PAAK door unlock - drivers side

[GoHawks]

Hi. I recently discovered both the front and rear doors on the drivers side will not 'touch' lock/unlock the vehicle with PAAK. The keypad still works, the truck will start/drive with only the phone (key fob in faraday box), the truck will lock/unlock via touch on the passengers doors, and the truck will lock/unlock on using the Fordpass app. The touch lock/unlock works with the fob in hand on the drivers side without issue. Seems like a software gremlin from recent updates. Maybe/maybe not. Is anyone else experiencing a similar issue? Thanks.

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[bmwhitetx]

I believe the fobs use RF while your PAAK uses Bluetooth so that may be why fobs work.

I don't know if there are BT antennas on both sides. There is some kind of geo BT location because the PAAK has to be inside the truck to start so somehow the truck knows where the phone is.

Maybe start by deleting PAAK on vehicle and phone and setting up again.

 

[The Weatherman]

I have experienced a widely varying hit and miss on locking and unlocking the truck with my PAAK. Haven’t yet found a common denominator, but it does get frustrating.

 

[bmwhitetx]

I have experienced a widely varying hit and miss on locking and unlocking the truck with my PAAK. Haven’t yet found a common denominator, but it does get frustrating.

Unlocking has worked well, sometimes there is a lag. But about 5% of the time I unlock the truck fine but when I go to start I get the "No key detected" message. My phone is in my left pocket away from the center of the vehicle. If I take it out of my pocket, it will then work.

That's why I think OP's issue is with BT reception in and around the truck. But I don't know the details on how that works (multiple BT antennas??).

 

[Al_V]

I’m not sure if it’s 100% of the time, but for me , when PAAK doesn’t work, I JUST open the FordPass app, and then the doors unlock. (Not pushing any buttons in the app, just opening it.)

 

[Thunder1809]

I carry my phone in my back pocket and it won’t unlock or lock most of the time when I touch the handle or button. When I pull it out of my pocket it generally works. Guess my big butt shields the signal. If I put it in my front shirt pocket that generally works. Got a new phone over the weekend and thought it might be better, but it seems to be the same.

 

[GoHawks]

Update: charged the truck to 85% and LVB made it to 99% and the issue resolved itself. The truck is also parked in a different location. Unsure of root cause.

 

[ZSC100]

Curious about this as I was the first one to add passive entry to an XLT. Passive entry works differently on XLTs as it does on trims with PaaK. I suspect the handles may have BLE bluetooth antennas in them. This is in addition to the RFA in the console which is a module that PaaK trucks have that XLTs don't. The RFA is definitely what authenticates the phone as the key to start/use the truck. But, I suspect it's not what is used to allow unlocking via the handle capacitive touch sensors.

 

[GoHawks]

Update: The issue is location specific. Parking at one specific spot in my driveway disables the drives side touch lock/unlock with PAAK only. Totally random - I do not understand how the bluetooth connection in the door handle can be affected in that way. I park at an angle with the vehicle pointing downhill for reference but that shouldn't cause any issue.

 

[bmwhitetx]

I once had a sprinkler controller that had a wireless remote. The remote stopped working one day. Rainbird sent a new remote and then an entire new unit under warranty. Still wouldn't work. Finally found 4 feet away from the sprinkler controller was a simple low-voltage outdoor lighting transformer. It had gone bad and was spamming the remote frequency. (They use a switch-mode power supply at a high frequency.)

Bluetooth, WiFi and lots of things work in the 2.4 GHz frequency range. I suspect something nearby is jamming your signal. Start disconnecting anything nearby - like low-voltage outdoor lighting transformers, WiFi access points, garage door openers, etc. Anything with a plug that might have a DC power supply in it.

EDIT: Also fluorescent lights, LED lights. The fact that it's location specific means the offender is nearby.

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