Which Phone Do You Use As A Key?

[Jason71]

A case not covered in the poll is that the Android phone as a key sometimes fails, but tapping the phone against the B-pillar (using NFC) always works. I have only learned this a short while ago, but I'm under the impression that the phone tends to fail where it has no good internet connection, but then NFC still works.

How was I not aware of this!!!
does it work by default or do you need to configure it somehow?

 

[Jason71]

I would expect more Tesla owners to own iPhones than android phones. Both have a "fanboi" type image. People seem more prepared to forego poor functionality or sacrificing standard features for the image of owning both products. IN both cases people seem ready to defend things that are missing or don't work because it's the "cool" device to have.

you have obviously never been on an Android forum!

 

[Neilio]

How was I not aware of this!!!
does it work by default or do you need to configure it somehow?

You need to configure it, but as a card key rather than a phone. The Tesla card keys work with the same tech.

 

[Neilio]

you have obviously never been on an Android forum!

Weirdly no. I am a massive geek about mobile technology. I use both ios and android and was probably one of the last users of blackberry os. Especially tablets, which I have had many of. Including the very first modern tablet which, contrary to popular belief, was a Samsung tab and not an iPad.

I pretty much know most of the foibles of both systems and in talking about both types of device the is a fundamentalism in the ios camp that refuses any rationale thought and defends things with blind loyalty, such as when the signal would drop on an iPhone and people jsut said "oh you're holding it wrong. I see the same blind faith with Tesla that other car companies don't get. "Oh I love my model three, its just perfect"
"Yes mate, but your rear doors just fallen off"
"Yeah, but I don't sit in the back do I? Plus its lighter now, I'm getting better range"

 

[jelloslug]

We have never had issues with any of the iPhone that we have used as the key. We have used an iPhone 8, X, and XS.

 

[Glan gluaisne]

I would expect more Tesla owners to own iPhones than android phones. Both have a "fanboi" type image. People seem more prepared to forego poor functionality or sacrificing standard features for the image of owning both products. IN both cases people seem ready to defend things that are missing or don't work because it's the "cool" device to have.

FWIW, I only bought a smart phone in January 2019, and only then because my ~10 year old Nokia gave up the ghost (pity, as it had more than ten times the battery life of my iPhone). My wife had the same Nokia as me, and whilst hers hadn't suffered from the ravages of being on a building site for a couple of years, it was, like mine, on it's second replacement battery, and so was probably going to die before too long.

We both bought iPhone SEs, only because they were not much bigger than our old Nokias and were on special offer, so were the cheapest "brand name" phones we could find at the time. Bit of a waste of money, really, as I've only made about half a dozen calls on the thing since I bought it, and only really have a mobile for emergency use when out and about, most of the time it stays turned off. My phones have always lived in the glovebox of every car I've owned over the past 20 years or so, something I had to stop doing when I bought the Model 3.

I couldn't really care less what make of phone I have, TBH, as long as it's small and works. If it was easy to buy a small phone with proper keys then I'd get one, as, try as I might, I just can't get on with typing stuff on a touch screen. I have an Android tablet (an old Sony Xperia) and trying to type on a screen, with no haptic feedback, caused me to get an add-on Bluetooth keyboard for it.

It might sound a bit Luddite, but the most important attributes for any mobile phone for me (and I've owned one since 1990) are long battery life (ideally something like the two weeks plus that was normal before smart phones came along), an easy to use interface (keys and a clear and easy to read screen) and small size. The form factor of the iPhone SE is OK, but it's too wide, ideally something narrower, even if thicker, with a robust case, that easily fits in a shirt pocket, would suit me.

It's not a lot of fun trying to read a phone screen at arms length, just because your reading glasses aren't easily to hand, and it's even harder trying to use a touch screen when you can't see exactly where your fingers are on it (due to the aforementioned absence of reading glasses issue). At least with real keys you don't need to see where your fingers are, you can just pretty much do everything by feedback from your fingertips, plus memory of where each key is.

This might sound daft, but one thing that worries me slightly at times is just how long it might take me to phone 999. Because the battery runs flat so quickly on the iPhone (i.e. a day, rather than a couple of weeks) it's usually turned off. Because I would need to find my reading glasses to see the screen, I won't be able to just key in 999 by feel. All told, that delay might possibly be critical, one day, and is one of the reasons I've been waiting to see if the Blackberry re-emerges from the ashes. We had Blackberries as work phones, mainly because they could be made pretty secure, and they seemed to be a pretty good compromise, having a long'ish battery life, reasonable screen and fairly usable keyboard.

 

[Neilio]

Can i recommend the Blackberry Key 2? Though small it has a full keyboard on it. And yes, you can use it as your car key. I actually have one for when travelling with work as it's dual sim so i can put both my work and home phones in without carrying 2 phones. and of course it's easier to type emails on.

 

[Glan gluaisne]

Thanks for that, I'd thought Blackberry were temporarily defunct. I'll admit to not having kept up with the trials and tribulations of Blackberry over the past couple of years, though.

 

[Neilio]

Thanks for that, I'd thought Blackberry were temporarily defunct. I'll admit to not having kept up with the trials and tribulations of Blackberry over the past couple of years, though.

They are. I think a Chinese firm took out the licence to use the name. Its a lightweight phone with both a touchscreen and a keyboard. Not very powerful for a modern smartphone but it doesthe job

 

[Medved_77]

Weirdly no. I am a massive geek about mobile technology. I use both ios and android and was probably one of the last users of blackberry os. Especially tablets, which I have had many of. Including the very first modern tablet which, contrary to popular belief, was a Samsung tab and not an iPad.

I pretty much know most of the foibles of both systems and in talking about both types of device the is a fundamentalism in the ios camp that refuses any rationale thought and defends things with blind loyalty, such as when the signal would drop on an iPhone and people jsut said "oh you're holding it wrong. I see the same blind faith with Tesla that other car companies don't get. "Oh I love my model three, its just perfect"
"Yes mate, but your rear doors just fallen off"
"Yeah, but I don't sit in the back do I? Plus its lighter now, I'm getting better range"

You reminded me of one of my favourite videos of all time...

 

[MadScientist]

Pixel 4xl here which has behaved faultlessly so far (well, all of 3 days that I’ve had the car that is). I was particulary impressed this morning when I took a call away from the car. When I walked up my car it unlocked and the call was seamlessly transferred to the car’s speaker system.

 

[s88ats]

Android here (Huawei) - the car has always unlocked with keyless entry apart from the one time where it requested me to use the keycard but once I unlocked my phone it opened. It worked so well I forgot to take my keycard for the time it went into SC!

I do carry the keycard on me just as a precaution in case my phone dies of emergencies however since owning I've not needed it

NFC works great with the tags for charge ports etc too.

 

[hgmichna]

How was I not aware of this [NFC]!!!
does it work by default or do you need to configure it somehow?

I don't remember configuring anything. I have not had to add the phone like a key card. As long as the Tesla app is installed and properly running in the background as usual, it just workes for me.

Of course NFC must not be disabled.

 

[Adopado]

. Because I would need to find my reading glasses to see the screen, I won't be able to just key in 999 by feel.

Unlike the Tesla smart phones are generally very good at understanding your voice ... maybe play with "Hey, Siri call xxxx". So for emergency use it could be much easier than typing a number.

 

[Glan gluaisne]

Unlike the Tesla smart phones are generally very good at understanding your voice ... maybe play with "Hey, Siri call xxxx". So for emergency use it could be much easier than typing a number.

That's a good idea, thanks. I've not tried Siri at all yet, mainly because I have a feeling I'd look quite daft apparently talking to myself . . .

 

[Neilio]

I don't remember configuring anything. I have not had to add the phone like a key card. As long as the Tesla app is installed and properly running in the background as usual, it just workes for me.

Of course NFC must not be disabled.

I didn't know this. I set it up as a key as its different to Bluetooth. Thanks for the info

 

[Adopado]

That's a good idea, thanks. I've not tried Siri at all yet, mainly because I have a feeling I'd look quite daft apparently talking to myself . . .

I have the swapping glasses issue too! For named people in my contacts I find it's quicker to to use voice even than to select a contact and then press to phone.

 

[rotor2k]

FWIW, I only bought a smart phone in January 2019, and only then because my ~10 year old Nokia gave up the ghost (pity, as it had more than ten times the battery life of my iPhone). My wife had the same Nokia as me, and whilst hers hadn't suffered from the ravages of being on a building site for a couple of years, it was, like mine, on it's second replacement battery, and so was probably going to die before too long.

We both bought iPhone SEs, only because they were not much bigger than our old Nokias and were on special offer, so were the cheapest "brand name" phones we could find at the time. Bit of a waste of money, really, as I've only made about half a dozen calls on the thing since I bought it, and only really have a mobile for emergency use when out and about, most of the time it stays turned off. My phones have always lived in the glovebox of every car I've owned over the past 20 years or so, something I had to stop doing when I bought the Model 3.

I couldn't really care less what make of phone I have, TBH, as long as it's small and works. If it was easy to buy a small phone with proper keys then I'd get one, as, try as I might, I just can't get on with typing stuff on a touch screen. I have an Android tablet (an old Sony Xperia) and trying to type on a screen, with no haptic feedback, caused me to get an add-on Bluetooth keyboard for it.

It might sound a bit Luddite, but the most important attributes for any mobile phone for me (and I've owned one since 1990) are long battery life (ideally something like the two weeks plus that was normal before smart phones came along), an easy to use interface (keys and a clear and easy to read screen) and small size. The form factor of the iPhone SE is OK, but it's too wide, ideally something narrower, even if thicker, with a robust case, that easily fits in a shirt pocket, would suit me.

It's not a lot of fun trying to read a phone screen at arms length, just because your reading glasses aren't easily to hand, and it's even harder trying to use a touch screen when you can't see exactly where your fingers are on it (due to the aforementioned absence of reading glasses issue). At least with real keys you don't need to see where your fingers are, you can just pretty much do everything by feedback from your fingertips, plus memory of where each key is.

This might sound daft, but one thing that worries me slightly at times is just how long it might take me to phone 999. Because the battery runs flat so quickly on the iPhone (i.e. a day, rather than a couple of weeks) it's usually turned off. Because I would need to find my reading glasses to see the screen, I won't be able to just key in 999 by feel. All told, that delay might possibly be critical, one day, and is one of the reasons I've been waiting to see if the Blackberry re-emerges from the ashes. We had Blackberries as work phones, mainly because they could be made pretty secure, and they seemed to be a pretty good compromise, having a long'ish battery life, reasonable screen and fairly usable keyboard.

Use Emergency SOS on your iPhone
How to dial 999 quickly.

 

[Glan gluaisne]

Thanks, that'll teach me to RTFM . . .

Button presses now memorised and info passed on to wife, who's also memorised it.

 

[94jdh]

My Google pixel 3 has been working flawlessly from end of March, right up to last week - now it's hit and miss for unlocking, I'm wondering if a recent update (car or phone) has messed it up.
Probably need to reboot both!