Do we have digital key?
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The W214 had it first, CLE got revealed after the W214 (if I recalled correctly) so naturally the CLE should get it, is it not an option in the Mercedes Me app?
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It appears the CLE didn't get the digital key. If you search the W214 owner's manual, then there's a chapter on it. Not so with the CLE owner's manual. There's no mentioning of the digital key. I suspect that's because the interior and electrical architecture is that of the W206, which doesn't have it, either. The CLE is more C Class than E Class. It will probably get it with the facelift, along with the W206. For those who forget to lock the car, the digital key wouldn't solve that. There's a notification in the app if you forget to lock the car and then you can lock it remotely. That's your digital key right there. Not sure how that's old school.
Last edited by superswiss; Oct 14, 2024 at 01:18 AM.
MBWorld God!
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It appears the CLE didn't get the digital key. If you search the W214 owner's manual, then there's a chapter on it. Not so with the CLE owner's manual. There's no mentioning of the digital key. I suspect that's because the interior and electrical architecture is that of the W206, which doesn't have it, either. The CLE is more C Class than E Class. It will probably get it with the facelift, along with the W206. For those who forget to lock the car, the digital key wouldn't solve that. There's a notification in the app if you forget to lock the car and then you can lock it remotely. That's your digital key right there. Not sure how that's old school.
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2012 E350 Coupe
So no digital key and no auto lock/unlock when coming or walking away with the key. I was expecting the car to have that at least coming from BMW and other vehicles I had that had it. Not a big deal just keep walking away forgetting to lock the vehicle.
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MB doesn't do auto locking when walking away. It's not that they are behind the times on that, but they don't seem to believe in the feature. I'm so-so on it as well. When I had a BMW for a while it kept locking and unlocking every time I walked by it with the key on me. I kinda prefer a car that stays locked once it's locked and unlocks only when I deliberately touch the handle, and if I forget to lock it, as said I get a notification on my phone.
Last edited by superswiss; Oct 14, 2024 at 12:56 PM.
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I still hope it is only matter of MBUX update
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Modern digital car keys are therefore based on UWB. UWB is also inherently more secure due to its native time of flight security. It's the best defense against the notorious relay attacks. The issue here is that the list of phones with the necessary UWB hardware is relatively short. Android's biggest problem has always been fragmentation. For this to work, you have to have the right phone and running the right version of Android, so it's expensive for developers to deal with this fragmentation. The iPhone on the other hand has had UWB support since the iPhone 11. By now, pretty much everybody with an iPhone has UWB support, so Mercedes doesn't have to deal with fragmentation.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-to...is-one-reason/
Last edited by superswiss; Oct 28, 2024 at 05:17 PM.
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The issue here is that the list of phones with the necessary UWB hardware is relatively short. Android's biggest problem has always been fragmentation. For this to work, you have to have the right phone and running the right version of Android, so it's expensive for developers to deal with this fragmentation. The iPhone on the other hand has had UWB support since the iPhone 11. By now, pretty much everybody with an iPhone has UWB support, so Mercedes doesn't have to deal with fragmentation.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-to...is-one-reason/
https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-to...is-one-reason/
Samsung have UWB since the Galaxy S21, that's a 4 years old phone.
If you can afford a Mercedes, you can afford to upgrade to a phone that support UWB (android).
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You missed the point. It's not about the end-user upgrading their phone. It's about the developers, Mercedes in this case willing to offer the functionality on Android. Yes, Samsung has had UWB on their phone for a while, at least on paper. The reality was a little different with it not always working in reality. However, that means nothing if Mercedes doesn't find it worth their effort to offer UWB based digital keys on Android.
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You missed the point. It's not about the end-user upgrading their phone. It's about the developers, Mercedes in this case willing to offer the functionality on Android. Yes, Samsung has had UWB on their phone for a while, at least on paper. The reality was a little different with it not always working in reality. However, that means nothing if Mercedes doesn't find it worth their effort to offer UWB based digital keys on Android.
BMW, Audi, Hyundai, Genesis have no problems supporting Samsung digital key !
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I came from a Tesla and loved not having to carry a key around. I too forget to lock my car every time I walk away. In 2024 this seems like it should be a standard feature on a car like this. The kid at my office has a 2019 Mazda 3 and it does it. so seems like a no brainer.
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I came from a Tesla and loved not having to carry a key around. I too forget to lock my car every time I walk away. In 2024 this seems like it should be a standard feature on a car like this. The kid at my office has a 2019 Mazda 3 and it does it. so seems like a no brainer.
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I came from a Tesla and loved not having to carry a key around. I too forget to lock my car every time I walk away. In 2024 this seems like it should be a standard feature on a car like this. The kid at my office has a 2019 Mazda 3 and it does it. so seems like a no brainer.
plus it's embarrassing, for a car that costs almost 100k and still need to use the physical key !
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Why only younger buyers? I've replaced my house keys etc. with digital keys. I don't carry a keyring anymore. Yes, it would be great to also not have to carry the car fob anymore, but I have to repeat what I said above. I carry my phone all the time and despite having digital keys for my front door, it doesn't unlock automatically every time I walk past the door. I wouldn't want that at all. So I similarly don't want my car to unlock every time I walk into the garage. That's the issue with BMW's implementation for example. The MB digital key in the W214 works more like the key fob does. You still have to touch the door handle to lock/unlock the car. It doesn't happen automatically just because you happen to walk past the car with your phone in the pocket.
Last edited by superswiss; Dec 16, 2024 at 10:55 PM.
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I agree that it is silly that a car this expensive needs a physical key. Just seems like old tech at this point. Tesla got this right.
