Originally Posted by Cam330i
Hello,
Based off what I've seen with BMW's w/ Digital Key Plus, what you're experiencing is not uncommon and sounds about right.
Basically, Digital Key allows your smartphone to be used as a key, and you can lock, unlock, and drive the car with just your smartphone alone. Digital Key Plus makes your smartphone key function in the same way as the physical key fob (incl. Locking and Unlocking the vehicle when walking away or approaching the vehicle respectively). Additionally, Digital Key Plus allows the user to start the vehicle without having to put the smartphone in the Wireless Charging Tray, just like the physical key fob.
Although I have a high interest in Technology and Artificial Intelligence (A.I.), I am not a fan of the Digital Key function and I do not use it on my 2025 BMW!
My issue, especially with iPhones and Digital Key Plus, is that you don't need to show a face, input a security code; just like how you can unlock and start your vehicle without having to take out your smartphone, if someone were to steal your phone, they can easily access your vehicle (even worse with the fact that most people link their phones to their profile ID). I guess personally, I am not a fan of overly relying on my phone for things essential like accessing and operating my vehicle (e.g., problems arise if you lose your phone, your phone updates itself automatically making it no longer compatible with the system, and you can forget about manually opening your vehicle, etc.)
Anyways, back to your locking situation, if you have the "Lock when walking away" setting enabled, and remember that Digital Key Plus functions in the same way as the key fob, then you walking away from your iX will result in it locking - if the "engine is on" and you walk away from the car, it will result in your iX honking at you twice to inform you the engine is still on.
iX's in the USA will automatically have its "engine turned off" if you open the driver door without your seat belt on and without your foot on the brake and walking away with your phone will result in your vehicle locking, but any remaining passengers inside will still have access to the iDrive system (incl. Climate Control System) and shouldn't be locked inside the vehicle (i.e., they can still open and exit the vehicle)
That said, what I would recommend is disabling the "Lock when walking away" setting to see if that alleviates the situation, but even at the worse, your wife has the car key on her phone and so she can still lock, unlock, and drive the car without you being present.
NOTE: Keep in mind the vehicle can still be locked and unlocked remotely via the myBMW app!
There are many complaints on these forums about people walking by their vehicle in a garage with their smartphone and the car constantly unlocking and locking when walking towards and away from the vehicle.
As mentioned, I am not a fan of the Digital Key (not saying it doesn't work properly) and I always encourage my BMW homies to at least carry the Digital Key Card - (aka: The BMW Credit Card) as a backup (most just keep it in their wallet) and always take physical key fob if going somewhere far! One of mahomies didn't listen and went to lunch in his car using digital key (not plus) and after getting back in the car to go back to the office, his car wouldn't start for some reason and had to wait ~ 45minutes for his roommate to bring his physical car key and he has the latest iPhone with automatic software and app updates enabled.
I say all of this not to scare you, but just to be cautious with using these phones as car keys. Everyone loves and supports technology when it is working properly.....
Lastly, in case you are not aware, all 4 doors in the iX can be opened manually via a manual door handle that is located in the lower portion of the door.... it disturbs me on how many people say "Oh I never knew that" when showing them how to manually open the doors in case of an emergency......
Anyways, sorry for the long post, but I hope this helps and please let me (us) know if you have anymore questions/comments!
Again, I'm not bashing the system in anyway nor am I judging anyone who uses the digital key function, but just urging people to be cautious with these phones. My current and previous vehicle support Digital Key (Which I've never used), and to this day, I've never had a problem remote starting my car, unlocking/locking my car, or having my driver profile load up.
Best,
Cameron
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