Technology is great until it isn't

[Ottoman]

Word of caution to everyone:

I've had my R1T for about 6 weeks or so now and has been great for the most part until today:

2 weeks ago I was in Sequoia (350 miles from home)
last week I was in San Diego (150 miles from home)

both times everything was great.

Back at work today just like any other Monday, in the late afternoon I open my Rivian app to check something and I see an error message that my phone key was unpaired!?!

I was locked out of my vehicle with no way in. I had to find my way home(luckily my house key was in my work bag and not the car), and then get the spare car key from the house and come all the way back to work to repair my phone and rescue my truck!

Had this happened the prior 2 weekends while I was 100's of miles from home like in a national park away from civilization I don't know what I would have done! what a disaster that could of been!

Now I'm paranoid, I put the credit card key in my wallet, but there are times where my wallet might still be in my Truck and not necessarily on my person.


the phone key was awesome and I used to wax poetic about it, now I'm a little worried to put my faith in it.

How reliable is the Phone as key technology?

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[C12farmer]

What kind of phone do you have?

Could Rivian customer support remotely open the door, after you verify your identify of course? Not sure that helps you start up the car or not.

 

[djsider2]

credit card key in my wallet

I work in Tech and I had the card in my wallet on day 1. So many things can happen physically or mentally to the phone or app.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Only saw this happen when Rivian had a bug in their backend that affected everyone. As long as you didn't open the app, the phone as key would still continue to work.

That said, Rivian service will typically assist you with remotely unlocking the vehicle if they can. I haven't had it happen yet since I always carry a card or have the wristband. A dead phone battery or broken phone could otherwise mean being locked out.

 

[tate16t]

Always carry the card with you. This is a must with any EV.

 

[RandomMcRandomFace]

I work in Tech and I had the card in my wallet on day 1. So many things can happen physically or mentally to the phone or app.

Agree. Not having the keycard as a back up is insane. That’s why it is a card. Easy to carry. I did the same with my model y. Needed it a few times with each car (usually to “start” it not unlock it).

 

[Rainman]

It has never happened to me (11 months). I still have the card key in my wallet

 

[Zoidz]

PAAK has been very reliable for me. I have carried the card in my wallet since day 1.

 

[jeeden]

Yep having the key card is what you need to do. I also would never leave the wallet in the car anyway because the possibility of theft. Even if I had a car with a traditional key fob and no mobile app I would still carry the key card in my wallet on me If the car had one

 

[SwampNut]

Always carry the card with you. This is a must with any EV.

No, not true. Tesla has multiple ways to solve the problem. Hopefully one day this makes it to Rivian. I've never carried the card, and often just don't bother with a wallet at all. But maybe now I will, dunno.

As to OP, I work in tech, and have seen a lot more issues with Androids being used as cards/keys, particularly the non-mainstream ones or older phones. What phone? And could this have coincided with an update?

 

[tate16t]

No, not true. Tesla has multiple ways to solve the problem. Hopefully one day this makes it to Rivian. I've never carried the card, and often just don't bother with a wallet at all. But maybe now I will, dunno.

As to OP, I work in tech, and have seen a lot more issues with Androids being used as cards/keys, particularly the non-mainstream ones or older phones. What phone? And could this have coincided with an update?

Can you expand on the multi ways Tesla solves this? I have a Tesla which is why I’m curious about it.

 

[jjswan33]

I mean completely disregard the potential for Rivian technical issues. People drop, lose or otherwise break phones all the time. Consider even a dead phone after a long hike or something.

I would never rely on PAAK only, as others have said above I always have a key card and usually the key fob with me

 

[SwampNut]

Can you expand on the multi ways Tesla solves this? I have a Tesla which is why I’m curious about it.

You can remote start the car either with another app/person, or via Tesla themselves. My wife was able to remote start it and let me drive, as a test, when I was in another city. You can call Tesla and have them start it after some authentication (I presume, didn't test it).

 

[TTedP]

Going from a fob in traditional car ownership to PAAK is something to get used to.

First two weeks of ownership, I had the same issue, the phone kept getting kicked out as a key. (iOS, and had all app and OS versions current)

Unpaired phone from vehicle, removed the app, reinstalled, repaired BT, did a soft reset on the Riv, and then applied the 2024.11.02 update. Haven't had an issue for 2 months now.

Which one of those worked? no idea. But I carry the card in my wallet as a backup.

 

[Redline]

PAAK has been very reliable for me. I have carried the card in my wallet since day 1.

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