Bluetooth + Android Auto / CarPlay

[jazzdab]

I recently accompanied a friend during his purchase of a new Ford Maverick pickup and the salesman wanted to pair his phone with Bluetooth. My friend has an iPhone and planned to use CarPlay so I told him to just use the cable. The salesman didn't seem to understand that Bluetooth was not needed. This made me wonder how many folks use Bluetooth with CarPlay or Android Auto. Personally, I've never found any reason to pair my iPhone to a vehicle offering CarPlay. And it certainly makes using my phone in a borrowed or rented car far easier.

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[Monkey]

Best to still pair the phone via bluetooth. That way, you have phone functionality without plugging in and other features still available. I rarely take my phone out of my pocket and then I still have my phone and music running through the car. Wireless CarPlay/ AA would be best, but OTOH it's a huge battery drain when you run it wirelessly and Bronco Sport (Sync 3) doesn't offer wireless CP/AA.

I'll plug in and use CarPlay if I specifically want to use something like WAZE or we're on a longer drive and we want better control over music.

When I travel and rent a car, Carplay is the best. No pairing or deciding how reliable the navigation is in some car I've never driven before. Just plug in and go.

 

[MJE]

For me I’ve used CarPlay once, maybe twice as a backup to the vehicle’s nav system, until I found out when it loses gps signal how to give it a reboot. It’s not actually a bad system, I can see it being really useful if you didn’t have onboard nav. I can see too how easy it would be doing map searches in one step. Now, at least for something obscure, I have to google the address of a place then enter it on the vehicle nav. Still though, I’m Bluetooth only just for the texts. I’m not even sure I’ve tried a playlist from Music on Bluetooth, just use Sirius.

 

[Mark S.]

I recently accompanied a friend during his purchase of a new Ford Maverick pickup and the salesman wanted to pair his phone with Bluetooth. My friend has an iPhone and planned to use CarPlay so I told him to just use the cable. The salesman didn't seem to understand that Bluetooth was not needed. This made me wonder how many folks use Bluetooth with CarPlay or Android Auto. Personally, I've never found any reason to pair my iPhone to a vehicle offering CarPlay. And it certainly makes using my phone in a borrowed or rented car far easier.

I believe if you check your phone after you've connected it with the cable you will find it is also paired via Bluetooth. I'm fairly certain that the system pairs via bluetooth automatically after you plug in the cable.

 

[jason202]

Are there any issues with connecting a phone via USB if you're already connected via Bluetooth? Our old Mustang had a first-gen Sync system and it would sometimes get confused if it was connected to both USB and Bluetooth. I had some weird issues in a rental Chevy Malibu recently as well, where wireless CarPlay wouldn't work right while the phone was also connected via Bluetooth.

 

[cprcubed]

Are there any issues with connecting a phone via USB if you're already connected via Bluetooth? Our old Mustang had a first-gen Sync system and it would sometimes get confused if it was connected to both USB and Bluetooth. I had some weird issues in a rental Chevy Malibu recently as well, where wireless CarPlay wouldn't work right while the phone was also connected via Bluetooth.

I haven't seen any issues yet. Cheers!

 

[nrussell]

Sorry I'm late to the party here, new BS owner...while tinkering with with a few things, setting up my phone and all that good stuff, I was a little surprised to learn that my '21 model does not support wireless Apple CarPlay. Or if it does, I can't figure it out. It only seems to work when my phone is plugged into the usb port. Am I missing something here? My wife can fire hers up in her CR-V with no wires needed, and I was driving a loaner vehicle for a while that was the same way. I know the bluetooth audio is an option but I really like the Apple CarPlay interface. Please let me know if I'm missing something or if there are any alternatives to making this work without having a usb cable dangling throughout the cabin.

 

[Dude]

All Bronco Sports have SYNC3 with no built in wireless for CarPlay or Android Auto. For wireless CarPlay you have to buy a device such as this one:

Eleacc 5.0 Wireless CarPlay Adapter 2023 Newest 5G Chip Box for iPhone, Fastest Apple Car Play Dongle for All Factory Wired CarPlay Cars, Auto Connect No Delay Online Update, USB/Type C 2Cables, U2-Pr https://a.co/d/h942mMN

 

[nrussell]

All Bronco Sports have SYNC3 with no built in wireless for CarPlay or Android Auto. For wireless CarPlay you have to buy a device such as this one:

Eleacc 5.0 Wireless CarPlay Adapter 2023 Newest 5G Chip Box for iPhone, Fastest Apple Car Play Dongle for All Factory Wired CarPlay Cars, Auto Connect No Delay Online Update, USB/Type C 2Cables, U2-Pr https://a.co/d/h942mMN

Bummer, thank you for the info. Do you or anyone else have one of these, and if so do they work well?

 

[Barry S.]

For $90, I think I'll stick with plugging it in.

 

[Dude]

Bummer, thank you for the info. Do you or anyone else have one of these, and if so do they work well?

There are about a half dozen products that work with iPhones/CarPlay including the link I sent you and I have seen posts from a dozen or more people that use one of the products and all seemed to like them. Also check reviews of the products on Amazon.

The most common complaints include (1) needing to obtain a certified cable (I recommend plugging the adaptor into the USB-C port with a high quality cable if the product doesn’t include one), (2) there is a short delay after you start the vehicle before the iPhone connects to the adaptor, (3) sometimes while driving CarPlay drops out and the adaptor has to be unplugged and plugged back in but I think mostly that is caused by lack of a high quality cable.

I prefer to charge my iPhone while the iPhone is plugged in via the USB-C port so I do not have one of the wireless adaptors. And I don’t use the 5W built in charging pad provided with the bronco sport because a 5W charging pad is not enough power to charge my iPhone in a reasonable amount of time.

 

[nrussell]

There are about a half dozen products that work with iPhones/CarPlay including the link I sent you and I have seen posts from a dozen or more people that use one of the products and all seemed to like them. Also check reviews of the products on Amazon.

The most common complaints include (1) needing to obtain a certified cable (I recommend plugging the adaptor into the USB-C port with a high quality cable if the product doesn’t include one), (2) there is a short delay after you start the vehicle before the iPhone connects to the adaptor, (3) sometimes while driving CarPlay drops out and the adaptor has to be unplugged and plugged back in but I think mostly that is caused by lack of a high quality cable.

I prefer to charge my iPhone while the iPhone is plugged in via the USB-C port so I do not have one of the wireless adaptors. And I don’t use the 5W built in charging pad provided with the bronco sport because a 5W charging pad is not enough power to charge my iPhone in a reasonable amount of time.

Gotcha. That all makes sense, thanks for the response. I may look for the shortest cord I can find and opt to do the same to ensure my phone battery isn’t drained while using. That would definitely be the better option if you’re in the car for an extended period of time.

 

[Omar A]

This Kit can convert wired carplay to wireless carplay or wireless Android Auto.

https://autokitcarplay.com/blogs/autokit-blogs/product-u2w-plus

 

[Bucko]

I see us using CarPlay (was already optioned in). The reason is with the cable, my wife can also lay the iphone on the charging platform while plugged in. I would guess that bluetooth will eat up some of the iphone battery perhaps, so she leaves that turned off.

 

[coopny]

This has been mentioned in other threads, but the Carlinkit devices often work well for Carplay, albeit with some configuration required and some audio device delays of around a second.

I do not generally recommend Android Auto aftermarket wireless adapters other than the Motorola MA1. I haven't seen a third party adapter for wireless Android Auto beyond that specific one that isn't acting as a weird translation layer where it's acting as wired Carplay to the car and wireless AndroidAuto to the smartphone. It results in weird sizing of apps due to resolution issues and an overall subpar/buggier experience. This Applies to the Carlinkit 4.0 and others.

The only scenario in which I'd recommend an adapter like the Carlinkit 4.0 that emulates Carplay to the radio for Android Auto purposes is if your stereo supports wired Carplay, but doesn't support Android Auto at all (like my brother, who has a Pioneer Appradio 4 that has Carplay support but no AA support). That doesn't apply to the BS as it supports wired Carplay - go for the Motorola MA1 instead. $100 list, usually on sale for $90, sometimes goes on sale for $70.

Answering the original question of the thread - bluetooth + Carplay. Carplay 99.9999% of the time, bluetooth as a fallback if Carplay doesn't initialize for some reason.

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