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CarPlay Glitch Plaguing Ford Models, Head Unit Software Update Possibly Required

Earlier this month, Google officially acknowledged an Android Auto glitch plaguing the 2021 Ford F-150, revealing the next version of the application would include a fix to re-enable the wireless mode on this particular car model.
2021 Ford Explorer 1 photo
Photo: Ford
But as it turns out, Android Auto users aren’t the only ones struggling with the experience in the car, as Ford owners with an iPhone are also experiencing similar connectivity problems after updating their smartphones.

More specifically, while the head unit sometimes detects the iPhone, CarPlay no longer launches, giving users absolutely no option to do the whole thing manually.

Some say the problem is happening after installing iOS 14.5 beta (which kind of makes sense given this is a beta supposed to be used for testing), but others claim similar struggles are also encountered on stable builds of the operating system.

Since a few days ago when the 14.5 beta dropped the infotainment recognizes the phone, gives me the usual message to authorize after I disconnect on both the phone and the dash. But never launches CarPlay,” one user explains here on reddit.

But here comes the bad part. While the beta build of iOS is believed to be the culprit, some say the Ford head unit might eventually cause the connectivity glitch, especially because CarPlay launches and runs fine with the same iPhone in a non-Ford car.

In the case of the Android Auto glitch, Google confirmed Android Auto 6.1 would come with a workaround to bring things back to normal, but a full patch would actually be included in a new software update to be shipped by Ford itself. So in other words, the problem comes down to the head unit, and a firmware update is necessary to fix it completely.

At this point, there’s no official information from Ford on the CarPlay problem, so the only thing we can do right now is to wait for another iOS 14.5 beta release to see if the problem is gone. If it is, then expect the behavior to be much more refined when the stable update goes live.
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About the author: Bogdan Popa
Bogdan Popa profile photo

Bogdan keeps an eye on how technology is taking over the car world. His long-term goals are buying an 18-wheeler because he needs more space for his kid’s toys, and convincing Google and Apple that Android Auto and CarPlay deserve at least as much attention as their phones.
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