Key not detected error Stranded!

[SebastienMachE]

My PAAK works every time since mine was updated but I still bring the fob as a backup

Bringing your FOB is actually bypassing the Paak, no? It seems to be detected farther than the PaaK.

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[2FlyMache]

Bringing your FOB is actually bypassing the Paak, no? It seems to be detected farther than the PaaK.

I have verified that it picks it up without the FOB. I just don't rely on it

 

[mkhuffman]

Bringing your FOB is actually bypassing the Paak, no? It seems to be detected farther than the PaaK.

I wrap my Fob in tin foil which blocks the signal so the car does not know I have the Fob.

 

[dtbaker61]

I wrap my Fob in tin foil which blocks the signal so the car does not know I have the Fob.

me too. I have fob wrapped in foil in the car 'just in case', and for very occasional times I valet park somewhere.

then....
- make sure Fordpass and BT are up and running on my phone before I approach
- have phone out of packet and in my hand, or front pocket when I open driver's door
- put phone on center tray, buckle up... gives the MME time to find the phone, foot on brake, THEN 'start'

this has been working for me 90+% of the time. When it doesn't I't usually because I.ve stopped either BT, or FordPass, and forgot to re-start the app.... 99% success just by waiting 10 seconds and trying again. 99.9% success after re-starting my phone, re-starting Fordpass, and then trying again.

 

[baldeagle47]

PAAK worked well for me after thew initial software update, that is until recently when I updated for recall 22s41 & 22s69.
After that, PAAK stopped working and back up code disappeared. I was unable to re-establish PAAK trying numerous suggested fixes. I spent a few hours on the phone with Ford Pass. The PAAK reset in vehicle settings is "grayed out" that is, does work. They said I would have to take it to the dealer for a manual reset. Of course their service department is very busy which leaves me with just a single fob to access vehicle for a unreasonable period of time.

Has anyone been successful in having Ford Provide a second fob for free for the 2021 purchasers? Seems we get the worst of both situations; PAAK is not always working and if the one fob is lost, damaged or otherwise unavailable, you SOL.

 

[dtbaker61]

PAAK worked well for me after thew initial software update, that is until recently when I updated for recall 22s41 & 22s69.
After that, PAAK stopped working and back up code disappeared. I was unable to re-establish PAAK trying numerous suggested fixes. I spent a few hours on the phone with Ford Pass. The PAAK reset in vehicle settings is "grayed out" that is, does work. They said I would have to take it to the dealer for a manual reset. Of course their service department is very busy which leaves me with just a single fob to access vehicle for a unreasonable period of time.

Has anyone been successful in having Ford Provide a second fob for free for the 2021 purchasers? Seems we get the worst of both situations; PAAK is not always working and if the one fob is lost, damaged or otherwise unavailable, you SOL.

you may need to COMPLETELY clear out phone/paak from both your phone and the vehicle before you can re-configure. Partial installs and left over BT connections seem to prevent successful completion of PAAK configuration and setting of passcode. I would suggest you go back to the very early thread on what I had to do to get PAAK working on my old Android after a partial/failed configuration by the dealer when I picked up my car.

try this:
https://www.macheforum.com/site/thr...-android-9-to-enable-a-backup-startcode.4544/

 

[SnBGC]

PAAK worked well for me after thew initial software update, that is until recently when I updated for recall 22s41 & 22s69.
After that, PAAK stopped working and back up code disappeared. I was unable to re-establish PAAK trying numerous suggested fixes. I spent a few hours on the phone with Ford Pass. The PAAK reset in vehicle settings is "grayed out" that is, does work. They said I would have to take it to the dealer for a manual reset. Of course their service department is very busy which leaves me with just a single fob to access vehicle for a unreasonable period of time.

Has anyone been successful in having Ford Provide a second fob for free for the 2021 purchasers? Seems we get the worst of both situations; PAAK is not always working and if the one fob is lost, damaged or otherwise unavailable, you SOL.

I have a FE as well and same basic issue as you. PaaK worked at first (not well, but it worked), then eventually it degraded to completely not working at all. I recently tried installing it on my current phone and it won't install. It so happens that I happen to still have my old cell phone (Samsung Galaxy S10) and it does still work. In fact, it seems like it actually works better then when it had a cellular plan. I presume it is connecting with the vehicle via BlueTooth (or maybe WiFi from my home). Either way, it seems to work but I can't get PaaK to work on my current phone which I think is a Galaxy S20 something.

I was not successful in obtaining a second fob for free. I purchased 2 additional fobs. I removed the battery in one fob and stashed it in my car for emergencies. The other two fobs are in use (one for me and the other for my wife). That works perfectly fine. I have zero access issues with the fobs. That technology is pretty much rock solid now-a-days.

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

PAAK worked well for me after thew initial software update, that is until recently when I updated for recall 22s41 & 22s69.
After that, PAAK stopped working and back up code disappeared. I was unable to re-establish PAAK trying numerous suggested fixes. I spent a few hours on the phone with Ford Pass. The PAAK reset in vehicle settings is "grayed out" that is, does work. They said I would have to take it to the dealer for a manual reset. Of course their service department is very busy which leaves me with just a single fob to access vehicle for a unreasonable period of time.

Has anyone been successful in having Ford Provide a second fob for free for the 2021 purchasers? Seems we get the worst of both situations; PAAK is not always working and if the one fob is lost, damaged or otherwise unavailable, you SOL.

Second Fob: I ended up buying one through Car and Truck Remotes: https://myaccount.carandtruckremote...21&searchmake=Ford&searchmodel=Mustang Mach-E

As for the rest of your issues, you could try disconnecting the battery ground wire from the car (not the battery) and waiting a few minutes then connecting it back up. That should reset PAAK and a bunch of other things. This requires removing two covers in the Frunk though and then reinstalling them.

 

[baldeagle47]

Second Fob: I ended up buying one through Car and Truck Remotes: https://myaccount.carandtruckremotes.com/cyc/search/searchv1.php?searchyear=2021&searchmake=Ford&searchmodel=Mustang Mach-E

As for the rest of your issues, you could try disconnecting the battery ground wire from the car (not the battery) and waiting a few minutes then connecting it back up. That should reset PAAK and a bunch of other things. This requires removing two covers in the Frunk though and then reinstalling them.

 

[MyMach-E is a Boat Anchor]

Yes. Many have had issues like this at one time or another. If we choose to rely on an electronic key then we are also choosing to accept the possibility that software might not work as expected every single time. Its not really that different with the key fob because the battery can die and then the fob won't allow access either. In that case then the door pillar code or FordPass is your path to entry and then the dead fob can start the car with the console holster.

A real hard key is almost 100% foolproof (provided you don't lose it).
A key fob (without a hard key) is very reliable but even that can fail if the battery dies.
An electronic key is more likely to have inconsistencies with operation. Users just need to weigh the risk vs reward for whatever method they choose to use to access their vehicle.

The solution below sounds like a reasonable work around for the situation you describe. You might have to wait a while for your vehicle to reset and allow the backup start code but eventually that prompt does appear. Usually.

Yeah, phone support is worthless for something like this. I doubt they have much ability to help you in any useful way.

My real hard key fobs both stopped working with the most resent brick of my 21. PAAK also quit working. The only way to lock and unlock the car was with the driver's door keypad. If anything can go wrong it will go wrong at the worst possible moment. Ford is going to be sued when a vulnerable person cannot get into their car and is assaulted. It is just a matter of time.

 

[ChuckA]

With my ‘21 this was happening frequently to the point where I used the key only for a year. I then tried using PaaK and everything’s worked fine for the past 2 years. Something in OTA’s fixed the problem.

 

[dtbaker61]

My real hard key fobs both stopped working with the most resent brick of my 21. PAAK also quit working. The only way to lock and unlock the car was with the driver's door keypad. If anything can go wrong it will go wrong at the worst possible moment. Ford is going to be sued when a vulnerable person cannot get into their car and is assaulted. It is just a matter of time.

have you replaced batteries in your key fobs? If you have a '21 and not done this yet, I'd advise doing it asap. How about your 12v battery, I didn't read the whole thread, have you done that as well ?

I have found the door pillar code very useful, and had to enter my passcode on-screen only a couple times. I do hide-a-fob in the cabin for the few times I bring the car for service, or valet park. Last time I used it, the battery in the Fob was dead, but worked fine when I put the Fob in the little 'dead-fob spot' in the center console storage area.

 

[Rick65]

This just happened to me for the first time last weekend, I was able to open the car with my phone, but not able to start the car. then I got out, waited for it to lock, open the car now using the door pillar code and still not able to start the car. I had to the use the passcode, but it took me a bit to remember it as i created 2.5 years ago and never used it until this weekend.

Do I need to reset the PaaK ?

 

[azerik]

When my car doesn't see the PaaK I put the phone on the parking brake button. It's very close to the spot you'd stick a dead key in order for it to use NFC of a sort to start. Out of the twice it's happened to me I solved it this way. But twice in 2 years is far from a golden track record.

Usually it's a race condition or Apples BT stack crapping out. Lots of times turning off BT and back on (possibly away from the car) could solve it. I can't speak to the type of corruption that needs to happen for PaaK and your phones ID to get to a point where it just doesn't work, but it does happen. Resetting PaaK will force you to reset the start password from my experience.

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