"Keep the Tesla app running for the best phonekey experience"

[Kennymb5384]

Anyone else getting this message when they close their Tesla app? Every single time I close the app a banner appears that says

Keep the Tesla app running for the best phone key experience

Stays on the screen like a push notification and shows up every time I close the app.

 

[LoudMusic]

On Android it's always visible.

 

[Kennymb5384]

Is that new for you? Mine started yesterday after I updated the app

 

[MaskedRacerX]

Anyone else getting this message when they close their Tesla app? Every single time I close the app a banner appears that says

Keep the Tesla app running for the best phone key experience

Stays on the screen like a push notification and shows up every time I close the app.

Do you mean close like just navigate away, or close like slide it up in the task list / force close?

Just a general FYI, you should only under special circumstances close (as in the latter above), iOS apps.

[edit]

OK, just tested it, yes, don't force close apps, iOS has extremely effective memory management, background task monitoring, etc., in most cases, you're not gaining anything from "closing" an app.

 

[LoudMusic]

Is that new for you? Mine started yesterday after I updated the app

This is how it's always been. The app has to be running in order for the phone to function as a key to unlock the car as you approach. It doesn't have to be the front most "active" app, but it needs to be running.

 

[Kennymb5384]

This is how it's always been. The app has to be running in order for the phone to function as a key to unlock the car as you approach. It doesn't have to be the front most "active" app, but it needs to be running.

Yeah, this is not how it's always been. I have had the car for over a year and it just started yesterday. I had a Model Y before this for over a year, and it's never shown the message. I also have two buddies that have Teslas and I asked them before coming here and neither of them see this when the close the app and have never seen it before.

 

[Kennymb5384]

Do you mean close like just navigate away, or close like slide it up in the task list / force close?

Just a general FYI, you should only under special circumstances close (as in the latter above), iOS apps.

[edit]

OK, just tested it, yes, don't force close apps, iOS has extremely effective memory management, background task monitoring, etc., in most cases, you're not gaining anything from "closing" an app.

I always force close my apps. Tesla drains battery as it always has location running. No need to have the app running if I'm not using the app for anything. I have forced close my apps daily for the last 10+ years with no issue

 

[jjrandorin]

I always force close my apps. Tesla drains battery as it always has location running. No need to have the app running if I'm not using the app for anything. I have forced close my apps daily for the last 10+ years with no issue

Dont (force close the tesla app). Thats what its telling you. Modern phones are made to manage apps themselves and this isnt really necessary, and specifically for the tesla app can interfere with the phone as key functionality.

 

[Kennymb5384]

I understand what it's telling me. I want to know why it's telling me now and hasn't over the past two years. And why do others I know with teslas have no clue what I'm talking about and have never seen it

 

[jjrandorin]

I understand what it's telling me. I want to know why it's telling me now and hasn't over the past two years. And why do others I know with teslas have no clue what I'm talking about and have never seen it

I saw it a couple days ago when I swiped away the tesla app by mistake. They are not seeing it because they are not swiping away the app, cause there isnt any IT related reason to do that on a smartphone that is less than about 4 ish years old.

 

[Kennymb5384]

I saw it a couple days ago when I swiped away the tesla app by mistake. They are not seeing it because they are not swiping away the app, cause there isnt any IT related reason to do that on a smartphone that is less than about 4 ish years old.

Maybe it's been more of an OCD thing for me and I'm just use to clearing the multitasking over the years

 

[jjrandorin]

Maybe it's been more of an OCD thing for me and I'm just use to clearing the multitasking over the years

I get that. I still will not run more than a few browser tabs at once (that actually does impact performance), and dont keep more than a couple of applications open at once on my work laptop. I still reflexively close applications on my laptop, even though I know its not something I need to do.

I had to break my own habit of force closing apps on my smartphones myself. I still force close some of them because I dont want them running all the time.... but not the tesla app since it messes with phone as key (lol).

 

[GreenHokie]

I understand what it's telling me. I want to know why it's telling me now and hasn't over the past two years.

I think Tesla decided to enable this messsage/reminder in one of their recent software updates, because closing the app sometimes causes the vehicle to lose communication with your phone. Once Tesla realized this was the cause of some of the complaints/problems they were receiving about not being able to connect to the vehicle, they decided to release this feature to remind the user to always keep the app running in background of their phone.

Out of habit, I have always completely closed the Tesla app (with an upwards swipe/gesture) on my phone since I started using/driving my vehicle back in August of 2019, and I have never gotten this message when I close the app… until about 1 week ago which in my case corresponded to a software update. I’m not 100% sure if that software update was the real reason why I started getting this new message/reminder. Could be just coincidence. Regardless, it is clear this message/reminder is something new that Tesla recently added.

In general, my vehicle has always been able to recognize and communicate with my phone even after I completely close the Tesla app on my phone. On very rare occasions, it has temporarily lost communication with my phone… but I can probably count the total number of times that has happen over the last 2-1/2 years in just 1 hand. So, it’s been extremely reliable/stable in my case….

 

[steinardo]

It is insanely annoying. Now that we have been informed, they should add an option to disable that notification.

 

[Trip McNealy]

Is that new for you? Mine started yesterday after I updated the app

I got the notification too after updating the Tesla app and force closing it. Guess I'll keep it in the background now! (However I never had communication problems force closing and reopening. Oh well).

 

[Kennymb5384]

I got the notification too after updating the Tesla app and force closing it. Guess I'll keep it in the background now! (However I never had communication problems force closing and reopening. Oh well).

Same. Not easy training my brain to leave it open haha

 

[FLMan]

I got the notification too after updating the Tesla app and force closing it. Guess I'll keep it in the background now! (However I never had communication problems force closing and reopening. Oh well).

My experience was the opposite. I constantly closed the app because I never leave apps running regardless of what the OS creators say.

But without the Tesla app running in the background my car never unlocked for me. It took me a minute to figure that out, but that was back before the nag. Since then, I've always left the Tesla app running and rarely have unlock issues other than the occasional glitch ones.

 

[tg27]

This is a bit crazy - I though the 'general rule' was to close the Tesla app when not using so the phantom drain on the battery would be reduced (greatly according to some). Now Tesla wants to keep it on and the car in a less than deep sleep mode? A bit non-environmental to me. TG

 

[FLMan]

My car still sleeps well. I think you have to bring the app into the foreground to wake up the car and who keeps the app up in the foreground all the time?

 

[GtiMart]

The general rule is that opening the Tesla app (showing its UI) wakes the car up. Leaving it running in the background does NOT consume additional energy in the car, and your car will eventually fall asleep. The app needs to run at least in the background so it can respond to the "phone as key" request.