[Josie F]

Is anyone having issues with Apple CarPlay going out? I have a brand new 2022 Ascent Limited and have had this issue in every Subaru I've had (in both my other Ascent and my Forester). I just traded in my 2020 Ascent Limited for a 2022 Ascent Limited only one week ago, and Apple CarPlay continues to be an issue no matter what Subaru I have. One day it works fine and the next day not at all. Or it will work when I get in the car in the morning, but when I run in the store for an errand and turn the car on later in the day, it won't work. Only had my 2022 for one week and this should not be happening. I should note that I also have two brand new iPhones (iPhone 12), and my USB cables are brand new and right from the Apple store itself. When CarPlay goes out, I try it on both my iPhones AND my daughter's iPhone 11, and when it's out it doesn't work on any of our phones. I try the trick of turning off the engine, opening the door so the car completely shuts off, waiting a few minutes, and starting the car back up, and still nothing.

This was a problem in my 2020 Ascent and my 2019 Forester as well, and I ended up at the Service Center on 4 separate occasions for this, having to get the head unit replaced and the USB hub replaced.

Does anyone else have the 2022 Ascent yet, or have any fixes for this CarPlay issue in general since it seems to happen in many Subaru vehicles? Sucks that it's happening in my 2022 as well.

 

[DocRock]

Have you tried unlocking your phone before starting up your car? That solves the problem quite often.

 

[Josie F]

Have you tried unlocking your phone before starting up your car? That solves the problem quite often.

Yes, my phone is always unlocked before I start the car and plug in the USB. In my previous 2020 Ascent, I ended up having to have the head unit replaced and multiple software updates from the service center. I'm just surprised this is happening after only having my 2022 one week, and would be annoyed if the head unit or USB hub has to be replaced after only having the car a week.

 

[Mike//K]

I've had similar CarPlay issues with Subaru and other brands. Here's the three things I do:

1. Be sure your iPhone is running the latest iOS.

2. On your iPhone, go into Settings/General/CarPlay. Under "MY Cars" delete all profiles by swiping left and selecting "forget." Next time you plug your phone into the Ascent, a new profile will be created based on the most current version of iOS on your phone. Note that you will have to give your phone permission to connect when locked so what your iPhone screen for the prompt.

3. Don't connect your iPhone to the cable/car immediately when leaving the house or a store. On our two Subaru's I've found CarPlay doesn't start-up if the phone is connected to wifi (we have a weak signal in the garage that seems to stop the phone from connecting). Same applies to any place you've connected to wifi in the past, your phone remembers (example for me was at the hockey rink last night, CarPlay wouldn't connect until I left the parking lot and was on the street).

Hope that helps.

 

[TSiWRX]

I've come to the conclusion that it's just buggy.

Please understand that this is not being said in a callous, insensitive, or off-hand manner. 😅 It's really what I think think of the Subaru/CarPlay interface....and on other brands, too.

The thing that puts this into perspective for me was reading about -during the Boeing 737-MAX debacle- the kind of vetting that takes place for systems in a commercial passenger aircraft, versus what they do for our vehicles'....especially the entertainment system. 🤪

@Robert.Mauro also once described the rather convoluted way in which troubleshooting and changes/improvements are made in the multiple-handshakes-required transactions between the vehicle manufacturer, head-unit manufacturer, and the device manufacturer.

I actually think it's rather amazing that we get anything at all.

I live in the speed-trap haven that is NE-Ohio. Really, look it up - so many of our townships are in the national registry.
As a result, I run Waze full-time in the car during my daily commutes, for which I am typically in/out of the vehicle 4 to 6 times a day, every day.

I usually find that I need to take some form of remedial action such as connecting/reconnecting my phone via its plug (yes, I tend to go through at least one cable a year, if not two) at least 50% of the time. For those who are wondering, what I've observed has held true between my '19 Touring (through one lease-cycle of 3 years; I obtained the vehicle in '18) and also my '21 Touring. I routinely update my phone's OS, and my Ascent also has an activated hot-spot. Only occasionally do I find the glitch "hard" enough that I need to shut off my phone and restart it and/or to reset the entertainment deck. I have yet to need to re-pair my phone.

 

[Josie F]

I've had similar CarPlay issues with Subaru and other brands. Here's the three things I do:

1. Be sure your iPhone is running the latest iOS.

2. On your iPhone, go into Settings/General/CarPlay. Under "MY Cars" delete all profiles by swiping left and selecting "forget." Next time you plug your phone into the Ascent, a new profile will be created based on the most current version of iOS on your phone. Note that you will have to give your phone permission to connect when locked so what your iPhone screen for the prompt.

3. Don't connect your iPhone to the cable/car immediately when leaving the house or a store. On our two Subaru's I've found CarPlay doesn't start-up if the phone is connected to wifi (we have a weak signal in the garage that seems to stop the phone from connecting). Same applies to any place you've connected to wifi in the past, your phone remembers (example for me was at the hockey rink last night, CarPlay wouldn't connect until I left the parking lot and was on the street).

Hope that helps.

Thanks so much for those tips, as I have literally not read any of those tips in any of the other forums on here!! The WiFi bit is interesting. I'll also definitely do #2 anytime my iPhone updates to the next iOS. Appreciate it so much.

 

[Josie F]

I've come to the conclusion that it's just buggy.

Please understand that this is not being said in a callous, insensitive, or off-hand manner. 😅 It's really what I think think of the Subaru/CarPlay interface....and on other brands, too.

The thing that puts this into perspective for me was reading about -during the Boeing 737-MAX debacle- the kind of vetting that takes place for systems in a commercial passenger aircraft, versus what they do for our vehicles'....especially the entertainment system. 🤪

@Robert.Mauro also once described the rather convoluted way in which troubleshooting and changes/improvements are made in the multiple-handshakes-required transactions between the vehicle manufacturer, head-unit manufacturer, and the device manufacturer.

I actually think it's rather amazing that we get anything at all.

I live in the speed-trap haven that is NE-Ohio. Really, look it up - so many of our townships are in the national registry.
As a result, I run Waze full-time in the car during my daily commutes, for which I am typically in/out of the vehicle 4 to 6 times a day, every day.

I usually find that I need to take some form of remedial action such as connecting/reconnecting my phone via its plug (yes, I tend to go through at least one cable a year, if not two) at least 50% of the time. For those who are wondering, what I've observed has held true between my '19 Touring (through one lease-cycle of 3 years; I obtained the vehicle in '18) and also my '21 Touring. I routinely update my phone's OS, and my Ascent also has an activated hot-spot. Only occasionally do I find the glitch "hard" enough that I need to shut off my phone and restart it and/or to reset the entertainment deck. I have yet to need to re-pair my phone.

Thanks so much for sharing. I'm of the belief as you, that I think it's just "buggy," which is super annoying. That's part of having technology, I suppose. I, like you, rely on Waze a lot and for many things. In addition to knowing about speed traps, construction, etc., I use Waze for navigation around traffic and in general, as I don't really care for Subaru's navigation system. I also rely on CarPlay for all my music from my phone if I don't feel like listening to SiriusXM. I updated my post to include that in addition to both my Ascents, it happened in my 2019 Forester all the time as well. The General Manager at my local Subaru sales center told me that there is talk at Subaru about them getting more "with the times" and having some sort of system where drivers can push software updates themselves over the air/through the car, without having to go to a service center. Perhaps that feature will come in the near future!

 

[Jim_in_PA]

My understanding is that many of the WiFi associated issues are relative to the WiFI radio in the vehicle being turned on as some may have it set for automatic updates. I've never had an issue with home WiFi connection to the phone interfering with CarPlay startup and I have very strong WiFI signals at home by design.

 

[Josie F]

My understanding is that many of the WiFi associated issues are relative to the WiFI radio in the vehicle being turned on as some may have it set for automatic updates. I've never had an issue with home WiFi connection to the phone interfering with CarPlay startup and I have very strong WiFI signals at home by design.

Interesting. Yeah I'm not sure mine is WiFi related as someone mentioned, but I never knew about the WiFi related issues, so now I'll pay more attention to that. There is never any rhyme or reason to when my CarPlay goes out, which is why it's so hard to pinpoint. If anything, my CarPlay is always fine when I'm in the garage at home and it goes out later in the day when I'm out and about.

 

[TSiWRX]

I wish I could pin it on WiFi, @Jim_in_PA - I also saw these issues prior to enabling the hotspot feature on my '19.

I didn't turn on the hotspot feature in my '19 until the spring/summer of 2019. By that point, I'd had my '19 Ascent for over a year (November 2018 lease inception)....

At least in my experience, WiFi didn't seem to play into the bugginess. But, as we like to say in our field, it's just an n of 1.

I compulsively troubleshoot in a reductive manner. When my garage door opener malfunctioned and the technician came out, I ran him through my troubleshooting matrix, and he was 🤪 at it. I saved him a bunch of work, so he didn't even charge us for the call.

I have yet to get this figured out for myself. It's, as @Josie F noted, aggravating and annoying.

But like that guy who took out an ad in the papers for an "arch nemesis," I just think of this annoyance as adding some spice to my rather boring everyday life. 🤣

 

[Jim_in_PA]

I don't mean the hotspot feature...I mean the actual WiFi radio itself in the head unit, which the Ascent uses for updates by connecting to your home WiFi setup. If you check back into older threads, there was a recommendation to kill that onboard radio in the Settings, and if I'm recalling correctly, it did help with stabilizing some folks' connections. But my memory can be flawed...just ask Professor Dr. SWMBO.

 

[TSiWRX]

^ Oh!!!!

Now I get it.

Lemmie try that...... Thanks!

 

[Josie F]

I don't mean the hotspot feature...I mean the actual WiFi radio itself in the head unit, which the Ascent uses for updates by connecting to your home WiFi setup. If you check back into older threads, there was a recommendation to kill that onboard radio in the Settings, and if I'm recalling correctly, it did help with stabilizing some folks' connections. But my memory can be flawed...just ask Professor Dr. SWMBO.

I'm going to try that as well! I'll try anything and everything at this point.

 

[Jim_in_PA]

No guarantees but something is sticking in the back of my head about that...

 

[sunnymwb]

If it's any consolation...

I had zero issues with my iPhone X in my Kia Sedona.
I had occasional issues with my iPhone 12Pro in my Kia Sedona
I have CONSTANT issues with my Sony stereo (Nissan NV, upgrade stereo just to have CarPlay) with my 12 Pro. Like I have to plug in and unplug and repeat 3-4-5 times before the radio will "read" my phone, and sometimes I'll be riding down the road jamming out and singing at top volume and BAM, silence. Connection lost. My kids love this as they think it's hilarious to hear me still singing until I realize it.
My husband has issues with his 11 occasionally but it works 99% of the time for him.

Yes, everything is up to date, unlocked, mouth held just right, vehicle pitched 17.2 degrees away from the sun (only somewhat kidding, but seriously, it's like trying to replicate the exact conditions present the last time your baby slept through the night and just praying they'll do it again!)

So... this is not a "Subaru" thing. It's common across vehicle/stereo platforms, some worse than others and apparently some phone models worse than others.

 

[sbach9]

I've been having audio issues, primarily with Carplay as well. Haven't been able to pin down if it's just carplay or the entire infotainment system. I've been in 3 times and my dealer has replaced my amp once and updated other times but I got fed up and contacted Subaru of America directly. Next time a major update drops I'm going to connect them with my local dealer to work on the issue together. I've heard lots of people getting nowhere with local dealers and having to escalate to SoA. That might be a good next step to think about too.

 

[Josie F]

I've been having audio issues, primarily with Carplay as well. Haven't been able to pin down if it's just carplay or the entire infotainment system. I've been in 3 times and my dealer has replaced my amp once and updated other times but I got fed up and contacted Subaru of America directly. Next time a major update drops I'm going to connect them with my local dealer to work on the issue together. I've heard lots of people getting nowhere with local dealers and having to escalate to SoA. That might be a good next step to think about too.

View attachment 15453

Oh wow, that's great to know, thank you! Between my prior 2019 Forester and my 2020 Ascent that I just traded in, I can't tell you how many times I was at service about the audio, CarPlay and infotainment issues. Did you ever have that issue where all the sound went completely out? That happened to me as well and had the amp replaced as you did. I had the entire head unit replaced, amps replaced, USB hub replaced, all of it. Two weeks into my 2022 Ascent and I really hope I don't end up down that road again. Not sure if you saw my comment to someone else above about how my local Subaru GM of Sales told me there was talk at Subaru about having a feature in the near future where you can do the software updates over the air yourself. That would be great if they can figure that out. Thanks for the screenshot of your Subaru America letter with contact info. I'm holding on to that should this issue persist!

 

[xydadx3]

Is anyone having issues with Apple CarPlay going out? I have a brand new 2022 Ascent Limited and have had this issue in every Subaru I've had (in both my other Ascent and my Forester). I just traded in my 2020 Ascent Limited for a 2022 Ascent Limited only one week ago, and Apple CarPlay continues to be an issue no matter what Subaru I have.

Have you tried your phone in other vehicles that have CarPlay besides Subarus? Unless it works in other vehicles the commonality appears to be your phone, not the head units. Check for dust in the lightning port of your phone with a toothpick. Every single time I've had problems with CarPlay either not connecting or cutting out on me it's been because of dust in that port or a non MFi certified cable being used. Until wireless CarPlay is ubiquitous this will continue to be a problem unfortunately.

 

[sbach9]

My phone works fine in my wife's Honda Carplay so it's definitely something with the Subaru. I've also gotten a new phone in between the last year that this has happened and it has continued. Mine has cut out completely only two times that I can remember but both times, holding down the power for 20 seconds has restarted and fixed it. My issue is more of a lows/mids cutting out. I still have the high/treble, it just sounds tinny and weak. It'll cut out and revert multiple times in the span of a couple minutes. That's why we originally thought it was a bad Amp. But it persisted through the amp replacement.

I'll be interested to hear if the audio issues so common on the 19'-21's are still present in the 22' or not.

 

[Jim_in_PA]

Until wireless CarPlay is ubiquitous this will continue to be a problem unfortunately.

I'll have to chuckle a little about that as wireless CarPlay and AndroidAuto appear to be even more challenging than the "good cable dance" with wired. And that's across many brands and devices. My opinion is that it's so complicated because of the initial BT setup and then handoff to private WiFi (which kills any other WiFi connection as some have been surprised to find out), etc., just to support the required bandwidth. Mr Murphy really loves it! I think that wireless is going to take a next generation connection methodology/standard to get there.