XPENG G6 Android battery drain and unreliable phone key: exact checks

Keep a working physical key available while deciding whether you need passive phone-key operation or can temporarily use the physical key instead.

Measure, choose and verify

1. Check the phone’s app battery usage over a defined period. On Pixel, use Settings → Battery → Battery usage; other Android manufacturers use different labels. Separate the XPENG app from hotspot power/data use.
2. Update the official XPENG app and Android through their normal channels, then restart the phone once.
3. If you rely on passive entry, retain the app’s documented Bluetooth/nearby-device and background access and do not force-stop it. If using the physical key for a comparison, switch off walk-in/walk-away phone-key behaviour in the app before trying more restrictive background settings.
4. For an unreliable key, open the correct vehicle in the app, check the requested permissions and use Key Inspection/key management where available. Stand beside the driver’s door, test lock/unlock and confirm normal drive authorisation while parked.
5. After any battery-setting change, verify required notifications such as XGuard and check the car’s actual lock confirmation. Compare battery use over the same kind of period.

Useful result: measured app use identifies the power contributor, and the access/notification checks show whether the chosen restriction is acceptable.

Test where lockout will not create risk, with the physical key present. Do not delete the last working digital credential while away, and never assume walk-away locking succeeded when the phone may have suspended the app.

If drain or authorisation failure continues

Give XPENG the phone/Android/app versions, full XOS, measured app percentage/period, enabled key features and whether the physical key works. A redacted battery-usage screenshot can help with abnormal drain. Report unusual phone heat, extreme overnight loss or repeated Drive-authorisation failure; ask for the app’s background/phone-key requirements for that combination.

It locks while you walk around the car

For a G6 matching the 2025 English RHD handbook, switch off the app's Automatic unlocking and locking and use manual lock/unlock while you check the phone connection. The handbook identifies a blocked or unstable Bluetooth signal as a cause of incorrect distance measurement. The comparison below checks manual access before you rely on proximity detection again.

1. Keep the working physical key with you. Beside the driver's door, open XPENG with Bluetooth enabled and confirm the correct car/key is connected. Take the phone out of a bag or pocket for this comparison; a body or backpack can block the signal.
2. Turn off Automatic unlocking and locking for the phone key. While the phone is connected, use the app's manual unlock. For the matching fitted handle, the handbook also describes touching the front-door-handle capacitive switch with an authorised Bluetooth key present; wait for the car's unlock feedback.
3. Complete the ordinary access you need, then close all doors, bonnet and boot and lock manually. Check the actual lock feedback. Use this manual route until proximity operation is reliable; do not assume the phone's distance is correct because music Bluetooth works.
4. If manual phone unlock also fails, restart the XPENG app, then open XPENG → Digital Key → Key Check and follow its connection checks. After a phone restart or update, reopen XPENG before relying on it. Use the physical key if phone access still fails; retain the exact permissions checks below.

Compare the result: manual access working while proximity entry fails points you towards automatic/background/position detection. Both failing needs a phone-key connection check; do not delete every driver's key or change unrelated media pairing to test it.

Check the key permissions before restricting the app

For a G6 matching the 2025 English RHD handbook, the XPENG app’s Digital Key → Bluetooth key → Activate creates the key. Its Automatic unlocking and locking switch controls proximity entry; keep manual unlock working before testing automatic behaviour.

• Android: check the XPENG app has Bluetooth permission, auto-start and background-running access. Phone makers name these controls differently. A battery restriction that prevents those functions can explain why opening the app restores entry.
• iPhone: the cited key chapter requires Location set to Always, Location Services on and Background App Refresh available for XPENG. Review the app’s permissions on the phone; do not assume permission survived a phone replacement or reinstall.
• Unlock works only after opening the app: compare once with the app open, phone out of a bag and all vehicle closures shut. If that works, investigate background/proximity permissions before changing the car’s access credentials.
• You want to reduce app activity temporarily: keep the physical key with you, disable the supported automatic unlocking/locking feature and verify normal physical locking. Then compare measured battery use over a similar period. Restore and retest key permissions before relying on passive access again.

Key permissions checked 24 October 2026: G6 2025 English RHD handbook PDF 191–192. These explain the trade-off; they do not promise a battery-drain cure.

Sources checked 23 October 2026: XPENG UK handbook, XPENG handbook, Google Help. G6 international 2025 RHD PDF 191–192 phone-key limitations and Google Pixel battery controls; other Android manufacturer labels differ.