[yxc145]

Hi Guys

I was at the dealer today to have the windshield replaced. I asked if BMW had fixed the issue with the Digital Key on Andriod Phone. They told me BMW has discontinue to support it since not many Andriod users use it. Is that true?

[thenew3]

That is the same answer I got from BMWUSA genius last week when I asked them if they would update it to support newer phones. They said they have stopped development work on it for Android and have not added support for newer phones since mid 2019. I asked if they will update the app to show the same amount of info that the IOS app shows and they said no, development work on android has basically stopped.

[crackerjack15]

I have no clue on this subject, but bmw "geniuses" have been far from helpful to me. When my vehicle was in for service last time, I asked if they could update my software for Android auto. A genius told me my 2019 did not have the hardware to support android auto. Thats interesting, since the last over the air update, I have been using android auto every day.

[thenew3]

Originally Posted by crackerjack15

I have no clue on this subject, but bmw "geniuses" have been far from helpful to me. When my vehicle was in for service last time, I asked if they could update my software for Android auto. A genius told me my 2019 did not have the hardware to support android auto. Thats interesting, since the last over the air update, I have been using android auto every day.

Sounds like the genius at your dealership isn't doing his job and keeping up to date with the latest information.

[760Lifan]

I was at my dealership on Monday to (finally) have it activated and yes, I got the same answer. I have a Galaxy S9+ and was told that they (either Samsung or Android itself, I don't recall) breached the privacy agreement by - other than Apple - tracking the users and therefore, it would be no longer supported by BMW.

Honestly, though, my dealer showed me an even better solution!

I have this protective case on my phone. The link is for the S9+ but they also have it for other models (i.e. S10):

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07BDG48...ing=UTF8&psc=1

On the lower backside, I integrated the BMW Key Card between the phone and the case. I was a bit skeptical if this would work but after testing, I can now confirm that I have the "Digital Key" on my Android phone - LOL! Even better: This configuration also works when your phone is off or with an empty battery since the card is not tied to any App. So when approaching the vehicle, I tap the lower rear part of my phone against the driver door handle and it unlocks/locks. When I put it on the charging cradle, it charges the phone and lets me start the engine. As I said, all features the Digital Key App would give me.

Since I was using this case anyway, it's just perfect and I can only recommend it.

[Nath4n]

I'm wondering how they gonna justify this - breaching their agreement is not problem of a customer. I bought a car "with" this feature and i want to use it (even in the future).
At least in my country it was almost the main selling point for BMW during that time - leaving aside that "Android unlocks/iOS controls" nonsense.

The problem with these big companies is that there never stand up enough customers to kick their butts.

[760Lifan]

Originally Posted by Nath4n

I'm wondering how they gonna justify this - breaching their agreement is not problem of a customer. I bought a car "with" this feature and i want to use it (even in the future).

That's what I was thinking - but then, they could still make the claim that the feature is still there in form of the key card and if you want to use a phone, get an iPhone.

I got some documentation from my dealer and if I recall correctly, it even stated that you needed a vehicle built 07/2020 or newer in order to even use the iPhone. If that's the case, that would mean that I could not use any phone on my vehicle.

But as I said, the card-trick works for me...

[Nath4n]

Originally Posted by 760Lifan

That's what I was thinking - but then, they could still make the claim that the feature is still there in form of the key card and if you want to use a phone, get an iPhone.

It was advertised as DigitalKey which can be used via Android phone. (not "you can test it for us then f*ck off")

Originally Posted by 760Lifan

I got some documentation from my dealer and if I recall correctly, it even stated that you needed a vehicle built 07/2020 or newer in order to even use the iPhone. If that's the case, that would mean that I could not use any phone on my vehicle.

Yeah, i was about to say that after the first paragraph. It shouldn't be a HW issue.

Let's hope for this:
https://g05.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1742346

[yxc145]

Originally Posted by crackerjack15

I have no clue on this subject, but bmw "geniuses" have been far from helpful to me. When my vehicle was in for service last time, I asked if they could update my software for Android auto. A genius told me my 2019 did not have the hardware to support android auto. Thats interesting, since the last over the air update, I have been using android auto every day.

Yeah, I mentioned the update to have Andriod Auto to the service agent, he said don't believe everything I read on the forum. Then he had the genius talk to me. He said they will not perform update unless there is a problem with the car. Then mentioned any update will have to be performed by ourselves. I went home, checked for update and got it done on my own in 15 minutes. All I did was click buttons and few times and waited in the car. I can't believe they will not do this for the customer

[yxc145]

Originally Posted by 760Lifan

I was at my dealership on Monday to (finally) have it activated and yes, I got the same answer. I have a Galaxy S9+ and was told that they (either Samsung or Android itself, I don't recall) breached the privacy agreement by - other than Apple - tracking the users and therefore, it would be no longer supported by BMW.

Honestly, though, my dealer showed me an even better solution!

I have this protective case on my phone. The link is for the S9+ but they also have it for other models (i.e. S10):

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07BDG48...ing=UTF8&psc=1

On the lower backside, I integrated the BMW Key Card between the phone and the case. I was a bit skeptical if this would work but after testing, I can now confirm that I have the "Digital Key" on my Android phone - LOL! Even better: This configuration also works when your phone is off or with an empty battery since the card is not tied to any App. So when approaching the vehicle, I tap the lower rear part of my phone against the driver door handle and it unlocks/locks. When I put it on the charging cradle, it charges the phone and lets me start the engine. As I said, all features the Digital Key App would give me.

Since I was using this case anyway, it's just perfect and I can only recommend it.

I also tried it with my really thin TPU case. It did not work....

[760Lifan]

Originally Posted by yxc145

I also tried it with my really thin TPU case. It did not work....

Initially, it did not seem to work on mine, either.

First, I tried to unlock/lock by simply holding it to the door-handle and moving it slowly. That did not work, either.

However, when I was 'swinging' the lower rear part of my phone where the card is located towards the handle, it works pretty well, For some reason it works better when the card is approaching the handle fast.

Also, when I put my phone dead center on the cradle, the vehicle won't start. Obviously, I can't put the card dead center on the back of the phone since this would block the camera-lens, the fingerprint-reader and perhaps, the NFC- and wireless charging-feature of the phone itself so the card is all the way down towards the charging ports. This, however, means that I have to put the phone all the way to the left (with the front camera to the left) on the charging cradle so that the card is as close to the center of the cradle as possible. When I do that, the car starts every time. Again, with the phone in the middle, it does not.

I will make a short video tomorrow - maybe that helps a few members on here. The phone-housing I have is pretty thick so if it works for me, it should work for your case as well.

[760Lifan]

Originally Posted by 760Lifan

I will make a short video tomorrow - maybe that helps a few members on here.

Well, here we go.

First video shows me locking and unlocking the vehicle with the Key Card integrated into my phone-case:

https://youtu.be/svsqZYmgoIc

Second video shows the starting of the engine. First attempt is with phone off the charging-cradle which certainly does not work (I just wanted to demonstrate that I did not have a regular vehicle key on me). Then, I placed the phone on the cradle and it worked. FYI, the phone was off the entire time.

https://youtu.be/siurcYZE7LM

This image shows how thick the case is and that the Key Card is actually located under a little stand. I marked the spot where you can actually see the location of the black Key Card with red arrows and a line. You can see the black card on the blue phone:



I hope that helps...

[yxc145]

Originally Posted by 760Lifan

Well, here we go.

First video shows me locking and unlocking the vehicle with the Key Card integrated into my phone-case:

https://youtu.be/svsqZYmgoIc

Second video shows the starting of the engine. First attempt is with phone off the charging-cradle which certainly does not work (I just wanted to demonstrate that I did not have a regular vehicle key on me). Then, I placed the phone on the cradle and it worked. FYI, the phone was off the entire time.

https://youtu.be/siurcYZE7LM

This image shows how thick the case is and that the Key Card is actually located under a little stand. I marked the spot where you can actually see the location of the black Key Card with red arrows and a line. You can see the black card on the blue phone:



I hope that helps...

Thank you for the video. I will try again.

[Hejusnice]

Originally Posted by thenew3

Sounds like the genius at your dealership isn't doing his job and keeping up to date with the latest information.

Maybe you need to send them a link to this forum for support!

[Hejusnice]

Originally Posted by 760Lifan

I was at my dealership on Monday to (finally) have it activated and yes, I got the same answer. I have a Galaxy S9+ and was told that they (either Samsung or Android itself, I don't recall) breached the privacy agreement by - other than Apple - tracking the users and therefore, it would be no longer supported by BMW.

Honestly, though, my dealer showed me an even better solution!

I have this protective case on my phone. The link is for the S9+ but they also have it for other models (i.e. S10):

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07BDG48KP/ref=twister_B07CS1WMD2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

On the lower backside, I integrated the BMW Key Card between the phone and the case. I was a bit skeptical if this would work but after testing, I can now confirm that I have the "Digital Key" on my Android phone - LOL! Even better: This configuration also works when your phone is off or with an empty battery since the card is not tied to any App. So when approaching the vehicle, I tap the lower rear part of my phone against the driver door handle and it unlocks/locks. When I put it on the charging cradle, it charges the phone and lets me start the engine. As I said, all features the Digital Key App would give me.

Since I was using this case anyway, it's just perfect and I can only recommend it.

Genius!!