New Fobs passive entry, old one gets update? [No, not possible]

[crackers8199]

You can't compare cellphones to a manufacturer's own key fob. Of course the keyfob is going to work because it is a manufacturer spec'd item. Your cellphone does not necessarily have the same implementation of bluetooth as the car.

And if the problem a certain individual has is because the phone is in their back pocket and the signal is being blocked by all the water in their body, that isn't a Tesla problem. That's like saying you are complaining that your phone downloads slowdown at all when your body is between your phone and the celltower.

RF propagation is one thing, protocol issues is another and people are easily mixed up by that.

you keep saying the same thing over and over as if it helps your argument, when really all it does is help make the argument we're trying to make.

i agree with everything you just said, which is why (again) they should have offered the fob as the primary way of entering the car while making the phone a secondary option. had they done that, nobody would be complaining because they'd still have a working key fob. phone works for you? great, you don't have to carry the key. upgrade your phone down the line and it finally works? great, now you don't have to carry the key...but in the meanwhile, 100% of the people would have a key that works 100% of the time.

i don't understand why you can't see that, or why you continue to ignore it.

 

[derotam]

i don't think it's too much to ask for absolute perfection when we're talking about the primary way of accessing and driving a vehicle.

Absolute perfection on manufacture controlled equipment is fine.

Bad statements by Tesla dont negate problems that are out of their control. They cause confusion, but...Tesla.

 

[crackers8199]

Absolute perfection on manufacture controlled equipment is fine.

which, yet again, is why the fob should have been primary and should have come with the car.

 

[derotam]

All the people saying, "It works for me" are just hijacking the thread without contributing anything. Anyone with half a brain can come up with half a dozen scenarios where the fob would be useful. The main thing that was wack, was ever making a fob that WASN'T capable of passive entry.

Fob scenarios off the top of my head:

1. Have old phone that doesn't work well as key, don't want to upgrade just for that.
2. Phone in metallic purse doesn't work well as key.
3. Like having trunk buttons that don't involve unlocking the phone and launching the app and waiting for it to connect.
4. Want to lend the car out without having to explain the weird key card.
5. Just like the cool car shaped fob.
6. Leave fob on a hook in the house so that other family members can grab it and use it to put the darned grocery bags back in the trunk.

I absolutely agree that releasing a non passive entry fob was ridiculous.

 

[derotam]

you keep saying the same thing over and over as if it helps your argument, when really all it does is help make the argument we're trying to make.

i agree with everything you just said, which is why (again) they should have offered the fob as the primary way of entering the car while making the phone a secondary option. had they done that, nobody would be complaining because they'd still have a working key fob. phone works for you? great, you don't have to carry the key. upgrade your phone down the line and it finally works? great, now you don't have to carry the key...but in the meanwhile, 100% of the people would have a key that works 100% of the time.

i don't understand why you can't see that, or why you continue to ignore it.

I don't know why you are so wrapped up in the terms primary and secondary. It doesn't matter. If Tesla said that the key card was "primary" what does that change? Nothing.

And the manual suggests that you keep the key card incase there is a problem with your phone. We can go round and round about terminology but that isn't the issue.

The issue is that some peoples phones dont work as a key reliably or at all and they are default blaming Tesla when there is so much variability that Tesla doesn't control.

You want to complain that your phone doesn't work then fine. If you hold your phone to the car and you can't get in then there is an issue somewhere in the BT stack...probably on your phone for whatever reason.

 

[bijan]

You can't compare cellphones to a manufacturer's own key fob. Of course the keyfob is going to work because it is a manufacturer spec'd item. Your cellphone does not necessarily have the same implementation of bluetooth as the car.

I can compare it because no one forced Tesla to use my cellphone instead of a fob.

I like the idea of phone key. It is convenient and prevents me from leaving my phone at home. But if it can't be 100% reliable Tesla had the choice not to do it that way.

 

[crackers8199]

I don't know why you are so wrapped up in the terms primary and secondary. It doesn't matter. If Tesla said that the key card was "primary" what does that change? Nothing.

it changes the expectations.

if tesla had said from the beginning or said now that the key card was the primary method of entering the car, and the phone as key was secondary because it's not 100% reliable, nobody would or could complain about it because it's advertised as being an OPTION for entering the car. that's not the case. they have said from day one that the phone key is supposed to be used as the primary method of entering the car, and you should only carry the card as a backup. when something is advertised in that manner, people buying a $50k+ vehicle should be able to expect it to work 100% of the time. it doesn't.

if you really can't see the difference here, then there's no reason to continue this discussion.

 

[crackers8199]

I can compare it because no one forced Tesla to use my cellphone instead of a fob.

I like the idea of phone key. It is convenient and prevents me from leaving my phone at home. But if it can't be 100% reliable Tesla had the choice not to do it that way.

this. 100% this.

 

[derotam]

I can compare it because no one forced Tesla to use my cellphone instead of a fob.

I like the idea of phone key. It is convenient and prevents me from leaving my phone at home. But if it can't be 100% reliable Tesla had the choice not to do it that way.

No matter what Tesla says, YOU chose to try to use YOUR cellphone. Just because it's a piece of junk /s doesn't mean its Tesla's fault.

But yes Tesla could have actually released a passive entry fob from the beginning. I think they didn't realize how fragmented BT implementation is.

 

[jkoya]

Received the updated fob this afternoon. I'll pair it tomorrow and report back...

 

[derotam]

it changes the expectations.

if tesla had said from the beginning or said now that the key card was the primary method of entering the car, and the phone as key was secondary because it's not 100% reliable, nobody would or could complain about it because it's advertised as being an OPTION for entering the car. that's not the case. they have said from day one that the phone key is supposed to be used as the primary method of entering the car, and you should only carry the card as a backup. when something is advertised in that manner, people buying a $50k+ vehicle should be able to expect it to work 100% of the time. it doesn't.

if you really can't see the difference here, then there's no reason to continue this discussion.

But phone as key is 100% reliable if the BT protocol is implemented correctly, and you have certain phone settings set correctly, and you are not blocking the RF signal.

 

[crackers8199]

But phone as key is 100% reliable if the BT protocol is implemented correctly, and you have certain phone settings set correctly, and you are not blocking the RF signal.

LOL, this is just laughable at this point. it's clear you're not going to admit that tesla could ever do anything wrong, so i'll just end it here. have a good night.

 

[Jeffers0n]

Phones I've tried:
1. iPhone X (worked 100%)
2. iPhone Xs Max (worked 50%)
3. iPhone 11 Pro (worked 50%)

I received the new fob and posted some feedback here:

Model 3 Keyfob updated on Tesla shop to include passive entry

I own both versions of the Model 3 fob. Not thrilled to buy it twice (was hoping for a software update), but I'm just glad to have a passive entry fob at all. I thought it was a limitation of the car itself and newer versions of the Model 3 would fix that. So glad it's not. And yes, it was ridiculous to release a non-passive entry fob to begin with if a passive entry one was possible.

 

[Stomsf]

I tried bringing the older fob back for a return/exchange (bought 16 days ago) and was told since it had been paired and used they would not return it. Annoying but TBH I use the fob as a backup and for valets, so the passive entry/exit is a nice to have but not a dealbreaker. Fortunately my phone key has been working well, so after getting over myself I am still happy with a wonderful car!!

And yes, it was ridiculous to release a non-passive entry fob to begin with if a passive entry one was possible.

This x100.

 

[Petermcg]

My wife doesn’t even own a cellphone, and, yes, she drives a Tesla. The proximity fob will make her experience easier as it will replace the key card she currently uses.

 

[jkoya]

The new passive entry fob is working great for me. Tried it multiple times and no failures.....

 

[Dan203]

Does anyone have the new key fob and can confirm that the passive entry works? I am one of those with iPhone 8 and my phone/key works about 70% of the time and it seems like it doesn't work 100% of the time its raining or I have my hands full

I have an iPhone 8 and mine has worked 100% thus far. A couple times I've had to angle my pocket a little closer to the door to kake it work, but it always has. I've heard that people who carry their phone in their back pocket can have more issues than those who carry it in the front though.

 

[Dan203]

Except I've never heard of anyone complaining that the Tesla app didn't work on their phone. Tesla has managed to get that working practically everywhere.

That's completely different. The app is using the internet connection to send commands to a server which then sends the command to the car over it's internal LTE connection.

The key is using low power bluetooth to communicate directly. Every phone/OS handles the BT stack differently in an effort to save battery life. In most cases having your phone take a little extra time to wake up and connect to a set of headphones or your car's infotainment system isn't a big deal, so putting BT to sleep isn't a big deal. But Tesla is using it for a more critical scenario and not all phones were designed to handle that properly. I think it also matters which version of the BT spec your phone adheres to. I think the newer BT 5 standard contains more stuff about passive connections like Tesla is using so phones which use that standard are less likely to have issues.

 

[derotam]

LOL, this is just laughable at this point. it's clear you're not going to admit that tesla could ever do anything wrong, so i'll just end it here. have a good night.

Tesla can and has done lots wrong but you are trying to say that everything is 100% wholly Tesla's fault and Tesla's absolute responsibility no matter where the problem lies.

If you don't want to learn about the technical issues that affect all this then that is on you.

There are a plethora of scenarios that people have with this but if it is an intermittent issue then it is most likely RF propagation related, as long as the fix isn't to turn off and on airplane mode.

If you have to do that then the BT on the phone is probably crashing for some reason.

And plenty more scenarios...You can't say that ALL the phone problems are caused by the same thing and that it MUST be a problem with Tesla, that is just being uninformed but is a common reaction.

I would love to discuss a particular scenario but unfortunately it probably won't help much if you continue your deadset mindset against Tesla.

 

[Adam3]

Two gen2 key fobs should be included with the car at time of purchase