Some manufacturers offer ‘Phone-as-Key’ which uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) so your smartphone behaves like a “keyless entry/keyless start” key fob: the car unlocks as you walk towards it and allows keyless start once your phone is inside. Phone-as-Key (BLE) installs a digital key onto your smartphone, but unlike Digital key (NFC), there’s no tapping required because BLE has a longer range than NFC. Phone-as-Key (BLE) has a range of a few metres and is much harder to relay than key fobs vulnerable to relay car theft, although not completely immune.
However, the normal key fobs supplied with the car might still be vulnerable to relay car theft so some owners choose to just use their smartphone to unlock/lock/start their car and permanently leave the normal key fobs in good faraday pouches out of sight inside their house. Putting the faraday pouches inside a metal tin with a tight-fitting lid adds an extra layer of protection (don’t use tin foil – the seal it creates is unreliable). The downside – if your phone battery dies, you’re locked out.
Phone-as-Key (BLE) digital keys usually support secure key-sharing with family members through the official key-sharing process using Apple/Google wallet features or the manufacturer’s app which require approval steps a thief who steals your smartphone cannot realistically bypass.
Manufacturers are now moving away from Phone-as-Key (BLE) systems and replacing them with UWB key fobs and digital keys using Digital Key 3.0.
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