Some BMW Owners Experiencing Issues With Shared Car Keys on iOS 18 - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Some BMW Owners Experiencing Issues With Shared Car Keys on iOS 18

by

Following the release of iOS 18 last month, some BMW owners have experienced issues with shared car keys in the Apple Wallet app, according to messages on the Apple Support Community and the largest BMW discussion forum.

bmw digital key plus wallet app car key
Affected users said that the "passive entry" feature that allows you to lock, unlock, and start compatible BMW vehicle models by simply having your iPhone on you no longer works for secondary Wallet keys shared with others, such as a spouse or other family member. The primary key still works for passive entry, the people said.

The issue does not appear to be fixed in the iOS 18.0.1 update released last week, or in the latest iOS 18.1 beta. The underlying cause is unclear.

We will share any new information about this issue as it becomes available.

Tag: BMW
Related Forums: iOS 18, iPadOS 18

Popular Stories

iOS 27 Next to iPhone

Here's When iOS 27 Rolls Out Today in Every Time Zone [Update: It's Out]

Sunday September 13, 2026 3:00 am PDT by
Update 10:04 a.m.: iOS 27 is rolling out now, though it may take a bit for all users to see it, so keep checking! Apple is about to release iOS 27, which will finally deliver more advanced Siri AI capabilities as well as a variety of other refinements, improvements, and new features to iPhones. It's Apple's biggest software update of the year, and Apple announced at Wednesday's iPhone event...
Read Full Article • 151 comments
iOS 27 Icon iPhone

iOS 27 Available Now With These 8 New Features

Monday September 14, 2026 9:00 am PDT by
Update — 10 a.m. Pacific Time: Apple has released iOS 27. During its iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo event last week, Apple announced that iOS 27 will be released widely on Monday, September 14. iOS 27 should be available around 10 a.m. Pacific Time / 1 p.m. Eastern Time today via the Settings app, under General → Software Update. Below, we have highlighted eight new features and...
Read Full Article • 111 comments
Apple iCloud Plus expansion hero

iCloud+ Now Includes Apple TV, Apple Arcade, and Curated Apple Music Stations in Over 100 Countries

Tuesday September 15, 2026 1:43 am PDT by
Apple today announced a new subscription initiative that turns paid iCloud+ subscriptions into a broader services bundle in more than 100 countries. In select countries, Apple says every paid iCloud+ plan, including the cheapest 50GB tier, now includes Apple TV and Apple Arcade "at no additional cost," while family sharing extends the storage, TV and Arcade access to up to five people....
Read Full Article • 104 comments

Top Rated Comments

applesith Avatar
applesith
25 months ago
Critical access and information for everyday life (car keys, door locks, ID, payments, etc.) are too important for me to rely on one piece of technology that can go wrong with an update, a bug, a dead battery, or something unexpected. It's nice to have some of these on my phone, but I will never fully rely on my phone.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
A
A418t81
25 months ago
iOS 18 (not the beta) straight up broke apple car key on my iX and iPhone 15. Absolutely refused to connect to reissue the key or communicate with the car in any way. I had a 16 PM delivered about a week later and that phone works without any issue. Really unacceptable. This is the first and only issue I have ever had with the car key and iX in 15 months. The tech has been literally flawless. This problem has been in the betas with people complaining about it for many months. Super crappy of apple not to fix it before release. I could have easily been stranded had the phone update occurred anywhere other than at home.

Also, ACK works for several hours after your iPhone battery is dead FYI.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
M
macsound1
25 months ago
I always wondered if people used digital keys regularly. I could see it being useful if you're at the beach or something where you don't have pockets or want carry your keys and wallet and phone, but otherwise I'm way to paranoid to trust everything in my life to a single device and not have a backup.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
C
CarpalMac
25 months ago

Critical access and information for everyday life (car keys, door locks, ID, payments, etc.) are too important for me to rely on one piece of technology that can go wrong with an update, a bug, a dead battery, or something unexpected. It's nice to have some of these on my phone, but I will never fully rely on my phone.
Absolutely agree. It boggles my mind that people choose to rely on something that has so many potential (and more likely) risks of failure.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
E
EU-Regulations
25 months ago
Well, since I updated to TVOS18.0 everything hurts.
Support demands to upgrade everything, but hey, all the trouble really started since the update.

Software deployment and "Support" is no fun anymore.

Will stay on 17 for now, no matter what !

>>I got too much Apple stuff here, I must the one to blame <<
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
A
AbSoluTc
25 months ago
FWP lol. Good to know though. Seems 18 broke quite a few things that still arent fixed.

Several iOS versions later - STILL get the stupid squared off lock screen notifications that switch to curved. The dumbest crap I have ever seen and it's annoying as it causes a second or two of delay as it refreshes the animation.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments