I've read that the steering wheel controls for audio don't work with the dongle, perhaps on older firmware. Do the steering wheel audio controls work when connected through the dongle? How about the voice command button that calls up Siri (when in wired carplay)?
Wireless Carplay adapters
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I've read that the steering wheel controls for audio don't work with the dongle, perhaps on older firmware. Do the steering wheel audio controls work when connected through the dongle? How about the voice command button that calls up Siri (when in wired carplay)?
Their website FAQ states that you can pair two different phones to connect to it. It says if you have both phones in the car at the same time it will connect to the last paired phone. Sounds like this would be perfect for my wife and me.
Siri via the steering wheel button works just as before the dongle. I've been using that all week. I just tested the steering wheel audio controls, and they also work as expected. The volume adjusts properly, left and right to change tracks, up and down to change source.
Thanks!! That’s awesome that it doesn’t need the Honda hack. I was nervous about messing with anything in case Honda tried to void my warranty. I’m tempted to give it a shot... now that I have have a IPhone 11 the battery life is so good I don’t find i need to charge it as much. Do you find the wifi carplay drains your battery more significantly. For longer trips I’d probably still plug in... but for my daily commute it would be nice to not have to take my phone from my pocket.
One question... when you say firmware update... do you mean on the carplay2air dongle itself? Or in the Honda headunit?
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I'm sure it drains some, but it seems not significantly. I have an iPhone X and for my daily commute (30-40 minutes each way) and errands, I leave it in my pocket. Doing this, I haven't noticed any more drain on my battery than typical. I still end the day with 30-40% battery without recharging during the day. I haven't done any extended trips with it yet.
The firmware update was for the dongle itself. Nothing was done with the Honda headunit.
My carplay2air just shipped and I'm looking forward to trying it. However, I just noticed they have another adapter that's $50 cheaper. It's also for wireless CarPlay on iOS, but says it's for Android head units. The device I ordered is for factory CarPlay units. Since the Honda factory unit is Android based, I'm confused on the difference between the two. Any thoughts?
My understanding (based on reading other forums) is that the one for Android head units requires you to "Honda Hack" the infotainment unit and upload something, and then it "might" work (I have no experience with this one). The one for factory CarPlay units is designed to be plug-and-play.
Just tried carplay3air on my Clarity- my iphone clearly links to CarPlay as the green light on CarPlay comes on when I enter the car, but when I try to use CarPlay the screen is blank and stays that way. Anybody experience this? When I check my iPhone bluetooth it shows it is connected to carplay3air but it does say make sure the device is on. Any ideas or who to contact for support?
I have the same dongle. I believe bluetooth is supposed to disconnect after the first pairing. The system works with a wifi connection between the dongle and the phone.
I have gotten the blank carpley screen a number of times after starting the car and carplay shown as connected on the home screen. Sometimes it solves itself by switching between the home screen audio and carplay but a couple times I had to quickly unplug and plug back in the dongle and it connected ok. Fortunately it works as intended most of the time. I've seen others mention the same problem in the reviews on the car2play site so maybe it's something that can be addressed with a firmware update.
GeneInOhio
New Member
I ordered this dongle on Jan 22nd. Didn’t use expedited shipping - big mistake. How long did it take everyone to get their order. Customer support (Julie) is of no help.
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I made the same mistake on Feb. 9. I shouldn't expect to get it anytime soon. Thanks for your sharing...
GeneInOhio
New Member
Finally received my carplay2air dongle.
I’m guessing that by this point the firmware is pretty solid because the installation was a breeze. I plugged it into my Clarity and was immediately presented with the ‘adding a new CarPlay device’ screen. I was asked to pair my iPhone (11 IOS 13.3.1) via Bluetooth and it just worked. Total time about a minute and no instruction manual needed.
With carplay2air over the last two days, my phone has connected is less than 10 seconds and has worked every time. If I’m at home and still connected to my home wifi there is a delay until I move away from the house. Seems like there should be a way to prioritize which wifi signal to use first in IOS but there isn't. May try using 2.4g at home instead of 5g and see what happens.
I the past, with a wire, I had been having about a 50% success connection rate with my non-apple cable ( I wanted a black cable in my black/black car to hide it a bit). So far with this device, I can leave my phone in my pocket. This is much less of a bother than constantly plugging and unplugging my ‘black’ cable into my iPhone.
Yes its a bit pricey and shipping can be a headache (took about a month) but I am pleased.
I’m guessing that by this point the firmware is pretty solid because the installation was a breeze. I plugged it into my Clarity and was immediately presented with the ‘adding a new CarPlay device’ screen. I was asked to pair my iPhone (11 IOS 13.3.1) via Bluetooth and it just worked. Total time about a minute and no instruction manual needed.
With carplay2air over the last two days, my phone has connected is less than 10 seconds and has worked every time. If I’m at home and still connected to my home wifi there is a delay until I move away from the house. Seems like there should be a way to prioritize which wifi signal to use first in IOS but there isn't. May try using 2.4g at home instead of 5g and see what happens.
I the past, with a wire, I had been having about a 50% success connection rate with my non-apple cable ( I wanted a black cable in my black/black car to hide it a bit). So far with this device, I can leave my phone in my pocket. This is much less of a bother than constantly plugging and unplugging my ‘black’ cable into my iPhone.
Yes its a bit pricey and shipping can be a headache (took about a month) but I am pleased.
GeneInOhio
New Member
Update:
With carplay2air over the last week, my phone has connected in about 10 seconds and has worked almost every time once I understood a quirk with the Clarity infotainment system. Basically if one of the cars cameras displays on the Honda screen, the screen goes blank when the camera turns off and carplay2air is connecting so you have no idea whats going on. Solution, wait for carplay2air to connect before using the right turn signal or going into reverse.
With carplay2air over the last week, my phone has connected in about 10 seconds and has worked almost every time once I understood a quirk with the Clarity infotainment system. Basically if one of the cars cameras displays on the Honda screen, the screen goes blank when the camera turns off and carplay2air is connecting so you have no idea whats going on. Solution, wait for carplay2air to connect before using the right turn signal or going into reverse.
I got mine yesterday after a 17-day waiting. It's good. It actually connects to the adaptor through wi-fi, which is interesting. I think there is a reason for this approach, to work around something, to save battery life or just for the firmware update, I'm not sure. I'm good as long as it can still use my cellphone data to connnect to the Internet.
Arctiic
Member
You mean Wifi Direct? Primarily, the advantages for it are 1) more interoperability between device manufacturers and models, and 2) easier and quicker setup process on the end-user's side. I've never confirmed, but I suspect it's file transfer speeds are quicker as well.
GeneInOhio
New Member
Anyone having trouble after upgrading IOS to 13.4.1 with the carplay2air randomly disconnecting - like the device was unplugged from the USB port? It happened two consecutive days so I rolled back to 13.4 and have not seen the problem since. But keep in mind I'm not in my car nearly as much these days so the sample size is low.