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

cselland

Level 1

4 points

Posted on Jan 8, 2019 6:10 PM

I solved the problem - at least for me. I have a 2018 A5 which was working just fine with my iPhone X but disconnects regularly with my xS Max.

Until - just the other day - I tried a genuine Apple lightning cable. And voila, problem is solved. I am suddenly having no issues at all, can run as many apps as I want. I even tried running Waze and Apple Maps at the same time and it was rock solid.

I have generally used high quality third-party cables (usually Anker) and have rarely had issues elsewhere. But all I can say is try the genuine Apple cable and see if it helps. It worked for me.

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270 replies

hmbixler

Level 1

4 points

Mar 12, 2019 11:35 AM in response to raulo37

It worked for a day or two. However never an incident when playing via blue-tooth without Apple Car Play. Still searching.

hmbixler

Level 1

4 points

Mar 12, 2019 11:37 AM in response to hmbixler

My problem is with a GMC truck too. Didn't notice a problem with my wife's 2018 Honda CRV.

Next_ceo

Level 1

8 points

Mar 22, 2019 6:03 PM in response to terrence135

I have the same issue with XS max running 12.1.4 on my 2019 A4. It seems many folks are affected yet there isn't a universal solution. Frustrating.

Mar 23, 2019 7:27 AM in response to raulo37

Thanks much. I tried your suggested solution and it worked perfectly. Been using CarPLay without a problem since then.

ravilach Author

Level 1

34 points

Oct 2, 2018 12:13 PM in response to Carolyn Samit

Thanks for the prompt reply Carolyn!

Going by the list, the Audi S4 has the same unit as the Audi A4.

Looks like none of the Audi sport variants are listed; they are more of a series/trim range.

A4: A4, S4, RS4

A5: A5, S5, RS5

-ravilach

ravilach Author

Level 1

34 points

Oct 7, 2018 6:04 PM in response to jayshep

Thanks for the details! Interesting about the airplane mode. I believe the WiFi is still enabled on iOS 12 when on airplane mode. I disabled the WiFi broadcast on my car too (2018 S4) it makes any difference.

TCPM_1

Level 1

9 points

Oct 15, 2018 8:23 AM in response to ravilach

Same exact problem. Switched from IPhone 7 Plus to IPhone XS MaX on my Audi Q7. Iphone 7 Plus running iOS 12 had no issues. IPhone XS Max keeps disconnecting exactly as others have described on this thread. I deleted my CarPlay profile on both my phone and vehicle and I tried erasing and resetting my networking settings. I had a glimmer of hope because my phone stayed connected for 20 minutes as opposed to 2-5 minutes. That was a short lived solution and now it is back to frequent disconnects especially if the Apple Maps or Google Maps navigation is engaged. Contacted Apple Support and they suggested that I do an Itunes restore to default and set my phone up as a new device (and not restore from iphone 7 backup). I have been delaying doing this because it is a pretty big hassle to rebuild the phone and I wanted to see if anyone else was having the issue. It appears some on this thread have tried resetting the phone and it did not resolve the problem. There are also quite a few Audi’s involved in this thread. Not sure how to proceed at this point, especially if resetting the phone does not correct the problem.

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!

QandnotU

Level 1

4 points

Oct 9, 2018 9:45 PM in response to ravilach

I have what I hope is a bit of good news. I haven’t got a disconnect since installing iOS 12.1 beta 3. I’ve tried every which way to try and break it, including most of the things mentioned here causing issue. Fortunately tomorrow’s schedule has me driving around like I’m an Uber driver, so it should be a good opportunity to find out if the stability is a fluke. Keep you posted.

Oct 10, 2018 8:30 AM in response to ravilach

Having a very similar issue. I actually was an apple senior tech support advisor until a few months ago- I now work in the automotive electronics field. Since swapping to the xs max, on ANY in dash unit, old pioneer appradios, any new CarPlay unit, etc, when plugged in, I am able to get audio, but NO video on the dash unit. No CarPlay interface, no controls, nothing. Multiple units. My iPhone X running same iOS 12 works perfectly. Makes it fairly difficult to test CarPlay for customers.

ravilach Author

Level 1

34 points

Oct 10, 2018 7:43 PM in response to Sovelin

Hmm not sure does seem like a lot of Audi owners on here.

Not sure if the USB on the Audi is drawing too much current. My connector to the USB on both cables I have tried seemed to be a bit warm or might just be coincidence.

jayshep

Level 1

19 points

Oct 15, 2018 3:01 PM in response to ravilach

Update: Running the 12.1 public beta 3 did not solve the issue for me. (IPhone XS Max connected to USB in a 2018 Audi A5 Sportback). I did a hard reset of the phone after installing and I also re-initialized the MMI software on the Audi (hold the two side buttons forward and simultaneously press the control knob). Sometimes I can go for twenty minutes with no problem at all. More often than not, I get sporadic disconnections that last between eight and twenty seconds before returning without my doing anything. There is no clear pattern. I’ve also tried turning off Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, but that doesn’t seem to make a difference. Bottom line: CarPlay appears to be unworkable, at least with a XS Max on an Audi.

Anyone having a different experience?

TCPM_1

Level 1

9 points

Oct 15, 2018 4:20 PM in response to jayshep

Same exact experience you are describing. I’m disappointed to hear that 12.1 beta 3 dId not correct the issue. I was encouraged when QandnotU reported that he received no disconnects when moving to 12.1 beta 3. Question for you and the other posters: Did you set up your iPhone XS Max as a new phone or restore it from a backup of your previous phone? Apple Support was indicating that restoring from the backup coiuld have affected the core OS, which is why they recommended to me that I set it up as a new phone.

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?

Oct 15, 2018 6:38 PM in response to ravilach

I have had some success by deleting Google Maps from my phone. Not a fan of this solution but for now it has been the only thing that has worked...it is driving me cra cra!

Able to use Waze and listen to Apple Music and podcasts now...let me know if this works for you.

Set up another support call for tomorrow. I'll post if I learn anything new.

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CarPlay Disconnecting - iPhone XS Max