Wireless CarPlay Adaptor

SauRoNZA

SauRoNZA

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Does anyone have one of these? How well does it work in actual day to day use?

I see the two big names are Ottocast and Carlinkit the latter of which is more available locally but I'm also not scared of importing.

Just wonder if it's one of those things that are so much fiddling to use that I might as well just keep plugging it in.
 
I have used AAWireless since 2021 kickstarter. Always worked seamlessly in 3 different cars and 2 phones.

Now I know you are gonna say "AA is Android Auto clown, how does this help me?" but they have expanded to CarPlay as well now.

www.aawireless.io

Carplay Beta

Beta testing our latest Apple CarPlay functionality? Here's everything you need to know!
www.aawireless.io www.aawireless.io

Might be worth a look. I find the whole pairing process seamless, the integration into car head unit is seamless, and everything is functional. Setup works via an app, but app is not needed once initial setup is done.
 
AdrianH said:
I have used AAWireless since 2021 kickstarter. Always worked seamlessly in 3 different cars and 2 phones.

Now I know you are gonna say "AA is Android Auto clown, how does this help me?" but they have expanded to CarPlay as well now.

www.aawireless.io

Carplay Beta

Beta testing our latest Apple CarPlay functionality? Here's everything you need to know!
www.aawireless.io www.aawireless.io

Might be worth a look. I find the whole pairing process seamless, the integration into car head unit is seamless, and everything is functional. Setup works via an app, but app is not needed once initial setup is done.
Click to expand...

Do you have any lag at all?

The ones I've looked at also support Android Auto, but that's just a nice to have since I'll never use it.
 
I just realised my wife has one of those pop socket things on so can’t use wireless charger in the car anyway.

Seems like we’ll just end up plugging and unplugging the dongle then, so might as well just plug the phone in and out.
 
SauRoNZA said:
Do you have any lag at all?

The ones I've looked at also support Android Auto, but that's just a nice to have since I'll never use it.
Click to expand...
I haven't experienced lag since late 2021 when the firmware was still very fresh.

No issues or lag experienced in the last few years. Guess after 3 years, the fact it is still being sold and maintained is a good sign
 
SauRoNZA said:
I just realised my wife has one of those pop socket things on so can’t use wireless charger in the car anyway.

Seems like we’ll just end up plugging and unplugging the dongle then, so might as well just plug the phone in and out.
Click to expand...
AAWireless connects to the USB port normally used for AA/CP.
 
AdrianH said:
AAWireless connects to the USB port normally used for AA/CP.
Click to expand...
Yes I know, which means she’ll need to plug it out every time she uses the car which is most of the time and then plug her phone in.

I’ll need to then plug that cable out and plug the adaptor back in to get wireless.

So I might as well just plug my phone into the same port.
 
SauRoNZA said:
I just realised my wife has one of those pop socket things on so can’t use wireless charger in the car anyway.

Seems like we’ll just end up plugging and unplugging the dongle then, so might as well just plug the phone in and out.
Click to expand...
Im confused. Show some pics?

You can have the android auto or car play dongle in the usb and then another charging point into a 12v cigarette socket.
 
Enzo Matrix said:
Im confused. Show some pics?

You can have the android auto or car play dongle in the usb and then another charging point into a 12v cigarette socket.
Click to expand...
Yeah but now that would be two cables in the car, so might as well just use the one single one and use wired CarPlay.

It just becomes unnecessarily messy for no really good reason.

Primary motivation was that the new car has a wireless charger, not that I wanted CarPlay to be wireless in and of itself.

Wireless Charger + Dongle means no battery drain and easy drop phone into slot and go.

Now it’s a whole run around of plugging and unplugging still and R1800 later.
 

BMW owners - any of you fitted a Chinese MMI unit?

I've switched to an older model and would like Carplay again. Have any of you successfully fitted one of the Bimmertech/Unichip/Aliexpress MMI boxes for Android or Carplay? What model have you installed it in and what series of iDrive do you have? Are there any fitment centres in Jhb or Pta...
mybroadband.co.za mybroadband.co.za
 
I can tell you from experience that the wireless bit is life changing. You climb in and the screen just comes to life. Wont ever go back to wired. But thats on android. Im sure car play would be the same.
 
Enzo Matrix said:
I can tell you from experience that the wireless bit is life changing. You climb in and the screen just comes to life. Wont ever go back to wired. But thats on android. Im sure car play would be the same.
Click to expand...
It won’t be like that though if my wife has been using the car and that’s 99% of the time.

CarPlay would be exactly the same though.

Unless she’s happy with her phone running flat, which is unlikely but maybe the way to approach it that she only plugs into the other port when she needs to.

I guess I’ll see how it goes without first and then decide to buy or not. Maybe there’s a nice way to hide most of the wiring.
 
My VW has wireless CarPlay. It works great, but it’s a massive battery drain to be honest. Especially while navigating. I wouldn’t ‘invest’ in upgrading to wireless since I plug in if I’m in the car for any extended period of time.
 
SauRoNZA said:
Does anyone have one of these? How well does it work in actual day to day use?

I see the two big names are Ottocast and Carlinkit the latter of which is more available locally but I'm also not scared of importing.

Just wonder if it's one of those things that are so much fiddling to use that I might as well just keep plugging it in.
Click to expand...
I got a wireless adapter from Auto Tech Systems about a year ago - it's a rebranded OttoCast which I use in a 2018 Audi SQ5, that came with wired CarPlay only. I have had no issues with it except the inevitable lag that comes with anything wireless. I use WiFi CarPlay about 90% of the time, but when I hit the long-road, I prefer good old wired USB. I've experienced the odd drop-out - I guess wireless interference - on the long road. It's very infrequent and intermittent and your mileage may vary. The "Ottocast" allows you to connect via an IP address to change various settings, including wifi channels and to do firmware upgrades. The only setting I needed to mess with was "delayed start", which enabled my infotainment to boot up before attempting the CarPlay Wifi connection. Takes between 10-20 seconds for CarPlay to appear. Lag is also about 15sec - mostly OK but if, like me (don't judge) you like to glance at lyrics on Spotify or Apple Music, it will be slightly out of sync. The same is true for voice navigation - commands will be a few seconds later than "normal", but nothing deal breaking that prevents nav from working. The convenience more than makes up for the few drawbacks.
 
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