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Is It Time To Remove The Keyless Entry Buttons?

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Old Sep 11, 2022 | 11:26 AM
  #81  
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Originally Posted by Wexford F150 Owner
I like my keypad and use it a fair amount. I always locked my keys in the truck while at the gym so I didn't have to have my clunky ring of keys on me. Sometimes, when I'm in the driveway, and want to check in the truck for something and I don't have my key or phone on me, I'll use the key pad. I spend a lot of time hunting, and don't always like to carry my keys in. (I walk in about a mile and if my keys were to fall out of my pocket, I'd be lucky to ever find them.) And if my hunting partner wants to get in my truck for any reason (lunch, got cold, shot a deer, I got injured) he could do that easily. It literally could be a life saver.

I hope they keep it.

BTW: When it comes to finding keys, you might want to pick up one of these. It wouldn't be hard to roughly retrace steps and have them playing audibly the whole time

https://smile.amazon.com/Tile-Powerf...dp/B09B2WLRWX/

(also works for couch cushions)
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Old Sep 11, 2022 | 04:38 PM
  #82  
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Originally Posted by vulnox
It's not even remotely comparable. If someone wants to sit and watch me for countless hours until the maybe one day a week or every other week, if that, when I use my keypad so they can get into my truck where my keys won't be anyway, then go for it. The use of the keypad isn't always because you are locking your keys inside, you just may not have your keys with you at all.

Then maybe they just hang out in a large, 300 car parking lot at popular beaches waiting for someone that DOES lock their keys in right? Okay, so now you need an angle on the keypad without other cars or the person in question blocking the view, need to have a Ford owner that actually uses the feature, and so on.

The actual cross section of people that use the keypad daily and in repeatable and obstruction free ways for this to be possible is next to non existent. It's like saying my keyboard is a security hazard because I type my work password into it 20 times a day and someone could conceivably be looking through my window with a telephoto lens and capture me typing it. The odds of anyone investing that much time and energy and even being able to make out what is happening is not even worth discussing.
Have you been reading this thread? There seems to be a relatively high percentage of keypad users right here that use it every time. And in case you had difficulty reading my post, I made it clear that it must not be very common in practice anyway. But thanks for reinforcing that. If somebody wants your truck and you're a regular keypad user (maybe you keep the fob in the truck), it is ridiculously low tech to get it. Without breaking a window or setting off an alarm. Thief follows you to any of your locations. Thief parks anywhere with a clear view of the side of your truck. Thief snaps his cracked-screen iPhone 6 to a $39.99 telephoto lens (search
Amazon Amazon
) and sets it on his dash, pointed at your truck keypad. You appear, he presses record, and you punch in your five-digit code into a five-button panel, and you're off. Thief also now has keys to your car. It's low tech. And it's why even weak ATM security is protected with recessed keypads and 10 possible keys. It is much, much, much easier than the https://www.securityweek.com/researchers-hack-remote-keyless-system-honda-vehiclesattacks that have been making the https://www.foxla.com/news/key-fob-hacking-how-thieves-can-hack-into-your-car-and-tips-to-stop-itfor years and has much lower technological barriers to entry.

Does it happen? Probably not that often (as stated in my original post). It seems it'd be more likely if someone was targeting a truck. But the parking lot route, for opportunistic thieves, is actually quite plausible too. Can keyless fobs be hacked? Of course. Can thieves just break a window? Yeah, that too. It sure helps if they know the fob is in the vehicle. And from the sounds of this thread, there are a lot of fobs in vehicles.

And if your work password is a five-character combination of five buttons, and it is the only thing standing between your work data and someone looking in with binoculars, you either don't work with sensitive information or your security people should be fired for malpractice.
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Old Sep 11, 2022 | 05:04 PM
  #83  
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Originally Posted by enigma869
Am I the only one who finds the keyless entry on the F-150 (and all Ford vehicles) extremely outdated? While I personally never use it, I certainly understand the functionality of it. I just wonder if it's outlived its usefulness with apps that can unlock your door. I used to own a 1995 Crown Victoria that had what feels like the same exact buttons. At a minimum, I'm very surprised that they haven't at least updated the design to look a bit more sleek. Perhaps, more of a touch screen on that door pillar to enter the code? I feel like Ford has mostly done a great job with the 2021 redesign, but there are also some misses there, and the buttons (for me) are in glaring need of complete abolishment, or a redesign to at least make them appear like they fit in with the current century!
Are you f*cking nuts? ;-)

This is one of the BEST features of Ford's vehicles. Apps don't work reliably, phones and watches run out of battery, communications isn't available everywhere, and software involving a button on the truck vs a button on an apps is 10X more reliable.
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Old Sep 11, 2022 | 05:06 PM
  #84  
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Originally Posted by enigma869
Sorry that I baffled you with my thoughts. I, too have "smart" locks throughout my home that are able to be accessed by using a code. None of them are as ugly as Ford's 30 year old keypad design
...and when the battery dies on your "smart" lock while you're away on vacation...
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Old Sep 11, 2022 | 05:37 PM
  #85  
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Originally Posted by RickBullotta
...and when the battery dies on your "smart" lock while you're away on vacation...
I mean..I would hope that every human with connected brain cells wouldn't just rely upon smart locks, and have far more than just one way to access their home. Hell, I have endess ways to access my F-150. I surely better have several ways to access where I live!
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Old Sep 11, 2022 | 05:52 PM
  #86  
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Originally Posted by blkZ28spt
It looks the same because it works and works beautifully.

We have a "modern" set of buttons on our Explorer. You can't even see them until you use them, they are digital/LED/touch screen/whatever.

They suck. They take five times longer to use because you have to get it activated before you can press the buttons, and they often don't work with gloves or work well with this that or the other on your hands.

It kind of sounds you probably just shouldn't own a truck, it's not trendy and hipster enough for you.

You need something that people probably haven't heard of until you tell them about yours
I agree regarding the Explorer keypad and that modern doesn’t equate to better functionality. In my view, the appearance of the F150 keypad and buttons could be refined in a way that gives it a refreshed, updated appearance without compromising functionality.

Last edited by 2Lazy2P; Sep 11, 2022 at 05:57 PM.
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Old Sep 11, 2022 | 06:42 PM
  #87  
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Originally Posted by EcoOrBoost
Does it happen?
Probably not.

And guess what, if you are that worried about it, you don't have to use it.

Problem solved.

Or, you know, you could use your intellect to conceal your button press.

But that is clearly too much work, better to start and continue an argument on the internet about how difficult it is for you to use your keypad without showing the world because you have a kid stalking you with a telephoto lens who just sits and waits in the parking lot with his lens pointed at your keypad lol

Last edited by blkZ28spt; Sep 11, 2022 at 06:45 PM.
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Old Sep 11, 2022 | 06:43 PM
  #88  
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Originally Posted by RickBullotta
...and when the battery dies on your "smart" lock while you're away on vacation...
If you’re dumb enough to post that I’ll assume pretty much anything beyond a free swinging door will perplex you.
Unreal.
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Old Sep 11, 2022 | 07:59 PM
  #89  
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Originally Posted by enigma869
Ah yes, that awful antenna. That thing is straight out of 1985...just like the dopey keypad. The antenna thing is even more baffling to me. I've owned a lot of trucks over the last ten years, and the Fords are the only one that even still has that ridiculous whip antenna. Most other manufacturers have been building them into the windshield forever. I will tell you that anytime I purchase an F-150, the antenna is usually removed within the first 24 hours of me owning it. I just bought a short, stubby, 6 inch antenna on Amazon to replace it, and my reception isn't any different than it was with Ford's ridiculous antenna. It's time for them to do away with that thing, as well! Even though the short, stubby antenna isn't as offensive to look at, I'd still rather not see an antenna, at this point.
"that awful Antenna" rocks... I drive 45 miles one way to work in rural KS, getting good FM reception is wonderful. you may think the stubby is just as good. It is not... glad you don't work for Ford.
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Old Sep 11, 2022 | 08:06 PM
  #90  
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Originally Posted by waphilips
"that awful Antenna" rocks... I drive 45 miles one way to work in rural KS, getting good FM reception is wonderful. you may think the stubby is just as good. It is not... glad you don't work for Ford.
The antenna sucks! Ford could put it directly into the windshield just like every other manufacturer does, and get the same exact reception. I don't live among corn fields, so yes, my reception hasn't change, even a little. Perhaps, it's diifferent for those who live in very rural areas. Again, rural or not, the technogy has existed for a long time to move away from the 1960's era whip antennas and not have an antenna cause the wind noise that many have complained about or needing to remove it every time they want to run their vehicle through a car wash.
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