Am I the only one having a great PaaK experience?

[EvanMD]

I see a lot of discussion regarding folks' issues with PaaK. I've had my MME for two months now and haven't once left the house with my fob.

I primarily rely on PaaK, but occasionally leave my phone locked in my car and use PIN entry to get back in. Between those two options, I've never not been able to use the vehicle.

The only real hiccup I occasionally experience is that iOS will kill the FordPass app even if I leave it running in the background, which is considerably more common since upgrading to iOS 15. And if the car has gone into a deep sleep, pulling out my phone and relaunching the app is faster than jamming on the door button until the car wakes up and forces a connection back on my phone. And, for me, that's an acceptable inconvenience compared to carrying around a bulky fob.

I can understand if folks find the fob radio connection more consistent than a Bluetooth handshake, especially if you're using an older phone running an older version of Bluetooth, but I don't want to totally scare new owners away from the feature. It's certainly worth the attempt, as too is setting up your door PIN and "engine" password.

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[methorian]

Since having the PaaK update installed, I haven't had a single issue with PaaK, using iOS (14 and 15) on my iPhone 12 Pro.

The only time I leave the house with a fob is on a roadtrip, and that's mostly so that if something were to happen to my Mach-E, I'd have a fob to give a tow-truck/dealership/etc.

 

[MachTee]

Since having the PaaK update installed, I haven't had a single issue with PaaK, using iOS (14 and 15) on my iPhone 12 Pro.

The only time I leave the house with a fob is on a roadtrip, and that's mostly so that if something were to happen to my Mach-E, I'd have a fob to give a tow-truck/dealership/etc.

I said just that in another thread couple days ago and have since discovered that there's still some quirks. When I shut off the car and I get the "restart now or key needed" message and I don't exit the car, it will prompt me to enter my startup code and PAAK refuses to work. I have seen that message occasionally and when I actually exit the car and lock it, when I return PAAK works. It's when I'm greeted with that message and not exit the car is when PAAK acts up again.

Any theory as to what triggers the "restart now or key needed" message?

 

[rodhx]

I use PAAK exclusively and haven’t seen “key not found“ for many weeks now. When it did come up it was almost always when I had my phone in my left pocket and moving it to the center console resulted in the car finding it.

Sure, there are small inconveniences. Sometimes I have to use the door keypad to get in. Sometimes the hatch doesn’t unlock and I have to use the button. The fob is tucked away in the console inside a faraday bag “just in case”, but I have yet to resort to that.

 

[cdale12]

I also only use PaaK and haven't had issues. I've relaunched the app a few times after a crash, but that's about it. I did lock my phone in the car once, and used the PIN to get in. I've only had the car 3 weeks and don't drive it a ton since I travel, so it's a small sample size for sure.

 

[2FlyMache]

Mine is recognized but i have to use unlock button in app to unlock car. I always carry the fob out of habit so I haven’t committed full time to PAAK yet

 

[rockatansky]

**tempting fate by posting**

I've had my car since February. I've exclusively used PaaK. Outside of one or two "Key not Found" messages (which quickly corrected themselves,) I've had no issues getting into or starting the car.

I received, and still have, the "Phone as a key software update" notice in FordPass. I've chosen not to take the car in to have the update applied, as I don't want to fix what isn't broken for me.

 

[Shayne]

Maybe some were not around before the paak update and key not detected. Mine works well right now no complains. Not sure paak warrants great or any arousal but it working OK is a bonus. Unlock twice once to wake it up. Smallest battery and all. i7 256G with 15.0.1 so kind of oldest and refurbished but have no complaints with paak or carplay right now. Things just seem to work. Fob in a faraday pouch and know it is blocked so yep it is working like a charm.

 

[Polar]

Another exclusive PAAK use family here

My wife and I have both only used our phones since we got the car in early April.

I had to use my back up start code only a couple times. Not impactful in any way; love not carrying any keys at all with me anymore.

 

[SnBGC]

My PaaK experiences were not great. I did try it for a couple weeks early on and again every now and then for a day or two and have been left wanting. Plus, I really don't like giving my phone to friends or family when they are moving my car for me or running small errands.

Glad to hear that it does work well enough for some owners. That is pretty cool.

 

[JohnnyForensic]

I see a lot of discussion regarding folks' issues with PaaK. I've had my MME for two months now and haven't once left the house with my fob.

I primarily rely on PaaK, but occasionally leave my phone locked in my car and use PIN entry to get back in. Between those two options, I've never not been able to use the vehicle.

The only real hiccup I occasionally experience is that iOS will kill the FordPass app even if I leave it running in the background, which is considerably more common since upgrading to iOS 15. And if the car has gone into a deep sleep, pulling out my phone and relaunching the app is faster than jamming on the door button until the car wakes up and forces a connection back on my phone. And, for me, that's an acceptable inconvenience compared to carrying around a bulky fob.

I can understand if folks find the fob radio connection more consistent than a Bluetooth handshake, especially if you're using an older phone running an older version of Bluetooth, but I don't want to totally scare new owners away from the feature. It's certainly worth the attempt, as too is setting up your door PIN and "engine" password.

Identical experiences. I feel like a PaaK unicorn. Works great for me.

 

[rodhx]

Plus, I really don't like giving my phone to friends or family when they are moving my car for me or running small errands.

That‘s another reason I keep a fob in the car in the faraday pouch.

I did have the dealer update for the driver door not unlocking. This little issue came back with the previous FordPass update but haven’t seen it (yet?) with the latest version. My car is a 12/20 build with 10500 miles to date.

It would be nice to get the puddle & welcome lights though.

 

[RockwallRick]

Not a PAAK fan myself. My Wife tried it early on but it was just too flaky so she decided to keep the FOB chained to her Purse! lol

 

[JeffGo]

I have only used PaaK since the day after I got the car, end of July. Very frustrating at times (maybe 50%) but it eventually works, and I don't want to carry the bulky fob. Restarting the app helps much of the time. But it's silly because the car always acknowledges me (or my phone) when I get close by winking its lights. Half dozen presses on the door lock some of the time, same with the start button - I mostly ignore the backup code and it eventually lets me start. The back door thing works most of the time if I lose patience.

Driving along and No Key Detected is also stupid, I'm already driving using my PaaK!

Not sure if my vehicle has or still needs the TSB for PaaK, nothing visible in the FordPass app. I will likely have to bring into the dealership soon once the recalls start flowing so I hope to get any/all TSBs at the time.

 

[ChuckA]

That‘s another reason I keep a fob in the car in the faraday pouch.

I did have the dealer update for the driver door not unlocking. This little issue came back with the previous FordPass update but haven’t seen it (yet?) with the latest version. My car is a 12/20 build with 10500 miles to date.

It would be nice to get the puddle & welcome lights though.

My wife keeps the fob in the faraday pouch in her pocketbook but always uses PaaK. Yes PaaK is buggy. You get experienced at “work-arounds”. It would be nice ,randomly, to not pull out your phone while standing in the puddle!

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