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CarPlay CarPlay adapter to convert to wireless CarPlay?

C

c47v3770

macrumors regular
Dec 15, 2016
203
53
CTHarrryH said:
I have found the phone volume separate from other volumes - have you tried adjusting the volume with the buttons while call is on?
Click to expand...
Yeah, iPhone is at max volume. You mean the volume buttons on the side, right?

It may just be the infotainment..
 
YatBob

YatBob

macrumors 6502
Apr 23, 2014
268
73
Louisiana
Had this issue found steering wheel volume up had no affect, what worked was turning the volume up using the physical radio knob.
 
V

vosadrian

macrumors newbie
May 24, 2020
26
5
Hi All,

I have a carlinkit 2 which has been working great since I got it around 2 years ago. I think I last updated the FW in 21. At the time it was recommended here to do it with a USB stick rather than OTA (to avoid bricking). It does have a few minor issues, and also I want to take it on a holiday to use on a borrowed Citroen so I wanted to update to latest FW. I see there is a 2023.05 FW released in this thread, but I can't see the link to a file to use for USB FW upgrade.

* Will this latest FW work on the earlier carlinkit 2?
* is USB still the recommended FW upgrade path?
* is the file available somewhere for the new FW for USB upgrade?

Appreciate any help!
 
V

vosadrian

macrumors newbie
May 24, 2020
26
5
vosadrian said:
Hi All,

I have a carlinkit 2 which has been working great since I got it around 2 years ago. I think I last updated the FW in 21. At the time it was recommended here to do it with a USB stick rather than OTA (to avoid bricking). It does have a few minor issues, and also I want to take it on a holiday to use on a borrowed Citroen so I wanted to update to latest FW. I see there is a 2023.05 FW released in this thread, but I can't see the link to a file to use for USB FW upgrade.

* Will this latest FW work on the earlier carlinkit 2?
* is USB still the recommended FW upgrade path?
* is the file available somewhere for the new FW for USB upgrade?

Appreciate any help!
Click to expand...

So I did the OTA updates. I did it several times with upgrades available each time. Eventually I got to the 2022.01.24.1526 and it would not go further reporting that I have the latest. Am I stuck here, or is there a way I can get it to accept newer updates?
 
M

M.Mowner

macrumors member
Jan 13, 2021
59
29
vosadrian said:
So I did the OTA updates. I did it several times with upgrades available each time. Eventually I got to the 2022.01.24.1526 and it would not go further reporting that I have the latest. Am I stuck here, or is there a way I can get it to accept newer updates?
Click to expand...
My CarlinKit 2 got up to the 2022.01.24 while my 3.0 got to the 2023.05 release.
 
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V

vosadrian

macrumors newbie
May 24, 2020
26
5
itsmehuey said:
Can confirm on my Mercedes-AMG GLA35 using Carlinkit 2.0, that 2023.05 performs much better and is more stable compared to 2022.12, which used to encounter constant dropouts and disconnecting from the car.
Click to expand...

@itsmehuey, I see that you have got a carlinkit 2 to the latest firmware. I tried to get mine to the latest firmware but it says it is latest update on 2022.01.24. Can I confirm if you actually have V2 and that is not a typo? If you do have V2 and managed to get it to the latest, how did you do that?
 
B

Blum keilany

macrumors newbie
Dec 15, 2021
6
1
carlinkitcarplay.com

Carlinkit 3.0/ 4.0/ U2W PLUS User Manual

Product function introduction For safer and smarter driving, we change the original wired CarPlay connection method, say goodbye to the data cable connection, wireless transmission brings a more convenient connection experience. When you use Wireless Apple CarPlay Dongle, it will automatically...
carlinkitcarplay.com carlinkitcarplay.com
 
M

mrbrown

macrumors 6502a
Mar 27, 2004
564
237
Springfield, Missouri
Hi all!

I was one of the early adopters of CarPlay2Air and had one of the first generation devices. Recently I wanted to buy a second device, as the original can get pretty laggy and be somewhat unreliable (doesn't always connect, etc.), presumably because it had a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi chip.

Anyhow, I didn't want to spend a lot of money and saw this adapter on AliExpress for $24.77 (the EKIY Wired to Wireless CarPlay Adapter). Got it within a week and WOW, this is probably the best adapter I've used. It's very quick to connect, has 5GHz Wi-Fi so it instantly responds and it has connected every single time.

Only downsides I can see is that it appears to only support maybe one device at a time, which isn't really a problem for my application, and firmware updates can only be done by taking it out of the car, plugging it into power, and connecting to its internal wi-fi network.

For reference, I drive a 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan with the entertainment package.

I searched the thread and couldn't find any references to it, so I figured I'd post and see if anybody else had positive experiences with it. Very happy with it so far, and will likely buy another for my wife's car.
 
I

itsmehuey

macrumors regular
Dec 18, 2019
103
87
vosadrian said:
@itsmehuey, I see that you have got a carlinkit 2 to the latest firmware. I tried to get mine to the latest firmware but it says it is latest update on 2022.01.24. Can I confirm if you actually have V2 and that is not a typo? If you do have V2 and managed to get it to the latest, how did you do that?
Click to expand...
Apologies it was a typo. I have v3.0.
 
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B

BleedingMe

macrumors regular
Dec 28, 2011
107
31
I updated my CarlinKit 4.0 (CP2A) adapter to latest FW 2023.07.15.1119 and adapted my review accordingly.

I also updated Android Auto and Waze app on Android. Here are the improvements that I experienced:

  • fixed Bluetooth HFP disconnect when initiating a phone call
  • fixed iPhone not connecting to CarPlay anymore after pairing an Android phone
  • fixed Waze lagging on Android Auto
  • fixed weak signal strength for 5.8 GHz Wi-Fi channels (like 149[155])
  • fixed some missing translations
  • fixed accessing web interface from Android (via new AutoKitools app)
  • fixed wired Android Auto USB passthrough lagging
  • possibility to apply multiple settings at once in the web interface
 
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B

BleedingMe

macrumors regular
Dec 28, 2011
107
31
samabbott said:
Do you know if it's possible to change the radio settings in the config?


The 2x2 spatial streams would help with link reliability and overall link quality; aside from just throughput.. If CarPlay is low-bandwidth (25mbps) and latency sensitive... The 165 5GHz channel is hardly ever used, and is limited to 20Mhz: 2x2 @ 20MHz == 173mbps link speed and ~100mbps real-world throughput; it's likely MUCH cleaner of a signal in terms of interference than the lower 5GHz channels. Honestly, just being able to reduce/control channel width could benefit from the reduced interference. Running at 80MHz, your chance of interference increases substantially over 40Mhz, likewise 40Mhz to 20Mhz. It's really a balancing act, spatial streams NEVER hurt performance, but the wider-width you run (e.g. 20, 40, 80) also exponentially increases your interference in populated areas; and can increase your packet loss/error rate and latency. Having the AC radio is beneficial since even AC-wave1 introduced some better handling of interference and AP/Client delivery optimization compared to N.

Most of my skips//drops are due to interference. Running a constant ping to 192.168.50.2, I can watch as I drive through certain areas and see latency/packet loss.
Click to expand...
I now created a heatmap with a spectrum analyzer. CarlinKit V4 has been configured to CH149[155]:
1691428237210.png


Data is transmitted across the whole 80 MHz of the channel. CarPlay however maxes out at 10-20 mbps. Using only 20 MHz is therefore more than enough but much less prone to interference.
 
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AZhappyjack

AZhappyjack

macrumors G3
Jul 3, 2011
9,681
22,825
Happy Jack, AZ
I had trouble with all of the CarLinkIt units that I tried... would connect for a while, and then, they just stopped working.

I picked up a generic unit (this one was branded YEHUA), and so far, so good. Worked with iOS 16.6 and just updated to iOS 17 beta 5, and still pretty solid... sometimes it's a bit slow connected, but once it does, it's good. Curious though about firmware updates... don't see anything obvious in the interface or documentation.

Wireless CarPlay Adapter for iPhone, YEHUA 5.8GHz Wireless CarPlay Dongle for Factory Wired CarPlay Cars
 
E

eriksuprayogi

macrumors newbie
Aug 29, 2023
2
0
Hi all, I have updated my carlinkit v5 but after updated the device is no LED flashing and not working, i need flash firmware for v5 anyone can share?
 
B

BleedingMe

macrumors regular
Dec 28, 2011
107
31
I now compared UNII-1 (5.2 GHz) to UNII-3 (5.8 GHz) with respect to background noise and transmit power of the iPhone with a signal analyzer.

Background noise CH #42[36] (5.170-5.250 MHz)
noiselevel_42[36].jpg

Background noise CH #155[149] (5.735-5.815 MHz)
noiselevel_155[149].jpg

CarPlay with iPhone 13 Pro CH #42[36] (5.170-5.250 MHz)
carplay_42[36].jpg

CarPlay with iPhone 13 Pro CH #155[149] (5.735-5.815 MHz)
carplay_155[149].jpg


So you can clearly see that noise level is higher on UNII-3 while iPhone transmits with a lesser power. So it is clearly more easily interfered with. Then on the other hand, UNII-3 may be less crowded...
 
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