Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution/Volkswagen
The days when CarPlay was the more stable and reliable alternative to Android Auto are now gone, as Apple's in-car experience is struggling with the same problems as its Android counterpart.
Not long ago, GPS problems that broke down navigation on CarPlay became widespread, causing problems that made Google Maps, Apple Maps, and Waze useless.
Now, it looks like the same problems are plaguing Volkswagen's ID models, with several customers complaining of similar GPS errors that break down navigation.
Posts on social media, including on reddit, indicate that the CarPlay experience has become very inconsistent following the latest updates. The GPS connection works correctly on random occasions, but more often than not, it fails to determine the vehicle's location or drops in the middle of the drive.
Drivers say the navigation app places them on a different street or locks the location as if they were no longer moving. As a result, the turn-by-turn guidance is also broken because the on-screen instructions no longer align with where they are.
Someone says the problems started occurring last month, which coincides with the debut of iOS 17. As the biggest iOS update this year, iOS 17 is a new operating system that includes several new features, including SharePlay support for CarPlay users. However, the update doesn't change anything on the GPS side, with some people claiming that the location errors encountered by navigation apps have been around since at least iOS 16 (which launched in 2022).
Several Volkswagen ID owners confirmed the problems, explaining that they break down all navigation apps, including Google Maps and Waze. The behavior suggests the problem happens at the CarPlay level, in which case Apple is the only one that can come up with a fix.
Someone on reddit claims they took their Volkswagen ID to the dealership, where the mechanics inspected the problems and told them the behavior "was a known issue without a fix."
The broken GPS connection bug happens on both wired and wireless connections, though it seems to occur only randomly, without a clear pattern for who's affected and who isn't. CarPlay has been working correctly in my car for the last two years (though I don't own a Volkswagen, but I'm using the app wirelessly) with no GPS connection problems. I typically use Waze and switch to Google Maps regularly, but with few exceptions, caused mostly by the lack of a cellular signal, navigation apps have always determined my location correctly.
Apple has never commented on the latest struggles with CarPlay, so users are left all alone in their struggle to bring things back to normal. The upcoming iOS 17.1 won't include any fixes for CarPlay users, so the wait for a patch will likely become long and frustrating for anyone hitting these problems.
Not long ago, GPS problems that broke down navigation on CarPlay became widespread, causing problems that made Google Maps, Apple Maps, and Waze useless.
Now, it looks like the same problems are plaguing Volkswagen's ID models, with several customers complaining of similar GPS errors that break down navigation.
Posts on social media, including on reddit, indicate that the CarPlay experience has become very inconsistent following the latest updates. The GPS connection works correctly on random occasions, but more often than not, it fails to determine the vehicle's location or drops in the middle of the drive.
Drivers say the navigation app places them on a different street or locks the location as if they were no longer moving. As a result, the turn-by-turn guidance is also broken because the on-screen instructions no longer align with where they are.
Someone says the problems started occurring last month, which coincides with the debut of iOS 17. As the biggest iOS update this year, iOS 17 is a new operating system that includes several new features, including SharePlay support for CarPlay users. However, the update doesn't change anything on the GPS side, with some people claiming that the location errors encountered by navigation apps have been around since at least iOS 16 (which launched in 2022).
Several Volkswagen ID owners confirmed the problems, explaining that they break down all navigation apps, including Google Maps and Waze. The behavior suggests the problem happens at the CarPlay level, in which case Apple is the only one that can come up with a fix.
Someone on reddit claims they took their Volkswagen ID to the dealership, where the mechanics inspected the problems and told them the behavior "was a known issue without a fix."
The broken GPS connection bug happens on both wired and wireless connections, though it seems to occur only randomly, without a clear pattern for who's affected and who isn't. CarPlay has been working correctly in my car for the last two years (though I don't own a Volkswagen, but I'm using the app wirelessly) with no GPS connection problems. I typically use Waze and switch to Google Maps regularly, but with few exceptions, caused mostly by the lack of a cellular signal, navigation apps have always determined my location correctly.
Apple has never commented on the latest struggles with CarPlay, so users are left all alone in their struggle to bring things back to normal. The upcoming iOS 17.1 won't include any fixes for CarPlay users, so the wait for a patch will likely become long and frustrating for anyone hitting these problems.
Google News