Issue With CarPlay connecting.

mopac · November 19, 2018

I have problems from time to time with CarPlay not connecting. My 18 Silverado has the bench and center console/armrest and I'm connecting an Apple OEM lightning cable there to my iPhone 6 running iOS 12. Sometimes I plug the lightning cable into the iPhone and the projection symbol on the infotainment screen doesn't change to the CarPlay symbol and CarPlay isn't active, even though the iPhone indicates it's charging.

I thought at first it might have something to do with the iPhone being locked but it happens when it's unlocked too. (And I have it set to enable when locked in Settings anyway.) It seems like it's more apt to do it when I'm at home and plug the iPhone in before my truck is out of range of the home wifi network. (I've linked my truck to home wifi because I don't pay for the in truck wifi. But this let's me update apps and things on the MyLink at least while I'm in the driveway.) But I've had it happen away from the house as well, just not as much as first thing in the morning when I'm leaving.

I've tried rebooting the iPhone. I've tried restarting the truck - assuming that "reboots" the infotainment system. This morning I had success pressing on the "Projection" button on the infotainment screen menu repeatedly and after a number of rapid presses it did switch to the CarPlay symbol. I'm also wondering if sometimes my iPhone 6 processor just isn't going as fast as it needs to should it be doing other things (iPhone 6 running is getting a little long in the tooth although it's responsiveness has improved since the most recent iOS 12 was installed) and that's what is causing the delay.

Anybody else experience anything like this with CarPlay? It's not really clear to me if the culprit is the iPhone or the MyLink.

Fix29 · November 19, 2018

I have the same issue with my GMC using Android auto. I was unsure if it's an issue with my Samsung cable or the truck itself. I don't believe it's the phone itself as it will switch over to android auto mode even if the truck doesn't.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

17TXLTZ · November 19, 2018

I used to have the same issue, took it to the dealer with no luck.

I tried the following and its been working ever since. Go to your home screen on Mylink. Click and hold on any icon as if you're going to move it. Once the option to move come up, move the projection (carplay/android auto) icon onto your favorites at the top of your screen. Once it is there, you should be able to access the carplay from the radio screen. I've ran into the issue that the carplay logo comes up, but i can not access it from the main screen for some strange reason. So i will go into my Nav screen or Radio. Then i click on the carplay favorite icon and it comes right up. And works fine after that.

Dealer could never duplicate my concern, as always.

Edited November 19, 2018 by 17TXLTZ

mopac · November 19, 2018

13 minutes ago, 17TXLTZ said:

... move the projection (carplay/android auto) icon onto your favorites at the top of your screen. Once it is there, you should be able to access the carplay from the radio screen. I've ran into the issue that the carplay logo comes up, but i can not access it from the main screen for some strange reason. So i will go into my Nav screen or Radio. Then i click on the carplay favorite icon and it comes right up. And works fine after that.

Thanks - this is interesting. I'd already moved the projection icon up into my favorites at the top of the screen while customizing everything a few months ago when I first bought the truck. When the issue has occurred - doesn't happen every time - hitting that icon would some times give me a message that I needed to connect a device to USB although my iPhone was already connected that way and showed it was charging. Other times nothing happens and the icon stays the generic projection icon not the CarPlay icon. This morning I tapped the projection icon in the favorites on the top of the screen a couple times one right after the other and voila - it changed to the CarPlay icon. Immediately after this I tried to do a couple of things on the Chevy screen and it wasn't responding. But then it caught up. And that brings me back to one of my earlier theories that the iPhone 6 even though it is on the most recent iOS 12, only just supports it. And I'm wondering if sometimes it's CPU is too busy and fails to "handshake" promptly enough with the MyLink and the connection doesn't sync up.

I also wonder if the 4K plus songs on my iPhone are part of what it's busy accessing when I first connect.

I'm not sure if they ever issue updates to the infotainment system. It'd be nice if you could force it to go look for one while you're at home and the truck is connected to your home wi-fi network. But I don't think there is a way to force it to check.

mopac · November 28, 2018

As I try to figure out more of what is happening I have 2 new observations.

I took the truck on it's first road trip, which was about 500 miles. CarPlay would very occasionally just disconnect out of nowhere, as if I'd unplugged the lightning cable from my iPhone. I was using navigation when this was going on with Apple maps on the infotainment screen. And suddenly the map would just disappear. The shortcut icon for projection on the top of the screen would also change from the CarPlay icon back to the generic projection icon. Typically this would be after about 90 minutes or so I'd guess. If I unplugged the lightning cable from the iPhone and plugged it back in then CarPlay would reconnect and everything would be back as it was. The iPhone was still showing it was charging when the disconnect took place and it would be in the 90%+ charge range.

If my phone is connected to a wifi network such as my home network or the wifi at work plugging in the iPhone as soon as I get in the truck seems more often than not to result in CarPlay not coming up. It seems much better to drive down the street or out of the parking lot and once the phone's wifi disconnects then plug in the lightning cable to the iPhone. That pretty much always results in CarPlay starting up immediately or darn near immediately.

Frustrating not being able to figure out if these hiccups are an issue with iOS12 or with the infotainment firmware.

Shakeydeal · November 28, 2018

In your settings on your iphone, do you have "Allow Siri when locked" checked?

Shakey

mopac · November 28, 2018

12 minutes ago, Shakeydeal said:

In your settings on your iphone, do you have "Allow Siri when locked" checked?

Shakey

Shakey,

Yes. I've got the "Allow Siri when locked" turned on as well as under CarPlay in General section of iPhone settings the "Allow CarPlay While Locked" is also on. Based on the goofy behavior, I think the "Allow CarPlay While Locked" is the relevant setting rather than Siri when locked. But in any event, both are set to on. And it does seem to connect to CarPlay when I plug the lightning cable into the iPhone with it locked so long as the iPhone has already disconnected from the house wifi or the office wifi.

And it's not as if it NEVER connects in the driveway with the iPhone still connected to house wifi. It's just that it seems if I try to immediately connect the lighting adapter while the truck is still in the driveway and the iPhone is still getting a very strong home wifi signal I'm frequently not getting CarPlay to activate. Occasionally it does though. But I pretty much don't have a problem if I don't try to activate CarPlay by plugging in the lightning connector until I'm down the block and my iPhone has lost the signal for my home wifi. It will start CarPlay right up, whether the iPhone is locked or not.

Shakeydeal · November 28, 2018

Well I think you've figured out your problem. Wifi is interfering with carplay. I bet that would happen with any other truck and any other phone. Or at least the possibility exists.

Shakey

CarlosCo · May 25, 2019

I drive a 2016 Silverado and have been having the same issues as described above.

I seem to have fixed it now. Basically I disabled the auto android (since I use iPhone of course), and now the phone stays connected all the time.

I do seem to need a new cable (when I first connect it I have to finagle a bit and the cable does have a small crack in the connector to the phone), but other than that it works perfect

used to disconnect several times during my 45 min commute but not anymore over the last week. Hope this helps

peterlawl84 · June 1, 2019

Ive had this happen recently in 3 of our GM vehicles (2014 silverado, 2017 acadia, 2018 enclave). I had to unplug the cable from both the phone and the usb side and plug in a couple of times before it would register apple CarPlay. different cords in each vehicle as well as different phones (mine and wife's). not sure why it has done it but it ends up working so I haven't taken it to the dealership to look at further.

mopac · June 11, 2019

I think I've figured out the problem I was having with CarPlay not always connecting. My iPhone 7 is getting long in the tooth even though it is running the (as of the this posting) current 12.3.1 version of iOS. The processor at times gets bogged down - particularly when I first press the home button to wake it up. If I then immediately go to Settings app it can take 15-20 seconds before the Settings app is responsive. My guess is that when I start the truck and immediately plug in the phone, the truck head unit may not quite be booted up and the iPhone isn't immediately responding either. The delay, particularly on the iPhone side, is probably causing a time out on the head unit and they simply fail to "handshake" correctly. I've found that if I first wake up the iPhone and unlock it, then wait 15-20 seconds to plug the lightening cable into the iPhone that it virtually always connects. My strong suspicion is that the issue is mostly on the part of this older iPhone 7 getting bogged down with the latest version of iOS that it's only barely able to run.

JeffH57 · June 12, 2019

I have a 2018 Silverado LTZ. I cannot get my iphne 7+ to connect to any wired connection using any cord - OEM or otherwise. I an use bluetooth to make calls, etc, but I want to use the projection. Everytime I try, it tells me to connect the USB cord. I can't even charge. I have to use a household plug in the 110 outlet.

mopac · June 12, 2019

31 minutes ago, JeffH57 said:

I have a 2018 Silverado LTZ. I cannot get my iphne 7+ to connect to any wired connection using any cord - OEM or otherwise. I an use bluetooth to make calls, etc, but I want to use the projection. Everytime I try, it tells me to connect the USB cord. I can't even charge. I have to use a household plug in the 110 outlet.

I would take it back to the dealer, as my initial reaction knowing you've tried multiple cords including Apple's, is that the USB plugs are disconnected in the wiring harness. I'd try something else that lights up in some way via USB (or use a volt meter) to verify there's power at the USB plug(s) you're trying to use. If there is no power there, then the wiring harness would be the next place to look and I'd leave that to the dealer assuming you're still in warranty.

dterp · November 19, 2019

disconnect your device from the bluetooth list in the vehicle's settings. The bluetooth and projection interfere with each other. You can also turn off your bluetooth when connecting via the cable.

jimbo285 · August 15, 2020

I don't think it's a home WiFi problem. My 2017 Silverado and iPhone 6s do the same thing and I'm not connecting to WiFi. I have unlimited data so WiFi is not needed/not selected on my phone.