Has anyone else had a problem with CarPlay constantly disconnecting?

Soulrise

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Has anyone else had a problem with CarPlay constantly disconnecting that they've been able to solve?

I'm running iOS 9.3.4 on a iPhone 6 Plus. The head unit is the stock unit that comes with the 2016 Honda Civic EX-L.

It appears to disconnect randomly and with no discernible pattern. Whenever it disconnects if I unplug my phone and plug it back it works fine.

I'm using a first party Apple Lightning chord but I don't think the problem is with the chord because even when the touch screen says that the device has been disconnected the song or podcast that I'm listening to still plays over the speakers. If the chord was faulty and the phone was truly disconnected I would think the audio would stop when the display disconnected.

I read somewhere that unpairing Bluetooth might help with the theory being the car disconnects CarPlay in an attempt to pair with the phone over Bluetooth. I had the phone forget my car in Bluetooth settings but that has done nothing to help with the disconnects.

I took my car to the dealer to verify that the latest firmware version for the infotainment system was installed.

I also read that some users have had CarPlay disconnect issues when their phone had a certain type of VPN software installed but I do not use that software.

At this point I can't seem to find any other possible solutions on the internet. If anyone has been able to fix this problem with a solution I haven't tried I'd love to hear it. Otherwise I'm resigned to waiting for iOS 10 and hoping that it works. It's really frustrating because I love the functionality of CarPlay when it works, but when it disconnects it's really inconvenient, especially if I'm driving and unable to safely unplug and plug back in when I'm on the freeway or something.
 

taeisme

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Re: CarPlay Keeps Disconnecting

Has anyone else had a problem with CarPlay constantly disconnecting that they've been able to solve?

I'm running iOS 9.3.4 on a iPhone 6 Plus. The head unit is the stock unit that comes with the 2016 Honda Civic EX-L.

It appears to disconnect randomly and with no discernible pattern. Whenever it disconnects if I unplug my phone and plug it back it works fine.

I'm using a first party Apple Lightning chord but I don't think the problem is with the chord because even when the touch screen says that the device has been disconnected the song or podcast that I'm listening to still plays over the speakers. If the chord was faulty and the phone was truly disconnected I would think the audio would stop when the display disconnected.

I read somewhere that unpairing Bluetooth might help with the theory being the car disconnects CarPlay in an attempt to pair with the phone over Bluetooth. I had the phone forget my car in Bluetooth settings but that has done nothing to help with the disconnects.

I took my car to the dealer to verify that the latest firmware version for the infotainment system was installed.

I also read that some users have had CarPlay disconnect issues when their phone had a certain type of VPN software installed but I do not use that software.

At this point I can't seem to find any other possible solutions on the internet. If anyone has been able to fix this problem with a solution I haven't tried I'd love to hear it. Otherwise I'm resigned to waiting for iOS 10 and hoping that it works. It's really frustrating because I love the functionality of CarPlay when it works, but when it disconnects it's really inconvenient, especially if I'm driving and unable to safely unplug and plug back in when I'm on the freeway or something.

Random question but do you have another iPhone to pair it with to see if it's your phone that's that problem?
 

Jeroen7

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Re: CarPlay Keeps Disconnecting

Hi Soulrise,

I have the same issue, but then with Mini Connect. It also randomly disconnects after a few miles and then after a few mins automatically connects again if i unlock my phone again. I have it connected with the lightning-usb cable and also bluetooth.
I tried having my phone always on (so put the autolock off) but that didn't help either.


There is however an 'official' mini y-cable that seems to have resistor in it. I'm not sure if the disconnects are caused by fluctuations in the usb port because it also charges your phone.

Ofcourse things work differently with carplay, but the disconnects could be just electrical.
 

Soulrise

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Re: CarPlay Keeps Disconnecting

Hi Soulrise,

I have the same issue, but then with Mini Connect. It also randomly disconnects after a few miles and then after a few mins automatically connects again if i unlock my phone again. I have it connected with the lightning-usb cable and also bluetooth.
I tried having my phone always on (so put the autolock off) but that didn't help either.


There is however an 'official' mini y-cable that seems to have resistor in it. I'm not sure if the disconnects are caused by fluctuations in the usb port because it also charges your phone.

Ofcourse things work differently with carplay, but the disconnects could be just electrical.

I hope they're not electrical because if they are that would mean I'd have little chance of fixing it >.<
 

bobsgolf

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Re: CarPlay Keeps Disconnecting

I don't drive a new civic
But something I have experienced with different makes of cars
Bluetooth phone works as per design
Hard wire connection I pod / iPhone works ok
If you use Bluetooth to play music etc and plug the phone into to the iPod dock it automatically cuts out the music
This is because the system is giving priority to the iPod dock

Worth a try because it sounds like you are using Bluetooth to play music and connecting the phone via a iPod dock

Try using a cable only and see if it works , not using Bluetooth
 

Soulrise

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Re: CarPlay Keeps Disconnecting

I don't drive a new civic
But something I have experienced with different makes of cars
Bluetooth phone works as per design
Hard wire connection I pod / iPhone works ok
If you use Bluetooth to play music etc and plug the phone into to the iPod dock it automatically cuts out the music
This is because the system is giving priority to the iPod dock

Worth a try because it sounds like you are using Bluetooth to play music and connecting the phone via a iPod dock

Try using a cable only and see if it works , not using Bluetooth

I only use a cable, my phone's Bluetooth does not pair with my car at all.

I would also suggest using a genuine cable

I use a genuine first party Apple Lightning cable.
 

Mikey2919

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Re: CarPlay Keeps Disconnecting

i have a 2016 VW and had the same problem using a lightning cable.. i switched to the apple wire and i havent had a problem since..
 

kedwards1217

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Re: CarPlay Keeps Disconnecting

I had this issue also but it was on a Kenwood receiver that I had installed in my 2014 Honda CR-V. Kenwood did a firmware update and once I installed the update it seems to have resolved the problem. You might check with Honda to see if they have done any updates to their unit. I also have an issue with a lot of "white noise" when my phone is connected to the unit but I think that might be an installation issue.
 

ecr80

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Re: CarPlay Keeps Disconnecting

Hey, I'm having this issues as well, but I thought it was related to iOS 10. But then I remembered I installed a VPN client after that. Also Have a Civic EX. I'm on an iPhone SE while I wait for my i7Plus to arrive.
 

PeteLP

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Re: CarPlay Keeps Disconnecting

I only use a cable, my phone's Bluetooth does not pair with my car at all.

I use a genuine first party Apple Lightning cable.

I would first spend some more time to try and get bluetooth working. I've read on an apple developer site that Apple uses bluetooth to initiate the wired CarPlay authentication and setup

Many folks have some problems getting bluetooth paired with their car, and a bit of trial and error can make all of the difference.

You might try the following

- go into your phone's bluetooth screen first
- initiate the bluetooth process in your car,
- wait a bit watching the phones bluetooth screen,
- if nothing has happened, but while the car is still searching,
- go out of the phones bluetooth screen (by hitting the"settings" button on the top left), then
- go back into bluetooth in the phone.

Every car is different in this respect.
 
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Soulrise

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Re: CarPlay Keeps Disconnecting

Update: with iOS 10 my disconnection rate got even worse. In fact it got so bad I had to switch to Bluetooth. I also finally started testing CarPlay with my girlfriend's phone. It works perfectly with no disconnects. She has a 6S Plus, I just have a 6Plus. I have a 7 Plus on order but it will be awhile before it's delivered. Anyone know if there's any way to fix this since the problem appears to be isolated to my phone?

I had this issue also but it was on a Kenwood receiver that I had installed in my 2014 Honda CR-V. Kenwood did a firmware update and once I installed the update it seems to have resolved the problem. You might check with Honda to see if they have done any updates to their unit. I also have an issue with a lot of "white noise" when my phone is connected to the unit but I think that might be an installation issue.

Yeah, I took my car in to the dealer and had them check my firmware, I have the latest release installed.

Hey, I'm having this issues as well, but I thought it was related to iOS 10. But then I remembered I installed a VPN client after that. Also Have a Civic EX. I'm on an iPhone SE while I wait for my i7Plus to arrive.

I've seen that as a common problem but I don't have any VPN clients installed on my phone at all. Hope that worked for you!

I would first spend some more time to try and get bluetooth working. I've read on an apple developer site that Apple uses bluetooth to initiate the wired CarPlay authentication and setup

Bluetooth has always worked and paired fine with my phone. I disabled Bluetooth for awhile because I read a theory that Bluetooth was what might be causing the disconnects but after seeing no noticeable difference in disconnect rate with my phone unpaired I went ahead and re-paired it, that way when CarPlay disconnects in the middle of a phone call it can automatically switch to Bluetooth. And now that disconnections seem even worse with iOS 10 I've given up on using CarPlay for now. As I said earlier in this post I think the problem's been isolated to my phone (6 Plus) as my girlfriend's phone (6S Plus) has no problems with disconnection at all. I'll eventually get my 7 Plus but in the meantime I'm a bit frustrated with my current set up and inability to find a solution.
 

oo100

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Re: CarPlay Keeps Disconnecting

I have the exact same problem as you. I have a 6 plus with a VW with carplay. Randomly, mostly while I'm on the freeway, my carplay disconnects. I suspect it is when the iPhone is doing a lot of things (or trying to do a lot of things) and it just gives up/overloads the connection and the connection to the car terminates. Not sure if it's a car limitation or an iPhone 6 limitation, or a little bit of both. I've used three different wires, haven't tried others phones, nor have I tried the OG apple wire, but will try the latter very soon and see if that works.

Also iOS 10 did not help it in anyway, if anything, they made it worse.
 
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Highrisedrifter

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Re: CarPlay Keeps Disconnecting

I have a 2016 Civic EX-L too and the issue I get is that when I plug my iPhone 6 into my car using an official Apple cable, It isn't recognised and I have to unplug it and plug it back in again. It's pretty much always recognised on the second attempt though (barring a couple of times).

I've not had the issue where it disconnects though. This only started happening on iOS 10. I never had any issues with iOS 9 at all. None.
 

Soulrise

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Re: CarPlay Keeps Disconnecting

I have the exact same problem as you. I have a 6 plus with a VW with carplay. Randomly, mostly while I'm on the freeway, my carplay disconnects. I suspect it is when the iPhone is doing a lot of things (or trying to do a lot of things) and it just gives up/overloads the connection and the connection to the car terminates. Not sure if it's a car limitation or an iPhone 6 limitation, or a little bit of both. I've used three different wires, haven't tried others phones, nor have I tried the OG apple wire, but will try the latter very soon and see if that works.

Also iOS 10 did not help it in anyway, if anything, they made it worse.

If you have access to a iPhone 6S/Plus or 7/Plus see if you still have the issue. I'm convinced the issue is with my 6 Plus after using my girlfriend's 6S Plus extensively with zero disconnects.

I have a 2016 Civic EX-L too and the issue I get is that when I plug my iPhone 6 into my car using an official Apple cable, It isn't recognised and I have to unplug it and plug it back in again. It's pretty much always recognised on the second attempt though (barring a couple of times).

I've not had the issue where it disconnects though. This only started happening on iOS 10. I never had any issues with iOS 9 at all. None.

The "not recognized" issue has happened to me once or twice but never regularly. As far as the disconnects go it's interesting that you also have a 6 and not a 6S or 7...
 

ecr80

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Re: CarPlay Keeps Disconnecting

I have a 2016 Civic EX-L too and the issue I get is that when I plug my iPhone 6 into my car using an official Apple cable, It isn't recognised and I have to unplug it and plug it back in again. It's pretty much always recognised on the second attempt though (barring a couple of times).

I've not had the issue where it disconnects though. This only started happening on iOS 10. I never had any issues with iOS 9 at all. None.

I have the same car. Been having the disconnects stated in this thread pretty much after updating to iOS 10 on my old phone then it continued on my 7 Plus.
 

earthpilot

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Re: CarPlay Keeps Disconnecting

Didn't have a disconnect yesterday but Maps would display that I was in New Zealand when I was in lower Delaware. Fun stuff.
 

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