and tap the Tesla app. Once the app starts back up in our phones the car recognizes it.

 

[GtiMart]

I think that's the issue. Your phone's operating system changes constantly. Every update brings along new ways to save the battery. MAny of these changes remove rights from apps, or put apps to sleep aggressively. The Tesla app must be running, must not be asleep. If tapping the Tesla app solves it, it's because it was put to sleep / stopped and you're launching it back. You need to look at the various configuration settings in your phone until you find which is causing the problem. I don't believe it's a Tesla problem.

 

[ATPMSD]

While you are at it, check if the XR is a 3G phone as AT&T just shut down 3G and the other carriers are soon to follow. As I understand it, some XRs can be switched to 4G while other cannot. If you are stuck with 3G only your phone is, or about to become a brick.

 

[Qbenjamin]

This is why I keep using the key fob...Got stuck carries groceries nearly 2 miles when my MS wouldn't recognize the phone (2016; 94F in Tampa). Never again...

 

[Nolakai]

I have this problem sometimes with my iPhone 12 max pro. I have it have the phone unlocked sometimes. Sometimes it works with the phone locked. Spouse’s iPhone 8 works fine.

 

[artnalex]

My app is always running, and I haven’t had any iOS software updates lately. Even if I tap the Tesla app (to open), it still doesn’t recognize it most times.

My phone is 4G LTE.

 

[sinclairjim@ya]

Worst experience I had was several months ago when I was making a U-turn in a side street. The car was moving (2 mph?) when it suddenly stopped, and we had lost communications with both phones. Service claimed that the problem was that I tried to shift into Park with the vehicle moving. Hello? There is a safety interlock that prevents shifting to Park while moving (along with a loud alarm). According to their written documentation, if communication with the phone is lost while the vehicle is moving, there is an alert, and you have 2-3 minutes to come to a safe spot. Never have received a satisfactory answer, even after speaking with the district manager.

 

[bbwex]

First of all an iPhone XR is not 3G, so that is not the problem.

Secondly, of late I have left my app running all of the time. I got a message on the screen a couple of times that leaving it running all the time helps connectivity, and though I have had times when the phone simply doesn't want to connect, and I have gone through resetting the phone, turning bluetooth off and then back on, etc., but since I have left the app running, so far so good -- no issues connecting.

 

[chyuan]

Also happened to myself once, and my wife's phone twice, both iPhone X. Always to the point that I can only unlock car from the app and make controls, but nothing else works, i.e. it won't auto unlock when walk up to the car, nor can I start the car with it.

All three times I ended up forget the car from the app and had to pair it again using the key card. Basically one just can't trust the phone being the reliable car key. It works well when it works, but you never know when it would stop working.

 

[OCJeff]

Try logging out of iCloud. Just to see if it helps.

There was another thread and that was the resolution.

 

[imaninja]

I had an android and never had issues with the proximity unlock. Worked 100% no issues. i recently switched to an iPhone and 30% of the time the proximity key wont work. I believe this is due to the fact that android runs apps in the background where iPhone does not.

 

[schen72]

Maybe it's due to OS settings that aggressively kill background apps to conserve battery?

 

[WhipA]

Weird. I’ve never had this issue before, but ever since I received the most recent Holiday update….my car keeps sporadically telling me to use my physical keycard, as it is not recognizing my iPhone XR. I have a June 2020 MY…and this phone has worked with no problems up to this point. Almost 2 years now.

Things I’ve tried several times:
(1) I’ve deleted my phone from the cars memory….and then added it back. Problem persists.
(2) I’ve rebooted the system by pressing both scroll wheels. Problem persists.
(3) I’ve rebooted my iPhone several times. Problem persists.
(4) I’ve toggled Bluetooth on/off several times. Problem persists.
(5) I have my settings such that the Tesla app is always tracking me (not just when the app is open).

This is so random, as the system recognizes my phone 50% of the time. So, the other 50% of the time I need to pullout my physical keycard to start the car.

Wondering if anyone else has had this issue, and what they did to resolve the issue.

Having same issue with my 2023 Model Y but not with my 2021 Model Y. It's so frustrating! Reading for solutions!

 

[cenwesi]

Having same issue with my 2023 Model Y but not with my 2021 Model Y. It's so frustrating! Reading for solutions!

If you are using an android device, you have to make sure that the Tesla app is NOT being put to sleep/deep sleep. Make sure it set to unrestricted.

 

[howardnj]

Happened to me twice. Opened the app on my IPhone 6S and the problem cleared

 

[Jimt29]

Same problem. I tried all above suggestions. Nothing worked.
So I deleted the Tesla app. Then I reset the iPhone 13. Working and stable since. Only been a couple of weeks so far.