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Tesla backing away from "Phone Key as primary key"

How often does Phone Key work for you?


  • Total voters
    646
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I wanted to update my story because previously my phone as a key worked maybe 30% of the time (Android OnePlus One). I upgraded to the OnePlus 6 and it's night and day! It's worked 100% of the time (only two days so far but it's never even come close to that before) and I now have notifications with a very handy status of the car locked or not, and can open the frunk/trunk without having to open the app! This is what the vision was sold as from the start but only a minority have seen it.

I went 6 months frustrated with this most basic concept and an embarrassing situation (how silly is it a family of 4 hanging out at the car while both parents pull out their phones, try airplane toggling, maybe open the Tesla app etc.) but my money was better spent on a new phone than towards a key fob for me.
 
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My wife's iphone now works 100% of the time for her. I intentionally have not connected my iphone to the Model 3. When I drive the 3 on occasion, I use the card key. I do not know if I decide to connect my phone to the 3 if it will work flawlessly for my wife or not.

But marital harmony and the absence of panicked phone calls or a stream of invective directed at the car makes my life stress-free. So, I have to use the card once per month when I drive the 3. This is a cheap price to pay! :D
 
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I have moto G5 android phone. It only works once to lock or unlock the car, then it is disconnected. To reconnect I have to put the phone in airplane mode, then out of airplane. Oh, I also have to be in the Tesla model 3 and it has to be in a "woke" state. I've called Tesla support and they say do the "airplane" trick". This is useless. So I try using the Tesla app to unlock the car. This has to connect through the cell phone networks. Sometimes it takes a couple of minutes to connect to the car. Unacceptable. Since version 9 software update to the Model 3, I'm getting frequent "server failure" messages. So apparently Tesla's computers are in the middle of the connection via the phone network. So frequently I have to use the key card which is in my wallet. That's not so fun when it's raining and I have to put my wallet against the side of the car. All in all, I love the model 3 but absolutely hate unlocking/starting/locking the car. The worst ever. A mechanical key would be better.

Same problem, with all my modern android phones. Airplane "Trick" ON / OFF is ridiculous since I have to do this 100% of the time.
Since hundreds of different phones makes and models have connectivity problems, the issue must be either with the Tesla app or the Bluetooth implementation on the Model 3 (my model 3?), that cannot detect the phone when it comes back into bluetooth range.
 
One of the features I was looking for in a new phone was specifically having Bluetooth 5.0 (and maybe A2DP, LE).

It's been almost 3 weeks and it's never failed once to open any door or trunk even if I'm not within touching distance like previously (and even then basically never worked).
 
Does anyone know if new model S and X are shipping with the ability to use your phone as a key? I'm considering ordering one but I love having a keyless life and I don't want to be forced to carry around a fob (feels very old). My model 3 works great with just my smart phone and I hope for the same convenience as an option in Model S/X.
 
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I’ve started using my Apple Watch and the STATS app to unlock the Model 3. It’s not any faster IMO, but I don’t have to have the cellphone immediately nearby to remove or add items to the trunks. And the app uses Bluetooth to talk to the cellphone which tells the Tesla what to do since the watch does not have cellphone service.

It’s pretty convenient so far.

I might accidentally drive the car away and leave the cellphone at home, so I’ll have to be abit careful....
 
The phone key is perfect for me. I hate to use that card and having to place it on the console to drive is absurd. My iPhone key has worked 99% of the time.

What galls me is that Elon has this "vision" that all Model 3s are going to be shared vehicles and they designed the entry and drive to support that feature. Like hell, my $62K Tesla is going to be a shared "taxi"! That should be an optional feature, which owners can disable and either have a safe and reliable fob or phone key, period!
 
The phone key is perfect for me. I hate to use that card and having to place it on the console to drive is absurd. My iPhone key has worked 99% of the time.

What galls me is that Elon has this "vision" that all Model 3s are going to be shared vehicles and they designed the entry and drive to support that feature. Like hell, my $62K Tesla is going to be a shared "taxi"! That should be an optional feature, which owners can disable and either have a safe and reliable fob or phone key, period!

Elon said you'll be able to opt in or out of the Tesla Network (robotaxi service) when it becomes available. It won't be mandatory.
 
Yea but the key card is a $5 replacement from Tesla if you lose it. If you lose the FOB it's probably $500 like every other car company out there. Phone always works for me, although because of the magnets on my case I have to take it out of my pocket sometimes. But it always works. I never had to use the key card.
My Sammie S7E works as long as it's connected but it drops the connection if I get more than a couple hundred feet away and I have to open the app to get it to connect again.
 
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Elon said you'll be able to opt in or out of the Tesla Network (robotaxi service) when it becomes available. It won't be mandatory.
Ooh, how generous of him! I'd suggest it would be more appropriate to make it "opt in" rather than our having to "opt out!" Maybe our Teslas are really not our own. We merely pay a license fee to use them? BS!
 
Ooh, how generous of him! I'd suggest it would be more appropriate to make it "opt in" rather than our having to "opt out!" Maybe our Teslas are really not our own. We merely pay a license fee to use them? BS!


That may be more true than we think.
They change the firmware whenever they want to. They know where every car is at all times. They could turn your car off anytime they wanted to.
 
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Ooh, how generous of him! I'd suggest it would be more appropriate to make it "opt in" rather than our having to "opt out!" Maybe our Teslas are really not our own. We merely pay a license fee to use them? BS!
It will be opt in.

That may be more true than we think.
They change the firmware whenever they want to. They know where every car is at all times. They could turn your car off anytime they wanted to.
They change the firmware when you tell it to install an update.