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Phone as Key Issues

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Wow! Tesla got that one right! - When he decided to sell only to employees and existing Tesla owners first. I was a line waiter, and I have configured, but probably won't see the car for another month or so. Sincerely, I want to thank you early adapters for smoothing the road for us "Johnny-come-latelies". The car is for my 'non-techie' wife, and she would be in a loony-bin if she had to go through what some of you have endured. Thank you.
 
My car updated itself to 2018.12.1 a few days ago (and the Tesla app to 3.3.5), and at least for me, the phone as key stuff seems more reliable lately. I've still gotten a few slow unlocks but they seem to be less slow (I pull the handle and within 10 seconds the mirrors unfold and I can open the door < 5% of the time, otherwise it works as expected and unlocks on the first pull). For the record we are using Pixel 2/2 XLs as our primary phone keys.

Also the problem I had pairing an iPhone 5S as a phone key went away with the updates, so there is that as well...
10 seconds? Really? That seems awfully long to be standing around waiting (especially with all the rain we're having on Oah'u!). I propose the phone-as-key system be renamed the Willit System. Because as phones and software change, or don't, you never really know. Will it? Or won't it?
Robin
 
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my update:
recieved 2018.12 update Thursday nite, worked great for 3 days. No go this AM.

I will say this:
my phone bluetooth was having a hard time connecting to my headphones yesterday... I had to restart my phone.

whatever that is worth.

I am going to restart my phone every nite. See what that gets me.
at the risk of jinxing myself:

my update:

7 days in a row, 100% success. this is a record for me (previous record was 4 days)

a couple of days i was in and out of the car 7-10 times.

exactly 2 times it took more than 1 push to open... less than 5 seconds for success.

the weird thing now:
while the phone as key was connected, twice it did not connect for calls or audio.

i don't see a pattern. the first time, it was after work, i eventually restarted my phone while driving. Nervous cuz I didn't know how the car would behave while the phone was offline at highway speeds... but it ended up fine... and the bluetooth connected.

the second time, yesterday. It didn't connect. it was a short drive, so i let it go. After using my bluetooth headphones for an hour, I got in my car and it was fine. Then after a quick stop to the supermarket, got in the car fine, but not connected for calls or audio. Worked fine this AM.


Anyways, I will continue to restart my phone every night. Easy to do. If this is the permanent fix, and it works 100% of the time, I will be satisfied. Somehow, I am not optimistic it will be that smooth. But for now, I will continue to cross my fingers.
 
As someone who is waiting for his delivery date, I’m curious: is the “phone as a key” working correctly for ANYBODY?
It is working for many people AT THE MOMENT. The problem is, it can also STOP working for anyone at any time. It will never be as reliable as a fob system. It is utterly stupid to implement an unreliable system for crucial functions like opening the car.
 
It is working for many people AT THE MOMENT. The problem is, it can also STOP working for anyone at any time. It will never be as reliable as a fob system. It is utterly stupid to implement an unreliable system for crucial functions like opening the car.
Complex systems that "fix" thmselves for no obvious reason, can also fail for no obvious reason. If you're OK with that, go for Model 3. If that bugs you, be forewarned.
Robin
 
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Wow! Tesla got that one right! - When he decided to sell only to employees and existing Tesla owners first. I was a line waiter, and I have configured, but probably won't see the car for another month or so. Sincerely, I want to thank you early adapters for smoothing the road for us "Johnny-come-latelies". The car is for my 'non-techie' wife, and she would be in a loony-bin if she had to go through what some of you have endured. Thank you.
I don’t think your marriage will survive a Model 3. Most of the issues described in this forum remain unresolved and are being fixed to the extent they can be after delivery. The topic of this thread, the phone as key, remains a total mess with no solutions on the horizon. Get her a Bolt and tell her it’s a Tesla. She’ll never catch on.
 
10 seconds? Really? That seems awfully long to be standing around waiting (especially with all the rain we're having on Oah'u!). I propose the phone-as-key system be renamed the Willit System. Because as phones and software change, or don't, you never really know. Will it? Or won't it?
Robin

10 seconds is nothing compared to the 30 seconds to never unlocking I was getting with the previous version of the firmware + app.

10 seconds is more of a nuisance to me than standing out there pulling the handle multiple times before realizing it's probably not going to happen and thinking, ok, I'll put everything down and get the phone out of my pocket so I can unlock via app...

I don't want to downplay that this is still occurring but it really does work as expected 95%+ of the time for me now (and it's been 100% as far as not needing to use the app or key card...so far).
 
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Just picked up my 3 five days ago. Car is awesome but phone key works about 50 percent of the time. It says connected on the app but still won't start. I upgraded my wife's phone ( she had a flip phone ) a few months ago to be ready for the 3. She says I'll stick with the old Civic until there's no issues. I created an interim solution by putting the key card in a thin business card wallet with my license, insurance card, and gym pass key. Pillar sensor reads the card through the wallet instantly, set it in the cup holder and I'm off. Exit the car, slip it by the pillar and it's locked. Works 100 percent of the time. Don't always take my phone everywhere, especially to the gym. The wife seems good with it too. Happy wife, happy life!
 
Just picked up my 3 five days ago. Car is awesome but phone key works about 50 percent of the time. It says connected on the app but still won't start. I upgraded my wife's phone ( she had a flip phone ) a few months ago to be ready for the 3. She says I'll stick with the old Civic until there's no issues. I created an interim solution by putting the key card in a thin business card wallet with my license, insurance card, and gym pass key. Pillar sensor reads the card through the wallet instantly, set it in the cup holder and I'm off. Exit the car, slip it by the pillar and it's locked. Works 100 percent of the time. Don't always take my phone everywhere, especially to the gym. The wife seems good with it too. Happy wife, happy life!
Are you on 2018.12? seems like that helped a bunch of folks.
 
Just picked up my 3 five days ago. Car is awesome but phone key works about 50 percent of the time. It says connected on the app but still won't start. I upgraded my wife's phone ( she had a flip phone ) a few months ago to be ready for the 3. She says I'll stick with the old Civic until there's no issues. I created an interim solution by putting the key card in a thin business card wallet with my license, insurance card, and gym pass key. Pillar sensor reads the card through the wallet instantly, set it in the cup holder and I'm off. Exit the car, slip it by the pillar and it's locked. Works 100 percent of the time. Don't always take my phone everywhere, especially to the gym. The wife seems good with it too. Happy wife, happy life!

My wife works in a hospital, so she would not be too happy to be pulling stuff out of her purse at 3 am in an unlit parking garage.

I did read on the other Tesla forum that one owner said he talked to a Tesla representative who thought the FOB was in the works. Realize that this is on a message board (assuming the first part is true) and that the representative might have only been speculating without any real insight. But, at least, this is the first time I have heard even a rumor that Tesla might be considering a FOB fix in the future.

I get Tesla's position on this. If they produce a FOB, then will many users give up on the "phone as a key" concept completely? You then have two groups of drivers. Some will get functionality (summons), but other won't with the FOB. Is it better to have everyone deal with the current problems, but keep the driver population in one group, or eventually have two subsets of drivers to deal with down the road.
 
Why not just make the fob standard, and the phone app optional? If you really want summons, if you're happy to rent your car out to strangers, then you go for the phone app. Meanwhile, owners who just want a reliable way to unlock and operate their new cars (without wondering and waiting), can do so without all the will-it-or-won't-it and chicken dancing workarounds.
Robin
 
Why not just make the fob standard, and the phone app optional? If you really want summons, if you're happy to rent your car out to strangers, then you go for the phone app. Meanwhile, owners who just want a reliable way to unlock and operate their new cars (without wondering and waiting), can do so without all the will-it-or-won't-it and chicken dancing workarounds.
Robin
I think it would be cool to have a mini Model 3 as a FOB like the S and X, but I wonder how the model X folks feel about their FOB as it is BT as well.

Does anyone here have one of those all in one credit cards (like Coin)? I wonder if they could convert the key card to one of those and when the battery dies you just get a new one. The Coin was like 50 bucks and was supposed to last like 2 years. There was another one that had either a rechargeable battery or it was replaceable, but it never came out so I forget the name.
 
Yesterday I was showing the car and opened and closed the trunk with no problems. Just using my hand to open the latch. Within a matter of 15-20 secs., I tried opening the trunk again. It did not work manually. I had to get my phone out, open the Tesla app and press the unlock button. I laughed and stated just another quirk with ownership.

When I leave work, before I get outside, I open the app to wake the car. The first thing i do when approaching the car is I open the trunk. I place my cello in there. Then open the door. I still find the car delaying in response to the first action opening the trunk.

I agree with recent posters that there should be an option for a key fob. I appreciate the approach of what Tesla is trying to eliminate a key fob but until then give us an option.
 
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From the Edmund's long-term test:

"I haven't yet worked up the courage to leave the Model 3 key card at home and rely solely on the 'key' stored in my phone. The walk-up unlock/walk-away lock feature works only on occasion, and usually when you're not intending to go anywhere. Stand near the car and it will sometimes continue to lock and unlock itself until you move out of key proximity. Trusting that the car is going to lock when you walk out of Bluetooth range is another thing. I often just use the key card to lock it manually; that way there's no question. I'm probably better off disabling my phone key at this point since it causes more headaches than it is a convenience." — Jonathan Elfalan, road test manager

Monthly Update for March 2018 - 2017 Tesla Model 3 Long-Term Road Test
 
Just met another model 3 owner today at a Tesla sponsored symposium.

She has never logged into any online forums. She had a list of questions. One was...wait for it...



Why does my car not unlock when using my phone. Does not always work when I try to get in. I witness it also when we checked her car out. She had phone in hand. Car did respond when we approached. She tried the drivers door handle. Nothing happen.

She had to open her app and hit unlock.

She has an iPhone 7
 
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