new android phone, app has to be open for phone key to work

[Heynow999]

I have a new phone, a TCL 10 Pro which has android version 11. For the phone key to work I need to open the app. I believe this has to do with the phone permissions.

The only setting that seem to be available are allow "only while using the app" , "ask every time" or "deny". There doesnt seem to be a setiing to keep the app open all the time.

bluetooth is on

I did some reading and I set the phone to NOT optimise battery for tesla app. I'll see if that works

 

[jrweiss98020]

Check to see if the "allow mobile access" option is active in the car display (Security tab).

Ensure the phone and car are paired, and Bluetooth is on when the app is closed. You might delete the pairing and re-pair.

 

[EVRider-FL]

Check to see if the "allow mobile access" option is active in the car display (Security tab).

Ensure the phone and car are paired, and Bluetooth is on when the app is closed. You might delete the pairing and re-pair.

Mobile access isn’t the problem here because the phone key does work when the app is open.

Pairing the phone with the car for calls and/or media is not required to use the phone as a key.

The only setting that seem to be available are allow "only while using the app" , "ask every time" or "deny". There doesnt seem to be a setiing to keep the app open all the time.

I have an iPhone so I’m not familiar with the Android settings, but what you describe might be a location setting. There should be a different setting for background app refresh or something similar. Having location set to “while using the app” is adequate, on iPhones anyway.

 

[angus[Y]oung]

I had my Tesla app set to not optimize which does work well most of the time. Occasionally I would still walk up to the car when out and it would not want to unlock; I would have to unlock my phone and bring the app up and then the car would unlock. This would happen maybe 1 out of every 10 or 12 times.

However, I had been noticing lately that the battery life on my phone had become awful. I thought it was because I've had it a while (almost 2.5 years) of pretty heavy usage, and the battery was just degrading--and it was, but not entirely to blame. I started paying more attention in the battery usage area of the settings and noticed that the Tesla app (among another I had set not to optimize) was basically always showing foreground usage and next to no background, even though the phone was left in the background the vast majority of the time. So in other words, if I'd been off the charger for 4 hours, I'd see 4 hours of "while in active use" time on the app.

With that in mind, about a week or so ago I set all my apps to either Optimize or Intelligent Control, and it made a huge difference, both positive and negative. On the positive side, although still degraded due to age and wear, my battery is now lasting noticeably longer between charges! I did notice that the Telsa app would sometimes stay in memory too long when not being used, and it would continue to show as active use time. So I've started manually forcing it closed when I'm not out and needing to use the car, and this has really helped. However, the negative side is that I need to be more mindful and bring the app up before walking up to the car or I'm going to be locked out until I do. So, it's a give and take. For the moment, I'm sacrificing some convenience for the sake of phone charge longevity.

Just some observations, do with them as you please.

 

[Danzel]

My situation is the opposite. My S21 Ultra will always unlock my door when i pull the handle, the app does not need to be open since it's automatically stays open in the background you can see that in the notification on top of the screen. My iPhone 13 Pro Max is hit and miss. I must have the app open in the background to make sure i don't look like a fool trying to open a door that is locked, then take out the phone unlock it etc...

 

[EVRider-FL]

My situation is the opposite. My S21 Ultra will always unlock my door when i pull the handle, the app does not need to be open since it's automatically stays open in the background you can see that in the notification on top of the screen. My iPhone 13 Pro Max is hit and miss. I must have the app open in the background to make sure i don't look like a fool trying to open a door that is locked, then take out the phone unlock it etc...

Under iOS Settings for the Tesla app, make sure Background App Refresh and Cellular Data are enabled. We don't have any issues with my iPhone Xs or my wife's iPhone 11. I have Location set to While Using.

 

[Stu Redman]

I have had Location Services and Background App Refresh on my iPhone turned off for years. Everything about the Tesla app works just fine, except summon, which needs location. Try it and save some phone juice.

 

[Danzel]

Again this morning i started the heating in the car force closed the app went to the car and no go. I had to take out the phone open the app and then pull the handle again to unlock the door.
These are the settings in the tesla app.
What os are you guys on?
Mine is iPhone 13 Pro Max on ios 15.1

 

[Stu Redman]

“Force closed”?? The app needs to be actively running on the iPhone screen, or running in the background to unlock and open the door with the door handle. One or the other. That does not mean that Background App Refresh needs to be turned on. I have that turned off in my general settings for all apps. The version of iOS doesn’t really matter as the facts above have been the same for years.

 

[iamnid]

Again this morning i started the heating in the car force closed the app went to the car and no go. I had to take out the phone open the app and then pull the handle again to unlock the door.
These are the settings in the tesla app.
What os are you guys on?
Mine is iPhone 13 Pro Max on ios 15.1

Your issue stems from the app not being active when you're trying to unlock your car. "force closing" the app should never be done unless it has crashed and, then, should be followed up by re-opening the app. Sounds like you've solved your issue right there.

OP, sounds like the problem is stemming from your phone turning the app off in the background to save battery life -- a feature on some android phones which does not help for the "phone as a key" feature and should be disabled even if only for the Tesla app. I'd walk you through that process but, unfortunately, different manufacturers put their own spin on android and call these features by different names and have different methods of deactivating them (it's often in the "battery" settings somewhere).

 

[Danzel]

I have a new phone, a TCL 10 Pro which has android version 11. For the phone key to work I need to open the app. I believe this has to do with the phone permissions.

The only setting that seem to be available are allow "only while using the app" , "ask every time" or "deny". There doesnt seem to be a setiing to keep the app open all the time.

bluetooth is on

I did some reading and I set the phone to NOT optimise battery for tesla app. I'll see if that works

Do you have this little icon on your on top in your notifications? If yes you shouldn’t have any problems and you should be able to unlock your doors without the app open. That little icon means the app is in the background looking to connect with your car.

 

[Gasaraki]

Make sure the phone is not doing any special power saving where it's messing with the bluetooth. You can check by not even opening the app, just power cycle the bluetooth. If the door open after the on/off cycle of the bluetooth, then it's not the app.

 

[Danzel]

Your issue stems from the app not being active when you're trying to unlock your car. "force closing" the app should never be done unless it has crashed and, then, should be followed up by re-opening the app. Sounds like you've solved your issue right there.

OP, sounds like the problem is stemming from your phone turning the app off in the background to save battery life -- a feature on some android phones which does not help for the "phone as a key" feature and should be disabled even if only for the Tesla app. I'd walk you through that process but, unfortunately, different manufacturers put their own spin on android and call these features by different names and have different methods of deactivating them (it's often in the "battery" settings somewhere).

Ok because i get mix answers. Some people say they are on ios and don’t need to have the app open, and some say the app must be open. A bit confused. And like i said on my S21 Ultra no need to have the app open so i thought maybe it would be the same on ios.

 

[Gasaraki]

Ok because i get mix answers. Some people say they are on ios and don’t need to have the app open, and some say the app must be open. A bit confused. And like i said on my S21 Ultra no need to have the app open so i thought maybe it would be the same on ios.

Technically the app doesn't need to be open for the 'phone as key' to work. However, having the app open also ensures that Bluetooth is functioning because if it wasn't it would tell you. Opening the app also 'jumpstarts' any phone related power saving messing with the communication, usually. 90% of the time the doors open fine, 9% of the time if the doors don't open either turning on the screen of the phone or opening the app opens the door. 1% of the time I have to turn the bluetooth off and on again for the doors to open.

 

[Marty3SR+]

I have had a Pixel 2 with Android 11 since getting the car in January, and never have problems. Same with my Pixel 6 so far. My wife, the main user, has an iPhone 12 and occasionally has a problem. It seems like simply opening the app, then closing it normally, will wake it up. There may be a setting I don't know about, not being an iPhone person, so I'll try some of the previous suggestions here.

My suggestion as an extra bit of info for Android is to open, then close the app instead of leaving it open to unlock. If this works, it probably means the app is somehow too sleepy to respond and needs a setting changed. But I never did anything special on my phones, so it must be a system setting rather than an app setting. Something like "optimize battery" perhaps. I never use that. Or if your phone's state of charge is low, possibly Battery Saver.

 

[Need]

Well, I don't think OP is coming back to reply on this thread, and no one else is having problem on Android. As for iOS, I think there is something wrong on iOS once in a while. It will just shut down the app completely even if you have Background refresh turned on. My wife has the Tesla app on her iPhone Pro Max 12. Sometime it will completely log her off the app. She has a keyfob so it is not really a big deal. Also it could never backup photos to Google Photos in the background even with refresh on. Every week or so I have to open up her Google Photos app so it would start to back up photos. I think it is just iOS doesn't like app running in the background.

 

[Marty3SR+]

Well, I don't think OP is coming back to reply on this thread, and no one else is having problem on Android. As for iOS, I think there is something wrong on iOS once in a while. It will just shut down the app completely even if you have Background refresh turned on. My wife has the Tesla app on her iPhone Pro Max 12. Sometime it will completely log her off the app. She has a keyfob so it is not really a big deal. Also it could never backup photos to Google Photos in the background even with refresh on. Every week or so I have to open up her Google Photos app so it would start to back up photos. I think it is just iOS doesn't like app running in the background.

Same phone my wife has. Hers never has logged her off, though, so she can run the app and it works.

I thought the Google Photos problem was fixed a while back with an IOS update. But since I ordered a 256GB model to replace her 16GB old one, I haven't paid much attention. It was worth the extra cost not to worry about it.