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Key Card Entry or Phone App?
- Thread starter jasdelta
- Start date
With an iPhone 6S, I'm finding the app to be totally usable. Before delivery I was convinced I'd want a fob or use the card-key, but the app has been totally stable for me for keyless entry & authentication to drive.
The main downside of the app is that for other functions such as monitoring charging, preconditioning, etc, there can be a long delay to "wake up" the car. A minor issue I only had once was leaving my phone in the car. Thankfully it didn't lock
The main downside of the app is that for other functions such as monitoring charging, preconditioning, etc, there can be a long delay to "wake up" the car. A minor issue I only had once was leaving my phone in the car. Thankfully it didn't lock
PLUGZIN
Member
I use the app 100% of the time on my iPhone 8. At times I also have the same wake up delay as Fiatlux. I also left the phone in the car one time. I thought I would need to unlock car with the card; but also found the car had not locked.
With an iPhone 6S, I'm finding the app to be totally usable. Before delivery I was convinced I'd want a fob or use the card-key, but the app has been totally stable for me for keyless entry & authentication to drive.
The main downside of the app is that for other functions such as monitoring charging, preconditioning, etc, there can be a long delay to "wake up" the car. A minor issue I only had once was leaving my phone in the car. Thankfully it didn't lock
Thanks for the feedback.
follow.johnny
FSD Beta Tester
I use the phone app 100% (iPhone X) for my Model 3. Haven't had much issues with unlock/lock but occasionally have hit or miss unlock in the morning when the car is waking up from a deep sleep.
Some suggestions to optimize your phone app if you have an iPhone to reduce battery drain on both your iPhone and any "Phantom Drains" to the Model 3
• Disable Background App Refresh - If you don't need to have the phone app constantly refresh to get an updated status of the car, I would recommend turning this off. You can get to this setting from Settings > General > Background App Refresh > Off for Tesla
• Location Services - If you don't want the app to constant update the location of your car etc in the background to save battery, I would recommend changing this to only "While Using" You can get to this setting from Settings > Privacy > Location Services > Tesla (While Using)
• For Phantom Drain - The more times you open and check the phone app, the more times the car needs to be "awaken" to ping the status of the vehicle, which causes the 1-2 mile drain per hour that many have reported. If you don't need to check the app constant and only use it when you need to unlock your car or pre-cool it. I would recommend force closing the app from the app switcher after you exit and lock your car.
I hope this information helps anyone using an iPhone device.
Some suggestions to optimize your phone app if you have an iPhone to reduce battery drain on both your iPhone and any "Phantom Drains" to the Model 3
• Disable Background App Refresh - If you don't need to have the phone app constantly refresh to get an updated status of the car, I would recommend turning this off. You can get to this setting from Settings > General > Background App Refresh > Off for Tesla
• Location Services - If you don't want the app to constant update the location of your car etc in the background to save battery, I would recommend changing this to only "While Using" You can get to this setting from Settings > Privacy > Location Services > Tesla (While Using)
• For Phantom Drain - The more times you open and check the phone app, the more times the car needs to be "awaken" to ping the status of the vehicle, which causes the 1-2 mile drain per hour that many have reported. If you don't need to check the app constant and only use it when you need to unlock your car or pre-cool it. I would recommend force closing the app from the app switcher after you exit and lock your car.
I hope this information helps anyone using an iPhone device.
contrary to the iPhone results reported here, if you have an Android phone you can expect it to work sometimes and not work sometimes, the degrees of both depending what phone you have. I am very close to scrapping the phone app completely and going to the card exclusively until they fix it...
Is phone key is still working when you force quit the app in the iOS app switcher?
I am using iPhone 6 with iOS 11 and if I quit the tesla app, the phone key doesn't work. With app always running in the background the kphone keys runs fine.
follow.johnny
FSD Beta Tester
Nope, if the Tesla app isn't running the phone key won't work. I just open the app while walking to my car and the auto unlock works for me.
Interesting. I wonder what happens if two iPhones have the app on ( wife and I) walk to the car, which one connects and opens the doors?
SalisburySam
Active Member
For OP’s original questions:
1- I use my iPhone6 or my wife’s iPhoneSE exclusively. I don’t even carry the keycards anymore (probably a mistake...iPhone could go dead).
2- Both iPhones have worked well. The weak link is Bluetooth I think. Occasionally (maybe 5%) the iPhone won’t connect, but turning Bluetooth off and then back on again in Settings fixes the issue.
3- Lots of rumors about a key fob, and some threads on that as well. Nothing real yet, if ever. For me, I really, really like NOT having to carry a fob.
Enjoy your Performance vehicle when you get it!
1- I use my iPhone6 or my wife’s iPhoneSE exclusively. I don’t even carry the keycards anymore (probably a mistake...iPhone could go dead).
2- Both iPhones have worked well. The weak link is Bluetooth I think. Occasionally (maybe 5%) the iPhone won’t connect, but turning Bluetooth off and then back on again in Settings fixes the issue.
3- Lots of rumors about a key fob, and some threads on that as well. Nothing real yet, if ever. For me, I really, really like NOT having to carry a fob.
Enjoy your Performance vehicle when you get it!
Msjulie
Active Member
iPhone 8 - no problems with the app but I often make sure it's running/active on my way to the car from house or office etc
yes a couple areas where it looks like a little bit of dust in the clear coat..
yes a couple areas where it looks like a little bit of dust in the clear coat..
Msjulie
Active Member
Msjulie
Active Member
there's a bit I thought was dust under the clear mask I had installed but the guys showed me it's in the paint - you'd see it if you look for it but you might not otherwise
The app doesn't need to be running in the background (and there's no approved way for a developer to keep the app running). When the app first starts up it registers itself with the OS so that it can be started again when a bluetooth connection is made. Force quitting the app removes that registration and as such the phone key won't work until you open the app again. The list of apps in the app switcher is just a most recently used list - the vast majority of them aren't running.
</pedantic rant>
The first phone to connect, so I guess it depends on which one of you walks faster
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