I have this issue and I know many of you do as well. Auto high beam assist will mysteriously switch off on its own in the vehicle settings every now and then. Sometimes it's possible to flip the option back on, sometimes the option will stubbornly stay off until the next ignition restart. Identified as a software issue with the headlight control modules, US dealers should now be able to upload the patch and fix it. See enclosed TB copy to... gently steer your dealer in the right direction if they play dumb when you mention the problem. I have my car at the dealer right now to get the Activity Key programmed and a couple other minor things, and have asked them to look into this as well.

 

How much is the activity key? Do you still need the key fob with you to start the car or can you leave it home?

 

$250 or so (I purchased it from another owner who bought it and could not stand the looks of it - it does look pretty cheap), plus labor to activate it. My local dealer quotes 2 hours, which seems ridiculous as it probably takes them 10 minutes via diagnostics. To be honest I am not 100% sure how it works since there is very little information online and the "new" activity key - the one with the time display that's compatible with the Defender - arrives with no operating instructions in the box. My understanding is that you still need the original fob in the car to start the engine, but the activity key disables it whenever you use it to lock the doors - so in theory you could bury the key fob in the glove box and leave it there permanently, using the activity key to lock and unlock the car. I'll let you know in a few days when I pick it up.

 

I know we are derailing the thread, but another user here posted he has been using the activity key without the fob. I use the activity key pretty regularly but I haven't tested. I am afraid I'll get somewhere and then not be able to start my car, haha

 

Thanks so much for the info about the high beams. What year is your Defender. I have 2020 and dealer says can't program activity key

 

2 hours is pretty good. My dealer took 2 days to program a new key for my 2021.

 

I had this problem for a short time, but it’s been working fine since last ota update in Feb. Whatever that update did, it seemed to fix mine.

 

Thanks for posting this. My Defender has the exact same issue of the AHBA flipping off on its own all the time. Next time I am at the dealer, I will have them address this.

 

I have noticed that if you switch on the fog lights, that cancels the AHBA setting.

 

Just to confirm, the 315 Mhz Activity Key was activated on my 2020 Defender HSE by the local dealer yesterday. It works just like a regular key fob, so you don't need the factory remote anymore and wear the watch instead to start the engine and drive away. You can lock and unlock the car by touching the buttons on the door handles (or you can use the padlock icons displayed on the watch face to lock and unlock it from a distance, just like the buttons on the key fob.) Think of it as an additional, waterproof and shockproof key fob with a time display that you wear around your wrist.

Time will tell how long the battery lasts before you need to recharge the watch, but there is a magnetic USB charger included, so you could recharge the watch in the car while you drive. It looks kinda cheap (reminds me of an overgrown Fitbit), but I will use it quite a bit when I go camping, to the beach, or just don't want to carry the bulky original fob in my pocket.

In countries outside of the US (different frequency, 433 Mhz) the process to enable the Activity Key on MY2020s is not as simple, since you also need to replace the factory Keyless Vehicle Module with a new unit and re-sync all your keys, plus the watch, to the new KVM. MY2021s should already be fitted with the updated module in every market, so you'll just need the key activated. And if you don't have factory keyless entry (no lock/unlock buttons on the door handles), I don't think you can retrofit such module or get the Activity Key to work regardless of where you live as PowerfulUK recently found out.