Phone as Key Issues

[Pinot.Noir]

My wife was rebooting her phone each morning and that worked for about a week. Now it doesn't work at all. She actually took the ICE car to work today out of frustration. Galaxy S8 here as well. The phone as key seemed cool at first. Now it's just annoying.

 

[apacheguy]

The "Phone Key" thing works on Bluetooth... but if the Tesla app doesnt stay running in the background, it doesn't work it seems. I've tried a few different phones with the same issue. Emailed Tesla for advice but nothing yet.

That’s a bummer. So the Tesla app has to background all the time in order for it to work as a key? That seems like quite a serious flaw that Tesla should have thought of from a usability standpoint. Key fobs don’t have this problem... just sayin’

 

[Bruinfan]

That’s a bummer. So the Tesla app has to background all the time in order for it to work as a key? That seems like quite a serious flaw that Tesla should have thought of from a usability standpoint. Key fobs don’t have this problem... just sayin’

i don't think that is true. there were times that i turned on the app before i left the building to my car and it didn't work. and there were times where i didn't open the app all day, and it worked fine.

my latest update:
my last solution was to turn off 'walk up unlock'. that lasted a week.
now
if i do nothing, it works maybe half the time. It definitely works if there is a short period of time between unlocks, like going to a store. So far, I'd say the threshold is at least 2 hours, cuz it works coming out of a movie.
if it doesn't work, turning bluetooth on and off on my phone works everytime so far in the last few weeks.

So, I think now, i'm going to reset my bluetooth before i leave the building after work, if i remember.

 

[daniel]

I don't know what happens to an app when it's not in the foreground, but I suspect that different OSs may treat them differently. On my phone the phone-as-key seems to work even if I have not opened the app recently. But I have a lot of unused memory in my phone and I don't run many apps on it so it probably doesn't need to dump an app out of memory often.

The fact that different phones do it differently is just one more reason that phone-as-key is a poor idea.

I always used to leave my phone in the car. I don't really need it with me when I go in to a store. Now I have to take it with me. It's a minor nuisance. If it failed to work even just occasionally, it would be a big annoyance. Especially since the key card does not always work!

 

[apacheguy]

i don't think that is true. there were times that i turned on the app before i left the building to my car and it didn't work. and there were times where i didn't open the app all day, and it worked fine.

my latest update:
my last solution was to turn off 'walk up unlock'. that lasted a week.
now
if i do nothing, it works maybe half the time. It definitely works if there is a short period of time between unlocks, like going to a store. So far, I'd say the threshold is at least 2 hours, cuz it works coming out of a movie.
if it doesn't work, turning bluetooth on and off on my phone works everytime so far in the last few weeks.

So, I think now, i'm going to reset my bluetooth before i leave the building after work, if i remember.

Well, if Tesla’s intent is to use the phone as the primary method of entry it needs to be rock solid. Your post is an excellent example of why this is not the case. Tesla can’t expect everyone to jump through hoops every time they want to unlock the car by rebooting their phone and/or resetting their Bluetooth and/or closing and reopening the app.

 

[Benjamin Brooks]

Tesla should sell Model 3 keyfobs as an upgrade option.
I would pay hundreds of dollars for it to avoid this phone (mis)detection nonsense

 

[N5329K]

The phone-as-key can never be rock solid, because as new phones and new software come on line, it's a constantly-evolving, moving target. What worked yesterday might not work today without an update, and updates can be exceedingly sketchy things.
The beauty of a key fob is that once it is designed and works, it keeps working. No updates needed. No new compatibility issues where none existed before.
It's a shame Tesla did such a great job of preparing for a future where people will happily rent their cars to strangers (a future I have major, major doubts about), and a less than stellar job of engineering a simple, reliable key system for the people who actually buy their cars today.
Robin

 

[djplong]

I respectfully disagree.

First, they have the RFID card if you don't want to use a phone.

Second, the industry (cell phone industry, that is) has learned it's lesson. Windows Mobile (which used to be Windows CE) died because of a lack of forward compatibility (among other reasons). Android and iOS are not making these mistakes. With IOS, when they made the switch from 32-bit to 64-bit software, developers had YEARS to recompile their software to make it compatible.

 

[Pinot.Noir]

First, they have the RFID card if you don't want to use a phone.

The RFID card is clumsy and inconsistent, and easy to forget about and leave in the car. A Tesla is supposed to be technologically advanced, not going backwards. The card is just as bad as an actual key. My sons $21,000 Mazda opens and starts with the FOB in your pocket. Having the card is not the answer.

 

[daniel]

When the iPhone SE came out, the bluetooth didn't work properly with some headsets, including mine. A later software update fixed it. I was able to use a different headset in the mean time. But imagine not being able to get into your car until the next software update because the next phone or OS upgrade has a slightly different implementation of bluetooth.

At the time folks on the Apple forum explained that bluetooth is not one single thing. It's a protocol that can be implemented in any of a variety of ways, and which is notorious for less than perfect compatibility between devices.

It's lucky for us that we have the key card as backup, but that does not always work either. A keyfob would be much more reliable, and a physical key is essential for emergency access, for those of us who don't carry a 12V battery with us every time we go in to a store.

 

[Pinot.Noir]

Just updated to 2018.10.5. Says it fixes some issues with phone as key. We shall see!

 

[wk057]

I upgraded to the S9+ yesterday morning... seemed to have resolved the issue, not that I particularly consider that a good solution.

Also finally got my first OTA to 2018.10.5 last night, which probably won't hurt, but had me hitting defrost when trying to get to my music twice already...

Edit: Side note... I don't see any reason why they can't make a Model X fob (or a Model 3 fob based on the same hardware) work with the Model 3. The BLE stuff used in the 3 is basically the same tech as in the X.

 

[MikeNewhouse]

I upgraded to 10.5 two days ago, from that point if I don't wake my phone up by pressing the home button my car never unlocks. Before the upgrade, it was 50/50. yes, I know you have to push the handle now - still nothing until waking up the phone. Even just pressing the home button thru my jean pocket works.
iPhone 7

 

[Pinot.Noir]

Thanks for the info Mike. That likely explains why I saw my frustrated wife walk out the front door and drive her ICE car to work this morning. Surprised she didn't give the Ring camera a scowl of disgust. Can't wait to get home!

 

[daniel]

First drive with 2018.4.10. I did not have the phone key problem that MikeNewhouse reported.

 

[Pinot.Noir]

First drive with 2018.4.10. I did not have the phone key problem that MikeNewhouse reported.

Did you mean 2018.10.5?

 

[daniel]

Did you mean 2018.10.5?

Oops. You're right. Sorry. And thanks for the correction.

 

[kbecks13]

I have a Gen 1 Pixel XL and was having tons of problems a month or two ago, but things have gotten much better with the 2018 car software and recent app updates.

I think phone key issues will soon be a thing of the past!

 

[diamond.g]

Just as a follow on, @wk057, are you going to try to see if you can get the X fob to pair with the 3?

 

[wk057]

Just as a follow on, @wk057, are you going to try to see if you can get the X fob to pair with the 3?

Once I get some more time to dive into hacking the Model 3, I'll definitely be trying a few things. Probably not practical to use an actual Model X fob, but using some other BLE capable small device would likely be pretty doable once I get into things in depth. Would expect this to be a few months away, at best, though before I get to this level of hacks on the 3.