The advent of digital car keys promised a seamless and futuristic vehicle experience, allowing drivers to ditch traditional fobs and utilize their smartphones for access and control. While companies like Tesla have championed this technology for years, BMW’s foray into digital key functionality, particularly with their Digital Key Plus, has been met with a mixed reception, leaving some users questioning how to fully leverage—or even reliably use—these features, especially when it comes to functions like remote window control.
One frustrated BMW owner’s experience highlights the stark contrast between the promise and the reality of digital car keys, particularly when compared to the established benchmark set by Tesla. This individual, a self-proclaimed BMW enthusiast who admits to disliking Tesla, still finds themselves yearning for the reliability and feature richness of Tesla’s digital key system. The core of their frustration revolves around the inconsistent performance of BMW’s Digital Key Plus and the perplexing absence of remote window control in the United States, a feature available in European models.
The primary issue lies in the erratic nature of the BMW digital key. Unlike Tesla’s system, which has been operational for over half a decade and boasts consistently fast and dependable performance, BMW’s Digital Key Plus often fails to work, or functions sporadically. This unreliability forces users back to carrying the traditional key fob – an inconvenience that digital keys are meant to eliminate. While Tesla owners often don’t even receive a physical key fob as standard, BMW drivers find themselves needing theirs as a constant backup.
The frustration is compounded by the apparent lack of компетентность from BMW’s support channels. Repeated attempts to troubleshoot with BMW Genius or Connected Drive personnel have yielded little more than generic advice, such as reinstalling the mobile application – a solution that has proven ineffective after multiple attempts across various smartphone models, including iPhone and Pixel devices.
Adding to the bewilderment is the discrepancy in feature availability between different regions. In Europe, BMW’s Digital Key Plus extends to remotely controlling windows and even summoning the vehicle from parking spaces. However, in the United States, these functionalities are inexplicably absent. The speculated reason – a concern over potential safety liabilities, such as someone getting injured by remotely operated windows – is deemed “ridiculous” by the disgruntled owner, especially considering the existence of similar remote window control features via the physical key fob (holding the lock or unlock button). This begs the question: if the car is already equipped with the hardware and software to control windows remotely via the key fob, why is this capability not extended to the digital key in the US? Is it truly a safety policy, or a limitation in the current programming of the “car digital key windows machine” for the US market?
Further exacerbating usability issues is the “walk away and lock” feature. While intended for convenience, it lacks the customization to exclude specific locations, such as a home garage. This results in the car automatically locking even when parked securely at home, an unnecessary and somewhat irritating behavior.
The user concludes that BMW seems to be attempting to emulate Tesla’s software prowess but is falling short due to less capable programming. The hope remains that future software updates, such as the rumored Connected Drive version 9, will address these shortcomings and finally unlock the full potential of BMW’s digital key system, bringing it closer to the seamless experience offered by competitors like Tesla. Until then, the question of “How To Program Car Digital Key Windows Machine” for full remote control in BMWs, particularly in the US, remains largely unanswered, leaving users to rely on traditional methods and await future improvements.
