Everything You Need to Know Before Installing a Car Key on Your iPhone

With Apple Pay, Apple has helped make tapping your phone at a point of sale ubiquitous, but the same revolutionary technology has many other uses. Just like on Android, with a compatible car and a little setup, you can use your iPhone to store a set of digital car keys and unlock or start your car with a tap.

When it launched in 2020, Apple’s digital car key feature only offered compatibility with a select number of cars, but that has expanded significantly in the years since then. Now many popular car models support Apple’s digital car key, and it has become very useful. If you wanted to add a copy of your car keys to your iPhone, but didn’t know if your car or device would work with it, here’s how to test and set things up.

Apple added support for digital car keys to its Wallet app with the release of iOS 14. With the new CarKey API (at the time, developers gained the ability to add a digital key to users’ iPhones that can lock or unlock the car with a tap. The feature was introduced to devices running iOS 14 and iOS 13 at the same time, and later Apple introduced the ability for anyone with an iPhone or Apple Watch with U1 ultra-wideband chip for unlocking or locking cars when in the middle of nowhere.

Depending on your vehicle, the Wallet app can unlock, lock and start your vehicle. And if you enable what Apple calls “Exposing Mode,” it can do all of those things without you first having to take out and unlock your phone.

Apple’s way of making car keys is similar to Google’s and is based on the Car Connectivity Consortium’s Digital Key specification. When your phone and car are paired, a digital copy of your key is encrypted on your device. Locking and unlocking the car works using your iPhone’s NFC chip, just like tap to pay. A Bluetooth connection between your smartphone and your car can unlock and lock your car remotely. Seamless entry, where your phone automatically unlocks your car when you’re nearby, uses Bluetooth and your phone’s U1 chip to determine your location before locking your car’s doors or starting its engine.

At a minimum, Apple’s digital car keys require an iPhone running iOS 13 with a built-in NFC chip. That means you’ll need to own an iPhone XS or later or a second-generation or newer iPhone SE to use this feature.

iPhone digital car keys were only available on the BMW 5 Series at launch, but several major automakers have since adopted the feature. For example, you can now use digital keys on Hyundai’s Tucson, Ioniq 5 and 6, and Rivian R1T and R1S. Apple doesn’t keep a list of which cars support digital keys (instead it directs customers to call their car manufacturer to confirm support) but its list of cars that support CarPlay notes which models also offer digital keys, so you can use that as a guide.

Here are the types of cars that Apple lists as supporting digital keys:

• Audi

• BMW

• BYD

• EXEED

• Genesis

• Hyundai

• Kia

• The Lotus

• Mercedes-Benz

• A little

• Nio

• Polestar

• A ram

• Rivian

• Volvo

The methods for adding digital car keys to your iPhone vary from one car to another and may require you to be close to your car to work. Unfortunately, depending on the vehicle, you may also need to physically touch your phone to your key reader during setup. Apple isn’t clear on whether there are certain vehicles or Car Key features that determine whether you’ll be able to set things up without being near your car.

The implementation of the setup process also differs based on the make and model. You may receive an email or text message from your car manufacturer telling you to add a key, or you can add a key to your Wallet through your car manufacturer’s app. The setup process may also require you to create an account with your car manufacturer and associate it with your car. When you’re finally sent to the Wallet app, tapping Continue will pair your iPhone with your car. Follow any on-screen instructions to sync the NFC chip on your iPhone with your car, which in some cases may involve tapping it into your car’s key reader.

Once paired, you should be able to lock and unlock your car directly from the Wallet app. Apple says on its support page that Express Mode will also automatically turn on so your car can start without you having to take your iPhone out of your pocket.

You can also share a key by selecting it in the Wallet app and tapping the Share button. You’ll be prompted to name a key, choose to add an activation code for extra security and choose a contact to send it to. The Wallet app will ask you to verify your identity before sending the key. If you set an activation code, you will need to send that one-time code to your contact so they can unlock and use the key.

If for any reason you lose your iPhone, marking it as lost in the devices section of the Find My app automatically disables any digital keys you’ve saved. Notably, any keys you’ve shared will still be usable, but otherwise it’s an easy way to lock your phone and the Wallet app. If your phone runs out of juice when you need to start your car, Apple says certain keys, cards and passes with Express Mode on will still work for five hours after the battery dies. In any case, you should keep a copy of your original keys as a backup.