ravilach Author

Level 1

34 points

CarPlay Disconnecting - iPhone XS Max

Dear all wise and all knowing Apple Community 🙂

I recently switched from my iPhone 7+ running iOS 12.0 to an iPhone XS Max running iOS 12.0.

I have a 2018 Audi S4 with the latest firmware from Audi.

With the switch to the XS Max, seems that my Apple CarPlay will get into a cycle of disconnecting and reconnecting

every 30 seconds or so.

I tried reverting back to my 7+ and works fine.

1. Siri is enabled.

2. The USB Lockout is turned off on the XS Max. The 7+ had the lockout turned on

but made no difference in the XS Max toggling on or off.

3. Swapped the cables to the one in the box of the iPhone XS Max and USB ports

in the car. This had no impact on the XS Max recycling the connection. The 7+ is uneffected

business as usual.

Not sure if this is tied in with the authentication issue with the charger. I go over wired carplay and the 30

second increment is suspect as that is my lockout time on the phone.

Curious if others are facing this.

Thanks!

-ravilach

iPhone XS Max, iOS 12

Posted on Oct 2, 2018 11:50 AM

Top-ranking reply

jtmcke

Level 1

4 points

Posted on Nov 28, 2018 2:05 PM

So I want to report back and say that so far getting this usb power meter and connecting the phone through it to the car has worked wonders. I haven’t had a power based disconnect since using it.

I have had it not want to work when starting the car once. I had to unplug the power meter and plug it back in a few seconds later and it started working again.

Once my phone connects to CarPlay, I don’t have any issues. I think I’ve driven for about 5 total hours since starting it. This solution is ok for a band aid but I expect way better from Audi/apple and I look forward to not needing to use this workaround.

For reference, 2018 Audi Q7/iPhone XSM 512

This is not a paid post, and feel free to check whatever products out that you want, but this is the exact unit I ordered:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GGXZYV5/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_paX.BbGR3CJG0

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270 replies

ravilach Author

Level 1

34 points

Oct 15, 2018 4:33 PM in response to TCPM_1

My fingers were crossed for iOS 12.1 blah! Been running Spotify (latest) with iOS 12.0.1 and not sure why it’s been pretty stable. Before I turn on my S4 I unlock the phone and then wait for the Car Play confirmation from the iPhone before putting the phone down.

Have not tried making a call of consequence.

Curious is this happening on specific apps or features?

jayshep

Level 1

19 points

Oct 21, 2018 9:28 AM in response to ravilach

[Reposted from the secondary thread at CarPlay Keeps Disconnecting - iPhone XS Max. No idea why this is listed as “solved.”]

I’ve been wrestling with this problem now for exactly one month. Here’s a status update and a list of all the things that have failed to solve the problem for me.

iPhone: XS Max / 256 GB / AT&T / gold
iOS: 12.0 to 12.1*
car: 2018 Audi S5 Sportback
CarPlay: built-in
connection: Apple Lightning-to-USB connector (1 m)
symptoms: intermittent disconnections, each lasting between eight and twenty seconds, with no discernible pattern. Usually begins after a few minutes of use. Rarely can go as long as twenty minutes without it happening. Connection returns without user action, then disconnection repeats.

Here are the remedies I’ve tried that have not succeeded:

hard reset
complete wipe and reinstall from backup
complate wipe and reinstall as new
replacement unit from Apple Store
different versions of iOS. (*Note: Apparently, I’m not allowed to mention the use of any unreleased versions of iOS. An earlier post of mine was deleted for that reason. So I can’t tell you that I’ve tried the final, signed version of 12.0 as well as the public releases 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the — let’s use a different word — “bagel” of 12.1.)
deleting Google Maps from CarPlay and the iPhone
turning off Wi-Fi on the iPhone (from the Wi-Fi settings, as well as from the Control Center)
turning off Bluetooth on the iPhone
turning off both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on the iPhone
turning off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on the car
different cables, including the Audi OEM cable
cleaning the USB ports
reinitializing the Audi MMI system
avoiding the use of Waze
avoiding the use of the iPhone as a telephone
Genius Bar
Apple feedback site

I think that’s everything. What have I missed? Please feel free to reply with other potential remedies. Please make sure to include the car and model, the iPhone model, and the iOS version. Thanks!

sapper17

Level 1

11 points

Oct 21, 2018 11:17 AM in response to LisaMcMom

Tested 100% battery this morning, no disconnect. Got out of car maybe ran the battery down to 98%, got back in car, phone disconnected, but noticed as soon it was at 100% the phone stayed connected again. iPhone Xs in Audi S5 Sportback

ravilach Author

Level 1

34 points

Oct 22, 2018 11:42 AM in response to mkuflik

Forgot which thread this was on but a poster stated that could be the phone trying to draw too much power. Not sure the best way to test this if in-between a fast charge(able) amount and not. Could be the USB component that VW choose trying to cut too much power from flowing.

0.5 amps vs 2.4 amps when in the 2.4 causes some flaw?

When I swapped out both lighting cables and changed ports, my cable was always a little warmer than I would have liked.

Solid problem solving skills on these threads, thanks to the community coming together on this!

-ravilach(OP)

QandnotU

Level 1

4 points

Nov 1, 2018 7:22 PM in response to ravilach

We have an 2017 Audi Q5 and my wife's iPhone 8 Plus started disconnecting when she upgraded to iOS 12 as well. Hope this helps distill things down further. Sounds like the larger phones and iOS 12 are having a power management issue. Not necessary related to the MAX.

QandnotU

Level 1

4 points

Nov 13, 2018 12:19 PM in response to deggie

The car is unchanged (this issue didn't rear its head after an update to their software), the phone is the variable here, so its irrelevant if the phone works in other Vehicles, if a phone that previously worked in this vehicle no longer works after a software update, there an issue with power management, that could only be solved by Apple, again, not sure what Audi would do this situation.

Second, nobody suggested flooding support with the same issue, I recommended everyone report their issue with support if you haven't already. You must be fun at parties.

Dec 3, 2018 1:23 PM in response to jonas_j44

Just a follow up, I received the Amazon usb meter today, but sadly, it doesn’t work for me. Same procedure after about 2-3 minutes...

It continued for the whole trip until I unplugged it in frustration. I then plugged in the usb meter again, without phone, and it continues to switch on and off. Remark, this is without a phone connected! I tried both my meters and both had the same issue, regardless of which USB port I used.

Either is it an Audi problem or CarPlay messes up something in the usb power/communication with the car. I had to restart my car in order to get it to work properly again together with usb meter connected...

I recorded the behavior and will show it to my local Audi workshop.

Jan 10, 2019 7:21 PM in response to deggie

Reported via "Contact Support". They accessed my phone remotely, ran diagnostics and confirmed hardware was OK.

I was asked to forget the car in carplay settings, test during my commute tomorrow and then have a call with them scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.

RickNY

Level 1

11 points

Jan 11, 2019 9:38 AM in response to ravilach

Have not had this issue on my 2018 Audi S4 with my XS Max. I use CarPlay daily and all the time while I drive. My car was built in January 2018, and had the midyear change where one USB port is in the console and the other USB port is in the front next to the cigarette lighter. I am using the USB port closer to the front next to the cig lighter, with a 1 foot aftermarket Lightning cable.

Has everyone experiencing this issue using the USB ports in the center console only? Are there people with the USB port up front like I have that are experiencing it? Has anyone tried a shorter (i.e 1 foot) Lightning cable?

pache59

Level 1

26 points

Feb 7, 2019 7:13 AM in response to jonas_j44

That is what happened to me. Before the update I tried the apple cable and it didn't work. So I figured the after the update it wouldn't make a difference so after the update when I was still having problems I finally switch back to the Apple cable again and it's been working fine ever since

deggie

Level 10

167,525 points

Dec 11, 2018 2:22 PM in response to natedawg1015

Apple isn't here so they can't acknowledge anything. Call AppleCare and Audi.

deggie

Level 10

167,525 points

Jan 10, 2019 6:31 PM in response to atari4000

You need to have a developer account to submit a bug report via that route. Create one or click on the Contact Support link at the top right of this page and go through AppleCare to report it.

ravilach Author

Level 1

34 points

Oct 8, 2018 8:10 PM in response to ravilach

Updated to iOS 12.0.1 tonight and slightly better not sure if placebo or not.

Seems if I don’t unlock the phone still and like another poster mentioned when I leave my garage I’m going out of WiFi range, CarPlay boots when loosing a connection.

Will continue to monitor.

Thanks!

TCPM_1

Level 1

9 points

Oct 16, 2018 4:19 PM in response to SpEe521

Definitely far from resolved. Driving in to work this morning my phone stayed connected for one hour while i listened to Apple Music and had Waze loaded (This morning Google Maps was still installed on my phone). This afternoon, after reading the posts on this thread, I uninstalled Google Maps before leaving work. Got in the car, launched CarPlay with Waze, and received a phone call over Google Voice. 5 minutes into my call, phone disconnected from CarPlay. Each time I tried to reconnect, it would last 1 -2 minutes max before disconnecting again. It disconnected regardless of what CarPlay apps I was running. I reconnected and disconnected 6 or 7 times before I got fed up and stopped. In 50 - 75 percent of the cases that the disconnects have occurred since I’ve had the IPhone XS Max, it’s been within a few minutes of making or receiving phone calls while in CarPlay. Not sure if this is coincidence or if the phone calls destablize the OS. Frustrating.

SpEe521

Level 1

18 points

Oct 21, 2018 7:05 AM in response to wilcon2

You may be on to something...my phone was at 100% this morning, WiFi turned on and no disconnects. I can say with a good amount of confidence, it disconnects when it’s not at 100%...perhaps it is a power management issue with all the new stuff they added in. Can someone at Apple please read this and check to see if that will fix our problem?!?!?!

(iPhone XS Max, 2018 Audi Q7)

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CarPlay Disconnecting - iPhone XS Max