PAAKL: What a difference a phone makes

[Chuck]

I am a loyal PAAK user. I've been using PAAK exclusively since I got my car in April of 2021. Worked like a champ. Until last December. Ford pushed an update that screwed up PAAK. So, I started carrying the keyfob. After a couple of months later I tried PAAK again to see if they'd fixed it but it was iffy on my Galaxy S22 Ultra. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it took about 15 seconds to work once I got near the car, sometimes it never connected. So, I returned to usinng the kefob.

Last week I replaced my S22 Ultra with a Google Pixel 10 Pro XL and what a world of difference. It's like I'm back in 2021 again. Always connects quickly and has never failed. When walking toward my car in a parking lot the taillights light up when I'm 20 feet away. I'm happy not to carry the keyfob again.

Sponsored

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

My guess is that it's a coin toss as to whether the phone or the car is causing the paak issues at any given time.

 

[ReverendPete]

Not sure if it was the same update that messed up your PAAK, but at some point in the last year I got an update that was centered around PAAK, and it made my iPhone 16 Pro Max go from being slow to open the doors, etc, to working as well and predictably as the fob. (I still carry my fob, because of other things on my key ring, though).

 

[Mark813]

I'm curious if the combination of the brand of phone as well as what cellular provider you have affects PAAK as well. Verizon vs ATT vs T-Mobile and the second tiers of cellular providers.

Also are there issues related to buying your phone direct from Samsung, Apple, or Google vs buying through the cellular provider.

It shouldn't affect functionality but sometimes the cellular providers put their own junkware that can have side effects on what you can do with the phone versus if you bought it unlocked.

But I think we'd see a lot more complaints about functionality in that case then what we already see.

 

[kodiakng]

my pixel 7 had been getting much better over time and, besides significant bumps on the android OS side in jan/feb this year, has been solid. there was a fordpass update in mid-august that felt even more solid.

then i upgraded to a pixel 10 pro and it has been rock solid with faster and, dare i say, nearly perfect open on first push when arriving at the car.

i can't say with certainty whether it was the latest update, the new pixel 10 pro, or both together that made the difference but i did note better performance on my pixel 7 before with just the update.

in any case, ford has made solid progress on PaaK. still a good idea to test your backup entry methods though.

the app still doesn't indicate or know with certainty whether the car is locked/unlocked or alarm is armed/disarmed when it is parked but hey, i guess that's rocket science.

 

[ipca204]

paak is great....until it is not. Not a single person has had it work "flawlessly", contrary to what people post..

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

paak is great....until it is not. Not a single person has had it work "flawlessly", contrary to what people post..

I've had more instances of the fob not letting me in a mach-e than PAAk. Use whatever you're comfortable with.

 

[GreaseMonkey]

paak is great....until it is not. Not a single person has had it work "flawlessly", contrary to what people post..

It’s dependent on each person’s pain threshold. I had great luck when I switched to my 2024. Then Ford updated something and it started getting more clunky. It works okay, but not as well as it once did.

 

[EasyPass]

#TRUTH
The phone makes a significant difference. In my 4 years of ownership, I've had three different phones each bringing increased reliability. I'm certain that OTAs have added a dollop of positive integration as well, but I'll wager the phone is a larger part of the mix.

 

[ipca204]

I've had more instances of the fob not letting me in a mach-e than PAAk. Use whatever you're comfortable with.

sorry, that's just malarkey..the key fob is wayyyyyyyy more reliable than paak, unless the fob battery is dead...lol

 

[Space_Pony]

paak is great....until it is not. Not a single person has had it work "flawlessly", contrary to what people post..

It works for me and that's all that counts.

 

[ipca204]

It works for me and that's all that counts.

wait? what? So, you are saying you have NEVER had an issue using PAAK?? Go buy a lottery ticket RIGHT NOW!

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

sorry, that's just malarkey..the key fob is wayyyyyyyy more reliable than paak, unless the fob battery is dead...lol

Uh no. Wait! Have you been stalking me and keeping track of my opening and closing the doors? Maybe an MI: Final Reckoning video device in the cabin to see how I was starting it? I’ll bet it’s hidden in the FitCamX dash cam, isn’t it? I just knew it!

Tell me, Did you account for the times I intentionally used the door code and backup start code? The latter you can’t get without PAAK btw. Are you, by chance, the driver of that cyber orange select Mach-e that scowls at everyone, particularly other mme’s, all the time at Parker Ranch Center? If not, you would have zero clue how many issues I’ve had with either PAAK or the fob.

I’ve had exactly one time in 4 years that PAAK wouldn’t let me in the car. Once I got into tte car on that solitary occasion it started fine. I remember it well. It occurred on the same day that Scotland had its summer (all of it). It was a Tuesday in 2022. That was more than 3 years ago. I’ve had 3 or 4 times where that happened with the fob and 1 time among those where the car wouldn’t recognize it or the read it on the reader. The latter was 13 days ago in Kona.

I suggest you go back and critically read the post you responded to. Did I say anywhere in it, that you or anyone else has had similar experiences? Spoiler alert: I didn’t. I said what my experience has been — not yours or anyone else’s.

PAAK works virtually flawless for me. The Fob, mostly so. I’ll take the former. You’re allowed to use your FOB all you want and I don’t take offense to you deciding it works better for you.

In fact, to be honest, I actually could not possibly care less how anyone else accesses or activates their own Mach-e. Short of a brick to the window anyway. That would probably offended my sensibilities. Unless your 12v failed and you were rescuing a calico cat trapped inside your car. Then I’d call you a hero, congratulate you, and then offer the calico some fresh iced down shrimp from the iced down shrimp cold storage container thoughtfully designed into the front of every 2021-2024* Mach-e by the wonderful engineers at Ford (Thank you, Ron Heiser). Why? Because calico.

*The cold shrimp compartment in 2025 models is empirically known to be too small to hold sufficient shrimp for even 1 calico. Thus it has the paw of disapproval.

 

[ipca204]

the sheer number of the paak posts where people had problems far outweigh the posts about people that have fob problems. I, too, advocate for anyone to use WHATEVER method they want to enter their own car (including the brick) but the the FOB is more reliable than paak. I'll say it again, PAAK is great, until it is not...lol

 

[Chuck]

the sheer number of the paak posts where people had problems far outweigh the posts about people that have fob problems. I, too, advocate for anyone to use WHATEVER method they want to enter their own car (including the brick) but the the FOB is more reliable than paak. I'll say it again, PAAK is great, until it is not...lol

A PAAK failure, while rare, is only a minor inconvenience. It's not a catastrophe.

Sponsored