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Q: CarPlay voice audio quality when connected via USB is poor vs. Bluetooth on Pioneer AVH-4200NEX

Hi!

 

   I recently installed a Pioneer AVH-4200NEX unit, as I was super excited to enhance my car with CarPlay support, and everything is working great except for one thing.  When I connect my iPhone (6S+) to the unit via USB cable and make a standard phone call, the audio quality is very poor -- tinny, metallic-sounding, and very undersampled, compared to using Bluetooth via the Pioneer unit to make the exact same phone call (I'm on LTE, using HD Voice, though the quality differential is quite noticeable on non-HD calls and on 4G calls).  I've searched for an answer to this issue, but the best I can find it mention of the limited bandwidth of USB and trying to juggle that bandwidth for the rest of the CarPlay experience, though I don't buy that because playing audio via the USB-connected iPhone is just as crystal clear as it is via Bluetooth.  So my question is:  (a) How can I submit an Apple bug report regarding this behavior and (b) Have any other CarPlay users besides be experienced this issue on a Pioneer NEX unit (AppRadio included) of recent vintage?  It would be great if this is a Pioneer bug for which they can release a firmware update, I'm just worried that this is a CarPlay-specified codec issue, hence non-fixable.

 

Thanks!

--Seth

iPhone 6s Plus, iOS 9.3.2

Posted on Jun 13, 2016 12:57 PM

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Q: CarPlay voice audio quality when connected via USB is poor vs. Bluetooth on Pioneer AVH-4200NEX

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  • Helpful answers

  • by chris_g1,

    chris_g1 chris_g1 Jun 14, 2016 9:20 AM in response to servie
    Community Specialists
    Jun 14, 2016 9:20 AM in response to servie

    Hello Servie,

     

    Thank you for using Apple Support Communities. 

     

    I understand that when you use the USB cable for your iPhone in your car with CarPlay the audio is poor. I know how important it is for you to hear your calls clearly. In a situation like this I recommend the steps in the following article to help resolve the issue.

     

    Set up CarPlay to use with your iPhone

     

    Specifically the Get Help section:

     

    Get help

    If CarPlay doesn't work like you expect, here’s what you can check. After each step, try using CarPlay again.

    1. Make sure that Siri is turned on.
    2. Restart your iPhone and your car. Depending on your car, you might see the CarPlay Home screen when you turn it on. If you don't, look for the CarPlay logo on your car’s display.
    3. If possible, connect your iPhone to a different USB port in your car.
    4. Try a different Lightning to USB cable. Make sure the cable is certified.
    5. Update to the latest version of iOS.
    6. Check your car’s manual for help. You might need to install firmware updates for your stereo.

     

    Cheers

  • by servie,

    servie servie Jun 14, 2016 6:12 PM in response to chris_g1
    Level 1 (7 points)
    iPhone
    Jun 14, 2016 6:12 PM in response to chris_g1

    Thanks very much for so rapidly replying to my post.

     

    Unfortunately, none of those suggestions resolved my issue.   Do you know what the specifications are for sample-rate for the voice call portion of CarPlay-over-USB?  I think that would be a good place to start.  if the spec states that the sampling rate CAN rise to the level of Bluetooth HFP, but can also scale down based on bandwidth, that's something I can approach Pioneer with so they can investigate if it's a firmware issue on their end.  However, if the sample rate is fixed as defined by CarPlay, then I'd be out of luck, at least until CarPlay is revised.

     

    Thanks,

    --S

  • by eimoaotl,

    eimoaotl eimoaotl Jul 7, 2016 11:56 AM in response to servie
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jul 7, 2016 11:56 AM in response to servie

    I have a 2016 Honda Accord with CarPlay and have the exact same problem. Everything including music sounds great, but audio quality on phone calls is terrible compared to Bluetooth. I had thought it was a problem with my unit on my car, but it looks like it is an Apple issue. Hopefully it will improve with ios 10. it makes CarPlay unusable to me, which I otherwise like.

  • by gpagni,

    gpagni gpagni Jul 30, 2016 2:21 AM in response to servie
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iPhone
    Jul 30, 2016 2:21 AM in response to servie

    I Have the very same problem here. I got a brand new Pioneer AVIC F88 DAB especially for the Carplay capability. Unfortunately the call quality is so poor I had to disable Carplay and I'm now quite frustrated. I hope Apple can fix this glitch or tell us how to fix it.

  • by gpagni,

    gpagni gpagni Aug 6, 2016 6:17 AM in response to servie
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iPhone
    Aug 6, 2016 6:17 AM in response to servie

    I was using an official Apple cable from my iPhone. I changed it to a shorter (50cm) MiFi certified cable and this seems to have fixed the issue. The audio quality is now even better than the Pioneer Bluetooth. I'm not sure how long this will last but I'm glad it worked! Even though the official cable was almost new it might have been worn off enough so that the newer one worked better. Or a shorter cable allows for better communication between the devices...

    hope this helps! (The cable I got is the delayCON and I got it from Amazon)

  • by Mcfree65,

    Mcfree65 Mcfree65 Aug 11, 2016 7:59 AM in response to gpagni
    Level 1 (8 points)
    iPhone
    Aug 11, 2016 7:59 AM in response to gpagni

    Recently installed Kenwood DDX6702S in vehicle. I am having quite a different experience with carplay. The audio quality via usb cable is poor. I get much better quality and clarity via bluetooth connection.  Using usb lightning cable that came with phone and shorter cable from Anker. Neither have worked well as far as music quality. Apple Carplay works fine as far as making calls, receiving and replying to text msgs, etc. Seems odd that a bluetooth connection would out perform a direct cable connection for music data transfer.  Any input?

  • by eimoaotl,

    eimoaotl eimoaotl Aug 21, 2016 10:41 AM in response to gpagni
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Aug 21, 2016 10:41 AM in response to gpagni

    Thanks for the input.  I have bought a few cables now, all certified, with shortest length being a 1 foot cord.  Unfortunately none of them have helped.  Hopefully it will improve for me with iOS 10 and perhaps with getting the newest iPhone coming out next month (I'm currently using iPhone Plus S).  Frustrating.  Whenever I am going to place a call I now just disconnect my lightning cord and use Bluetooth, then plug it in when I am done with the call.  Bluetooth call quality is vastly superior.

  • by seejayem,

    seejayem seejayem Sep 19, 2016 6:58 AM in response to servie
    Level 1 (8 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 19, 2016 6:58 AM in response to servie

    I have a 2016 Honda Accord and have this same problem as well.  I had it with my iPhone 6s running IOS 9, and unfortunately this problem still exists with my new iPhone 7 running IOS 10. The sound quality for music and Siri is great, but phone call quality is still terrible with iPhone 7 and IOS 10.  It's very tinny and under-sampled sounding as previously described.

     

    Along with another problem I have where calling contacts with a pause and extension number included don't connect to the extension, I've been forced to having to disconnect the Lighting cable, wait for the phone to connect to the car's Bluetooth, then make the call on Bluetooth.  Then the sound quality is excellent and the phone dials and connects to extensions properly.

     

    Hopefully Apple will address these issues soon.  Disconnecting the phone to use Bluetooth to make phone calls defeats the whole purpose of having CarPlay in the first place.

  • by seejayem,

    seejayem seejayem Sep 19, 2016 9:17 AM in response to seejayem
    Level 1 (8 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 19, 2016 9:17 AM in response to seejayem

    I took advantage of my 90 days of iPhone 7 support and logged cases with Apple for this call sound quality issue, as well as my phone extensions issue. They passed me to a Sr. Advisor who is now passing these issues up to Apple Engineering. The advisor is going to get back to me in a few days to let me know what they find or advise.

  • by bjorn.b,

    bjorn.b bjorn.b Sep 19, 2016 6:44 PM in response to servie
    Level 1 (25 points)
    Apple TV
    Sep 19, 2016 6:44 PM in response to servie

    I'm also having the same issues as everyone in this thread but more importantly (for me) the quality of music via CarPlay is sub par compared to bluetooth. CarPlay seems to emphasise the highs and mid highs whereas bluetooth sounds rich and balanced with plenty of bass. I almost took my car back because I thought the speaker system was faulty. It comes with a small subwoofer stock and CarPlay never seemed to utilise it. Bluetooth on the other hand sounds amazing.