- Open the BMW Connected app or Apple Wallet in step 1. Once connected, your digital key should be kept in your Apple wallet and the BMW Connected App.
- Choose BMW Digital Key in step two.
- Step 3: Use the digital key to lock or unlock the driver’s door.
In This Article...
digital key for a BMW
If a Digital Key isn’t convenient enough, you can also use the Digital Key Card, which is a card-based variation of the Digital Key. The Digital Key Card may be used independently of the key on your phone and has all of the same features as its phone equivalent. Several steps must be completed once more in order to obtain the Digital Key Card:
- Contact a BMW Center first to learn more about the Digital Key Card and to provide them your VIN.
- You can pick up your card from your local BMW Center when your order is ready.
- The Digital Key Card must be activated either by you or the dealer because it is specific to your car, just like the key fob is.
- You must insert your Key Card into the smartphone tray and follow the on-screen instructions to activate it.
Place the top of your iPhone close to the door handle until the “Done” and a checkmark appear on the screen to lock or open the door.
Smart technology, but BMW’s iPhone Digital Key Isn’t Really a Fob Replacement
You can use your iPhone or Apple Watch as a key thanks to CR-tested technology created by BMW and Apple.
shares of the news story
Today’s new cars typically come with a keyless fob that you may use to start your vehicle and unlock the doors without ever taking the fob out of your pocket. However, they can be heavy, they add to your load, and you run the risk of losing them. BMW has joined a small but increasing group of businesses that are providing a digital key that enables a motorist to use a smartphone to unlock the doors and start the car in order to address those difficulties.
The Comfort Access option, which is standard on some models and available as part of a costly options package on others, is a requirement for the BMW digital key. As long as the fob is present, users can start the engine inside the car and unlock doors when approaching it with it and an iPhone or Apple Watch. Despite the fact that the key functions, it takes some getting accustomed to, and this innovative addition doesn’t completely replace the fob.
According to Alex Knizek, an engineer at CR’s Auto Test Center, “there is an advantage to just being able to hop in your car when all you have is your smartphone, but the app doesn’t accomplish everything the fob does.” It’s convenient to have the option of using a phone, but he notes that the fob was easier to set up and use.
On your iPhone or Apple Watch, add your car key to Wallet.
You may use your iPhone or Apple Watch to lock, unlock, and start your automobile by adding your car key to the Wallet app.
You need the following to add and utilize a car key on your iPhone or Apple Watch:
- a suitable vehicle. You can get in touch with the manufacturer or your dealership to learn if your automobile is compatible.
- an Apple iPhone XS or later, an Apple iPhone SE (2nd generation), an Apple Watch Series 5 or later, or an Apple Watch SE, with the most recent watchOS version. You require an iPhone 11 or later or an Apple Watch Series 6 or later to use passive entry or the remote capabilities on compatible cars.
Why use a digital key from BMW?
The 2023 X1 and a whole new electric SUV called the iX1 are two new vehicles that BMW introduced this week that would utilize its Digital Key Plus technology.
Without a physical key, eligible BMW automobiles can now be locked, unlocked, or started using an iPhone or Apple Watch thanks to Digital Key Plus. However, Digital Key Plus makes use of Ultra Wideband technology to detect when you are near the vehicle, allowing you to keep your iPhone in your pocket. The regular NFC version of the function requires the iPhone or Apple Watch to be held near the driver-side door in order to open the vehicle.
Additionally, Digital Key Plus enhances security by preventing relay attacks, in which a third party jams or intercepts the radio signal between the iPhone and the vehicle, thanks to Ultra Wideband’s precise location awareness.
With the digital keys stored in Apple’s built-in Wallet app, Digital Key Plus requires an iPhone 11 or newer, or an Apple Watch Series 6 or newer. More BMW vehicles are gradually receiving the function, including the 2022 iX and the present 2023 X1 and iX1. A complete list of BMW vehicles that use the standard NFC-based Digital Key function is accessible on Apple’s website for models manufactured in 2021 and later.
The My BMW app can be used to set up Digital Key Plus, and up to five additional users may share digital keys. The functionality continues to function for up to five hours even if your iPhone’s battery goes out thanks to a Power Reserve mode.
Why won’t my BMW lock?
Modern automobiles come with technology that makes a number of tasks simpler and more practical. These conveniences rely on a number of intricate components that are vulnerable to damage, which makes this technology fail. There are various indicators that a BMW’s door locks are failing:
- Your locks will become jammed. Even if you can make the locks function, they might occasionally become stuck in one. This is a warning indication of impending failure that has to be looked into right now.
- Simply said, they won’t lock anymore. Although this is a clear indication of failure, there are a number of potential causes for it, and not all of them involve the BMW’s actual electrical system.
Sometimes, a problem with your key fob causes the doors to fail to lock. These key fobs are powered by batteries, which have a limited lifespan. Changing the batteries in the fob might be the answer.
If your fob is not the problem, a blown fuse can be. Your BMW won’t have the electrical power it needs to keep one or more parts of the car operating if any fuse blows.
If none of the aforementioned are the cause of the problem with your locks, your BMW may be dealing with poor wiring. Over time, wires deteriorate and become damaged. Although this is typical, the wires still need to be changed. The wires could corrode due to other broken components, leading to early wire aging.
When you enter or exit your car, your doors lock securely with the help of more components than just wires and fuses. Actuators are systems that are activated to physically operate the locks, and these systems degrade over time just like any other component might. Your locks might engage without being actuated by the fob or become stuck if the actuators aren’t working properly.
Can the app be used to lock my BMW?
You can communicate with your car via the cellular network with the My BMW Remote App. This makes it possible, for instance, to lock and unlock the vehicle using an Apple iPhone or to look up and send data to certain locations.
What does my BMW key’s diamond button do?
Does anyone have any knowledge of what the key fob’s diamond button is meant to do?
The included manual is incredibly succinct. It refers to a “Headlight courtesy delay feature,” although it’s not entirely clear what this feature performs. “If the standby state is switched on and the high-beam headlights are enabled, the low-beam headlights remain on for an of time,” the text states. Even if “… for a period of time” is meant to be “… for a length of time,” that still doesn’t adequately describe what this feature is.
According to the description, it can only be used when the automobile has just been turned off and the high beams are on. However, when the car is locked, the button appears to have some effect. The inside lights occasionally come on. The headlights occasionally come on. It is quite unpredictable and challenging to duplicate.
What experiences do others have? Has anyone figured out what this button’s actual purpose is?
It is unfortunate that it cannot be set to perform things like open the windows or sunroof, switch on the heating, or other things!
Mine has two options (330e in Belgium): turn on the lights in the house or turn on the air conditioning. In the options for the car, I can select the default function.
It briefly illuminates the headlights in my automobile. Excellent for illuminating the path to your front entrance or finding your car at night in a big parking lot.
Check the “Home lights” setting under “Exterior Light Settings” on your iDrive to make sure it is not set to 0 seconds.
My headlights now turn on for 10 seconds when I hold the diamond button on the key because I set mine to that duration (G20 330i).
Does the BMW lock itself while it is parked?
A “walk away lock” or automatic locking while parked feature is not available on BMW vehicles. It appears that the OP understood this functionality to be such. All BMWs have an automatic lock feature that only activates once you start driving and reach a specific speed.
If I forget, will the BMW lock itself?
It will only automatically lock if you use the keyfob to unlock the car and then close all of the doors. In this situation, it will relock after around 30 seconds. But as was already said, there is no chance of locking the key in this situation. Disappeared yet never forgotten
How is a digital key used?
Your automobile needs to be programmed to recognize your smartphone as the main key. As long as you keep your phone, you should only need to do this once.
- Open the Digital Key app on your smartphone while inside your car.
- Start your car.
- In order to activate pairing mode on the primary phone, press the + button on the app.
- Your phone should be placed on the wireless switcher.
- There will be automated pairing.
You can now register your phone as the primary digital key for the vehicle after the automobile recognizes the pairing.
On vehicles with a navigation system, proceed as follows: