I now have wireless CarPlay - Carlinkit 2.0 - 100% happy

[CheatDay2020]

So I am on Mac Rumors and occasionally see this thread about the wireless carplay dongle that comes from China.
You can buy it places like their website and supposedly alliexpress.
I was hesitant due to A TON of bad reviews where it doesn't work. One member recommended only buying from Amazon since they are easy with there returns.
Last week I had a 2020 Audi Q7 for a loaner. It had stock wireless carplay and I fell in love. It was perfect.
So I finally bit the bullet this weekend for the Audi version via Amazon Prime. It was on sale for $121 with an $8 coupon available as well. SCORE!

My 2018 SQ5 has wired carplay from the factory. It has worked fine and only crashed one time. I just think it was a glitch. Love carplay as I don't have a xm subscription anymore.
I wasn't expecting much if at all with this dongle. I turned on my car to ACC and plugged it in. It didnt work. I was like "yup I knew it".

Decided to unplug it and turn off the car, plug it in, and start it. Within 20 seconds after the MMI booted so did wireless carplay automatically. No clicking anything besides activating it via BT on my 12 Pro Max.
It simply works 100%. Calls are fine, no lags, no crashes, songs play fine.

The only thing i noticed is when switching songs is it takes 1 second before the song switches. There is no silence it just starts playing new song without a pause after 1 second.
Not an issue.

I would HIGHLY recommend, especially if you have an Audi

 

[chapRD]

I'd be interested in the battery drain you're experiencing after some use. I think I'd want my phone in to be charging so for me that negates the wireless option anyways. Maybe the battery use is more minimal then I'm expecting though. Do you have a link to what you bought?

 

[Vortex]

Which one did you purchase? I use the Carlinkit one for my 2018 Q5.

My experience has been similar with it working well, except for a lag compared to wired as well as longer startup time.

I do find it sometimes freezes and requires me to physically unplug and replug the dongle.

I also find that it aggressively connects via CarPlay which is nice sometimes, but annoying other times. When I get out of my car and want to continue listening to a podcast on my phone, for example, the dongle keeps trying to grab my phone while I'm in the garage or in the hallway/office right by my garage. It's annoying and I wind up having to disable WiFi on my phone to have audio work on my phone or my AirPods headphones.

I was also finding this morning that pressing and holding the big round dial on my dash doesn't trigger Siri. It used to work and I'd have to doublecheck if that was a change with iOS 14 or if it works with wired carplay because I used to use that feature a lot, but that doesn't seem to work anymore either.

 

[CheatDay2020]

Which one did you purchase? I use the Carlinkit one for my 2018 Q5.

My experience has been similar with it working well, except for a lag compared to wired as well as longer startup time.

I do find it sometimes freezes and requires me to physically unplug and replug the dongle.

I also find that it aggressively connects via CarPlay which is nice sometimes, but annoying other times. When I get out of my car and want to continue listening to a podcast on my phone, for example, the dongle keeps trying to grab my phone while I'm in the garage or in the hallway/office right by my garage. It's annoying and I wind up having to disable WiFi on my phone to have audio work on my phone or my AirPods headphones.

I was also finding this morning that pressing and holding the big round dial on my dash doesn't trigger Siri. It used to work and I'd have to doublecheck if that was a change with iOS 14 or if it works with wired carplay because I used to use that feature a lot, but that doesn't seem to work anymore either.

Hmm.
Granted it’s only been one day. I purchased version 2. I know it’s now 5ghz WiFi or something like that, versus the original dongle.
this is the one I have.
I never knew I could push the knob to activate Siri?!?!

Post automatically merged: Jan 13, 2021

I'd be interested in the battery drain you're experiencing after some use. I think I'd want my phone in to be charging so for me that negates the wireless option anyways. Maybe the battery use is more minimal then I'm expecting though. Do you have a link to what you bought?

I have a new iPhone 12 Pro Max. The battery life is epic. I always finish the day around 30% and never need to charge. I might purchase a wireless charging pad in the future. But my drives are relatively short to and from work.
This is what I bought. Photo attached.

 

[Vortex]

Oh ok, looks like you've got a different dongle than me.

I'm using this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B085VVCLKR/?tag=rdf0cd0c-20

 

[CheatDay2020]

Oh ok, looks like you've got a different dongle than me.

I'm using this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B085VVCLKR/?tag=rdf0cd0c-20

ahh yes. That is the first gen product to my knowledge. If you have $125 laying around I highly recommend the gen 2 product I have. It’s seamless and might eliminate some of your issues.

 

[Randy at Radenso]

I think I'd want my phone in to be charging so for me that negates the wireless option anyways.

I thought the same thing but I get tired of having to plug my phone in for a 5-10 minute drive when all I want is waze on the screen without directions. I looked at these but saw many people had issues with it lagging at start up to connect. I think they are good if you want to keep a OEM look if it already has carplay but if you have a aftermarket unit/older OEM non carplay system, it is much better to just buy a aftermarket unit with wireless carplay already. Then you can still just plug in for longer trips for battery reasons. For this reason I'm selling my Kenwood wired unit for a wireless carplay unit haha.

 

[chapRD]

I thought the same thing but I get tired of having to plug my phone in for a 5-10 minute drive when all I want is waze on the screen without directions. I looked at these but saw many people had issues with it lagging at start up to connect. I think they are good if you want to keep a OEM look if it already has carplay but if you have a aftermarket unit/older OEM non carplay system, it is much better to just buy a aftermarket unit with wireless carplay already. Then you can still just plug in for longer trips for battery reasons. For this reason I'm selling my Kenwood wired unit for a wireless carplay unit haha.

Yeah, good point. For a lot of my shorter trips the battery drain would be negligible but I always like having waze up on the screen. I am using the OEM unit for carplay etc so maybe this is something to consider. I have a Qi charger built in but never use it because my phone is plugged in for carplay.

 

[Vortex]

ahh yes. That is the first gen product to my knowledge. If you have $125 laying around I highly recommend the gen 2 product I have. It’s seamless and might eliminate some of your issues.

Would you mind testing to see how the audio handoff works when you turn off your SQ5? Are you able to play audio normally through your phone speaker without your Carplay dongle continuing to grab audio from your phone?

I like that you can keep using Carplay while sitting in your car, even with the engine off, but once I open the door and everything shuts off in the car, I'd like Carplay connectivity to cease altogether too.

 

[CheatDay2020]

Would you mind testing to see how the audio handoff works when you turn off your SQ5? Are you able to play audio normally through your phone speaker without your Carplay dongle continuing to grab audio from your phone?

I like that you can keep using Carplay while sitting in your car, even with the engine off, but once I open the door and everything shuts off in the car, I'd like Carplay connectivity to cease altogether too.

sure can. I will test on my drive home. I use Spotify for music. Once I turn off the car and get out I should be able to press play in my phone and music should play through the phone speakers. That’s your goal right?

Post automatically merged: Jan 13, 2021

Yeah, good point. For a lot of my shorter trips the battery drain would be negligible but I always like having waze up on the screen. I am using the OEM unit for carplay etc so maybe this is something to consider. I have a Qi charger built in but never use it because my phone is plugged in for carplay.

I have thought about a wireless charger as well for when we go to our beach house about 3.5 hours away. Even our boat has wireless charging, need it in my car LOL

Post automatically merged: Jan 13, 2021

I thought the same thing but I get tired of having to plug my phone in for a 5-10 minute drive when all I want is waze on the screen without directions. I looked at these but saw many people had issues with it lagging at start up to connect. I think they are good if you want to keep a OEM look if it already has carplay but if you have a aftermarket unit/older OEM non carplay system, it is much better to just buy a aftermarket unit with wireless carplay already. Then you can still just plug in for longer trips for battery reasons. For this reason I'm selling my Kenwood wired unit for a wireless carplay unit haha.

no issues with lag. With oem system it works great.
I’m sure your wireless CarPlay unit will be nice. What unit you going with?

 

[R4D4RUS3R]

I thought about getting this for my wife for her Audi. She does not like to connect to the car unless its a long drive but does use a phone holder. She is a full time V!Driver user and sometimes Waze.

 

[Jdem]

I just tried the Carlinkit 2.0 with the 5GHz in my 2017 VW Golf, and it worked great (with the obvious 1 second delay when changing tracks, and longer start up time).

One thing I didn’t like was what you mentioned @Vortex about it always trying to connect to the car every time I just want media to play on my phone. The dongle seems to stay powered up for a minute or two after the car is turned off as well, so there is that delay. Once that time period has passed though, everything plays through the phone again no problem.

This was enough to turn me away from it and just continue to use hardwired. I like having a bit more control.

 

[Vortex]

sure can. I will test on my drive home. I use Spotify for music. Once I turn off the car and get out I should be able to press play in my phone and music should play through the phone speakers. That’s your goal right?

Exactly, yeah. Thanks!

I have thought about a wireless charger as well for when we go to our beach house about 3.5 hours away. Even our boat has wireless charging, need it in my car LOL

Since you have a 12 Pro Max, have you thought about putting in a MagSafe charger?

MagSafe wireless charging car mount

I’d love to see a proper car mount that integrates actual MagSafe wireless charging. I haven’t found one yet, though I imagine something will be coming along before too long. If you find one, share it here! The problem is that apparently both Apple and “the industry” are confusingly using...

www.rdforum.org

 

[CheatDay2020]

Exactly, yeah. Thanks!

Since you have a 12 Pro Max, have you thought about putting in a MagSafe charger?

MagSafe wireless charging car mount

I’d love to see a proper car mount that integrates actual MagSafe wireless charging. I haven’t found one yet, though I imagine something will be coming along before too long. If you find one, share it here! The problem is that apparently both Apple and “the industry” are confusingly using...

www.rdforum.org

so I can confirm that exiting the car and walking away, Spotify wants to continue to try to play music from CarPlay and not the phone speaker. Takes about 30-40 seconds to play from the phone.

I have not considered MagSafe. I would get the wireless tray for the q5/sq5 from Amazon. I use an apple leather case and don’t want to mark up the leather that MagSafe does. Lol

 

[dchemist]

so I can confirm that exiting the car and walking away, Spotify wants to continue to try to play music from CarPlay and not the phone speaker. Takes about 30-40 seconds to play from the phone.

I have not considered MagSafe. I would get the wireless tray for the q5/sq5 from Amazon. I use an apple leather case and don’t want to mark up the leather that MagSafe does. Lol

View attachment 170042

Well don't order that one because it won't fit your 1995 Nissan 240SX

 

[CheatDay2020]

Well don't order that one because it won't fit your 1995 Nissan 240SX

lmao you can clearly see I share an Amazon prime account and my 17 year old brother thought 5 years ago he was getting a Nissan. LOL
He drives a bmw....haha

 

[Deacon]

so I can confirm that exiting the car and walking away, Spotify wants to continue to try to play music from CarPlay and not the phone speaker. Takes about 30-40 seconds to play from the phone.

That’s down to how your car works. If it cuts power when the ignition is off, then that’s when it switches. If it doesn’t cut power until you open the door, then when it switches. If it stays on for some period of time after both of those have happened, well, then it won’t switch until power is off or you get far enough out of range.

I got a wireless CarPlay dongle for my wife’s 2018 Passat. It cuts power when you open the door (or presumably eventually times out if you don’t open the door, but I haven’t tested that). Works fine.