Say Goodbye to Traditional Keys: BMW Owners Can Now Unlock Their Cars With Android Phones

BMW has been dabbling with keyless car unlocking for quite some time, having introduced its Digital Car Key Plus for the iPhone last year, a feature that allows BMW owners to lock and unlock their cars, as well as remotely start them, from their iPhone or Apple Watch. Android users were left out of the initial rollout, but the German automaker has finally released the feature for the platform.

BMW's Digital Car Key Plus uses UWB Tech

To connect the car and the phone, BMW's Digital Car Key Plus employs UWB (Ultra-Wideband) technology. The My BMW app, which is available for both Android and iOS, is used to configure the vehicle. Once activated, Digital Key Plus can be used to replace your physical key.

The feature can be set to unlock the car as you approach it or lock it as you walk away, eliminating the need to take out your keys to perform those actions.

BMW claims that because UWB is so precise, "the risk of relay attacks, where the radio signal is jammed or intercepted, is virtually eliminated," making it a safe replacement for traditional keys. You can also share access with five other users in your home if they share the same vehicle.

Not All Phones Will Get This Feature

Because the Digital Car Key Plus employs UWB technology, the feature will only work with phones that have the required tech. As a result, for the time being, the feature set only supports select Samsung devices running Android 13 or later such as the Galaxy S23+, S23 Ultra, S22+, S22 Ultra, S21+, S21 Ultra, Z Fold 4, Z Fold 3, Note 20 Ultra, and select Google phones running the latest version of Android such as Pixel 7 Pro and Pixel 6 Pro.

Aside from that, only models manufactured after November 2022 will be compatible with this feature, with a future update planned to expand the functionality to some older models.

If you have a compatible phone and vehicle, you can get started by going to the Play Store and downloading the My BMW app.

Via Android Police