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servie Author

Level 1

13 points

CarPlay voice audio quality when connected via USB is poor vs. Bluetooth on Pioneer AVH-4200NEX

Hi!

I recently installed a Pioneer AVH-4200NEX unit, as I was super excited to enhance my car with CarPlay support, and everything is working great except for one thing. When I connect my iPhone (6S+) to the unit via USB cable and make a standard phone call, the audio quality is very poor -- tinny, metallic-sounding, and very undersampled, compared to using Bluetooth via the Pioneer unit to make the exact same phone call (I'm on LTE, using HD Voice, though the quality differential is quite noticeable on non-HD calls and on 4G calls). I've searched for an answer to this issue, but the best I can find it mention of the limited bandwidth of USB and trying to juggle that bandwidth for the rest of the CarPlay experience, though I don't buy that because playing audio via the USB-connected iPhone is just as crystal clear as it is via Bluetooth. So my question is: (a) How can I submit an Apple bug report regarding this behavior and (b) Have any other CarPlay users besides be experienced this issue on a Pioneer NEX unit (AppRadio included) of recent vintage? It would be great if this is a Pioneer bug for which they can release a firmware update, I'm just worried that this is a CarPlay-specified codec issue, hence non-fixable.

Thanks!

--Seth

iPhone 6s Plus, iOS 9.3.2

Posted on Jun 13, 2016 12:56 PM

Top-ranking reply

chris_g1

Community Specialist

Posted on Jun 14, 2016 9:20 AM

Hello Servie,

Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.

I understand that when you use the USB cable for your iPhone in your car with CarPlay the audio is poor. I know how important it is for you to hear your calls clearly. In a situation like this I recommend the steps in the following article to help resolve the issue.

Set up CarPlay to use with your iPhone

Specifically the Get Help section:

Get help

If CarPlay doesn't work like you expect, here’s what you can check. After each step, try using CarPlay again.

Make sure that Siri is turned on.

Restart your iPhone and your car. Depending on your car, you might see the CarPlay Home screen when you turn it on. If you don't, look for the CarPlay logo on your car’s display.

If possible, connect your iPhone to a different USB port in your car.

Try a different Lightning to USB cable. Make sure the cable is certified.

Update to the latest version of iOS.

Check your car’s manual for help. You might need to install firmware updates for your stereo.

Cheers

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28 replies

seejayem

Level 1

22 points

Sep 19, 2016 9:17 AM in response to seejayem

I took advantage of my 90 days of iPhone 7 support and logged cases with Apple for this call sound quality issue, as well as my phone extensions issue. They passed me to a Sr. Advisor who is now passing these issues up to Apple Engineering. The advisor is going to get back to me in a few days to let me know what they find or advise.

bjorn.b

Level 1

43 points

Sep 19, 2016 6:44 PM in response to servie

I'm also having the same issues as everyone in this thread but more importantly (for me) the quality of music via CarPlay is sub par compared to bluetooth. CarPlay seems to emphasise the highs and mid highs whereas bluetooth sounds rich and balanced with plenty of bass. I almost took my car back because I thought the speaker system was faulty. It comes with a small subwoofer stock and CarPlay never seemed to utilise it. Bluetooth on the other hand sounds amazing.

seejayem

Level 1

22 points

Oct 1, 2016 7:24 PM in response to seejayem

Update: Apple engineering requested logs of this issue which I have uploaded. Hopefully they will have a fix in a future IOS 10 release. I'll provide another update when I hear anything.

Oct 5, 2016 2:39 PM in response to servie

Honda Accord 2016, which was working fine in terms of quality of sound during phone calls until approx. the time I upgraded to iOS 10.

Oct 20, 2016 10:04 AM in response to servie

I'm having the same issue. Bluetooth music is crystal clear, the second I connect my iPhone 6 to CarPlay with a cable the music soundS horrible. My car being a 2017 VW Passat with OEM MIB II

Oct 26, 2016 2:07 PM in response to bjorn.b

I was testing an iPhone 6 with the charging USB cable that comes with it in a 2017 Cadillac CTS V, and played audio and video files (only audio part played) from my iPhone using the VLC player app, and it sounded good but not great in the Bose system. I also noticed that it continued to play through Bluetooth when I disconnected the cable. Although it sounded about the same through the Bluetooth, I assumed the quality would be better through the cable and I didn't listen carefully. It seems also that it needs to be connected through the cable first in order to play the VLC app through Bluetooth, which I believe still worked when I disconnected the cable, but I could not access the VLC app after I turned the audio and/or car off and on again without connecting the cable first. An odd glitch occurred; I don't recall if it was while using Carplay or simply playing iTunes stored on my iPhone through Bluetooth, but when I received a phone call, the music continued to play during the phone call, although the other party calling could not hear it.

pljmusic

Level 1

8 points

Nov 1, 2016 1:00 PM in response to seejayem

Did you ever get your phone call issues resolved? I just purchased a 2017 honda accord and my phone calls work great through Bluetooth, my music through carplay is good, but my phone calls are horrible. I am constantly having to disconnect my phone to talk which is unacceptable. I have called apple support, but didn't get a good answer. I have also purchase several certified apple cords, but this didn't help either. By the way, my iphone is a 5; I had considered upgrading, but then I saw a post where someone with the 7 was also having issues. Such a great idea, too bad that it doesn't seem to be working properly.

Nov 3, 2016 5:37 PM in response to pljmusic

No solution. I haven't called Apple or mentioned/called Honda given how unlikely either company will take responsibility for the fix. I'm hoping the next iOS update will address since everything worked well on 2016 Honda Accord with the 9.x iOS. It is really unfortunate that such a great feature like CarPlay isn't better supported.