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Is this what it's like to have a functioning phone key?

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SDKoala

M3LR RWD / MYLR
Apr 11, 2018
892
1,018
San Diego
I've well-documented my troubles and attempts to troubleshoot the phone key on my Google Pixel 1 on this site over the past half year. Earlier this week, I received my new Pixel 3--a phone I purchased solely in hopes of it working better with the Model 3. I justified spending nearly $1000 on a new phone (within my preferred ecosystem) that I really didn't need because my phone key was giving me so many problems multiple times a week.

I held off on posting because the past few days have been too good to be true. Dozens of unlockings and I'm still waiting for my first failure. It has worked in every situation where my Pixel 1 would have failed and needed Bluetooth toggled--the most common situations being not being able to unlock a door right after opening my trunk, and not being able to unlock the car if I walked just out of BLE range and came back to the car (like returning a shopping cart). And it works instantly. None of this holding the door handle opening waiting for the connection to establish. Just walk up to the car, pull the handle and it opens right away.

Having experienced both sides now, I can understand where people are coming from when they boast that their phone key just works. It so easy to discount people having problems when it's working because it's truly a seamless experience, just like having a conventional fob in your pocket that you don't have to touch. I'm waiting for the next Tesla firmware update or Android software update to reintroduce the problems, but for now, I'm just going to bask in the glory of a working phone key.
 
I've well-documented my troubles and attempts to troubleshoot the phone key on my Google Pixel 1 on this site over the past half year. Earlier this week, I received my new Pixel 3--a phone I purchased solely in hopes of it working better with the Model 3. I justified spending nearly $1000 on a new phone (within my preferred ecosystem) that I really didn't need because my phone key was giving me so many problems multiple times a week.

I held off on posting because the past few days have been too good to be true. Dozens of unlockings and I'm still waiting for my first failure. It has worked in every situation where my Pixel 1 would have failed and needed Bluetooth toggled--the most common situations being not being able to unlock a door right after opening my trunk, and not being able to unlock the car if I walked just out of BLE range and came back to the car (like returning a shopping cart). And it works instantly. None of this holding the door handle opening waiting for the connection to establish. Just walk up to the car, pull the handle and it opens right away.

Having experienced both sides now, I can understand where people are coming from when they boast that their phone key just works. It so easy to discount people having problems when it's working because it's truly a seamless experience, just like having a conventional fob in your pocket that you don't have to touch. I'm waiting for the next Tesla firmware update or Android software update to reintroduce the problems, but for now, I'm just going to bask in the glory of a working phone key.
Don't be too quick to celebrate. My iPhone 7 works ok for several weeks, then craps out from time to time.
 
Don't be too quick to celebrate. My iPhone 7 works ok for several weeks, then craps out from time to time.

Same. My iPhone Xs Max was working perfectly fine for 2-3 weeks and I thought to my self "what are these people talking about?". But... 1 out of 10 times-ish, I have to wake my phone up sometimes for the door to unlock. I don't have to unlock the screen or open the Tesla app. I just need to tap the phone to wake up and it will unlock.
 
Sometimes when walking up to my car, I have to get out my phone and press the Tesla app icon. It seems that just the act of opening the app wakes it up so that the door will unlock.

Then sometimes, it doesn't work at all and I have to use the key card.
 
I never have an issue with my now-old (smirk) iPhone 8; I do however have the app widget which probably keeps the app awake better.. or it's hocus-pocus

I also tend to launch the app maybe 50% of the time in the morning to look for software updates :) or other unknown habitual reasons and I figure that helps too..
 
Sometimes when walking up to my car, I have to get out my phone and press the Tesla app icon. It seems that just the act of opening the app wakes it up so that the door will unlock.

Then sometimes, it doesn't work at all and I have to use the key card.

Make sure Backgroud app refresh is “on” and location is “always”. And not in any power saver mode.
 
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Make sure Background app refresh is “on” and location is “always”. And not in any power saver mode.

Yep true and I know and thanks...

iOS does not guarantee your app won't be nuked in background mode if resources become scare (watch high video, run many other apps, whatever)

My comment was mostly that some or all of this had a hand in increased reliability for me:

- the widget which gets woken up fairly often since i check weather, etc on that screen
- iOS 12 with better bluetooth support
- app fixes from Tesla
- app is awake and already had a handshake with the car in the garage (I hear it clunk sometimes on app wakeup)

all of the above :)

(one of my for-profit activities is an iOS software developer)
 
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My iPhone 7 just erased itself as a registered phone key. I had to reprogram it this weekend.

Previously, it worked most of the time. But it did not work often enough to be annoying and for me to not trust it. The car itself also takes forever to wake up and unlock periodically too. Not sure if that's the phone's fault, but I'm assuming it's the car.
 
Yep true and I know and thanks...

iOS does not guarantee your app won't be nuked in background mode if resources become scare (watch high video, run many other apps, whatever)

My comment was mostly that some or all of this had a hand in increased reliability for me:

- the widget which gets woken up fairly often since i check weather, etc on that screen
- iOS 12 with better bluetooth support
- app fixes from Tesla
- app is awake and already had a handshake with the car in the garage (I hear it clunk sometimes on app wakeup)

all of the above :)

(one of my for-profit activities is an iOS software developer)

Do you know if we can use that new Apple shortcuts app to tell Siri to unlock your car doors?