PAAK ...???

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What is PAAK? I was very confused with PAAK, its properties and what protocol was based on, until breeves002 posted a block diagram in reply to my 12v terminal thread. I was disturbed by the fact that someone posted that it ceased to function when the wireless network was inaccessible... it behooves me that the geeks at Ford would implement a flawed operating system.

So I did an experimentation: turned on the Airplane Mode on in my iPhone12, approached the vehicle within sight distance and all the functionality of FordPass WAS working. i.e. unlock, lock, windows down/up, etc... Turned OFF the Bluetooth and lost all the functionality. Turned the Bluetooh only back on and all functionality was restored. My production model is March 2021.

I am not IT savvy, but based on what I have done it appears that PAAK foperating system is based on Bluetooth or NFC or combination of both. It is irelevant whether you have have access to 4G/5G wireless network. I do not know how different wireless phone models are with respect to Bluetooh signal strength but on my iPhone12 it has been stable and I have not had any issues yet.
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SnBGC

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What is PAAK? I was very confused with PAAK, its properties and what protocol was based on, until breeves002 posted a block diagram in reply to my 12v terminal thread. I was disturbed by the fact that someone posted that it ceased to function when the wireless network was inaccessible... it behooves me that the geeks at Ford would implement a flawed operating system.

So I did an experimentation: turned on the Airplane Mode on in my iPhone12, approached the vehicle within sight distance and all the functionality of FordPass WAS working. i.e. unlock, lock, windows down/up, etc... Turned OFF the Bluetooth and lost all the functionality. Turned the Bluetooh only back on and all functionality was restored. My production model is March 2021.

I am not IT savvy, but based on what I have done it appears that PAAK foperating system is based on Bluetooth or NFC or combination of both. It is irelevant whether you have have access to 4G/5G wireless network. I do not know how different wireless phone models are with respect to Bluetooh signal strength but on my iPhone12 it has been stable and I have not had any issues yet.
PaaK won't function in my car without an internet connection. I have tried it without cell service and it functioned with wireless. Turned off both cell and wireless and PaaK didn't work.

That test was months ago though.
Did Ford fix something since then?
 


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PaaK won't function in my car without an internet connection. I have tried it without cell service and it functioned with wireless. Turned off both cell and wireless and PaaK didn't work.

That test was months ago though.
Did Ford fix something since then?
In your case, it might be because you didn't have the PaaK background service running until the moment you began your test. Perhaps FordPass requires internet access while initializing the PaaK service.

I tested it many times throughout Joshua Tree National Park and it worked fine most of the time. I did not have any cellular coverage throughout most of the park.

The difference might be due to the fact that I allow the background service to continuously run while I think you were intentionally stopping all that stuff on your phone at that time.
 

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In your case, it might be because you didn't have the PaaK background service running until the moment you began your test. Perhaps FordPass requires internet access while initializing the PaaK service.

I tested it many times throughout Joshua Tree National Park and it worked fine most of the time. I did not have any cellular coverage throughout most of the park.

The difference might be due to the fact that I allow the background service to continuously run while I think you were intentionally stopping all that stuff on your phone at that time.
It will be interesting to see if this was an OTA fix. PaaK definitely went into full fail in the Everglades in March. I even tested with another trip out there after the first day of failures.
 
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PaaK won't function in my car without an internet connection. I have tried it without cell service and it functioned with wireless. Turned off both cell and wireless and PaaK didn't work.

That test was months ago though.
Did Ford fix something since then?
Mine works as long as the Bluetooth is activated irrespective of 4G/5G or Wi-Fi.
 

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Mine works as long as the Bluetooth is activated irrespective of 4G/5G or Wi-Fi.
You can't just turn these off for a few minutes to get the failure. The failure happens after being in an internet-free environment (no cell signal, no WiFi) for a while.
 

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In your case, it might be because you didn't have the PaaK background service running until the moment you began your test. Perhaps FordPass requires internet access while initializing the PaaK service.

I tested it many times throughout Joshua Tree National Park and it worked fine most of the time. I did not have any cellular coverage throughout most of the park.

The difference might be due to the fact that I allow the background service to continuously run while I think you were intentionally stopping all that stuff on your phone at that time.
Does the background service require an internet connection?

My test was with my old phone after the cell service was ported to the new phone. I walked up to my car with the old phone (no cellular service) and PaaK worked. However, that was in my driveway and the old phone was connected to my home wireless. So I got in the car and drove it to the end of the block and PaaK didn't work. Drove back into range (after using the backup start code) and it started working again.

Also tested it on Friday just because I had a few extra minutes. Was in a parking garage with iffy cell service. I asked my coworker to hold my fob while I approached the car to see if PaaK would work. Nothing. No puddle lights or clicks or anything. Once the fob got close then everything worked again. I assumed PaaK wasn't working because the cell signal was weak or non-existent. ???
 

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Does the background service require an internet connection?

My test was with my old phone after the cell service was ported to the new phone. I walked up to my car with the old phone (no cellular service) and PaaK worked. However, that was in my driveway and the old phone was connected to my home wireless. So I got in the car and drove it to the end of the block and PaaK didn't work. Drove back into range (after using the backup start code) and it started working again.

Also tested it on Friday just because I had a few extra minutes. Was in a parking garage with iffy cell service. I asked my coworker to hold my fob while I approached the car to see if PaaK would work. Nothing. No puddle lights or clicks or anything. Once the fob got close then everything worked again. I assumed PaaK wasn't working because the cell signal was weak or non-existent. ???
The OP was doing a different test. He was testing the remote functions in FordPass. It's hard to evaluate functionality when different people are testing different things.
 

macchiaz-o

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Does the background service require an internet connection?

My test was with my old phone after the cell service was ported to the new phone. I walked up to my car with the old phone (no cellular service) and PaaK worked. However, that was in my driveway and the old phone was connected to my home wireless. So I got in the car and drove it to the end of the block and PaaK didn't work. Drove back into range (after using the backup start code) and it started working again.

Also tested it on Friday just because I had a few extra minutes. Was in a parking garage with iffy cell service. I asked my coworker to hold my fob while I approached the car to see if PaaK would work. Nothing. No puddle lights or clicks or anything. Once the fob got close then everything worked again. I assumed PaaK wasn't working because the cell signal was weak or non-existent. ???
Could be? I'm not sure.

It's hard to characterize a "black box" whose functionality is intermittent even when everything has strong connectivity. PaaK is intermittently working for me even when both wifi and cellular connectivity are available, like in my garage.

(I haven't had any updates installed beyond those published OTA.)
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