Wireless CarPlay for those with 2020's...

I’m running iOS 14.3.
Ordered on 12/14 and came in today. They never really showed any updates till it was given to USPS

 

Mine showed very little for tracking updates as well. At the end, DHL handed it off to someone that shipped it regular USPS using a stamps.com label and I was never given that final tracking number.

I’ve received a LOT of things shipped from Aliexpress that do the same thing... it’s a really odd method of shipping, but I sort of equate it to the “Global shipping program” that ebay has.

This weekend, I got part way through my USB relocation mod and ran out of time so I just stuffed mine into the dash behind my AC controls for now. It’s working great in there!

also running ios 14.3 on an 11 pro (not the big one)

 

I think I’m going to test it out a few days and if I like it I may do the usb extension thing and mount it under the console that others have done. It has the same lag when switching songs that my last truck had just using Bluetooth so I don’t see it being an issue for me since I’m used to it.

Now I need the wireless charger lol.

 

I’m for sure going to relocate my media port to the power hole in my console and just plug it in there. Then I can still get to it to pull it out if a passenger wants to plug into carplay. There’s no way to swap devices that I can find once the truck is running and connected to a phone, so that would be my fall back.

 

Ordered mine through Amazon and got it in a couple of days....working like my Kenwood did but take a few more seconds to link up.
Happy so far

 

Hid mine under the console. Thanks for the great idea @Bakershack. So far I’ve had no issues out of it and no skips.

 

Finally received mine from cplay2air after 18 days and did not realize that in order for this device to work it hi jacks your iPhone wifi connection so you can’t use hotspots to save on your data plan when traveling or the built in car wifi that I have available on the 2020 sequoia head unit. Has anyone found a work around?

 

That's how wireless CarPlay works, by Apple's own design. Bluetooth doesn't have the bandwidth for the amount of data that CarPlay is pushing, so it is using adhoc local WiFi to do it.
Unfortunately, you can go wired CarPlay and preserve your phone data or go wireless and preserve your car data - either way you're paying for the data you use.

 

Thanks. I just assumed it would use Bluetooth. Sounds like a trade off of using the cable or using the dongle. Just missed having the built in att head unit wifi when traveling.

 

Glad you mentioned that. May not be for me then. I have a work issued phone and we don’t have unlimited data. I can use whatever I want within reason, but I bet I’d run up some data on this thing if it’s not using BT. Had no clue.

 

I knew about that tradeoff, but I figured I still had the option to plug my phone in for CarPlay if I needed to use the hotspot. That's a small tradeoff in my opinion.

 

The only data used by your phone is the data used by the app you are running. Simply connecting to the Wireless CarPlay uses the Wifi connection, but in and of itself uses no data.

 

^^^ What Kelly said. The only actual cell plan data used would be the same as what you use if you did wired CarPlay (basically streaming your music and/or using maps).

 

The issue comes in when you previously got spoiled using the xfinity hotspots or the wifi hotspot already available in the truck so now when I stream Amazon music I am using my cell data plan instead of the wifi from the head unit.

Perhaps others don’t use the built in att wifi/cell service in the truck but I love it.

 

True. That’s why I cache my spotify playlists to my device first. But I’m still on a very limited cell data plan.

 

Just curious, has anyone moved the usb connection for apple car play inside center console? seems better since wire would go directly on top of center console, instead of wires running in front of shifter cup holder etc.

 

I've been with AT&T for so long, I'm actually satisfied with my plan: Unlimited talk, text, and data (>20 GB/device/month before any throttling) AND ATTTV which includes HBOMax for four iPhones and one iPad for about $160/month. I also get free access to all AT&T Wifi hotspots, which are spread out all over the country. I might could save a little bit with a different carrier but not if I compare apples to apples. The ATTTV interface sucks but is getting better. AT&T Customer Service Sucks and is NOT getting any better, but I don't know of a cellular service that has any real customer service. This also includes tethering for data so I don't need to pay another $10-$15/month for my truck to have Wifi. I can just use my phone, or my wife's phone, or one of my kids' phones as a hotspot. And AT&T coverage is pretty good and getting better. There are still some areas that are Verizon only, but there are areas that are AT&T only, so it balances out. None of the other services come close regarding coverage.

 

I am in the process of doing this right now. I'll have details in my build thread as I can finish it. The trouble I've hit right now is trying to get routed past the heater box to get from the upper portion of the dash to the area down by the shifter.

 

Man vey nice build out! Keep me posted on how it comes out, Thank you.

 

Update for anyone interested (sorry if it's been posted above), there is several software updates for this dongle that make it flawless for me. The updates removed the outline that would sometimes appear around objects on the screen after first booting up or switching from reverse camera view. It also gave the ability to adjust settings on the audio delay. Using "CD and 500", I was able to eliminate the delay entirely on the Tundra. Currently, this thing is flawless.

Screen shot is of the Dongle settings page. Note, I am using 500 not 400 for the Tundra. But you can play with it until it's working. The lower the number, the more audio skips you get, so you want it as low as you can get it with no audio skips. Mine now never skips or cracks audio, and has no delay on pressing screen buttons and phone call audio.

 

FYI for those that use Carlinkit, I've found the delay I've been receiving with the iphone connecting has to due when wearing an apple watch. Go figure, perhaps a conflict with BT connectivity. Deductive reasoning found by chance when going out w/o wearing my apple watch. When wearing watch Carlinkit has an issue with BT connecting to phone necessitating pulling phone out of pocket and turning off/on BT resetting. When not wearing watch Carlinkit connects BT after a few seconds without issue.

 

I was wondering why a BT connection with the watch would impact what I read was a WIFI connection until I found this on their FAQ’s “Our adapter has WiFi and Bluetooth hardware. It connects with Bluetooth and sends the WiFi credentials to the phone, then disconnects from the Bluetooth network. It works solely on WiFi from that point on.” I hope they fix that since I have an Apple Watch too. How long is the delay on the connection or does it just not connect ever with the Apple Watch?

 

That’s how CarPlay wireless connects as well. It’s an Apple thing

 

My findings so far while wearing the watch is sometimes it will ultimately connect if I'm willing to wait while it "reconnects" a few times. Sometimes not unless I cycle BT on the phone.

 

Just got the Carlinkit 2.0 today. Installed and synched with my phone pretty quick. Did a couple of on/off cycles with the ignition and it seemed to synch up pretty quick each time. The stock headunit takes a few seconds to fully boot up anyways with all the warnings and crap that comes up, so I don't even mess with it until thats all done. Took about 2-3 seconds at most to synch up after the H/U booted up, which is fine with me. I'll have a chance to check out all the features and sound more tomorrow, but so far seems to be good.
I just have it velcro'd to the side of the console for now but will probably stick it underneath somewhere once I know its fully functional.
I got this one off of Amazon, currently has a $25 off coupon, so $100.

CarlinKit 3.0 Wireless CarPlay Adapter U2W for Factory Wired CarPlay Cars, Compatible with Audi/Porsche/Volvo/Volkswagen Online Upgrade, iOS 14 15, Convert Wired to Wireless CarPlay, 5G Wireless

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B086JN1SGX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8

 

Just added this as well. Had to update firmware to fix having to unplug/plug the module in each time I started the truck. Seems to be working just fine now. Thanks for all of the info shared here!

 

Just installed mine last week. Firmware update is a must. Been working perfect since.

 

I’ve got the carlinkit 3.0 running with terrible results on the 2021 head unit in my truck.
Says its up to date.


but, the music stops and skips often. It will also disconnect.

iphone 11 pro running 15.2 ios

Any ideas?

 

From that same Internet page, hit the gear icon and check the settings there. Try switching them around a bit and see if it helps

Also, what music service are you using for streaming?

 

Im going to try to swap to “cd” quality and 400 like read above. Mainly i just use apple music.