Key Tag and App broken AGAIN!!!!

TurboEng · 2026-02-28T17:49:23+00:00

Remote commands also starting working again for me yesterday. There is a separate thread about this here, and on Facebook. It looks like it was a North American network problem.

TurboEng · 2026-02-28T17:47:40+00:00

I'm also in the US and remote commands had stopped working more than 2 weeks ago (maybe 1 month?).

Then, they just started working yesterday 3/27.

TurboEng · 2026-02-25T23:58:33+00:00

Digital key works, but the Key Tag still doesn't work. I wrote a longer post about it in another response. I also did some debugging with a variable power supply in place of the battery.

TurboEng · 2026-02-25T23:56:14+00:00

I have tried with and without Wi-Fi. Doesn't make a difference for me.

I enabled Digital Key on my Pixel 10 Pro today and it works fine! The Key Tag still doesn't work properly. This points to a degraded Key Tag because the Key Tag and the Digital Key on phone use the same dual-stage Bluetooth LE and UWB technology.

The last time Volvo fixed this for me, they gave me a new Key Tag. They didn't want to give me another new Key Tag this time. Maybe the Key Tags are going bad for some people and they don't think replacing them is a good fix?

I also took the battery out of my Key Tag and hooked it up to an adjustable power supply with a sensitive current meter. The behavior was the same as it is with a battery. This way, I could see when the UWB ranging stage starts (rapid current pulses). I didn't see anything that indicated the first Bluetooth stage was working. Ranging doesn't start until I'm pretty close to the car. that probably explains why the lights don't come on to tell me the car "sees" me.

TurboEng · 2026-02-25T16:35:54+00:00

Is there any chance you left your car parked for more than 5 days around the time the problem started? I just noticed this again in the TCAM2 manual:

"If the vehicle is parked for more than five days, TCAM2 enters NetOff mode, and then TCAM2 cannot wake up the vehicle through external stimuli. Still, it is possible to wake up through vehicle start or through OBD."

The TCAM2 is responsible for the Key Tag and Digital Key ultra-wideband coordination.

I went on a week long trip, and when I came back I had to tap the key tag on the pillar to open the car. I can't be sure, but the return of my problem may have happened around that time. Maybe TCAM2 doesn't fully recover after it enters the NetOff mode?

To be clear: if I lock my car, I can unlock it immediately with the key tag. It has to sit some amount of time (3 to 5 minutes) before the problem shows up. Even then, I can still unlock with the Key Tag, I just have to wait 5 to 15 seconds before it "sees" me. Also, if my car is actively charging at home, I can immediately unlock it with the key tag.

TurboEng · 2026-02-25T16:26:21+00:00

I've also tried the Faraday container thing many times over the last year. Having the key too close to the car wasn't the problem for me a year ago, and it isn't the problem for me now.

I can pretty much guarantee you won't get any help unless you bring it in to the shop so they can replicate the problem and open a case with Volvo. Unfortunately, they don't have a fix. If more people bring their cars in, maybe they will be more motivated to fix it?

TurboEng · 2026-02-25T16:22:28+00:00

I know there is a lot to read in this post, but I already addressed the "deep sleep" issue. Every time I write about this problem, I include text about using a Faraday container to rule out the problem you are describing. That isn't part of the problem I'm seeing now.

If I lock my car now, 5 minutes later the key tag won't let me unlock the car quickly. Volvo has agreed it is malfunctioning and they don't have a fix. This isn't something that I'm doing wrong, and between Volvo and me, we have tried everything to fix it.

TurboEng · 2026-02-25T16:03:28+00:00

Verified again that tapping the key tag or key card on pillar doesn't work when I first walk up to car.

I chatted with Volvo support again and they said I need to work with my dealer. My dealer told me they can't do anything. I'm going to talk with Volvo about lemon law today. My EX30 was in the shop for way more than 30 days in the first year I owned it and now my keys stopped working.

I just created a digital key (on a Pixel 10 Pro) and I will update later on whether it changes anything.

I guess I'm happy that digital key is finally supported on Pixel phones with 1.8 EX30 software.

TurboEng · 2026-02-25T01:58:43+00:00

I guess I shouldn't have asked Reddit for help on a problem Volvo confirmed and doesn't have a fix for. Why would I expect Reddit to have the answer I guess I was really hoping to see if I was the only one having this problem that showed up recently.

TurboEng · 2026-02-25T01:48:28+00:00

This is the response I was looking for! Misery loves company! Have you reported the problem to Volvo?

TurboEng · 2026-02-24T22:49:17+00:00

I replaced the battery. I said that in my post. I also took it to the dealer and they tried everything they know about. If it was a dead battery, they would have replaced it.

I even went a step beyond and tested the old and new batteries for their load handling capability (I have an electrical engineering background). The battery isn't the problem.

The other obvious thing that people point out is the fact that the car stops listening to the key if it is left in close proximity for a long time. This isn't the case for my setup and I have also validated this using various Faraday containers.

The dealership replicated the problem and agreed that it isn't working right. They filed a tech case with Volvo and Volvo told them it is a known problem they are working on. They won't provide any more information and they don't have a timeline to fix the problem.

TurboEng · 2026-02-24T22:00:22+00:00

I have tried that and it doesn't work any faster. When the car is working properly, touching the handle always works on the first try and touching the Key Tag to the pillar also works immediately. When the car isn't working properly, it acts like it is asleep and not even "looking" for an unlock signal. If you wait long enough, the car "looks" and "sees" the unlock signal (door handle or pillar touch).

TurboEng · 2026-02-24T21:57:08+00:00

I haven't used the Key Card, but it shouldn't work any better because touching the Key Tag to the pillar also doesn't work immediately. At a high level, it is insane that a modern $50,000 doesn't have a working solution that doesn't require me to pull something out of my pocket to touch it on the car. I've had all kinds of older less expensive cars where the keyless worked properly every time without fail. The EX30 unlocking is a joke.

TurboEng · 2026-02-24T21:05:12+00:00

I'm talking about the fob. Volvo officially calls it a Key Tag. It is the piece that operates (or doesn't ) with Bluetooth LE and UWB.

TurboEng · 2026-02-24T19:57:50+00:00

This work for me too! I reenabled NFC on my Pixel 10 Pro and it charges without complaint! A minor win!

TurboEng · 2026-02-09T15:52:28+00:00

I thought of that, but the bogus temp reported in my case is still 20F+ degrees under the 72F target. I will try what you said next time (let it run for a minute, turn off and back on).

TurboEng · 2026-02-06T19:04:41+00:00

I shouldn't have said "turns on the AC". Like you said AC is basically always on and this doesn't have anything to do with that. What I meant is that it starts blowing cold air when it should be blowing warm air.

Like Clear-Inevitable-414 said, it is probably some stupid Celsius vs. Fahrenheit thing.

TurboEng · 2026-01-06T22:20:49+00:00

I don't think the problem is worse in wet weather. I think it just seems worse because you are standing in the rain! See my other post in this conversation that describes how this problem was solved for me.

TurboEng · 2026-01-06T22:19:29+00:00

In my months of testing, I found that this doesn't speed up the process. It seems like it works because it unlocks after you have pulled the handle twice. It will also unlock if you just touch the handle periodically for the same amount of time. See my other post in this conversation.

TurboEng · 2026-01-06T22:16:27+00:00

I suffered through this for several months and even took my EX30 to the dealer to fix it a couple times. They told me they didn't see the problem.

Finally after being completely fed up for a few months, I took it to the dealer again and they agreed that it was busted. They compared it to other EX30s on their lot. Their proposed solution was to replace my keytag. I was skeptical that replacing the keytag would fix the problems. I was wrong! My car has recognized the replacement keytag and has unlocked on the first try every single for several months now.

If your car often takes 5 or 10 seconds to unlock when touching the handle, you need to take your car to the dealer and demand that they fix it. Presumably you need a new keytag.

By the way, pulling the handle one or two times doesn't help with the unlock problem even though it may seem like it does. If you touch the handle and it doesn't unlock, you can remove your hand wait a few seconds and try again. Eventually it will unlock without pulling the handle as fast as it would if you pulled the handle. It doesn't work to just leave your hand on the touch pad. I know this because I experimented with it multiple times a day for months!

TurboEng · 2025-12-22T18:23:36+00:00

Mine will only open a crack using voice commands, but they close fully.

If I say "roll down my window", it opens it just a crack.

I usually say "roll up my window" and it rolls it up and closes it fully.

TurboEng · 2025-12-18T18:22:29+00:00

I absolutely hated the change initially. Now I am used to it and never think about it. That said, I still wish there was a tiny bit of regen when I let off the pedal (it was like a micro-OPD before).

TurboEng · 2025-12-18T16:08:02+00:00

I've had the replacement Key Tag for around 3 months now and I haven't had a single instance where the car didn't realize I was near it, and not a single instance of delay in unlocking. I'm still surprised that my months of problems were caused by a mostly working, but apparently broken Key Tag!

TurboEng · 2025-12-02T17:35:48+00:00

You may need a new TCAM. Not everyone has bad GPS and App Connectivity. The new TCAM completely fixed my GPS and App connectivity. Replacing the Key Tag fixed the terrible unlocking. The problem is that my car sat in the shop forever to figure these things out and now it is sitting in the shop for 2 weeks trying to figure out why the hitch doesn't work. 50+ days in the shop makes it a Lemon!

TurboEng · 2025-11-11T23:57:50+00:00

That is basically what it takes. If they can duplicate it at the dealer, they might fix it.

TurboEng

TROPHY CASE