Tesla App Gains Ultra Wideband Support to Improve Phone Keys - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Tesla App Gains Ultra Wideband Support to Improve Phone Keys

The latest Tesla software adds Ultra Wideband support (UWB) to improve the function of the built-in Phone Key feature in the Tesla app (via Tesla North). Tesla owners can use Phone Key to lock and unlock their vehicles without a physical key.

tesla red orange bg feature
Ultra Wideband support provides more precise tracking capabilities than Bluetooth, which means the Phone Key feature will better recognize when an iPhone is near a vehicle to unlock/lock it at the appropriate time. From the release notes:

Ultrawide band (UWB) technology is now available for Phone Key. So your vehicle and Phone Key can communicate with greater accuracy to more responsively lock, unlock, and open Automatic Doors.

Tesla owners will need both a vehicle that supports Ultra Wideband and an iPhone with Ultra Wideband to take advantage of the new capabilities. Enabling the updated UWB key requires going to the Phone Key section of the Tesla app (which must be upgraded to version 4.29.5) and following the upgrade steps.

Tag: Tesla

Popular Stories

Apple Card iPhone 16 Pro Feature

Apple Card Promo to Offer Free AirPods Pro 3

Friday May 15, 2026 8:59 am PDT by
Starting as early as next week, customers who sign up for an Apple Card at Apple's retail stores in the U.S. will receive $249 cash back when they purchase AirPods Pro 3, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The promotion has yet to be officially announced by Apple, so exact terms and conditions are not available at this time. AirPods Pro 3 are priced at $249 in the U.S., so customers who...
Apple WWDC25 iOS 26 CarPlay Light mode 250609

Six Popular iPhone Apps Now Available on CarPlay

Thursday May 14, 2026 9:10 am PDT by
Apple's CarPlay system for accessing iPhone apps on a vehicle's dashboard screen has received six popular apps in recent weeks: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Grok, Google Meet, WhatsApp, and the indie artist streaming platform Audiomack. Make sure you have the latest version of each app and they will automatically appear on CarPlay. ChatGPT Starting with iOS 26.4, CarPlay supports voice-based...
ipad mini 7 blue

OLED iPad Mini: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

Thursday May 14, 2026 5:08 am PDT by
According to the latest rumors, Apple is close to launching its next-generation iPad mini. So what should we expect from the successor to the iPad mini 7 that Apple released over a year ago? Read on to find out. Processor and Performance Apple is working on a next-generation version of the iPad mini (codename J510/J511) that features the A19 Pro chip, according to information found in code...

Top Rated Comments

WarmWinterHat Avatar
30 months ago

Don't forget the cybertruck.
That only works with the Vision Pro.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Desmondhuz Avatar
30 months ago
Which phones and which vehicles are compatible??
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
30 months ago

How much better compared to bluetooth?
Better is always a good thing, just curious for this use case in the real life, how much is perceptible
MASSIVE on my BMW. Had the Tesla key on two vehicles in the past, but UWB seems to wake and connect MUCH faster, more reliably, and it picks up which of my wife and I are on the drivers side of the car more accurately, which leads to the correct profile being loaded. YMMV, since I am talking across two different car brands, but if Tesla does as good a job as BMW, this should be a big upgrade.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Dcgod Avatar
30 months ago

Looks like this only works on the new Highland Model 3 and current gen Model X for now.
And Cybertruck.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
30 months ago
Hey MacRumors the model you pictured is not UWB capable. You’re showing a pre-2022 Model X.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tgom222 Avatar
30 months ago

Which phones and which vehicles are compatible??
Don't know which cars but iPhone 11 and up have UWB.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)