Locked out with dog in the car

[MorrisonHiker]

Wives can be very handy in that situation ... except when I think about it, how would I phone her, even using someone else's phone I would be struggling because I've never memorised her number ... must revert to steam technology levels and write it down and keep it in my wallet!

A few years back, I did have an issue when trying to pick a friend up at the airport and their phone died. I've had the same number for 25 years and they weren't able to call me since they didn't know my number...and they've known me 15 years! <sigh>

I'm one of those people who memorized several phone numbers by heart so I know I'd be able to contact at least 4 or 5 people by memory. If I needed a different number, I suppose I'd call one of them and then have them make the call or give me the number I needed.

 

[PaulMD]

Kids these days are spoilt with phone books on devices, I still remember all my family landline numbers from the 80s!

 

[Peter 224]

I have learnt the hard way that carrying a keycard is prudent, it sits in a flat card wallet along with a spare credit card, a £10.00 note and the key card for the Morgan tracker inside a pocket.
I've had the car loose connection with my phone whilst driving: a big warning telling me that I need to use the keycard to start the card after stopping.

 

[s88ats]

If you have 2FA I think you’d basically have to use someone’s phone to call Tesla and give them the VIN and pertinent info about the car to get them to remotely unlock it.

I'd certainly fall into this category. I use my phone as my key and I have my key card in my wallet for emergencies but don't always take my wallet with me . I would be royally screwed if I was in OP's situation and I wouldn't have been able to download the app because of 2FA - the thought of breaking the window

I guess I've kind of learnt my lesson from a scare early on in my ownership, I now tend to leave the door partially shut (not fully latched). I've found this works best as it prevents the car from locking shut but keeps the breeze out.

Good to know I can reach Tesla to open it remotely.

 

[hingus2000]

Teslascope have advertised a service called "Unlock my Tesla", but in trying this before the App, it was down (and presumably would also have needed 2FA had it been working).

I had meant to activate 2FA - thankfully I hadn't.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

Teslascope have advertised a service called "Unlock my Tesla", but in trying this before the App, it was down (and presumably would also have needed 2FA had it been working).

I had meant to activate 2FA - thankfully I hadn't.

When you turn on two factor authentication, Tesla does generate and provide ten backup passcodes that should work to allow you to log into the app. Of course you'd have to have those saved somewhere to be able to use them.

We haven't tried using the backup passcodes yet...

 

[speedyranger74]

I think the best solution is to have a ring key. I don't like to have something on the finger but to avoid this kind of situations i will keep on the finger.
This decision after i was locked out because my phone was died(trip from Liverpool to London, phone on charge and on talk for 3 hours. The phone got heat and the charging stopped, so when get out the car was with 2% battery... I didn't check the battery level because thinking was all the time in charge) and the fob and keys card inside the car.
Locked out for almost 4 hours until I finded a charger usb-c for my phone... all info to access my Tesla account are in the phone.
Lesson learned

 

[PaulMD]

Wife said she was getting me a replacement wedding band for my birthday last month, having lost my original years ago.
Turns out she actually got me a Tesla Ring for the exact reasons on this thread as I don't carry a wallet much these days.
Can't wait to test it out in a few weeks!

 

[spon88]

I have a Tesla ring which is my default these days. I had a poor experience initially but found a way of presenting the ring to the door pillar which works pretty effectively now. I always try to remember to slot the 'phone in my pocket when leaving the car but I'm covered with the ring in case I do forget. The ring is also dead handy when I get back from a mountain bike ride covered in mud and need into the car quickly

 

[Teddy69]

2 months since receiving the car

I’ve had 2 times when it just doesn’t see the phone, had to dig out key card from wallet (whew)

think I’ll investigate Apple Watch app as another option

 

[Irata]

The car always seems to lock when I walk round to the frunk,

This is interesting, why is it always doing that. As you said, the phone was always left inside the car. This was probably the clue that something was never quite right between phone and car.

 

[hingus2000]

This is interesting, why is it always doing that. As you said, the phone was always left inside the car. This was probably the clue that something was never quite right between phone and car.

I should qualify, this is a typical behaviour when the phone is in my pocket. I agree it is strange though, as if the range of the key is reduced when in front of the car (i.e. loading the Frunk) as compared to when at the side of the car.

 

[Drew57]

Wife said she was getting me a replacement wedding band for my birthday last month, having lost my original years ago.
Turns out she actually got me a Tesla Ring for the exact reasons on this thread as I don't carry a wallet much these days.
Can't wait to test it out in a few weeks!

I've had a Tesla ring for more than 12 months and the convenience of unlocking to charge at home, walking up & opening the car at any time or for a short local trip without the phone makes it invaluable. It has worked every time, even for setting up another phone via the centre console.

It's the same as having a permanent key card, the original remains in a drawer at home.

(...last month my Daughters friends had to get a replacement wedding band because of covid track & trace)

 

[odyssey96]

Does the phone have any energy saving settings? My phone seems to turn off bluetooth in standby at some points so I have to unlock it for it to connect to the car.

As a matter of habbit I always keep card key in wallet just in case of phone issues. I know in an ideal world you shouldn't have to but it's probably the best thing to do

 

[Mrklaw]

my watch would have saved me but thats an odd thing to happen. I’ve done that a few times when leaving my wife in the car while popping into the shop. She now has her own app installed

 

[NeilG40]

I should qualify, this is a typical behaviour when the phone is in my pocket. I agree it is strange though, as if the range of the key is reduced when in front of the car (i.e. loading the Frunk) as compared to when at the side of the car.

It baffles me too, it seems walking close around the front of the car and it locks instantly but walking away in any direction from the car it takes longer to lock.

 

[interbear]

2 months since receiving the car

I’ve had 2 times when it just doesn’t see the phone, had to dig out key card from wallet (whew)

think I’ll investigate Apple Watch app as another option

Is there an Apple Watch option? And if so wouldn’t it likely rely on the Tesla phone app being operational anyway? I’ve had more incidents recently of the phone key (I have an iPhone 12 Pro) either not working at all or taking what seems like ages (in reality it’s 30-60 seconds) to be recognised. So I try several times to open the door with no success. It’s mildly annoying. Eventually works but not as slick as it should be or I am used to. Not sure why it’s changed. I would add that I always keep the key card in my wallet as a contingency (except when I forget to take my wallet with me ) and when unplugging charge cables I tend to leave the driver door open.

 

[Cnixon]

On a slightly different note. Similar thing happened to me when I downloaded v4 of the app from the unofficial site (previous post). I locked the keycard in the car needed to programme the phone key...to open the door. Need to keep a key card somewhere safe. Luckily I had the 2nd keycard close by.

 

[Nick77]

Definitely a story to reinforce having a keycard/ring on you at all times.

I was too tight to pay over £100 for a ring (and I don't like wearing them any way), so made my own key fob out of a spare keycard for less than £10 - DIY Tesla Key

 

[Irata]

I should qualify, this is a typical behaviour when the phone is in my pocket. I agree it is strange though, as if the range of the key is reduced when in front of the car (i.e. loading the Frunk) as compared to when at the side of the car.

Ah ok, still interesting though. I wouldn't expect that to happen, mine doesn't lock regardless where I stand around the car, nor when opening the frunk.

Does seem like you are on the cusp of the signal somehow, even when close to the car. Different phones, different antenna designs, etc. does appear to demonstrate a big variance in user experience.