Any Apple Car Play Experts Out There? - New

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jsnydcsa

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In 2020, I purchased a 2016 GMC Yukon with about 80k miles. It has Apple Car play on it and I dutifully paired my iPhone XR to it using a USB (USB A, right?) cable to connect the phone to the car. As folks on this site probably know, there are at least 5 separate USB A plug points in the vehicle – two in the dash that connect a phone to the radio, two in the center console and one “behind” the radio face (the face raises and lowers to reveal a storage area) in the storage area behind the radio face.

From the beginning, until today, I noticed the connection was never quite perfect. And, now things seem to be getting weirder and worse.

In some cases, attempts to access the playlists in Apple music only brought up “recently played” playlists and not my list of, well, playlists and the sub-folders of each. Other times, it was seamless, long list of playlist folders mirroring my iPhone’s music program, subfolder by subfolder.

In some cases, using the steering wheel toggles to raise and lower the volume and move forward and backward through a playlist had a noticeable lag or didn’t move the volume up/down or change songs at all. Again, other times, perfect and it worked.

Other times, the wired connection to the phone would just cut out. On the phone, it would not longer indicate the phone was charging and on the display of the radio, it indicated “please connect the device.” Again, no rhyme or reason. Could happen in the first five minutes of driving or not happen over a multi-hour road trip.

More recently, the Siri voice that pumps through the truck’s speakers has started to go slow – like the Hal voice in the 2001 Space Odyssey as it was being shut down. This issue has actually been fairly persistent over the past month.

I’m at a loss to think of what’s “wrong” and how to fix it.

I’ve tried different USB cables and tried all the different USB plug points. Interestingly, in my wife’s car, a late model VW Tiguan with USB C, my phone connects and works perfectly.

Can anyone tell me what I might be doing wrong?

I thought about buying a new replacement radio “head unit” face from Crutchfield or something thinking that the “tech” in the current unit is just “old” or out of date or something. But, I really don’t know if that’s the case and the thought of replacing that unit is a bit scary (e.g. the head unit/face also displays stuff about the AC/heating and some other functions) since it likely “connects” to the car itself in many ways.

Anyone have any ideas? Most appreciated!

FWIW the radio seemed to have been "reset" at the time of purchase. It came with a "free" 90 day SiriusXM subscription which implies that the dealer "reset" the radio for the "next" purchaser of the vehicle. And, also, I do NOT have a cellular plan for the vehicle - so as far as I know - the radio isn't connecting to the ether for "updates" to software.
 

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Wes
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In 2020, I purchased a 2016 GMC Yukon with about 80k miles. It has Apple Car play on it and I dutifully paired my iPhone XR to it using a USB (USB A, right?) cable to connect the phone to the car. As folks on this site probably know, there are at least 5 separate USB A plug points in the vehicle – two in the dash that connect a phone to the radio, two in the center console and one “behind” the radio face (the face raises and lowers to reveal a storage area) in the storage area behind the radio face.

From the beginning, until today, I noticed the connection was never quite perfect. And, now things seem to be getting weirder and worse.

In some cases, attempts to access the playlists in Apple music only brought up “recently played” playlists and not my list of, well, playlists and the sub-folders of each. Other times, it was seamless, long list of playlist folders mirroring my iPhone’s music program, subfolder by subfolder.

In some cases, using the steering wheel toggles to raise and lower the volume and move forward and backward through a playlist had a noticeable lag or didn’t move the volume up/down or change songs at all. Again, other times, perfect and it worked.

Other times, the wired connection to the phone would just cut out. On the phone, it would not longer indicate the phone was charging and on the display of the radio, it indicated “please connect the device.” Again, no rhyme or reason. Could happen in the first five minutes of driving or not happen over a multi-hour road trip.

More recently, the Siri voice that pumps through the truck’s speakers has started to go slow – like the Hal voice in the 2001 Space Odyssey as it was being shut down. This issue has actually been fairly persistent over the past month.

I’m at a loss to think of what’s “wrong” and how to fix it.

I’ve tried different USB cables and tried all the different USB plug points. Interestingly, in my wife’s car, a late model VW Tiguan with USB C, my phone connects and works perfectly.

Can anyone tell me what I might be doing wrong?

I thought about buying a new replacement radio “head unit” face from Crutchfield or something thinking that the “tech” in the current unit is just “old” or out of date or something. But, I really don’t know if that’s the case and the thought of replacing that unit is a bit scary (e.g. the head unit/face also displays stuff about the AC/heating and some other functions) since it likely “connects” to the car itself in many ways.

Anyone have any ideas? Most appreciated!

FWIW the radio seemed to have been "reset" at the time of purchase. It came with a "free" 90 day SiriusXM subscription which implies that the dealer "reset" the radio for the "next" purchaser of the vehicle. And, also, I do NOT have a cellular plan for the vehicle - so as far as I know - the radio isn't connecting to the ether for "updates" to software.
you could try just disconnecting the vehicle battery for a few minutes and see if that clears up anything.
as for the cellular plan it is not required you can connect the vehicle to any mobile hotspot or wifi signal and be able to get any oem software updates
anytime the vehicle changes ownership there is a free 90 day onstar trial period, that's done on the backend by onstar, it does not "reset" anything.
 
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jsnydcsa

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you could try just disconnecting the vehicle battery for a few minutes and see if that clears up anything.
----- Thanks, I'll try that. But, I did have the battery replaced about one year ago and the problem existed before and after the battery replacement.

"you can connect the vehicle to any mobile hotspot or wifi signal and be able to get any oem software updates"

Sorry. But could you point me to how I would connect the vehicle to a my hotspot or my home wifi? Every google search I tried turns up how to turn on the truck's own wifi and connect other devices to the truck's wifi signal.

And, another question, once I do get the truck connected to my my hotspot or my home wifi, how do I "ask" the vehicle to get software updates?

Very helpful ideas. I didn't think #1 would do it. But, I'll try. Clearly, I had no idea about #2. THANKS!
 

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you could try just disconnecting the vehicle battery for a few minutes and see if that clears up anything.
----- Thanks, I'll try that. But, I did have the battery replaced about one year ago and the problem existed before and after the battery replacement.

"you can connect the vehicle to any mobile hotspot or wifi signal and be able to get any oem software updates"

Sorry. But could you point me to how I would connect the vehicle to a my hotspot or my home wifi? Every google search I tried turns up how to turn on the truck's own wifi and connect other devices to the truck's wifi signal.

And, another question, once I do get the truck connected to my my hotspot or my home wifi, how do I "ask" the vehicle to get software updates?

Very helpful ideas. I didn't think #1 would do it. But, I'll try. Clearly, I had no idea about #2. THANKS!
if you just explore the system/radio menu the option is in there, I do not really have time to go thru it step by step but it should be in the owners manual.
once you have that done then there is also a selection box to automatically perform software updates or not
I have mine connected to a mobile hotspot I keep in the glove box, it allows all the onboard apps to function just like they would if it was connected to the built in 4g and allows software updates as well. I can optionally connect it to my home wifi while parked in the driveway or any other available wifi signal.
if you explore your radio/system menu everything is there, if you screw it up there is a "reset" option as well so you can just start over.
 
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jsnydcsa

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There's nothing in the radio/system menu that gives any indication to connect the vehicle to a wifi network. Neither in the main manual nor the separate radio manual. The only mention of the word Wifi in either manual is for setting up the vehcile's wifi network if you pay for a plan for the car. So, connecting the vehicle to a wifi network is a bust.

Disconnected the battery for about an hour. No effect.

Thanks anyway. Other ideas appreciated.
 

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Wes
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There's nothing in the radio/system menu that gives any indication to connect the vehicle to a wifi network. Neither in the main manual nor the separate radio manual. The only mention of the word Wifi in either manual is for setting up the vehcile's wifi network if you pay for a plan for the car. So, connecting the vehicle to a wifi network is a bust.

Disconnected the battery for about an hour. No effect.

Thanks anyway. Other ideas appreciated.
yes it's going to be under setting up wifi except you are going to connect to whatever wifi you want, you do not have to connect to the onboard wifi
from the home screen go to settings, scroll down to the bottom to wifi, then turn wifi on and/or manage wifi networks, in wifi networks it will show the built in wifi as well as any that are in range around you including any hotspot or home wifi, then simply connect to the preferred network by touching it. in the photo below it shows mine connected to my coolpad, the one below is the onboard and the following photo is others around me
wif.jpg
wif1.jpg
 

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your vehicle is like a giant moving tablet or laptop, you can connect it to whatever wifi you want to, mcdonalds, starbucks, whatever you select.
 
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jsnydcsa

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Unfortunately, my menu setup isn't anything like that and doesn't have the options you seem to have to search for and connect to nearby wifi networks. I drilled down thru every menu, sub menu, etc. and there's nothing like that. Indeed, the display photos you show don't even look like my display.
 

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The pre-2020 wifi connection seemed to only be for the purpose of updating the infotainment software, maybe primarily for adding and updating those apps in the OnStar apps menu. It will not update the car like in 2021+ models as far as I know.
 

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The pre-2020 wifi connection seemed to only be for the purpose of updating the infotainment software, maybe primarily for adding and updating those apps in the OnStar apps menu. It will not update the car like in 2021+ models as far as I know.
my 18 will play music app's and new's, etc (app's on radio) and update at least radio software via my hotspot i put in the glove box, it performs the same function as the built in 4g would, only my hotspot is free to me no charge. onstar initially told me it would not work but after pressing them about it they acknowledge that it would in fact work with a hotspot or any other available wifi signal. I do not know if it updates any vehicle software or not I don't think that was really a option on the k2's the software update checker does not specify. I see no reason why a 2016 would not do the exact same functions unless it has a older io3/4/5 without the same software as io6
 

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