[ZOFOURTWENTY]

So while reading an article I came across CarPlay2air dot com and did some digging on this wireless CarPlay dongle. Not sure if it’s legit or not but I pulled the trigger on it and paid $10 to express deliver in 2-3 days. Reviews kinda sketchy but some people in car forums posted videos of it legit working. I have my fingers crossed lol. Will post more once I get it. Anyone heard of it?

[Just_Me_D]

Having had wired CarPlay and now having wireless CarPlay, I don’t really prefer one over the other. Both do the same thing.

[Lee_Bo]

$160 and sketchy reviews? Nope.

Please let us know how it goes when yours comes in.

[ZOFOURTWENTY]

$160 and sketchy reviews? Nope.

Please let us know how it goes when yours comes in.

I will. I’m starting to have buyer’s remorse but sometimes you have to take a leap of faith lol

[Lee_Bo]

I will. I’m starting to have buyer’s remorse but sometimes you have to take a leap of faith lol

Agreed. If you report success I may look into it since the site states the device will work with Alpine. Would be nice to have wireless CarPlay but I wasn’t going to spend another $300-ish for a wireless CP head unit.

[ZOFOURTWENTY]

Agreed. If you report success I may look into it since the site states the device will work with Alpine. Would be nice to have wireless CarPlay but I wasn’t going to spend another $300-ish for a wireless CP head unit.

Agreed. As soon as I get it I’ll post a review here

[Lee_Bo]

Well fudge......Carplay2Air support just replied to my email that their device works with Alpine aftermarket units.

I'm not spending $160.......I'm not spending $160.......I'm not spending $160.......I'm not spending $160.......

[ZOFOURTWENTY]

Well fudge......Carplay2Air support just replied to my email that their device works with Alpine aftermarket units.

I'm not spending $160.......I'm not spending $160.......I'm not spending $160.......I'm not spending $160.......

Well let me tell you how it is first, no sense in both of us getting screwed out of our money if it is a scam lol

[ZOFOURTWENTY]

**UPDATE** I just received an email from CarPlay2air informing me that they were sold out and just received additional stock today and that my order would be processed today. I’ll update further when I get more info

[ZOFOURTWENTY]

smh might just cancel this order

[ZOFOURTWENTY]

After a week on going back and forth and dealing with CarPlay2Air’s crappy customer service. I finally received it. Will post after I use it for a day or two

[ZOFOURTWENTY]

Ok, here are my initial thoughts after using this for a day.

I absolutely love this device. It’s small, compact and unobtrusive. USB cable could be a bit longer if you needed to tuck it away but I’ll enclose a pic of where mine sits and you’ll see it doesn’t take up much space.

The initial connection to my 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan took several tries before it actually connected because of a few steps that need to happen flawlessly in order to establish a connection. FIRST, it has to connect to Bluetooth, after you establish that connection, SECOND, it has to connect to WiFi on your phone. Once this happens CarPlay2Air adds a 2nd car to your CarPlay settings on your iPhone (in the pic below you’ll see VOLKSW-C236 which is the CarPlay2Air device). This is important to know because the settings from your iPhone’s settings won’t transfer over to this connection. You’ll have to go back into CarPlay settings and select the new vehicle then you can arrange (customize) the icons on your CarPlay screen.

After this initial connection CarPlay2Air connects automatically and flawlessly as long as your iPhone is in the car and then the car is started. I didn’t test what would happen if my car was running and then getting in with my iPhone and how it would connect while initiating a manual connection. I’ll leave that later on down the road.

When you start your car you have to wait for CarPlay2Air to connect t your iPhone. This connection is automatic and takes about 15-20 seconds which isn’t all that bad. I’ll try to include a video that shows how this connection works. **don’t mind the popping sound, I took the video with my iPhone SE which I was using to connect to CarPlay with a wired connection and then connect to my 11 Pro via hotspot so not sure why the video has that popping noise**

The UI is fluid and behaves just like a wired CarPlay connection would. The only issue I’ve encountered is that Apple Maps lagged a bit on some side streets so it delayed when I made a turn and then it would catch up. It only happened once so not that big of a deal. I didn’t use Google Maps so I can’t speak about its behavior compared to Apple Maps.

Here are the apps I use regularly so they’re the only ones I used over the last 24 hours, with the exception of Apple Maps lagging a bit I didn’t encounter any issues with the other apps I used.
- phone
- messages
- Apple Maps
- Pandora
- iHeartRadio
- WhatsApp

So the cons:
- Apple Maps lag (I’ve driven on this street many times with my wired CarPlay connection and never noticed that lag so not sure if it’s attributed to CarPlay2Air or my VZW hit a dead spot)
- price tag of $169.00 with expedited shipping. It’s a big cost to switch to wireless but it’s way cheaper than swapping out your head unit for a wireless CarPlay enabled one.
- CarPlay2Air ships from Hong Kong so if you decide to buy do yourself a favor and pay the $10 for expedited shipping it’ll track your package via DHL which is way easier and less stress than dealing with CarPlay2Air customer service because it takes them a full day to answer emails and they don’t address you like a human, just generic responses

Well that’s all I have to share for now. Feel free to ask any questions and I’ll answer the best I can. Thanks for joining me.

**Guess I can’t add a video but will include screenshots of funky connection screen**

[ZOFOURTWENTY]

I forgot to mention that in the reviews it mentions that you lose steering wheel audio controls and they still work in my car so that’s another plus for me.

[Modelflier]

Hi zofourtwenty, just come across your write up of the Carplay2Air wireless Carplay adaptor, and thought I’d let you guys know that I recently purchased a similar (very) unit from AliExpress in China called the CarLinkit wireless Carplay Adaptor for use in my 2017 VW Tiguan.

It is so similar, even down to the same setup menus and an identical IP address for the firmware updates, that I believe they are in fact the same unit with a different name.

I’m in the U.K. and mine cost £105 (roughly $132 US). I too have had great success with the unit which works exactly like having the phone plugged in, and I have also found, as you did, that the steering wheel controls also work. I tend to use either Google maps or Waze, and I’ve not noticed any lag, and both work fine, but I’ve not tested it with Apple maps.

Like you I’m very happy with my purchase, and would highly recommend it for VW owners. Obviously I have no idea how it would perform with other makes of car.

[ZOFOURTWENTY]

I researched Carlinkit but they told me as long as I have an android head unit I can use it but I never really understood what that meant or how I would be able to verify. I was waiting for carlinkit to come back in stock on Amazon in case I had any issues I could just return it.

I’m glad you’ve found similar success to me.

[Modelflier]

Strange they should say that, as the one I purchased states that it’s specifically for VW head units from 2016 onwards.

[Lee_Bo]

Great review.

Look what I got.

[ZOFOURTWENTY]

Great review.

Look what I got.

[IMG=576x1024]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200224/2666c6a4a88802a85d0ea6e5185927cd.jpg[/url]

Hell yeah!! Let’s hope it works just as good for you. Let us know. Interested to see if it works just as good in aftermarket units

[Lee_Bo]

Hell yeah!! Let’s hope it works just as good for you. Let us know. Interested to see if it works just as good in aftermarket units

Well, strike one already.

After contacting support weeks ago and asking if the device works with aftermarket Alpine units and being told yes, I connected the device to the USB port and got nothing on the Alpine screen. I am getting a red led light on the USB connection on the end of the box, and if I connect a Lightning cable to it and connect to my phone, my phone starts charging, so it appears the device is powering on, but my Alpine (iLX-W650) is not seeing it. Alpine has the latest firmware. Sent in a support email with all this information and awaiting reply.

[ZOFOURTWENTY]

Dam dude. They lied about compatibility smh. Their customer service is the worst

[Lee_Bo]

Heh, so look what's been added to their website SINCE I bought mine:



Love the "Vehicles must come equipped with factory CarPlay" line that's been added. That wasn't there 2 weeks ago.

No worries, though, as my wife has a 2019 CRV that has factory CP in it so she'll be able to use it.

[ZOFOURTWENTY]

Heh, so look what's been added to their website SINCE I bought mine:



Love the "Vehicles must come equipped with factory CarPlay" line that's been added. That wasn't there 2 weeks ago.

No worries, though, as my wife has a 2019 CRV that has factory CP in it so she'll be able to use it.

What a sham. Sorry they did you like that. Hopefully it works better in the CRV.

[ZOFOURTWENTY]

Well, strike one already.

After contacting support weeks ago and asking if the device works with aftermarket Alpine units and being told yes, I connected the device to the USB port and got nothing on the Alpine screen. I am getting a red led light on the USB connection on the end of the box, and if I connect a Lightning cable to it and connect to my phone, my phone starts charging, so it appears the device is powering on, but my Alpine (iLX-W650) is not seeing it. Alpine has the latest firmware. Sent in a support email with all this information and awaiting reply.

[IMG=1024x576]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200224/65d53dc74ee1b981c816d6e712a4be7d.jpg[/url]

For what it’s worth I also get a red light while connected

[Lee_Bo]

What a sham. Sorry they did you like that. Hopefully it works better in the CRV.

Well, I can't really call it a "sham" or say "they did me like that". I went to a few other sites (Alpine directly) and they even show the device as an option but says "Does not work on all models". No worries. I have no doubt the wife will use it, seeing as everytime she gets in her car she connects the cable to use CarPlay.

[Lee_Bo]

Ok, NOW it’s a sham. Support just told me that in order for this to work, the iPhone cannot have any other Bluetooth connections, including Apple Watch. Well I’m not unpairing my watch just to be able to use CarPlay wirelessly, so I’ve now requested a full refund. What a waste of time.