Comments on: Use your mobile phone to unlock car

By: Julian Forster

Julian Forster — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 17:50:48 +0000

I can say it works. I have a BMW 530 and I phone my wife, she have a spare keys and it works!!!

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:03:27 +0000

Had cause to try it one day in desperation. Locked my keys in the boot, so got my wife to try it for me with her set of keys from home.

Didn’t work.

Ended up breaking into the car in the usual way, popping the boot and canceling the (inevitable) alarm once I had my keys in my hand.

By: strikeone

strikeone — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 13:06:05 +0000

No, the guys over on CNET’s Crave blog (http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9943547-1.html) explained it about a month ago:

“Your phone as a key The most preposterous tip promises that you can unlock your car door with the magic of a cell phone. It goes something like this: “If you lock your keys in the car and the spare keys are at home, call someone at home on their cell phone from your cell phone. Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the person at your home press the unlock button, holding it near the mobile phone on their end. Your car will unlock. Distance is no object. You could be hundreds of miles away.”

Even if the e-mail says something like “It works fine!”, this is pure fantasy. Keyless entry works on a radio frequency, and a radio frequency cannot travel over a phone line. Also, as anyone who has a car with keyless entry can attest, you have to be close to the car for it to work.”

By: Zealot

Zealot — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:30:53 +0000

As Mr. Clarke said, Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

Of course, I have always felt the adverse was true as well…any sufficiently subtle magic is indistinguishable from technology.

By: Radimus

Radimus — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:14:06 +0000

I love these kinds of hoax email. It merely serves to point out that most people have no understanding of virtually anything that they use/own/operate in their lives.

It is all magic to them.

Amazing that it can be funny and sad at the same time

By: Cirrob

Cirrob — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 11:57:35 +0000

http://www.snopes.com/autos/techno/keyless.asp

By: Box

Box — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 07:53:56 +0000

I’m sure it works, it’s the same principle I use for hunting Rabbit. I hide in the bushes and making noises like a lettuce. Maybe I can just hide my phone in the bushes and catch them that way.

By: Zealot

Zealot — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 07:34:42 +0000

…Though I would pay good money to see a flashmob descend on a shopping center parking lot and all try to open car doors with their phones.

By: Julie

Julie — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 07:19:20 +0000

yep, it’s a hoax:

http://www.snopes.com/autos/techno/keyless.asp

By: goron1

goron1 — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 07:16:14 +0000

As with most unsolicited emails of this kind, it’s a hoax.