R1S unlocking randomly

[RivianRachel]

Was just having dinner out in a busy area, many pedestrians, sitting at an outside table about 25 feet from the car. I noticed that the tail lights would occasionally randomly blink but worse, the car would completely unlock when certain people walked close to it. Not everyone set it off but 3-4 passing men (I didn’t notice any women trigger it) somehow triggered the car to unlock when they were near it. I hadn’t moved in my seat, didn’t move my phone or purse - and was about 25 feet away - when this happened. I didn’t have the patience to see if it would re-lock itself so I kept my fob handy after the 2nd time I noticed this happen. (Checked my settings later and I did not have the auto re-lock enabled).
This is extremely worrying! I’ll be calling the service center tomorrow.

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[godfodder0901]

Was just having dinner out in a busy area, many pedestrians, sitting at an outside table about 25 feet from the car. I noticed that the tail lights would occasionally randomly blink but worse, the car would completely unlock when certain people walked close to it. Not everyone set it off but 3-4 passing men (I didn’t notice any women trigger it) somehow triggered the car to unlock when they were near it. I hadn’t moved in my seat, didn’t move my phone or purse - and was about 25 feet away - when this happened. I didn’t have the patience to see if it would re-lock itself so I kept my fob handy after the 2nd time I noticed this happen. (Checked my settings later and I did not have the auto re-lock enabled).
This is extremely worrying! I’ll be calling the service center tomorrow.

Doesn't seem like this warrants a service call. 25ft is near the edge of Bluetooth range, and you were likely just triggering proximity unlock.

 

[RivianRachel]

Doesn't seem like this warrants a service call. 25ft is near the edge of Bluetooth range, and you were likely just triggering proximity unlock.

so the trick to avoiding this is what? Closing the app? This is not ideal functionality.

 

[godfodder0901]

so the trick to avoiding this is what? Closing the app? This is not ideal functionality.

I agree it's not ideal, but not super common either. You can disable proximity unlock on a per-device basis. Killing the app won't necessarily help either, as your fob also has proximity. The best, and most reliable, may be to simply vary your distance from the vehicle.

 

[Jay565]

I’ve noticed the new update seems to unlock my car from further away, it used to only unlock when i was right next to the car.

 

[RivianRachel]

I agree it's not ideal, but not super common either. You can disable proximity unlock on a per-device basis. Killing the app won't necessarily help either, as your fob also has proximity. The best, and most reliable, may be to simply vary your distance from the vehicle.

in this instance I had a handicap spot because my elderly father was with us. “Let me find a spot farther away so I don’t accidentally unlock my car ever 10 minutes!” - doesn’t sound like a practical solution. I imagine many scenarios where this would be a serious issue - like the dog park where you’re not far from the car but not paying attention and thieves hover. I expect this car to be smarter than this.

 

[emoore]

I haven't noticed that this happens that often and when I know it will like on vacation I just turn off proximity locking from my phone or fob. That solves any issue with it unlocking when you are close.

 

[Dark-Fx]

People walking between your phone and vehicle can change the signal strength the vehicle is seeing, and make it think you are approaching it. IMO it's one of the biggest downsides of bluetooth, humans are like brick walls to the signal.

Either Rivian has unlocking sensitive enough that it'll still work with the phone in your back pocket, which can cause this kind of an issue, or it's not sensitive enough and you have to pull the phone out to make it work.

 

[RivianRachel]

People walking between your phone and vehicle can change the signal strength the vehicle is seeing, and make it think you are approaching it. IMO it's one of the biggest downsides of bluetooth, humans are like brick walls to the signal.

Either Rivian has unlocking sensitive enough that it'll still work with the phone in your back pocket, which can cause this kind of an issue, or it's not sensitive enough and you have to pull the phone out to make it work.

This sounds like a possibility because it only appeared to happen when people were walking by it - but not all people. There was one guy protesting police violence that was walking up and down the sidewalk holding large signs (more reason I was keeping a close eye) and he never triggered it.

 

[kpx110]

This is why I turned off proximity on phone key and switched it to key fob.

 

[nukem384]

If you have the key fob with you, you're probably SOL unless you turn it off in car before you leave and have your phone key/key card also.

Sounds like proximity. So what I would do next time you're that close to the car is turn Bluetooth off just for your Rivian app via settings while you're that close to it. Then when you're ready to head back to the car, turn Bluetooth for the Rivian app back on.

 

[Supratachophobia]

Ok, so I'm in BFE Tennessee with my Model S and I needed somewhere to park for a min. Low and behold, a green R1T. Rare to see where in from, but even odder in this part of the world. I decided to wait a few min to see if the owner doesn't mind being chatted up. All of the sudden, the doors unlocked. No one around, no one walking to the car. And keep in mind, we are at the far end of the lot, away from any buildings. Doors stayed presented until I ended up driving away another 5 min later; didn't relock.

 

[vista1984]

i think there maybe some rooms for improvement. i know there are 4 bluetooth sensors in the car (one on each side maybe). something maybe able to be done to adjust how sensitive the unlock mechanism is.
or just let user to choose. far, medium or close.

 

[jimmyb2]

These (RivianRachel’s and Supratachophobia’s) are good examples of why I do not use proximity lock/unlock. I simply do not trust it to work reliably 100% of the time, and I might not be in a position to notice it when it “fails”. I want to actively press a button, turn a key, etc. to lock/unlock. I know I can 100% trust that.

Also, there may be times in parking lots with certain strangers nearby where I don’t want my vehicle to unlock until I am right there ready to open it and get in. In those situations I do not want it unlocking when I am 10-15 feet away.

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

I have proximity lock/unlock off totally. I just use the key fob to unlock.

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