Can CarPlay be used in areas without access to internet?

Thanks for the quick reply.

I'm completely OK with accessing only music and podcasts saved on my iPhone.

When I tried to connect my iPhone to the car at the car dealership, CarPlay wouldn't connect without Siri enabled and Siri doesn't work with the phone in airplane mode. Airplane mode is how I typically use the phone when driving. I don't like the dangerous distractions from receiving phone calls and text messages and such.

Is there any way to connect an iPhone to a car with CarPlay to listen to music without Siri's insistence on an internet connection? Or can I disable CarPlay so that the iPhone looks like an iPod to the car audio system?

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Background info:

I want to be able to use voice commands while the iPhone is in airplane mode or otherwise not able to connect to the internet. Therefore, I have Siri disabled because Siri is can't do anything, even basic commands, without an internet connection.

Press and hold home button with Siri enabled:

Error message: "Siri not available. Connect to the internet."

Press and hold home button with Siri disabled:

• Q: "What time is it?" A: "The time is 3:40 p.m."
• Q: "Play playlist My Favorites". A: "Playing playlist My Favorites."
• Q: "Call Joe at work." A: "Calling Joe, work."
• (many more examples)

Bluetooth is an option. The disadvantage is that the sound quality suffers and the iPhone won't charge like it would if connected directly.

I checked the iPhone settings and I was to turn off CarPlay (General -> Restrictions -> CarPlay). With CarPlay turned off the iPhone looks like an iPod to the car audio system. That seems to take care of the problem. I can connect the iPhone and use the car's controls to browse and play music and podcasts stored on the iPhone. Siri doesn't get involved and everything works fine without internet availability.

Thanks for the help in finding a solution to this problem!

Good point about the audio quality in the car. You're right that there's a good chance I wouldn't notice the difference with Bluetooth. I can, however, notice the difference in sound quality with satellite radio. Which is a shame because I really like satellite radio; I just can't stand how it sounds. But I think there's an app now...

Ahem! I digress...

I figured plugging the iPhone into the USB port (there was only one I could see and it was for the car audio system) would activate CarPlay and the system wouldn't be able to continue because Siri wasn't activated on the iPhone. But I'll have to check to see if I can override CarPlay on the car audio system and select Bluetooth instead when the iPhone is plugged in.

(Really wishing Apple would add basic voice control features to Siri when there is no internet connection. *sigh*)

Good ideas! Thanks again for the help.

Yes, it had a couple of those. I'll check the link you attached.

Thanks once again. You've been very helpful. Even if Apple will no longer let me mark your answers as Helpful.