Rivian iOS App - Battery Usage

[fastwheels]

Has anyone who's had a delivery noticed high battery usage by the Rivian iOS App? Disabled access to location when not open which seemed to help slightly, but I'm still running close to 40% over 24 hours.

Included a snap of the Tesla app for background usage comparison.

Mine is showing 8% usage as Background Activity - iPhone 13 Pro.

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[CarMAN3]

Mine is showing 8% usage as Background Activity - iPhone 13 Pro.

The truck goes in for PPF and won't be back until Friday. It will be interesting to see if it's the proximity to the truck causing the high battery usage.

 

[jtshaw]

Mine is identical except I changed location to "While Using" to see if that would help the issue.

Fascinating. I'm pretty surprised they implemented this without Bluetooth or Background App Refresh permissions.

 

[CarMAN3]

Fascinating. I'm pretty surprised they implemented this without Bluetooth or Background App Refresh permissions.

That's very fascinating, here are a few pics. You're right, the background app refresh is missing... Sorry I missed the bluetooth one being different from yours. So that means they're using the app to actively hit the car in the background vs using background app APIs? See Tesla screen for reference.

 

[jtshaw]

That's very fascinating, here are a few pics. You're right, the background app refresh is missing... Sorry I missed the bluetooth one being different from yours. So that means they're using the app to actively hit the car in the background vs using background app APIs? See Tesla screen for reference.

Yeah, I have a Tesla so that was my point of comparison as well (I’ve also owned chunks of popular mobile apps in the past so I know a bit about the domain). It does seem like paring the car added Bluetooth permissions to yours at least. I was really confused how it would work without that.

Out of curiousity… are you close to your truck where you work all day? I have a theory on the battery life.

 

[CarMAN3]

Out of curiousity… are you close to your truck where you work all day? I have a theory on the battery life.

Yes, very close to it throughout the day. Far enough for it to stay locked but definitely only a room or so away. I'm also that same distance from the Tesla.

 

[CarMAN3]

With the truck at the shop, the Rivian app doesn't even register 1% battery usage on the iPhone.

It's definitely the bluetooth attachment using the most battery. Seems like they need to dial back the communication between the phone and the car.

I'd say for anyone far away from the truck most of the day, this will not be an issue. For me, 4 rooms in my house (which happen to be the rooms I spend the most time in) are too close to the garage to disconnect bluetooth from the vehicle and it's radios (I'm told there are many).

 

[jtshaw]

With the truck at the shop, the Rivian app doesn't even register 1% battery usage on the iPhone.

It's definitely the bluetooth attachment using the most battery. Seems like they need to dial back the communication between the phone and the car.

I'd say for anyone far away from the truck most of the day, this will not be an issue. For me, 4 rooms in my house (which happen to be the rooms I spend the most time in) are too close to the garage to disconnect bluetooth from the vehicle and it's radios (I'm told there are many).

I was going to try and confirm... but this was my suspicion. I'd guess they are using the Bluetooth connection to keep the app running in the background for vehicle status sync or something.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

With the truck at the shop, the Rivian app doesn't even register 1% battery usage on the iPhone.

It's definitely the bluetooth attachment using the most battery. Seems like they need to dial back the communication between the phone and the car.

I'd say for anyone far away from the truck most of the day, this will not be an issue. For me, 4 rooms in my house (which happen to be the rooms I spend the most time in) are too close to the garage to disconnect bluetooth from the vehicle and it's radios (I'm told there are many).

Can you confirm if the FOB they include is active or passive?

The phone-as-key is a cool idea, but I'd honestly be more comfortable with an active FOB. When indications started to pop up that the FOB was passive, I thought that was a crappy way to force people to use the phone as a key. I hope that's not actually the case.

 

[CarMAN3]

Can you confirm if the FOB they include is active or passive?

I cannot confirm. I do know you have to press the buttons or the car does not respond to the fob.

Unfortunately, I've had a Tesla now for many years with my phone as the key and while it was shaky for the first couple months while they worked it out, it's been rock solid for over 3 years now.

After having a perfect 'no keys' (I don't even have a house key in my pocket) car experience, I wouldn't go back to carrying around a set of keys or even a fob. It's like the whole gas station thing, once you haven't had to do it in 6 months, there's no real incentive to get back into that groove.

 

[mwexler2]

Doesn’t showering while you eat your cereal get tbe cereal soggy?

That’s because it’s on in the background and watching you while you shower and eat cereal….

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

I cannot confirm. I do know you have to press the buttons or the car does not respond to the fob.

That is confirmation. If it doesn’t Auto Unlock when you approach then it’s not active.

 

[COdogman]

Doesn’t showering while you eat your cereal get tbe cereal soggy?

Absolutely! And it makes the milk watery

 

[Riviot]

Thanks for the info. I have noticed that since our garage is close to our living space, when I walk 'near' the garage with my phone, the truck unlocks and re-locks, maybe that's a contributing factor.

Yesterday was day 1 and I noticed this same event. Walking passed the door to the garage I kept hearing it cycle, I turned off "always".

Room for improvement for sure. Smarter people than I will figure out the best solution ??‍?

 

[BuckeyeTruckGuy]

Has anyone who's had a delivery noticed high battery usage by the Rivian iOS App? Disabled access to location when not open which seemed to help slightly, but I'm still running close to 40% over 24 hours.

Included a snap of the Tesla app for background usage comparison.

I am having a similar situation.

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