Problem with phone/car connection

June 14, 2024 11:23 AM

My touchscreen in my car keeps freezing when connected to my phone.

My touchscreen and sometimes phone itself freeze when connected with a certified Apple cord. Service ppl can never replicate the problem, which has been going on since I bought my car new in 2021. My phone is 6 months old--thought a new phone would help.

posted by bookworm4125 to Technology (6 answers total)

Check with your car dealer's service department whether there's a software update for your car's "entertainment system" that would update the car's end of the Apple CarPlay connection.
posted by ReferenceDesk at 12:07 PM on June 14

Have you tried using a bluetooth connection rather than the cord? Sometimes that winds up working *somewhat* better. Though both my husband and I run into our vehicles' infotainment systems from time to time. None of them seem to be particularly well designed, even when using something like Apple CarPlay.
posted by eekernohan at 12:09 PM on June 14

Does this happen with any phone that connects via the certified Apple cord or just yours? Have you tried a different cord? Have you tried your phone in a different car? Is your car's system up to date in terms of all software updates? Is your phone up to date with the latest or near latest iOS?
posted by JohnnyGunn at 12:10 PM on June 14

Knowing what car make you have might help get a working answer. Some makes, like some Subarus, required a wired connection for CarPlay until very recently.
posted by Thorzdad at 12:17 PM on June 14

Response by poster: I just picked it up from service today and had told them about the problem, so I doubt there's a service update for the system they didn't do. It's almost always my phone that's plugged in but I don't think it's been a problem w my friends or ex husband which is so odd. Phone is up to date. Yes the Bluetooth is always fine but then I can't see my map and the music interface is super basic. It's a Mercedes gla.
posted by bookworm4125 at 12:41 PM on June 14

This was years ago, but I found it helpful to actually un-pair the Bluetooth connection (or turn off bluetooth). It seemed to sometimes interfere with the carplay connection.
posted by kickingtheground at 1:36 PM on June 14 [3 favorites]