IOS 26 - Passive Car Key (i.e. phone in pocket) functionality not working - anyone else seeing this?

[Deniolan]

Since the early days of the beta, I have noticed that passive car key functionality with my 2026 BMW X3 is not working. I see several posts on other forums reporting the same with Volvo and other manufacturers... Anyone else seeing this?

I reported it during the beta, however, Apple closed each of my reports saying they were unable to reproduce my specific scenario. I have now tried it with three different phones including my brand new iPhone 17 Pro with the same result.

For clarity - the functionality that specifically does not work are the proximity functions provided by the UWB connectivity between your phone and your car. I.e. with Passive enabled and a supported vehicle, you should walk up to your car with your phone in your pocket, and unlock, get in, and start the car without ever having to touch your phone anywhere on a door handle, and without having to put your phone on a specific pad in the car - once the car detects you are nearby with a passive key enabled - you're simply authorized.

Interestingly, this functionality seems to be working fine from my Apple Watch running iOS 26 - but on the phone, it only works for a short period of time after a reboot and then it stops. Restarting the phone and immediately trying it, it works again.

When it is *NOT* working - yes, I can pull up the key in the wallet and press the unlock button, and I can sit the phone in the charging cradle in the car and start it. The point is, until iOS 26 - I didn't have to... proper passive functionality was behaving just as it does on my watch... walk up, grab the door handle, the car unlocks. Get in, press the brake and hit start and the car starts. The nuisance of getting my phone out to touch the door handle and place it in a specific spot in the car was not required.

Curious to see if others are having the same, and what phones/vehicles are exhibiting the issue. Note UWB (true passive) functionality only works on devices that support UWB connectivity - so some of the older iPhones simply don't even have this option... I think maybe it was the 11 Pro or 13 Pro when the functionality was introduced.

EDIT: NOTE! A lot of people are saying "nah, works fine" here and other forums - but they also have a watch and the key is on it. If you are wearing the watch you won't reproduce the issue because it WORKS from the watch. If possible, take the watch off and go to your car armed only with your phone - for me, this is where it all falls apart I've at least found a couple of others now who are reporting the same

 

[BigMcGuire]

Not seeing a difference with our Teslas (2018 / 2024). Still burning 6-8 hours of background usage per day as the cars are directly below us parked (only 1% battery used) - with iPhone 15 Pro Max.

I have noticed that the watch is doing a better job being a passive key than it was in the previous Watch OS... Maybe that's why it burns a bit more battery?

 

[Deniolan]

Not seeing a difference with our Teslas (2018 / 2024). Still burning 6-8 hours of background usage per day as the cars are directly below us parked (only 1% battery used) - with iPhone 15 Pro Max.

I have noticed that the watch is doing a better job being a passive key than it was in the previous Watch OS... Maybe that's why it burns a bit more battery?

I wonder if the fact that they are parked so close is keeping the connection alive? For me - the cars aren't close enough that they would be maintaining connection. On the watch, however, when I walk into the garage I can unlock the car no problem just by touching the door as intended. If I take my watch off and try the same with my phone - it works perfect on a fresh reboot but otherwise, it's dead. I have to touch the phone to the door handle to unlock. Same for starting - after a reboot - just having the phone in my pocket is enough - but after some time has passed, it has to be sat in the charging tray to start the car.

This is on both my X3 and my wife's X1.

 

[BigMcGuire]

I wonder if the fact that they are parked so close is keeping the connection alive? For me - the cars aren't close enough that they would be maintaining connection. On the watch, however, when I walk into the garage I can unlock the car no problem just by touching the door as intended. If I take my watch off and try the same with my phone - it works perfect on a fresh reboot but otherwise, it's dead. I have to touch the phone to the door handle to unlock. Same for starting - after a reboot - just having the phone in my pocket is enough - but after some time has passed, it has to be sat in the charging tray to start the car.

This is on both my X3 and my wife's X1.

I was wondering bout that but we did go on a ~1.5 hour hike yesterday and was able to open the car without issue.

The only other thing I can think of is... I know with this iOS 26 update, a lot of my applications changed from Always Allow location settings to While Using. I had to set them back to Always Allow (especially my Tesla App) for the keys to work again.

Settings --> Privacy --> Location Services --> (Set your BMW? app to Always) if it isn't.

Hope you figure this out - that would bother me a lot if it was happening to me.

 

[Bkdodger]

I reset my digital plus key yesterday and now seems to be working for the last 24 hrs but I will keep an eye on it

 

[alanplum]

Since the early days of the beta, I have noticed that passive car key functionality with my 2026 BMW X3 is not working. I see several posts on other forums reporting the same with Volvo and other manufacturers... Anyone else seeing this?

I reported it during the beta, however, Apple closed each of my reports saying they were unable to reproduce my specific scenario. I have now tried it with three different phones including my brand new iPhone 17 Pro with the same result.

For clarity - the functionality that specifically does not work are the proximity functions provided by the UWB connectivity between your phone and your car. I.e. with Passive enabled and a supported vehicle, you should walk up to your car with your phone in your pocket, and unlock, get in, and start the car without ever having to touch your phone anywhere on a door handle, and without having to put your phone on a specific pad in the car - once the car detects you are nearby with a passive key enabled - you're simply authorized.

Interestingly, this functionality seems to be working fine from my Apple Watch running iOS 26 - but on the phone, it only works for a short period of time after a reboot and then it stops. Restarting the phone and immediately trying it, it works again.

When it is *NOT* working - yes, I can pull up the key in the wallet and press the unlock button, and I can sit the phone in the charging cradle in the car and start it. The point is, until iOS 26 - I didn't have to... proper passive functionality was behaving just as it does on my watch... walk up, grab the door handle, the car unlocks. Get in, press the brake and hit start and the car starts. The nuisance of getting my phone out to touch the door handle and place it in a specific spot in the car was not required.

Curious to see if others are having the same, and what phones/vehicles are exhibiting the issue. Note UWB (true passive) functionality only works on devices that support UWB connectivity - so some of the older iPhones simply don't even have this option... I think maybe it was the 11 Pro or 13 Pro when the functionality was introduced.

I have exactly this!

My Volvo EX30 doesn’t want to unlock with the phone, so I did a few tests.

With just the phone on me, it takes a few handle pulls and cheeky dances before it unlocks
With just my Apple Watch, it unlocks about 5ft on approach.

Tesla has no issues with either…

What interests me is Background App Refresh exists for “Wallet” on Apple Watch and is ON.
Background App Refresh on the phone for “Wallet” doesn’t exist….

 

[stevehd04]

it works as normal on my 2024 bmw ix. However, I had to delete the digital key and re-activate it on my phone.

 

[alanplum]

it works as normal on my 2024 bmw ix. However, I had to delete the digital key and re-activate it on my phone.

I've already done this for my Volvo....as I got a new iPhone 17 Pro, so had to recreate the keys.

No difference....

 

[jha]

Since the early days of the beta, I have noticed that passive car key functionality with my 2026 BMW X3 is not working. I see several posts on other forums reporting the same with Volvo and other manufacturers... Anyone else seeing this?

I reported it during the beta, however, Apple closed each of my reports saying they were unable to reproduce my specific scenario. I have now tried it with three different phones including my brand new iPhone 17 Pro with the same result.

For clarity - the functionality that specifically does not work are the proximity functions provided by the UWB connectivity between your phone and your car. I.e. with Passive enabled and a supported vehicle, you should walk up to your car with your phone in your pocket, and unlock, get in, and start the car without ever having to touch your phone anywhere on a door handle, and without having to put your phone on a specific pad in the car - once the car detects you are nearby with a passive key enabled - you're simply authorized.

Interestingly, this functionality seems to be working fine from my Apple Watch running iOS 26 - but on the phone, it only works for a short period of time after a reboot and then it stops. Restarting the phone and immediately trying it, it works again.

When it is *NOT* working - yes, I can pull up the key in the wallet and press the unlock button, and I can sit the phone in the charging cradle in the car and start it. The point is, until iOS 26 - I didn't have to... proper passive functionality was behaving just as it does on my watch... walk up, grab the door handle, the car unlocks. Get in, press the brake and hit start and the car starts. The nuisance of getting my phone out to touch the door handle and place it in a specific spot in the car was not required.

Curious to see if others are having the same, and what phones/vehicles are exhibiting the issue. Note UWB (true passive) functionality only works on devices that support UWB connectivity - so some of the older iPhones simply don't even have this option... I think maybe it was the 11 Pro or 13 Pro when the functionality was introduced.

Post on Bimmerpost, this is likely due to the car and not iOS itself. I have a 2024 7 series and if comfort access is off (walk up unlocking) or exclude home is enabled, the car sleeps and takes a few seconds to wake up. What is your iDrive version?

 

[Deniolan]

Post on Bimmerpost, this is likely due to the car and not iOS itself. I have a 2024 7 series and if comfort access is off (walk up unlocking) or exclude home is enabled, the car sleeps and takes a few seconds to wake up. What is your iDrive version?

Respectfully, I would say this is inaccurate based on the fact that with my Apple Watch, it immediately works and with the phone it only works for a few minutes after a reboot and then stops. Also - it was working just fine prior to updating to iOS 26.

If it were the car, I would believe the symptoms would be the same between the two devices.

It's a brand new (less than 300 miles) 2026 BMW X3. Same behavior on my wife's 2025 BMW X1 - both are using the latest iDrive versions and are up to date with OTA updates.

 

[Deniolan]

it works as normal on my 2024 bmw ix. However, I had to delete the digital key and re-activate it on my phone.

Interesting - what phone are you using and is your BMW utilizing the setup key method for creating a digital key, or do you use the "both keys in the car" routine. I'm guessing with a 2024 BMW, you have two car keys (the new cars only come with one car key and a credit card sized "setup key" that you have to "tap" with your phone to start the process (it's some kind of NFC card).

For me, on my old iPhone 15 Pro and my brand new iPhone 17 Pro, I could only get the digital key to activate and appear in the wallet if I tried the pairing process right after a reboot of my phone. My first attempts failed on both the 15 Pro and again this weekend on the 17 Pro.

Much like the access... in order to get the key to bind, I had to restart the iPhone and immediately open the My BMW app and begin the pairing process.

 

[Deniolan]

I have exactly this!

My Volvo EX30 doesn’t want to unlock with the phone, so I did a few tests.

With just the phone on me, it takes a few handle pulls and cheeky dances before it unlocks
With just my Apple Watch, it unlocks about 5ft on approach.

Tesla has no issues with either…

What interests me is Background App Refresh exists for “Wallet” on Apple Watch and is ON.
Background App Refresh on the phone for “Wallet” doesn’t exist….

If you reboot the phone and then give it a minute or so and then walk up to the car, does it behave just as the watch does? (I ask because if so, this means your scenario is just like mine only with a different vehicle brand).

 

[Bkdodger]

I have a 25 X5 paired with iPhone 15 PM so digital key plus has stayed after reset and pairing again with the two key fobs method. I do have it not to open when parked by home and all other places seem to be working properly. Hopefully you get it resolved.

 

[alanplum]

If you reboot the phone and then give it a minute or so and then walk up to the car, does it behave just as the watch does? (I ask because if so, this means your scenario is just like mine only with a different vehicle brand).

I'll give it a go tonight....

 

[A1423]

I finally got a watch I thought I could use for my Audi. And the Audi laughed in my face when I tried to make it work.

 

[jha]

Respectfully, I would say this is inaccurate based on the fact that with my Apple Watch, it immediately works and with the phone it only works for a few minutes after a reboot and then stops. Also - it was working just fine prior to updating to iOS 26.

If it were the car, I would believe the symptoms would be the same between the two devices.

It's a brand new (less than 300 miles) 2026 BMW X3. Same behavior on my wife's 2025 BMW X1 - both are using the latest iDrive versions and are up to date with OTA updates.

Is passive entry on via the settings in the card in wallet?

 

[atmc]

I don't have the Digital Plus Key on my BMW 3 Series G21, but I have the Digital Key (so it works with NFC) and it opens and starts the car just fine.

 

[alanplum]

I'll give it a go tonight....

No dice. Annoyingly when I went out with just my phone it worked as expected. That reminded me to do the test.

I went out of range, rebooted my iPhone, waited for it to be up, then went out, and I had to do the fairy dance to get it to unlock. The EX30 is well known for the digital key issue, but the watch works so well. Every time.

 

[stevehd04]

Interesting - what phone are you using and is your BMW utilizing the setup key method for creating a digital key, or do you use the "both keys in the car" routine. I'm guessing with a 2024 BMW, you have two car keys (the new cars only come with one car key and a credit card sized "setup key" that you have to "tap" with your phone to start the process (it's some kind of NFC card).

For me, on my old iPhone 15 Pro and my brand new iPhone 17 Pro, I could only get the digital key to activate and appear in the wallet if I tried the pairing process right after a reboot of my phone. My first attempts failed on both the 15 Pro and again this weekend on the 17 Pro.

Much like the access... in order to get the key to bind, I had to restart the iPhone and immediately open the My BMW app and begin the pairing process.

you're right, I have to use "both keys in the car" to do the set up again on my iPhone 17 pro max, latest iOS 26.

 

[Deniolan]

Is passive entry on via the settings in the card in wallet?

Yes. As I said, it works for a few minutes after a clean reboot and then stops. If passive entry were off, it wouldn't work at all unless I touched the phone to the door handle - similar to the non "Digital Key Plus" pre-2025 X3's. Passive is enabled on both the watch and the phone. Watch works, Phone briefly works then stops.

 

[Deniolan]

you're right, I have to use "both keys in the car" to do the set up again on my iPhone 17 pro max, latest iOS 26.

Interesting... I wonder if that's part of the difference here as well. I see some people with BMWs reporting it's all working fine - but then maybe they have the old style dual key setup rather than the new security key plus fob setup.

Ha... Edit: Scratch that thought... it's not working on my wife's 2025 X1 and it uses the "dual key" setup. Just tried it again... I completely removed all of the digital keys and tried pairing to my phone - again it failed repeatedly and I rebooted the phone and then it worked and added the key. I'll test Passive entry again once the phone has sat for a while since it always works right after a reboot - but I am assuming it'll be the same old same old since the key wouldn't pair until reboot.

Now I am beginning to wonder if it's only specific models of iPhones.... like maybe there is something different in the UWB hardware between say a 13 pro and 14 pro (and up) when combined with iOS 26.

 

[Deniolan]

Interesting - what phone are you using and is your BMW utilizing the setup key method for creating a digital key, or do you use the "both keys in the car" routine. I'm guessing with a 2024 BMW, you have two car keys (the new cars only come with one car key and a credit card sized "setup key" that you have to "tap" with your phone to start the process (it's some kind of NFC card).

For me, on my old iPhone 15 Pro and my brand new iPhone 17 Pro, I could only get the digital key to activate and appear in the wallet if I tried the pairing process right after a reboot of my phone. My first attempts failed on both the 15 Pro and again this weekend on the 17 Pro.

Much like the access... in order to get the key to bind, I had to restart the iPhone and immediately open the My BMW app and begin the pairing process.

One other question - do you have the apple watch also? If so - have you confirmed it works fine when you aren't wearing it? For me, this is where it falls apart... if I'm wearing my watch I'd never even notice it wasn't working from the phone because the watch works 100% of the time.