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radio “head unit” face from Crutchfield or something thinking that the “tech” in the current unit is just “old” or out of date or something.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.
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.