Phone as Key Issues

[tigntink]

Picked up my model 3 on Saturday the 27th and I have a galaxy S8 and my phone key is really slow to respond - sometimes taking 1-2 minutes to unlock the car. A few days ago it wouldnt respond at all. I had the app open, I could even turn on the climate control, unlock the doors manually but i couldn't start driving until I gave up and got my card key out. Eventually when I got home I rebooted my phone which is annoying due to the encryption but that fixed the issue. Definitely some odd behavior over all.

edit: also it isn't consistent. I walked past the car last night and the mirrors popped out, all bright and cheery quick but this morning i waited about 2 minutes. nothing changed with my phone during that time, other than getting recharged.

 

[detlefo]

That the M3 doesn’t have WiFI doesn’t matter. Max is always connected to the internet via LTE. Your phone connects to WiFi, to the internet, thus they should be able to connect.

Great if you can get an AT&T signal. Verizon works great at my location, AT&T barely. We need WiFi to work.

 

[CuriousG]

Great if you can get an AT&T signal. Verizon works great at my location, AT&T barely. We need WiFi to work.

That is odd considering a few months ago I could only get AT&T signal in Grass Valley through my car. My Verizon phone had nothing and Internet was useless there. I was just there a couple of weeks ago and they finally have that tower up from Verizon and signal is very good now.

 

[JenniferQ]

Great if you can get an AT&T signal. Verizon works great at my location, AT&T barely. We need WiFi to work.

Exactly. We had to get an M Cell for the phones, and Max isn't hooked up to that. Usually one or no bars with ATT where we live. We should check out Verizon.

 

[EV-lutioin]

It has been a week since we picked up our Model 3 and we have unable to get our iPhones to pair with our Model 3 (We have been relegated to using the card). The delivery specialists were not very knowledgable about the system and gave up after half and hour of trying. They sent us on our way and said to contact Tesla support. Support was helpful, but also could not pair our iPhones with the car. Now we are on a list for a Ranger visit. Anyone else having this issue?

P.S: Everything else works on the Tesla App concerning our Model 3, we do not have connectivity issues, as far as I can tell.

 

[ElectrkSam]

It has been a week since we picked up our Model 3 and we have unable to get our iPhones to pair with our Model 3 (We have been relegated to using the card).

Same here. Delivery Specialist could pair the phone with the car, but not Phone Key. We picked up our M3 on Saturday 3-Feb. Our iPhone X won't connect as "Phone Key" but our phones can connect and pair with the car over Bluetooth fine, so I can play audio from phone to car, receive/place calls, etc. Just can't setup Phone Key in the app. It says "Can't find the car. Move closer" message when trying to setup in the Tesla App. Called Tesla Support, they had me do the normal troubleshooting (that I had already done) - delete Tesla App, reinstall, re-login to account, reboot the car, etc. Same message. They passed the issue to "engineering" to troubleshoot and get back to me in approx. 48 hours.

 

[EV-lutioin]

Same here. Delivery Specialist could pair the phone with the car, but not Phone Key. We picked up our M3 on Saturday 3-Feb. Our iPhone X won't connect as "Phone Key" but our phones can connect and pair with the car over Bluetooth fine, so I can play audio from phone to car, receive/place calls, etc. Just can't setup Phone Key in the app. It says "Can't find the car. Move closer" message when trying to setup in the Tesla App. Called Tesla Support, they had me do the normal troubleshooting (that I had already done) - delete Tesla App, reinstall, re-login to account, reboot the car, etc. Same message. They passed the issue to "engineering" to troubleshoot and get back to me in approx. 48 hours.

We are now at 12 days since delivery and no one knows how to fix the connectivity issue, we have been on the phone with several technicians and they all have us go through the same checklist of steps and then say... hmmm, this doesn't make sense, let me talk to engineering and get back to you. We can still drive the car, so there is no hurry, but it does make you wonder if they really have their act together when the ramp really gets going.

 

[FreeOfPge]

In 2 days it will be one month since taking delivery. Our issue happens at least once a day, usually several times a day. I use the card when my phone doesn't let me in. It is too much of a pain for my wife and she refuses to drive the Model 3. She must have 50 different cards, discount, etc. in her wallet so digging through them to find the key card is likely part of the problem.

Edit: Tesla says a future software update will fix our problem.

 

[dsvick]

It is too much of a pain for my wife and she refuses to drive the Model 3. She must have 50 different cards, discount, etc. in her wallet so digging through them to find the key card is likely part of the problem.

Unless her wallet is inches thick she should be able to just hold the wallet up to the pillar and it will work.

 

[N5329K]

In 2 days it will be one month since taking delivery. Our issue happens at least once a day, usually several times a day. I use the card when my phone doesn't let me in. It is too much of a pain for my wife and she refuses to drive the Model 3. She must have 50 different cards, discount, etc. in her wallet so digging through them to find the key card is likely part of the problem.

Edit: Tesla says a future software update will fix our problem.

A future key fob will fix it better, and more reliably.
Robin

 

[Pinot.Noir]

Picked up my model 3 on Saturday the 27th and I have a galaxy S8 and my phone key is really slow to respond - sometimes taking 1-2 minutes to unlock the car. A few days ago it wouldnt respond at all. I had the app open, I could even turn on the climate control, unlock the doors manually but i couldn't start driving until I gave up and got my card key out. Eventually when I got home I rebooted my phone which is annoying due to the encryption but that fixed the issue. Definitely some odd behavior over all.

edit: also it isn't consistent. I walked past the car last night and the mirrors popped out, all bright and cheery quick but this morning i waited about 2 minutes. nothing changed with my phone during that time, other than getting recharged.

We are having the same random issues with our Galaxy S8's and the Model 3. My phone will work immediately, hers not at all, then vice versa. Seems a reboot of the phone fixes the issue, but I don't want to have to reboot constantly. This phone as key option is nowhere near ready for prime time. They should have included a key fob like in the S. They key card is easy to forgetfully leave in the car.

 

[Pinot.Noir]

Edit: Tesla says a future software update will fix our problem.

Source of this info? Did they tell you this over the phone? Thanks.

 

[EV-lutioin]

Source of this info? Did they tell you this over the phone? Thanks.

Probably, wishful thinking and the standard line when something doesn't work right

 

[EV-lutioin]

Unless her wallet is inches thick she should be able to just hold the wallet up to the pillar and it will work.

My card is on the very edge of my wallet with very thin fabric and it does not work 50% of the time. I have just resigned myself to taking it out each time. Frankly, it doesn't work that well outside of my wallet either.

 

[dsvick]

My card is on the very edge of my wallet with very thin fabric and it does not work 50% of the time. I have just resigned myself to taking it out each time. Frankly, it doesn't work that well outside of my wallet either.

Yours sounds like the exception then. Most of the other comments I've seen on it say it works well through wallets and purses even.

 

[MP3Mike]

Yours sounds like the exception then. Most of the other comments I've seen on it say it works well through wallets and purses even.

I thought I saw one person report that they had problems using the card and the SC found the sensor wasn't placed correctly in the B pillar. So it could be a similar issue.

 

[stopcrazypp]

My card is on the very edge of my wallet with very thin fabric and it does not work 50% of the time. I have just resigned myself to taking it out each time. Frankly, it doesn't work that well outside of my wallet either.

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.

 

[FreeOfPge]

Unless her wallet is inches thick she should be able to just hold the wallet up to the pillar and it will work.

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.

 

[FreeOfPge]

Source of this info? Did they tell you this over the phone? Thanks.

Over the phone twice and in an email once.

 

[MP3Mike]

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.