I feel your pain!!! I've been embarrassed so many times with the car door not opening with my cell phone until i fumbled around with it for a few seconds or even minute! If I had my hands full with groceries or something else, then, forget it! I finally gave in and bought the keyfob from eBay (still, original Tesla part but used and in great condition) and it works 100% of the time, I just carry it in my pocket. There are also times when I just don't want to lug my cell phone with me in my pocket so I leave it in the car (bluetooth off, of course) and just carry the keyfob with me. So convenient!
Dude, thank you so much for this video. I have the same issue with my phone all the time. It makes me want to sell my car it is so frustrating. I am going to pull the trigger on the fob. Thanks again.
I thought I was the only one with the phone issues! I have an iPhone 11 Pro so it’s a pretty new phone. I walk up and about 20% of the time it works, but 80% of the time I either open the app and unlock from there or take out the key card and scan it. Very frustrating!! I got my key fob and love it!!
I use my iPhone as my main key and keep a key card in my wallet as a backup. On the smart phone front, I do find that I have to have the phone unlocked before the car will unlock perfectly and when it's locked in my pocket, it seems to only work 50% of the time. That said, I have no interest in the passive key fob because that would be one more thing in my pockets to carry and I'm already used to not carting around a key ring with me thanks to my Model 3. It's an interesting middle ground but I can't imagine it's comfortable walking around / sitting with a Hot Wheel in my pants pocket.
The gag @1:17-1:37 would have really profited from some Merrie Melody/Looney Tunes music, even though it is pretty funny on it's own~ I am glad that you leave these scenes in the video, Alex; they were a riot of fun to watch~ Oh, and of course, your video was very educational~
Of all the model 3 key fob videos on RU-vid, yours was the best. I wanted to see how reliable is this key fob for passive entry into the model 3 and you’ve answered it. I will order one for my 2023 Model 3.
Awesome job, Alex. Well done and witty. Just ordered my key fob. Been spoiled by other key fobs and NOT having to dive into pocket each time, especially when hands are full. BTW, with the phone (Android), I've found that if i have the phone in my back pocket i need to turn a bit so the RF can connect and also, if i then pull on the handle a couple of times it will open - almost w/o fail.
You're lucky. After 2 years and 45,000mi in the Model 3, about 15% of time I can open the door but not start the car. At least you can get in if it's raining but you'll need to take out the keycard to drive off. It's frustrating but thankfully doesn't happen the majority of the time.
It's probably more related to the phone's power settings like whether it lets bluetooth fall asleep. My S9 just requires me to unlock. In any case, I'll probably get the fob, just because I gotta carry around my house key on something anyways.
Great Video, Tesla has cheaped out by not providing a key fob like almost every other car on the market. How simple just to carry a proximity FOB in your pocket or purse that WORKS all the time. The only thing the FOB needs is a hole or ring to attach other keys without buying a cover with a key ring on it.
Most people with iPhone that have issues just have wrong settings for the Tesla app. Make sure Location is set to Always. Bluetooth and Background app refresh are ON. Also don’t force close your Tesla app. In fact, you don’t need to force close any app on the iphone unless it’s having problems.
Thanks for the video. I’m about to order a fob. My iPhone is usually 95% reliable with getting into the car, but I’d like to have the fob for those times when I quickly need to run out to my car, then I won’t first need to go grab my phone. Also, often my wife and kids get to the care way before me while I’m locking the house, with the fob I can quickly unlock the car for them. Right now they have to wait for me to get close enough to the car before they can get in. A bit of a pain especially in rainy weather. Thanks again for the video 👊🏻 PS. I really hope the range works from my front door to my car.
These people don't get what a proimity fob is supposed to do. its should NOT work unless you are right next to the door or trunk of the car. The EXACT door or trunk you are standing next to otherwise its a security hole. Its also the reason that real cars have a button on the door handle so you can CHOOSE if the car should lock or unlock at that point. Just because I walk near or away from my car doesn't mean I want it locked or unlocked. Tesla loves fixing problems that don't exist. The new passive fob is OK, but its not good for making sure your car is locked when you are near it. It does however allow you to easily allow more than one person to sare the car without a stupid phone keys. I don't mind the keycard backup, but why is there no holder for it in the car? there should be a slot it goes into. But the codepad on the mustang mach-e is better agin because you need NOTHING with you as a backup.
Ah, thanks for this information on the Fob controller. I have an old android phone and set to a very low data plan which is fantastic for me. So that said, I do not want to go to cellular mode with my phone and increase my monthly bills. The Fob would be a good one time buy option along with the Tesla cards. Also you show the tesla app is not all that reliable for some which my older Android may fall into that category. Thanks and take care.
Like you, we have more than 1 tesla. My greatest frustration is using the phone app in this setting. You must have the correct car preselected in the app. 1st world problem I know. I loved the fob on my Model S, but not worth $150 for convenience yet.
Yeah, making sure the correct car is selected can be annoying as well. Thankfully, you can have the Powerwall selected in the app and it'll still unlock the car you had selected most recently... so it's not as bad as it could be.
"Does my Key Fob have Passive Entry? Key fobs with the TESLA logo printed on the flat side have the passive locking and unlocking functionality. Key fobs with the MODEL 3 logo printed on the flat side cannot passively lock and unlock your vehicle." So which do they currently sell?
Great video. Very informative. I do want to know....you said it’s been working for you but have you ever had to take it out and manually unlock the car with the fob?
Awesome video, Alex! I didn’t know that the key fob had a proximity detector. I thought that you had to physically push the button. If you open your car with the entry card, you do not have to place it on the center console if you start driving within a short time period. You can actually leave it in your wallet the entire time.
The original key fob for the Model 3 didn't support passive entry, which was pretty silly. Tesla launched a new version of the key fob last year that does support passive entry and it's now the only one they sell. I forgot to mention that detail about the key card, yes, but doing almost anything other than immediately getting into the car and pressing the brake will usually run the timer out.
I have the same issue. The Phone Key doesn't work very well with my Samsung Flip 4 and still asks me to put the key on the Center Console most of the time. This is very inconvenient and makes the Phone key mostly useless to me. I am hoping this Now $175 Dollar Key Fob is worth it and I don't have to hold it up to the Pillar.
No, you can leave the fob in your pocket. The only time you need to place it on the center console is when you're first pairing the new fob to your car.
For some reason I can’t even set up phone key for my iPhone 13 Pro to my car. It keeps saying “Could not find vehicle. Please move closer to your vehicle.” It’s so frustrating, since I am inside the car. Any idea what to do?
Oddly enough, automatic proximity unlocking with the phone seems to work less reliably when my car and phone are connected to one particular WiFi network, which has some weird and hard to diagnose connectivity issues. I have not experienced any issues so far when not connected to this particular network.
About the price... it is the most affordable Key fobs I have seen! As most key fobs seem to be around $175 like Ford's and some of them like Toyota's being around $500...
Oh, absolutely. Replacing BMW or Mercedes keys isn't cheap. I think I actually spent more to get a replacement key for my old M Roadster and that was just a regular key (no proximity or even remote lock/unlock).
Hi Alex, I have exactly the same problem as you do. My phone is in my right side pocket. For me what works is twisting my body a bit to put the right side pocket a bit more towards the door and the front of the car. Then it usually opens. Opening the rear doors is almost always a no go for me. Unless I like really stretch over to put my right pocket against the front door.
Alex, can you unlock the charger with it? I always have to open a car door first to get the car to wake up before I can remove the charge cable. Thanks
If the car is awake, then you can unlock and remove the cable with the key fob in your pocket just like the phone key. If the car is asleep, just like the phone key, pressing the button to release the charge cable seems to do nothing.
Hi Alex, thank you for the video. I bought one of the few standard range model Y a week ago. I don't like the passive entry. I want to have to press a button to unlock the car. Can you do that with this remote control?. My question is, can you set it up so you have to press the key fob to open the car? (I go to a supermarket in a not so safe neighborhood and I am not confortable hoping the car gets looked while I have my back on it while returning the cart). I want to unlock when I am about to open the door and lock it the second I step out of the car.
The first generation Model 3 fob doesn't support passive entry, so it could do what you want. This version of the fob, on the other hand, does operate passively. That said, you can press the top of the fob and lock the car immediately. I recall there being an option in vehicle settings to disable passive entry in my Model S, but there doesn't appear to be such a setting in the Model 3/Y user interface.
Hi Alex, does long pressing the fob unlock the car and roll the windows down like most cars? And roll the windows up when locking? Is there a way to reduce the range? I wonder if it would remain unlocked if you park very close to your home...
Tesla does not provide window control via the keyfob on any of their cars. I do recall a brief period from around 2012-2013 where there was limited window control via the fob, but a software change removed the functionality. You can, however, control the windows from the Tesla phone app. As for the fob range, it's significantly impacted by barriers. Parking my Model 3 in my garage right near the doorway and moving the key into the house, the range appears to drop to 3-4m or so.
@@AlexVenz thanks! I saw the app has the vent function that opens the windows just a bit. Can they be fully opened and closed? One advantage of frameless doors is that they make it easier to get in and out of the car in narrow parking spots with the window down, but not being able to roll it up afterwards defeats the point.
You can partially open the windows and fully close the windows via the app (if the windows are open, the app's vent button turns into a close button). As for tight parking spaces, arguably, that's what basic summon is for (get out, then have basic summon pull the car forward a couple meters into the parking spot).
My Android Phone (a more rare thing of an german company called Shift) Works around 80% of the time. But the last software Update (from the Phone) did make it a little bit worse somehow. Maybe the next one will fix it again.
Seems to last somewhere in the ballpark of 6 months or so. The more conventional fob that my old Model S came with could last over a year on a single battery.
PIN to drive is an additional security feature that can be enabled which allows the owner to set a numeric code that has to be entered on the touch screen in order for the car to engage drive mode.
Well, local mask ordinances were different early last year, I had just exited a grocery store, and I'm not in the habit of stripping my mask off the second I exit a building because it just isn't a high priority for me--I take it off when I get around to it.
