Key Takeaways
- First, check your car’s USB port and cable.
- Make sure both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are turned on.
- If that doesn’t fix the issue, restart your iPhone and your car.
For many iPhone owners, Apple CarPlay has likely gone from a luxury novelty to a must-have feature. Selling a car without CarPlay in 2024 might be like selling a car without a radio, at least not in a Tesla or Rivian with a decent operating system. Of course, most people would be happy if they could just buy a Rivian R1.
If you rely on CarPlay for music and navigation, you might panic a little when the connection fails. Don’t worry, in many cases, it’s not that hard to get CarPlay back online.
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1 Try a different USB cable or port
It may be due to hardware
If you’re using a wired CarPlay connection, the USB port in your car may be clogged, broken, or simply not support data transfer. If your car has multiple USB ports, try switching to a different one. Be sure to clean or replace any faulty ports. For cleaning, use a can of pressurized air or any soft object that won’t scratch the internal contact points. Don’t use tools that may leave debris behind, such as cotton swabs.
If port switching doesn’t work or isn’t an option, the problem may be with the cable you are using. Inspect the cable for damage. If there are visible issues, you may need to replace it with a new cable.
If the cable becomes badly frayed, discontinue use immediately, as it could pose a fire or electric shock hazard, and in either case may be nearing the end of its life.
2 Make sure Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are turned on
Don’t be a miser of power
There’s a misconception that Wireless CarPlay only uses Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, when in fact it uses both, with Bluetooth establishing the handshake before Wi-Fi takes over the bulk of the work.
To switch between Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on your iPhone, swipe down on the battery indicator to open it. Control Centerlook for the appropriate icon. It will be blue if it is active, or setting Open the app bluetooth and Wifi menu.
Although it’s unlikely, it’s also possible that Bluetooth or Wi-Fi has been disabled in your car’s dashboard interface. Procedures can vary not only between brands but also between models, so you’ll need to explore the menus yourself or consult your car’s manual.
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4 Restart your iPhone (and your car)
Problems do happen
Bugs happen from time to time, and restarting your iPhone can sometimes fix temporary issues with iOS, like a corrupted cache or a process that failed to run.
If that doesn’t fix the problem, Apple recommends rebooting your car, which we do when convenient. A surprisingly common issue is CarPlay flickering on certain roads, likely due to wireless interference in the area. When that happens, you have little choice but to drive a few miles, pull over, and hope that powering your car (or at least the dash interface) off and on will re-establish the connection.
5 Update iOS
Killing insects
CarPlay is built into iOS, not a separate app. This means that if there’s a deep-rooted bug in CarPlay, it can only be addressed with an iOS update. Make sure your iPhone is backed up, Settings -> Software Update Check to see if there is a new release. Don’t try this on the go unless absolutely necessary; the update process can take 15 minutes or more, especially if you try to do it over 4G instead of Wi-Fi.
6 Check for firmware updates on the dashboard
Sometimes miracles happen
Car manufacturers regularly release firmware updates, and there’s a small chance that one of those updates will address your CarPlay issue. Unfortunately, if your car doesn’t have built-in internet connectivity, you may need to take it to a dealer to have it upgraded. The good news is that your car’s firmware is rarely the culprit, so feel free to try other troubleshooting options first.
7 Reset CarPlay
A new start
This is probably one of the last resorts, since it means starting over with no guarantee of success, but if you have ruled out other options, Settings -> CarPlayselect your vehicle and tap Forget this car.
You’ll need to set up CarPlay again as if it were new, including rearranging the apps on your home screen and choosing which apps to install.
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