Digital Key, What are Your Impressions?

[cdement]

I’ve owned the R1s since July and neither me or my wife have ever had an issue with the PAAK. This version and the previous version have always worked great. iPhone 16 pro and iPhone 16 plus. The newer digital key seems slightly faster at about 1-2 steps away but I’ve never gotten to the door and had to wait.

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[hammick]

In my original post one of my questions was how do you unlock your vehicle when parked at you selected “home” location if you have proximity set to “lock at home only”? Currently using BT, I‘m forced to use the App or a card key. Obviously this prevents the vehicle from unlocking every time I come close to it with my phone. This is obviously preferred. How do you unlock with the DK?

With digital key on our G2 I can walk up to the car in the garage and press the indent on the driver‘s door handle when I’m wearing my Apple Watch or have my phone and it will unlock. This has allowed us to keep the lock only at home option enabled so we don’t bump into the handles when walking by and it works great. Car locks the second I enter the kitchen every time. UWB is accurate to the inch. Brilliant tech.

 

[BTOR]

With digital key on our G2 I can walk up to the car in the garage and press the indent on the driver‘s door handle when I’m wearing my Apple Watch or have my phone and it will unlock. This has allowed us to keep the lock only at home option enabled so we don’t bump into the handles when walking by and it works great. Car locks the second I enter the kitchen every time. UWB is accurate to the inch. Brilliant tech.

I think this answered my question. You unlock the vehicle at home when the DK is active and you have "lock at home only" enabled in the proximity settings by touching the indent on the drivers door handle? Otherwise, the vehicle always stays locked when you have your phone and are in close proximity to it. Is this correct? Like you, it's a tight space in our garage and we don't want to be bumping in to the mirrors or door handles when walking past the vehicle.

 

[hammick]

I think this answered my question. You unlock the vehicle at home when the DK is active and you have "lock at home only" enabled in the proximity settings by touching the indent on the drivers door handle? Otherwise, the vehicle always stays locked when you have your phone and are in close proximity to it. Is this correct? Like you, it's a tight space in our garage and we don't want to be bumping in to the mirrors or door handles when walking past the vehicle.

Yep exactly

 

[Weck]

Only bug I've noticed so far is when you disable proximity locking from the center screen.

At our cabin I need to disable it otherwise it's constantly locking/unlocking due to being close to the house. Unfortunately if proximity is disabled, it then thinks my phone is my wife's phone since I shared a key with her. As soon as I toggle proximity back on, it goes back to normal. I put feedback in noting the bug, hopefully they will have it fixed next update.

 

[badger4149]

Rivian finally pushed me the .46.30 update. I now have the digital key option. Before I decide whether or not to implement, I wanted to hear back from folks who have been using it for a few weeks on their Rivian and their first hand experience between the BT App and the Digital Key.

From what I understand, once you implement it, you lose the BT App lock/unlock feature. Are there other BT App features lost when the DK is enabled (like crack windows, open hood and tail gates, etc.)? Are the Rivian settings for "home proximity" still functioning the same (for example, lock only, do not unlock when at home). If so, how do you unlock when you are at home with the DK? Currently, I open the App and unlock the vehicle or I use a card key. Without the BT App function, is my only option to use the card key at home or do I have to open my phone wallet and select the digital key?

It seems to me the only advantage to the digital key is if your phone battery goes dead, you can still use your phone to operate the vehicle. Close to 30 years carrying a mobile device and I have never had a dead phone battery . This is just not a concern of mine. The proximity unlock with the BT app is a bit sluggish or doesn't work well if your phone is blocked (like in your back pocket) but honestly, that is so low on my concern list, it really isn't an issue for me.

I would say my number one gripe with the BT App is when I'm parked and away from home. The vehicle will continually lock/unlock each time I get within BT range. Even when the App is not open. I have a few situations where this happens and it does get annoying.

Thank you in advance for your opinions and comments!

After the initial .46 release and after going to digital key, I did lose the app remote functions (I am a Samsung user). This has been fixed with the newest .46 patch, but I see no improvement in proximity functionality from the original phone key.

Adventure on!

 

[eddysales001]

Rivian finally pushed me the .46.30 update. I now have the digital key option. Before I decide whether or not to implement, I wanted to hear back from folks who have been using it for a few weeks on their Rivian and their first hand experience between the BT App and the Digital Key.

From what I understand, once you implement it, you lose the BT App lock/unlock feature. Are there other BT App features lost when the DK is enabled (like crack windows, open hood and tail gates, etc.)? Are the Rivian settings for "home proximity" still functioning the same (for example, lock only, do not unlock when at home). If so, how do you unlock when you are at home with the DK? Currently, I open the App and unlock the vehicle or I use a card key. Without the BT App function, is my only option to use the card key at home or do I have to open my phone wallet and select the digital key?

It seems to me the only advantage to the digital key is if your phone battery goes dead, you can still use your phone to operate the vehicle. Close to 30 years carrying a mobile device and I have never had a dead phone battery . This is just not a concern of mine. The proximity unlock with the BT app is a bit sluggish or doesn't work well if your phone is blocked (like in your back pocket) but honestly, that is so low on my concern list, it really isn't an issue for me.

I would say my number one gripe with the BT App is when I'm parked and away from home. The vehicle will continually lock/unlock each time I get within BT range. Even when the App is not open. I have a few situations where this happens and it does get annoying.

Thank you in advance for your opinions and comments!

I still don’t understand all of the functionality I have unlock disabled at home. I have an iPhone and Apple Watch so I am not sure what is allowing this but when I go out to my vehicle in the driveway I slightly depress the drivers side handle with one finger the car unlocks. I don’t see this use case described in any of the release notes but I think I read it in a forum and so I decided to try it and it works. Not sure if it’s because my phone is in my pocket or my Apple Watch is on my wrist

when I am not at home the car now unlocks reliable as I approach it. All my Bluetooth keys have been removed.

 

[FraserC]

Do any of you know if the proximity can be adjusted? As in from whatever the default is to minus 10 feet? If it's adjustable I'd like it to lock/unlock from a pretty close distance...

 

[hudesigns]

Here are my preferred methods of locking/unlocking:

1. Don’t like proximity, so it’s always disabled.
2. Don’t like getting iPhone out to unlock every time.
3. Only use “touch dimple” on handle to unlock.

Unfortunately my R1S’s response is unpredictable depending on how deep it’s sleeping. When parked in garage for couple of days, touching handle never works — always need to get iPhone out, find digital key and tap on “unlock” button.

 

[hammick]

Do any of you know if the proximity can be adjusted? As in from whatever the default is to minus 10 feet? If it's adjustable I'd like it to lock/unlock from a pretty close distance...

Ours seems to be roughly 5 feet. Works perfect every time.

 

[Weck]

Ours seems to be roughly 5 feet. Works perfect every time.

I wish mine was only 5 feet.... At my cabin, which is a relatively radio quiet area, it sees me at 15 feet, or more sometimes, and unlocks. Locking I've noticed is can take 20 plus feet or more, even in the city.

 

[SkiLizardHead2]

I think this answered my question. You unlock the vehicle at home when the DK is active and you have "lock at home only" enabled in the proximity settings by touching the indent on the drivers door handle? Otherwise, the vehicle always stays locked when you have your phone and are in close proximity to it. Is this correct? Like you, it's a tight space in our garage and we don't want to be bumping in to the mirrors or door handles when walking past the vehicle.

Agree with many posts that digital key is a significant improvement over BT. I believe there may be enhanced security with UWB implementation for Digital Key. One issue that has not been discussed in this thread is the fact that once implemented on your phone you can lock yourself out of your R1 if your phone is left in the vehicle, you walk away - the R1 can lock - which was reported in another thread.The work around is have your backup key card on you or have a supported watch that you wear all the time. For folks without a watch (my wife) they have make sure to keep the key card as backup.
i confirmed the issue by walking away with my phone in the R1 - and the R1 locked. My apple watch unlocked my R1 once i walked within a few feet.
I personally believe Rivian should fix the issue by implementing a use case of not letting R1 lock with a phone in vehicle, but in the meantime my wife and I have a backup available on our person at all times!

 

[JacobAZ]

There appears to be a bit of confusion on this topic, the components involved and each role. Bluetooth and UWB are communication methods, each of which require a different special chip (which is why Gen 1 does not have UWB). The digital key is what gets communicated to lock/unlock the R1. It can be communicated via Bluetooth or UWB. Many Samsung phones do not support UWB (my wife's for example Galaxy S23). So, you can still create the digital key, and it gets communicated via Bluetooth. NOTE: There is a switch on the phone app under security to allow bluetooth phone without UWB. However, only the R1 "owner" can turn this on/off, not a "driver". Rivian has always used "digital keys" but each key was uniquely tied to a key card and a Rivian account and was stored with the Rivian phone app. Now there is one digital key for the vehicle which is portable and can be shared with multiple phones (no key card or Rivian account required). However, this creates a new layer, the digital key has to be stored in a safe location. The standard on cell phones is the "wallet". A generic term and standard for Samsung Wallet, Google wallet, etc.

So, in the new process, the wallet and Rivian phone app work together, using either UWB, if you have it, or Bluetooth to communicate to the R1.

 

[avassigh]

Rivian finally pushed me the .46.30 update. I now have the digital key option. Before I decide whether or not to implement, I wanted to hear back from folks who have been using it for a few weeks on their Rivian and their first hand experience between the BT App and the Digital Key.

From what I understand, once you implement it, you lose the BT App lock/unlock feature. Are there other BT App features lost when the DK is enabled (like crack windows, open hood and tail gates, etc.)? Are the Rivian settings for "home proximity" still functioning the same (for example, lock only, do not unlock when at home). If so, how do you unlock when you are at home with the DK? Currently, I open the App and unlock the vehicle or I use a card key. Without the BT App function, is my only option to use the card key at home or do I have to open my phone wallet and select the digital key?

It seems to me the only advantage to the digital key is if your phone battery goes dead, you can still use your phone to operate the vehicle. Close to 30 years carrying a mobile device and I have never had a dead phone battery . This is just not a concern of mine. The proximity unlock with the BT app is a bit sluggish or doesn't work well if your phone is blocked (like in your back pocket) but honestly, that is so low on my concern list, it really isn't an issue for me.

I would say my number one gripe with the BT App is when I'm parked and away from home. The vehicle will continually lock/unlock each time I get within BT range. Even when the App is not open. I have a few situations where this happens and it does get annoying.

Thank you in advance for your opinions and comments!

The new digital key works very well for me. Also, within Settings, there is a toggle to turn BT on/off.

 

[hammick]

Agree with many posts that digital key is a significant improvement over BT. I believe there may be enhanced security with UWB implementation for Digital Key. One issue that has not been discussed in this thread is the fact that once implemented on your phone you can lock yourself out of your R1 if your phone is left in the vehicle, you walk away - the R1 can lock - which was reported in another thread.The work around is have your backup key card on you or have a supported watch that you wear all the time. For folks without a watch (my wife) they have make sure to keep the key card as backup.
i confirmed the issue by walking away with my phone in the R1 - and the R1 locked. My apple watch unlocked my R1 once i walked within a few feet.
I personally believe Rivian should fix the issue by implementing a use case of not letting R1 lock with a phone in vehicle, but in the meantime my wife and I have a backup available on our person at all times!

I tested this today with our G2 and it did not lock when I left my iPhone in the car but had my Apple Watch on me. I even turned the iPhone off left it in the car and the truck would not lock. I’m gonna do some more testing tomorrow. I would like to be able to leave my iPhone in the truck and have it lock. My Apple Watch is cellular and I often don’t take my phone with me.

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