[CraigK]

My Boxster already has the CarPlay option installed. As you may already know, it is a wired system. The phone must be plugged into the USB port for CarPlay to work.
Lately I’ve seen some wireless CarPlay dongles that plug into the USB port and supposedly bring wireless CarPlay support. I guess the phone connects to the dongle through Bluetooth or WiFi and the car must see it as a wired connection.
Everything I read though talks about installing some firmware on the head unit to activate CarPlay but I think this may be if you don’t already have CarPlay installed.

Has anyone tried one of these dongles just to make an existing CarPlay system wireless?

 

[GTS18BGTS]

I'd certainly like to find a solution for this. According to the linked article, our head units have the required hardware - BT and wifi. Not sure those dongles will work for us. Link

 

[GTS18BGTS]

New iOS 13 and CarPlay enhancements. I like some of the new features.

 

[GTS18BGTS]

It seems there are a number of members who use Android phones that would like the features CarPlay offers. Well there is a dongle that will enable that for them. Lots of info at CarPlay Life.

Edit: I realized the dongle is for making Android head units compatible with iOS.

 

[dreamer]

New iOS 13 and CarPlay enhancements. I like some of the new features.

Saw the new features a while back. Although it seems to be a nice set up I will be interested to see if the map adjustability works in Waze and Google Maps. Those cars (not ours) that have a widescreen, it will be really nice.

 

[CraigK]

That Carlinkit dongle is exactly what I'm hoping will work. Anyone try it? I'm HOPING I could just plug it into the USB port, sync with my phone (Bluetooth or WiFi), and be good to go. I'm not wanting to get into special firmware installation on head unit. And of course this would only be for units that already have the wired CarPlay activated. I'm thinking it may not matter if it is an Android head unit or not if the dongle just feeds the USB port making it "think" the phone is plugged in.

 

[jimmuller]

I'm curious too. I had spent some time looking for ways to connect my Android phone to the PCM's CarPlay. There are some apps out there but they do nothing except create a CarPlay-like user interface to the Android's apps. What you, meaning I, need is a hardware connection that either looks like an iPhone or actually is one.

So I looked at some of the hardware offerings described in eBay. The biggest problem I have is that the descriptions don't really say enough. For example, if it simply connects to the phone via Bluetooth and converts the messages to USB to give you wireless connection then it won't do anything for an Android phone in a P car. The apps on the phone would still be the same non-CarPlay. To do CarPlay with an Android phone it needs to have active programming converting screen-touch messages, video, and audio to what CarPlay expects. It also has to present the identity of being an iPhone to the car, inotherwords a stripped down mini-phone which has only message conversion capability. The assumption is that the connected phone would actually do the navigation and map-downloading, and also any real phone calling necessary.

So I ended up using a discarded iPhone 5. For its data source I turn on my Android's wi-fi Hotspot. It works pretty well, about as well as if the iPhone itself still had an active 4G-LTE connection. The question is whether a dongle would be any better. I can't see how from reading those descriptions.

 

[CraigK]

Not sure about Android phones and conversion to CarPlay, but for my intended use with an iPhone to convert the existing wired CarPlay system to wireless, the Carlinkit vendor replied to me that this product will work: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07T8NQJX1?ref=myi_title_dp&th=1. There was a $60 coupon also! I ordered it and will report back next month when it arrives.

 

[Barryng]

Good job!!!!! I appreciate the research to find something potentially so useful but also something I didn't bother to look for because I just assumed it did not exist.

I just checked the Amazon link and it gives a delivery between October 1 and October 28. That long delivery span starting a month away gives me major concern this product is not ready for shipment and these dates are likely to slip out even farther. As soon as it is verified they are indeed shipping and it does work I will instantly order one but at this time almost $200 is too big a gamble for something that I don't yet have good vibes with respect to actually shipping and it working in a reliable non-buggy manner. I also have a concern re the major Apple Car Play upgrade supposedly coming later this month with ios13.

If it does work it makes one think why Porsche couldn't easily incorporate a wireless interface like BMW?

 

[DriveInHouston]

The long delivery time, most likely, means it is shipped from China. The latter means that getting a refund if it doesn't work will take even longer, if not forever.

 

[dreamer]

Keep in mind: there's a reason they have two formats. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Don't think you can cross platform even if you can get hooked up. Porsche has bought into the Apple version and not Android. Other manufacturers have done the same but some offer both. Maybe in the future.

 

[nineball]

Everything I read though talks about installing some firmware on the head unit to activate CarPlay but I think this may be if you don’t already have CarPlay installed.

i am thinking it ONLY applies if you don't have carplay already, and even then you would need specific code for each radio manufacturer. for example there is an interface for aftermarket radios i used in my f150 called the maestro rr. i had to program that firmware with the serial number of my radio to get it to work. it works with 4 different brands of radio or so, so obviously there is different software needed for each (not to mention the different wires).

the carplay software hasn't changed much, if at all, since it's inception. the changes have occurred on the iphone side of things. when i first got my car in '17 Waze was not supported in carplay. now it is, and nothing changed in my car. it was all done on the phone. from what i have read the new changes are the same way - done on the phone, not the car.

 

[GTS18BGTS]

I'll post here regarding my new found tolerance of the tethered iPhone rather than in my thread which got buried. First, I purchased a 12" coiled lightening cable. Much easier to leave the USB end connected in the phone compartment, then pull the cable out far enough to connect my unlocked phone than using the short 6" cable I had been using. Second, if the phone is left connected in the car and I make a short stop to pick something up, when restarting the car, the phone automatically connects as a CarPlay device. I still have to choose iPad vs iPhone, but there's no need to again unlock the phone. Having the ability to pull the phone out from the armrest without disconnecting it, is a real improvement for me. The wireless dongle will get a consideration if it works

Lightening Cable

 

[DPC]

I experienced wireless CarPlay in a MINI and my wired CarPlay in my '18 718 is a much better system. I just to open my phone and it works to perfection immediately. The MINI's wireless system seemed to work on it's own time. Just my experience.

 

[CraigK]

The Carlinkit dongle that I ordered on Amazon finally arrived from Singapore. Overall I was quite impressed with the device. It generally does what I think it promises. You plug the dongle into the CarPlay USB port, connect your phone to the dongle Bluetooth and that's it. Going forward, everything is completely hands-off. The Bluetooth automatically connects each time you get into the car and the CarPlay screen starts. Completely wireless.

A few notes: I found I needed to delete my regular Porsche Bluetooth profile or else there was confusion between the two. Also, there was a bit of a load time for the device each time, so for about 20 seconds each time I got into the car, the screen would show some Mandarin text while it synced up. Once synced, it went right into the CarPlay screen. And it does seem to support the new iOS 13 split CarPlay screen.

On the other hand, I found the following issues:
-Huge battery drain on my phone. I guess I should have expected it, but you need to consider that Apple Maps is always running in the background during a CarPlay session. So I would go through about 10% of my phone batter every 30 minutes or so with the GPS module running.
-Not sure if it is a CarPlay or dongle issue, but incoming calls do not display the caller ID number
-A lot of fighting with Siri trying to get what I wanted to happen. Many talk-to-text messages sent out that I did not intend to. In fact, Siri would often pick up her own voice saying "what do you want to say" as part of my message. And when Siri asked if I was ready to send, I would say NO and she would say "Okay...message sent". That obviously caused a lot of confusion to the recipients!

So in the end, I ended up disconnecting and going back to my Porsche Bluetooth setup. The wireless CarPlay was certainly very cool and a good $120 experiment, but I found the tradeoff of battery drain and no incoming caller ID to outweigh any benefits I gained. In the end, the only benefit with the wireless CarPlay was the ability to press the Siri button on the steering stalk and dial by voice. For longer road trips I would need to plug in anyway for the battery drain, and on my short commute to work, the native Porsche Bluetooth system provides me generally with all I need.

I'm happy to answer any questions for anyone.

 

[jimmuller]

@CraigK, thanks for the report. I had read the ads for those things and wondered. I've been using a decommissioned iPhone5 plugged into the CarPlay port and receiving data via WiFi from my Android phone's WiFi Hotspot. Except that it takes the Android phone offline as a phone this system works very well. When I start a trip and don't need CarPlay navigation I just tell the PCM to use the iPhone as an iPod. For longer trips I plug the Android into the other USB plug to keep it charged. The only isssue is that once I've told the PCM to use the iPhone as an iPhone it won't let me re-assign it to make my Android phone work as a phone again until I unplug the iPhone. But so far that has not been a problem.

 

[macrossVFX222]

thank you so much for the post, CraigK. This is awesome info. In terms of the battery drain I am hoping it is the same as with the official wireless carplay function. I guess I am going to order one from Amazon and give it a shot as well. On my wireless carplay vehicle it is draining my battery as well but not quite as bad as 10% for 30 minutes. Siri is a hit or miss for me on my 718 anyways (engine noise?). If it can do 80% of what a true wireless carplay setup does I will be happy.

 

[CraigK]

I’ve got the dongle sitting in my basement not being used. If you’re interested, I’ll sell it to you for $60, assuming you’re in the USA. I only used it for about a week but don’t think I’ll use it again. Not sure how, but there must be a way to private message me in this forum.

 

[macrossVFX222]

PM Sent @CraigK

 

[dsheets]

Has anyone tried Cplay2air USB wireless adapter? It is available from the company's site and the reviews there seem too good to be true.