zitsky

One nice feature of our 2024 BMW 530i is the digital key. Although I had to figure out how to get both the physical key and cell phone to pull up my profile. I see on the Mercedes, the digital key is only available on the 2024 Maybach and E class. Do you think there is any way to retrofit the digital key into the W222, considering we already have remote start?

Before you get excited, the BMW 530i is an OK car but I am happy to get back in my 2020 S560 4Matic. 2024 BMW 530i is a 4 cylinder, mild hybrid with a huge screen for speedometer, tachometer, radio, CarPlay etc. The buttons on the steering wheel feel really cheap. It also has a HUGE heads up display which you can't resize. I actually find really annoying compared to MB's. Because it blocks my vision rather than enhancing it. Plus my husband chose to get a stripped down model, so no Driving Assist feature. (Which he hates anyway.) And his self parking feature gets you in but according to the salesman, doesn't get you out. But it does have folding rear seats and Wireless CarPlay and I'm hopeful that my 2 piece surfboard will fit back there. Or maybe a bicycle.

SW20S

No, need to buy a new car for this feature. It will become available on the 2025 W223 S Class.

zitsky

Are you really telling me I’m going to lose the argument about which car is better?

superswiss

No it won't. There's more to the digital key than the eye meets. The first generation of digital keys used NFC. This was only available for Android phones and MB only offered it in Europe. Requires an NFC reader in the door handle, which as far as I know US-spec vehicles don't have. This system also required to take your phone out and tap it on the door handle, so it wasn't as convenient as the key fob, which just needed to be on you and once inside the car, you had to place the phone in a dedicated spot in order to start the engine.

The latest generation of digital keys is based on UWB (Ultra wideband), which is what Apple Car Key uses for BMW and now for select 2024 MBs. This works much like the key fob. You only need to have the phone on you and it will detect it much like the key fob as soon as it comes close to the car. Car manufacturers are moving to UWB for their key fobs, because UWB has built-in time of flight security and Precise Location. It measures the time it takes the signal to travel from the fob to the car. This allows the detection of whether the signal is attempted to be relayed via intermediate devices in an attempt to steal the car. It will know that the fob isn't actually nearby, because the relayed signal takes longer to reach the car.

Tesla uses Bluetooth and there are ways to do ToF security with Bluetooth, but it's not a native security feature of Bluetooth, and Bluetooth also doesn't allow for precise location tracking. All that is to say, that the digital key would require hardware to be retrofitted to existing models in order to make it work. Remote Start is a completely separate thing altogether as that is based on sending an encrypted and authenticated data message over the car's LTE connection to authorize an engine start. Similar for the remote locking/unlocking feature in the app. That's all based on secure communication over the Internet and not device proximity to the car.

SW20S

No, because your S Class is way better lol Digital key or no!