I am confused about FordPass vs Paak info in the Owners Manual

[AzCoronaDog]

I searched the forums, but did not find anything on this specifically.

From page 117 of the pdf version of the owner's manual I downloaded (bolding mine):

Remotely Starting the Vehicle
Using your Phone as a Key control screen,
press and hold the start button with your
authorized phone within 131 ft (40 m) of
the vehicle.
Note: You can also use the FordPass App
to start the vehicle.

Is there a Phone as a Key app separate from the FordPass app? This same note appears in other places too. What am I missing here?

Does the remote start only work through Bluetooth (the 131 ft limit mentioned), or is it cellular modem based?
I was thinking how nice it will be to have remote start that is not dependent on being fairly close to the vehicle like my GMC and Jeep fobs require, but this sounds like it is similar, despite the phone based app.

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[TDAnthony]

PaaK functionality runs primarily on Bluetooth and requires you to be near the car - probably in it - to use the Start button.

The FordPass app allows you to remote start using your phone’s internet connection and the vehicle’s.

 

[TRP]

Both operate from the same app, FordPass. The difference is whether you are Bluetooth connected to the car (in or near it) or using internet connection (sitting in your living room or office)

 

[AzCoronaDog]

Both operate from the same app, FordPass. The difference is whether you are Bluetooth connected to the car (in or near it) or using internet connection (sitting in your living room or office)

Thanks - the manual is not at all clear about it. I have remoted started the car from what I believe is more than 131 feet away, but was wondering if that was a fluke.

 

[RickMachE]

Thanks - the manual is not at all clear about it. I have remoted started the car from what I believe is more than 131 feet away, but was wondering if that was a fluke.

Remote start, via FordPass, is done via a cellular connection with the vehicle, not your phone's Bluetooth connection.

Remote start, via a key, is done via the key transmitting to the vehicle, and only works for line of sight basically. It's RF (radio frequency) transmission, in this case Bluetooth.

 

[AzCoronaDog]

Remote start, via FordPass, is done via a cellular connection with the vehicle, not your phone's Bluetooth connection.

Remote start, via a key, is done via the key transmitting to the vehicle, and only works for line of sight basically. It's RF (radio frequency) transmission.

So the manual is most likely wrong about the 131 ft limitation then.
And of course the MME does not have remote start via the fob. Both my Jeep and my GMC have phone app based remote ability that is cellular, but they require paid subscriptions that are too pricey for me.

 

[RickMachE]

You are confusing two things.

PAAK (Phone as a key) has an operating range of 131 feet. You can do various functions with PAAK including passive start and drive the vehicle.

FordPass can also be used to remote start the vehicle, and it has no distance limitation, because it's cellular.

The only way you'd know which is starting the vehicle would be by eliminating the possibility that PAAK is doing it. One way to do that is to turn off your phone's Bluetooth. Another way would be to go many hundred feet away. If you see "Bluetooth Disconnected" on the screen, that tells you you're using the FordPass app.

FordPass is free, so you're getting that capability free whereas you pay for it with other manufacturers. Of course it's also using 4G, so when that becomes obsolete it will no longer function. My 2013 F-150 had Ford's Remote Access, which was a 3G system. In December 2020, the vendor operating the system shut it down due to the 3G system going away (even though it was still working).

From the manual (as you noted):

REMOTELY STARTING AND
STOPPING THE VEHICLE
Remotely Starting the Vehicle
Using your Phone as a Key control screen,
press and hold the start button with your
authorized phone within 131 ft (40 m) of
the vehicle.
Note: You can also use the FordPass App
to start the vehicle.

 

[AzCoronaDog]

...
The only way you'd know which is starting the vehicle would be by eliminating the possibility that PAAK is doing it.
...

From the manual (as you noted):
Using your Phone as a Key control screen ...
... You can also use the FordPass App
to start the vehicle.

Thanks, you definitely answered my question!

The manual is misleading, in that it is not clear that the "Phone as a Key control screen" is in the FordPass app, so to say 'also' is inaccurate.

I have written parts of the user's manuals for the various software applications I have coded for over the last 40 years, and I have always tried to make things as precise as possible. The MME manual obviously was cut and pasted and edited from an ICE vehicle manual and still needs some work!

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