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Apple music keeps buffering on Carplay (Volkswagen car issues) - Part 2

I would like to follow up the topic which was started by "ikonik_x" on Aug 11, 2020 8:22 AM, so that other people who may face issues with Apple Music on Apple Carplay on VAG cars may have benefit from it. I could not reply in that topic, because it was closed.

I think Apple and Volkswagen Group should put their hands together to fix these kind of issues, because it's really a major problem, which affects a lot of people.


Link to the first post: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251678141


I am driving a Volkswagen Golf 8 and had minor issues with Apple Carplay, like glitching. Every song once or twice the music glitched which was pretty annoying, and makes listening to music unenjoyable.

Then eventually, the car needed to go for service, because some things needed tot be fixed, and so I also told Volkswagen about this Apple Carplay issue. They went ahead and looked into it, but couldn't really fix the problem. It also almost looked like they didn't want to put too much effort into it, because the problem didn't occur on Android phones. I though had the problem with my iPhone XS Max, and my partner with her iPhone 11 too.

Volkswagen then told me to update me iPhone to the latest version, which I did, and after connecting again the glitches were still there. It eventually even only made things worse, to the point that Carplay wasn't usable at all anymore.

I then finally had no other option the to reset my Volkswagen MMI to factory settings, which of course disabled all "online" features (We Connect). From that point on, Carplay connected flawlessly, I drove around for an hour or so, and had no issues at all.

Until today, when I re-enabled my "online" profile on the car (which also takes a lot of time) and finally reconnected my iPhone XS Max with Apple Carplay. Pretty soon other issues arrived, such as a totally black screen when "tapping" on Carplay on the screen in my Golf 8.

I then had to put my iPhone in Airplane mode, reset the MMI of the Golf (by holding the ON / OFF touch button of the MMI), remove my iPhone from Carplay in the MMI and reconnect my iPhone with Carplay.

From then on Carplay 'worked' again, although I faced a new problem which was posted in the previous post by "ikonik_x". The music kept buffering each song or so. Every song or every other song the buffer would appear, and would last for about 10-20 seconds.


This was indeed solved by disabling the "Integrated dataconnection (eSIM)" (I am translating from Dutch, not sure if this is the same name in other languages).

So, it seems (not sure if true) that once in a while, or maybe continuously, the eSIM of the car was being used when streaming music from Apple Music. I was able to listen more than 3 songs without buffering.

When I re-enabled the "Integrated dataconnection (eSIM)" the buffering re-appeared after about 1 song.

I have no downloaded songs in Apple Music, and I am not using a cable. Although using a cable does not seem to help either.


So, very long story, but I hope it will help other people, because I had been searching forever to find a solution for this problem. I still need to monitor this because I haven't been able to play music for a couple of hours yet.

If the problem lies in the issue with the eSIM, I think Apple and Volkswagen need to look into this and find a solution on how to avoid this situation.

In my case it makes sense, because the problem did not occur after resetting to Factory Default Settings and when not connecting to the "We Connect" system yet.


Please reply to this topic if you are having the same (or different) issues, and if the problem is resolved (or not) by applying this workaround.


Thanks so much, and good luck with fixing!






Posted on Aug 10, 2021 9:15 AM

Reply
12 replies

Aug 11, 2021 8:20 AM in response to Erik_80

Hello Erik_80,


Thank you for posting in the Apple Support Communities. We're sorry to hear that you're still having trouble with listening to Apple Music with CarPlay. You've taken a lot of great steps on your own so far, and we'd like to help get you pointed in the right direction.


If you haven't yet, we recommend taking any remaining steps here:

If you need help with CarPlay


We also suggest pairing another iPhone to your Volkswagen to test Apple Music playback. This step might provide additional clues as to whether the issue might be with the iOS device or with the car. Oftentimes, if the issue persists with multiple iPhone devices in the same car, then continuing to connect with the car's manufacturer is needed.


However, if you've discovered that this only seems to happen with your iPhone, feel free to contact Apple Support directly. Depending on your region, you may be able to reach them here: 

Get Support


We hope this information is useful. Kind regards.

Aug 11, 2021 2:15 PM in response to Erin_B11

Similar issues here with a VW Group vehicle. Have literally done every trick in the book to fix it (including everything set out above and in the previous topic) but nothing seems to work. I have tested it on multiple iOS devices, all running 14.7.1, and sooner or later Apple Music (only Apple Music!) on CarPlay starts having hiccups on all of them. Very frustrating, especially since I see this issue has been around now for at least a year.

Aug 20, 2021 10:28 AM in response to Erik_80

Same issue with the “Integrated dataconnection (eSIM)” option in my Seat Leon. I’m also dutch, so I also don’t know the exact translation. With the option enabled, I can listen to a song for a few seconds and it starts buffering. With the option disabled, Apple Music works fine. The strange thing is, with Spotify I don’t have problems at all.

Aug 21, 2021 12:13 PM in response to Erik_80

Same issue here with brand new T-Cross.


On day 1, on the way home from the dealership Apple Music worked perfectly.

At home, I updated the car’s software and I set up WeConnect.

Ever since Apple Music keeps buffering on CarPlay, either in the middle of a song, or when a new song starts playing. I can hardly listen to 2 songs in a row without interruptions. Issue persists even with cable connection. The only time buffering does not occur is on downloaded songs/playlists.


This issue, however, does not occur when listening to Spotify of Tidal.


I tried restarting my phone, disconnecting it from the car, renaming the phone, reconnecting. Nothing worked.

I haven’t tried disabling eSIM yet, but wouldn’t that cause issues with the WeConnect app (like locating the car, etc.)?

Aug 21, 2021 2:48 PM in response to veracotuna

Update:

I disconnected the WeConnect app from the car (chose Guest instead of my user in car’s infotainment) and Apple Music played without interruptions.

So, on my side it is clear that there is an error when WeConnect is active, which makes Apple Music behave like there’s bad internet connection and keeps buffering.

Disabling WeConnect is a quick fix, but it’s a compromise I do not like. I want to be able to both listen to uninterrupted music (which I’m paying for) and enjoy the benefits of WeConnect (which I also paid for)

Aug 22, 2021 3:05 AM in response to veracotuna

Hi Veracotuna, I do not know exactly what the eSIM does, but when I disable it a message appears in the entertainment system which states that “streaming music is not possible”. Which is a bit odd, because why would the sim card be needed for streaming music??

Still the only way to make streaming Apple Music possible without any hiccups is by disabling eSIM, ór like you said, by uninstalling WeConnect. As I said in my opening post, therefore I really think it is something that Apple and VW will have to solve together. Because it only happens with Apple Music, and only when WeConnect is configured.

Aug 22, 2021 6:21 AM in response to Erik_80

Hi Erik, I drive a Škoda Enyaq. Unfortunately no option to disable eSIM there. What seems to have eliminated the problem for now is not using my phone wirelessly at all (not even for just the bluetooth phone functionality, as it automatically activates wireless carplay as well) but to only use a wired USB connection. Still something that definitely needs to be looked into by Apple and VW AG, as it is not a solution for the long run.

Aug 29, 2021 5:49 AM in response to Erik_80

Autoevolution.com has posted an article on this topic, possibly based on this very thread. Come on Apple, you have to at least acknowledge this issue!


On the same note, I canceled my Apple Music subscription yesterday and subscribed to Tidal. Same price, but works flawlessly on CarPlay.


https://www.autoevolution.com/news/apple-music-keeps-buffering-on-carplay-and-the-workaround-is-as-painful-as-it-gets-168234.html

Apple music keeps buffering on Carplay (Volkswagen car issues) - Part 2

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