PAAK not working

[Logal727]

I just deleted the key from the FordPass app and set it up again and it works mostly fine

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[MightyMike]

There is definitely differences depending on length of time I am near the car. I went out of town for a weekend and when I came back it didn't seem to recognize me. i had to open the app. But usually I just walk up to it with the phone in my pocket and all works well.

I've also seen differences depending on power level. Fully charged or plugged in, it responds right away. If the power level is lower, it seems to take a few seconds.

All-in-all I find it so reliable I have stopped carrying my dongle.

 

[terry_mach_e]

No, you need to reset PaaK in the car completely. To do so:

Settings -> General -> Reset -> Fordpass Connect Reset -> Phone as a Key Reset

Will try this; thank you!

 

[Lord Polymath]

There is definitely differences depending on length of time I am near the car. I went out of town for a weekend and when I came back it didn't seem to recognize me. i had to open the app. But usually I just walk up to it with the phone in my pocket and all works well.

I've also seen differences depending on power level. Fully charged or plugged in, it responds right away. If the power level is lower, it seems to take a few seconds.

All-in-all I find it so reliable I have stopped carrying my dongle.

That's interesting because my charge is down to 54%. I'll see if it behaves better when I charge up to 90 tonight.

 

[Lord Polymath]

No, you need to reset PaaK in the car completely. To do so:

Settings -> General -> Reset -> Fordpass Connect Reset -> Phone as a Key Reset

I didn't know about this, thanks. Another annoying thing about this process is that after you set up the new phone as PAAK, the car repeatedly shows a message about there being a new phone detected without a start password associated with it. I want to keep my same start password, not make a new one. Now I'm not sure if the original start password will work or not, I'll have to check. All of this is pretty disjointed and unintuitive.

 

[terry_mach_e]

Another annoying thing about this process is that after you set up the new phone as PAAK, the car repeatedly shows a message about there being a new phone detected without a start password associated with it. I want to keep my same start password, not make a new one. Now I'm not sure if the original start password will work or not, I'll have to check. All of this is pretty disjointed and unintuitive.

There is a high chance the original backup password won't work (unless it was created from another profile, in which case that password stays and can be used). Recommend creating the new one, lest you get stranded.

 

[DevSecOps]

I didn't know about this, thanks. Another annoying thing about this process is that after you set up the new phone as PAAK, the car repeatedly shows a message about there being a new phone detected without a start password associated with it. I want to keep my same start password, not make a new one. Now I'm not sure if the original start password will work or not, I'll have to check. All of this is pretty disjointed and unintuitive.

When you reset, the backup password will be reset as well. You'll get an email from Ford saying that it's been removed from the car.

You can then setup PaaK anew and use the same password that you used previously. The backup passcode to START the car is part of the PaaK process. The code for the door doesn't require PaaK.

These bluetooth issues aren't specific to Ford. Headsets etc all suffer from the same issue when upgrading phones.

 

[zhackwyatt]

Wow, so it's common for FordPass to be connected to the car via Bluetooth but pushing the door button doesn't work? I expect better, @Ford Motor Company
Very embarrassing to try and show someone my brand new Mach-E and can't open the door.

I don't think so, unless it's an iPhone thing. My Android works 99% of the time without issue.

PaaK is three pieces that have to work, car, app, and phone. I believe most problems people see now days are phone. In the early days there were problems with the firmware in the cars. The FordPass app is also much improved (still has a ways to go). Assuming all updates are in the car, the most likely problem is the phone.

After I upgraded to Android 13, for example I would have to reset Bluetooth to get it working. That was a phone problem even though you can be standing out in the rain cursing the car. Ford can't do anything about it. I have since received a few updates to the phone that seemed to have fixed it.

 

[Blue highway]

I wonder if this is true. I’m going to start force closing and restarting FordPass every morning just to test if that materially improves PAAK performance.

PAAK did seem to have gotten more reliable when it comes to starting the car, but most recently the performance seems to be deteriorating again.

PAAK waking up the car to unlock the doors has always and continues to be unacceptably flakey.

PAAK will always be "flaky" compared to a fob because most of what is happening is happening in your phone. Your phone is a variable that the phone app can not fully control.

What does this version of your phone do to apps that are idle?... when and how does it put them to sleep to save battery?

Especially in the world of Android, there are hundreds of customized versions of the operating system that behave in inconsistent ways. IOS is bad but better in this regard.

sorry, but PAAK will never match the reliability of a fob... because of your phone.

I'm willing to deal with some flakiness because I always carry my phone and find it more convenient than a fob. I'm willing to restart the app if for whatever reason it's not recognized by the car. I do this about once every 2-3 weeks. In earlier releases it was more often.

 

[Lord Polymath]

When you reset, the backup password will be reset as well. You'll get an email from Ford saying that it's been removed from the car.

You can then setup PaaK anew and use the same password that you used previously. The backup passcode to START the car is part of the PaaK process. The code for the door doesn't require PaaK.

These bluetooth issues aren't specific to Ford. Headsets etc all suffer from the same issue when upgrading phones.

I did the reset and set up PAAK again. The car then says I need to set up the start password but gives me an error “required devices were not found please make sure you have a fob and a phone as a key device with Bluetooth enabled “. So, for anyone reading this in the future, do it when you have your fob. Not at work where you don’t ,

 

[DevSecOps]

I did the reset and set up PAAK again. The car then says I need to set up the start password but gives me an error “required devices were not found please make sure you have a fob and a phone as a key device with Bluetooth enabled “. So, for anyone reading this in the future, do it when you have your fob. Not at work where you don’t ,

OMG ...

Yes, in order to set up PaaK you MUST have a FOB with you. I forget that there's newer members here who haven't been through the PaaK nightmares of 2021. I guess I assume everyone knows that you need the FOB to set it up.

 

[Lord Polymath]

OMG ...

Yes, in order to set up PaaK you MUST have a FOB with you. I forget that there's newer members here who haven't been through the PaaK nightmares of 2021. I guess I assume everyone knows that you need the FOB to set it up.

Technically I think you can set up PAAK without the fob, but you have to have it in order to set up the backup start password. It went fairly well after I got home (I live 3 minutes from work) and had the fob in hand. Set up the same start password as I had before. The only issue I had was that the process seemed to get interrupted by something and I had to start over 3 times before I got the full password typed in and verified.

 

[DevSecOps]

Technically I think you can set up PAAK without the fob, but you have to have it in order to set up the backup start password. It went fairly well after I got home (I live 3 minutes from work) and had the fob in hand. Set up the same start password as I had before. The only issue I had was that the process seemed to get interrupted by something and I had to start over 3 times before I got the full password typed in and verified.

In order to setup PaaK you need the FOB. As for it getting interrupted that can happen with Sync. Normally if there's issues setting up PaaK like you described then it's recommended to kill the Sync, AA, CarPlay connection and re-establish that after PaaK is completed.

 

[skiingj]

For six months or so PaaK was pretty good. The last three months it's just terrible in regards to opening doors and hatch. Key not found is comical when it just let you start.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

PAAK worked wonderfully for the first 3 weeks I had the car, now I got a new iPhone and it's been unreliable at best. I deleted my old paak and added the new one, the process went smoothly. Now this morning I'm standing right next to the car and pushing the open button does nothing. Fordpass shows Bluetooth connected. I can push the unlock button in fordpass and the doors unlock. But standing next to the car and pushing the open button does nothing. Embarrassing and infuriating. I can envision trying to get into the car in a pouring down rain... Anyone have tips or tricks to get it working again?

Hi there. Can you send us a DM with your VIN and dealership info? I can look into this for you.

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