[quickdraw]

I've heard about this, but also heard it lags a bit and is iffy. Plus the fear that Apple might block it in the future coupled with expensive pricing means I'll be giving it a miss for now. Something around 4-5k would make it a no brainer, but for the premium price I can't accept the fact it might get bricked someday.

[RMN]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Fantastic thread. Surely will be very useful. This is something I also wondered about trying for Android Auto in my car. There are workarounds (crude) also available on XDA forums for Android Auto hacks to make it wireless, that aren't too different than this device.

So - the wireless mode is useful only if the car & phone support wireless charging of the phone. If not - the wired mode helps in charging the phone while its battery is being used significantly by CarPlay/AndroidAuto.

The XDA workaround has been a hit or miss with me so far & I eventually gave up. The risk with wired AA/CarPlay is over-charging & also heating up the phone all the time. For most people, a wireless setup makes much sense since you can easily have a charger at work & home.

[Joxster]

I'm writing this message with disappointment, and to ensure that nobody buys the adapter on my recommendation without knowing about the issue I'm facing.

The issue which I briefly described as being due to the adapter being moved seems to be an issue while driving the car as well. There are small interruptions in the music playing through Apple CarPlay, and sometimes the sound is getting badly distorted for a couple of seconds, like it would sound if a video stopped to buffer, and then suddenly sped up the playback for a second.
I'm not sure if this an issue with the adapter or my phone, but needless to say, I am very annoyed with it, and sent their support team an email about it. I might even consider returning the adapter to them.

Due to working from home full time at the moment, I am not using the car as much as I normally do, and the issue didn't become apparent till after I wrote this review.

Cheers

[ranjithrnair]

I have never faced such quality issues till this time , the only issue faced is audio routing post connection , at times the audio still continue to work from iPhone even though CarPlay connects on head unit . Hope you are using good quality cable to connect the adaptor and head unit.

[roamer012]

Originally Posted by ranjithrnair

Hope you are using good quality cable to connect the adaptor and head unit.

From the pictures posted by OP, i do not see any requirement of third party cable to connect the adapter to head unit other than the in built cable of the adapter itself.

[ranjithrnair]

Yes , I missed that part.

[Joxster]

Update: After 5 days of trying out different steps that their support team recommended, they've come to the conclusion that my adapter is faulty, and asked me to return it for a replacement. There are a couple of things that I'm annoyed about.

1. I received only one email response from their support team everyday, which means that this whole troubleshooting process took much longer than it could have if they responded to me multiple times in a day
2. The cost of the return shipping of the faulty device needs to be bourne by the customer, and the only option is to send it to China. This is a rather costly affair at 65 euros (cheapest option), but I don't have any other choice really

I considered sending the adapter back and asking for a refund in line with their return policy, which would mean I would lose only half of my investment. But, I thought about it again, and how convenient the wireless CarPlay is, and decided to give them another chance. I'm also slightly basing this decision on ranjithrnair's feedback about the adapter working just fine in his car, so this gives me some confidence.
If the replacement adapter doesn't work correctly either, then returning it would make no financial sense, because paying for the return shipping a 2nd time would mean that I have paid the same amount for the adapter on shipping alone, and would then have lost the money and the adapter.

The faulty adapter will be picked up from my house and shipped back to them on the 29th June, and they will send me a replacement only once they receive and confirm that it's in good condition. This whole process can take quite sometime, possibly around 4-6 weeks.

Originally Posted by vDragon3

Some concern as mentioned in the YouTube video above is what will happen if apple releases a update to block such kind of devices?

I have no fear about this, as it's using Apple's wireless CarPlay, and not some kind of hack. Apple doesn't block any other 3rd party iPhone accessories, so why only this one?

Originally Posted by TheMufi

I wonder if this will work with my VW OEM RCD 330 plus from Ali-Express installed on a 2012 Vento TDI?

Get in contact with their team to confirm this before buying. To be honest, I also cannot recommend this product at this time. Let's see if that changes when I get the replacement adapter.

Originally Posted by Reinhard

So - the wireless mode is useful only if the car & phone support wireless charging of the phone. If not - the wired mode helps in charging the phone while its battery is being used significantly by CarPlay/AndroidAuto.

I agree with your conclusion, but I guess it's different strokes for different folks. Some people might prefer the convenience of no cable. Not sure how ranjithrnair manages his phone battery charges, or what the battery usage is like without the phone charging.

Originally Posted by Aviationshark

On a slightly off topic note, turns out on my X5, Apple carplay only works in wireless mode. When I plug it into the USB slot, it only charges the phone. Would have liked a wired solution so my phone keeps charging along with the journey.

Maybe a stupid question, but does CarPlay still work when your phone is plugged into the USB port?

Originally Posted by Ice

I'm a little worried about data privacy. Do we know for sure that the device doesn't access iphone data to transmit?

It's made in China, so I wouldn't bet too much on privacy if I'm being honest. No one knows that privacy is 100% for sure about any app these days. All big companies have your data these days pretty much.

Originally Posted by quickdraw

I've heard about this, but also heard it lags a bit and is iffy. Plus the fear that Apple might block it in the future coupled with expensive pricing means I'll be giving it a miss for now. For the premium price I can't accept the fact it might get bricked someday.

Mine didn't lag any more or less than wired Apple CarPlay which is also a bit laggy on my iPhone 8. ranjithrnair clarified that they seem to have updated the adapter, and the newer one is better - that's what I seem to have gotten. Also, like I already responded to vDragon3, I have no such fear about Apple blocking this adapter. If they haven't done it for any other 3rd party accessories, why only this one?

Originally Posted by ranjithrnair

I have never faced such quality issues till this time, the only issue faced is audio routing post connection, at times the audio still continue to work from iPhone even though CarPlay connects on head unit.

Good that you didn't face such issues! Consider yourself lucky in that case.
On another note - assuming that you don't have wireless charging in your car, how to do you manage the charging of your phone? Is it charging in your car, or do you charge before leaving the house, and charge again at your destination?

Cheers

[ranjithrnair]

Charging happens on a need basis and as of now it is wired , planning to get a wireless charging cup that can fit on the cup holder portion of my car .

CarPlay2Air is just re-branding of carlinkit and version2.0 is a bit large in size compared to what you have.

[Aviationshark]

Carplay doesn't work if iPhone is just connected to the car via USB. It just charges the phone.
On long road trips, charging the device becomes mandatory.

Wifi has to be switched on and wireless carplay is the only way it works in the X5.

One issue i've noticed is the car using the GPS location from the iphone.
I could prevent location services draining all the juice from my phone, if I could make carplay use the GPS of the car itself, the way iDrive does.

Edited : formatting.

Maybe a stupid question, but does CarPlay still work when your phone is plugged into the USB port?

[SuhairZain]

Probably the dirtiest DIY work in Team-BHP so far. Please forgive.

I managed to have a somewhat wireless Android Auto solution for my Tiago by making a phone case with a magnetic adapter attached to it. You place the phone in the case and the adapter connects to the adapter in the phones charger port. (Both purchased from AliExpress)

The original idea came from a comment in XDA Developers, IIRC. The initial plan was to 3D print a custom phone holder for the part ahead of the gear box. Gave it up after realizing the shape was too hard to design without a 3D scanner and that the length of the cable head along with the magnetic adapter meant the phone would be sticking too far out towards the gearbox. Decided to pivot to the next location.



The next location was next to the handbrake, behind the gear lever. Found out that it was much easier to 3D print for it once i got the measurements done. Did it in a couple of hours with TinkerCad.



Thought I'd get it printed from my Alma-mater's 3D printer for free but later found out that the machine is no longer working since it was not used for a long time. Keep in mind that we're talking about a 16L machine here.

Didn't want to spend a good amount on 3D printing it from outside when I'm out of a job so decided I'd make one out of cardboard and double side tape, and a few hours later, I have an extremely crude version of what I had in mind. It's just a POC which I intend on improving. I'm thinking that once the times are better, I'll get a custom made armrest with a slot for my phone and that'd take care of the ugly looks.

[Joxster]

I can finally bring this experience to a close. The replacement adapter finally arrived last week, and no surprises - it has the exact same issue. I'm thoroughly disappointed with the whole ordeal.

Their customer service team tells me to send the replacement adapter back, and they will refund me for the cost of the adapter, but shipping it back to them makes no sense, as I would essentially pay the same amount for the double return shipping as I actually paid for the device, leaving me without the device or my money back.

Below is the review I posted to their website along with my rating of 1 star, but I don't see the review published yet. Let's see if they actually publish it. I suspect that they won't, since they don't have any reviews on their official website below 3 stars.

I had a bad experience with this CARPLAY2air adapter in my Skoda Octavia RS 245, and would advise people to think twice before purchasing it. The adapter didn't work properly from the time I received it, with the music playing through CarPlay cutting out every now and then, and then also stopping for a second, then suddenly speeding up like a video buffering and playing back at double the speed. Basically, choppy audio which is an extremely annoying issue.

While I appreciate the attempts to troubleshoot the issue, I found the support to be lacking. I received 1 email reply per day from their support team with some additional steps to try, and even when I replied within minutes of receiving their email, the next response was only on the next day. Finally, after 5 days of trying different steps, they decided that the adapter I received was faulty, and I was asked to return it to them. Guess what - the shipping from Belgium back to China costs half of the amount I actually paid for this adapter. Of course I need to absorb this cost as my own loss. I went through with it anyway, and waited over a month before the replacement adapter finally arrived. Just a couple minutes of testing revealed that the replacement adapter has the exact same issue (as expected). They responded and told me to send that back as well, and that they'll refund the amount for the device to me, but shipping it back to them makes no sense, as I would essentially pay the same amount for the double return shipping as I actually paid for the device, leaving me without the device or my money back.

Even if I ignore that their technical support is limited, they should have a center in Europe which you can return the adapters to, instead of expecting you to pay that kind of money to ship it all the way back to China just for a replacement device.

@ranjithrnair - Maybe you couldn't replicate what I am facing because you use different applications. If possible, try running Waze + Spotify at the same time through your adapter for 5-10 minutes, and let me know what happens.

Cheers

[ranjithrnair]

I don't have Waze in my phone , however it works well with Google Maps and Spotify working at the same time without any issues. Did they send the latest model or same as you had earlier ?

[Joxster]

Originally Posted by ranjithrnair

I don't have Waze in my phone , however it works well with Google Maps and Spotify working at the same time without any issues. Did they send the latest model or same as you had earlier ?

Waze is a much more heavy application, and probably needs more Bluetooth bandwidth than this adapter offers. I also find it much better than Google Maps here in Europe

There is no "latest" model as far as I know. I received the exact same adapter as I had earlier. Could you share a link to the model you're talking about?

Cheers

[ranjithrnair]

Well Data Transfer is over WiFi and not Bluetooth , there is a second version of the adapter

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Carlin...F-AF3B8B70FB37

[Joxster]

Originally Posted by ranjithrnair

Well Data Transfer is over WiFi and not Bluetooth

Didn't know that. Thanks for the information

Originally Posted by ranjithrnair

There is a second version of the adapter

This adapter is from a completely different company. However, if you go through the ratings and reviews in the Amazon link that you shared, you'll find that they are more realistic since it's on Amazon's platform.

This picture tells the whole story



Cheers