# Connection comedy



## NightStorm (Aug 19, 2018)

Left work late yesterday and as I was walking up to my model 3 I used summon to back it out into the middle of the parking lot. Cold here in the Northeast and I appreciated the warm air coming out of the car as I removed my winter coat, placed it the back seat and followed with my backpack plus laptop on the floor behind the driver seat. Got in, buckled up, and looked at the display: an animation was prompting me to tap a key card on the center console to drive. Huh? My phone is connected, right? Tried "Flash" and "Honk" on the app, both worked. Tried an app restart, then both a phone and a car reboot but still no go. I obstinately wanted to solve this and perhaps also avoiding getting out of the car to get my wallet with keycard out of the backpack still behind the drivers seat. However, a car shows up and I'm still positioned in the middle of the parking lot blocking the way. The comedy part: sitting in the driver's seat I used summon to slowly creep the car back into the parking spot and let the other driver pass behind me.

Never did figure out what was going on, gave up and retrieved my key card.


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## Frully (Aug 30, 2018)

NightStorm said:


> Never did figure out what was going on, gave up and retrieved my key card.


I've had some definitely peculiar instances like this -- phone let me in the car, phone is playing music over the speakers...phone won't let me put it into drive.
I've always had luck with the airplane-mode-for-a-few-seconds trick. Seems to make the car give up the partial connection and reform a better one after your bluetooth comes back on.


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## JWardell (May 9, 2016)

I have some similar experiences but can’t comment on them yet...

BTW usually when you get a key card request it’s because some part of Bluetooth isn’t communicating correctly on your phone, usually fixed by turning phone’s BT off than back on


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## Ed Post (Sep 18, 2018)

JWardell said:


> BTW usually when you get a key card request it's because some part of Bluetooth isn't communicating correctly on your phone, usually fixed by turning phone's BT off than back on


You can have the app connected but still have the car not recognize the phone, because the app communicates over the cellular network and the key function is over BlueTooth.

My old phone (Samsung Note 4) was pretty bad at losing BlueTooth connection for no reason. The new Note 9 is much more reliable. But not TOTALLY reliable. That's why I bought a key fob. Much easier to reach into my pocket and squeeze the fob than root through my wallet for the card.


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## Frully (Aug 30, 2018)

Ed Post said:


> You can have the app connected but still have the car not recognize the phone, because the app communicates over the cellular network and the key function is over BlueTooth.


Only half true. Some of the controls that are on the main screen of the app are bluetooth key compatible (unlock, frunk lid) and work even with your mobile and wifi networks turned off so long as BT key is connected.
Climate on home screen is WAN as you mention.


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## Midnit3 (Oct 8, 2017)

*Happed to me twice but the airplane mode has worked each time quickly.*


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## PaulK (Oct 2, 2017)

Recently, I’ve had an issue come up more often. Walk up and the car doesn’t unlock right away. 

iPhone 7. Not often, but sometimes I’ll pull the handle and nothing (screen comes on with graphic suggesting waving the key card). 

I have found that if I just stand there, with the handle pulled out, it will finally unlock and pop open after some time (maybe 10-20 seconds).


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## Nautilus (Oct 10, 2018)

PaulK said:


> Recently, I've had an issue come up more often. Walk up and the car doesn't unlock right away.
> 
> iPhone 7. Not often, but sometimes I'll pull the handle and nothing (screen comes on with graphic suggesting waving the key card).
> 
> I have found that if I just stand there, with the handle pulled out, it will finally unlock and pop open after some time (maybe 10-20 seconds).


I have a Samsung Galaxy S7. I typically have my phone in the right front pocket of my trousers, and open the driver's door with my left hand. If I'm facing toward the rear of the car when I do this (i.e. the phone is further away from the car), which happens if I approach the car from the front, I have the same issue. If I pivot to face the front of the car such that my right trouser pocket is closer to the car, it then recognizes the presence of the phone. It's not like the Model S, which I'm told as you approach the car the door handles move outward so you can open the door. It seems the phone needs to be relatively close to the car. I'm OK with this.


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