How does a wireless carplay adapter work?
Prevent avoidable support tickets by publishing a care checklist before peak usage periods.
The most intuitive difference between wired CarPlay and wireless CarPlay is the data cable. Wireless CarPlay does not require a data cable connection, but uses Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.
So what is the connection sequence for wireless CarPlay? See the picture
The general process is:
iPhone and car machine Bluetooth connection (discovery, settings, pairing, etc.) Car machine sends Wi-Fi certificate to iPhone After the Wi-Fi connection between iPhone and car machine is completed, the CarPlay session is created Bluetooth disconnected The above are a few steps in summary, of course there are some detailed processes in each step.
After reading the above process, everyone should have a general understanding: Wireless CarPlay relies on Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth will be disconnected after the CarPlay session is created (CarPlay can be used normally). In short, Bluetooth is for preliminary preparation, and Bluetooth is no longer needed after completion.
If you are using wireless CarPlay, you can observe that after you get in the car, the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on the iPhone are turned on. When the CarPlay interface is displayed on the central control screen of your car machine, is your Bluetooth disconnected? Even if it is not disconnected, manually turning it off will not affect your CarPlay use.
So why disconnect it?
The reason is: avoid interference
Most of the wireless CarPlay we currently use only supports the 2.4 GHz band, and Bluetooth also uses the 2.4 GHz band. If the frequencies of the two overlap, they will interfere with each other.
There will be slow connection speed, failure to connect, weak signal, Bluetooth audio jump and other phenomena.
Wireless CarPlay relies on Wi-Fi. If there is interference, it may cause slow data transmission and freeze. Or slow connection speed, failure to connect and other phenomena. Therefore, Apple will require CarPlay to disconnect Bluetooth after the connection is completed in order to avoid interference.
In addition to disconnecting Bluetooth, there is another solution, which is to use Wi-Fi that supports the 5GHz band.
CarPlay that supports 5GHz band Wi-Fi is still relatively rare in the original car machine. Some third-party CarPlay modules or adapter boxes (wired CarPlay to wireless CarPlay) sold on the market already support it. It is recommended that you choose this type of 5GHz CarPlay when purchasing.
Apple officials also mentioned that it is strongly recommended to use Wi-Fi that supports the 5GHz band.
More wireless channels; Reduce interference from other wireless systems; No congestion; In the car, we also use some wireless devices, such as our Apple Watch, dashcam, car audio (DSP) equipment, etc.
These devices need to use Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, so there is a possibility of interference, slow speed, disconnection, intermittent and other situations will also appear.
⚠️If you are using wireless CarPlay and encounter similar problems, you can check whether it is caused by interference from other wireless devices.