Crackle and Pop using CarPlay

I have been studying this issue for the past month as it frustrates me to no end.

My wife's iPhone 8 was not updated to 11.3 - She has no issues.

My iPhone 6s was updated to 11.3.1 (i'm a sucker for the red UPDATE ME badge on settings) and immediately I experienced the issues (crackling, affecting all phone, music, etc... all audio is affected).

We have two Carplay enabled Chevy (a silverado and suburban) radios. She has no issues, while I have issues within 10-15 minutes of Carplay use (on average).

I have replaced cables, unpaired bluetooth, deleted Carplay settings, etc... no real help. Also, several rental cars (Hyundai's and Dodge's mainly) have also had the same issue when using Carplay.

This is either a 11.3.1 problem or an iPhone 6s @ 11.3.1 problem. I have called Chevy Infotainment and lodged two tickets (allowed one per car) but they really didn't have any answers. I am trying to be patient while waiting for a fix but I don't even see it in the beta change log!

Someone at Apple - Please isolate and resolve this annoying problem! Carplay is a big part of my life.

This is an apple problem, I have a 2018 Honda and same thing happens before 11.3.1 everything played well. And it’s not just through CarPlay but through phone speakers but since your vehicle sends sound more clean through each speaker it’s more noticeable. Also my wife’s iPhone 8 doesn’t have this issue so it’s clearly a hardware issue to some iPhone users. I was using an iPod but after the new update I remember I had mono audio on in my settings and after 11.4 update I turned it off and the distorted sound it’s mostly gone I can hear it on some songs but for the most part it’s gone but not fully.

Apple just needs to get their stuff right, every update they have there’s always something wrong and it’s just getting old.

Found this on YouTube, the poster say's there was not a issue with iOS 11.2.1, he say's it's an iOS 11.3 and 11.4 issue and demonstrates the difference at the end.

Apple Carplay FAIL on iOS 11.3 and 11.4 - lots and crackle and pops - YouTube

Schmidlapp84 wrote:

I’ve escalated to Apple support today as well. They found this thread and will pass on the urgency of the problem to ”RTA alerts”. It’s about all we can do.

Thanks Schmidlapp84.

I've also contacted Cartronics (www.cartronics.net.au) if you live in Australia. Not sure if there is a US version of the site.

A woman by the name of Shelley got back to me. Here is her response.

"Hi 😃 Thanks for contacting us today. This is a worldwide Apple issue, with software versions iOS 11.3 or greater. Please refer to the Apple forums for more information. Let me know if there is anything else I can help you with."

I wish I knew where this MORE information was. From their response It appears Cartronics are pointing the finger clearly at Apple.

Pay no attention to the evangelical Apple policy bashers. Yes, Apple has seen this issue. I can only speak for myself, but Apple have asked for diagnostic logs, video of the issue and a link to this thread. The more people posting in this thread "me too" just draws more attention to the bug and logically Apple would pay more attention to it regardless of the source of the feedback. Anecdotal evidence points to other people giving Apple this thread ID too. Why would they ask for it if they weren't going to use it?

Regardless you should:

1. Open a support case with Apple, they will likely trouble shoot the issue and will probably escalate the issue to a senior technical advisor when they can't solve it
2. Give them the thread ID of this thread - 8370078
3. Leave feedback Feedback - iPhone - Apple of the bug

Let us know Apple's response. It would be interesting if they tell you if it's a known issue yet or not.

Thanks,

Schmidlapp84 wrote:

Installed update in my 2018 Hyundai Tucson but it didn’t fix the popping sound issue

I called cartronics as well who advised it’s apples problem to fix. Happening with other manufacturers as well.

I've been dealing with this for a while now with Apple and it appears they are not taking this problem serious enough probably because of the lack of complaints per units sold. My suggestion to you is to contact Apple Support and tell them you have the same problem as reported in Case Number ***. Edward is the case officer in Malaysia I have been dealing with. Hopefully if more Hyundai Tucson owners complain they may do something about the issue. Right now I am at my wits end with it.

Okay, so I had the same problem with audio crackle and pop, distortion playing from my iPhone X Music app to my car audio via bluetooth. I called Apple and they of course said I needed to talk to the vehicle manufacturer to make sure I had the latest firmware... Actually this is now fixed and the fix was embarrassingly simple. I called into the car dealership where I bought my car (Mercedes ML 350 2015), explained the problem, demonstrated how the distortion was there with Bluetooth audio and was not there when playing through a cable connection, and he reduced the volume on my iPhone to about half. Then I increased the car audio to compensate for the loss of volume and.............. no distortion via bluetooth!!! I imagine most of us would have the iPhone play volume up to max, in order to have equal volume levels for all audio sources (radio, aux, bluetooth, etc). So I hope this fix might be helpful to other readers. The only downside is I need to turn the head unit volume down when switching to radio or another source, however I can live with that!

It seems to happen right around the time I unlock my phone and re-lock it. If I go on a car ride and never unlock my phone, the crackling doesn’t really happen.

The mega link I shared is official firmware from Hyundai/cartronics and is not modified. If you don’t want to do it yourself, book your vehicle in and they will do it for you.

I disabled carplay and everything works perfectly!

Same same. IOS 11.4 & VW Golf. Noise distortion kicks in ranging from a couple of seconds until +/- 10 minutes. If I switch to radio & than back to CarPlay I get a new cycle of a couple of minutes crackling free music. Hooked up my back-up android phone & I’m now using Android Auto without a problem...

Hyundai i30 2016, Australian model. The snap crackle pop was driving me crazy! Tried 2 different iPhones 2 different Apple USB cables. More noticeable on quieter passages...Pink Floyd’s “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” or similar really highlight it. Not as noticeable on rock, since the music probably drowns it out.

Tried changing the EQ settings: Normal helps minimise it a bit; Rock highlights it.

Took it in for service - dealer told me it’s with the system software. Once Hyundai updates it with a fix, they would advise me.

So looks like we’re stuck with it...for now...

Same car, almost same iPhone (I have 7 not 7plus), same issue with the Apple CarPlay when playing music!

I’m about ready to drive my car off a cliff it’s so infuriating.

I have also had mine back to the Hyundai dealership I got it from twice for firmware updates and nothing fixes it!

They too have now advised it’s an Apple software issue and to call the Hyundai Customer Care 1800 number and make a complaint do they can put the required pressure on Apple!

I called Apple too and just got the run around with them wanting me to wipe this and re-install that and I just refused as it was working fine til I update to 11. Anything software!

This thread keeps getting pieces cut from it and I keep getting an "Unauthorised" message every time it happens. What is going on?

I took my car in for a service. The verbal response from the Hyundai Technician was that this is an Apple Firmware issue. Cartronics are not interested in doing anything at this stage because if they do manage to fix/find the bug, Apple could quite easily break it with another iOS update. CarPlay is Apple's issue and they need to fix it.

I can opt out of my current phone contract in September and get a new phone. I am seriously thinking of dumping my iPad and iPhone X for a Galaxy Note 9 and a Microsoft Surface Pro.

While I like the idea of Apple having complete control over their products, this is one case where it's hurting the user especially when we spend over 101 minutes per day driving cars and listening to music etc.

Justphoneproblems wrote:

Well I never got any help from Apple and they said they had never heard of the issue. However my Ford Sync updated yesterday and I’ve had no cracking since. Been on the road for several hours today with no issues.

What's the make and model number of your Car Play unit?

What software version have you got on your Car Play?

Please help others in the community to isolate their issues by posting more information.