iOS 15 breaks CarPlay

GAWD I wasted more than 3 days trying to fix this problem in December. The only solution that worked was:

• Back up the iPhone fully
• Reset it so it's completely erased and then install iOS
• Restore the backup to the new image
• Then spend MANY hours restoring my music library.

This was a really discouraging experience!

Hi Algrue,

We'd like to help guide you in the best direction for a solution. It sounds like you have isolated this specifically to the vehicle and the update. This does help narrow the focus down to the vehicle We recommend checking with your manufacture to determine if there are any firmware updates needed. In addition to this suggestion, we recommend to look over If you need help with CarPlay and If your iPhone or iPod touch won’t charge. We hope this helps you find a solution.

Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.

This is a serious problem for anyone who relies on their iPhone for legal communication while driving (or waiting for a passenger to arrive at Boston Logan airport.) It could result in an auto accident or a death so let's address this as a critical problem PDQ!

I went through a lot of trouble from Tuesday evening to Friday mid-day.

Two vehicles: a '18 Ford Escape, a '17 GMC Canyon CrewCab.

Two iPhones. (both iPhone 11 Pros).

Before the upgrade, everything worked fine.

After the automatic upgrade to 15.2 my iPhone couldn't communicate (wired) with CarPlay. In either vehicle.

My wife's iPhone, post-upgrade, worked fine in both vehicles.

The software in the vehicles recognized the malfunctioning device. The head-end device did not need an upgrade

See the two pictures that follow. But CarPlay wouldn't work with my phone.

For days, I went through many, many steps various entities suggested.

In the end, I did a full backup of the phone to both my Mac and iCloud, erased the device, tested it with 15.2, and nothing else loaded. CarPlay was fine!!!!! So I erased it again and did a full restore. And it worked fine again.

What a royal pain!

Hi Algrue,

We understand that your other device is working as you expect. The purpose of checking with your vehicle manufacture is due to updates that happen that no longer have the expected capability may need a further update from the manufacture. This would be the last step after trying to see if the steps shared do not help you reach a solution. After checking, and following the steps shared, you'll want to reach out to Apple Support. You can use the link below, if needed.

Get Support

Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.

It’s the update. Not the manufacture of the car. One phone worked fine before the update. I have the same issue and now after I updated my new phone. It doesn’t work.

Same issue with my iPhone 12 Pro Max. Updated to iOS 15.3 yesterday and now CarPlay will not work. My wife’s 12 Pro Max is still on 15.2 and CarPlay works fine.

I’m having the same exact problem right after updating my phone to iOS 15. I have an iPhone 12 pro so I don’t think it’s software exceeding device on that end. My car is a 2017 and and I’ve tried updating software but nothing is available so I’m stuck in the same boat as you

Me too. Allowed update to 15.1 last night. Today my iPhone (SE version) won’t connect to my 2012 Chevy Cruze over USB.

Looking for an acknowledgment from Apple along with a commitment to fix this issue in the next update.

Yeah luckily I thought it was the phone so I sent mines back under insurance. When the new one came, I couldn’t back it up to the normal back due to the update and haven’t upgraded the phone. Just so it will worl

in my car.

As noted in my reply in this chain of posts, this is a critical problem that can result in car accidents and even potential death of people involved in the accident. So let's get communicate this to all iPhone owners using (or potentially using) CarPlay for communication and navigation while driving. This is a serious issue, not a minor problem with a trinket. See my post. Thank you,

Having the same issue with a Pioneer MAV1440-NEX. Since updating to 15.3, Carplay just causes my Pioneer unit to powercycle every 30 seconds. This is an accident waiting to happen as I have to answer the calls by hand.

Same. 15 update has bricked my car play as well (can’t operate any music at all, can’t press any buttons). Was working perfectly fine before update. Solution please.

Same problem here, 2014 Chevy Cruze.

if it’s not fixed by 15.2, we are all gonna have to figure out how to downgrade. But I have no idea how