Unlocking the car at home is maddening

[SoCal Rob]

I have a Gen1. So yeah, I can't take advantage of those things you describe are present on Gen2 vehicles.

But at least Gen1 comes with a FOB, so I can use that. Digging out the fob from my pocket and pressing it's button seems less cumbersome than pulling out the phone and fumbling to unlock the phone, open the app, press the unlock button in the app. And I have Pixel phone, so I can't use "action button" like exists on iphone, and to my knowledge there's no way to setup a voice command on android to unlock the rivian. If there is a way, I'd like to be informed.

I have a Gen 1, too, and using the fob feels like a step backwards to me.

Even having to change batteries in it seems like a miss. Our 2006 Land Rover LR3 had a switchblade style key in the fob and the vehicle recharged the fob’s battery while it was in the ignition and the vehicle was running. I wish Rivian made the fobs recharge on the charging mat.

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[tjrivian]

I have a Gen 1, too, and using the fob feels like a step backwards to me.

Agreed, but if I'm already resigned to carrying the fob anyway(due to problems with proximity-unlock set to OFF at home), then paak is fairly pointless.

 

[SoCal Rob]

Agreed, but if I'm already resigned to carrying the fob anyway(due to problems with proximity-unlock set to OFF at home), then paak is fairly pointless.

Have you considered the wristband? At least you don’t have to take anything out of your pocket and you have to put your hand there anyway to open it. I know one of the members here had their access card made into a ring.

Do you wear a smart watch and is there an app for it? I use WaaKey on my Apple Watch otherwise I’d probably be as frustrated as you are.

 

[tjrivian]

Have you considered the wristband? At least you don’t have to take anything out of your pocket and you have to put your hand there anyway to open it. I know one of the members here had their access card made into a ring.

Do you wear a smart watch and is there an app for it? I use WaaKey on my Apple Watch otherwise I’d probably be as frustrated as you are.

Cursory google searching seems to indicate wristband is no longer available.

I don't wear a smart watch. I could be convinced to wear one, but it would have to be android since I don't use an iphone. But I'm curious - how does WaaKey actually help in the "at home with proximity-unlocking OFF" scenario? Don't you still have to monkey with the watch to open the rivian app to press the unlock button? I guess that's better than digging your phone out of your pocket, but only slightly.

 

[Goose]

I understand what you’re asking since traditional DC motors act as generators when moved externally. So moving the handle should generate a measurable amount of power.

I need a diagram of the mechanism in Gen 1 door handles but to me it feels like the motor which extends the door handles isn’t engaged when you manually pull the handle. It seems like the motor moves the internal handle stop to change the inward motion limit of the door handle. The last bit of movement, the distance it takes to unlatch the Gen 1 door, is purely mechanical.

Even if pulling the handle outward does engage a motor, we need an electrical engineer to weigh in on the likelihood of Rivian having the ability to read the motor movement and pass that along to other systems.

I think I see the missing link in our conversation. What I mean is to operate the door handle like a Tesla. The handles remain flush, but the resistance is reduced so it's easier to push the short corner and lever the longer side up, grab, and pull. That "push" on the short end is the trigger for the trucks to search for the key.

 

[kenyee]

OP: Curious what kind of phone you have?
AFAIK, the Gen2 really wants a phone with UWB support.

 

[SoCal Rob]

Cursory google searching seems to indicate wristband is no longer available.

I don't wear a smart watch. I could be convinced to wear one, but it would have to be android since I don't use an iphone. But I'm curious - how does WaaKey actually help in the "at home with proximity-unlocking OFF" scenario? Don't you still have to monkey with the watch to open the rivian app to press the unlock button? I guess that's better than digging your phone out of your pocket, but only slightly.

Wristbands have been purchased online, and I think they can be added to the vehicle from the app.

Yes, I have the WaaKey app on my watch because at home I have both proximity unlocking and locking OFF. I added it as a complication on my watch face, so I rotate my wrist to view the watch face, tap the complication (which shows the Rivian‘s battery SoC), and tap unlock or lock from the app:

Of course it’s not as simple as just touching something on the door handle, but it seems like the best option for me.

 

[SoCal Rob]

I think I see the missing link in our conversation. What I mean is to operate the door handle like a Tesla. The handles remain flush, but the resistance is reduced so it's easier to push the short corner and lever the longer side up, grab, and pull. That "push" on the short end is the trigger for the trucks to search for the key.

No, I understand what you mean. I’m doing my best to explain that the handle on the Gen 1 doesn’t engage directly with a motor based upon the way the handle acts. Sorry, I’m good at understanding the way things work but I don’t always do a great job putting that into words.

I usually try to explain unusual things in terms of familiar things. I’m going to try that but it’s not a perfect description since in the Rivian the handle stop motor appears to be acting on part of the door handle which is buried inside the door and not the part of the door handle we can see and touch.

Imagine a bedroom door in your home with a 4” door stop to keep it parallel with the wall (like the door handle is parallel to the Rivian’s body). You can pull the bedroom door away from the wall without moving the door stop, but you cannot move it closer to the wall without breaking something.

Now, add a door closer spring to the bedroom door so it always wants to rest against the door stop. (This is what you feel when the Rivian doors are locked and you manually push/pull out the handle.)

If you had a motor which could make the door stop 4” longer than the 4” it was, it would push the bedroom door away from the wall to 8” (like the Rivian door handle extends away from the side of the door).

Now the bedroom door cannot go closer to the wall than 8” without breaking something (just as you cannot push the extended Rivian handles in). On the other hand, you could still pull the door further away from the wall to 9” or more (just as you can pull the Rivian door handle).

Now, use the motor to take the bedroom door stop back to 4” (Rivian handles closed). Pulling the bedroom door away from the door stop doesn’t make the door stop get longer. It stays at 4” and the motor doesn’t move. (Pulling the closed Rivian handle out moves part of the handle away from the stop, but doesn’t affect the stop or attached motor)

Finally, add a mechanism which is operated when you pull the bedroom door from 8” to 10” away from the wall (the latch mechanism to unlatch the Rivian’s door) and a limiter which keeps the bedroom door from moving more than 10” from the wall so you don’t break the mechanism.

If that description helps at all, and I apologize if it doesn’t, try to imagine that concept and shrink it down to fit in a Rivian door handle assembly.

 

[tjrivian]

OP: Curious what kind of phone you have?
AFAIK, the Gen2 really wants a phone with UWB support.

I have a Pixel 9 Pro. But I also have a Gen1 R1S, so not sure if UWB matters or not.

 

[kenyee]

have a Pixel 9 Pro. But I also have a Gen1 R1S, so not sure if UWB matters or not.

Oops...forgot you had a Gen1.
Yep, I don't think it mattered in that version. AFAIK it was added for Gen2.
The Pixel 9 Pro also has UWB. I was wondering if you had a Samsung because they tend to be more aggressive than normal for killing off apps that "aren't being used" to save battery life.
Sorry...no suggestions from me

 

[tjrivian]

I'm starting to think that the best solution that requires me to never have to fish anything(phone or FOB) out of my pocket is to simply hang the FOB on a hook in the garage next to my garage door opener button. That way when I leave the house I can just press the garage door opener button to open my garage door and then press the unlock button on the FOB hanging next to it to unlock the car doors.

 

[sunrogue]

I experience this problem, too. I often find myself in remote areas with minimal cell signal. My theory is that rivian programmed the phone app to go through their servers, first, and if that fails, to use Bluetooth. However, online failure mode might suffer from a race condition, in that it times out on attempting to unlock before it times out on the server requests. Perhaps rivian engineers did not test in fuzzy conditions (not quite online, not quite offline).

To test this, I turned off cell and WiFi data. Only when the app says "offline mode" in a toast do I try to unlock. Then unlock seems to happen in a few seconds, but it is hard to test under consistent conditions, because I can't control the vehicle's sleep state.

I am not recommending this as a fix, but as a troubleshooting step. Do you experience the same thing?

If this configuration works broadly, perhaps we can convince rivian to unlock through Bluetooth first.

 

[akc5247]

I have the key fob/card and the app but prefer the fob.

However, using the fob to lock/unlock ALWAYS has a lag - always, while at home - because i have both lock/unlock OFF at home.

It is laughably slow (almost as slow as it takes for the HVAC controls to open once you press it on the touchscreen), but I have just made my peace with it.

 

[tjrivian]

I have the key fob/card and the app but prefer the fob.

However, using the fob to lock/unlock ALWAYS has a lag - always, while at home - because i have both lock/unlock OFF at home.

It is laughably slow (almost as slow as it takes for the HVAC controls to open once you press it on the touchscreen), but I have just made my peace with it.

Lag? You're saying that you press the unlock button on the FOB and it takes many seconds before the vehicle unlocks? I've just started using the FOB and haven't experienced that yet. I hope not to.

Having any lag between pressing a button on a car's key fob and the car executing that button press is completely unacceptable in 2025, especially on a $90k vehicle. It wouldn't have been acceptable 25 years ago on a $20k car, it most definitely is not acceptable today.

 

[akc5247]

Lag? You're saying that you press the unlock button on the FOB and it takes many seconds before the vehicle unlocks? I've just started using the FOB and haven't experienced that yet. I hope not to.

Having any lag between pressing a button on a car's key fob and the car executing that button press is completely unacceptable in 2025, especially on a $90k vehicle. It wouldn't have been acceptable 25 years ago on a $20k car, it most definitely is not acceptable today.

Yup, at least 2-3 seconds. And yes, this is after swapping the battery.

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