Is your CarPlay not working after recently updating your iPhone?
What’s difficult about troubleshooting CarPlay issues is dealing with the many different car systems beyond your iPhone. If none of the tips in this article work, there is most likely an issue with your vehicle’s infotainment system.
There should be someone you can get in touch with from the vehicle manufacturer. The best advice I can give is to make sure your vehicle has the most recent firmware installed. Also, your car’s manual may have some helpful information.
Contents
- 1 Watch this video on CarPlay not working, or read the text below
- 2 Quick Tips
- 3 Reset and update your vehicle’s infotainment system
- 4 CarPlay issues with iOS 13 and Kenwood?
- 5 Try different USB cables and ports
- 6 Make sure CarPlay is enabled and not blocked
- 7 Bluetooth issue with CarPlay and your iPhone
- 8 How to fix night mode for maps
- 9 Spotify not working with CarPlay
- 10 CarPlay Shows a Black Screen
- 11 CarPlay Issues with iPhone XS/XR and iOS 12.1
Watch this video on CarPlay not working, or read the text below
Quick Tips 
Follow These Quick Tips To Get CarPlay Working Again
- Reset the infotainment system
- Use a different USB port or cable (or both)
- Disable any restrictions on your iPhone
- Toggle Bluetooth off and on or turn off Bluetooth entirely when in your vehicle
- Delete old Bluetooth connections no longer used
- Remove any vehicles from CarPlay settings that you no longer use or need
Related Articles
- Apple CarPlay Options for Older Vehicles
- How Apple Can Continue to Innovate with CarPlay in the Future
Reset and update your vehicle’s infotainment system
The best place to start with any tech issue is to restart your devices. The same is true here. If you are experiencing any problems with CarPlay turn off and restart your car.
And it’s a good idea to go ahead and reset your iPhone as well. Every system is different, so turning on and off the vehicle may or may not completely reboot the system.
Many are just put to sleep when you turn the car off. See if you can find any information in your vehicle’s manual about completely resetting the infotainment system.
CarPlay issues with iOS 13 and Kenwood?
If you own a Kenwood CarPlay unit and just updated to iOS 13, Please do check Kenwood’s guidance around this issue via this latest tweet.
If you use a different brand, please do check specific communication from them. You can check their site or check their twitter account for latest updates regarding iOS 13.
Try different USB cables and ports
iPhones have always been finicky with third-party cables. Try plugging into your car with the cable that came with your iPhone.
If you’re already using one of Apple’s first-party cables, it’s still worth trying a few different ones to see if there is an issue.
Some cars have multiple USB ports that support CarPlay.
If the port you’ve used in the past isn’t working, try plugging into other USB ports if they are available.
Make sure CarPlay is enabled and not blocked
Every vehicle handles CarPlay differently. In some vehicles, there is a requirement to enable the feature before you can use it. Even then, some finicky issues come up.
For example, when you plug an iPhone into the USB port, some vehicles won’t allow CarPlay to be enabled. The iPhone had to be plugged in.
The lesson here is to check your vehicle’s manual to see if CarPlay needs to be enabled. Also, it may take some fiddling to get CarPlay to work if you’re having issues.
Check Restrictions for CarPlay
If you use restrictions on your iPhone, you may have disabled CarPlay by accident.
On your iPhone, go to Settings > Screen Time > Privacy & Content Restrictions or in older iOS, General > Restrictions and then enter your passcode.
Scroll until you find CarPlay and turn it off.
Bluetooth issue with CarPlay and your iPhone
I know it’s a running theme, but every vehicle seems to have different quirks when dealing with CarPlay.
Using both a Bluetooth connection and CarPlay is another example. Some vehicles handle both connections just fine, but others do not.
If you’re having issues connecting with CarPlay, remove the Bluetooth connection between your iPhone and vehicle. Restart your iPhone and try to use CarPlay again.
Another thing to try is to get rid of any connections to another vehicle. Check your Bluetooth settings to see if there are any old connections still hanging around.
Go to Settings > General > CarPlay to see if you have any other CarPlay connections with another vehicle. Try deleting these to see if it fixes the problem.
It’s also worth a try to delete your current vehicle’s connection here and set it up again.
How to fix night mode for maps
By default, the maps app uses dark mode at night. But sometimes it just won’t activate, and it can be blinding to use the normal mode at night.
Sometimes this issue can be fixed by starting navigation to somewhere. Once the app kicks into navigation, dark mode starts.
If you cancel the navigation, dark mode should still stick.
Another solution is to adjust your vehicle’s dimmer. Just about every vehicle has a knob or dial that will adjust the interior lighting at night.
Interestingly, CarPlay is tied to the dimmer in some vehicles. In these vehicles, dark mode will activate once you dim the interior a bit.
Some vehicles even have separate dimmers for the dash unit and additional interior lighting. Again, you may need to fiddle around a bit to figure out what works in your vehicle.
Spotify not working with CarPlay
Some people are finding Spotify no longer works with CarPlay after updating to iOS 12. Music still plays from Spotify, but opening the Spotify app in CarPlay only brings up a black screen. 
Trying all the usual fixes is a good start here. Close and reopen the Spotify app. Unplug your iPhone from your vehicle and try again.
There does seem to be an issue with the Waze and Spotify integration when using CarPlay. Waze is a new addition to CarPlay in iOS 12.
If you have the Waze and Spotify integration activated in the Waze settings, try turning that off. Turning off the integration should fix the Spotify issue in CarPlay.
I hope one of these tips has helped resolve whatever issues you’ve had with getting CarPlay up and running. Let us know in the comments if there are any other tips you’ve found useful.
CarPlay Shows a Black Screen
Many Users, particularly folks using iPhone X variants have seen this issue. The touch functionality works and you can hear the audio pipe through but the display simply stays black.
This has happened to me occasionally in my car and my iPhone X.
The best fix seems to be to turn off the car and do a hard restart on the phone.
That solves the problem for most users.
CarPlay Issues with iPhone XS/XR and iOS 12.1
Lastly, some iPhone XS users are still having issues with CarPlay even after updating to iOS 12.1.
One of our readers pointed out that the CarPlay issues are resolved when he puts the phone with a USB charger.
This essentially keeps the battery at 100% (fully charged) and it mitigates the CarPlay problem. This could be a workaround for some of you until Apple fixes this issue.
The one good update that came via iOS 12.1 is that the black/black screen issue is gone now.
Prior to the update, many users reported that when they opened up a third party app such as Google play music or NPR one, the screen would turn black and you won’t be able to see any of your playlists.
The only way was to control it via your iPhone. Some folks had success by deleting the offending app all together such as NPR one. With iOS 12.1, Apple has fixed many of these issues. If you have not yet updated to the latest iOS, please consider doing so.
Please let us know in the comments below if you have any questions or tips to share.
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I have an iPhone 6 plus recently upgraded to iOS 13. I have a 2018 Honda Accord. Car play has shown up a few times but disappears after a few minutes. Mostly it just doesn’t show up. On the Honda screen it is enabled but doesn’t connect. I’ve rebooted the phone, changed cables and ports but nothing seems to work. Any ideas?
After installing IOS13, my phone icon and message icon do not wok. When pressed, they do not say, who do you want to call or do do you want to send a message to
I have a IPHONE 11 with ios13.1.2 the problem i have is i can no longer charge my phone when its using carplay. My old iphone 7 charged everytime i connected to carplay on the old ios 12. Any sugestions
Can’t play the car radio and charge my Phone at the same time since iOS 13 update
I have a 2019 Jeep Cherokee and prior to the update when my phone was plugged in I could touch the phone icon and say who I wanted to call, when I was viewing my music I was able to select any artist
Now I can’t make a phone call from the screen and while my music selection comes on the screen, I cannot touch any of the selections to play (the font is gray and not white). This is very frustrating as it was working perfectly beforehand and made for the commutes very easy.
Any suggestions?
I’ve tried restarting, disconnecting Uconnect (I didn’t even have an account?), and have read countless articles with no success.
Hi Alice,
Apple determined there were some bugs plaguing CarPlay so they pushed out iOS 13.1.2–if you haven’t updated to that version, please do so. After updating, restart your iPhone again and then see if it works with your vehicle.
My phone is currently up to date and is still having the issue. Are there any other suggestions?
Hi Alicia,
What make and model of car?
2019 Jeep Cherokee
Hi Alicia,
It seems quite a few folks with these model Jeeps have issues.
First, try connecting your iPhone via a cable (use your original iPhone cable or a genuine Apple lightning cable) instead of Bluetooth and then turn Bluetooth off. Plugin your phone AFTER starting up the car and see if it works.
Some owners found that this worked for them: pulling fuse F11 for about 90 seconds to completely kill power to the Uconnect system and force a reboot.
Hope one of these works for you!
Liz
My iphone updated to ios 13.1.1 but It doesn’t play media to R link . How can I solve it?
I updated my iPhone XR to ios 13.1.2 over the weekend.
Carplay comes up in my 2018 Acura MDX correctly, but when I launch either apple maps or google maps, the map screen is not coming up at all on my display.
The screen stays at the normal apple carplay screen.
You can hear the directions start over my Bluetooth speaker, but the map is not coming up on the display screen like it should and did before. Help!
Facetime not working on iPhone 8 plus (once plugged in with USB) in CarPlay after ios 13 updates.
Anyone experiencing this issue, where the user’s screen doesn’t show their face?
My 8plus will not pull up the available cars list. It just continues to search and never stop. It has been updated to 12.4.1 that may be the issue.
Same issue here with iPhone X on 13.1.2
For Subaru XV 2017.
With the upgrade of IOS, some buttons on my touch screen on the car was not responding.
I have noticed that instead of just tapping on the buttons, sliding them worked. My problem is solved now.
I have a pioneer 1500nex my front speakers cut off and on when on Bluetooth or usb cable but not on radio, cd or dvd. Would anyone have any idea what it can be? It got worse after I put on a amplifier. Sorry I forgot to Mention have a iPhone 7
I have a pioneer 1500nex my front speakers cut off and on when on Bluetooth or usb cable but not on radio, cd or dvd. Would anyone have any idea what it can be? It got worse after I put on a amplifier.
We have a new 2019 Equinox and using CarPlay for navigation. Set CarPlay up and working then it disconnects. We have tried 3 iPhones (2 version 8 and a 7). Also tried 2 cords. This seems to have become an issue with the 12.3.1 updates. I see others having same issue and only Apple reply is a canned instruction to set up CarPlay. We need to fix this.
We tried starting all over with setting up the phones and CarPlay. Reset all phones.
HELP!!!!
I have exactly the same issue with a Skoda Octavia (mk3 model) – CarPlay was working just fine for 1.5/2 years, then with the ios 12.3 release everything stopped working.
I’ve tried different cords, different phones, rebooting everything, changed settings, etc., but nothing helps.
The iPhone doesn’t even begin to charge anymore.
Seems to not properly detect the device/infotainment system in the other end of the USB cable and then just doesn’t do anything.
Extremely frustrating!
Hi Allan, Carol, and Skoda,
First, update to iOS 12.4 if you haven’t already. Then, check if there is any firmware update for your car’s infotainment system–you may need to contact the manufacturer’s support team to get this information.
If you connect multiple phones or other devices to your car stereo, try renaming your iPhone: Go to Settings > General > About > Name, and type a new name. Then try connecting again.
Try deleting all phones associated with your car, then reset your vehicle’s system. Once reset, remove the vehicle from your iPhone and any other devices. Finally, pair the iPhone and see if it works.
I have the same issue: 2019 Acura ILX and a BRAND NEW iPhone XS from my company. New car, new phone, so why doesn’t the navigation map (aka: CarPlay) work every time I get in my car??
After owning the phone for 3 weeks now it appears to ONLY work when my phone is fully charged!
Acura requires the use of the USB cord to connect to CarPlay. No problem. But it doesn’t EVEN CHARGE many times!
When my phone is at 100% I have no problem with it charging and showing my nav, but when it is below about 85% it won’t charge or show my nav!
I need my nav to show me any accidents on the way to/from work as it is a long and stressful drive. My calling capabilities work, but not the rest of the selling features for CarPlay: text messages, Spotify, navigation…
I’ve googled it and YouTubed it many times but get the same answers that I’ve tried a million times. I have purchased 4 different cords and even tried 2 other iphones (XR and an 8), and tried my old Android Samsung Galaxy S7 and SAME ISSUE!
I called Acura and they claim it’s an issue with CarPlay and not their cars. I’ve changed settings, rebooted everything and I’m simply tired of wasting so much time for something I was excited about. It’s the main reason I chose the Premium IXL over the TXL.
Can anyone help?
If I call someone with the CarPlay on I can hear them from the speakers but if someone calls me I can’t hear them from my car speakers I have an xs max and it’s been updated so does anyone have any ideas
Hi Suzanne,
Check this setting to see how your audio calls are routed.
Settings > General > Accessibility > Call Audio Routing.
Tap Automatic (if already on automatic, change this to Speaker, wait 20 seconds, and change back to Automatic)
Ask someone to call you and see if it works
If it didn’t work, try changing that setting to Bluetooth instead and see if it works this way.
Let us know what happens,
Liz
On my iPhone X car play got totally wiped out once I connected it to the car.
It no longer shows in the menu where it is supposed to be.
Apple’s help so far: “we have no idea how to fix it. Try resetting the phone completely.”
Exactly what I want to do on €1200 phone and keep reloading all my stuff!!
!
I miss Steve Jobs!!!!
For me, nothing worked so I called Honda customer service.
Had to wait a few minutes, but they walked me through a data reset on the car.
Carplay works now.
So you answer is it is never apple’s fault? My car play worked fine until I went to 12.2. Now the music apps do not populate on the cars screen. Sick and tired of apply beta testing they updates on the end user. This not what we pay so much money for. If we wanted to be testers we would get android, for a third of the price.
I have an iPhone XR running 12.2. My carplay works fine except for any feature using the in-car microphone. I can receive a call, but the other person cannot hear me. I can press the Siri button on my carplay unit, but it doesn’t respond to voice commands. This issue started happening sometime between getting my XR and iOS 12.0 I think. I’ve tried every setting change I can think of both on my phone and on the carplay unit (which is an Alpine iLX-107) to no avail. Any ideas?
Kevin, try completely deleting your phone from the vehicle and your connection from your phone, then do a hard reset of your vehicle (Google for the exact sequence and timing of your vehicle, but it’s usually a combination of turning off the car and opening the driver’s door for a set amount of time), pair your phone again and see if that fixes it. You can also try holding the voice recognition button down long enough to re-set the system (again, depends on your vehicle but try 10-15 seconds). I hope that helps!
Thanks for the suggestion. I completed the steps (first 3 you mentioned) but still no luck, until I turned off my iPhone completely and restarted it. Not sure why, but it worked.
My only problem with CarPlay and my iPhone 6+ iOs 12.1.4 is that the sound does not go through my car’s audio system, or, is so faint that I have to hold the iPhone to my ear, which defeats the handsoff feature. Otherwise the maps etc etc etc and the dimming etc etc etc are fine.
Ellen, Update to the latest iOS 12.2 and check if it helps. There were a couple of related bugs that were fixed via the new update.
I have the issue were on a call when connected to via usb no one can hear me on a call it cuts in and out, but calls work on blue tooth. reset everything and swapped out cables still issues
anyone else have issue
I have the same issue, Jamie.
Hello! I have the 2019 Passport Elite and everything worked fine for the first 2 weeks then I used the Nav system and now siri will not work in my carplay. Carplay comes up on the screen and you can push the buttons but when you try and tell her to do something she either says that she cannot hear you or has lost her internet connection but in reality she has not as I can unplug her and ask the same question and she will answer. The mic in the Passport works. I have done factory reset on radio and iPhone. Been on the phone over 2 hours with Apple support and cannot figure it out – any suggestions? Other than that, I really like the Passport. Thanks!
There are also reports of people having CarPlay problems when DNS and/or VPN are enabled. The solution is to deactivate them.
Apple is such a joke anymore. My Iphone SE worked fine. I have like 8 apple devices and I’m having same problem. Bought a NEW Iphone XS and music plays and phone works but it’s the mapping from my Ical events that I use multiple times a day with carplay. Now back to looking at the ipad or Iphone unless I type in address into my 2018 Colorado.
APPLE FIX YOUR GLITCH YOUR GETTING AS BAD AS WINDOWS with releases with problems
good day, apple music with carplay is not working since the last update.
the screen does not respond to the touch.
all other music apps are working properly.
aplle music is properly prepaid.
thanks for advice
CarPlay was working fine with my iPhone SE and I bought a newer iPhone XS and now my phone will not connect with CarPlay. HOW do I fix this?
I can’t believe it it was Bluetooth. Forgot and reconnected no problems. Thanks
Had the same issue with my iPhone after I updated it to 12.1.2 .
Went ahead and erased and reset the phone (it worked last time).
If you have a fix please post it.
It’s not the car infotainment system, because an old iPhone works!
iPhone 6s+ / 2018 Honda Accord
-CarPlay shut down completely nothing worked until I tried shutting off Bluetooth and immediate Success.
It is back (with Waze also!)
CarPlay was working great until I updated a day ago to IOS 12.1.2
Now CarPlay on my phone just continues to spin and can’t seem to recognize my 2019 Honda.
So frustrating.
I’m using authentic apple USB cable yet when I touch the car screen to a smartphone, a message appears “When safe, confirm that the smartphone is connected to the USB …..”. Nothing happens.
Apple CarPlay no longer works.
I know the cable is good, it’s charging my phone.
Also, my car is able to play my music on my phone, make calls, and I’m able to speak to Siri.
So it’s only CarPlay on my phone that can’t recognize my car. And my CarPlay system in my car and recognize that my phone is plugged in.
Wish I didn’t update my phone to IOS 12.1.2
Had the same issue with my iPhone after I updated it to 12.1.2 .
Having this issue now with 12.1.4.
I too am having this problem in 12.1.4. It was working fine in 12.1.
It also does not work on an iPhone 8 on 12.1.2.
Same issues with my honda 2018. Just rented a 2019 chevy – same problem. No waze, no maps working since I accidentally did the update. Extremely frustrating since i travel for a living.