Avoid Digital Key at all Costs

garrettb · 2025-09-23T23:57:13-0400

My salesman delivered the vehicle to my house mid-evening, and I chalked up his seeming efforts to dissuade use of the digital key in the manner intended by Audi as an eagerness to get home or lack of technical understanding. I now understand that, to his credit, he was trying to do everything he could short of flat out telling me my new car's Digital Key capability will cause massive cascade of technical issues ranging form inconvenient and annoying to disabling all methods of operating the door locks short of the mechanical key.

Bless him. Confident in my tech chops I ignored his warnings, charged ahead to activate the Digital Key, and learned the hard way.

After getting locked out of the car by use of key fob, digital key, and myAudi app, and watching the myAudi app intermittently lose connection with the car or report other false errors (ignition left on?!), I started the tedious process of removing every vestige of the digital key from the car and the app and my phone, including a factory settings reset, deleting the app, and deleting all secondary user accounts, then restoring everything (except the digital key). All has been working fine since.

Audi tech support and many other posters here and elsewhere have reported an extremely unstable Digital Key implementation. I can live without, maybe try again in 6 months.

Hppy29 · 2025-09-24T02:08:07-0400

The issues around digital key have been widely reported and in the pinned post. The service was restricted by Audi in December last year.

Unfortunately this is just another poorly implemented bit of software by Audi. just like the sensors being over sensitive; intermittent data connections with the car, and the worst app ever.

herebcs · 2025-09-24T06:47:31-0400

I've been using the digital key on my iphone since I got the car several months ago with zero issue. I never used the app to open or close the car, only the wallet app, but most of the time I just touch the sensor on the door handle. Maybe avoiding the app makes the difference or I have been simply lucky - I don't know.

Hppy29 · 2025-09-24T06:54:17-0400

Don’t get confused between convenience key and digital key.

There are issues with digital key which is why Audi limited its function. Currently digital key can not be shared with a secondary user or added to a secondary device. Those who try and remove digital key also experience issues.

For those with it installed on a single profile and device seem to be the lucky ones.

Dragonator · 2025-09-24T19:22:31-0400

I like my Digital Key! I'm also the only one driving my car.

BenjaminNicholas · 2025-09-24T19:34:39-0400

Yet another problem Audi has yet to fix.

q8canuck · 2025-09-25T07:53:39-0400

It all points back to a software team that was rushed by marketing to get the product out. Since most of that team is no longer employed it will be a long time before these problems are fixed.

Hppy29 · 2025-09-27T04:07:23-0400

Digital Key seems to work on other cars just poor implementation by Audi, no surprise there hey?

somfortiwan · 2025-09-26T09:50:56-0400

I am one of those unlucky people that had a lot of software issues until I disabled the digital key in the MMI. I wanted to give Audi a bit of time to come with a software update, but as this does not seem to be on the way any time soon, I just want to start using it again and drop it off again at the deal the first time it craps out.

However, I have a new phone again and it is impossible to delete my old phone and add my new one...

Removing the old one throws and error messages, adding a new one, just gets stuck in an infinite waiting loop.

First available appointment is november 6. Here we go again.

Hppy29 · 2025-09-27T04:06:13-0400

somfortiwan said:
I am one of those unlucky people that had a lot of software issues until I disabled the digital key in the MMI. I wanted to give Audi a bit of time to come with a software update, but as this does not seem to be on the way any time soon, I just want to start using it again and drop it off again at the deal the first time it craps out.

However, I have a new phone again and it is impossible to delete my old phone and add my new one...

Removing the old one throws and error messages, adding a new one, just gets stuck in an infinite waiting loop.

First available appointment is november 6. Here we go again.

There is no point taking it to the workshop the function to modify the account was removed in Dec 24 due to issues with Digital Key, you are no longer able to share, or modify your Digital Key until they resolve the issues.

Incase you have not read all the threads about digital key, it caused some (not all) to have complete lockdowns of the car and/ or alarms to go off randomly. The is why it was given limited function by Audi, Currently there is no work around or ability to change this until the update the software.

Avoid Digital Key at all Costs

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