So this only works for cars with existing CarPlay USB ports?
Doesn't help me. Something like $500 to update my 2015 Mazda 3 with the hardware. Yeah, not gonna happen. Should’ve been there years before but Mazda was one of the jackass holdups who thought their own inferior system was enough. It’s not but it’s all I got. I won’t be seeing another car ever again in my life unless major improvements happen to my health and the job market.
I have three vehicles, two with wired Car Play and one with Wireless, I had a top of the line wireless Pioneer head put into my pre Car Play Jeep Grand Cherokee. My Jag and a Volvo both have wired versions from the carmakers. I can assure doubters the wireless is way better. I can simply get in the Jeep, iPhone in a pocket and start the engine and Car Play is immediately active. It is a total PITA getting in the other vehicles and messing around with damn wires.
... Best of all, you can finally use a wireless charger.
...
Seems like they should come up with an adapter that integrates wireless CarPlay with a wireless charger.
Another advantage to having wireless CarPlay is that you can use an 18w (or greater) USB-C fast charger rather than the wired CarPlay connection which most often, even in new cars, is still an old-style USB port that charges more slowly.
No real need for a special adapter to integrate wireless CarPlay with a wireless charger; once you have a device like the one reviewed here, just plug a wireless charger into a 12v power outlet and use that for charging as the wireless CarPlay adapter does its thing.
... Best of all, you can finally use a wireless charger.
...
Seems like they should come up with an adapter that integrates wireless CarPlay with a wireless charger.
Another advantage to having wireless CarPlay is that you can use an 18w (or greater) USB-C fast charger rather than the wired CarPlay connection which most often, even in new cars, is still an old-style USB port that charges more slowly.
No real need for a special adapter to integrate wireless CarPlay with a wireless charger; once you have a device like the one reviewed here, just plug a wireless charger into a 12v power outlet and use that for charging as the wireless CarPlay adapter does its thing.
Apparently I wasn't clear...I'm not talking about a "special adapter" that would integrate the two devices (Wireless CarPlay and wireless charger). I'm talking about a single device that provides both Wireless CarPlay and wireless charging.
I purchased this exact dongle (CarPlay2Air) late last year and it took a month to get it through a crappy Chinese delivery company 4PX. The company that sold it had a US address listed on their website but they really reside in Lithuania and their product ships from China. The after sales service is the worst I ever experienced. I really regret the purchase as it did not work in my VW from day 1. After many software updates it still did not work as advertised. It kept cutting in an out, audio quality was poor and had intermittent connection. I was lucky got a response from the company within a week after sending each email. They are terrible. So I returned the dongle in December 2019 and one month later still have not received a refund even though I have it confirmed that they received the dongle back as I sent it by registered mail. They advise that their "team" is looking into it - just BS.
My strong recommendation is STAY AWAY FROM THESE PEOPLE AND THEIR PRODUCT!
Super - I just ordered this on Jan 22 and didn't see the pay $10 more for faster shipment. It did say 5 to 9 days for shipment. Did you try to leave a review on their site? The average review on their web site is 4.9, which seems high. Google says carplay2air in Middletown Deleware but looking at Google street view the building looks like an auto parts store.
I hope that once I get this thing that it works like others have said - I know that I'll need to update the software.
Anyone else use standard shipment? Anyone else try to leave a review on their web site?
Are there any data security concerns that purchasers of this dongle device should be aware of? I like the convenience of converting my vehicle's CarPlay to wireless, however, the skeptical side of me questions connecting my phone to a device that has capability to connect to the Internet, is sold by a non-Apple authorized, Lithuanian, third-party vendor, and is manufactured in China.
Would appreciate anyone else's thoughts on the true risks a device like this poses.
Are there any data security concerns that purchasers of this dongle device should be aware of? I like the convenience of converting my vehicle's CarPlay to wireless, however, the skeptical side of me questions connecting my phone to a device that has capability to connect to the Internet, is sold by a non-Apple authorized, Lithuanian, third-party vendor, and is manufactured in China.
Based on what I've read so far, I don't see an issue with this particular device. Yes, it is using Wi-Fi (or Bluetooth), but it's connecting to your phone, not to your LAN's Wi-Fi access point (which would be out of range as soon as you left home). So any packets that go to the Internet are going to come from your phone, not the device.
In order for it to "phone home", you would need to either configure your phone as a mobile hot-spot so it has a route to the Internet (do you need to do that?) or install an app which phones home (is one required?). If neither of these is true, then it should not be capable of more than local communication.
But I'll refrain from making any definitive statement until after someone else has performed proper security tests against it, just in case I'm wrong.
In order for it to "phone home", you would need to either configure your phone as a mobile hot-spot so it has a route to the Internet (do you need to do that?) or install an app which phones home (is one required?). If neither of these is true, then it should not be capable of more than local communication.
From my understanding, in order to update the firmware, you have to wirelessly connect your phone to the device and then navigate to a specific IP address on your phone's browser that downloads updates and pushes them back to the device.
Like you, I'd be interested in the results of a proper security test.
Given how unreliable wired Carplay is on my MY20 Mercedes GLE and my iPhone XS Max, I can only imagine how adding an unofficial third party device in the middle will help...
Honestly I was intrigued by this, but then when I got to the end and saw the price for something which may or may not work now and in the future, I thought I'd just leave my current set up as is. Maybe if Carplay was 100% (or at least 90%) reliable then I'd be willing to take the plunge but currently I'd say it's about 50% reliable with having to unplug and plug it back in again to see if it works - even though I've done a factory reset of both the phone and yes, took it back to the dealership to reinstall the MBUX firmware too.
Wireless CarPlay never made sense to me. Especially if you use an app like Waze, there is no way wireless charging can keep up and your battery will die.
I guess if you only do short trips it could be worth it; but seriously it's just not that big a deal to plug the phone in and get the charge boost. Although I have to say with the iPhone 11 battery life seems dramatically approved, but I still would't want to waste it with wireless in a car.
I think it depends on your car and where the Carplay USB plug is. For me it's in a slightly awkward spot that results in the cable clashing with my cupholders or ever so lightly touching the trackpad causing the UI to move which makes it a little annoying.
I purchased this exact dongle (CarPlay2Air) late last year and it took a month to get it through a crappy Chinese delivery company 4PX. The company that sold it had a US address listed on their website but they really reside in Lithuania and their product ships from China. The after sales service is the worst I ever experienced. I really regret the purchase as it did not work in my VW from day 1. After many software updates it still did not work as advertised. It kept cutting in an out, audio quality was poor and had intermittent connection. I was lucky got a response from the company within a week after sending each email. They are terrible. So I returned the dongle in December 2019 and one month later still have not received a refund even though I have it confirmed that they received the dongle back as I sent it by registered mail. They advise that their "team" is looking into it - just BS.
My strong recommendation is STAY AWAY FROM THESE PEOPLE AND THEIR PRODUCT!
Super - I just ordered this on Jan 22 and didn't see the pay $10 more for faster shipment. It did say 5 to 9 days for shipment. Did you try to leave a review on their site? The average review on their web site is 4.9, which seems high. Google says carplay2air in Middletown Deleware but looking at Google street view the building looks like an auto parts store.
I hope that once I get this thing that it works like others have said - I know that I'll need to update the software.
Anyone else use standard shipment? Anyone else try to leave a review on their web site?
Thanks!
I also used standard shipping, not being aware that 5-9 days actually meant a month or more.
I also received a tracking link that leads to a dead page.
I also received no reply from customer service when requesting actual tracking information.
I am currently disputing the charge and canceling my order.
If the device shows up at some point in the future, I will return it to them, but I'm hoping to recover my payment now through my Apple card rather than rely on the company to refund from their end.
It's a shame since this is a product that clearly meets a need, and at this price, adequate customer service and fulfillment should be attainable.
The device arrived today after considerable delays. I am very disappointed by how badly it works. When it does work, maps are very sluggish, lagging far behind where you actually are. The garage door opener, which used to work on wired CarPlay, doesn't work any more. I did go through the software upgrade since the version that came with it only produced a gray screen. After the upgrade it does produce a CarPlay screen. Sometimes it connects when you get in the car, but often it doesn't. Right now I feel I have wasted $159.
I have to say, my experience has been very different from many of those here. I ordered on 30 January, and it was shipped less than 24 hours later from China. The tracking page did sometimes take as much as a minute to update, which may be the reason some thought it was a dead link. It arrived with me in the UK on 7 February, which I didn't consider too bad really (but then I have spent some of my life living in Canada, and compared to Canada Post anything's amazing).
It worked out of the box, and while the printed instructions were worse than useless, it worked seamlessly with my 2018 VW Polo. I've no issues at all: from my perspective it's been awesome.
Very positive experience with this device. Yes it took 3 weeks with regular shipping (but China is going through crap at the moment). Support was responsive and very helpful in tracking my order. After a firmware update, it works great with my 2018 VW GTI -it does seem to work well with VWs. I can jump in the car with my iPhone in my pocket and by the time I am pulling out it’s already running CarPlay. No visible lag. My iPhone has great battery life so I only need to plug in for a long trip.
I must thank Appleinsider for this article. I wouldn’t have known about this device otherwise.
I just received my carplay2air yesterday. Have just had a couple of occasions to use it, but so far it’s working like a charm. I even updated to the latest firmware and it updated without any issues.
I’m using it on a 2020 Hyundai Kona. I’m able to use my factory nav or my phone nav (via CarPlay). Basically all functionality seems to me just like regular CarPlay. I did some voice calls and it worked well. I have Amazon Alexa Auto and that works well. My factory system has this irritating ‘bug’ that half the time it would connect only to headset Bluetooth profile, but not A2DP or music streaming Bluetooth profile. I have to fumble with the phone; Go to Bluetooth settings, click on the already connected ‘Kona’ device on the iPhone and then it retries and connects both profiles. Anyway, that irritation is history now with this device. So relieved.
Just for reference - I ordered directly via carplay2air website. Used a 10% off coupon I saw in reddit and chose the free shipping option. I had read a lot of folks here saying that one should avoid the free shipping and upgrade to $10 DHL instead, but I ignored that advice. Wasn’t in too much of a hurry. The device was shipped exactly 10 days after I placed my order (they had sent an email saying they are delayed due to coronavirus). And then it took another 10 days to arrive (I’m in upstate New York). They sent a shipfromchina tracking link. It didn’t show any locations but tracking updated frequently. The tracking number is actually the USPS number, and that number works on USPS tracking once the parcel reaches US shores.
A couple of minor quirks - at times there is a blue outline initially on a selection window or a button might be colored blue. It’s like the system thinks you are on a non-touch screen CarPlay device. But that goes away if you change screens. There is a very slight lag after pushing an on screen button. Not much but it’s noticeable. If you hit pause it takes half a second for audio to pause. I’ve heard that’s a quirk of many wireless CarPlay systems, so can’t fault the device.
I haven’t tried using it after remote start though. Like I said - I haven’t spent much time on it, but initial impressions are overwhelmingly positive.
The bad: Their tracking never did work for me, and their email support was infrequent and not useful when received.
The good: It arrived after 10 days. I'm happy to report I did not return it unopened as declared. It works great and I'm very happy I kept it. I have not needed or done any software update, and it has worked, without concern, out of the box with my 2020 Honda CRV.
Final analysis: Awesome product. Weird order fulfillment with lacking customer support. Glad I purchased.
Based on this review, I decided to take a chance and order it. I was trying to install it in a 2019 Honda Accord. It does NOT work.
There is no tech support. The 24/7 claim on their Web site is baseless. After trying to contact them for a week, I finally got an e-mail that asked me "What color is the light?" I responded, but never received an answer and never heard from "Julie" again.
I was able to get a response about returning it, but it needs to be shipped to China at a cost of at least $44 PLUS they want a $25 restocking fee.
I get it: I'm royally screwed.
I expect more from AppleInsider. I'm a bit stunned that they don't vet vendors, but apparently they didn't with this item.
Don't buy this POS. The company is disreputable, doesn't sell a legitimate product, and makes it ridiculously hard to return the dongle.
I'd be really interested if Apple produced a CarPlay app that just had the key buttons for messages/maps/music/etc that it could display on a landscape oriented screen so I could just leave my iPhone on a mount and use it instead of my existing non-CarPlay head unit ... any other takers ?
I cannot fathom why Apple has never got around to creating just this device. It would be appalling if Apple did not support these people. They deserve to make a fortune. I just hope there isn’t a security issue.
I have a Kenwood wireless carplay unit in my old mazda3. You really appreciate the convenience.
Anything that uses a hack to do its thing doesn’t deserve support from Apple. Who’s to say this POS doesn’t collect data from your iOS device and send it to god knows who? But faux techies who think they know it all deserve what they get when they rely on hacks. Instead the car companies should be taken to task for not supporting wireless CarPlay properly following Apple’s guidelines. Car company’s entertainment systems are from the tech middle ages.
I've been using this dongle for a couple of months and would say it does the job...most of the time. Usually within about 30 seconds of starting my car I am connected and have the Apple map or iTunes on the screen. And then there will be times when I have to repeatedly click the connect button, get a spinning buffering wheel, or have to cancel and try again. As was pointed out in the review, it is hard to determine if this is the fault of Apple's Bluetooth or the CarPlay2air unit. And I also have to admit that I have had issues with CarPlay even when my iPhone is plugged into the car. They technology surrounding CarPlay is imperfect at best, wired or wireless, but when car manufacturers are charging over $1,000 for built in navigation that needs frequent and sometimes expensive map updating, CarPlay is a sensible solution, and the wireless dongle very often makes it seamless. If only Apple Maps had a better, less annoying interface...but that's another discussion.
Comments
Doesn't help me. Something like $500 to update my 2015 Mazda 3 with the hardware. Yeah, not gonna happen. Should’ve been there years before but Mazda was one of the jackass holdups who thought their own inferior system was enough. It’s not but it’s all I got. I won’t be seeing another car ever again in my life unless major improvements happen to my health and the job market.
No real need for a special adapter to integrate wireless CarPlay with a wireless charger; once you have a device like the one reviewed here, just plug a wireless charger into a 12v power outlet and use that for charging as the wireless CarPlay adapter does its thing.
Would appreciate anyone else's thoughts on the true risks a device like this poses.
Like you, I'd be interested in the results of a proper security test.
Honestly I was intrigued by this, but then when I got to the end and saw the price for something which may or may not work now and in the future, I thought I'd just leave my current set up as is. Maybe if Carplay was 100% (or at least 90%) reliable then I'd be willing to take the plunge but currently I'd say it's about 50% reliable with having to unplug and plug it back in again to see if it works - even though I've done a factory reset of both the phone and yes, took it back to the dealership to reinstall the MBUX firmware too.
I also used standard shipping, not being aware that 5-9 days actually meant a month or more.
I also received a tracking link that leads to a dead page.
I also received no reply from customer service when requesting actual tracking information.
I am currently disputing the charge and canceling my order.
If the device shows up at some point in the future, I will return it to them, but I'm hoping to recover my payment now through my Apple card rather than rely on the company to refund from their end.
It's a shame since this is a product that clearly meets a need, and at this price, adequate customer service and fulfillment should be attainable.
It worked out of the box, and while the printed instructions were worse than useless, it worked seamlessly with my 2018 VW Polo. I've no issues at all: from my perspective it's been awesome.
I’m using it on a 2020 Hyundai Kona. I’m able to use my factory nav or my phone nav (via CarPlay). Basically all functionality seems to me just like regular CarPlay. I did some voice calls and it worked well. I have Amazon Alexa Auto and that works well. My factory system has this irritating ‘bug’ that half the time it would connect only to headset Bluetooth profile, but not A2DP or music streaming Bluetooth profile. I have to fumble with the phone; Go to Bluetooth settings, click on the already connected ‘Kona’ device on the iPhone and then it retries and connects both profiles. Anyway, that irritation is history now with this device. So relieved.
Just for reference - I ordered directly via carplay2air website. Used a 10% off coupon I saw in reddit and chose the free shipping option. I had read a lot of folks here saying that one should avoid the free shipping and upgrade to $10 DHL instead, but I ignored that advice. Wasn’t in too much of a hurry. The device was shipped exactly 10 days after I placed my order (they had sent an email saying they are delayed due to coronavirus). And then it took another 10 days to arrive (I’m in upstate New York). They sent a shipfromchina tracking link. It didn’t show any locations but tracking updated frequently. The tracking number is actually the USPS number, and that number works on USPS tracking once the parcel reaches US shores.
A couple of minor quirks - at times there is a blue outline initially on a selection window or a button might be colored blue. It’s like the system thinks you are on a non-touch screen CarPlay device. But that goes away if you change screens. There is a very slight lag after pushing an on screen button. Not much but it’s noticeable. If you hit pause it takes half a second for audio to pause. I’ve heard that’s a quirk of many wireless CarPlay systems, so can’t fault the device.
I haven’t tried using it after remote start though. Like I said - I haven’t spent much time on it, but initial impressions are overwhelmingly positive.
The bad: Their tracking never did work for me, and their email support was infrequent and not useful when received.
The good: It arrived after 10 days. I'm happy to report I did not return it unopened as declared. It works great and I'm very happy I kept it. I have not needed or done any software update, and it has worked, without concern, out of the box with my 2020 Honda CRV.
Final analysis: Awesome product. Weird order fulfillment with lacking customer support. Glad I purchased.
There is no tech support. The 24/7 claim on their Web site is baseless. After trying to contact them for a week, I finally got an e-mail that asked me "What color is the light?" I responded, but never received an answer and never heard from "Julie" again.
I was able to get a response about returning it, but it needs to be shipped to China at a cost of at least $44 PLUS they want a $25 restocking fee.
I get it: I'm royally screwed.
I expect more from AppleInsider. I'm a bit stunned that they don't vet vendors, but apparently they didn't with this item.
Don't buy this POS. The company is disreputable, doesn't sell a legitimate product, and makes it ridiculously hard to return the dongle.