First no charger, now no key fob, what's next??

[father_of_6]

The app must stay open in the background and the car will automatically unlock on proximity if Bluetooth is enabled and the phone is paired.

Well, that's kind of a pain to keep the app always running.

It doesn't need to be active and in the foreground, or even "launched". As long as it's installed, it's always "running". That's how most phone apps operate.

You just need to have the app installed (and associate your account) as well as Bluetooth enabled. As some have mentioned, you may need to take the phone out of your pocket to get enough Bluetooth signal for a connection.

 

[kizamybute']

Really? Take the card out of your wallet and tap the pillar? what I do is just take the phone out of my back pocket for it to wake the screen or tap the power button to wake it while in my butt pocket and the doors unlock. We all have our cell phones with us at all times and readily available.

Right there, three steps to simply open your doors. Key fob, do absolutely nothing. For those like me that are in and out of the car 10 times a day, those three steps 10 times daily can get old. Key fob, walk-up, do nothing but simply open the door. No giving it a first thought, let alone a second thought. It simply just works and you never even think about it.

And not EVERYONE always has their phone with them. Again, I'm probably different than many since I use my car for work and am in and out 10+ times a day, but very commonly leave the phone in the car when getting out for just a few minutes or for an appointment as I feel it's rude for my phone to go off while on an appointment. They're paying me to be there, they deserve my undivided attention. So, phone stays in the car and I check the messages when I get back in. More notably, I don't have stop and take a phone out of my pocket, wait for it to wake, then tap on the screen to be able to open my doors. I walk up and skip all that and simply open the door. The key fob is so small and light, never even realize it's in my pocket. I do certainly notice when I have my 6x4 phone in my back pocket. Plus, having the app and bluetooth running all day runs down the phone battery much faster.

Again, to each is own. Whatever works best for each individual. At least there are options. With the Model S & X, they used to all be included, until Tesla cheaped out on the $120,000+ car to save $175. Actually, saves them even less considering they probably get them in mass quantity for $5.00 each.

 

[Dan_Foster]

Right there, three steps to simply open your doors. Key fob, do absolutely nothing. For those like me that are in and out of the car 10 times a day, those three steps 10 times daily can get old. Key fob, walk-up, do nothing but simply open the door. No giving it a first thought, let alone a second thought. It simply just works and you never even think about it.

And not EVERYONE always has their phone with them. Again, I'm probably different than many since I use my car for work and am in and out 10+ times a day, but very commonly leave the phone in the car when getting out for just a few minutes or for an appointment as I feel it's rude for my phone to go off while on an appointment. They're paying me to be there, they deserve my undivided attention. So, phone stays in the car and I check the messages when I get back in. More notably, I don't have stop and take a phone out of my pocket, wait for it to wake, then tap on the screen to be able to open my doors. I walk up and skip all that and simply open the door. The key fob is so small and light, never even realize it's in my pocket. I do certainly notice when I have my 6x4 phone in my back pocket. Plus, having the app and bluetooth running all day runs down the phone battery much faster.

Again, to each is own. Whatever works best for each individual. At least there are options. With the Model S & X, they used to all be included, until Tesla cheaped out on the $120,000+ car to save $175. Actually, saves them even less considering they probably get them in mass quantity for $5.00 each.

^ Nailed it.

“The man who will use his skill and constructive imagination to see how much he can give for a dollar, instead of how little he can give for a dollar, is bound to succeed.” — Henry Ford

 

[father_of_6]

Key fob, walk-up, do nothing but simply open the door. No giving it a first thought, let alone a second thought. It simply just works and you never even think about it.

This is essentially my experience with using the phone-as-key. Occasionally the Bluetooth connection is slow to establish, but it generally works well.

 

[phaphaphooey]

I have a Pixel 6 Pro running latest stable version of Android and latest Tesla App. The phone as a key behavior has changed for me in the last few weeks. Previously, while the range wasn't as good as the fob, the phone as a key worked pretty well 90% of the time or so. However, now something has changed such that I assume the Tesla app isn't running in the background anymore. Every time I restart my phone (which is every night), I have to manually open the Tesla app prior to the phone as a key feature working. No settings changed on my phone or the app to cause this behavior. It went from "Ok, I still prefer a key fob but the phone thing isn't so bad" to "this is way more inconvenient than a key, no way would I give that up."

If Tesla is going to nickel and dime us, at least ensure the replacement technology makes it relatively painless.

Inb4 Elonites telling me I am wrong and that I should be thankful Tesla is removing features/accompaniments from their cars while charging ever more for them.

 

[2putt4]

Right there, three steps to simply open your doors. Key fob, do absolutely nothing. For those like me that are in and out of the car 10 times a day, those three steps 10 times daily can get old. Key fob, walk-up, do nothing but simply open the door. No giving it a first thought, let alone a second thought. It simply just works and you never even think about it.

And not EVERYONE always has their phone with them. Again, I'm probably different than many since I use my car for work and am in and out 10+ times a day, but very commonly leave the phone in the car when getting out for just a few minutes or for an appointment as I feel it's rude for my phone to go off while on an appointment. They're paying me to be there, they deserve my undivided attention. So, phone stays in the car and I check the messages when I get back in. More notably, I don't have stop and take a phone out of my pocket, wait for it to wake, then tap on the screen to be able to open my doors. I walk up and skip all that and simply open the door. The key fob is so small and light, never even realize it's in my pocket. I do certainly notice when I have my 6x4 phone in my back pocket. Plus, having the app and bluetooth running all day runs down the phone battery much faster.

Again, to each is own. Whatever works best for each individual. At least there are options. With the Model S & X, they used to all be included, until Tesla cheaped out on the $120,000+ car to save $175. Actually, saves them even less considering they probably get them in mass quantity for $5.00 each.

I don't get in and out of my car 10x a day but on occasion, on road trips or while doing errands, I go back and forth a lot, sometimes forgetting things inside the car and having to come back for it. Never been an issue with the phone and it's not an inconvenience. Sure, on my 911 the key fob is there and I just touch the door for it to open. Owning both cars, I wish I didn't have to carry the fob. I hate having to replace the battery on the fob and searching for the CR172 type on Amazon. I hate having to grab the house keys, fob, and my phone when leaving the house. I don't always need to drive so my house keys are separate from the car's. Having multiple cars I wished I could program them all on my phone.

You do have your phone with you at all times, you just leave it in the car at times. Hard to imagine living in LA and leaving your phone in the car. Hopefully hidden! You also know that you have silent or vibrate mode on your phone right? I go to work meetings all the time or even at formal dinners where I silence my phone.

Your phone is running many apps all-day! Go swipe up on an iPhone/Android and see how many apps are running. Its called multi-tasking and the phone is optimized to do so. Bluetooth and WiFi runs on my phone at all times, Tesla or not. I'm not sure how old your phone is, but given how active I am on my phone and all the bluetooth devices and WIFi networks I connect to, my phone lasts me an entire day. When I'm driving I rest it on the wireless charging pad, not needed, but I charge my phone before I go to bed with over 50% left most nights. Do you still have headphone jacks too? I just don't understand how people buy a cutting edge modern and computerized vehicle and still don't understand how their phone works. Don't you connect your phone to your car so that you can receive text messages and calls through the built-in hands-free functionality? This is true with every modern car for the last 10 years! Your phone is already connected to your car and you need bluetooth for that. Your argument on saving battery by turning off bluetooth does not make any sense. Even my 5 year old Porsche has an LTE hotspot and I connect my phone to the car's WiFi so that I can stream off the same data plan as the car's connectivity features.

Like I said in my previous posts.... Tesla has the data because it knows what method drivers start their cars. Keyfob users are the minority. Getting rid of them does not impact demand, saves them perhaps $5 per vehicle, but now that you have to pay $175, that's $170 profit for people like you who cares for it. I say it's smart. I'm sure at some point Elon will eliminate key fobs all together across the entire lineup. 20%+ profit margins in the car industry is unheard of and you achieve that through cost optimization.

 

[2putt4]

I have a Pixel 6 Pro running latest stable version of Android and latest Tesla App. The phone as a key behavior has changed for me in the last few weeks. Previously, while the range wasn't as good as the fob, the phone as a key worked pretty well 90% of the time or so. However, now something has changed such that I assume the Tesla app isn't running in the background anymore. Every time I restart my phone (which is every night), I have to manually open the Tesla app prior to the phone as a key feature working. No settings changed on my phone or the app to cause this behavior. It went from "Ok, I still prefer a key fob but the phone thing isn't so bad" to "this is way more inconvenient than a key, no way would I give that up."

If Tesla is going to nickel and dime us, at least ensure the replacement technology makes it relatively painless.

Inb4 Elonites telling me I am wrong and that I should be thankful Tesla is removing features/accompaniments from their cars while charging ever more for them.

Why do you need to restart your Android phone every night? I have my work phone (android) and personal (iPhone), and I never have to restart my Android for any reason other than OS updates. I had a pixel for about 6 months and I never had to restart it nightly. When you restart your phone, you clear all active background apps, this is why you need to open your Tesla app every time. You should never have to restart your phone, ever. You can kill apps that are eating up memory or whatever individually.

From following this thread, it appears to me that we have a bunch of Tesla owners who are not tech savvy. You drive the most technologically advanced $120k+ car in the world and you want a key fob that you get from cars built in the 2000s.

 

[CyberGus]

I just checked, and the current Model Y doesn’t even have a keyhole.

When will the madness stop

 

[CyberGus]

Right there, three steps to simply open your doors. Key fob, do absolutely nothing. For those like me that are in and out of the car 10 times a day, those three steps 10 times daily can get old. Key fob, walk-up, do nothing but simply open the door. No giving it a first thought, let alone a second thought. It simply just works and you never even think about it.

And not EVERYONE always has their phone with them. Again, I'm probably different than many since I use my car for work and am in and out 10+ times a day, but very commonly leave the phone in the car when getting out for just a few minutes or for an appointment as I feel it's rude for my phone to go off while on an appointment. They're paying me to be there, they deserve my undivided attention. So, phone stays in the car and I check the messages when I get back in. More notably, I don't have stop and take a phone out of my pocket, wait for it to wake, then tap on the screen to be able to open my doors. I walk up and skip all that and simply open the door. The key fob is so small and light, never even realize it's in my pocket. I do certainly notice when I have my 6x4 phone in my back pocket. Plus, having the app and bluetooth running all day runs down the phone battery much faster.

Again, to each is own. Whatever works best for each individual. At least there are options. With the Model S & X, they used to all be included, until Tesla cheaped out on the $120,000+ car to save $175. Actually, saves them even less considering they probably get them in mass quantity for $5.00 each.

The tl;dr of your argument seems to be:

• I use the fob
• Thus, Tesla should give me one for free
• And, give one to everyone else whether or not they need it, want it, or use it

Did I get that right?

 

[father_of_6]

I use a crowbar to open my car. Wait... that's not my car.

And before you ask - yes, I *am* frustrated that they didn't give me a crowbar when I purchased the car.

 

[ucmndd]

The airlines call it “unbundling”. Get used to it!

 

[kizamybute']

All the typical Tesla fanboi responses. Yes Elon, take my money and give me nothing. Yes Elon, take things away from the car, of course it's better, because you said so. Yes Elon, let me give you $250,000 and get nothing for it in return. Yes Elon, you're wonderful I don't know why, but you said you said you were, so I believe you!

 

[ucmndd]

All the typical Tesla fanboi responses. Yes Elon, take my money and give me nothing. Yes Elon, take things away from the car, of course it's better, because you said so. Yes Elon, let me give you $250,000 and get nothing for it in return. Yes Elon, you're wonderful I don't know why, but you said you said you were, so I believe you!

Just wait, the ash tray will be next. Pinche Elon.

 

[father_of_6]

All the typical Tesla fanboi responses. Yes Elon, take my money and give me nothing. Yes Elon, take things away from the car, of course it's better, because you said so. Yes Elon, let me give you $250,000 and get nothing for it in return. Yes Elon, you're wonderful I don't know why, but you said you said you were, so I believe you!

Nah... there's plenty wrong with Tesla, Elon, and the cars. Having to buy a fob isn't one of them. I have a laundry list of legitimate complaints. Somehow when I sit in that seat and press the pedal, I forget about all of them.

 

[Operator64]

All the typical Tesla fanboi responses. Yes Elon, take my money and give me nothing. Yes Elon, take things away from the car, of course it's better, because you said so. Yes Elon, let me give you $250,000 and get nothing for it in return. Yes Elon, you're wonderful I don't know why, but you said you said you were, so I believe you!

Wow why didn’t you say you were giving $250k for your car, I’d be expecting a key fob too, i got 2 MX’s for that price and you only want a fob, I feel like the greedy one now.

 

[2putt4]

It's not Fanboi's response. Seems like, in these forums, some trolls love to complain about things like key fobs and act like it's the end all be all of accessing your car. A weak argument is that a phone is not an ideal access device when you're already charging it wirelessly in the car and connecting it via Bluetooth to sync your address book, hands-free calling, and SMS readouts and replies. Your phone is your hub and has been in cars for the last ten years. Why not get rid of the fob? You don't have to drive a Tesla. Go back to BMW or other luxury brands that still give you a fob for free.

Holy hell are they building a mobile phone into the keyfob? Is that a keyfob in your pocket or are you happy to see me? It's the 7-series fob, it's free btw. I forget about the kind of people that like putting their keyfobs on the table when at restaurants or sitting to let others know what they drive.

 

[kizamybute']

Enjoy your 90% phones!

 

[Operator64]

Enjoy your 90% phones!

Enjoy your home under the bridge.

 

[Big Toys]

it May be more convenient for you to use the card then

No, I just walk up to my car with a fob in my pocket, and the door opens.

 

[Big Toys]

From following this thread, it appears to me that we have a bunch of Tesla owners who are not tech savvy.

This is a poor conclusion. You are confusing "tech savvy" for "tech dependent", or "tech FOMO". A lot of this is the latter. I mean, can you imagine someone NOT using a phone to do anything? Who would want to be that guy?