Do the F150 key fobs sleep?

[cheesedogf150]

Just wondering do the key fobs of the f150 sleep after no activity or sitting idle for X minutes?

The fobs on my previous cars would sleep and stop transmitting if you put the fob down and didn't move it for a few minutes. This was great because you could not steal and repeat a signal to steal the vehicle.

Curious if the f150 fobs had something like this or am I going to have to faraday box the fobs, thx

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[speedracercjr]

Just wondering do the key fobs of the f150 sleep after no activity or sitting idle for X minutes?

The fobs on my previous cars would sleep and stop transmitting if you put the fob down and didn't move it for a few minutes. This was great because you could not steal and repeat a signal to steal the vehicle.

Curious if the f150 fobs had something like this or am I going to have to faraday box the fobs, thx

That's a really good question. I know I can put the key on the bed of the truck and it doesn't continually "wake up" the truck. I don't know if that's because the fob is asleep, or the truck recognizes the fob hasn't moved though.

 

[Buyer2021]

The long fob battery life would suggest they 'sleep' to some degree, wouldn't it?

I've left my fob in the unlocked truck cab for an extended time and the truck 'goes to sleep' just as it does without the fob present. Maybe not an 'experiment' urban folks would want to try but I leave my fob in my unlocked truck daily (but not overnight) as the truck is parked in front of my very rural home within a locked driveway gate and constantly visible from inside the house.

 

[erixgix]

I’m not sure you’d get an informed answer on how that works, and more importantly for how long it transmits. Its still susceptible to be read in that window if that is a concern. I’d think you could pop the case open and check the circuit board for an accelerometer by looking up the chip Ids. But not knowing the time window makes it less valuable to know.

I like the idea of making a tin foil hat for my fob

 

[Porpoise Hork]

Just wondering do the key fobs of the f150 sleep after no activity or sitting idle for X minutes?

The fobs on my previous cars would sleep and stop transmitting if you put the fob down and didn't move it for a few minutes. This was great because you could not steal and repeat a signal to steal the vehicle.

Curious if the f150 fobs had something like this or am I going to have to faraday box the fobs, thx

I want to say they don't. Either way a faraday pouch or box is cheap compared to having to deal with the truck getting stolen because they copied your key. I have a set of pouches for mine and keep them in that when I am at home.

 

[Buyer2021]

Help me understand the practical aspects of this 'remote RF code theft' threat / risk, please ....

Due to device range limitations isn't this threat / risk far greater when in public with the fob in your pocket / purse (and approaching nill in a home setting)?

Doesn't that mean that meaningful mitigation of this threat / risk requires diligent use of a faraday pouch whenever carrying the fob on your person, taking it out only when actually needed to perform?

 

[Porpoise Hork]

Help me understand the practical aspects of this 'remote RF code theft' threat / risk, please ....

Due to device range limitations isn't this threat / risk far greater when in public with the fob in your pocket / purse (and approaching nill in a home setting)?

Doesn't that mean that meaningful mitigation of this threat / risk requires diligent use of a faraday pouch whenever carrying the fob on your person, taking it out only when actually needed to perform?

Professional car thieves have access to RF snooper devices that mimic a specific vehicle code request from the fob. They then intercept the response from the fob. Then a dummy fob is cloned to the same code and the suspect vehicle is able to be unlocked and started like it had the actual key in it. They can snag it when you park in public or driving through neighborhoods looking for a specific vehicle. Back in the day they used to have to go to the door and use a pair of antenna to scan the fob, but now they can do it from the street. When using a faraday pouch on the fobs the cloner box doesn't receive the response back so they cannot clone it and steal the vehicle.

Guy down the street from me had his brand new Tacoma stolen out of his driveway using this method. It turned up 3 months later in the middle east from a GPS ping. His insurance told him to put the fobs in a faraday pouch when he replaced it.

The risk of it happening is mostly down to the specific vehicle and where it sits on the theft list. Sometimes they will nab it in public like a shopping mall. Other times they will follow the mark home and nab the car/truck at night when everyone is asleep giving them time to make it to the storage area where the vehicle can be locked in a lined shipping container to prevent the GPS from locating it.

 

[cheesedogf150]

Professional car thieves have access to RF snooper devices that mimic a specific vehicle code request from the fob. They then intercept the response from the fob. Then a dummy fob is cloned to the same code and the suspect vehicle is able to be unlocked and started like it had the actual key in it. They can snag it when you park in public or driving through neighborhoods looking for a specific vehicle. Back in the day they used to have to go to the door and use a pair of antenna to scan the fob, but now they can do it from the street. When using a faraday pouch on the fobs the cloner box doesn't receive the response back so they cannot clone it and steal the vehicle.

Guy down the street from me had his brand new Tacoma stolen out of his driveway using this method. It turned up 3 months later in the middle east from a GPS ping. His insurance told him to put the fobs in a faraday pouch when he replaced it.

The risk of it happening is mostly down to the specific vehicle and where it sits on the theft list. Sometimes they will nab it in public like a shopping mall. Other times they will follow the mark home and nab the car/truck at night when everyone is asleep giving them time to make it to the storage area where the vehicle can be locked in a lined shipping container to prevent the GPS from locating it.

That is spot on, I'm by no means a tin foil hat person. If putting my fobs in a box when I get home saves me from having to deal with a stolen vehicle I'm in.

I leave my fobs on my desk at home anyway, no extra effort to put it in a box and close a lid.

Have a good recommendation for a box and or pouches?

 

[Buyer2021]

Professional car thieves have access to RF snooper devices that mimic a specific vehicle code request from the fob. They then intercept the response from the fob. Then a dummy fob is cloned to the same code and the suspect vehicle is able to be unlocked and started like it had the actual key in it. They can snag it when you park in public or driving through neighborhoods looking for a specific vehicle. Back in the day they used to have to go to the door and use a pair of antenna to scan the fob, but now they can do it from the street. When using a faraday pouch on the fobs the cloner box doesn't receive the response back so they cannot clone it and steal the vehicle.

Guy down the street from me had his brand new Tacoma stolen out of his driveway using this method. It turned up 3 months later in the middle east from a GPS ping. His insurance told him to put the fobs in a faraday pouch when he replaced it.

The risk of it happening is mostly down to the specific vehicle and where it sits on the theft list. Sometimes they will nab it in public like a shopping mall. Other times they will follow the mark home and nab the car/truck at night when everyone is asleep giving them time to make it to the storage area where the vehicle can be locked in a lined shipping container to prevent the GPS from locating it.

Fair enuf but doesn't that support the notion that meaningful mitigation requires keeping the fob in a faraday pouch at all times, not just at home?

Yeah, F150's are a popular target, but there's huge numbers of 'em and I think data supports that most car thefts are a matter of easy / 'low risk' opportunism. Yep, an AMG Mercedes may prompt higher risk taking by bad actors.

I don't discount that this sort of theft happens. I suppose it's legitimately a matter of personal risk assessment and risk tolerance that dictates how much one chooses to alter their own life patterns or impose inconveniences on themselves in response to that.

Personally I would find the diligent use of a faraday pouch an unacceptable inconvenience. But I don't live in Houston or Toronto, maybe my attitude would be different if I did.

Hoping no one suffers the theft of any vehicle they own ....

 

[Porpoise Hork]

Fair enuf but doesn't that support the notion that meaningful mitigation requires keeping the fob in a faraday pouch at all times, not just at home?

Yeah, F150's are a popular target, but there's huge numbers of 'em and I think data supports that most car thefts are a matter of easy / 'low risk' opportunism. Yep, an AMG Mercedes may prompt higher risk taking by bad actors.

I don't discount that this sort of theft happens. I suppose it's legitimately a matter of personal risk assessment and risk tolerance that dictates how much one chooses to alter their own life patterns or impose inconveniences on themselves in response to that.

Personally I would find the diligent use of a faraday pouch an unacceptable inconvenience. But I don't live in Houston or Toronto, maybe my attitude would be different if I did.

Hoping no one suffers the theft of any vehicle they own ....

I only put the fob in the pouch at home. Not particularly wanting to have a largish pouch attached to my belt loop when I'm out. Also the odds that I would be singled out when in public is statistically low so I'm not that concerned there. Besides that's what insurance is for. Yes it would suck but at least it's covered.

 

[powerboatr]

i read somewhere that they do in fact modulate down after a period of time with no communication with the vehicle.
HOWEVER,,,,,,,,,, i can lock and unlock and start my truck from within my FARADAY cage of house, its all steel and very well insulated with alum and fiberglass and foam
all windows are E glass .
i have a repeater in a window so we get wifi outside
phones only work VIA wifi and verizon repeater inside the house
if i walk up to truck i can get about 5 feet away and it starts the wake up routine of clicks and then the board deploy.
but no hard and fast YES answer anywhere. ford started using sleep fobs in Europe a while back

 

[BLoflin]

On the threat of copying your Fob from your pocket (while walking around in public), is lessened (versus when parked outside your house), as they would then have to know which one is your vehicle, back in the parking lot. Of course, depends on where you are, parking lot size, etc. But here in TX, I believe ever other vehicle is a F-150....

 

[Spidergears]

this is one thing that makes me mad. It would be easy for ford to mitigate this risk.
1. Add some sort of switch to the fob so you could disconnect the battery.
2. allow the user to choose to enter a code on the infotainment system before the truck will crank. I think dodge does this on some of their vehicles already.

Not perfect solutions, but would go a long way.

 

[Buyer2021]

On the threat of copying your Fob from your pocket (while walking around in public), is lessened (versus when parked outside your house), as they would then have to know which one is your vehicle, back in the parking lot. Of course, depends on where you are, parking lot size, etc. But here in TX, I believe ever other vehicle is a F-150....

As I understand the 'typical MO' of these bad actors, it involves one in a parking area associating person>vehicle, another (in communication, texting makes it easy and unobtrusive) in the retail area to assess the time the target will likely be occupied away from the vehicle and steal the code.

Daylight theft in high-traffic areas where witnesses are otherwise occupied, quickly disperse going about their own business, and the vehicle can quickly blend into other traffic seem to predominate.

I'll never grant intelligence as a characteristic of larcenous individuals, but unfortunately cunning abounds.

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