CarPlay is drving me crazy

[rocktheroad]

CarPlay connects to my phone no problem. I see the maps right away and it seems to work fine. There are some glitches when I stop at a gas station and come back - I have to restart it because it just won’t recover. I can deal with that, though.

What really drives me nuts is trying to call people or answer calls. It just stops working for no reason. I see the incoming call, hit answer, and all I get is silence. My phone shows I'm connected to CarPlay, but when I switch to my iPhone or the speaker, I can hear just fine. When I go back to CarPlay, it’s muted. Navigation and music come through perfectly, but not the call.

The same thing happens when I try to make a call. To get it to work again, I have to reboot the infotainment unit, but I never know how long it’ll last. I’ll make a call, and then it just decides to stop working. It’s super frustrating because everything else like maps, navigation audio, and music is working smoothly. This issue also happens with all other calls like WhatsApp, Viber, Alexa, FaceTime. It’s not even a hit or miss - it’s almost always a miss. It’s a real pain trying to juggle this right when I need to take or make a call. It totally defeats the purpose of hands-free calling.

I updated my iPhone to the latest version, although I wasn't planning to do that, and it didn’t fix anything. Is it just me, or are others dealing with this too? Should I try updating the infotainment software? Can I do that without having to book an appointment?

/rant completed

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[Louisiana-Cajun]

Carplay uses WiFi between your phone and headunit. Do you happen to have a dashcam? Some dashcams broadcast wifi so you can connect from your phone to download footage, this can cause interference My sales person said they don't recommend factory dashcams for that reason.

 

[rocktheroad]

Carplay uses WiFi between your phone and headunit. Do you happen to have a dashcam? Some dashcams broadcast wifi so you can connect from your phone to download footage, this can cause interference My sales person said they don't recommend factory dashcams for that reason.

I have a dashcam, but the problem keeps happening even when it’s turned off. I don’t think it’s a Wi-Fi issue since everything else works fine (like Apple Music, Tidal, Audiobooks, and navigation audio). There’s a little lag, but it’s all good - it's the same on other cars.

The weird part is that I can't hear the other person on calls. I also can’t hear when the phone is ringing or when the call connects, but they can hear me just fine. The volume is up, and I can hear music and navigation after the call.

I’ve figured out a couple of workarounds: one is to turn off the head unit by holding down the volume button, and the other is to go into settings and switch CarPlay off and then back on, but I can only do that when I’m parked.

 

[HVLA]

Does it happen with other phones?

 

[rocktheroad]

I need to give this a better test. It works okay when I’m in the driveway just starting the car, but it runs smoothly with mine in that clear situation. For our next longer drive, I’ll turn off my phone and use my wife’s instead.

 

[T_Pomp]

I need to give this a better test. It works okay when I’m in the driveway just starting the car, but it runs smoothly with mine in that clear situation. For our next longer drive, I’ll turn off my phone and use my wife’s instead.

Do you live in a rural area? I agree with the other commenter who said it sounds like a Wi-Fi connection issue.

 

[Twisted]

I'm experiencing random disconnects while driving and fairly sure it is a wifi connection issue. It happens at the same locations every time I drive by (As well as some random locations). Doesn't disconnect when wired.

My 5th gen had aftermarket wireless Carplay which would disconnect at a couple specific locations every time. Different locations than my 6th gen but pretty convinced there is some kind of signal interference.

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