Poll: Model 3 Phone Key Failure Rate

[Future4me]

Took delivery 4 days ago. Phone works about 50 percent of the time. Just want to get in the car and go. Solution: keep the key card in a thin
business card wallet with my license and insurance card plus space for my gym pass card key, swipe the pillar, set it in the cup holder and I'm on my way-100 percent of the time. Don't always bring my phone with me anyway. Now the wife will drive it knowing there won't be any issues. Happy wife, happy life!

 

[slipnslider]

Took delivery 4 days ago. Phone works about 50 percent of the time. Just want to get in the car and go. Solution: keep the key card in a thin
business card wallet with my license and insurance card plus space for my gym pass card key, swipe the pillar, set it in the cup holder and I'm on my way-100 percent of the time. Don't always bring my phone with me anyway. Now the wife will drive it knowing there won't be any issues. Happy wife, happy life!

Sitting there swiping your wallet around the A pillar is still functionally inferior to the reliable fob they got rid of.

 

[LuckyX]

iPhone X - 0% failure (my phone)
iPhone 7s Plus - 75%+ failure (wife’s phone)

 

[Runt8]

No conspiracy theory required. Phones weren't designed to be car keys.

Except his conspiracy theory is about the phone that reliably works as a key but is having issues streaming audio.

 

[jsmay311]

iPhone X - 0% failure (my phone)
iPhone 7s Plus - 75%+ failure (wife’s phone)

Wow.

Might need another poll just to compare different models of iPhones.

 

[jsmay311]

Here are the results (so far) rearranged to better show the difference between iPhone and Android:

Keep the votes coming, please!

 

[rhaekar]

I'm on Android and when I first got the car with 10.5 I had a lot of issues but after a soft reset with the wheel buttons things have been really good.

After 12.1, I can't remember the last time it didn't work. The worse I've had in a while is I had to hold the door handle open for a second before it unlocked.

 

[LuckyX]

My wife has given up with her phone and has been using the key card. She really doesn’t like the key card method.

 

[oripaamoni]

iPhone X, Picked up the car last week with 12.1 already on it, I am at 1200miles and have never had to pull out the card yet. A few times I have had to pull the handle a second time for it to unlock. My Audi with the smart key often requires me to try 3+ times on the handle or move my pocket closer to the car. I was fully expecting to hate the phone as a key thing but it has been awesome so far!

 

[gtmotor]

Zero issues with my phone as key or with streaming audio, calls, etc. (Google Pixel 2, Android 8.1). Car has the 12.1 update.

My wife's iPhone 7 is the trouble-maker. It doesn't work reliably and I even get the "key card message" to continue driving when she's in the car for some reason.

 

[mwenn1]

I have a Pixel 2 XL and it works every time for me, haven't had any issues.

 

[Az_Rael]

My Galaxy S8 works most of the time but is unreliable enough to be annoying. I sometimes have to open the app and restart it to get it to work, which is frustrating when you are standing at your trunk with an armload of stuff trying to push the trunk button with your one free finger. I have to put everything down, dig in my purse and unlock my phone to dork with the app.

 

[ImEric]

I have a Galaxy S7 (android 7.0.0), and a couple of days ago, I turned on "Maximum Performance Mode." It increases the screen resolution and brightens the screen by up to 10%, as well as turning off the processor throttling, but I think it also keeps the Bluetooth Low Energy beacon (which, I believe is what the Model 3 uses for the key) from shutting off after being idle for too long. Without it, every couple of hours I either have to open the app or turn Bluetooth off altogether and turn it back on. But Since turning on "Maximum Performance Mode," I haven't had a single issue using my phone as the key. I was also able to manually keep the screen's resolution at 1920x1080 and instruct the phone not to brighten the screen. I have noticed minimal increase to my phone's battery drain (maybe 5-10%), but it's worth it to get my bluetooth key to finally operate correctly.

 

[graphix25]

Thanks for the tip. I also have a work supplied Galaxy S7 (would prefer an iPhone X). The feature is in Settings and call Performance Mode. You have four options; Optimized, Game, Entertainment and High Performance. I have enabled High Performance. Lets see if this helps the reliability which has been spoty at best. I will report back on my findings.

I have a Galaxy S7 (android 7.0.0), and a couple of days ago, I turned on "Maximum Performance Mode." It increases the screen resolution and brightens the screen by up to 10%, as well as turning off the processor throttling, but I think it also keeps the Bluetooth Low Energy beacon (which, I believe is what the Model 3 uses for the key) from shutting off after being idle for too long. Without it, every couple of hours I either have to open the app or turn Bluetooth off altogether and turn it back on. But Since turning on "Maximum Performance Mode," I haven't had a single issue using my phone as the key. I was also able to manually keep the screen's resolution at 1920x1080 and instruct the phone not to brighten the screen. I have noticed minimal increase to my phone's battery drain (maybe 5-10%), but it's worth it to get my bluetooth key to finally operate correctly.

 

[N5329K]

A sizable number of those responding to the poll have trouble with their phone-as-key. Only about a quarter to a third report having no real issues, meaning everyone else is walking up to their Model 3 very much in doubt about whether they'll have to intervene somehow to get it to work. I would call this pretty compelling data.
EM makes much of "going back to first principles" in design, and it seems to me data like this qualifies as a first principles issue. Here's an idea that Tesla made central to the Model 3 owning experience, and it is not working out so well. Personally, it was one reason why I canceled my reservation (it would drive me nuts to have a simple unlock the car evolution become a will-it-or-won't it struggle).
So I wonder: at what point will EM recognize that this is a first principles issue and make the necessary change to a simple, reliable fob? Or is he too heavily-invested in a poor design choice to make that change?
Robin

 

[nvx1977]

A sizable number of those responding to the poll have trouble with their phone-as-key. Only about a quarter to a third report having no real issues, meaning everyone else is walking up to their Model 3 very much in doubt about whether they'll have to intervene somehow to get it to work. I would call this pretty compelling data.
EM makes much of "going back to first principles" in design, and it seems to me data like this qualifies as a first principles issue. Here's an idea that Tesla made central to the Model 3 owning experience, and it is not working out so well. Personally, it was one reason why I canceled my reservation (it would drive me nuts to have a simple unlock the car evolution become a will-it-or-won't it struggle).
So I wonder: at what point will EM recognize that this is a first principles issue and make the necessary change to a simple, reliable fob? Or is he too heavily-invested in a poor design choice to make that change?
Robin

I actually think it's likely, but he needs to be convinced first that there's nothing left to improve on the software side. i suspect the phone key part of the app could be made more robust to prevent a lot of these issues. Will it be enough? Personally I'm skeptical, given my past experiences with bluetooth in general.

That said, you can't just throw around the phrase 'first principles' as if there is only one set of first principles. The decisions made for this car were based on the principle of a self-driving car used for ride sharing. These design decisions we scratch our head at make perfect sense in that context (phone key, glove box, interior camera, non-tilting center screen, lack of instrument cluster, option to pay for FSD, etc etc). Problem is, the car is far away from FSD + ride sharing, so in the meantime, we find those design decisions less than ideal.

It's much like Apple removing a headphone jack, or making USB-C the exclusive port on their MacBook Pros. Makes perfect sense if you understood their design criteria and vision; it's just a bit ahead of its time that it causes status quo inconvenience and frustration (dongle hell).

 

[slipnslider]

It's much like Apple removing a headphone jack, or making USB-C the exclusive port on their MacBook Pros. Makes perfect sense if you understood their design criteria and vision; it's just a bit ahead of its time that it causes status quo inconvenience and frustration (dongle hell).

Or "dongle heaven" as Apple would call it. ($$$$$$$)

They said they had get rid of the 1/8" jack to save 1mm of phone thickness. 1mm is not worth ruining the longest lasting cable connection style, and destroying connectivity/compatibility between billions of already existing devices.

 

[insaneoctane]

As an android user waiting for his ISA to call him any day now (6 days and counting) these poll results are worrisome.

 

[N5329K]

That said, you can't just throw around the phrase 'first principles' as if there is only one set of first principles.

True. But if "Don't ignore the data" isn't a first principle, then what other ones matter?
Robin

 

[techmaven]

So the iPhone 4S was the first iPhone to ship with Bluetooth LE. I'm curious what is the oldest and smallest iPhone that works well as a Model 3 keyfob. Since it is Bluetooth LE, it shouldn't need a working SIM card either. Initial set up can be done with Wifi. Also an iPod Touch 5th Generation or later has Bluetooth 4+

iPhone 4S and iPhone 5's are $40-75 used. Cheaper than a fob.