While CarPlay has often been described as the more polished alternative to Android Auto, the most recent iOS updates are living proof this isn’t always the case.
The release of iOS 15 has turned CarPlay into one buggy platform that many Apple users ended up struggling with even without any change on their side. And the most recent iOS updates don’t seem to polish the experience for everybody, as there are plenty of glitches still happening on CarPlay.
There are basically three things that everybody struggling with CarPlay right now should have in mind.
First and foremost, the problems started with iOS 15, and while the subsequent updates released by Apple improved the experience for some, they didn’t do the magic for everybody.
In other words, if CarPlay isn’t working correctly with your head unit, you are not alone. There are plenty of other Apple users struggling with the same glitches, and this is why Apple will probably continue to focus on additional polishing in the next updates.
Photo: autoevolution
Second of all, the problem doesn’t seem to be app-specific. What this means is that it’s not a certain app causing the whole mess, but the operating system itself.
If Waze suddenly loses your location and is no longer able to track you on the map, there’s a chance it’s all caused by iOS. Sure, there are glitches caused by the apps themselves as well, but if something isn’t working properly right now, your first stop in an attempt to fix everything is the operating system.
And third, users out there have already found various workarounds that apparently do the trick, though once again, they’re not universal fixes addressing those problems for everybody.
More specifically, in case something doesn’t work right, make sure you also launch the app on your iPhone. For example, if Waze can no longer determine your location, launch the app on your iPhone, and you should see the location automatically refreshing on CarPlay as well. We’ve noticed the same behavior on Google Maps, so it’s not something specific to Waze.
Google Maps randomly loses your location as well, and the immediate result is that the app is no longer able to tell you which way to go. The navigation guidance, therefore, becomes useless, and what’s worse, the whole thing obviously happens in the middle of the drive. Again, the workaround is to just launch Google Maps on your iPhone, as the location should automatically be refreshed on CarPlay too.
Photo: autoevolution
The same goes for music apps. If the playback stops suddenly, load the app on your iPhone, and then it should resume on CarPlay too.
No other workarounds are known to exist at this point, but given it’s an Apple product we’re talking about here, there’s not much you would be able to change anyway. In theory, if an operating system update is the one to blame for a buggy experience, the easiest way to deal with it is a quick downgrade to the previous version.
In the case of iOS, however, this is no longer an option, as Apple already blocks downgrades by no longer signing the older versions of the operating system. The only good recommendation is to delay the update to the latest iOS version if you haven’t already installed it on your iPhone. Of course, this only makes sense if CarPlay is a critical app for you, as otherwise, you’re missing on lots of improvements, including in terms of security.
Unsurprisingly, Apple has remained completely tight-lipped on all the struggles with CarPlay so far, so nobody knows for sure when some fixes on this front could be shipped. A new iOS update, however, is expected in the coming weeks.
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. Full profile
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