What BMW Digital Key Plus Actually Does And How to Set It Up on Your iPhone 

There's a feature on most newer BMWs that a surprising number of owners never set up. It's called Digital Key Plus, and once you've used it for a week, you'll wonder how you lived without it. 

In short: it lets you use your iPhone or Apple Watch as the key to your BMW. Unlock the doors, lock the doors, start the car. You can leave the physical key at home. You can hand a digital key to a family member while you're on vacation. You can grant a friend access to your car for one Saturday and then revoke it. 

It's one of those features that sounds gimmicky until you've used it. Then it becomes the thing you can't believe other cars don't have. 

Here's what it actually does, what you'll need to get it working, and the small details that make a big difference. 

What's the Difference Between "Digital Key" and "Digital Key Plus"? 

BMW offers two related features, and the distinction matters. 

• Digital Key is the basic version. It uses NFC — the same short-range wireless technology used by Apple Pay — to let you unlock and start the car when your phone is held against the door handle. It works on a wide range of iPhones and BMWs. The catch: you have to physically touch the phone to the car. It's a more elegant version of a key fob, but you're still pulling your phone out. 
• Digital Key Plus is the upgraded version. It uses Ultra-Wideband technology — the same precise distance-sensing tech that powers AirTag tracking — to know exactly where your phone is in relation to the car. With Digital Key Plus, you don't need to touch your phone to anything. As you walk up to the car with the phone in your pocket, the doors unlock. Sit down inside, and the car is ready to start. Walk away, and it locks automatically. 

This is the feature you actually want. The convenience difference between "tap your phone" and "walk up and the doors are already unlocked" is much bigger than it sounds. 

What You Need to Use Digital Key Plus 

-A compatible BMW. Digital Key Plus is available on most BMW vehicles produced from mid-2022 onward, and is standard or optional depending on the model and trim. If your car has the BMW Operating System 8 or newer (the curved display dashboard), you're almost certainly compatible. If you're not sure, your VIN will tell us — or you can check the BMW Connected app to see if the feature appears in your account. 

-A compatible iPhone. Digital Key Plus requires an iPhone 11 or newer for Ultra-Wideband support. iPhone 11 and 11 Pro work, as do all iPhone 12 through iPhone 17 models. If you have an iPhone XR, XS, or older, you can use the basic Digital Key (NFC) feature, but not Digital Key Plus. 

-An Apple Watch. Optional but valuable. Apple Watch Series 6 or newer supports Digital Key, which is genuinely useful at the beach, the gym, or any time you don't want to carry a phone. 

-A My BMW app account, with your car already paired to your account. If you set up your BMW with the My BMW app when you bought it, you're already there. If you haven't, that's the first step. 

The Setup Process, Step by Step 

1. Open the My BMW app on your iPhone. 

2. Make sure your car is paired to your account. You'll see your specific BMW listed by VIN. 

3. In the main app screen, find the Digital Key option. It's usually under "Vehicle" or "Settings" depending on the latest app version. 

4. Select "Add Digital Key" or "Set up Digital Key Plus." 

5. The app will guide you through pairing. You'll typically need to: 

   - Be inside the car 

   - Have your phone unlocked 

   - Place the phone in the wireless charging tray or center console (the car will tell you where) 

   - Confirm the pairing on the iDrive screen 

6. Once paired, the key is added to your Apple Wallet automatically. You can find it there alongside any credit cards or transit passes. 

7. Test the key. Get out of the car, lock it, then walk up to it. The car should unlock as you approach. If it doesn't, the pairing didn't complete fully — restart the setup process. 

The whole thing typically takes about ten minutes if everything goes smoothly. If you hit a snag — usually a phone Bluetooth issue or an app permission that needs to be granted — Devin, our BMW Genius, can walk you through it in person. We've set up hundreds of these and we know where the common stumbling blocks are. 

Sharing a Key With Someone Else 

This is the feature that really sells it. 

From the My BMW app, you can generate a digital key for another person — your spouse, a teenage driver, a friend who's borrowing the car for a weekend. The other person needs an iPhone of their own. Once they accept the key invitation, they can use the car exactly as you do. 

You also have control over what they can do: 

• Full access: drive, unlock, lock, all features 
• Restricted access: lower top speed limits, restricted infotainment, geographic boundaries (useful for teenage drivers) 
• Time-limited access: a key that only works for a specific window, like "this weekend only" 

You can revoke any digital key at any time, from anywhere, with one tap in the app. If your kid loses their phone, or you want to take a guest key back after a weekend, you don't need physical access to the car. 

The Small Stuff That Matters 

Phone battery. Digital Key Plus uses a small amount of battery while it's actively scanning for your car. Apple has optimized this well, but if your phone is dead, the key obviously doesn't work. Good to know if you're a chronic 1%-battery-by-noon person. 

iPhone reserve power. Newer iPhones include a "Power Reserve" mode that keeps essential features — including Digital Key — functional for up to five hours after the phone "dies." So even if your battery indicator says 0%, you can typically still get back into your car and start it. 

Backup key. Always carry the physical key fob as a backup, particularly if you're going somewhere remote. Phones break. Phones run out of battery. Phones get left in restaurants. The physical key still works any time the digital one doesn't. 

Family setup. If multiple people in your household use the car, set up a Digital Key Plus for each person rather than sharing a single key. That way each user gets their own custom seat positions, mirrors, climate settings, and audio preferences when they unlock the car. 

When We Help With Setup 

We've found that about half our new-car customers want to set this up themselves at home, and the other half want help on day one. Both are fine. If you want help, Devin or one of our delivery team will sit with you for as long as it takes to get the pairing right and walk through the most useful features. 

We've also helped existing owners set this up months or years after they bought the car. If you bought your BMW from us — or somewhere else, frankly — and you've never set this up, give us a call at 908-287-1800 and we'll schedule a quick visit. There's no charge for getting this working on your car; we'd rather have you using your BMW the way it was designed to be used.