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Phone as Key Issues
- Thread starter AllDigital
- Start date
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- Tags
- Model 3 User Interface
jschwefel
Tesla fan/TSLA, Model Y and Cybertruck owner.
Yeah, I’m in the same boat. My wife is growing increasingly frustrated with having to wait for the car to unlock. I sure hope Tesla fixes it quickly, else she may be looking to sell the car. Ok, it may not be THAT bad, but it is an unnecessary hassle and one that detracts from a otherwise fantastic automobile. FWIW, the unlock button in the Tesla app is 100% reliable and fairly quick, but it’s cumbersome to have to do this. It’s like having to fumble through your pockets to find the key.
Pinot.Noir
Member
The new software may have made things worse. No phone access and now the stereo only makes a clicking noise. She's taking it to the service center tomorrow. I'll let you all know how that goes.
jerjozwik
Active Member
jerjozwik
Active Member
just make an impromptu visit to your local service center and hope you connect to the wifi!
Pinot.Noir
Member
She rebooted while at work today, and it worked this afternoon. If it opens correctly tomorrow morning she may cancel the service call.
After days of frustration, I have a mini breakthrough in understanding the inconsistent behavior of our Model 3 with regards to unlocking using the phone or the card. The behavior we see with our car is as follows. YMMV.
When the car is awake the tap of the card or approach with a connected phone works (almost) all the time with either phone or either card. After a few hours (somewhere between 1 and 8) the car goes in a (deep) sleep. After this time, unlocking requires several taps of the card or wandering nervously around the car with the connected phone for a minute or more.
So here is our solution. If the car has been sitting idle for an hour or so, before we go to the car, we bring up the Tesla app on the phone. Make sure Model 3 is selected. Wait until the car is awake, i.e., the screen is not grayed out and the "Waking up" message has disappeared. Then approach the car and open the door using the handle. The Tesla app or the phone does not need to be on.
Of course, this method requires internet access at both the phone and the car. If there is no internet access and the car is asleep, one tap of the card will start to wake up the car (you will hear some noise). Then wait a for a little bit, say 20 seconds, then tap again to unlock. The lights blink when you unlock using the card.
When the car is awake the tap of the card or approach with a connected phone works (almost) all the time with either phone or either card. After a few hours (somewhere between 1 and 8) the car goes in a (deep) sleep. After this time, unlocking requires several taps of the card or wandering nervously around the car with the connected phone for a minute or more.
So here is our solution. If the car has been sitting idle for an hour or so, before we go to the car, we bring up the Tesla app on the phone. Make sure Model 3 is selected. Wait until the car is awake, i.e., the screen is not grayed out and the "Waking up" message has disappeared. Then approach the car and open the door using the handle. The Tesla app or the phone does not need to be on.
Of course, this method requires internet access at both the phone and the car. If there is no internet access and the car is asleep, one tap of the card will start to wake up the car (you will hear some noise). Then wait a for a little bit, say 20 seconds, then tap again to unlock. The lights blink when you unlock using the card.
So far the most consistent approach for me is to turn off phone's Bluetooth when the walk away lock happened. And when approaching the car (but still not in the distance to trigger walk up unlock) turn Bluetooth on. After a few seconds it will show phone key connected and do its job. Required effort is slightly more than having a key fob but a lot less than standing around the car waiting the car to wake up and use controls in the app to unlock and start the car or pulling out the key card from the wallet.
I would consider it completely unacceptable if I had to do that. My phone has bluetooth turned on so that I can use an earbud for longer phone calls, and in the normal course of things I don't have to unlock it very often. Unlocking it to turn BT off and then unlocking it again to turn BT back on would have me complaining to Tesla on a daily basis until they fixed it.
But I'd be using the key card rather that fiddling with BT all the time. Fortunately for me, the phone-key seems to work, though I do use the key card to lock it when I park it in public because I feel better knowing for sure that it has locked.
John Beans
Member
Started having phone-as-key issues with new Model 3 on 10.5 and an iOS on latest app.
Turned off contacts syncing.
That fixed it.
Turned off contacts syncing.
That fixed it.
Is there a way to share access to the app without compromising private data? I rented a TM3 the other day and was only given the card key, which is adequate for access... but the remote features via the app are where the car really shines... pre-conditioning the car, [eventually] summon, etc.
I read in an earlier post that each phone has to have its own Tesla account (e.g. can't use 1 account on 2 phones)... does Tesla limit the number of accounts that can be linked to a car? Can I create a third "guest" account (Me, Wife, and Guest) that I can give my brother or friend access to when they borrow the car?
I read in an earlier post that each phone has to have its own Tesla account (e.g. can't use 1 account on 2 phones)... does Tesla limit the number of accounts that can be linked to a car? Can I create a third "guest" account (Me, Wife, and Guest) that I can give my brother or friend access to when they borrow the car?
You can share accounts, so you can use the same account on multiple phones. You can also request that Tesla add your car to another account. So you could create a "guest" account that you have the car added to. I suppose then you would just have to change the password after every renter.
You can always check with the app after walking away that it's locked. The advantage of doing it this way is that you can start to gain confidence if it's locked every time when you check with the app.
Pull my phone out of my pocket, turn it on, enter my pass code, scroll to the screen with the Tesla app, open the app, wait for it to connect, and see if the car locked. No, it's a lot easier just to walk away, then stop, turn and look, and wait for the mirrors to fold. Or else lock it with the key card.
But if there was a way to lock it with a tap somewhere, I'l like that a lot more than the Walk-Away-Unlock. Because no matter what, this is going to fail occasionally and leave the car unlocked. Probably after you've gotten so used to it that you don't think twice about it.
And while we're at it, I'd like a tap-to-open (when the phone is in range) for the frunk. I use the frunk for groceries, because when the car is in my garage the rear trunk is too close to the garage door. (This car is frigging HUGE!) As it is, the only ways to open the frunk are from the app (which is a M-F-ing pain in the ass to open and use) or by opening the door and leaning far enough in to reach the screen.
I love this car. It is fabulous. But in making it "simple" they've made it a damm pain in the ass to do things that should have been easy and are easy in any other car. (A fob could have had a button to open the frunk!)
Maybe it is time for you to upgrade to a phone with an integrated fingerprint sensor.
I am loving my Essential phone and will never do another phone without at least a fingerprint sensor.
Reach into pocket, put finger on sensor (implicit power on) as I pull it out, press one button for list of apps and pick it. Look, put it back in pocket. Done.
Though just looking at folding/folded mirrors will be fine too. (Day one reservation still waiting for my turn...)
IMHO, simple doesn't need the quotes. I don't want any fob. I am graduating directly from a key (with an integrated two button fob I suppose) to the future.
Great points. iPhones support NFC. Could they be configured to work with the RFID transmitter on the B pillar? This would effectively make the phone capable of substituting for the key card and allowing you to use it to tap-to-open/close.
JES2
Member
Hopefully one day, people will have an option. Key FOB or phone. It shouldn't have to be only one option. I love the abilities that a phone will have (summons, pre-heat, etc.), but I like the reliability / size factor / manual function of the Key FOB.
In five years of owning an S, the only time it failed to lock was when I left my fob in the car. Why do you imagine it’s going to fail occasionally?
