Some BMW Owners Experiencing Issues With Shared Car Keys on iOS 18 - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

Some BMW Owners Experiencing Issues With Shared Car Keys on iOS 18

by

Following the release of iOS 18 last month, some BMW owners have experienced issues with shared car keys in the Apple Wallet app, according to messages on the Apple Support Community and the largest BMW discussion forum.

bmw digital key plus wallet app car key
Affected users said that the "passive entry" feature that allows you to lock, unlock, and start compatible BMW vehicle models by simply having your iPhone on you no longer works for secondary Wallet keys shared with others, such as a spouse or other family member. The primary key still works for passive entry, the people said.

The issue does not appear to be fixed in the iOS 18.0.1 update released last week, or in the latest iOS 18.1 beta. The underlying cause is unclear.

We will share any new information about this issue as it becomes available.

Tag: BMW
Related Forums: iOS 18, iPadOS 18

Popular Stories

iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max Feature

'Apple Upgrade' Program Reportedly Launching Next Week

Tuesday July 21, 2026 8:30 am PDT by
Apple and Klarna are partnering on a new "Apple Upgrade" leasing program set to launch in the U.S. on Tuesday, July 28, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The program will allow you to finance most iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models, with a 24-month term for iPhones and Apple Watches and a 36-month term for iPads and Macs. Customers will be able to pay off the device early during...
Read Full Article • 202 comments
iPhone 18 Pro Deep Red Feature

iPhone 18 Pro Launching in Two Months With These 12 New Features

Tuesday July 21, 2026 6:22 am PDT by
It is now mid-July, and that means the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are now just two months away. The devices are expected to look similar to the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, but there will still be many year-over-year changes, with rumored features including a smaller Dynamic Island, 5G via satellite, and more. Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, ...
Read Full Article
iPhone 18 Pro Deep Red Feature

iPhone 18 Pro Launching in Two Months With These 12 New Features

Friday July 17, 2026 10:39 am PDT by
It is now mid-July, and that means the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are now just two months away. The devices are expected to look similar to the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, but there will still be many year-over-year changes, with rumored features including a smaller Dynamic Island, 5G via satellite, and more. Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, ...
Read Full Article • 58 comments

Top Rated Comments

applesith Avatar
applesith
23 months ago
Critical access and information for everyday life (car keys, door locks, ID, payments, etc.) are too important for me to rely on one piece of technology that can go wrong with an update, a bug, a dead battery, or something unexpected. It's nice to have some of these on my phone, but I will never fully rely on my phone.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
A
A418t81
23 months ago
iOS 18 (not the beta) straight up broke apple car key on my iX and iPhone 15. Absolutely refused to connect to reissue the key or communicate with the car in any way. I had a 16 PM delivered about a week later and that phone works without any issue. Really unacceptable. This is the first and only issue I have ever had with the car key and iX in 15 months. The tech has been literally flawless. This problem has been in the betas with people complaining about it for many months. Super crappy of apple not to fix it before release. I could have easily been stranded had the phone update occurred anywhere other than at home.

Also, ACK works for several hours after your iPhone battery is dead FYI.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
M
macsound1
23 months ago
I always wondered if people used digital keys regularly. I could see it being useful if you're at the beach or something where you don't have pockets or want carry your keys and wallet and phone, but otherwise I'm way to paranoid to trust everything in my life to a single device and not have a backup.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
C
CarpalMac
23 months ago

Critical access and information for everyday life (car keys, door locks, ID, payments, etc.) are too important for me to rely on one piece of technology that can go wrong with an update, a bug, a dead battery, or something unexpected. It's nice to have some of these on my phone, but I will never fully rely on my phone.
Absolutely agree. It boggles my mind that people choose to rely on something that has so many potential (and more likely) risks of failure.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
E
EU-Regulations
23 months ago
Well, since I updated to TVOS18.0 everything hurts.
Support demands to upgrade everything, but hey, all the trouble really started since the update.

Software deployment and "Support" is no fun anymore.

Will stay on 17 for now, no matter what !

>>I got too much Apple stuff here, I must the one to blame <<
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
A
AbSoluTc
23 months ago
FWP lol. Good to know though. Seems 18 broke quite a few things that still arent fixed.

Several iOS versions later - STILL get the stupid squared off lock screen notifications that switch to curved. The dumbest crap I have ever seen and it's annoying as it causes a second or two of delay as it refreshes the animation.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments