Smart Ring Madness

[bentl]

Had anyone tried using a normal RF smart ring instead of the absurdly priced stuff? You can buy a RF ring on Amazon for less than five bucks. The Tesla keys are NOT UHF tags. I've tried scanning a blank OEM Tesla key card & I get nada. I won't have my cards programmed until Tuesday when my car is delivered.
Anyone know the frequency of the key cards?
I can't see any reason to spend $100 or more for a five dollar ring.

 

[Baytomax]

There's videos on YouTube of people melting down the plastic key cards in acetone to reveal the inner coil/RFID chip.

There was one guy who molded it to fit into a blank ring and it worked just as normal. He did have to do some handywork to make it look presentable however.

 

[Sam1]

Had anyone tried using a normal RF smart ring instead of the absurdly priced stuff? You can buy a RF ring on Amazon for less than five bucks. The Tesla keys are NOT UHF tags. I've tried scanning a blank OEM Tesla key card & I get nada. I won't have my cards programmed until Tuesday when my car is delivered.
Anyone know the frequency of the key cards?
I can't see any reason to spend $100 or more for a five dollar ring.

Buys $50,000 car...
Complains about $100 key...
Was not aware that other car key fobs cost $750...

 

[Centauri2]

I got a Cnick ring before I took delivery of the car. I lost my wedding ring a few months ago, and I wanted something that looks nice, and this fits the bill. I have found it very useful to have the key with me at all times.

 

[f308gt4]

I don’t know, but for $5 you should try it and get back to us. Do you have a link? Maybe I’ll add one to my next Amazon order and see what happens (unless you order one first).

 

[Shelburne]

Had anyone tried using a normal RF smart ring instead of the absurdly priced stuff? You can buy a RF ring on Amazon for less than five bucks. The Tesla keys are NOT UHF tags. I've tried scanning a blank OEM Tesla key card & I get nada. I won't have my cards programmed until Tuesday when my car is delivered.
Anyone know the frequency of the key cards?
I can't see any reason to spend $100 or more for a five dollar ring.

Why not just install the Tesla app on your smartphone and use that as the key. It has worked flawlessly for me since I bought my M3 11 months ago

 

[ODWms]

I couldn’t agree more. My understanding is that there are a few users for whom it hasn’t been reliable. But for me it works great, and it’s free!

 

[Centauri2]

Why not just install the Tesla app on your smartphone and use that as the key. It has worked flawlessly for me since I bought my M3 11 months ago

Don’t always have my phone with me. But you are correct in that the ring is not essential - just nice to have and occasionally a useful timesaver.

 

[linux-works]

Why not just install the Tesla app on your smartphone and use that as the key. It has worked flawlessly for me since I bought my M3 11 months ago

I would never advise using ONLY a ble device for car entry. it can take time to handshake or init (sometimes you have to actually turn off the radio, via airplane mode, then back on again). if you really need to get IN YOUR CAR, FAST, bluetooth is not life-saving. not really.

I like the idea of something that does NOT do software updates (phones usually do, and things often dont get better with updates, lets just say that) being a primary or at least secondary key.

I do use my phone and it works most of the time, but many times, maybe 1x a month, it will act like it does not know me and asks for the card. I either re-init the phones radio or I give up and find my card in the wallet. pain in the ass! a regular key would have been more secure, easier, quicker.

I like the idea of extracting the chip from the tesla card and putting it in a ring or something. I like that idea quite a lot. wonder how reliable the chip will be once you temperature-extract it? doesn't sound great to me. would really prefer to buy the raw chip and emplant it in my own 'enclosure' (maybe even a non-descript 3d printed thingie. the less stealable the better, in fact!)

 

[Ridgeline]

Why not just install the Tesla app on your smartphone and use that as the key. It has worked flawlessly for me since I bought my M3 11 months ago

It does work well most of the time, however..... Many, many times both wife and I have to get out our phone and open the app before it will unlock. BTW it is embarrassing to have to set your items down on the hood fumble, around in pocket for phone open up the app when trying show off your Tesla.

 

[SomeJoe7777]

Why not just install the Tesla app on your smartphone and use that as the key. It has worked flawlessly for me since I bought my M3 11 months ago

Whether it works flawlessly or not is highly dependent on which phone you have. Samsung Galaxy phones are notorious for their very aggressive power management, and they will suspend the Tesla app in the background without telling you, and despite setting the Tesla app to turn off all of the battery optimization. If the app is suspended, it won't unlock the car.

I've had this issue on my Samsung Galaxy S8 and S10 for years, it fails to unlock the car a couple times a week, requiring me to manually open the app. It's one of the big reasons that my next phone will not be a Samsung.

 

[afadeev]

It does work well most of the time, however..... Many, many times both wife and I have to get out our phone and open the app before it will unlock.

My Tesla phone unlocking flakes out about once/month, and has been doing that for the last 3+ years. Even if I re-launch the app or reboot the phone, Model 3 prompts me to place the key card on the console before I could drive the car. Has been this way across multiple iPhone, Pixel, and Samsung phones.

That, plus the fact that there were times I walked into the garage to get something in/out of the car and didn't have the phone with me.
If Tesla could had a watch version of its app (Apple and/or Samsung), that would be a plus. A ring is an option as well, but at $100 vs. $7.50 for the key card (or whatever I paid for it last time around), it seams a bit excessive.

YMMV,
a

 

[vletnguyen]

If you have a phone with NFC , you can tap it the phone on pillar to open same as key card/ring as well.

iphones do have NFC but its not "open" to be used other than apple pay (I think).

Another option is to place a keycard between phone case and phone and tap the pillar.

I wouldn't mind a bracelet option though (maybe silicone?)

 

[Jejunjm]

My Tesla phone unlocking flakes out about once/month, and has been doing that for the last 3+ years. Even if I re-launch the app or reboot the phone, Model 3 prompts me to place the key card on the console before I could drive the car. Has been this way across multiple iPhone, Pixel, and Samsung phones.

That, plus the fact that there were times I walked into the garage to get something in/out of the car and didn't have the phone with me.
If Tesla could had a watch version of its app (Apple and/or Samsung), that would be a plus. A ring is an option as well, but at $100 vs. $7.50 for the key card (or whatever I paid for it last time around), it seams a bit excessive.

YMMV,
a

FYI AliExpress for $60ish. Works well imo, and makes me feel secure as a backup

 

[TexasTezla]

It does work well most of the time, however..... Many, many times both wife and I have to get out our phone and open the app before it will unlock. BTW it is embarrassing to have to set your items down on the hood fumble, around in pocket for phone open up the app when trying show off your Tesla.

Why are you embarrassed by this? It's technology, sometimes it does weird things.

 

[TexasTezla]

My Tesla phone unlocking flakes out about once/month, and has been doing that for the last 3+ years. Even if I re-launch the app or reboot the phone, Model 3 prompts me to place the key card on the console before I could drive the car. Has been this way across multiple iPhone, Pixel, and Samsung phones.

That, plus the fact that there were times I walked into the garage to get something in/out of the car and didn't have the phone with me.
If Tesla could had a watch version of its app (Apple and/or Samsung), that would be a plus. A ring is an option as well, but at $100 vs. $7.50 for the key card (or whatever I paid for it last time around), it seams a bit excessive.

YMMV,
a

I leave a card hidden in my garage just in case but as yet have never needed it.

 

[philly4]

I've had this issue on my Samsung Galaxy S8 and S10 for years, it fails to unlock the car a couple times a week, requiring me to manually open the app. It's one of the big reasons that my next phone will not be a Samsung.

Huh. My wife and I both have Samsung phones (S21 and S20 FE) and the phone key has worked flawless for both of us. M3LR picked up in Sept 2021. I never did anything special with power management.

The only time it has ever had an issue is sometimes when I have my phone in my back pocket the car won't open....works everything as soon as I semi-turn around to get the phone closer to the car. I think it's good they ensure the phone is quite close before it authenticates. I've felt like the distance calibration is conservative but I'd prefer that.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Well if the $5 ring doesn't work, then obviously it's not better...

 

[dthuntley]

I got a Cnick ring before I took delivery of the car. I lost my wedding ring a few months ago, and I wanted something that looks nice, and this fits the bill. I have found it very useful to have the key with me at all times.

Any suggestions on how to get it to work on a regular basis? I'ver connected it succfully using the touchscreen, but i find it near impossible to use it to lock or unlock car. I've iunpaired and started again, but still there same issue.

 

[RayK]

Any suggestions on how to get it to work on a regular basis? I'ver connected it succfully using the touchscreen, but i find it near impossible to use it to lock or unlock car. I've iunpaired and started again, but still there same issue.

If you have paired the ring (or for that matter, a regular key card) with the car, then the only problem that you can have locking or unlocking the car is how you are presenting the ring to the car's sensors. I don't have a ring but did use the key card for the first year I had the 3. The position of the sensor on the outside of the car is about mid-way from the B pillar camera to the top edge of the door. As the RFID chip is embedded into the ring, I would assume that the best orientation that would mimic a key card would be either the palm of your hand against the pillar or the back of your hand (flat surface of the ring closest to the car). As the ring can rotate on your finger from day to day, you may have to try both positions.

The sensor inside the car in the center console is just behind the cup holders. Again, you may have to try putting the palm or the back of your hand there for it to be recognized. I thought about getting a ring but I already have (and use) a fob. It's the first version which requires a button press in order to lock or unlock the car.