Digital Smart Key #NoMoreKeys

[mango010101]

My goal is to be able to leave the house with nothing but my phone. Currently I have everything else covered except the Bronco keyfab, I want to replace it with a smart phone application on my iPhone 15ProMax.
I am open to 3rd party hardware being installed into my Bronco.
I own a 2021 4dr Bandlands with SAS and Lux.
I came across the following link, but I haven't seen much activity on it.

Viper Smart Key

Anyone with any ideas or if I am lucky maybe one of you have been successful with this.
I have heard the the FordPass app is supposed to work for some of their EV's.

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[RagnarKon]

I got $50 that Ford will add Phone-As-A-Key to the Bronco well before that product even comes out. Checked the product page and looks like it was supposed to come out in 2020... it's now 4 years later and still "Coming Soon!".

Anyway, I personally have zero desire to use my phone as a key. Heck, I just left my house this morning to run some errands and the thing I left behind was my phone. But as someone who works in the Computer Engineering/Cybersecurity world this stuff is still very interesting to me.

 

[mango010101]

I got $50 that Ford will add Phone-As-A-Key to the Bronco well before that product even comes out. Checked the product page and looks like it was supposed to come out in 2020... it's now 4 years later and still "Coming Soon!".

Anyway, I personally have zero desire to use my phone as a key. Heck, I just left my house this morning to run some errands and the thing I left behind was my phone. But as someone who works in the Computer Engineering/Cybersecurity world this stuff is still very interesting to me.

Yes, I noticed that it said 2020, ridiculous . I am an engineer(Aero) also an a hobbyist IT/Cybersecurity nerd. Currently setting up my smart home.
It doesn't seem like it would be that difficult to create a product like that, I am sure there are security concerns for a commercial product.
I might try to DIY it, if it's possible, I need to do more research.

I always have my phone and constantly forget my keys, lol.

 

[Brian_B]

I don’t know the answer to this, but would this work:

leave the key in the center console

lock/unlock the Bronco with the Ford Pass App (or door keypad)

?

 

[indio22]

My goal is to be able to leave the house with nothing but my phone. Currently I have everything else covered except the Bronco keyfab, I want to replace it with a smart phone application on my iPhone 15ProMax.
I am open to 3rd party hardware being installed into my Bronco.
I own a 2021 4dr Bandlands with SAS and Lux.
I came across the following link, but I haven't seen much activity on it.

Viper Smart Key

Anyone with any ideas or if I am lucky maybe one of you have been successful with this.
I have heard the the FordPass app is supposed to work for some of their EV's.

My goal is to be able to leave the house with ... nothing. (Well, other than clothing.) Give me biometric access or forget it. The electronic leash can stay home.

Fingerprint scanners are widely used on phones and other devices. I installed a scanner on my house door. Why not have a scanner on the vehicle Start button?

 

[mango010101]

I don’t know the answer to this, but would this work:

leave the key in the center console

lock/unlock the Bronco with the Ford Pass App (or door keypad)

?

It could work but it wouldn't be very secure, break a window and you have stollen Bronco plus I live in SoCal so I often have the top/doors off.

 

[Brian_B]

It could work but it wouldn't be very secure, break a window and you have stollen Bronco plus I live in SoCal so I often have the top/doors off.

I’ve heard, but haven’t confirmed - that if you lock your keys in (can only do it with the pad, maybe the app? - if you try to do it with the door it auto unlocks to keep you from doing it by accident) that it disables start until it’s unlocked via the same means

 

[mango010101]

I’ve heard, but haven’t confirmed - that if you lock your keys in (can only do it with the pad, maybe the app? - if you try to do it with the door it auto unlocks to keep you from doing it by accident) that it disables start until it’s unlocked via the same means

Interesting, I don't have the pad but I definitely have the app.

 

[Brian_B]

I’ve heard, but haven’t confirmed - that if you lock your keys in (can only do it with the pad, maybe the app? - if you try to do it with the door it auto unlocks to keep you from doing it by accident) that it disables start until it’s unlocked via the same means

Ok just tried this out of curiosity

It didn't work at all like I had heard.

Rolled the windows down and sat in the Bronco with keys. Locked the door from the app. Tried to start the Bronco, and it fired right up.

Did the same thing locking the door from the keypad, fired right up.

Not sure if it was outsmarting me because I was still sitting Bronco or not, but having locked the doors with the keys in it did not prevent it from starting.

 

[emulous74]

I ran across this when I worked at GM on the Honda Prologue project. Honda really wanted the phone as a key and we weren’t able to give it to them at the start of production due to Bluetooth low emitting antennas for Apple and another type of antenna for Google. One of the problems is you only want the phone to work as a key when you are extremely close to the vehicle. You don’t want it to unlock the door and starting the HVAC system when you are in your kitchen. So therefore you need specific antennas and then just follow apple and google’s rules to get it to work with the phone. Adding to the complexity is using apple’s wallet and google’s equivalent or building that stuff in your native app.

I have a Lucid Air that works through their app on an iPhone, not through Apple’s wallet. It is nice to only need your phone, and that’s all I have used since the second day of owning it. The car also does facial recognition and won’t let you drive if you used the phone to gain entry if it doesn’t recognize your face. In this scenario it asks you to enter in your PIN through the infotainment screen to drive the vehicle.

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