Tesla begins using ultra-wideband technology with the digital keys for its vehicles

The latest software update from the American manufacturer, version 2024.2.3, brings a very interesting surprise. The company is going to begin supporting ultra-wideband technology, an alternative wireless protocol to Bluetooth that offers important advantages when identifying the owner of one of its vehicles and granting access via a digital key.

Ultra-wideband technology uses a bandwidth above 500 MHz, which allows large amounts of information to be transmitted wirelessly but always over very short distances. This technology also has several important advantages over Bluetooth for certain specific uses, such as lower energy consumption, greater reliability, and the ability to provide the position of the transmitter much more precisely.

Until now, Tesla has allowed access to its vehicles via mobile phone, without even needing to unlock the latter. The vehicle is able to detect the Bluetooth signal from the mobile device, which then automatically grants access to it. A system that, although it works quite well, also has some flaws, since Bluetooth was not really designed for this function.

Some manufacturers such as BMW or Genesis already use ultra-wideband

With the new ultra-wideband technology that Tesla has begun to support, all of this will change radically, making digital keys much more reliable and eliminating the need to also carry an NFC card in your pocket just in case something goes wrong. This technology will also enable new features, such as automatically selecting the profile of the user whose mobile device is closest to the steering wheel, assuming the other one belongs to the passenger. This will be possible thanks to the much more precise localization that, as we have said, this technology allows.

The description of Tesla’s new 2024.2.3 software update reads as follows:

“Ultra-wideband -UWB for short- is now available on the digital key. Your vehicle and the digital key will now be able to communicate with much greater precision and reliability when locking and unlocking the doors. In the Tesla app, go to the Digital Key section to update the one you already have and follow the instructions.”

Ultra-wideband technology will not, however, be available on all Tesla vehicles already on the road, since it requires specific hardware. The same applies to the smartphone, so it will be necessary to have not only a vehicle with this technology but also a compatible mobile device. The American manufacturer states that the new Model 3 Highland supports ultra-wideband technology, as do the most recent Model S and X and the Cybertruck. The current Model Y, however, does not support it and probably will not until the launch of its long-awaited refresh.

On the other hand, to use the digital key with ultra-wideband technology, it will be necessary to have an iPhone 11 or a later model. The company says it is working so that Android users can also enjoy this technology in the near future, but for now it will only work with iPhone.