21 Honda CRV Apple CarPlay issues

Found 3 things that in combination made it work again!

• CarPlay settings - allow CarPlay when phone is locked
• Face ID & Passcode - allow USB Accessories
• Reboot the CRV system by holding down the Volume knob until you get the ‘reboot’ command.

Worked for me as follows - before starting the car, removed USB cable, settings in phone adjusted as above, rebooted CRV system. Mine is working again after a few very annoying weeks.

My wife had a similar issue with her 2019 Honda Accord. Apple CarPlay worked with no issues for over a year, then the car refused to identify that a CarPlay compatible device was connected (via USB). We do every troubleshooting step we could find (resetting, updating car software, forgetting device and car, Siri on/off, etc).

Installed HondaLink app on the phone, and opened it up, then the car immedicably identified the phone as a CarPlay device and automatically started CarPlay. She hasnt had a issue since, and has not needed to reopen the HondaLink app to get CarPlay to work since; it just works automatically again, as it is supposed to and used to.

It's early, but I installed iOS 14.4 yesterday evening. All day yesterday, I was losing the Car Play connection about every 5 minutes. After loading 14.4, and taking 2 approximately 30 minute drives, all good. I will keep everyone posted.

iPhone XR

iOS 14.4

2019 Honda Accord

Welcome.

Two (2) possibilities I can think of...

1. Have you updated the firmware on the head unit?
2. When you say various cables, are you using an Apple OEM (white) cable? And if so, does it happen on all ports or just one?

Did your dealership check the head unit firmware?

Typically, head unit firmware can be updated with a USB flash drive.

For example...

https://owners.honda.com/vehicles/information/2020/Accord-Sedan/features/System-Updates/1/system-updates-youtube

https://usb.honda.com/

PS: If you are not getting the full advertised functionality of the vehicle and you are getting nowhere with the dealership and company, it may also be time to consult a lemon law attorney.

So far I’ve had no issues with mine for about a month now. I went to restrictions and made sure to allow CarPlay which was already checked off so I tried something else. I disconnected my phone from CarPlay and reconnected, had the same issue. Then Unpaired my phone from car and reconnected it, had the same issue still. Went to Face ID & Passcode and made sure USB Accessories was turned on because it was initially off. And that step I believe was what actually made it fully work. So I’ve gone a month since I last replied and it’s worked smoothly. If it happens again I will do full phone restart and head unit. I’m hoping I don’t have to though.

I have a 2020 CRV hybrid EX-L and have been having this issue nonstop since I bought my car new a couple years ago. I’ve already had my head unit replaced under warranty and that has not fixed it. What I’ve found is that the closest thing to a fix has been to use the 0.5m Apple branded cable - my guess is that the port that provides the CarPlay connectivity is underpowered - most cars use a 2A port for CarPlay, and using the shorter cable has the lowest loss of power from the port to the phone. The issue only happens once in awhile now. Not perfect but it only happens once every few months now. When I use any other cable, even Apple Branded, the issue occurs weekly.

Similar problem since day 1 of purchasing my car. Took car to dealer service dept, they fiddled with the software & the system malfunctioned the 2nd time I drove my car after that. Took my car in again.

The Dealer Service Dept. staff called Honda tech people and they claim this is a software problem, not a Honda problem. Their explanation:

1. An app is interfering with the audio system & causes problems.
2. These problems are recorded as errors in the cache.
3. When there are too many errors, the cache gets overloaded.
4. Owners must empty the cache by navigating to settings > system > reset.

Unfortunately for us:

1. They could not say which "apps" are causing the problem (i.e. it's not their problem.)
2. Some of us will have to empty the cache every couple of days.

Given how quickly my system malfunctioned after they reset the software, my suspicion is that the malfunctioning app is Apple CarPlay itself.

Given the multitude of similar complaints online, I'm very disappointed that Apple hasn't come up with a fix.

Hey AppManCan,

Thanks for getting back with that info. Make sure there is nothing causing interference as this could contribute to the disconnecting - Resolve Wi-Fi and Bluetooth issues caused by wireless interference

If that doesn’t help, go to Settings > General > CarPlay > (stereo name) and forget the device. Then forget your iPhone from the car stereo. Go to Settings > General > About > Name and rename your iPhone. Then reset your Network Settings. Tap Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings. This also resets Wi-Fi networks and passwords, cellular settings, and VPN and APN settings that you’ve used before.

Set up CarPlay once more and see if the issue is resolved.

Kind regards.

Had the same issue. Easy fix. Delete the Bluetooth connection. In fact, disable Bluetooth on the car … if you’re always using CarPlay you don’t need Bluetooth … fixed my issue immediately. Hope this helps.

Try connecting via cable only. Disable your Bluetooth connection first and then pug your cable. See if that helps. Both things are not compatible which I think is dumb.. also, I must disclose to you that all my troubles began when I updated the Honda software in my car. Make sure that you don’t have that in auto update. Otherwise anytime your car establishes an online connection wether via WiFi of through your phone data it will try to update, hence the necessity for the factory reset. Hope that helps!

Resetting the head unit in my 2021 Honda Accord EX-L did the trick after wireless Carplay stopped connecting after IOS 15 update on Monday. Here's the instructions that worked for me, your model may be different.

Note current uptime:

Start car and visit this infotainment screen - Settings/System/About/Status - note the current "Up time"​

Perform the reboot:

1. Turn off car
2. Perform the following in rapid procession:
3. Foot on brake - turn on car - shift to reverse - shift to neutral (all this should occur well before the Honda logo appears on the display)
4. When system boots, the "Ok" button should be grayed-out. This indicates the system is rebooting.

Verify reboot:

Once the system restarts, visit this infotainment screen - Settings/System/About/Status - and note the current "Up time" - It should show an up-time indicative of a recent system reboot.​

Same issues. 2021 CRV Hybrid. Disconnects, goes to black screen, usually won’t reconnect without rebooting head unit and/ or iPhone. Happens with my iPhone 11 and wife’s XR.

Have taken to dealer multiple times to troubleshoot and update the firmware on the head unit. Last time I talked with them they indicated that Honda had acknowledged the issue. No ETA on resolution, however.

NEVER happens with Alpine unit in other vehicle. Hasn’t happened with rental cars or fleet vehicles that have CarPlay. This is a Honda issue.

I have had similar issues with CarPlay in my 2021 CRV. I rebooted the computer (press the on/off knob for 5 seconds and select Yes to reboot), and that seems to have fixed the issue... for now.

The solution posted here (with the blue background from Bob A) worked for me:

https://www.vehiclehistory.com/questions/why-is-my-honda-crv-apple-carplay-not-working-127467

I spent an hour resetting everything i could reset on my phone, removing bluetooth devices, etc. etc.

After i'd finally thrown in the towel i tried one more search and the link i posted above solved my problem in less than 30 seconds.

If only i'd found it first! Hope this saves you all some time and frustration.