[dksha]

Apple just announced Apple CarKey for new BMWs. I know this X5 has the ability to read digital CarKey, wondering when we will be able to use it, or if BMW would make it available for us.

[Auricom]

Originally Posted by dksha

Apple just announced Apple CarKey for new BMWs. I know this X5 has the ability to read digital CarKey, wondering when we will be able to use it, or if BMW would make it available for us.

The feature is part of the newly revealed iOS 14, and it will work over NFC. The first car supported will be the new 2021 BMW 5 Series, which comes out next month, and Apple says its working on an industry-wide standard that would use its new U1 ultra wideband chip instead of relying solely on NFC.

Once you've paired your iPhone or Apple Watch with a car that supports CarKey, if you want to unlock your car, you'll just need to hold your Apple device near an NFC reader that's in your car (for example, in the car's door handle). You'll be asked to authenticate with Face ID or Touch ID before the car unlocks, or you can set up Express Mode to skip biometric authentication. You can also share access with others via iMessage. Apple says the feature will support iOS 13 as well.

Other carmakers already offer digital keys that have similar functionality, but they're separate apps, not baked directly into Apple's operating systems, with all of the advantages that can provide. Having a central place in iOS for car keys could also allow you to keep digital keys for multiple cars in one place.

Apple WWDC is this week, iOS 14 Public Beta is July and with GM release this fall.

[Wxnatscaps]

Here's BMW's official announcement. But what sucks is that its for cars/SAVs manufactured AFTER July 2020. That is a huge letdown by BMW.

https://www.bmw.com/en/innovation/bm...-key.html?bmw=

[Frenetic]

I guess my car isn’t compatible, which sucks if true.

The following vehicles built from July 2020 or later are compatible with the BMW Digital Key.

The 1
The 2
The 3
The 4
The 5
The 6
The 8
The X5
The X6
The X7
The M5
The M8
The X5 M
The X6 M
The following devices are compatible with BMW Digital Key: iPhone XR, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone SE (2nd generation) and Apple Watch Series 5. BMW Digital Key will require the upcoming iOS 13.6 and WatchOS 6.2.8

I don’t see a section in the app that says digital key.

To see whether your vehicle is compatible, you can use the BMW Connected App. Use your compatible iPhone to log into the app with your BMW ID and add your vehicle to your account. If you see a section marked “Digital Key” on the homepage, then your vehicle is compatible. You will still be able to use your digital key even if you uninstall the BMW app.

[timmahh]

Well shit.

[thereef510]

Originally Posted by timmahh

Well shit.

I was really hoping this would work on our builds. Sucks that they are pushing it to my21

[mnx5er]

My guess is it requires a software update from BMW. Hardware should work as is. We’ll see.

[Pictor]

I wouldn't count on this being a SW fix otherwise they would say so. On the upside, if you have a 2020 and you're upset that you're missing out then just take a look at what options are not available in MY2021 that was available in 2020 or 2019. Personally I am happier with soft close doors vs having an NFC key on my iPhone that requires that I pull my phone out of my pocket to open the door.

[LexxM3]

Originally Posted by Pictor

I wouldn't count on this being a SW fix otherwise they would say so. On the upside, if you have a 2020 and you're upset that you're missing out then just take a look at what options are not available in MY2021 that was available in 2020 or 2019. Personally I am happier with soft close doors vs having an NFC key on my iPhone that requires that I pull my phone out of my pocket to open the door.

There is absolutely no reason to believe that BMW would "say so" if different h/w is required and plenty of evidence of BMW misbehaviour to their early adopters for no good reason at all. Case in point, ADV requiring coding for MY2019, but works great, no hardware. Or the outright lies BMW Support has told various MY2019 members that DR requires new hardware. Or the Connected Drive Support Team's year-long repeated claim that "server are down right now" to members those CD refused to work while it was working fine for the rest. BMW bullshits ALL THE TIME.

[X54TH]

Originally Posted by LexxM3

There is absolutely no reason to believe that BMW would "say so" if different h/w is required and plenty of evidence of BMW misbehaviour to their early adopters for no good reason at all. Case in point, ADV requiring coding for MY2019, but works great, no hardware. Or the outright lies BMW Support has told various MY2019 members that DR requires new hardware. Or the Connected Drive Support Team's year-long repeated claim that "server are down right now" to members those CD refused to work while it was working fine for the rest. BMW bullshits ALL THE TIME.

So do you think we'll be able to code it?

[LexxM3]

Originally Posted by X54TH

So do you think we'll be able to code it?

Unlikely. Security stuff is more serious than pretty dash pictures.

[thereef510]

Originally Posted by Pictor

I wouldn't count on this being a SW fix otherwise they would say so. On the upside, if you have a 2020 and you're upset that you're missing out then just take a look at what options are not available in MY2021 that was available in 2020 or 2019. Personally I am happier with soft close doors vs having an NFC key on my iPhone that requires that I pull my phone out of my pocket to open the door.

I also felt the same way. I was disappointed at first but I can't say I like the implementation of this. This is as much work as having to pull out your key fob to unlock your car.

Especially with how well the key fob and the proximity sensor works, I was hoping the CarKey implementation would also work like that but it doesn't.

And you're right, I'm so happy we got all the options we wanted on our my20 versus everything that isn't available in my21

[timmahh]

Originally Posted by thereef510

I also felt the same way. I was disappointed at first but I can't say I like the implementation of this. This is as much work as having to pull out your key fob to unlock your car.

Especially with how well the key fob and the proximity sensor works, I was hoping the CarKey implementation would also work like that but it doesn't.

And you're right, I'm so happy we got all the options we wanted on our my20 versus everything that isn't available in my21

It's not though. There are different specs to the digital car key standard.

My understanding is this:

2.0 = Current spec = Digital car key, current Android devices. Much touch or be extremely close to readers to validate.

3.0 = New spec, requires ultra wideband (UWB) chipsets = leave the phone in your pocket. The UWB chip enables far more detailed precision/location determination, and as such the phone can remain in your pocket/bag/purse, much like the physical FOB.

Edit, found the CCC website: https://global-carconnectivity.org/

Seems like:

1.0 = NFC wallet card & android support
2.0 = Increased security, enables ability for mobile devices with low batteries to still unlock/start
3.0 = Increased convenience with UWB support

So it is very possible current Gxx cars all have hardware for 1.0 spec, given the timelines of 2.0 and 3.0. If Apple only supports 2.0 and 3.0, it would explain the cut off. But still, let us retrofit it!

[JoseSportM]

Not a smart move here.

They should think on this before. They already had digital keys.... not fair to the previous owners.

[thereef510]

Originally Posted by timmahh

It's not though. There are different specs to the digital car key standard.

My understanding is this:

2.0 = Current spec = Digital car key, current Android devices. Much touch or be extremely close to readers to validate.

3.0 = New spec, requires ultra wideband (UWB) chipsets = leave the phone in your pocket. The UWB chip enables far more detailed precision/location determination, and as such the phone can remain in your pocket/bag/purse, much like the physical FOB.

Edit, found the CCC website: https://global-carconnectivity.org/

Seems like:

1.0 = NFC wallet card & android support
2.0 = Increased security, enables ability for mobile devices with low batteries to still unlock/start
3.0 = Increased convenience with UWB support

So it is very possible current Gxx cars all have hardware for 1.0 spec, given the timelines of 2.0 and 3.0. If Apple only supports 2.0 and 3.0, it would explain the cut off. But still, let us retrofit it!

Well the current description of how it's supposed to work right now has me less than enthusiastic.

[Skeewiff03]

Originally Posted by timmahh

It's not though. There are different specs to the digital car key standard.

My understanding is this:

2.0 = Current spec = Digital car key, current Android devices. Much touch or be extremely close to readers to validate.

3.0 = New spec, requires ultra wideband (UWB) chipsets = leave the phone in your pocket. The UWB chip enables far more detailed precision/location determination, and as such the phone can remain in your pocket/bag/purse, much like the physical FOB.

Edit, found the CCC website: https://global-carconnectivity.org/

Seems like:

1.0 = NFC wallet card & android support
2.0 = Increased security, enables ability for mobile devices with low batteries to still unlock/start
3.0 = Increased convenience with UWB support

So it is very possible current Gxx cars all have hardware for 1.0 spec, given the timelines of 2.0 and 3.0. If Apple only supports 2.0 and 3.0, it would explain the cut off. But still, let us retrofit it!

The current BMW implementation supposedly works with low batt or phone off, although I had never used it. That would make current builds version 2.0

[jwtw20]

Originally Posted by Frenetic

I guess my car isn’t compatible, which sucks if true.

I don’t see a section in the app that says digital key.

There hasn't been an connected drive app update since the announcement. I suspect we will see a connected drive app update in the coming days/weeks. I've got iOS 13.6 installed already so I'll be ready to see if my 2020 built X5 with comfort access and digital key subscription works. As according to the website if it has those and it's listed as an available subscription then it's compatible!

[timmahh]

Originally Posted by jwtw20

There hasn't been an connected drive app update since the announcement. I suspect we will see a connected drive app update in the coming days/weeks. I've got iOS 13.6 installed already so I'll be ready to see if my 2020 built X5 with comfort access and digital key subscription works. As according to the website if it has those and it's listed as an available subscription then it's compatible!

I installed iOS 14 on my test phone yesterday, but alas no CD update as you mentioned. Given BMW says >07/20 prod, and that code has been found to reference smart_nfc (see the corresponding carkey post in the idrive/electronics section), I am not so confident it will just magically work on day one.

[thereef510]

On what basis do any of you think CarKey will work on any of our vehicles given they explicitly said it was for vehicles my21 and above

[timmahh]

Originally Posted by thereef510

On what basis do any of you think CarKey will work on any of our vehicles given they explicitly said it was for vehicles my21 and above

Hope.

[thereef510]

Let's pretend for the sake of argument it did work. Then what?

You're seriously gonna pull your phone out every time you get in your car and then rest it on the wireless charging tray and wear down the battery quicker in the process just to get the engine started?

The implementation for CarKey as they pitched it is way more inconvenient than just having the fob or even having the smart key. I can leave my smart key in my wallet and the car will still start. It's less inconvenient than the proposed CarKey solution

[timmahh]

Originally Posted by thereef510

Let's pretend for the sake of argument it did work. Then what?

You're seriously gonna pull your phone out every time you get in your car and then rest it on the wireless charging tray and wear down the battery quicker in the process just to get the engine started?

The implementation for CarKey as they pitched it is way more inconvenient than just having the fob or even having the smart key. I can leave my smart key in my wallet and the car will still start. It's less inconvenient than the proposed CarKey solution

I can think of situations where I’d prefer to only have my phone if possible. Going to the beach etc I don’t want to deal with my fob for example. Out for a hike. Sure it doesn’t solve any issues, but it has a convenience factor for sure. I tried the digital key card in my wallet for these scenarios. It works to unlock/lock, but won’t start without removing it. I also have an Apple Watch, that would make it even more convenient.