[anti-FUD] -Porsche Digital Key overview - from Porsche!!

[MatC21]

You have a point. Where is the current external nfc reader?
I would probably pay 200 dollar for it if it would be a payed option in the app…and probably many would

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[seabird]

You have a point. Where is the current external nfc reader?
I would probably pay 200 dollar for it if it would be a payed option in the app…and probably many would

It's labeled in the manual. I think it's near the VIN plate? Or the B pillar? Can't remember off the top of my head.

 

[ron_b]

@seabird well, it says very explicitly in the page OP shared that only MY26 of the Macan are supported.
And while NFC is not part of the strict requirements of Apple Car Key, there is not a single manufacturer that uses UWB only. There is no reason to have any hopes left for getting Car Key on MY25…Porsche does simply not care about early adopters.

Well I cannot comment on Porsche’s feelings on early adopters, but I can say that I appreciate you @MatC21 !
I did spec the “Digital Key” option on my 2026 Macan 4 that I ordered in October. The $280 option was not enough though, I chose the $1950 option “3D Surround View and Porsche Digital Key”. Porsche knows how to make money on options. If I didn’t like it I would change brands. I was an early adopter with a 2020 Taycan 4S for 5 years and 100,000 miles. Now I am hoping for a more baked vehicle.
Though I love the new Cayenne Electric, not so much more $$, but I am not going for a first model year again.

 

[Dragon Tourniquet]

Sure there are. But even if there weren't, the 2024-2025 Macan does have both an external and internal NFC reader. The NFC door handles are not required except by Porsche design.

Out of curiosity, which manufacturers are using UWB only? I want to make sure I don't buy one of them in the future, since UWB takes too much power and can't operate in a passive/wireless power harvesting fashion (which is why Power Reserve mode on the iPhone only supports NFC).

But you are correct, there is an external NFC reader at the VIN plate under the windshield. It's used if the battery in the phone dies so you can still get into the car (all documented in the manual). I suspect that BMW, Audi, Kia, Hyundai, and Porsche all want to make sure it's as easy as possible if the phone dies so they don't get complaints (and most likely they are erroneously guessing that the phone is more likely to have issues than the car).

 

[pm4s]

Out of curiosity, which manufacturers are using UWB only? I want to make sure I don't buy one of them in the future, since UWB takes too much power and can't operate in a passive/wireless power harvesting fashion (which is why Power Reserve mode on the iPhone only supports NFC).

But you are correct, there is an external NFC reader at the VIN plate under the windshield. It's used if the battery in the phone dies so you can still get into the car (all documented in the manual). I suspect that BMW, Audi, Kia, Hyundai, and Porsche all want to make sure it's as easy as possible if the phone dies so they don't get complaints (and most likely they are erroneously guessing that the phone is more likely to have issues than the car).

A key fob battery may die once a year with warnings ahead of time.
A phone battery may die several times a day depending on use.
Digital Car Key should always fall back to NFC otherwise you'll have tons of people stranded.
The provided NFC card doesn't work with UWB obviously.
If there really is a manufacturer using UWB only I am downloading the manual, intrigued what they use to unlock the car in the event of a dead phone battery.

On my VW you use the key blade to unlock the car if the key fob battery has died.
Porsche has a much simpler solution, clearly documented in your Porsche App manual:

 

[Yves]

A key fob battery may die once a year with warnings ahead of time.
A phone battery may die several times a day depending on use.
Digital Car Key should always fall back to NFC otherwise you'll have tons of people stranded.
The provided NFC card doesn't work with UWB obviously.
If there really is a manufacturer using UWB only I am downloading the manual, intrigued what they use to unlock the car in the event of a dead phone battery.

On my VW you use the key blade to unlock the car if the key fob battery has died.
Porsche has a much simpler solution, clearly documented in your Porsche App manual:

Not all phones have backup reserve powered NFC, so having NFC, though it can work without power, not all phones do support it. In fact for iPhones there was an update called reserve power to use keys stored in your wallet … so if you do have an iPhone that has no reserve power or any android phone that is lacking this, you still would be stranded if your favorite smartphone is out of power as the phone needs to have a way to provision the correct key to the NFC hardware as the keys are not all live all the time in the NFC chip … So yeah UWB would be enough as well … by the way I hate the NFC part, it’s finicky as hell in my iX …

 

[Dragon Tourniquet]

Not all phones have backup reserve powered NFC, so having NFC, though it can work without power, not all phones do support it. In fact for iPhones there was an update called reserve power to use keys stored in your wallet … so if you do have an iPhone that has no reserve power or any android phone that is lacking this, you still would be stranded if your favorite smartphone is out of power as the phone needs to have a way to provision the correct key to the NFC hardware as the keys are not all live all the time in the NFC chip … So yeah UWB would be enough as well … by the way I hate the NFC part, it’s finicky as hell in my iX …

What kind of problems did you have with the iX? In all the times I handled the NFC card to the valet, there where never any problems except when they put the card in the wrong spot (sometimes they would put it in the passthrough slot at the top of the console, which of course wouldn't work).

 

[Yves]

What kind of problems did you have with the iX? In all the times I handled the NFC card to the valet, there where never any problems except when they put the card in the wrong spot (sometimes they would put it in the passthrough slot at the top of the console, which of course wouldn't work).

The card itself OK, positioning the phone correctly can be an issue … door opening not a problem but getting the reader to recognize the phone to ”start” it …

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