Phone as Key Issues

[Pinot.Noir]

The card must be nearly touching to work. I would like to see a video of someone using a card in the wallet. Unless it is directly behind the fabric it will not work.

Agree with this. My wife put the key card in her plastic phone cover, and it wouldn't work through that. She had to take the cover off her phone and remove the key card to get the doors to unlock. So no way it would have worked through a thick wallet and definitely not a purse. These are real world experiences....not one offs.

 

[Pinot.Noir]

Over the phone twice and in an email once.

Sounds like a standard answer to an issue they have no idea how to rectify. I'll believe it when I see it. Sorry to take a hard line stance, but my wife is not in a "Tesla State of Mind" right now!

 

[FreeOfPge]

Notice that 1. He had to move the wallet, it did not read it immediately. 2. The wallet was very thin. 3. The key card was placed either first or last so as to have an antenna near the wallet fabric, never between the other cards.

 

[MP3Mike]

Notice that 1. He had to move the wallet, it did not read it immediately. 2. The wallet was very thin. 3. The key card was placed either first or last so as to have an antenna near the wallet fabric, never between the other cards.

In his second test the card was in the middle of the wallet and still worked.

 

[Pinot.Noir]

In his second test the card was in the middle of the wallet and still worked.

Mike, that's all well and good. However, some of us are having issues getting the card to work without a wallet in the middle of the equation. This is not a good situation when we are trying to drag our wives into the future! They should have included a key fob for those of us not quite ready for the future (that doesn't work well for some of us, at all!).

 

[MP3Mike]

Mike, that's all well and good. However, some of us are having issues getting the card to work without a wallet in the middle of the equation. This is not a good situation when we are trying to drag our wives into the future! They should have included a key fob for those of us not quite ready for the future (that doesn't work well for some of us, at all!).

I 100% agree that a fob should at least be an option. But the people struggling to get the card to read by itself may be a result of a poorly installed, or bad, sensor. So a call, or trip, to the service center is probably in order.

Hmm.. I may have remembered wrong, the one post I can find about the B pillar sensor being replaced was said to resolve phone as a key issues, not key card read issues.

 

[Pinot.Noir]

Hmm.. I may have remembered wrong, the one post I can find about the B pillar sensor being replaced was said to resolve phone as a key issues, not key card read issues.

I will see about taking the car into Dublin next week. I hate that my wife is having "*F*&K Tesla" tirades the minute she walks in the door! Thanks for the link to that post Mike!

 

[FreeOfPge]

In his second test the card was in the middle of the wallet and still worked.

Well, just guessing here but it's likely that he tested where it worked a few times before shooting the video. Either that or he was extremely lucky.

As a note, we are a bit off topic. The issue is that our phones do not work as key fobs. That we have to use the key card because our phones will not unlock the car is a different problem - kind of.

 

[eye.surgeon]

As much as I love my MS, this to me is just another example of Tesla trying to solve an already-solved problem, with the resultant "innovation" being worse than what it replaced. FWDs being the most glaring example, but there are quite a few.

 

[FreeOfPge]

Tesla trying to solve an already-solved problem, with the resultant "innovation" being worse than what it replaced

Exactly. The key card replaced a fob that worked better. Noitavonni.

 

[stopcrazypp]

Notice that 1. He had to move the wallet, it did not read it immediately. 2. The wallet was very thin. 3. The key card was placed either first or last so as to have an antenna near the wallet fabric, never between the other cards.

Well, you asked for proof of someone using it with a wallet and there it is (and it worked every time in the video).

NFC cards can take 1-2 seconds to read. Moving the wallet actually is worse (possible to move card out of range before card can read), the card should be held stationary in front of sensor, but it seemed to still read.

Personally I put my NFC cards in the outer layer of my wallet too. It's pointless to put it in the inside layer since it's never taken out (unlike credit cards) and why would you not help make the signal stronger (so you can hover further from sensor and it'll still read). When used properly the read rate should be 100%.

The only negative is it's kind of vague in the Model 3 manual where exactly the sensor is. They should show the exact location (with outline of sensor antenna) so that people don't have to guess. I suspect many of the issues with the key card is simply wrong position and people doing a waving motion trying to guess where the sensor is.

 

[FinrodNV]

Adding myself to the pool of people with issues... Wish all this worked better. I end up wishing I had a normal fob for keyless entry, my phone sometimes wont unlock the car and even the connection to the car itself will not work reliably (OnePlus 5T). Having to pull out the card and place it on the sensor is just an extra step I'd rather not have to do. Hope Tesla resolves this issue sooner than later.

 

[EV-lutioin]

I wish mine worked that well

You might want to get your car checked, especially if it doesn't work outside of the wallet. Remember that you should hold the card to the sensor (don't wave it); successful read rate should be practically 100%. The sensor should be in the area below the camera on the side pillar. NFC cards definitely work through wallets, even fairly thick ones. People have it working through purses and backpacks too.

Tesla Mobile Service came by today and hooked up their laptop to the car and reprogrammed the Bluetooth. Now everything works swimmingly.

Here is Tesla's description of what they did:

Technician reset VCSEC certificate as per article 38671 and found that cellular device now

pairs to vehicle. Verified proper function of lock/unlock feature and vehicle start up.

 

[napabill]

i'm starting to suspect that, in my case anyway, the issues with the Phone as Key, revolve around having two Teslas with both being registered on two iPhones. My wife left this am with no issues, M3 fired right up. She then went on errands and the first couple of stops, no problem. Then on her last couple of stops, the Phone as Key no longer worked. Had to use the card as key. I had been monitoring her progress from home on my app with no issue. What on earth is going on!

 

[EV-lutioin]

i'm starting to suspect that, in my case anyway, the issues with the Phone as Key, revolve around having two Teslas with both being registered on two iPhones. My wife left this am with no issues, M3 fired right up. She then went on errands and the first couple of stops, no problem. Then on her last couple of stops, the Phone as Key no longer worked. Had to use the card as key. I had been monitoring her progress from home on my app with no issue. What on earth is going on!

Maybe it's this: Your app has to be showing the Model 3 to work, if your other Tesla is displayed on the app it won't work.

 

[FreeOfPge]

Perhaps solving this issue is as simple as Tesla creating a flat fob the size of a credit card.

Then we would all be happy. That and we could once again unlatch our trunks with a click.

Our Model S fobs are faily low mass and weight, so it seems possible.

 

[Ampre Sand]

My 2007 Miata had a key fob sized as a thick credit card, complete with coin cell, emergency key, and the usual buttons. I kept it in my wallet, so I never left home without my DL and car key. With the smart entry and start system, I only had to press the button on the door handle to unlock, get into the car, and start. No need to ever remove the fob from my wallet. Unfortunately, the form factor was discontinued, allegedly due to too many people keeping fat wallets in their back pockets, sitting on them, and stressing the internal components of the fob. I used a super thin All-Ett and kept in my front pocket. Would love for Tesla to hav a similar option for the 3, if not even better... maybe a Tesla wallet that is the fob.

 

[napabill]

Maybe it's this: Your app has to be showing the Model 3 to work, if your other Tesla is displayed on the app it won't work.

She never changed her app to the other Tesla. But I did, on my iPhone. I think some testing is in order.

 

[preilly44]

My key card works in my wallet every time....no issues at all.

 

[david_42]

How long do you think it will take Tesla to finally make a Model 3 Key Fob an option? Soon, I hope, at least by the time we get ours.

Judging from the number of people who have multiple Teslas, they would need to modify the Model S fob to have three or four different buttons.