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

After much trial and error,

I've found a trick to improve CarPlay:

making a phone call using WhatsApp or another high-bandwidth app solves the problem.

In my case, after hanging up, everything works perfectly for about 30-40 minutes,

and leaving a call open works flawlessly for the entire trip. It's not a perfect solution,

but it improves what we have.

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.

Hi,

This happened to me too after switching to a new iPhone. I found a temporary fix. When the screen becomes pixelated, go back to the main CarPlay menu and open the Mercedes app. It will take you to a black screen with an option to reopen the CarPlay menu. Select CarPlay again, and the issue should be fixed for a while. However, this is not a permanent solution. Apple needs to fix it.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DRS4HJYB?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1

I have purchased this Ottocast unit for my 2018 C300 and it works pretty well. My phone connects to it wirelessly, no remote needed. I only use it for CarPlay, and it's fine. Our issue is with Apple, not Mercedes, it is on Apple to have properly coded the iPhone 17s and it this whole issue is a miss on their part. They need to write a patch in one of their upcoming updates. This is something they do all the time as we all know, very unlikely that Mercedes will make any changes to the system being used in the head units of older models. My humble opinion.

Same issue wired or wireless via carlink 5.0. However when wired I have found if you turn off the WiFi it works as normal. Not ideal but will do until a permanent fix is available.

Got some great news about this issue…. 1)Mercedes do not have a clue and therefore save your money 2) outcast doesnt work as I’ve checked with audio / car infotainment specialist. 3) a new cable looks nice but that’s all

basically we are waiting for Apple to do something positive, like a refund, but they know about the issues but the tech team have no idea. The most sane fix I heard from the shop was get an up to date head unit as it’s possible out 9 year old cars can’t deal with the new 17 output??? I thinks it. Case of we wait, and when we need a new phone we get a 15 to use with the CarPlay and use the new folding iPhone as outlet main toy

After much trial and error,

I've found a trick to improve CarPlay:

making a phone call using WhatsApp or another high-bandwidth app solves the problem.

In my case, after hanging up, everything works perfectly for about 30-40 minutes,

and leaving a call open works flawlessly for the entire trip. It's not a perfect solution,

but it improves what we have.

I noticed that the pixelation mentioned in this thread seems to be occurring on older screens - mine is a 2017 car so not that old but not brand new tech. What's really needed is a technical explanation from Apple support rather than the current position which is that it's a Mercedes problem. As 16's seem to work fine common sense would state that this has to do with the 17's video output to CarPlay being slightly different to the 16's and that to me sounds like an Apple issue. In simple terms Mercedes hasn't done anything to change their CarPlay format but Apple has. Perhaps it's more complicated than this but hard to see how. I'd put up with this if CarPlay was a secondary feature on the phone but for many people (and me) it's mission critical. If the phones are not compatible with 2017/18 Mercedes screens then Apple needs to communicate this and then customers can decide about upgrading to the 17 or not. Obviously Mercedes handwashing is not helpful either but that's another issue.

Exactamente igual; es una pena y muy molesto.

Mi Coche: Mercedes-Benz GLA 200 2019, he probado con cables y un adaptador inalámbrico.

Adaptadores: CPlay2Air

Teléfono 1: iPhone 17 Pro Max (iOS 26.1) → Fallos de CarPlay (con cable e inalámbrico). Ya cambie 2 cables y no mejora, por favor no compren cables para solucionarlo, es completamente ineficaz y no hay solución.

Teléfono 2: iPhone 15 Pro Max (iOS 26.1) → Funciona perfectamente, creo que debería volver a mi telefono antiguo.

Lo hubiera sabido no habría comprado el IPhone 17 Pro; sin embargo, varios familiares y amigos han conocido esta situación y han evitado comprar los nuevos Iphones porque prefieren tener su CarPlay funcionando correctamente, por lo menos hasta que haya sido solucionado este molesto bug.

I’ve also bought the Ottocast Play2Video Ultra. While it technically fixes the issue, it introduces several other problems.

It exposes the system to a very buggy Android UI, the interface is slow, some dashboard buttons stop working, and the latency between physical controls and on-screen actions is noticeably worse. On top of that, the video quality of the streamed CarPlay feed is clearly inferior. So while this can be considered a workaround, it’s far from an acceptable solution.

I don’t want to see this kind of UI in my car: that’s precisely one of the reasons why I bought a Mercedes.

Also, this is not a Mercedes software issue: with my previous phone (iPhone 15 Pro on iOS 26), CarPlay worked perfectly. The problem only appeared with the newer iPhones.

IOS 26.3 - The update came out today. I can access the radio/satellite again. Music apps don’t sound bad anymore unlike on the 26.2.1 update. The full screen is still pixelating and will run properly only on the multi screen page. So, if you skipped 26.2.1, nothing has changed from 26.2. Hopefully they fix it on the next update. 2019 GLC 300.

Today I moved from my iPhone 14 Pro to iPhone 17 Pro and got the same issue. The car is a 2016 W246 Mercedes B180. I use the Carlinkit 5.0 wireless connection. Changing to a wired connection does not help.

There are no problems with the iPhone 14 Pro or iPhone 16 Pro Max. All iPhone are running up to date iOS 26.3. Apple must fix the issue.

No it’s not Merc fault it’s Apple !

we will have to wait for a new update to fix it like iPhone 15 did .

only issue with my 17 pro max

My Honda Goldwing has exact same problem. I found a workaround, if you use the split screen with GPS on left half then it seems fine so far. Otherwise on less than a minute it starts pixelating.

Exactly the same issues here with my B200 AMG Line 2017 - screen is all pixelated and distorted especially when using maps. This happens when using cable to wired connection or used a CarPlay compatible wireless adaptor.

I have had a replacement 17pro Max sent to me under warranty and it does the same thing thing. So certainly a sport ware issue that needs resolving very quickly!