Help! Key fob out of range probably dropped on highway!

[bobs_one]

Key Fob

Well, I had the deadly "pocket failure" and lost my fob out of my jacket pocket on the express lanes of a VERY busy highway. No way I could go back and pick it up (even if it hadn't been run over by the time I could get back to it), so I bought a replacement.

I had read the horror stories here about the price and the delay and I was pleasantly surprised. It was CDN$250 (about $185 US) and it took 3 weeks to get it.

On top of that, there was no confusion about having to get the dealer to program it or anything - despite what the online fiches say - I just had to hold it under the rear fender (where you hold the emergency key) the first time and the bike responded to it after that just like the original had done.

Only the whole, apart from feeling dumb for losing the original one, it wasn't an outrageous experience. I probably should have bought a second one too...

 

[skibum69]

Sounds like one more reason to hate fobs.

 

[BC1100S]

I had read the horror stories here about the price and the delay and I was pleasantly surprised. It was CDN$250 (about $185 US) and it took 3 weeks to get it.

Don't lose the fob for one's Lexus or Corvette....

 

[brownie0486]

My fob stays in the tank bag. The bike hasn't ever given me "out of range". I take the bag with me if I get off the bike unless I just moving a short distance where I can see the bike.

I don't carry the emergency plastic key unless on a trip. Then that's on a paracord necklace that doesn't come off my body except to shower and sleep.

ETA, the fob is kept in the house, the bikes in the garage so there's no draining the fob battery when I'm not using it. Spare battery for fob on bike 24/7.

 

[Omega Man]

Well, I had the deadly "pocket failure" and lost my fob out of my jacket pocket on the express lanes of a VERY busy highway. No way I could go back and pick it up (even if it hadn't been run over by the time I could get back to it), so I bought a replacement.

I had read the horror stories here about the price and the delay and I was pleasantly surprised. It was CDN$250 (about $185 US) and it took 3 weeks to get it.

On top of that, there was no confusion about having to get the dealer to program it or anything - despite what the online fiches say - I just had to hold it under the rear fender (where you hold the emergency key) the first time and the bike responded to it after that just like the original had done.

Only the whole, apart from feeling dumb for losing the original one, it wasn't an outrageous experience. I probably should have bought a second one too...

At least you seem to know where you lost it. Mildly better than not knowing…….like dropping something overboard, it’s gone but you know where.
OM

 

[gregu]

The first thing I did with my fobs was put an Apple AirTag on them. I've done with with all my sets of keys.

A little late for the OP, but it even proactively notifies me if it believes I've left them somewhere on my home screen. I got 4 tags for $100, they took three days to arrive, complete with custom engraving. I bought four silicone air tag holders that are now on the keychain with my fobs.

Cheap insurance and you can find them just about anywhere.

At $25, they're way cheaper than buying additional fobs and you have just about zero chance of losing them. https://www.thedrive.com/news/forgotten-airtag-tracks-totaled-audi-q5-from-pennsylvania-to-poland#

Kbasa, The apple air tag sounds like a great idea and works for you. Has it ever interfered with your FOB operation? When you get 4 tags, could the 2nd tag be placed on the bike, let's say under the luggage rack and be used to find the bike? Would it qualify as a tracker for insurance discount? And lastly, how do the 4 tags track...like all at once or does each have different ID #'s?

 

[cruisincruzan]

I wonder if BMW could do the same thing as my wife's X5. In addition to the key fobs you get a card (size of a standard credit card) that works as a key. You place it on the wireless charging pad and it functions as key. BTW I always order a second fob when I buy a bike. Also doing the air tag thing.

 

[52184]

I wonder if BMW could do the same thing as my wife's X5. In addition to the key fobs you get a card (size of a standard credit card) that works as a key. You place it on the wireless charging pad and it functions as key. BTW I always order a second fob when I buy a bike. Also doing the air tag thing.

That’s essentially what they are doing with the plastic emergency key that comes with every fobbed bike. The emergency key is pretty easy to hide on the bike in a secure location that can still be easily accessed, or carried in a wallet or purse.

It’s interesting to read the various approaches taken to avoid loss of a fob and presence of a spare or emergency key; certainly there is no one “best way” as each owner’s concerns and modus operandi differ. In my own case, I don’t use lanyards or keychains on my cage fobs as each came with two fobs, one for my pants pocket and one for my wife’s purse. But the bike fob is on a neck lanyard, carried in a pocket on the riding suit or worn around the neck when working on the bike in the garage. For fobbed or chipped-key bikes the plastic emergency key is concealed on the bike or carried in a small leather coin purse that also contains backup keys for any aftermarket luggage on the bikes. Since I have only two riding jackets, one for local-only rides where a spare key is a phone call or Uber away, and one for everything else, that leather pouch resides permanently in a hidden pocket on the travel jacket. Works for me, anyway.

But as noted earlier, no One True Method exists—fate has a way of intervening at will. Raise your hand if you’ve been in a tour with rented bikes when someone puts their jacket, with lanyarded fob and spare keys, into a Givi V47 topcase and closes it— the V47 is one of those cases that automatically locks when closed, no key required. Fun ensues…

Best,
DeVern

 

[strataj]

Bad things do happen even to keyed bikes. I was riding with with someone that couldn't fine his key one morning. He looked everywhere no go. Some how the hotel got involved and found it in the closet. It must of been a pocket that when hung up fell out and was difficult to see. As you can tell the story ended good

 

[exgman]

Apple AirTags Solution

I'm with Kbasa (post #13) on this one. Apple AirTags are a relatively cheap solution for this problem. These days (late 2023) they're slightly more than $20 each.

 

[jono]

Kbasa, The apple air tag sounds like a great idea and works for you. Has it ever interfered with your FOB operation? When you get 4 tags, could the 2nd tag be placed on the bike, let's say under the luggage rack and be used to find the bike? Would it qualify as a tracker for insurance discount? And lastly, how do the 4 tags track...like all at once or does each have different ID #'s?

I have an Airtag on my keyring (which also has my fob) and I've hidden one on the bike. Neither has interfered with the bike's electronics. The Airtags are independent of each other.

BTW: the alert on the iPhone is mildly humorous when reporting on the bike's Airtag. Often when I stop overnight or at a restaurant, I get an alert that says "The R1250RT has been left behind. Last seen at ......"

 

[brownie0486]

Running an android, what device like the apple airtag would be suggested?

 

[exgman]

Android Alternative to AirTag

Brownie0486: Take a look at this URL for a possible answer: https://www.howtogeek.com/724198/th...e-for-android/#Best For Wallets: Chipolo Card

 

[lee]

Brownie0486: Take a look at this URL for a possible answer: https://www.howtogeek.com/724198/th...e-for-android/#Best For Wallets: Chipolo Card

My sister gave me a couple Tiles and they don't work that great. They triangulate from other Tile users when you lose a item with a Tile attached. There's only been a few times when I checked my phone that I saw other Tile users in the area.
If you lose your keys with tile attached at home you can trigger a audible alert but it's not very loud. I tried it once with the tile in my gym bag and I could not hear it.

Looking at the Airtag information it only needs to be a iphone to locate it. The website said the airtag needs to be withing Bluetooth range to find it, 30 feet, but from the earlier post if does give the location where you separate from the airtag. My Tile does not tell me when I separate from it or show it's location history without paying a monthly fee.

 

[brownie0486]

Brownie0486: Take a look at this URL for a possible answer: https://www.howtogeek.com/724198/th...e-for-android/#Best For Wallets: Chipolo Card

Thank you sir

 

[strataj]

Looks like Google will have something out soon. https://www.techradar.com/phones/an...gs-is-launching-soon-heres-what-it-looks-like

 

[AntonLargiader]

I use Tiles. For my purposes, they work great. They tell me if keys/wallet are actually near me or not, and where last seen. Replaceable batteries on the ones I have.

If I lost something on the road, though, AirTags would probably give a better location just due to the greater crowdsourcing of location info.

 

[gregu]

Sorry, I can't back to the post and look closer. Someone mentioned the FOB searching and excessive battery wear. Does the FOB stop searching and draining the battery at a particular point? As in close to the bike or far away? If far away, does it have to be out of range for the locking button to work?

 

[akbeemer]

The fob responds to a signal sent by the bike when the ignition button is pushed.

 

[kbasa]

My sister gave me a couple Tiles and they don't work that great. They triangulate from other Tile users when you lose a item with a Tile attached. There's only been a few times when I checked my phone that I saw other Tile users in the area.
If you lose your keys with tile attached at home you can trigger a audible alert but it's not very loud. I tried it once with the tile in my gym bag and I could not hear it.

Looking at the Airtag information it only needs to be a iphone to locate it. The website said the airtag needs to be withing Bluetooth range to find it, 30 feet, but from the earlier post if does give the location where you separate from the airtag. My Tile does not tell me when I separate from it or show it's location history without paying a monthly fee.

My iPad tells me when it loses contact with an AirTag and where it last saw it.

They’ll work thousands of miles from your iPhone via the FindMy native iOS app.