Pioneer Apple Car Play

[Emeye]

I tested Spotify yesterday, using the free version. First time I started playing I got a few seconds playback, then it stopped.

After that it worked really well for the 15mins drive. I could change tracks without trouble etc.

I have found that you need a decent signal strength to start it working, and it needs time to sync.

If it works fine without CarPlay, I suggest you check the firmware is the latest from the Pioneer site as it the iPhone, do a hard reset on the iPhone and you can do a full reset on the Pioneer, though do this as a last resort as you will lose all your settings!

Also, try Rdio and see if that works! Have you tried RadioPlayer and TuneIn Radio to see if they work?

[Emeye]

I just tried it again. This time I could not start playback from the headunit whatever I tried. I started playback from the iPhone in the Spotify app and after that it was working ok from the headunit.

[kingston12]

That mirrors my experience with it at the moment, it seems totally random. In the past few days, I have had:

Spotify app will not start at all.
App crashes completely and unit goes back to home screen as soon as a track is selected.
Screen shows Play/RW/FF icons, but none of them work and no music plays.
First few seconds of track plays, then stops and booted out to home screen.
First few seconds of track plays, then reverts to a completely different track.

It would be nice to have a consistent error at least!

I'll see if I need to update the firmware on the unit again, as I know everything else is up to date.

I am not that worried as long as everything else keeps working as well as it is. I can't believe that only a couple of months ago I could only realistically listen to music on random because actually selecting something on my PCM2.1/Dension required too many button pushes to do safely.

Now, I can select anything within a short traffic light stop or even by voice if I am on the motorway. It is well worth the upgrade for me.

[Emeye]

This morning it wouldn't start until I went into the app on the iphone

Then I could not pause or skip tracks using the onscreen icons of the steering wheel controls.

I could return to the track list and then start a new track.

Killing the app by swipping it up didn't fix it, but it started playing the last track from where I started.

Try Rdio - same price and seemed to work a little better - as I said I think their is a free trial.

I very rarely had a problem with Rdio in offline mode.

I chucked loads of my old mp3s on a USB drive and it lives in the glovebox for when streaming fails.

[Emeye]

On the way home it went completely nuts - managed to get it playing, but couldn't change tracks, and when I tried txting using siri or making a phone call it would start playing randomly in the middle. Killing the app made no difference.

My journey is only about 20- 25 mins so I didn't have time to restart the phone and try again.

[kingston12]

Sorry to hear of the issues you are having, although it is reassuring to know I am not the only one having these problems.

I would try Rdio, but I am already paying £10 a month for Spotify and that is essential for my home Sonos system that will only recognise Spotify OR my own music library on any given day!

I think I will just stick to the music on my iPhone for the CarPlay system. The ease of use of the system and the interface is excellent and light years ahead of the PCM that I have been struggling with for so long. I should be concentrating on enjoying that rather than being frustrated that Spotify doesn't work.

All the better if they sort it out in the long run!

[Tiggsy]

getting this installed on Monday - been quoted 555 or 655 if the system is amped - does that sound right? car is NOT bose and no stereing wheel controls so I've been told its really simple compared to other 2006 boxsters?

[Emeye]

Seems pricy if you are getting the appradio 4 da120. It's only £329 at Halfords - http://www.halfords.com/technology/car-audio/dab-r...

It all depends on what is involved in time and adapters/fascias.

[Emeye]

kingston12 said:

Sorry to hear of the issues you are having, although it is reassuring to know I am not the only one having these problems.

I would try Rdio, but I am already paying £10 a month for Spotify and that is essential for my home Sonos system that will only recognise Spotify OR my own music library on any given day!

I think I will just stick to the music on my iPhone for the CarPlay system. The ease of use of the system and the interface is excellent and light years ahead of the PCM that I have been struggling with for so long. I should be concentrating on enjoying that rather than being frustrated that Spotify doesn't work.

All the better if they sort it out in the long run!

Well, the iOS 8.4 update downloaded and installed yesterday - it will be interesting to see how that changes things as Apple Music is included as part of the update and as that relies on steaming they must have focused on the quality.

Worth trying Apple Music as you get 3 months free.

One other thing to note - what iPhone model do you have - I have read that carplay is smoother and possibly more reliable on later models with more powerful processors - I still have an IPhone 5.

[kingston12]

Tiggsy said:

getting this installed on Monday - been quoted 555 or 655 if the system is amped - does that sound right? car is NOT bose and no stereing wheel controls so I've been told its really simple compared to other 2006 boxsters?

I agree that seems high. My car has Bose and it took me while to install, but mainly because I was being careful as I have never done anything like that before. If I had to do it again, it would be done in half an hour, so a professional doing a non-Bose car should be even less.

Unit is £330, fascia is £30 and non-Bose loom about £15, so at £555 you are being charged £180 for labour.

[kingston12]

Emeye said:

Well, the iOS 8.4 update downloaded and installed yesterday - it will be interesting to see how that changes things as Apple Music is included as part of the update and as that relies on steaming they must have focused on the quality.

Worth trying Apple Music as you get 3 months free.

One other thing to note - what iPhone model do you have - I have read that carplay is smoother and possibly more reliable on later models with more powerful processors - I still have an IPhone 5.

I am on 8.4 now as well, but not been in the car since the update. My main hope is that it doesn't mess anything up with the current music app as it is generally very good and reliable playing my own music. If they can keep that and get a streaming solution in place (be it Apple or Spotify), I'll be very happy.

Apple has announced that Apple Music won't be on Sonos until the end of the year, which puts it out for me as I am still having the problem that Spotify is sometimes the ONLY thing that will play on my Sonos kit as it fails with my own music library intermittently.

I have an iPhone 6. Spotify apart, the only issue I am having with CarPlay at the moment is that occasionally it will start up and give me no sound. I select a track and the seconds count along, but nothing comes through the speakers. Disconnecting/reconnecting the phone sorts it out, so nothing major, but just makes it seem a bit less polished than it should be.

[Tiggsy]

kingston12 said:

Tiggsy said:

getting this installed on Monday - been quoted 555 or 655 if the system is amped - does that sound right? car is NOT bose and no stereing wheel controls so I've been told its really simple compared to other 2006 boxsters?

I agree that seems high. My car has Bose and it took me while to install, but mainly because I was being careful as I have never done anything like that before. If I had to do it again, it would be done in half an hour, so a professional doing a non-Bose car should be even less.

Unit is £330, fascia is £30 and non-Bose loom about £15, so at £555 you are being charged £180 for labour.

They say its a few hours, even for a standard unit/non bose.

is this something I should be able to DIY? I can change a plug in under a minute.....but not much else

[Emeye]

kingston12 said:

I am on 8.4 now as well, but not been in the car since the update. My main hope is that it doesn't mess anything up with the current music app as it is generally very good and reliable playing my own music. If they can keep that and get a streaming solution in place (be it Apple or Spotify), I'll be very happy.

Apple has announced that Apple Music won't be on Sonos until the end of the year, which puts it out for me as I am still having the problem that Spotify is sometimes the ONLY thing that will play on my Sonos kit as it fails with my own music library intermittently.

I have an iPhone 6. Spotify apart, the only issue I am having with CarPlay at the moment is that occasionally it will start up and give me no sound. I select a track and the seconds count along, but nothing comes through the speakers. Disconnecting/reconnecting the phone sorts it out, so nothing major, but just makes it seem a bit less polished than it should be.

Maybe we should just give up and go back to CDs eh?

Not been out in the car today - may have a play with 8.4 later if I get the chance.

My next challenge is I have to strip this out of my E92, reinstate everything back in, and then fit the carplay unit in another car later - it slightly limits my choice of new (old) cars that I can buy as I need room for the double din unit.

[Emeye]

Tiggsy said:

They say its a few hours, even for a standard unit/non bose.

is this something I should be able to DIY? I can change a plug in under a minute.....but not much else

I can't comment on the Boxster other than what I've read, but the E92 is a whole new world of pain due to the custom BMW Stereos and the lack of a perm live I managed to DIY it in half a day + another half day for fitting my sub and amp in the boot etc.

Swapping the headunit would appear to be pretty straight forward in a Boxster, but you have to consider running the wires for the microphone and the GPS receiver etc. Also, it needs to know if the handbrake is on for "safety" and it needs a permanent live feed - frustratingly on the BMW all the "perm" live feeds go off after 20mins, so I had to run a power lead to the battery - not sure if these are an issue with a boxster with an adapter cable. I'm sure a google or youtube video may help.

Always worth getting a quote off another company - even halfords can arrange to fit it for you!

[kingston12]

Tiggsy said:

They say its a few hours, even for a standard unit/non bose.

is this something I should be able to DIY? I can change a plug in under a minute.....but not much else

That is a difficult one to answer. I am useless at anything like this, but it looked simple so I decided to have a go. I found that it was simple, but I still took my time over it to make sure I didn't damage anything.

I still need to take it out to get it sitting right in the cage (which is obviously a problem you wouldn't get if a pro did it), but all of the connections and functionality is there.

It is actually quite satisfying to do something like that (or it was for a technical idiot such as myself!)

[kingston12]

Emeye said:

I can't comment on the Boxster other than what I've read, but the E92 is a whole new world of pain due to the custom BMW Stereos and the lack of a perm live I managed to DIY it in half a day + another half day for fitting my sub and amp in the boot etc.

Swapping the headunit would appear to be pretty straight forward in a Boxster, but you have to consider running the wires for the microphone and the GPS receiver etc. Also, it needs to know if the handbrake is on for "safety" and it needs a permanent live feed - frustratingly on the BMW all the "perm" live feeds go off after 20mins, so I had to run a power lead to the battery - not sure if these are an issue with a boxster with an adapter cable. I'm sure a google or youtube video may help.

Always worth getting a quote off another company - even halfords can arrange to fit it for you!

The Boxster has a perm live to the HU, but no switched live. I used the switched live from the climate control panel which is directly below the HU slot.

The microphone wire runs nicely in the rubber in front of the door and clips to the visor. Only the microphone itself and about 3cm of wire are visible when the visor is down.

I used the existing Porsche GPS antenna connected to the Pioneer with an adaptor. Seems to work fine, but I am not sure how I'd tell as it would default to the iPhone's GPS if it didn't.

I crimped the handbrake lead to the earth cable on the HU and that bypassed it altogether. Without doing that there is no keyboard entry on the satnav and a few other things are disabled.

[kingston12]

Emeye said:

Maybe we should just give up and go back to CDs eh?

Not been out in the car today - may have a play with 8.4 later if I get the chance.

My next challenge is I have to strip this out of my E92, reinstate everything back in, and then fit the carplay unit in another car later - it slightly limits my choice of new (old) cars that I can buy as I need room for the double din unit.

I think it is about 7 or 8 years since I used a CD in the car (Dension/PCM in the Boxster prior to CarPlay, and an Alpine HU without CD mechanism in my previous car.) I definitely won't be going back!

I'd be the same as you if I was looking for a new car, it would have to fit the double din unit!

[Emeye]

I tried apple music earlier when me and my 4 year old made a trip to subway.

It seemed to cache the last song I was listening to earlier as it played the whole song until it started moaning I had nit enabled Apple Music for streaming. I will test properly when I get a chance this weekend.....

[Tiggsy]

just spotted a silver box looking thing in the front boot - I assume thats an amp?? if so - its now £655 to instal .... getting pricey!

Also - am I right that theres a handbrake bypass needed to access keyboard on the move? is that something I should be requesting when I drop it to the car audio place?

[kingston12]

Tiggsy said:

just spotted a silver box looking thing in the front boot - I assume thats an amp?? if so - its now £655 to instal .... getting pricey!

Also - am I right that theres a handbrake bypass needed to access keyboard on the move? is that something I should be requesting when I drop it to the car audio place?

I guess it depends how straight down the line they are. It is easy to bypass the handbrake connector, but not sure if pro fitters are officially allowed to do it.