It’s easy to forget your phone as you hurry out of your car, so Tesla is introducing a new reminder to ensure you don’t get far without it.
The Phone Left Behind Chime is coming as part of Tesla’s 2025 Holiday Release software update. Tesla says your vehicle will make a noise “a few seconds” after the doors close when it detects the device used as your car key remains in the vehicle. It’ll only do so if there are no other occupants in the car, and it will do the same for any phone left on a Tesla wireless charger.
Your phone will need ultra-wideband (UWB) support. All iPhone models since the iPhone 11 support the feature, aside from the brand’s iPhone 16e and iPhone SE. Android phone compatibility is more complicated, with Google and Samsung keeping UWB support exclusive to their top-end phones, including the Pixel 10 Pro and the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.
If you don’t own a Tesla, but you do have an iPhone and an Apple Watch, there’s a feature called Notify When Left Behind that uses your smartwatch to tell you when you’ve moved away from your iPhone. Android has yet to implement similar features for Wear OS watches.
You can control Tesla’s new feature by heading to Controls > Locks > Phone Left Behind Chime, where you’ll also be able to turn it off. The update is expected to be released for compatible cars in the coming weeks. Similar alerts are available on select Audi vehicles.
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Other Tesla features included in the holiday release are a new Dog Mode to keep an eye on your pets when you’re away from your car. It’ll send photos from inside your car, tell you the temperature, and also display your vehicle’s battery level.
(Credit: Tesla)
The update also brings new navigation features through Grok’s AI assistant, a photo mode tool to take shots together in your car, dashcam clips with more information, and a new game to simulate docking at the International Space Station.
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