[agambhandari]

It’s always convenient to stay in your own ecosystem, same phone, same car , same cable without any change. But as you start sharing your car with your family and that family insists on sticking to iPhones, things change fast. I’m the only one that uses Android in my house , and that wasn’t an issue until I moved back home and got married. My Polo is now being used by my wife and my dad as well, so we were constantly changing the USB cable on it to connect different phones . Add to it, the smaller distances and trip times in Ludhiana now(compared to Delhi earlier), plugging in every time seemed like an unnecessary step. So I looked into solutions and while I could find a good number of options for Wired to Wireless conversion adapters for Carplay, and also for android auto ; there were almost none that did both with the same device.

The search ended with Carlinkit 4.0, a device that uses the native Wired Carplay functionality of your headunit (yes it only needs carplay on your headunit, not even Android auto), and then offers to convert it to Wireless Carplay or Wireless Android auto depending on your phone. Reviews online looked alright , so I thought of ordering one.

Props to Bhpian Rishikapoor who around the same time ended up with 2 of these due to a shipping issue , so I ended up buying one from him for the same price. Saved me the hassle of buying it online and importing and waiting for days. Bhpian Viraat13 helped me out sending it from Delhi to me .

While there are some mentions of this device on the forum on few threads but no details as such, I felt a detailed thread was warranted to showcase this unique device.

Few Pics to showcase the device and specs






Once you connect the device, you are greeted with a login screen and you have to connect the Bluetooth from your phone to this device, after that just follow the prompts on your phone and voila, you are connected!

That was as expected but what I really wanted to see is how it worked with multiple phones previously paired, and to my surprise it works perfectly. It starts off and gives a list of previous phones and you can choose from those. It then tries to connect and if the Bluetooth and wifi of that phone is active, it will start it off.



One tip to note is that, it take almost a minute for it to bootup from cold, so you can connect the phone only after that. Luckily in Polo, the usb port of the Headunit powers on right after the car in unlocked from the key, so by the time I reach the car, adjust my seats and mirros, it has finished booting up. So I try to unlock the car few seconds in advance to ensure this.

The Performance is Fine, it is just as responsive as using Native wired Carplay/Android Auto. And infact the connection is more stable and reliable than I have felt with factory Wireless Carplay in my X1. There is almost a 2-3 second lag between the audio sync as compared to Wired connection. But I feel its barely any worse than the factory Wireless solutions. Only time you’ll rally complain is if you decide to play Video in Android auto(through unofficial ways ofcourse).

Another scenario it can be useful is if your car has only wired Carplay and you want to run Android Auto on it. Would have been perfect for my X1 but alas, BMW feels wired carplay is too old school.

The price is not low by any means but I have honestly run out of cool mods to do on my Polo, so this was a nice value add.

[agambhandari]

Summary
Pros

• Small, lightweight adapter, easy to hide away in Dash
• Supports both Carplay and Android Auto from the same dongle
• Connects fast on every startup and manages multiple phones well
• Responsive UI, no touch lag compared to Wired Connection
• Can even add Wireless android auto if your HU supports only Wired Carplay

Cons

• Pricey
• Audio Lag (persistent in other wireless solutions as well)

Buy here

https://carlinkitcarplay.com/product...actory-carplay

[iskandariya]

Why not simply use an old Android Mobile with AA mirror and other Apps. An extra step Root it ;-) all the functionalities of the Wireless Add on Box without the Cost and it's slim.

[AKSarkar1]

Thanks for sharing! Wanted to get your 2 cents on this: is this really that much more convenient? There are numerous so called 'VAG Modifiers' that sell such kits at atrocious prices citing increased convenience.

The point of having Carplay or AA is being able to control the functionalities and features of your phone without having to use it while driving. To me personally it doesn't matter if the phone is tucked away with or without a wire because at no time when I am driving I use my phone. Having a wire-based Carplay/AA system in a Polo/Vento 6R is an added advantage because your phone gets charged till you reach the destination.

Would love to have your inputs as someone who is well-versed with this technology and is a current user!

[iskandariya]

You need to have certain technical know how and do not upgrade your Android Auto version if everything works and rooting isn't an option for you. After all these devices also work on rooted Androids. You can install an app on them to run your car play wirelessly also if needed.

Corporate Profiles installed on phone don't allow these bypasses.

I have my Wife's mobile configured with all such stuff and it works well on Skoda Superb 2018 LnK model

[gungax]

I have been using Carlinkit 3.0 (CPC200-U2W Plus) for the past 3 months.
Now I can use the wireless charging pad since the Apple CarPlay doesn't require a wired connection to my phone.

It is connected to the Audi A4 using a Belkin USB-C to USB-C Cable. It is occasionally used in our Hyundai i10 using strand USB-A to USB-C cable.



On the A4, there is no lag in music or noticeable change in audio quality. No lag when using Apple maps or Google maps.
On the i10, there is a slight lag when controlling music or the maps.

This is a useful accessory and most definitely recommended for all cars with wired only Apple CarPlay. It's small and does its job without a fuss.
I picked it up from Singapore for SGD 160/-

[playingpossum]

Originally Posted by AKSarkar1

Wanted to get your 2 cents on this: is this really that much more convenient?

I don't have this device, but IMO, this would be a bit more convenient for me.

I have wireless charging support in my car, but because I need to use CarPlay, my phone is wired in always and the wireless charging never gets used.

With wireless CarPlay, I could just get in, toss my phone into the wireless charging pad, press the start button and get going.

Right now, I have to find the end of the cable, plug it in and then get going.

Minor improvement, but really not that much IMO.

[jpm]

I recently got this product for my Jeep Compass 2017. Setup was easy.

Carlinkit 4.0 does what it says on the tin. Wireless android auto connects automatically on my Samsung. I have tried with my brother's iphone and the car play works well too, although not on full screen (probably due to the jeep's s/w).

Only issue I have noticed is my Samsung frequently drops connection to android auto but the carplay works without any hiccups or connection issues. This could be a Samsung thing as I have not verified it with other android devices.

[Wanderers]

The carplay MMB is the best wireless carplay dongle at almost the same price. It comes with added benefit of phone mirroring for limited apps including youtube but excluding Netflix. For Netflix they have have multi-media box which is expensive. On the former you can also play video from usb stick.

All carplay wireless dongle will have some time lag which become a concern on video playback but there are apps to bring in sync. I am told that new software in MMB has sync feature which does well but not completely eliminates the lag.

Whichever dongle you choose, please check the chip which it uses. Most if them use primitive iphone 6 chip and newer ones are based on iphone X and have bigger RAM.

Please watch review of dongle before buying. Carplaylife.com does good review.

After all my research, I decided that wired car play with additional screen for video is good for me. Earlier I had AA based youtube player but google blocked it and even same is not quite possible in rooted android phone. Best is to try reprogramming the OEM ICE as many of them have done for Ford Sync.

[agambhandari]

Originally Posted by iskandariya

Why not simply use an old Android Mobile with AA mirror and other Apps. An extra step Root it ;-) all the functionalities of the Wireless Add on Box without the Cost and it's slim.

Because as I said, I'm not the only one using the car. And to add to it, How do you use wireless carplay with your solution?

Originally Posted by AKSarkar1

Thanks for sharing! Wanted to get your 2 cents on this: is this really that much more convenient? There are numerous so called 'VAG Modifiers' that sell such kits at atrocious prices citing increased convenience.

The point of having Carplay or AA is being able to control the functionalities and features of your phone without having to use it while driving. To me personally it doesn't matter if the phone is tucked away with or without a wire because at no time when I am driving I use my phone. Having a wire-based Carplay/AA system in a Polo/Vento 6R is an added advantage because your phone gets charged till you reach the destination.

Would love to have your inputs as someone who is well-versed with this technology and is a current user!

Yes these are definitely convenient, and I for one didnt have much need for charging the phone Because I leave home with full charge and the phone just keeps charging at 100 percent and the drive is only 20 mins or so anyways.
As for the price, I have shared the direct link and that is the real price for this adapter.

Originally Posted by jpm

I recently got this product for my Jeep Compass 2017. Setup was easy.

Carlinkit 4.0 does what it says on the tin. Wireless android auto connects automatically on my Samsung. I have tried with my brother's iphone and the car play works well too, although not on full screen (probably due to the jeep's s/w).

Only issue I have noticed is my Samsung frequently drops connection to android auto but the carplay works without any hiccups or connection issues. This could be a Samsung thing as I have not verified it with other android devices.

Could be a device specific issue, as I have not faced this issue with my Samsung.

Originally Posted by Wanderers

The carplay MMB is the best wireless carplay dongle at almost the same price. It comes with added benefit of phone mirroring for limited apps including Youtube but excluding Netflix. For Netflix they have have multi-media box which is expensive. On the former you can also play video from usb stick.

All carplay wireless dongle will have some time lag which become a concern on video playback but there are apps to bring in sync. I am told that new software in MMB has sync feature which does well but not completely eliminates the lag.

Whichever dongle you choose, please check the chip which it uses. Most if them use primitive iphone 6 chip and newer ones are based on iphone X and have bigger RAM.

Please watch review of dongle before buying. Carplaylife.com does good review.

After all my research, I decided that wired car play with additional screen for video is good for me. Earlier I had AA based Youtube player but google blocked it and even same is not quite possible in rooted android phone. Best is to try reprogramming the OEM ICE as many of them have done for Ford Sync.

Thats all well and good but then that dongle cannot do Android Auto. Btw, CarTube still works with latest Android Auto version. and No root Needed.

[iskandariya]

Originally Posted by agambhandari

Because as I said, I'm not the only one using the car. And to add to it, How do you use wireless carplay with your solution?

Refer InCar and many such apps

[agambhandari]

Originally Posted by iskandariya

Refer InCar and many such apps

I'm sorry but you need to understand that I don't need Imitation or knockoff Carplay/Android auto, I need the Real deal. The one that uses my iPhone/Android phone and runs its native functions.

Your suggestion just looks like carplay, nothing beyond that.

[iskandariya]

Originally Posted by agambhandari

I'm sorry but you need to understand that I don't need Imitation or knockoff Carplay/Android auto, I need the Real deal. The one that uses my iPhone/Android phone and runs its native functions.

Your suggestion just looks like carplay, nothing beyond that.

There are apps your Wireless Box aslo runs Android do understand.

[gungax]

Originally Posted by iskandariya

Why not simply use an old Android Mobile with AA mirror and other Apps. An extra step Root it ;-) all the functionalities of the Wireless Add on Box without the Cost and it's slim.

Originally Posted by agambhandari

I'm sorry but you need to understand that I don't need Imitation or knockoff Carplay/Android auto, I need the Real deal. The one that uses my iPhone/Android phone and runs its native functions.

Android Auto/ Apple CarPlay have specific functionality keeping in mind what the driver is allowed to do legally and safely. They restrict some functions and open up new voice activated features to ensure the driver's concentration remains on the road and not inside the car.

Using Apple CarPlay you can use voice alone to control maps and music, reply to what's app and emails without taking your hand off the wheel or eyes off the road. (Android Auto has I bit less functionality in my experience)

Android Automative is the safe and legal version of Android as native OS in a car's head unit. It is again designed specifically to ensure minimum distraction to the driver. (Although Volvo's reliability rating has fallen off a cliff due to Android Automotive)

Screen mirroring your phone or using native android/ linux on a car's head unit is a complete grey area legally and definitely not safe if used incorrectly. (e.g. Catching up on your Netflix on the way to the office).
Since I am from the generation in early 2000s that hooked up laptops in cars and connected them to GPS receivers and mobile (GPRS) transceivers to use while driving, I understand the argument in favour of full-blown systems available to a driver.

Coming back to the topic of the thread, making wired AA/ ACP to wireless.
In the car, having the phone connect wirelessly to the head unit provides the convenience of keeping the phone free of wires.
Once my ACP became wireless, my phone is usually roaming around the car between family members who search and play music through the car speakers. My wife can also sit behind with my phone and add stops to an existing google maps route which gets updated on the car's screen.

[moh1t]

Originally Posted by gungax

I have been using Carlinkit 3.0 (CPC200-U2W Plus) for the past 3 months.
Now I can use the wireless charging pad since the Apple CarPlay doesn't require a wired connection to my phone.

I got the same Carlinkit 3.0 (CPC200-U2W Plus) from Amazon US for ~6k. It's a bit of hit-or-miss with my 2021 Harrier. I have re-plug it in a few times before it works. Once it works there is very marginal lag in music but GPS location is a second behind.