Pixelated Apple CarPlay screen on iPhone 17 Pro Max with Mercedes BClass W246

Following advice from others I purchased this new - Ottocast TV Mate- from eBay UK, for £37. Plug the ottocast unit into the CarPlay USB A port in the car and connect once using WiFi. IPhone connects to CarPlay seamlessly and is wireless. Amazing and very easy. All functions work. HMDI

port not needed. This is only

required if you want to mirror an app from

your iPhone but does not provide CarPlay functionality. Thanks all.

I had the same issues with an iPhone 17 (iOS 26.6.1) in my 2015 B-Class Electric Drive (W 242) with NTG 5*1 and came across this thread. Thanks a lot – I thought I was going mad. I tested wired CarPlay, used the USB wireless CarPlay dongle which was working perfectly with an iPhone 16 and iPhone 13. But with my iPhone 17 there where a lot of artefacts, either immediately after startup or after a few minutes.

I was skeptical, as I was already using a small USB wireless CarPlay dongle showing artefacts on the CarPlay display. But I gave the ottocast Car TV Mate Pro/Max a chance. And what should I say? This specific dongle seems to do something much better than others. It's working again without any artefacts. You can configure autostart CarPlay option in the settings of the ottocast Car TV Mate. And the controller knob is also working (no touch screen required).

Hi i am late, but i have been posting my "progress" with the iPhone 17 pro max and my car. I have done everything suggested, and been into two car audio centres to check etc. I have hard and soft rebooted both the phone and the car. I have asked about software from Mercedes and they bare willing to run a diagnostice and tell me its a software issue, that they cant fix. (£300) I have bought new cables, and no change. I checked about plug in devices ( Ottocast specifically) and those are a waste of money. Ive spoken to apple several times and for the first 3 calls they denied nothing anything ( this was in March 2026) i did speak to someone who was honest and didn't try to fluff me and said that apple are aware but cant fix it and could i wait for ios 26.4? I have and its still not working. Quote from apple "With digital car keys and the already seamless experience of Apple CarPlay, there are more ways than ever to take your iPhone on the road. With car keys, you can unlock and start your car with iPhone. And CarPlay gives you the ability to safely use what you love about your iPhone while you drive" except you cant. Yes i can use 1/2 a screen, Yes i can connect and try again. BUT i can also sell the car and get one that actually works, or, get an android. Apple. just fess up and tell when and why. and fix it. Im even looking at .Ill add more if/when i get my apple call back.. getting a new head for the car(£500) So basically, save your money. DON'T waste it on new things, unless you really need it

I’ve purchase the amazon bundle ottocast play ultra + remote. The Ottocast on amazon has an input for the remote’s receiver. This allows you to use the remote in the Ottocast (android) interface to get set up, which is fairly quick. From there I only use the remote when I start the car just to select ‘CarPlay’ as one of the options in the Ottocast. This method is not quite as slick as a direct connection to the vehicle, but until Apple tweaks the iOS (this is an Apple issue, my iPhone 17 pro max works fine in my wife’s 2025 GMC vehicle with CarPlay) this solution will work. Thanks to the users in this thread for that suggestion

Having the same issue here.

Car: 2020 Mercedes-Benz SLC 43 AMG (tested with wired and two wireless adapters)

Adapters: Ottocast Mini Cube 3.0 + CPlay2Air

Phone 1: iPhone 17 Pro Max (iOS 26.0.1) → CarPlay rendering glitches (wired & wireless)

Phone 2: iPhone 15 Pro Max (iOS 26.0.1) → works perfectly

After switching to iPhone 17 Pro Max, Apple Maps and other CarPlay apps stutter or partially refresh on-screen; audio and controls OK. Same result with two wireless adapters and even wired connection, so it seems to be a compatibility issue between iPhone 17 Pro Max and CarPlay, not the adapters or the MB system.

I have a Mercedes A200, 2018 and get a pixelated screen with my iPhone 17 pro plugged in. I tried 3 different leads and tried troubleshooting as do directed by Apple support. No joy. Spoke to Apple again. They are aware there is a software issue that is affecting CarPlay compatibility for a number of car manufacturers. Expect an iOS update to resolve…

I've been fighting Apple since iPhone 17 launch day. I have a Mercedes GLA 2018.

I opened a case with Apple, which asked me to toubleshoot by changing VPN, Wifi but nothing worked, and they then told me I was on my own. Therefore I opened a case with Fair Trade Australia, which forced Apple to try doing something.

On my own, I tried updating iOS, different cables, a bluetooth adapter, etc, but nothing helped. As a few people described, I tried to disable Wifi, but that also didn't help.

This morning (Nov-11 2025) I dropped my car off to Mercedes for a diagnostic as directed by Apple. Before accepting the service they contacted a technician who informed they are aware of the issue, and that plenty of people are having the same issue. They said the best they can do is to update the infotainment software, although I don't think that's covered by the diagnose service.

By the end of the day I'll have an update for you all.

Hi All,

Just a bit of an update for those of you who may be interested…..

I have now tired both the ottocast play2video ultra and the getpairr go 2.0 both devices are pretty much the same, the second one generally being cheaper. (They are ai box wireless adapters).

I can confirm that both devices fix the distortion on CarPlay in my 2017 Mercedes. My device in non touch screen and thus made setting up pretty difficult (but possible) so it’s not without its faults - there’s other features such as YouTube/Netflix etc you will need a remote to set up the WiFi if you don’t have a touchscreen. You will also need a remote to do system updates.

It works but not without its problems, it’s boots reasonably fast but seems to want to share a warning message and ask you to set the language each time (not easy without a touchscreen screen) and then you have to open the CarPlay app….

I will be emailing the developers about its faults and hope they can set up a direct boot to CarPlay, which would be awesome!

Hope this helps some people with their frustrations while apple pull their finger out.

Please do not recommend replacing the cable or wireless adapter. It will not fix the problem and will only mean users chasing a costly upgrade solution that does not work. This problem is caused by dropped bits or corrupted data on the digital video output from the phone. The only partial solution I have found is that using the split screen will reduce the severity of the issue. Apple will not publicly acknowledge the problem and directly me to Mercedes when I contacted them. Hopefully they are working on this in the background, and we will see a solution in a future release.

Update 09-Dec-2025: Apple engineering support called me to say that, after reviewing the logs they extracted from my iPhone 17 Pro Max while connected to the car (GLA 180 2018), that they identified the issue and is in talks with Mercedes. However, during the call they said that because the technology evolved, they would need to add backward compatibility. So I'm assuming there are a couple of potential fixes for our issue:

1. car manufacturers update the software, which would be bad for us customers because Mercedes will charge us one hour of service (AUD 330) to update the software. By the way, Apple paid for that service but Mercedes installed the same version, saying that was the latest version.
2. Apple will update iOS 26 to support older car models.

They also said there's no estimated date for a final resolution.

Update from me and not a good one I'm afraid!

My B200 AMG Line 2017 W246 recently went in for a service - it had a software update for the audio 20. Although a few new CarPlay notifications and connections were triggered the pixelation is still present.

I've also had my iPhone 17 Pro Max replaced by apple and still the same issue.

I'm beginning to think that unless iOS 27 sorts it it's time for a head unit replacement. My phone works fine on all other newer model cars, yet to test it in another older car but expect the same issue.

Everyone needs to report the bug here

https://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone/

I think I have solved the problem until Apple provide a software upgrade.

I have the old phone connected to my 17e using the new phone as a personal hotspot. The old phone does not have a cellphone connection but in tandem with the new 17e as a hotspot it allows Waze to perform properly without pixelation. I have only driven around the (small) block once to test it but I expect it will work for greater distances. The new and old phones have to be within a few metres of each other of course. The old phone (iPhone 8+) was connected by cable to the car (Mercedes A250: W176) and my new phone was on the passenger seat.

I have a bluetooth controller coming from the US Amazon store some time this weekend so I am looking forward to trying it. I did get the GetPairr working however but without the remote I can't correct some of the settings for the device but CarPlay is functioning. I have been using it for 3 days and I have had ZERO issues with pixelation (knock on wood). For me, this adapter has seemed to fix the problem and adds some fun extras. I would recommend this as a solid workaround.

In the current version, iOS 26, the entire screen becomes increasingly pixelated and distorted, finally into impossible to recognize anything after just a few minutes. In my own experience, iOS 27 is like a cast on a broken leg; while it does not completely solve the problem, it at least maintains a level where the screen is recognizable.

There may be less than a month left until the official release of iOS 27. Based on my previous experience so far, the first official release of new iOS major versions - iOS 27.0 in this case - has often been unstable in many ways. I believe there is a trade-off between enduring other instability for the sake of CarPlay or waiting until overall functionality is stabilized.