Is PAAK really good now?

[DevSecOps]

If you didn't explicitly go to a dealer and get 21P22 then these modules didn't get updated. I don't know when new cars coming from the factory got the update. @DevSecOps Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Build dates in the October/Novemberish range of 2021 had the updated RFA module.

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[JGuske23]

I actually gave PAAK another shot because of this thread and I'm pleasantly surprised. I'm in and out of my car 15x a day for work and the last 2 days since giving it another go I've been very impressed.

It did hang up 1x but I haven't even been taking my phone out of my pocket when approaching the vehicle.

I've also had no key detected after starting the car once but it quickly changed its mind.

At this point I'm willing to go key fobless until a disaster happens ha

 

[sockmeister]

I'm not sure if this is anyone else's experience, but for me it works very well almost every time, but it's slow..
I have to walk up to my car and push the button , then wait 15 seconds the push again and it opens.

Very consistent, works every time, but slow. Is it like this for anyone else?

Not quite that slow, but you're describing what's been more or less my experience. It works consistently, but the wait at the door is more like 5 seconds at the door. It seems to be slow to connect to bluetooth initially.
Which, when it's 20 F outside, feels more like 30 minutes to us.

 

[AzCoronaDog]

If you didn't explicitly go to a dealer and get 21P22 then these modules didn't get updated. I don't know when new cars coming from the factory got the update. @DevSecOps Please correct me if I'm wrong.

My have to take my car in (again - long story) for the windshield / roof seal recall, so I will be sure to ask about 21P22 also. I had heard of this issue number too, but I did not realize that apparently it can only be done at the dealership. Thanks for the tip!

 

[JohnnyForensic]

I start and drive my car 2-6 times per day. Exclusively PAAK. I keep FP running and I put the phone on the wireless charger. My usage of backup start codes in past 3 months:
2/8
2/6
2/6
2/5
2/5
1/31
1/30
1/21
1/14
1/14
1/11
1/9
1/8
1/7
1/7
1/6
1/4
12/31
12/27
12/27
12/27
12/27
12/22
12/18
12/18
12/13
12/13
12/13
12/13
12/13
12/11
12/10
12/10
12/8
12/8
12/6
12/6
12/3
11/27
11/27
11/24
11/23
11/23
11/17
11/16
11/16
11/15

I got the 21P22 is late Nov/early Dec. Not sure I’ve seen a difference. Maybe things are getting a bit better? 21x in December. 12x in January. 5x thru half of February.

Wow. Blows my mind. I don’t have 21P22. I’ve had my Job 1.5 car since September. I use PAAK almost exclusively. I have never once needed to use my backup code.

It’s gotta be something in hardware. Crushed antenna during assembly? Bad module? Crazy for such different experiences.

 

[Tampamike]

I haven’t needed a backup start code in, I don’t know when. I’ve used it when I forgot to grab my phone but not because PAAK didn’t work. Lately, I’m not even getting the “key not detected” message when my phone is in my pocket.

 

[Mirak]

Wow. Blows my mind. I don’t have 21P22. I’ve had my Job 1.5 car since September. I use PAAK almost exclusively. I have never once needed to use my backup code.

It’s gotta be something in hardware. Crushed antenna during assembly? Bad module? Crazy for such different experiences.

Could also be my phone. It’s an iPhone 11, which is about as standard as they come. But it’s a work phone so I dunno it’s possible the device management is messing something up. Really hard to pinpoint. I get all the updates available every time I bring it in to the service center (I think 4 times now). My last visit was when I got 21P22.

 

[bellyer]

My PaaK has been working flawlessly for the past week or two. No idea what happened. I have always used PaaK, but have certainly had delays when connecting or prompts to use the backup code, but these past couple of weeks have been great. I do not yet have 21P22 installed (that's coming next week when I go in for the windshield/roof recalls, so hopefully 21P22 makes it even better. The only thing that is different for me is that my Galaxy Note 10+ updated to Android 12 within the 10 days, so *maybe* there was something that improved the PaaK bluetooth connectivity in the update to Android 12 (although, since Android 12, I also can't install or update any apps, so I can't get the latest FordPass or anything else, so that is annoying). The improved PaaK experience is certainly a welcome surprise and I have no idea what made it better.

 

[SnBGC]

I voted that I need to keep punching buttons on a regular basis. PaaK seems to work about 3 or 4 times out of 10 tries.

 

[nanohead]

Ashamed to say I have no idea. After PAAK almost killed me a couple of times with "no key detected" shutdowns, and stranded me for the 4th time I stopped using it.

FP though is less horrific, but I disconnected the PAAK functionality as even if I walked by the car in my garage with the phone in my pocket, the car would spaz out. And our kitchen counter where we throw our keys is not 8 feet from the car in the garage, and the car would have goofy behavior just while simply sitting in the garage when a phone was on the counter.

Sorry, not ready to risk my life to junk mobile phone based toys

I also have a 2021 Ranger, and FP is a bit more consistent with at least remote start, but its still incredibly slow. Simple RF based key fobs are still my choice for reliability.

I also placed my order for an F150 Lightning, so hopefully when that actually shows up later this year, they will give 2 $10 key fobs for my $80K

 

[DevSecOps]

Well. While the other PAAK thread is engulfed in a war

I have some preliminary results. I don't understand why, but unhiding that notification did indeed help it react faster... Only I've tried it a couple times so far but it does indeed seem to be quicker.

And to be honest I'm not sure how I feel about this discovery.. it's nice that it's reacting faster, but having this present all the time is going to drive, OCD, dramatic me insane:

Any follow up on if that continued to help?

 

[mpshizzle]

Any follow up on if that continued to help?

Yes! It's not been like a night and day difference, but it does seem to be a bit faster generally. Sometimes I still have to push the button a few times, but that may be down to the fact that I walk at the speed of a gay man and the car has no time to react when I walk up quickly

 

[DevSecOps]

Yes! It's not been like a night and day difference, but it does seem to be a bit faster generally. Sometimes I still have to push the button a few times, but that may be down to the fact that I walk at the speed of a gay man and the car has no time to react when I walk up quickly

Good to hear.

Dang, the jokes you always manage to set me up for that aren't suitable for public consumption.

 

[mkhuffman]

Yes! It's not been like a night and day difference, but it does seem to be a bit faster generally. Sometimes I still have to push the button a few times, but that may be down to the fact that I walk at the speed of a gay man and the car has no time to react when I walk up quickly

I still can't get the hatch to open with "kick to open" using PaaK. When the car is asleep, sometimes I have to run my hand down the keypad numbers and then the car recognizes me and the door button unlocks the car. But no matter what I do, even if the car is already unlocked, kicking under the bumper will not open the hatch. Do you think if I kick under the rear bumper like a gay man the hatch will open?

 

[phil]

After PAAK almost killed me a couple of times with "no key detected" shutdowns, and stranded me for the 4th time I stopped using it.

How did those near-death experiences go down? I have had a few shutdowns while parked - disconcerting and annoying, but not deadly. Did you get shutdown while moving? That could be very bad.

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