Wired -- or reliable wireless -- Remote?

[4nthony]

Does anyone know of a reliable solution for controlling audio on an iPhone in CarPlay? My van lacks dedicated FWD/REW buttons on the steering wheel. I picked up a bluetooth media button and it works...sometimes. It works great if the iPhone display is on, but once it turns off, it can take several clicks of the remote to wake the phone before it will FWD/REW. Factor in wireless CarPlay lag and...well, it can be a frustrating experience.

If the Music app is in the foreground, I can tap the onscreen controls, but if maps or something else is in the foreground, there are no on-screen controls. The built in UI for changing tracks requires numerous swipes on the touchpad and/or a couple presses on the head unit.

I'm looking for a reliable remote and will even consider a wired remote if one exists. If there's a way to get better performance from the media button, I'm interested in hearing that as well. I'm still using an iPhone 12 Pro so maybe the newer iPhone has a better bluetooth radio?

Open to any and all suggestions.

Thanks and cheers!
Anthony

 

[chrfr]

if maps or something else is in the foreground, there are no on-screen controls.

Do you not use the "split screen" view where you can have audio controls up along with a navigation app? You can also use Siri to change tracks, and unlike a lot of Siri functions that seems to work pretty reliably.

 

[4nthony]

Do you not use the "split screen" view where you can have audio controls up along with a navigation app? You can also use Siri to change tracks, and unlike a lot of Siri functions that seems to work pretty reliably.

I do not but I'll have to revisit the split screen again. I remember not really liking it all that much in the past. I think it had to do with it not displaying lane info for turning in maps but maybe it shows that now. Also, in my van, Mercedes doesn't use the full width of the 10.5" screen for CarPlay. They reduce CarPlay down to 7". So maps in the split screen view is much smaller (apparently, Mercedes blames Apple, yet they have full-width CarPlay in their cars).

I use Siri for Messages but haven't tried it for audio. I'll also give that a shot. Thanks!

 

[chrfr]

I do not but I'll have to revisit the split screen again. I remember not really liking it all that much in the past. I think it had to do with it not displaying lane info for turning in maps but maybe it shows that now. Also, in my van, Mercedes doesn't use the full width of the 10.5" screen for CarPlay. They reduce CarPlay down to 7". So maps in the split screen view is much smaller (apparently, Mercedes blames Apple, yet they have full-width CarPlay in their cars).

I use Siri for Messages but haven't tried it for audio. I'll also give that a shot. Thanks!

I'm able to use the split view on a 7" diagonal display without any real issues. A larger screen would be nice but there's no room in my dashboard for one.

 

[KevinCyrus]

looks great. wouldn't that bother you when driving?

 

[4nthony]

looks great. wouldn't that bother you when driving?

It was fine while driving straight, but when making turns that required a full revolution or two of the steering wheel, it got in the way. I ended up sticking it to the dash just under the vent/cubby.

However, it does not work well at all and I find myself never using it. I'm going to toss it.

It rarely stays connected to my phone and can sometimes take 5 or more button presses to reconnect. Then you have to consider the lag. It is

- Press skip forward
- Lag
- Didn't skip? Press again
- Lag
- Didn't skip? Press again
- Repeat until song skips forward

I blame Mercedes for putting steering wheel controls in their Sprinter vans that are worse than the touch-sensitive Apple TV remotes.

 

[KevinCyrus]

LOL, that was kinda annoying. i always used my siri to do that job