GLE350 security
 

So this is my first time posting in this forum. Please let me know if this is in the wrong place.
It's also the first MB we've ever owned. It's a 2016 GLE350. We've had it a few months and we really love it. Lots of power, and rides like a dream.
I do have a question, though. I've read thru the owners manual (print and on-line) and I can't find the answer.
When the vehicle is parked and locked and the key fob is not near the vehicle you can still open the doors. Of course the alarm goes off and you have to clear the alarm with the fob. This seems to me to be kinda strange that if the car is locked you can still open the door. We always lock the door when we exit by touching the spot on the handle. The doors lock, the mirrors fold in and the horn beeps.
Is there a setting I'm missing?
Thanks in advance. I've been a member of other forum groups for other vehicles we've owned and they have been a really good source of info. Hope this forum is too!

where is key?
How far away?

Please define “not near the vehicle”.

Car was under the car port, key was inside the house about 15 - 20 feet away, and through a brick wall.

try moving key further away or inside a metal coffe can.

When key is 5 or so feet from the door (not just the vehicle) one tries to open then yes, but 15+ feet through a brick wall? Not possible without signal being amplified. In addition, when doors get unlocked, then alarm should be disabled as well. I would bring the vehicle to dealer for check up.

Maybe I didn't explain myself correctly.
The car is under the carport, locked. I go outside without the key and pull the door handle. The door opens, and the alarm sounds. The key is 15-20 feet away inside the house. It will silence the alarm for inside the house; no need to walk outside to cancel it.
Also, we recently downloaded the MB app for our IPhones. Maybe that has something to do with it. Maybe not, just a thought.

That makes more sense. So it is not the key (key works as designed), its the phone that in fact acts like a key. However, there's still something wrong since when vehicles is locked, opening the door should also disarm the alarm, which is not happening for you. Security is the main reason I do not want my phone act as a key.

I'm not a fan of remote lock/unlock from a phone. It's too easy to hack into your phone.
We also have Iphone 5S which may also be a problem. Security patches on an old phone are not as effective as with new phones, I'm told. We're gonna upgrade our phones in the near future.

The phone has nothing to do with any of this...

You need to move the key farther away from the car and try it again.
If the key is nowhere near the car and you can still open the locked door from the outside, you have a fault in the system and the dealer needs to look at it.

So my wife and I figured out that the only door that has this problem is the right rear door. All the others, including the hatch, do not open when the vehicle is locked. The key was at least 30 feet away and the right rear door still opened and the alarm went off. The fob cancelled the alarm at 30 feet away, again through the brick wall. Also, we had our phones turned off, so that eliminates the app being the culprit. Guess it'l have to go to the dealership for a tech to look at it.
Thanks for all the help!

Ok, now it makes sense. Are you sure that when you lock the car, the right rear door actually gets locked - do you see pin going down? Most likely there's a problem with locking, I would assume that door does not get locked. Dealer will fix it.

The door lock pin (on the top of the right rear door) goes down when you lock the vehicle, but then pops up a little. All the other buttons go down and stay down. That seems to be the problem. Guess that's a dealer item for repair.

Try again with batteries removed from both key fobs. Wait 15 minutes, then conduct the test.

The car only came with one fob, but I'll try it.

I tried what you said, Chassis. Still doing the same thing. It's off to the dealer with it.

Definitely get a second fob from your dealer. Yes its as much as $400, but sometimes they do go "bad" and if it is the only one... well then it will cost much more.

Sorry, but that should make less sense than more. Phones should be locked if one is concerned about safety, but recent world events have proven that Apple iPhones are among the safest in the world. The Mercedes me app will not transmit an unlock command until the button in the running app is pressed. It's good to hear that a suspected door issue may be to blame for the original problem posted here.
The attached picture here is what option I chose with the Mercedes me app to even get the app to open, so there are ways to ensure nobody will access any functional part of the app.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...43e3010bbe.png

Update on rear door issue
 

I have the 2017 GLE 350 and just noticed the same issue with the passenger side rear door.
With car locked that door can be opened and alarm sets off.
Need to manually lock door by pushing pin down for it to look.
Just started to notice this at 33,500 miles

Further update
 

While looking at this issue further I found that while sitting in car with engine on and doors locked if someone walks up to car and pulls on the passenger rear door, not only does it open it also unlocks all the other doors. Very insecure feeling.