CarPlay not working with iPhone 16 Pro

Okay as others have said, it’s the cable. Wife upgraded phones from a iPhone 13 pro max to a 16 pro max. Can’t use the old lightning cable bc the 16 is a usb-c. Thought we could just use a usb-a/usb-c cable to go from the 2021 Rav 4 to the new iPhone 16. NOPE. Nothing worked. No amount of presets or resets or settings. It will CHARGE but it will not activate CarPlay. THE ONLY thing that made CarPlay work was: using the OLD usb-a/lightning cable with a usb-c/lightning ADAPTER. $30 at Best Buy. It IMMEDIATELY worked.

so. Save your old usb-a lightning cable, get a $30 usb-c/lightning adapter, plug in your new iPhone 16 using both the old cable and the new adapter to go from the car’s usb-a to lightning, then from lightning to usb-c to phone. It literally worked the 1st time, after I spent the better part of a day researching stuff on the internet and YouTube that did not work or did not apply to my models. I don’t know or care how to fix the Bluetooth pairing. I just need CarPlay to WORK when she PLUGS IT IN and it DOES now.

I just got an Iphone16pro and had difficult getting my carplay to operate on my 2018 Camry. My previous Iphone 13 was functioning with no problem. I tried to tinker with the settings that was suggested above with no success and initially had the new phone connected to the car using the old cable with a usbc adaptor. It started to work the minute I changed the cable to a seamless USB to USBc cable. It was a connection/hardware issue. Hopefully this helps some of you.

took delivery 2 days ago and had the same problem.

simple fix really, unlike other iPhones the iPhone 16 will not work with a standard charging cable, it only charges the phone but cannot carry any date to the car.

Ordered a USB to USB-C data transfer cable £4.99 from Amazon and now work fine. Amazon advertise a charging cable and a charging data transfer cable make sure you order that one. They both look the same so if you have a old cable to charge you old phone it probably won’t work

I have a RAV4 and recently upgraded to an iPhone 16 with IOS 18.1.1 and was having the same issue. I tried some of the suggestions here with phone settings but decided to go with a data transfer and charging cord and it worked immediately. I got this one at Walmart for $6 rather than paying ridiculous Apple prices for one. This was in the auto section so it’s obviously an issue. Whatever cord you buy, be sure it doesn’t just charge but also transfers data. That seems to be the key. I’m guessing USB-C cords don’t automatically do both like lightening cords. I wonder how many landfills are polluted with old cords because Apple and other electronic companies want to find ways to make more money by creating new cords and charging a fortune for them. Does Apple claim to be an environmentally friendly company? I hope not.

[Edited by Moderator]

This was happening to me too, I tried everything, then I thought that maybe the problem is that the car is programmed to recognize the lightning cable not the USBC so I got a lightning to usbc converter, used it with the lightning cable I had and voila! It works!

The ‘Belkin BoostCharge USB C charger cable’ fixed the problem for me. I ordered it on Amazon for like £9. I read somewhere that the iPhone 15 and up need a stronger cable to make CarPlay work. Hope this helps.

I couldn't connect my new iPhone 16 Pro Max to my 2024 Prado. I spent nearly an hour on the settings in the car and the phone.

Then. Light bulb moment!

I swapped the cable for a new Belkin BoostCharge USB A to C cable and everything workled.

The cable I had been trying was a charge only cable.!!!!!

Make sure you are using your iPhone MFI certified cord. I had the same problem, and just switched cords and it worked. Under Content & Privacy Restrictions, make sure it’s turned on, seems like it might come defaulted to ‘off’.

I had this same exact issue and finally figured it out. You need to buy a USB cable that transfer data!

Translation: Even though it may be charging your phone or playing music (through Bluetooth) CarPlay won’t work.

I went to the Apple Store and bought Mophie brand cable “USB-A to USB-C” for 19.99. Like magic it finally worked!

[Edited by Moderator]

I had the same problem: IPhone 16 in a Sienna 16. The issue is the cable, nothing else. I switched to one that can transfer data, not just charge the phone, and it worked, after also turning on „Apple Intelligence and Siri“ in Settings ( really? I just want to see the Google map on my display, not be exposed by that dumb „Apple Intelligence“. Didn’t see a way to do it without it. Sigh. )

As others have stated the problem was fixed 100% by using the Apple USB-C to Lighting Adapter. I have the iPhone 16 Plus and after a year of frustration finally bought the adapter today and voila it is fixed. Just mad I didn't do this sooner.

USB-C to Lightning Adapter - Apple

It’s because of your charger! Not every charger (even the iphone one) can transfer data. You have to try other cords

The Bluetooth in the car may not be multi-link meaning that you cannot have controls designed for dialing and accessing contacts connected to your phone and concurrently allowing a Bluetooth Car Play connection. Review the CX-5 owners manual and check with the Mazda Service department to determine if Mazda has released a CarPlay firmware update for your vehicle, or if the Mazda CarPlay implementation in 2018 is not compatible with CarPlay in iOS 18.

I had this same problem and doing a "Reset to factory settings" on the car radio is what fixed it for me.

I have three GM vehicles (two 2017 Chevy Cruzes and a 2019 Chevy Traverse) that I had been using with my iPhone XR via CarPlay for years. When I upgraded to an iPhone16 Pro the Traverse and one of the Cruzes worked immediately, but the second Cruze wouldn't recognize the phone via CarPlay no matter what I did. After two days of fiddling I finally did "Reset to factory settings" after which it instantly recognized the new phone.