Phone as Key Issues

[cellogig]

If my prior experience with Gen 1 Kevo deadbolts and Tile devices is any indication, Bluetooth LE functions such as locks and finders need to be standardized and supported at the OS level. There should be an API to securely register a virtual access key (and of course methods to query, update, and revoke, even remotely in the case of a lost or stolen device; extra credit for secure device-to-device copy/move). From there the OS would take care of the actual management and transponder functions, whether the original client app is running or not. End goals are security, reliability, and minimal latency. It's an obvious problem that needs to be solved, so hopefully some bright folks are working on it as I type this.

The reason I posted this quote, I hope this person can expand upon what I was told today by a tech representative at tesla today. Very helpful and patient with me. I am trying to remember everything he spoke to me about. I may have forgotten some stuff but tried to write in this post some key words that might help us understand the issue with phone key problems. I believe for android users the tasker app that SDKoala posted is in the right direction. But I do not know because I am an lphone user.

From the quote above I believe this still is the issue tesla and Apple are currently trying to solve with phone key issues. I am not a tech person but spoke with someone twice at tesla that spoke of Bluetooth and API issues. Also something to do with the amount of ram your phone has. Again out of my element of understanding.

They know that people are having dropped connectivity during hands free Bluetooth phone calls and the model 3. Which happened to me during the phone call with tesla.

They are also aware of phone key issues and connectivity.

What I was told until they have a fix.

Make sure ur phone software is up to date.
Check for any updates on tesla app.
Do not leave multiple windows open on your phone.
Have the Tesla app running in the background under settings.
Never close the Tesla app if u can. Obviously some people turn their phone on and off but try to keep the Tesla app always on.
If connectivity is unresponsive with the phone key and your car, do not close tesla app but refresh Bluetooth. Wait 5 seconds before switching Bluetooth back on.

If they cannot work out software issues with Apple iOS and Bluetooth connectivity there will be a key fob as a choice in the near future.

I have confidence that Tesla will get to the bottom of this...patience!!! People

They have fixed and made things better, (vampire drain (for most of us)and auto pilot) for staters. I am also reading for new deliveries on this forum people stating positive experiences with their purchases.

I personally would like the phone key to work. One less thing to carry around. But if the key fob is the answer then so be it. Also not once during my conversations with the the Tesla representative did he state use your black key card as your primary to gain access to your model 3. The whole conversation centered around getting the phone key to work and rightly so.

 

[daniel]

I agree that Tesla is very dedicated to making sure that owners have a good experience, and I am hopeful they will get things right. A few comments on some of the points the Tesla raised with you: (My comments in italics)

Make sure ur phone software is up to date. I don't want to have to upgrade from the very solid iOS 10 which works fine for me, to the extremely buggy and troublesome iOS 11.

Check for any updates on tesla app. Always good advice.

Do not leave multiple windows open on your phone. So we must limit our phone to only what's compatible with Tesla's app???

Have the Tesla app running in the background under settings. Yes, if you want the phone to be a key, the key app has to be running.

Never close the Tesla app if u can. Obviously some people turn their phone on and off but try to keep the Tesla app always on. Yes, same as above.

If they cannot work out software issues with Apple iOS and Bluetooth connectivity there will be a key fob as a choice in the near future. This is good news.

I have confidence that Tesla will get to the bottom of this...patience!!! People Based on past experience, I am inclined to agree with you. If we poke them enough it might happen sooner.

Even if they get the key function to work reliably, they've still left us without an easy way to open the frunk. A fob would solve this. There are other ways it could be solved, but I don't know if the car has hardware for other ways of opening the frunk. You don't want it to open any time you're just standing nearby, or happen to have your foot under the front of the car. Without installing some kind of sensor (like the Prius has inside the door handles) I just don't see how this can be done without a fob.

Didn't anybody at Tesla think that someone might want to open the frunk without crawling inside the car or screwing around with their phone?

 

[slipnslider]

Fortunately, for the time being, there are more eager EV buyers than the total capacity to manufacture EVs. Somebody choosing to buy an ICE instead of an EV this year, and probably for the next decade or so, will not lower the total number of EVs sold, because the auto makers are going to sell every EV they can make for some time to come. I'm not bothered by the people who cancel their Model 3 reservations because there are so many people clamoring to get one.

You're only talking about tesla's immediate financial income. Yes that is unaffected IN THE SHORT TERM by people who are turned off by crap like the phone key, because their is a line of buyers right now. But every person who sticks with ICE is still more CO2 in the atmosphere. And it's one less person IN LINE to get a tesla, which is one less eventual sale for tesla.

 

[daniel]

You're only talking about tesla's immediate financial income. Yes that is unaffected IN THE SHORT TERM by people who are turned off by crap like the phone key, because their is a line of buyers right now. But every person who sticks with ICE is still more CO2 in the atmosphere. And it's one less person IN LINE to get a tesla, which is one less eventual sale for tesla.

That only becomes an issue when there are more EVs being built than get sold. What matters is how many EVs are on the road. While demand exceeds supply, all that matters is now many they can build. Once supply exceeds demand, then the limiting factor is how many people want to buy one. I think it will be a while before that tips over.

 

[daniel]

Today I had my first failure of the phone as key since I first figured out how to set it up properly. I went out to the car and it would not open. I opened the phone and brought the app up. But now I don't remember if the car opened then or if I used the card. Once I got in the car, it demanded the card in order to start. Then when I got where I was going, it would not auto-lock when I walked away and I had to walk back to the car and lock it with the card. Later, but before returning again to the car, I brought up the app again, and it demanded my password. I gave it that and it demanded it again. (I probably typed it wrong on my tiny iPhone SE.) After that, it was back to normal. When I returned to the car it opened, and at home it locked after I got out.

I drove the car yesterday with no issues, and had not done anything to the app in the mean time, nor had I done anything with the phone other than make some phone calls.

 

[Graffi]

This post caused me to think: Will those who wish to stay with an ICE vehicle eventually end up moving to ICEland, or will the people living in Iceland show their contempt for the rest of the world by going all EV's and outlaw ICE vehicles.

Something to think about....

 

[Graffi]

Sorry forgot to insert the Quote above.

Your grandmother sticking with her landline doesn't hurt the planet. People sticking with ICE cars because EVs are too full of unreliable tech does.

 

[pavankp]

I had a 10-20% failure rate with my Pixel 2 XL as the phone key. Setting up Tasker to toggle Bluetooth off and on once every 12 hours did not help. But setting the Tesla app to "not optimized" in battery optimizations seems to help. I haven't had a key failure since I did this two days ago. Has anyone else tried this?

 

[jamnmon66]

I had a 10-20% failure rate with my Pixel 2 XL as the phone key. Setting up Tasker to toggle Bluetooth off and on once every 12 hours did not help. But setting the Tesla app to "not optimized" in battery optimizations seems to help. I haven't had a key failure since I did this two days ago. Has anyone else tried this?

I was looking at that setting the other day & thinking about this thread. I don't have my car yet so I can't test it but I bet this is a possible solution.

 

[slipnslider]

Today I had my first failure of the phone as key since I first figured out how to set it up properly. I went out to the car and it would not open. I opened the phone and brought the app up. But now I don't remember if the car opened then or if I used the card. Once I got in the car, it demanded the card in order to start. Then when I got where I was going, it would not auto-lock when I walked away and I had to walk back to the car and lock it with the card. Later, but before returning again to the car, I brought up the app again, and it demanded my password. I gave it that and it demanded it again. (I probably typed it wrong on my tiny iPhone SE.) After that, it was back to normal. When I returned to the car it opened, and at home it locked after I got out.

I drove the car yesterday with no issues, and had not done anything to the app in the mean time, nor had I done anything with the phone other than make some phone calls.

This is the whole problem. You did nothing wrong, and all of a sudden it stops working for god knows whatever technical reason. This is unacceptable and hardly ever happened with a fob.

 

[bhzmark]

Your grandmother sticking with her landline doesn't hurt the planet. People sticking with ICE cars because EVs are too full of unreliable tech does.

Wow
You are attached to your fob. Probably better buy a model s or leaf then.
More people won't buy a model 3 because it doesn't have hatch.

Others will like that because they get in their office with a key card and in their house with garage door opener and one of the many phone triggered door locks, they will be relieved to not carry their last physical key or fob and most poeple have no problem with it.

But I'm sure I won't convince you to give up your jihad against phone keys. But it like all jihads, it isn't rational.

 

[slipnslider]

Wow
You are attached to your fob. Probably better buy a model s or leaf then.
More people won't buy a model 3 because it doesn't have hatch.

Others will like that because they get in their office with a key card and in their house with garage door opener and one of the many phone triggered door locks, they will be relieved to not carry their last physical key or fob and most poeple have no problem with it.

But I'm sure I won't convince you to give up your jihad against phone keys. But it like all jihads, it isn't rational.

It isn't rational to exchange something that works reliably for something that doesn't. It's an EMOTIONAL need to have something NEW and COOL to make you feel like a Jetson.

 

[bhzmark]

If my 65 year old mother can't do it, then it's challenging. Tesla shouldnt count on all their customers being tech professionals.

Sure ok. Because the only people are either 65 year olds or tech professionals. Psychological splitting like that is not conducive to rational thinking.

I gave a model 3 to a very non tech person in my family and this person enjoys the car perfectly well. But they are rational. Some types probably won't do well with new tech and it's quirks.

 

[cellogig]

Wow
You are attached to your fob. Probably better buy a model s or leaf then.
More people won't buy a model 3 because it doesn't have hatch.

Others will like that because they get in their office with a key card and in their house with garage door opener and one of the many phone triggered door locks, they will be relieved to not carry their last physical key or fob and most poeple have no problem with it.

But I'm sure I won't convince you to give up your jihad against phone keys. But it like all jihads, it isn't rational.

I was told today by a tech representative at tesla today.Very helpful and patient with me. I am trying to remember everything he spoke to me about. I may have forgotten some stuff but tried to write in this post some key words that might help us understand the issue with phone key problems. I believe for android users the tasker app that SDKoala posted is in the right direction. But I do not know because I am an lphone user.

From the quote above I believe this still is the issue tesla and Apple are currently trying to solve with phone key issues. I am not a tech person but spoke with someone twice at tesla that spoke of Bluetooth and API issues. Also something to do with the amount of ram your phone has. Again out of my element of understanding.

They know that people are having dropped connectivity during hands free Bluetooth phone calls and the model 3. Which happened to me during the phone call with tesla.

They are also aware of phone key issues and connectivity.

What I was told until they have a fix.

Make sure ur phone software is up to date.
Check for any updates on tesla app.
Do not leave multiple windows open on your phone.
Have the Tesla app running in the background under settings.
Never close the Tesla app if u can. Obviously some people turn their phone on and off but try to keep the Tesla app always on.
If connectivity is unresponsive with the phone key and your car, do not close tesla app but refresh Bluetooth. Wait 5 seconds before switching Bluetooth back on.

If they cannot work out software issues with Apple iOS and Bluetooth connectivity there will be a key fob as a choice in the near future.

I have confidence that Tesla will get to the bottom of this...patience!!! People

They have fixed and made things better, (vampire drain (for most of us)and auto pilot) for staters. I am also reading for new deliveries on this forum people stating positive experiences with their purchases.

I personally would like the phone key to work. One less thing to carry around. But if the key fob is the answer then so be it. Also not once during my conversations with the the Tesla representative did he state use your black key card as your primary to gain access to your model 3. The whole conversation centered around getting the phone key to work and rightly so

 

[N5329K]

Quirks can be endearing, or they can be a PITA. Standing outside your sullenly locked car, trying to find a way in, strikes me as more of PITA evolution, and likely spawned by rushed, incomplete engineering. The company should be grateful so many M3 owners are willing to pitch in and hunt for solutions.
Robin

 

[pavankp]

Quirks can be endearing, or they can be a PITA. Standing outside your sullenly locked car, trying to find a way in, strikes me as more of PITA evolution, and likely spawned by rushed, incomplete engineering. The company should be grateful so many M3 owners are willing to pitch in and hunt for solutions.
Robin

It is definitely a PITA. I keep my key card in my wallet, so when the phone doesn't work I use my wallet to unlock the car.

I haven't switched to using only the key card because it is so much fun to have the car auto unlock the 80% of the time that it does work.

 

[slipnslider]

If they cannot work out software issues with Apple iOS and Bluetooth connectivity there will be a key fob as a choice in the near future.

From your lips to god's ears.
The thing is, even if they get it to work, it will stop working again someday when the next generation of phone/OS comes out. Then it'll have to be fixed again, break again, fixed again, break again. This is just how treadmill technology is, and phones are treadmill technology. The sooner tesla accepts this, the better. But it's encouraging to hear they're not saying "we're sure this will totally work for everyone all the time" because that would mean they're delusional.

 

[slipnslider]

Some types probably won't do well with new tech and it's quirks.

That's called shrinking your customer base.

 

[bhzmark]

That's called shrinking your customer base.

same could be said for:
1. not having a hatch
2. pricing at $50k+
3. no speedo through the steering wheel
4. wacky door handles
5. no car play
6. no 360 camera view
7. not enough cup holders

can't please everyone. and innovation sometimes is quirky. on balance it is a winning combination for me and 450k others still waiting.

 

[cellogig]

From your lips to god's ears.
The thing is, even if they get it to work, it will stop working again someday when the next generation of phone/OS comes out. Then it'll have to be fixed again, break again, fixed again, break again. This is just how treadmill technology is, and phones are treadmill technology. The sooner tesla accepts this, the better. But it's encouraging to hear they're not saying "we're sure this will totally work for everyone all the time" because that would mean they're delusional.

I agree with you
So far it is working for me but to many things to remember