Do Android phones require Tesla App to be opened for the key lock to work?

[miracj]

My Android (Samsung Note 8, Samsung S9) phone key lock have all stopped operating with my 2021 Tesla Model Y LR (over April). Maybe it was the last FSD update? Anyway, maybe 1 in 20 times the car does open. But most times, I need to use my key cards or Tesla App to open the car and start it.

Anyway, I took my car into Tesla service to look at it. The service rep said I needed to have my App open for it to work. I normally never had my Tesla App open. He was saying how I had to set it for background operation, but as far as I know, it can always operate in background should it need to. The service rep had me remove the phone key and reinstall it, and it only opened with the app open. He said to send bug reports after I get into the car about it not working, to collect some diagnostic info.

So just as a sanity check, does it work without the Tesla app open?

 

[Ostrichsak]

Nope. Well, that is to say you need to make sure that the advanced app settings aren't restricting the app's ability to run in the background. I think the default is to try to predict what apps it can sleep when not in use. Turn that off for the Tesla app (and any others you need to to work even when not in use).

Mobile phones these days tend to be overly aggressive on that sort of thing to increase battery life. First thing I do with my Android is go into the list of apps and choose which ones can use data in the background and which ones have the ability to run 100% in the background as well as all of those other related settings.

My Tesla app gets 100% freedom to use as many resources it needs at all times. I know I had to change several settings off of the default to arrive at that though.

 

[FFR6288]

No, the app doesn't need to be open in the foreground. But go into settings, apps, and the Tesla app settings and make sure that it has "Unrestricted" battery access.

 

[Cogito]

My phone had the Tesla app with Battery Optimization and I just check not optimize. With that the app won't be restricted base on battery. Thanks for the heads-up!

 

[GtiMart]

As others said, it doesn't need to be in the foreground but it does need to be running. Just don't kill the app... Check the settings others have described. Note that when you update the app, the updating process kills it so it can update it and it doesn't seem to start it again on my phone. After an update I must manually launch the app once. A reboot would do as well...

 

[father_of_6]

As others said, it doesn't need to be in the foreground but it does need to be running.

Hmm... we might use different terminology, but in my experience the phone key will operate without the app in the foreground and without it "running" (a.k.a. in your list of "open" apps).

You'll notice that even without opening the Tesla app, the Tesla logo ("T") appears in the top-left of your notification bar. It's always "running". This is why the app can still send you a notification that your car is unlocked even if you haven't opened the app.

That said, Android will limit apps from doing certain things while not "open", including using a lot of the battery... so it's possible that polling for a Bluetooth connection for "phone as key" may be severely throttled by Android.

This could mean that instead of polling for a connection every 10 seconds, it can only poll every 1 minute (just making up numbers here), which could be the difference between walking up to the car and it unlocks and walking up to the car and waiting for 30 seconds while feeling like a clown and fiddling with your phone.

For Android, each different version of the OS and each version of the Tesla app has made changes that could decrease the responsiveness of the phone key. I'm on Android 11, and in Settings > Apps & notifications > Advanced > Special app access, there are a handful of things that I went in and added the Tesla app to. I wasn't scientific or detail-oriented about it (testing in between changes, etc).

In Special app access, I went to Battery optimization and made the Tesla app "Not optimized", I also gave it the "Modify system settings" permission, and also "Unrestricted data".

One last thing... I can't be sure of this, but I *think* these permissions / settings can change with an OS update. If you uninstall/ reinstall the Tesla app they'll also be unset. In both of those scenarios you'll want to pop in and make sure those things are done.

Crossing fingers might helps as well.

 

[Ostrichsak]

Hmm... we might use different terminology, but in my experience the phone key will operate without the app in the foreground and without it "running" (a.k.a. in your list of "open" apps).

You'll notice that even without opening the Tesla app, the Tesla logo ("T") appears in the top-left of your notification bar. It's always "running". This is why the app can still send you a notification that your car is unlocked even if you haven't opened the app.

That said, Android will limit apps from doing certain things while not "open", including using a lot of the battery... so it's possible that polling for a Bluetooth connection for "phone as key" may be severely throttled by Android.

This could mean that instead of polling for a connection every 10 seconds, it can only poll every 1 minute (just making up numbers here), which could be the difference between walking up to the car and it unlocks and walking up to the car and waiting for 30 seconds while feeling like a clown and fiddling with your phone.

For Android, each different version of the OS and each version of the Tesla app has made changes that could decrease the responsiveness of the phone key. I'm on Android 11, and in Settings > Apps & notifications > Advanced > Special app access, there are a handful of things that I went in and added the Tesla app to. I wasn't scientific or detail-oriented about it (testing in between changes, etc).

In Special app access, I went to Battery optimization and made the Tesla app "Not optimized", I also gave it the "Modify system settings" permission, and also "Unrestricted data".

One last thing... I can't be sure of this, but I *think* these permissions / settings can change with an OS update. If you uninstall/ reinstall the Tesla app they'll also be unset. In both of those scenarios you'll want to pop in and make sure those things are done.

Crossing fingers might helps as well.

The default behavior on Android devices may sleep these sorts of background activities if you haven't opened the Tesla app in a while. I would recommend going into your Android device's settings to disable any of these sorts of battery/data saving options as it pertains to the Tesla app. Once you do that, you won't need the app open at all for it to work perfectly in the background.

Once every month or so when I go out to the car in the garage to get it I get the message that a key isn't detected or whatever the error is when it doesn't detect your PaaK (Phone as a Key). All I do is turn Bluetooth off on my phone and turn it back on. Within seconds I'm back in business as if there wasn't ever a problem. I think that Android will also sometimes sleep the BT radio if it's not being used which is entirely too aggressive for battery/data saving IMHO.

That's entirely a guess on my part and I'm not sure if this is the cause or not but I know that the solution is simple. We had lots of issues w/ PaaK after coming from several Teslas w/only a key fob. I initially thought that PaaK sucked and was about to shell out $$ to get a couple of fobs programmed instead. After a couple of Tesla firmware & phone app updates and adjusting those settings I mentioned previously (on Pixel 6's and now Pixel 7's) we've had basically no issues.

Now I wish our other Teslas had PaaK as an option because having to locate & carry a fob whenever I want to drive one of our older Teslas feels like such an antiquated & outdated inconvenience by comparison. The fewer items I need to locate before leaving the house and track while I'm out & about the better. Now it's basically just my wallet and phone if I'm wearing sweats. My full loadout is a bit more complex whenever wearing shorts/jeans but still pretty high-speed/low-drag thanks to PaaK.

I can't wait to upgrade our older Model S's to new ones so I can kiss fobs goodbye once and for all.

 

[EVer Hopeful]

I bought the ring

 

[David99]

I bought the ring

Congrats on getting married!

 

[EVer Hopeful]

well at least that wasn't a joke about Haemorrhoids!

I had the same prolem for a while (with the car not unlocking even though I had the phone with me), I even called service once, but in the end, the problem seemed to go away. Funnily enough it's started happening again recently, but I think it's because I installed the FitcamX and have a wifi link between the camera and my phone - something to do with it goes to wifi first and then celular or something. I never really understood TBH

I git the ring as a backup - but I keep forgetting to take it with me

 

[Bart404]

Just the last few weeks I've been getting "key not detected" about a minute into ever trip. About two minutes later it goes off. I guess I'll try the above suggestions.

 

[RSpanner]

Somehow, I have been knocking( back pocket problem) my Samsung phone out of Bluetooth. Make sure it is on...( I tell myself )

 

[EVer Hopeful]

It's the sort of technology that's groundbreaking now, but we'll look back on in a few years and wonder how we ever managed with something so lame

Like thinking now about having to rewind the tape before you took it back to Blockbusters

 

[David99]

So far I had no issues with the phone not working when I was near the car. I got myself the key fob, though. After 9 years of using the fob with my Model S I got so used to it. I use my trunk and front trunk a lot. When I work I use them multiple times a day. It is just easier to press the fob than pulling out the phone, open the app, go to controls and press open. Or open the trunk from a good distance as I walk to the car and have it open when I arrive.