iwannam3
Active Member
Is 3.3.5-344 the most recent release of the app? Most recent car software version?
Last edited:
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Phone as Key Issues
- Thread starter AllDigital
- Start date
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- Tags
- Model 3 User Interface
dswansonsb
Member
App is at 3.3.6
Car is 2018.18.1 which just came out a few days ago. I don't have it yet.
iwannam3
Active Member
The one thing it has never failed to do is to lock after I walk away. It must be aware of the phone to some extent that it can tell when it is gone. I must be in the security handshake. The absence of a signal is one level, locking the doors, opening the door is another higher level and starting the car the highest, at least based on the failure rate of each step.
How do you force an app update? I don't see an option in my android app for update.
I would say the issue is definitely on the car side, in the sense that no other car on earth will lock you out because of a problem with your phone.
SomeJoe7777
Marginally-Known Member
Isn't that a direct result of the fact that no other car uses the phone as the key?
I can just as easily say that the Model 3 is the only car on the road that will never lock you out because of a dead keyfob battery.
Nope, both the S&X have spot you can put a keyfob with a dead battery so that you can get in the car and start it. (As do many others.)
SomeJoe7777
Marginally-Known Member
That's equivalent to the RFID card provided with the Model 3, and the same level of inconvenience.
My point was a technical one -- the technical issue affecting the phone-as-key functionality appears to me to be the result of an unexpected condition happening within the phone.
His point was a philosophical one -- that the very design of using the phone-as-key was ill-conceived in the first place.
I make no judgment on the latter, I only reported my observations on the former.
Bingo. It's the car's fault that the car uses an unreliable key system instead of a reliable one. It's not the phones fault. Phones weren't built to be car keys.
Also the phone settings/permissions on the app. Some Android users have had luck changing the permissions for the Tesla app for location .and phone and also enabling permission to change system settings.
Goto settings>apps>Tesla>permissions (enable phone and location) and then also Tesla>change system settings (enable)
JES2
Member
You're right that a dead FOB is equivalent to a key card.
I'm curious, do you know how rare dead FOBs are?
JES2
Member
Well, some folks believe it is the "user's" fault, since a) you are having a problem and b) you are too unsophisticated / too old / too Android-ish / too uncool enough to fix it.
diamond.g
Active Member
Dead fobs in a Tesla are probably more common than a regular car. They do battery replacement in the s and x fob as a part of the yearly service.
cellogig
Model X..Model 3
Maintenance Plans | Model S and Model X
Tesla Annual Service Inspection
Unlike gasoline cars, Tesla vehicles require no traditional oil changes, fuel filter, spark plug replacements, or emission checks. As an electric vehicle, even brake pad replacements are rare because regenerative braking returns energy to the battery, significantly reducing wear on brakes. Our inspections instead focus on checking wheel alignment and tire condition, assessing replacement parts like key fob batteries and windshield wiper blades, and installing the latest software update. Tesla recommends an annual service inspection for Model S and Model X every year or 12,500 miles, whichever comes first, to maintain your vehicle to top performance standards.
SomeJoe7777
Marginally-Known Member
I'm puzzled as to what difference that makes in the context of this discussion.
We were discussing the technical reasons, possibilities, and work-arounds for the problems associated with the phone-as-key implementation in the Model 3. All of a sudden, the conversation turned to design philosophy and comparisons to other Tesla models (S and X) and other manufacturer car models, which are all irrelevant to this discussion.
I'm posting in this thread regarding the technical aspects, I have no comment on those other topics.
Ugh. M3 unlocks the doors from the iPhone 6 in my back pocket but motor will not start until I tap the card key. Have had the car for 2 weeks and it worked flawlessly until yesterday. The last 4 times I've climbed in, I've had to tap the card key on the console. (Yes, my Bluetooth is on and the Tesla app is open.)
Suggestions?
Suggestions?
iwannam3
Active Member
I close and then re-open the Tesla app and that has eventually worked for me in the "opens the doors but won't drive" situation.
JES2
Member
It would be under your "work-around" category. A working key FOB is a much better solution than a card. You implied that a key FOB is an equivalent to a card. It is not, for reasons that have been expressed in this thread. I would think a dead key FOB is a bit better than a card, as long as it provides a manual entry mode.
SomeJoe7777
Marginally-Known Member
We could go on and on about where in the spectrum of convenience the keyfobs compare to phones and cards. But the question is academic, as there is no keyfob solution for the Model 3 at this time. We're stuck with either figuing out ways to minimize the bugs in the phone implementation and/or using the keycard.
The Model X keyfob is BlueTooth-based and is just as reliable as the standard keyfob used on the Model S and other cars. Obviously, that means that BlueTooth hardware exists that has the same reliability as any other keyfob. If the phone falls short, that appears to me to be a phone issue, not a car issue.
