iPhone 17 Pro Max CarPlay audio dropouts/lag in BMW

For all the posters here with the problem - you need to tell Apple. They can't fix it if they don't know about it and they don't read posts here.

Product Feedback - Apple

Do you get the problem if you listen to music that is downloaded on your phone, rather than streamed over the air?

I am having the same issue iphone 17 pro max BMW 1 series f40 2023.

Frequent audio drop outs and frame skips while navigating with maps.

BMW dealer has attempted to diagnose the car and cannot find a hardware fault believing it is software only

this won’t help but i believe this to be a purely BMW problem, i have tried my iphone 17 pro max in multiple different cars aswell as multiple different versions of bmw idrive with no issues. Only my bmw with idrive 7 exhibits issues

We have the exact same issue with my iPhone 17 pro in our 2023 x5. I also tried upgrading my wife's phone to be an iPhone17 (non pro), and it has the same exact issue. It seems to be some kind of incompatibility with iPhone17 series and this iDrive.

Can confirm, senior level advisors also told me this is a known issue that their engineers are working on. Unfortunately no timeline provided to me either. They said there’s nothing else they can do, and I just need to keep checking for updates to see if it resolves.

I also have an open ticket with BMW and their factory engineering team is also investigating.

Don't assume that the support people you spoke to will pass this up the chain as an iOS problem. Give them feeback via the link I posted.

"I also own a 2023 BMW 4 Series and am experiencing the exact same issues: annoying micro-interruptions and audio skipping during music playback, whether using Apple Music or Spotify. It is now evident that there is an underlying incompatibility between the iPhone 17 and the infotainment systems of BMW vehicles from that production year. However, in the compatibility lists officially provided by Apple, these vehicles are expressly indicated as supported. I consider this to be an unfair and deceptive commercial practice, entirely unacceptable when perpetrated by a world-leading company.

For these reasons, acting in my professional capacity as an attorney, I am seriously evaluating the initiation of legal proceedings. This action would be aimed at obtaining a reduction in the smartphone's purchase price—given its lack of an essential, promised functionality—along with compensation for the damages suffered. I hope that this initiative may serve as a formal warning, compelling Apple to promptly resolve the issue, including by urging direct and joint intervention with the automotive manufacturers

I’ve had numerous calls with Apple senior advisors. Finally got someone who actually seems to care and wants to resolve this. They’re following up with me somewhat regularly and relaying info to their engineering team. Have another call set up with them next week to see if they’ve had any success in identifying/fixing the root cause.

Have you contacted BMW?

I believe you have the same problem as all owners of an iPhone 17 and a BMW equipped with iDrive 7.

[Edited by Moderator]

I have the exact same issue. I have an iPhone 17 Pro Max running 26.5 connected to a 2024 BMW X3 running iDrive 7. Music skips like an old CD player. Extremely frustrating to buy the most expensive phone only to not be able to listen to music in my car... literally the most basic function of a smartphone.

Same issue here with my 2023 X5 and iPhone 17. Had none of these issues with my iPhone 15 in the same car. I’ve escalated the issue with Apple but no solutions. I can’t connect my phone to the car via wired CarPlay so I feel like I’m out of options. This is unacceptable from Apple.

I’ve told Apple about this, been on several calls, sent diagnostics and then heard nothing. Called to chase and they opened another case only to go through the same thing again. Very disappointing support.

Yes, as mentioned i have an iPhone 17 Pro

unii_1_auto will enable automatic channel selection within the UNII-1 range which offers typically the following 5GHz channels:

• 36
• 40
• 44
• 48

unii_1_auto is generally considered the safe default/stability option