Smartphone as key fob?

i think no is a safe answer.:welcome: to prius chat!

 

I never 'use' it as a fob. When I touch a outside front door latch, all the car's doors unlock. As I leave the car, I lock it with the button on the armrest. The hatch works the same way.

The fob stays in my lower right shirt pocket. So long as I have it, the Prius does all I want it to do.

 

I suppose that would make it a Priphone.

 

No to the first question. SKS uses a proprietary transponder system.

I assume no to the second question. No one has posted about it so far, and it's not something most people would want or need, so it's not something I expect to see in the near term. Generally it's a good idea to separate cell phones and SKS fobs. Keeping them in close proximity increases the chances of interference and shortens the batter life of the fob. I would say that attaching a fob to a cell phone qualifies as close proximity.

Tom

 

sorry, this was for mad dog, but tom butted in.

 

i bet peef could make it work.

 

This has to be the slowest stutter ever. It's not too uncommon to get accidental double posts, but I've never seen one separated by several minutes. Did you actually reply twice to the same post, saying the same thing?

Tom

 

It is only his third post, cut him (or her) some slack.

 

Umm, I'd guess not, the smartphone probably can't transmit and receive on the same frequency as the fob (I'm guessing the fob does both).

I'd also hope a smartphone can't act as my fob, because if my smartphone can do this, then so could somebody else's smartphone - an easy way for somebody to steal my car. No, I don't think I want it to be this easy, at least not without some programming of the phone by the dealer who knows the codes for my fob.

 

Could be a bit of a problem if your iPhone battery dies....

 

What would really be cool is it would allow anyone who steals your phone the added ability to steal your car. Maybe I can get my phone to open my house too. That would make it the robbers TRIFECTA.


iPad ?

 

I hate when people cannot communicate.

What is the person asking for?

1.) When I get close to the car will the car see my phone like my key FOB?

2.) Can I start my car using my iPhone?

The answer to the first question is no, a current iPhone will never act like a key FOB because it does not have the hardware to make that happen.

The answer to the second question is yes there are many third party apps along with hardware that will let you unlock, lock and start your car.

I am sure there will be 2 more threads this month asking the same question in the same way.

 

The OP never asked question #2, but perhaps that was the intention. It's hard to tell.

As for the overall concept of using a smart phone as an SKS fob, there is no reason that it can't be done. The lack of industry standards makes it impractical at the moment, but almost certainly cell phones will play a central roll in combining and coordinating many electronic tasks. You see this happening in some parts of the world where cell phones are used as payment devices. I expect the trend to continue.

Tom

 

I'm wondering if I add a 433Mhz transceiver to my smart toaster
(Breville BTA820XL Die-Cast 2-Slice Smart Toaster The Breville 2-slice smart toaster features an internal electronic chip that automatically lowers bread with a single touch and regulates toasting time. The brushed die-cast metal toaster is designed with dual control panels so each side operates independently of the other. Push-button controls include toast, a bit more, bagel, defrost, and lift-and-look functions), if it could then be programmed to work the doors when you press the slicer down....

On the more serious side, I believe ONSTAR has something like this.

 

I didn't know ONSTAR made toasters.

 

Frackin' toasters. :nerd:

It's not a bad idea, but the smartphone isn't quite going to take over the world yet. They're already your phone, calendar, web browser, calculator, camera, etc... In the near future, they may get used for payment systems - we'll see if that takes off or not. Also in the near future, you'll see phones and tablets designed so you can essentially carry your desktop computer around with you - just dock it to provide a keyboard and display. Finally, in the semi-distant future, it'd be feasible to design them to unlock and start your car, but there are some obvious hurdles. (What if your battery dies? What if the phone is stolen? What about when you replace it every 2 or 3 years? Etc...)

 

I'm just thinking out loud, here, so somebody correct my thinking:

If the cell phone battery dies, it shouldn't be any different than if the batter in the SKS dies. You get a new battery.

The phone being stolen is the same as if the SKS is stolen. You'd probably want to reprogram the car such that the old "numbers" will no longer open the doors and start the car.

If you replace the phone every 2-3 years, you'll have to reprogram the new phone like getting a new SKS.

My thinking is that if this were to happen, there will many more people having this done, your local hardware store will be able to do it for you, and thus will be much cheaper. I think cost is the determining factor at the moment.

Mike