If you have a newer BMW, there’s a pretty good chance it has come fitted with keyless entry as standard. As much as many people love the convenience this offers, it can pose a considerable security risk, leaving your car potentially vulnerable to keyless car theft, or relay theft (more on that here).
There are multiple ways that keyless entry can leave your car vulnerable. Firstly, relay theft is a known vulnerability where thieves use technology to pick up the signal emitted from the Key and use this to trick the car into thinking that the key is right next to the car. Using this weakness, thieves are able to quickly steal cars from their owner’s driveways without making a noise. You want to hear another scary fact? A lot of the thieves have learned how to increase their chances of getting away with it by entering the car, putting it in neutral, and then rolling the car off the driveway before starting it up, so that the car owner’s barely hear a sound.
Thieves who are able to perform relay theft to steal a car might seem few and far between if you have never heard of this crime before, but trust me – there are a lot of crooks who are highly talented in stealing cars in near silence these days.
So, now that we understand the vulnerabilities that keyless entry introduce, is it possible to disable the keyless entry feature in a BMW, and how can we stop keyless entry from working?
Well, there’s good news and bad news. Yes, you can stop keyless entry from working, but no, there unfortunately isn’t just a button or setting you can use to disable it. Here are your best options for disabling keyless entry in your BMW:
Use a Faraday Pouch (Easiest Option)
This is the easiest option, and the one I would recommend for most BMW owners. Simply put your keys in a faraday pouch. Keeping the keys to your BMW in a faraday pouch will prevent the car from unlocking, unless you take the keyfob out of the pouch. These are becoming increasingly popular in the UK especially, and for good reason. If you’re interested in getting one, I would personally recommend the Disklabs KS1.
It’s fairly cheap and is made to meet the police preferred specification, known as “Secured by Design”. I would say it’s definitely worth ordering one or two for a few quid to protect your beloved bimmer. The transmission technology in almost all cars fitted with keyless entry is the same, and all a faraday pouch does is block all signals coming in and out of the pouch – radio signals, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, it’s all blocked.
Once you’ve got your Disklabs faraday pouch, you can test it really easily – just put your keys in the pouch and try to open the car – it should remain locked until you take your keys out of the pouch – sorted.
Other Options to Disable BMW Keyless Entry
If you’re looking for alternative options, I have bad news for you. I (and the rest of the internet, seemingly) haven’t been able to find a great alternative. Some forum users think that it might be possible to disable keyless entry by using a coding app such as Bimmercode or Carly, but I’m afraid that I haven’t been able to find a conclusive answer on whether this actually works.
Alternatively, you could try checking the manual for your car and removing a fuse if you can find a corresponding fuse to the keyless entry system.
So, unfortunately it doesn’t seem like there are really any great viable alternatives for disabling keyless entry in your BMW, apart from using a faraday pouch.
I hope this has been helpful in answering your questions, even if the answer wasn’t what you were hoping to hear. Below are some questions I am commonly asked on this topic, which will hopefully answer any queries around BMW keyless entry you may still have.
Do Faraday Pouches Work With BMWs?
The short answer is yes. Faraday pouches do work for BMWs which have been fitted with keyless entry. They are the best inexpensive way of improving the security of your car and preventing relay theft.
What is the Best Faraday Bag for BMWs?
In my humble opinion, the Disklabs KS1 is the one to go for, without a doubt. Inexpensive, well made and trustworthy. What more could you want? Alternatively, if you’re looking for a larger alternative, take a look at the Key Shield Home. It is a little bit more pricey, but is ideal for protecting multiple keys.
Do Faraday Bags Damage Keys?
No. Faraday bags are perfectly safe to put your BMW keys in. If you’re putting your key fob in with house keys, then just be aware that you may end up scratching the lining of the bag and wearing through the protective lining, although this shouldn’t really be a problem.
How Much Do Faraday Bags Cost?
Typically, you can expect a good Faraday Pouch to cost about £25 or so. There are cheaper ones, but the quality is sacrificed at lower price points in most cases.
Conclusion – The Best Option To Disable Keyless Entry is to Use a Faraday Bag.
So there you have it – the best option for most BMW drivers who are concerned about security and want to disable keyless entry should make use of a Faraday Pouch. Luckily, they are inexpensive and the good ones are highly dependable, so it isn’t all doom and gloom. As I say above, it may be possible to disable keyless entry by pulling out a fuse or using a coding app such as Bimmercode, but I can’t confirm that this method works in 2023.