Wireless CarPlay Adapters

[mr-fix]

I'm using iPhone 11 with my Discover Media via wireless connection over CarlinKit 3.0. And I have to say that battery life is fine BUT I had to make sure that the GPS option is enabled in CarlinKit advanced settings.
CarPlay dashboard shows your current position, so it requires the GPS receiver to work all the time which will drain the battery much faster. However the GPS option will make sure that your phones GPS receiver will not be used. Your cars GPS antenna data will be passed though via the dongle to the phone. This saves the battery + your position will not be lost in tunnels etc. since the car will estimate position based on other data (wheel speed and steering angle postion).

 

[ecsta]

Also ordered the Carlinkit 4.0 to try it out. I have the 3.0 and it works fine, but I remember going from 2->3 made the unit noticeably more responsive so its worth the $ to me.

Have to figure out what to do with the older ones. I guess my fiends with a VW will get a nice gift lol.

 

[Lena77]

Also ordered the Carlinkit 4.0 to try it out. I have the 3.0 and it works fine, but I remember going from 2->3 made the unit noticeably more responsive so its worth the $ to me.

Have to figure out what to do with the older ones. I guess my fiends with a VW will get a nice gift lol.

Thanks. I bought the carlinkit 4.0 from https://carlinkitbox.com/products/carlinkit-4-0-wireless-carplay-android-auto and when I got it, I thought it was really worth my money. It is small in size and is elegant in my opinion (Not cheap plastic). The setup is easier and the re-connection is pretty fast, plug and play.
I am satisfied with my this purchase. This is really convenient, the key is that the adapter can also charge my phone!!!
The price of 4.0 adapter is also reasonable, less than $85. Now they have a 15% discount for items. It's definitely worth it!

 

[ReadTheBook]

I’ve been using this for about two months it’s been fast and flawless with my Pioneer carplay unit in my MK4. Should also worked fine with MK7, i’ve been meaning to try in our alltrack, but I haven’t got around to it.

OTTOCAST Wireless CarPlay Adapter for iPhone - 2022 Upgrade Wired to Wireless Apple Carplay Dongle - 5GHz WiFi, Low Latency, Plug & Play, Online Update https://a.co/d/eaTKM1S

 

[mr-fix]

Currently testing two devices: CarlinKit 4.0 and Ailinkbox-A7.

CarlinKit with July firmware works much better and stable than on previously installed one. Had an issue with it one time when my system froze (not the dongle but my Discover Media). I believe at cold start it was too much for it to handle to connect with the dongle, load other system components and display rear view camera image at the same time.

Ailinkbox with recent firmware is also working stable. Nice thing to notice that they are actually responding to the feedback send via the form in advanced settings. I asked for boot delay and they added it within few days.

 

[mr-fix]

Tested Ailinkbox-A7.

Device works fine (both CarPlay and AndroidAuto), boots up quickly (~20 seconds to CarPlay interface), supports all 6 input methods (touch, knob, MFSW next/prev, MSFW fast forward, MFSW voice, Hey Siri).

Advanced settings are not that detailed, but if you want something and it's doable, you can send feedback via the form in settings and they actually do it. I asked for media playback auto resume when connecting and boot delay and both features were added within 2 weeks. Firmware update is OTA (over the air) from settings menu.

Doesn't matter if you are using CarPlay or AndroidAuto - the device connects with the car via CarPlay interface. This means that you will get AndroidAuto support on a vehicle that has only CarPlay (I believe all Porsche vehicles).

When it comes to cons:
- Can't disable LED indicators. And those are bright!
- There's no GPS pass-through - this means that your phone will use internal GPS receiver which will drain your battery faster than usual.

Updated my list: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1EMCOfEgc6PSrUTRv7o8LPsh3WMs2J6uXPPXKCg-_vHo/edit#gid=0

 

[ecsta]

Glad the Ailinkbox-A7 is working well. Curious how it compares to the 4.0. I basically have 0 loyalty so whichever is fastest to boot and has the lowest lag ill switch to lol.

Currently testing two devices: CarlinKit 4.0 and Ailinkbox-A7.

CarlinKit with July firmware works much better and stable than on previously installed one. Had an issue with it one time when my system froze (not the dongle but my Discover Media). I believe at cold start it was too much for it to handle to connect with the dongle, load other system components and display rear view camera image at the same time.

Ailinkbox with recent firmware is also working stable. Nice thing to notice that they are actually responding to the feedback send via the form in advanced settings. I asked for boot delay and they added it within few days.

I've been overall happy with the Carlinkit 4.0 but I do get the occasional freeze and its really annoying. Never happened with the 3.0 version, but could also be iOS 16 causing issues as well.

 

[mr-fix]

Tested CarlinKit 4.0

• Works great as long as it's not using latest/experimental firmware. I was at 2022.07.29.1635 which I recommend. The newest one had some display glitches on CarPlay and some voice assistant issues on AndroidAuto.
• 5/6 user input methods supported (only fast-forward with steering wheel is not working).

Pros:

• Fast boot up (had to set the boot delay to 6 seconds, to make sure that my Discover Media is ready before the adapter is ready),
• Supports GPS pass-though, which I highly value in those adapters,
• Supports AndroidAuto on Android phones.

Cons (just minor ones):

• hate to device color,
• USB-C port is deep and not all 3rd party cables will be able to reach the port.

 

[bobloblawGTI]

Tested CarlinKit 4.0

Cons (just minor ones):

• hate to device color,
• USB-C port is deep and not all 3rd party cables will be able to reach the port.

I velcro'd mine to the top of the cubby to sort out #1, and for #2 I took an exacto knife and shaved down the rubber around the end of the USB-C cable I wanted to use. Not the prettiest job but I never see it and it stays in the port adequately enough. Great review!

 

[ecsta]

Tested CarlinKit 4.0

• Works great as long as it's not using latest/experimental firmware. I was at 2022.07.29.1635 which I recommend. The newest one had some display glitches on CarPlay and some voice assistant issues on AndroidAuto.
• 5/6 user input methods supported (only fast-forward with steering wheel is not working).

Pros:

• Fast boot up (had to set the boot delay to 6 seconds, to make sure that my Discover Media is ready before the adapter is ready),
• Supports GPS pass-though, which I highly value in those adapters,
• Supports AndroidAuto on Android phones.

Cons (just minor ones):

• hate to device color,
• USB-C port is deep and not all 3rd party cables will be able to reach the port.

Interesting I didn't set any boot delay and seems to work fine. Do you find it boots up faster with the boot delay? (ie starting car to interacting inside CarPlay) ?

 

[krs]

Tested Ailinkbox-A7.

Device works fine (both CarPlay and AndroidAuto), boots up quickly (~20 seconds to CarPlay interface), supports all 6 input methods (touch, knob, MFSW next/prev, MSFW fast forward, MFSW voice, Hey Siri).

Advanced settings are not that detailed, but if you want something and it's doable, you can send feedback via the form in settings and they actually do it. I asked for media playback auto resume when connecting and boot delay and both features were added within 2 weeks. Firmware update is OTA (over the air) from settings menu.

Doesn't matter if you are using CarPlay or AndroidAuto - the device connects with the car via CarPlay interface. This means that you will get AndroidAuto support on a vehicle that has only CarPlay (I believe all Porsche vehicles).

When it comes to cons:
- Can't disable LED indicators. And those are bright!
- There's no GPS pass-through - this means that your phone will use internal GPS receiver which will drain your battery faster than usual.

Updated my list: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1EMCOfEgc6PSrUTRv7o8LPsh3WMs2J6uXPPXKCg-_vHo/edit#gid=0

Thanks for the videos, and the google docs.

I'm looking for a new adapter for my VW Atlas, as the MY I have doesn't have the wireless carplay.

 

[krs]

Tested CarlinKit 4.0

• Works great as long as it's not using latest/experimental firmware. I was at 2022.07.29.1635 which I recommend. The newest one had some display glitches on CarPlay and some voice assistant issues on AndroidAuto.
• 5/6 user input methods supported (only fast-forward with steering wheel is not working).

Pros:

• Fast boot up (had to set the boot delay to 6 seconds, to make sure that my Discover Media is ready before the adapter is ready),
• Supports GPS pass-though, which I highly value in those adapters,
• Supports AndroidAuto on Android phones.

Cons (just minor ones):

• hate to device color,
• USB-C port is deep and not all 3rd party cables will be able to reach the port.

I’ve been using this in my Atlas for a few days now, and so far I’m liking this. I’d never pulled the trigger on one for my Golf, but I think I’m going to double down now.

I used some 3m command strip tape to stick the car link to the top of the cubby so it’s out of the way.

 

[krs]

Tested CarlinKit 4.0

• Works great as long as it's not using latest/experimental firmware. I was at 2022.07.29.1635 which I recommend. The newest one had some display glitches on CarPlay and some voice assistant issues on AndroidAuto.
• 5/6 user input methods supported (only fast-forward with steering wheel is not working).

Pros:

• Fast boot up (had to set the boot delay to 6 seconds, to make sure that my Discover Media is ready before the adapter is ready),
• Supports GPS pass-though, which I highly value in those adapters,
• Supports AndroidAuto on Android phones.

Cons (just minor ones):

• hate to device color,
• USB-C port is deep and not all 3rd party cables will be able to reach the port.

So I’ve been running the carlink 4.0 in my Atlas and Golf. Both experience a minor annoying glitch, which I haven’t been able to figure out what the trigger is that causes this.

Occasionally while using the map navigation, Google maps or Apple Maps, the actual voice navigation doesn’t work. The map works, and it will drop the volume on the music when the map navigation would typically speak up, but no voice guided directions can be heard.

Make sense?

Anyone have something similar?

 

[bobloblawGTI]

So I’ve been running the carlink 4.0 in my Atlas and Golf. Both experience a minor annoying glitch, which I haven’t been able to figure out what the trigger is that causes this.

Occasionally while using the map navigation, Google maps or Apple Maps, the actual voice navigation doesn’t work. The map works, and it will drop the volume on the music when the map navigation would typically speak up, but no voice guided directions can be heard.

Make sense?

Anyone have something similar?

Yep, same. Though I find this also happens randomly with wired CarPlay, too, so I think it's more likely an iOS and/or MIB issue rather than the adapters. Either way, a temporary fix seems to be to unplug/replug. Annoying, though, especially when you rely on those voice prompts to know where speed cameras are

 

[krs]

Yep, same. Though I find this also happens randomly with wired CarPlay, too, so I think it's more likely an iOS and/or MIB issue rather than the adapters. Either way, a temporary fix seems to be to unplug/replug. Annoying, though, especially when you rely on those voice prompts to know where speed cameras are

Interesting, can't say I've tried the wired too much to notice. Sounds like it's not a fixable problem, so I'll just ignore it when it happens.