# POLL: Model 3 owners: In the past month, how often has your phone failed to unlock the car?



## KarenRei (Jul 27, 2017)

Since this has come up fairly often, I figured it's time for a poll, to see how often people have to rely on the keycard. Only answer if you own the car and have a phone setup as a key.


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## MelindaV (Apr 2, 2016)

I think without info on which phone, and in the case of some, which settings, is being used, the end results will be skewed.


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## KarenRei (Jul 27, 2017)

Don't care about which phone. Model 3 customers will have a random cross section of phones and settings, and the poll results should reflect that. I'm looking for real-world data.


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## GDN (Oct 30, 2017)

KarenRei said:


> Don't care about which phone. Model 3 customers will have a random cross section of phones and settings, and the poll results should reflect that. I'm looking for real-world data.


I see your point about just wanting to know real world numbers and know you have some reason for wanting to know raw data, but something like this seems to blame the car, and there could be problems, I'm not defending. However, I think there are several threads and discussions already that seem to say some models of phones have much better percentage of opening the car consistently than others. I think it would be most interesting if your options were doubled and had each of those for iPhone users and the same for Android users. I think the results would show you some real trend that the issue isn't likely the car, at least not all of it.


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## MelindaV (Apr 2, 2016)

But real world data will be vastly varied between a newer phone with the latest BT and an older one


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## KarenRei (Jul 27, 2017)

MelindaV said:


> But real world data will be vastly varied between a newer phone with the latest BT and an older one


That's *exactly the point*.


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## KarenRei (Jul 27, 2017)

GDN said:


> However, I think there are several threads and discussions already that seem to say some models of phones have much better percentage of opening the car consistently than others.


Well aware of that. Four the fourth time in this thread, I'm not looking for how individual phones perform. I'm looking for how the general cross section of user experiences is.


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## MelindaV (Apr 2, 2016)

But irrelevant without the full picture behind the answers provided


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## GDN (Oct 30, 2017)

KarenRei said:


> That's *exactly the point*.


So the phone manufactures may need to start sending kick backs to Tesla and thank them for having all Tesla customers need to upgrade their phone if they haven't recently.


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## KarenRei (Jul 27, 2017)

MelindaV said:


> But irrelevant without the full picture behind the answers provided


The average owner experience is irrelevant to the Model 3?

Be serious here.


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## GDN (Oct 30, 2017)

KarenRei said:


> The average owner experience is irrelevant to the Model 3?
> 
> Be serious here.


I think the average Android owner and the average iPhone owner and the average owner with a phone more than 2 years old that doesn't have the latest low power Bluetooth might be relevant, but not sure the overall average is relevant. I know that would blow the poll out of the water as well, too many options without having a decision tree to work through to find out which OS, which model, etc. I am interested in the overall experience, but would also like to know the details behind that experience. Sorry - I'm not attacking your poll and already stated that, I just think it may take more information behind it to find the real relevance of those having problems and not having problems.


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## KarenRei (Jul 27, 2017)

GDN said:


> I think the average Android owner and the average iPhone owner and the average owner with a phone more than 2 years old that don't have the latest low power Bluetooth might be relevant, but not sure the overall average is relevant.


Look, unless Tesla decides to start banning people with certain phones from buying the car, that _doesn't matter_. What matters is the _overall average user experience_. What percentage of users are going to face annoyances.

You can _elaborate on that_ with data on what sort of phones are best to upgrade to if you face said annoyances - but that data has already been well collected. What's not collected is the _general rate of annoyances_.

If someone in the media or on a forum writes "Model 3 owners are having trouble unlocking their car", I want something I can point to show whether it actually is or is not a common problem. Not some lecture about which phones work better than others.


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## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

MelindaV said:


> But irrelevant without the full picture behind the answers provided


Depends on the goal the poll poster has in mind.


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## Ed Woodrick (May 26, 2018)

I'm not sure why so many people seem to miss what I think is the goal of the poll. "Can you use a phone as a key"
It doesn't matter which brand, people aren't going to buy a specific phone for their car to work.
It doesn't matter how old the phone is, there is no "cut-off" on what phones work.
Now, these may be good polls in their own right, but I'm with this one "Does Tesla need another solution (or fix this one)

While mine is getting better, mainly because I know to babysit it when approaching the car, it still is a lousy solution.


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## M3OC Rules (Nov 18, 2016)

I'm curious about the overall results as well. Tesla cannot and should not assume their customers should change their phone to use the car without the key card. I think the more popular the phone the more likely it is that it will be tested and problems will be fixed. But Bluetooth is kind of a disaster. It seems like every update to phones change the Bluetooth code. And it seems like they solve one problem and create two more. My 2006 Acura TL Bluetooth slowly got worse and worse with phone updates. Maybe not the best example but I don't think you can assume that just because you have the latest iPhone you're not going to have a problem. (I have seen complaints.) Or that because it works initially you're never going to have a problem. Based on my experience with Bluetooth I'd be surprised if they ever get it to work reliably for a majority of users. So I'm curious about the overall situation. I'll post my results when I can. First I need to get the car and then figure out if it will let me in.


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## MelindaV (Apr 2, 2016)

KarenRei said:


> Look, unless Tesla decides to start banning people with certain phones from buying the car, that _doesn't matter_. What matters is the _overall average user experience_. What percentage of users are going to face annoyances.
> 
> You can _elaborate on that_ with data on what sort of phones are best to upgrade to if you face said annoyances - but that data has already been well collected. What's not collected is the _general rate of annoyances_.
> 
> If someone in the media or on a forum writes "Model 3 owners are having trouble unlocking their car", I want something I can point to show whether it actually is or is not a common problem. Not some lecture about which phones work better than others.


thanks  I did not get that that was your intent from your intro post.


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## M3OC Rules (Nov 18, 2016)

Hey @KarenRei , Where is this source you are referring to?



KarenRei said:


> You can _elaborate on that_ with data on what sort of phones are best to upgrade to if you face said annoyances - but that data has already been well collected.


Thanks!


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## GDN (Oct 30, 2017)

I do know that Tesla has stated the phone (using Bluetooth specifically) is their intended primary way of entering and starting the car. They have provided the cards and the application (while on a network) can also start the car and allowed it to be driven, whether standing right next to it or half way around the world.. If it is found there are major problems I hope they are corrected right away and I hope that there is evidence to confront the uninformed journalists who don't know what they are talking about, only trying to make a name for themselves. However at the end of the day, Tesla is changing the way we control the car. Change isn't always easy and change isn't always correct the first time. I think however Tesla is going to say they've implemented a working technology according to the specs and other aren't conforming. I like that Musk steps out of the box.


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## KarenRei (Jul 27, 2017)

M3OC Rules said:


> Hey @KarenRei , Where is this source you are referring to?
> 
> Thanks!


These threads, for example:

https://teslaownersonline.com/threa...oing-to-actually-work.7007/page-4#post-114467
https://teslaownersonline.com/threa...-ready-for-production.7320/page-2#post-114836

It's not very organized, but there's lots of individual case reports about how well different phones work.


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## Ed Woodrick (May 26, 2018)

GDN said:


> I do know that Tesla has stated the phone (using Bluetooth specifically) is their intended primary way of entering and starting the car. They have provided the cards and the application (while on a network) can also start the car and allowed it to be driven, whether standing right next to it or half way around the world.. If it is found there are major problems I hope they are corrected right away and I hope that there is evidence to confront the uninformed journalists who don't know what they are talking about, only trying to make a name for themselves. However at the end of the day, Tesla is changing the way we control the car. Change isn't always easy and change isn't always correct the first time. I think however Tesla is going to say they've implemented a working technology according to the specs and other aren't conforming. I like that Musk steps out of the box.


This may be one of those situations where a solution was created where it wasn't really needed (and it doesn't really work well). While there are a number of horrendous key fobs out there, there are a couple that have turned key fobs into a no big deal. The Nissan entry solution is really nice. A key fob that is relatively small, combined with a button on the door that provides positive locking. I'm not a huge fan of walking away from a vehicle and "hope" that it locks. 
And don't walk away thinking that when the current solution works, it works, because on my Android phone, the app has to be running for it to work. It is not really optimal to remember to start an application to get into a car.
All I'm really asking for is a fob that is a cross between the key card and a phone.


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## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

Ed Woodrick said:


> This may be one of those situations where a solution was created where it wasn't really needed (and it doesn't really work well).


This type of solution was definitely needed... to implement the Tesla Network. You need to be able to access the card via a phone app if the car is going to be usable via an autonomous-driving ride-sharing network.

But for regular car ownership, I agree that a simple fob would be better.


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## SoFlaModel3 (Apr 15, 2017)

Literally once for me (iPhone X).


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## goto10 (Mar 15, 2018)

It worked flawlessly for me for weeks. It seems to have become more finicky over the past month.


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## BigBri (Jul 16, 2016)

2 weeks today and no failure (slightly older phone, 6s+).


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## SoFlaModel3 (Apr 15, 2017)

SoFlaModel3 said:


> Literally once for me (iPhone X).


Make that twice, just failed getting back to the car from dinner.


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## Rich M (Jul 28, 2017)

No issues ever on two Samsungs so far. Tesla app is on the "no sleep" list.


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## skygraff (Jun 2, 2017)

Not voting since my data was tainted by a bad Bluetooth antenna in my phone.

Before the repair, massive failure rate; since, no failures.


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## GDN (Oct 30, 2017)

So to come clean - my phone would not unlock the car today. But it wouldn't do anything with the car, no music either, in fact the car didn't even see the phone to be selected. I did not reboot the phone, but I did hold both buttons down and reboot the screen and that part of the car. The phone reconnected immediately after the reboot. I don't blame the phone, but yet I see if there had been a fob this may not have been a problem, but I still would have had a problem playing music or making a call from the car using the phone.


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## BigBri (Jul 16, 2016)

As cool as the phone key is I think I'd opt to carry a fob if/when its offered. I have to carry keys for my job anyway+my Leaf key so I'd prefer to have it on there. If I didn't carry any keys I'd be all over the phone key.


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## scaots (Sep 13, 2017)

Generally I haven't had much trouble. I know I had trouble with mine when phone was connected to BT headphones; once I turned them off it worked. One other time I had issue when car seemed to be in a deep sleep. Other time toggling BT on phone worked. Before 18.21.9 I had issue with the car constantly loosing the phone BT (regular connection for phone calls and streaming); I had to readd device every time in the car.


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## SoFlaModel3 (Apr 15, 2017)

SoFlaModel3 said:


> Make that twice, just failed getting back to the car from dinner.


Now 3, it's starting to pickup...


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## PNWmisty (Aug 19, 2017)

GDN said:


> So the phone manufactures may need to start sending kick backs to Tesla and thank them for having all Tesla customers need to upgrade their phone if they haven't recently.


If upgrading the phone fixes the problem, then the problem was the phone, not the car.

And someone upgrading their phone because it didn't work consistently would be more likely to upgrade to a different brand (since their old phone did not work reliably). So, it's not clear why a manufacturer would thank Tesla when they should be thanking their own developers who programmed the Bluetooth interface and the way apps run in the background.


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## GDN (Oct 30, 2017)

PNWmisty said:


> If upgrading the phone fixes the problem, then the problem was the phone, not the car.
> 
> And someone upgrading their phone because it didn't work consistently would be more likely to upgrade to a different brand (since their old phone did not work reliably). So, it's not clear why a manufacturer would thank Tesla when they should be thanking their own developers who programmed the Bluetooth interface and the way apps run in the background.


It could be that some might change brands, I'm one of those that I am not leaving the iPhone, no way in hell. Not a fan boy, just too many friends with the others. It's in my head that I have a much smoother experience, and that is just my opinion. In the end - I figure as many people are loyal to their brand and OS and won't be jumping ship as much, I could be wrong about that.

So otherwise, unless I misspoke or typed something you and I are on the same page. I don't think the problem is the car - MOST of the time. I think there are many phones that don't ahere to specs well and there are some OS's and manufactures that want to give the consumer more control over some details of bluetooth and battery conservation, by allowing them to turn some things off or letting it sleep and in doing so the consumer thinks then the car isn't working right, when in reality it is the phone.

Just yesterday though, and I posted it, I couldn't get anything to work from my iPhone. The key, music, anything. However I didn't reboot or touch the phone, I rebooted the screen/car and everything began working immediately. So, dang it, the car is more like Windows than it is a Mac (at least while this software is under so much development). It probably just needs to be rebooted once every week or two and it will perform much better, just like windows. On the other hand I can go months without rebooting my Mac and all is just fine.

I think these software updates and reboots will continue a good year. They'll get all of the features added to the software over the next 6 months and then it will take another 6 months for them to truly work out 98% of the bugs. A year from now we'll have smooth fully featured software and cars.

At the end of the day I'm still pretty flawless with my phone working everytime excluding yesterday which I blame squarely on the car/Tesla.


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## SoFlaModel3 (Apr 15, 2017)

SoFlaModel3 said:


> Now 3, it's starting to pickup...
> 
> View attachment 10608


Twice today - make that 3 in 2 days and 4 this month.


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## GDN (Oct 30, 2017)

SoFlaModel3 said:


> Twice today - make that 3 in 2 days and 4 this month.


Time to reboot the car.


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## SoFlaModel3 (Apr 15, 2017)

GDN said:


> Time to reboot the car.


Or the phone...


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## SoFlaModel3 (Apr 15, 2017)

Ok definitely time for a reset as this is happening now as well...


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## GDN (Oct 30, 2017)

Or the car !!


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## Dr. J (Sep 1, 2017)

Ed Woodrick said:


> The Nissan entry solution is really nice. A key fob that is relatively small, combined with a button on the door that provides positive locking.


The Toyota (Prius) solution as well. Carry the fob in your pocket, stick your hand in the door, everything unlocks. I also like using the locking switch inside the door as I exit the car, as it's a habit, it's tactile and noisy, and I don't have to wonder whether I remembered to hit the button on the door or used remote locking. I like it when I don't have to think.  But I'm sure when I get my 3 I'll find new ways not to think.


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## SoFlaModel3 (Apr 15, 2017)

Quick follow up — the fix to my troubles was actually logging out of the Tesla app and then back in.


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## LucyferSam (Sep 13, 2017)

Haven't had it fully fail since I changed the power settings for the app to not optimize battery on my Pixel 2. Most of the time it has been instant, but twice it took 3-5 seconds to connect properly to unlock. No noticeable change on the battery life of the phone.


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## JMZ (Jun 5, 2018)

LucyferSam said:


> Haven't had it fully fail since I changed the power settings for the app to not optimize battery on my Pixel 2. Most of the time it has been instant, but twice it took 3-5 seconds to connect properly to unlock. No noticeable change on the battery life of the phone.


I've made these changes (many thanks!) on my original Pixel and will see how it goes. I'm hopeful. The way it stands currently, my 2017 Volt, while having nowhere near the EV range nor charging speed of the M3, was a _lot_ easier to lock / unlock. With the keyfob in my backpack (or otherwise on my person), walking up to the car and pressing the button on the door unlocked it, and closing the door and walking away locked it. I understand the allure of having the phone be the key, but it's been _very_ unreliable (60-90% failure rate) for me.

Also, if I accidentally left my backpack in the Volt, closing the door would result in it automatically honking at me to let me know the keyfob was still inside it. I'm hopeful that Tesla can do something similar, should it detect that the phone is still inside (and if I recall correctly, the Beacon / BTLE SDKs on both platforms use signal strength to determine proximity).

Regards,

John


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## PNWmisty (Aug 19, 2017)

JMZ said:


> I understand the allure of having the phone be the key, but it's been _very_ unreliable (60-90% failure rate) for me.


Of course, that is an unacceptable failure rate for auto-unlock. One time out of 20-30 would be completely unacceptable to me. Before we took delivery of the Model 3, I was concerned about that but resigned myself to accept that if Bluetooth didn't work reliably that I would simply use the plastic card. Fortunately for us, both our phones work seamlessly 100% of the time for the auto-unlock/lock/drive feature (Samsung S8+ and S9). Before I adjusted settings on the phone there were a few times when either the phone or the car wouldn't "wake up". But because changing the phone settings fixed the problem, I think it's obvious it was the phone that was "asleep", not the car.

Since I always bring my phone when I leave the house, this is a very nice feature. Just walk up, get in and drive. Also, park walk away and it's locked (and the app will confirm it if you're not very trusting). No messing with keys/cards.


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## JMZ (Jun 5, 2018)

PNWmisty said:


> Of course, that is an unacceptable failure rate for auto-unlock. One time out of 20-30 would be completely unacceptable to me. Before we took delivery of the Model 3, I was concerned about that but resigned myself to accept that if Bluetooth didn't work reliably that I would simply use the plastic card. Fortunately for us, both our phones work seamlessly 100% of the time for the auto-unlock/lock/drive feature (Samsung S8+ and S9). Before I adjusted settings on the phone there were a few times when either the phone or the car wouldn't "wake up". But because changing the phone settings fixed the problem, I think it's obvious it was the phone that was "asleep", not the car.
> 
> Since I always bring my phone when I leave the house, this is a very nice feature. Just walk up, get in and drive. Also, park walk away and it's locked (and the app will confirm it if you're not very trusting). No messing with keys/cards.


This past Thursday I set the Tesla app on my Google Pixel 1 to "Not optimized for battery", as well as gave it Allow System Settings permissions. Since then, it's still often required 10-20 seconds of waiting by the M3 before it will let me open the door, or waiting another 10-20s after entering the car before it will let me put the car in Reverse or Drive, or toggling BT off and on if after 20s it still wasn't recognized in either of the above scenarios. I'm not sure that it's any better than it was before I adjusted the settings for the Tesla app. I was quite hopeful :-/

Regards,

John


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## littlD (Apr 17, 2016)

Changed by vote to 2-5% now.

I only average one time a week now where Middie demands the key card to either unlock or start the car.

And sometimes, it just takes a few seconds to try opening the door again and it works.

Phone: Pixel 2
Battery Optimization Turned Off
Allow System Settings permission not granted


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## PNWmisty (Aug 19, 2017)

JMZ said:


> This past Thursday I set the Tesla app on my Google Pixel 1 to "Not optimized for battery", as well as gave it Allow System Settings permissions. Since then, it's still often required 10-20 seconds of waiting by the M3 before it will let me open the door, or waiting another 10-20s after entering the car before it will let me put the car in Reverse or Drive, or toggling BT off and on if after 20s it still wasn't recognized in either of the above scenarios. I'm not sure that it's any better than it was before I adjusted the settings for the Tesla app. I was quite hopeful :-/


It sounds like there is still something that's, at a minimum, reducing the update frequency on the app or the Bluetooth. Or maybe it has to do with location. I say this because it sounds like it eventually works, it's just delayed. Does the Pixel have the option of "precise location"? If so, make sure that is fully enabled.

Various phones can also have settings that over-ride global settings when the battery level is low. It's not always intuitive, you think you've taken care of everything only to discover there is a battery saving option that sometimes over-rides the global option.

Also, third-party apps can interfere with the normal operation of the OS (if you give them permission). Even if you don't give them permission, a poorly written app could corrupt the Bluetooth stacks, etc. I avoid 3rd party apps that are not mission specific and written by reputable manufacturers. The fewer apps you load, the less chance for issues.

Our two Samsung phones open the Model 3 100% of the time, even when we are at our ski cabin where there is zero cellular coverage (yes, I know Bluetooth is used, but just saying it works in all environments).


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## PNWmisty (Aug 19, 2017)

littlD said:


> Phone: Pixel 2
> Battery Optimization Turned Off
> Allow System Settings permission not granted


May I ask why you didn't give the Tesla app permission to change the system settings?


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## littlD (Apr 17, 2016)

PNWmisty said:


> May I ask why you didn't give the Tesla app permission to change the system settings?


Until recently, I didn't even know that was a recommended change to improve reliability of phone key.

So, until I see I need to do that, I won't. It's not any security concern. I've learned over many years in the IT business to not just do something hoping it fixes something. Do it when you KNOW you need to fix something.


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## RocketRay (Jun 6, 2018)

I'm into week 2 of ownership and my semi-flagship ZTE Axon is lousy with the Model 3. With the phone in my pocket it has never worked. When I have the phone out and the app up it works about half the time.

Also since I've been using the Tesla app my phone's battery life has gotten much worse. Time to keep an eye out for a good deal on a new phone, looks like.


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## PNWmisty (Aug 19, 2017)

RocketRay said:


> Also since I've been using the Tesla app my phone's battery life has gotten much worse. Time to keep an eye out for a good deal on a new phone, looks like.


I can recommend the Samsung S8+ and S9 (which my wife uses). We've both had 100% reliability using them as Model 3 "keys" and my battery lasts 2 days with the Tesla app running all the time. I use the Tesla app multiple times/day but don't do a lot of talking or web browsing on the phone.

I'm not familiar with the ZTE Axion, isn't that the phone that the State Department (or some other federal agency) recently recommended that Americans NOT use for security reasons? Your battery life is probably short due to other apps, not the Tesla app. Other apps can also interfere with proper Bluetooth function by over-flowing or corrupting the BT stack as John pointed out recently.


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## jsmay311 (Oct 2, 2017)

It's interesting to compare these results with this other poll that I created 3 months ago.

In this poll only 21% of respondents are reporting a <90% success rate (i.e., >10% failure rate).

In the other poll it was 42% of respondents. But I also specifically asked respondents to be rather broad with what is considered a "failure" - including anytime you have to take the phone out of your pocket or fiddle with settings, or anytime it takes >3 seconds after pressing the handle for the door to unlock, or anytime the car doesn't let you shift into gear right away after you get in, or anytime auto-lock doesn't work after exit.

Still, looks like things might've gotten a bit better via updates. But still a LONG way to go.


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## PNWmisty (Aug 19, 2017)

jsmay311 said:


> Still, looks like things might've gotten a bit better via updates. But still a LONG way to go.


Speaking just from my experience with my phone and my wife's phone, the situation improved from questionable to 100% reliable simply by adjusting settings in the phone menu. It can't get any better for us, it's at 100%.

Could it have coincided with an OTA software update? That's possible, we got an OTA update around the same time our phones as keys became 100% functional, right after we accepted delivery. But it sure seemed like adjusting the phone settings was what worked for us.


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## P=VI (Apr 16, 2018)

I have an iPhone 8+. For the first 6-7 weeks of ownership, phone unlock worked nearly perfectly. I had 2 or 3 failures and cycling airplane mode on my phone always fixed the issue. 
However, since around 7/1 failures have become extremely common, both failing to unlock the door and the trunk. Cycling airplane mode, rebooting the phone, and rebooting the car don’t seem to help - I have to use the keycard. I don’t believe it is related to the car’s firmware because I haven’t received a firmware update since 6/12.
I did upgrade my phone to the iOS 12 public beta just a couple of days before the problems started, so that seems to be a likely culprit. If I get the inclination, I may revert to iOS 11 to see if the problems go away.


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## Jasonh4451 (Apr 11, 2017)

Have had the car for 6 weeks and today was the first time I had to use the keycard to start it. Have an iphone 7. Restarted car and it still didnt connect and then restarted phone and it started working again.


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## MrMatt (Jun 1, 2018)

My Galaxy S7 used to fail about 10% of the time, but recently I feel like its much much better. Since 24.1 perhaps? Not sure exactly but I'm struggling to recall the last time it failed. It is much better NOT in my pocket and I just take an extra second before trying to open the car (not sure if i still need to do that) and its been great.

I have, tho, had issues using the key card! It often takes me 3 tries to get it to detect. I'm moving it very slowly on the B pillar, below the side-camera. Very confusing to me. Others seen that?


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## littlD (Apr 17, 2016)

MrMatt said:


> My Galaxy S7 used to fail about 10% of the time, but recently I feel like its much much better. Since 24.1 perhaps? Not sure exactly but I'm struggling to recall the last time it failed. It is much better NOT in my pocket and I just take an extra second before trying to open the car (not sure if i still need to do that) and its been great.
> 
> I have, tho, had issues using the key card! It often takes me 3 tries to get it to detect. I'm moving it very slowly on the B pillar, below the side-camera. Very confusing to me. Others seen that?


I've never had any issue with the key card not working first time every time.

As you get two, have you tried the other one? If it also has similar problems, I'd reach out with your local Service Center and have the car checked.


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## roflwaffle (Sep 25, 2017)

Maybe 1 out of ever 5 to 10 times. The thing is, I think it's my phone for some of those, because waking it up prior to trying to unlock the car tends to work well, and if the car won't open the first time, it usually will within a few seconds after I wake my phone up.


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## RocketRay (Jun 6, 2018)

PNWmisty said:


> I can recommend the Samsung S8+ and S9 (which my wife uses). We've both had 100% reliability using them as Model 3 "keys" and my battery lasts 2 days with the Tesla app running all the time. I use the Tesla app multiple times/day but don't do a lot of talking or web browsing on the phone.
> 
> I'm not familiar with the ZTE Axion, isn't that the phone that the State Department (or some other federal agency) recently recommended that Americans NOT use for security reasons? Your battery life is probably short due to other apps, not the Tesla app. Other apps can also interfere with proper Bluetooth function by over-flowing or corrupting the BT stack as John pointed out recently.


I got the Axon last year (smoking hot deal) well before their shenanigans were made public. Another reason to get a new phone.

It's gotten worse. I can unlock the car with it (usually) but to drive it I need the keycard 100%. Fortunately it's readable through my wallet.


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## @gravityrydr (Apr 12, 2016)

I've given up on my Moto G5+ (Android 7.0) working reliably. I've started carrying an iPhone 5s that is a leftover from a recent upgrade by my daughter. It has no sim card and has been working reliably. I use the Android phone when I to use the app. The 5s is quite small and thin so it works well as a large but still unobtrusive key fob. I can even use the app if I am on WiFi.


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## raptor (May 6, 2018)

OG Pixel XL here, and it's a real hit or miss for me as well.

I imagine this is never going to be 100% for most users. I've had Android updates break the BT stack before, so now I have to worry about this as well. The phone requirement is one of the major negative experiences for me, and I hope Tesla announces an actual fob sooner than later.


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## RocketRay (Jun 6, 2018)

Just got a new phone (Essential PH-1), my first "flagship" level phone, and while it's better, I still need to use the card half the time.


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## JMZ (Jun 5, 2018)

I switched to an iPhone Xs - since I write code for, and like, both iOS and Android, I switch platforms every 2-3 years anyway - and so far it's been perfect with my P3D. I leave the iPhone in my pocket, and the car still lets me open the doors and drive.

Regards,

John


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## PNWmisty (Aug 19, 2017)

RocketRay said:


> Just got a new phone (Essential PH-1), my first "flagship" level phone, and while it's better, I still need to use the card half the time.


You might just need to check security or power saving settings.

Be aware that Bluetooth signals are low energy and do not travel through water well. Your body is over 50% water so if the phone is in your back pocket and you are facing your car, you could have an issue.


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## scott franco (Apr 11, 2018)

Its not really an odds thing. I have to power the phone off, then on, then it works for a day or two, then I have to repower the phone again. I have tried all of the standard workarounds, airplane mode, turn bluetooth on/off, etc.

I don't think I should have to upgrade my phone just to get into the $%^&*( car. The FOB is a better and more reliable deal. Roll the FOB.


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## raptor (May 6, 2018)

I really think it's on the Tesla side, not the phone. One of the updates fixed it for me, but since 2018.36.x, it has become a major issue again. Sometimes it doesn't even auto lock, despite forcing a bluetooth disconnect by disabling it on my phone.


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## SR22pilot (Aug 16, 2018)

Connecting to make summons work is problematic. Unlocking and locking works 100% of the time. I have the car set to hank once so I know it has locked but it is 100% reliable off of my iPhone 7+. I love not thinking about it.


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## PNWmisty (Aug 19, 2017)

SR22pilot said:


> Connecting to make summons work is problematic. Unlocking and locking works 100% of the time. I have the car set to hank once so I know it has locked but it is 100% reliable off of my iPhone 7+. I love not thinking about it.


This matches my experience also. Especially the part about loving not having to think about locking/unlocking. Since we've had one Model 3 for 5 months and through 5 or 6 different firmware versions in the Model 3 our two Samsung phones have unlocked/locked 100% (so I'm 100% sure the problem some are experiencing does not lie with the car but with their phone). I also agree the summon feature is hit and miss whether it's going to connect or not. That's over LTE and is likely a problem with the car and/or the AT&T service and/or the interface with the car and AT&T service.

When I say others lock/unlock problems lie with their phone, it's not necessarily with the model phone they have (but it could be). It's just as likely the phone settings or 3rd party apps that don't play nice with the phones Bluetooth. I don't understand why any logical person would blame the car when there are lots of Model 3 owners that have 100% lock/unlock functionality with a large variety of different phone models as well as different Model 3 firmware versions.


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## JustTheTip (Jun 7, 2018)

Only had my car for a month. I couldn't open my door 3 times. But I waited another few seconds and I was able to.


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## SR22pilot (Aug 16, 2018)

I had ZERO issues until V9. Now it has happened several times in a row.


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## @gravityrydr (Apr 12, 2016)

@gravityrydr said:


> I've given up on my Moto G5+ (Android 7.0) working reliably. I've started carrying an iPhone 5s that is a leftover from a recent upgrade by my daughter. It has no sim card and has been working reliably. I use the Android phone when I to use the app. The 5s is quite small and thin so it works well as a large but still unobtrusive key fob. I can even use the app if I am on WiFi.


UPDATE: Lenovo finally pushed the Android 8.1 Oreo update to the Moto G5+ after a year and a half of waiting. (Lenovo you suck) note to self, do not buy anything other than stock Android phones from now on. At the risk of jinxing myself, so far the phone as key has worked perfectly. The data set is just a few days but if this keeps up I can stop using the old iPhone 5s as a keyfob. I'm glad I sold the keyfob as soon as I realized it didn't support summon.


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## John Slaby (Mar 31, 2017)

Had it for more than a month now and the Google Pixel 3 XL has been perfect. Opens any locked door and the trunk without taking it out of my pocket, and no need to take it out to drive. My previous Pixel 1 was hit or miss much of the time, and would only unlock the driver's side door.


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## Jay79 (Aug 18, 2018)

Going on 2 weeks and has worked 100% of the time with at least a dozen entries daily. I've got a Galaxy S9+ setup as follows, Bluetooth always on, Set phone to ignore Tesla App and gave it permission to make any changes necessary. I think it is paramount to makes sure your phone is completely ignoring the app and that the app has permission to do whatever it needs to do at all times.


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## KarenRei (Jul 27, 2017)

Jay79 said:


> Going on 2 weeks and has worked 100% of the time with at least a dozen entries daily. I've got a Galaxy S9+ setup as follows, Bluetooth always on, Set phone to ignore Tesla App and gave it permission to make any changes necessary. I think it is paramount to makes sure your phone is completely ignoring the app and that the app has permission to do whatever it needs to do at all times.


How do you set a phone to ignore an app?


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## tencate (Jan 11, 2018)

JustTheTip said:


> Only had my car for a month. I couldn't open my door 3 times. But I waited another few seconds and I was able to.


I sometimes have hiccups, especially if the car is in deep sleep, that takes longer but I've only ever been unable to get in with the phone ONCE (last February) and had to use the key card. Now if you're expecting to just walk up and open the car immediately every time, well that's a different question. BTW, I always carry my phone in my front pocket, all the issues I've had were when it was in my back pocket. Ancient iPhone 5, FWIW.


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## Rich M (Jul 28, 2017)

KarenRei said:


> How do you set a phone to ignore an app?


On the S9/S9+/Note9: 
Settings > Device Maintenance > Battery > Unmonitored Apps > +Add apps > Tesla > Done


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## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

@gravityrydr said:


> UPDATE: Lenovo finally pushed the Android 8.1 Oreo update to the Moto G5+ after a year and a half of waiting.


Aw man. My g6 is still on 8.0.0.


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## PNWmisty (Aug 19, 2017)

garsh said:


> Aw man. My g6 is still on 8.0.0.


I just checked my Samsung S8+. It says 8.0.0.

This might be a stupid question, [STUPID_Q] why does it matter? My phone has been working perfectly and the battery life is great. The one thing I would like to be different is the minimum volume level on notifications doesn't go low enough for my liking. Would this be better if I was upgraded to 8.1? What is the big advantage of 8.1 over 8.0.0?[/STUPID_Q]


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## Jay79 (Aug 18, 2018)

KarenRei said:


> How do you set a phone to ignore an app?


The Samsung phone monitors all the apps and puts them to sleep to conserve the battery. I go to the App Power Monitor setting under the Battery Maintenance window and select the Unmonitored Apps function and add the Tesla App. Then I go into the Apps window on the phone and select the Tesla app once again and makes sure it has all permissions enabled. It also has a setting that says "Apps that can change system settings" I turn this on to ensure the Tesla App can do anything it needs to do without my phone getting in the way. It will probably be a similar procedure on other phones other than Samsung. I've never had the app fail me yet, going on two weeks and at least 100 entries into the car. Hope this helps!


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## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

PNWmisty said:


> why does it matter?


Because.... newest shiny!


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## Guy Weathersby (Jun 22, 2016)

John Slaby said:


> Had it for more than a month now and the Google Pixel 3 XL has been perfect. Opens any locked door and the trunk without taking it out of my pocket, and no need to take it out to drive. My previous Pixel 1 was hit or miss much of the time, and would only unlock the driver's side door.


Ditto on the Pixel 3 XL. Zero problems.


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## @gravityrydr (Apr 12, 2016)

garsh said:


> Aw man. My g6 is still on 8.0.0.


Been on 7.1 till now


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## Thunder7ga (May 15, 2018)

I have an iPhone 7, and it has been 99.9% functional. I believe in the 4 months I have owned the car, it didn't unlock the car properly twice, where I had to get out the key card.


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## Frully (Aug 30, 2018)

I only experience issues when my phone has been pocket-sleeping for some time. Door won't unlock with 'tap card' message...unlock phone with fingerprint waking it and immediately get car to work. 2x in 2 months I've had to use the airplane mode trick.


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## GDN (Oct 30, 2017)

I'll come back to this thread and post that my phone opens the door 100% of the time (both cars) if I have it in my hand when I approach the car. I typically carry it in my back pocket and that doesn't seem to work as well these days as it once did (can they adjust the sensitivity of the BLE receivers?) but if I'm holding it I never have an issue.


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## raptor (May 6, 2018)

I must admit, since the v9 release, things have been much more stable. Once in a blue moon, it doesn't detect my phone, but toggling BT fixes that (fairly sure it's a phone issue tho).


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## SR22pilot (Aug 16, 2018)

I had it not work tonight. Then I discovered that it only works on the car selected as active in the app. Doh!


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## MarkB (Mar 19, 2017)

Mine (iPhone X) has been great until the last few days - coincidentally since the update to 2018.44.2 3b2a5c3.

Three times in the previous 3 days I had to go to plan B. 

All other times, including all of today, it worked as expected.


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## NOGA$4ME (Sep 30, 2016)

What the hell! When I first got my 3, phone as key was horrible. Worked about 80% of the time (which maybe sounds good, but 1 fail out of every 5 attempts is not great!)

Then the app update with the persistent notification (which I immediately disabled) came along, as well as an update on the car, and suddenly the phone as key worked perfectly. 100% success rate for about 3 months.

And then suddenly about a week ago, at least once a day, I have to toggle airplane mode off/on (toggling BT alone won't do the trick). No app or car updates at all, although I did install a new app or two on my phone.

Now I will say this: I did just move offices and now I am probably just barely within Bluetooth range of my car most of the day, and the issue happens most often after work. I had even decided to NOT go the key fob route based on my wonderful experience over the last 3 months. Now, I'm reconsidering.


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## PNWmisty (Aug 19, 2017)

NOGA$4ME said:


> And then suddenly about a week ago, at least once a day, I have to toggle airplane mode off/on (toggling BT alone won't do the trick). No app or car updates at all, although I did install a new app or two on my phone.


Misbehaving phone apps can corrupt the phones Bluetooth stack. I suspect this is why a lot of phones don't work reliably even when the same model phone is known to work 100% of the time with other owners.

There are a lot of sloppy phone app programmers out there and none of the recent Model 3 firmware updates have caused our two phones to be anything but 100% reliable.


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## NOGA$4ME (Sep 30, 2016)

PNWmisty said:


> Misbehaving phone apps can corrupt the phones Bluetooth stack. I suspect this is why a lot of phones don't work reliably even when the same model phone is known to work 100% of the time with other owners.
> 
> There are a lot of sloppy phone app programmers out there and none of the recent Model 3 firmware updates have caused our two phones to be anything but 100% reliable.


Yep. And while it's doubtful it's one of the new apps I installed (basically a simple game which likely is not using BT at all), it could also be an update to some other app. Either way, it just shows what a bad idea it is to implement something with Bluetooth that has to run on a piece of 3rd party hardware that runs who knows what other software.

I don't know a ton about the architecture of the Bluetooth stack or the base OS, but I'm wondering if the Bluetooth interface should be virtualized in such a way that the OS ultimately manages the actual Bluetooth radio and each individual app only connects to a virtual Bluetooth interface that can be shut down at will by the OS in the case of a misbehaving app, so as not to bring down the entire system for the whole device. It's probably likely the original developers of Bluetooth never envisioned such a mission critical use case for Bluetooth.


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