Getting CarPlay to work?

[Rbp_280z]

I have a 2016 GT350 and I downloaded the Sync 3 update and changed the USB port but CarPlay isn’t working. How do you get it to work?

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[fordracerguy]

In my 2016 Ecoboost I had to get an upgraded USB port in the center console.

 

[GilmourD]

I have a 2016 GT350 and I downloaded the Sync 3 update and changed the USB port but CarPlay isn’t working. How do you get it to work?

In my 2016 Ecoboost I had to get an upgraded USB port in the center console.

To elaborate on @fordracerguy's post here, there's a hardware difference between the USB port that shipped with the car and the newer, CarPlay compatible port. What that is, I'm actually not sure, as I haven't looked into it, and given that I don't think Ford has released internal service diagrams for tech nerds like me I'd probably have to take both of them apart to know, but the long and the short of it is that you need to upgrade the USB port module.

 

[Rbp_280z]

To elaborate on @fordracerguy's post here, there's a hardware difference between the USB port that shipped with the car and the newer, CarPlay compatible port. What that is, I'm actually not sure, as I haven't looked into it, and given that I don't think Ford has released internal service diagrams for tech nerds like me I'd probably have to take both of them apart to know, but the long and the short of it is that you need to upgrade the USB port module.

I was able to change out the USB port with the correct port and Sync 3 was successfully uploaded. Still CarPlay isn’t working

 

[Ozcraig]

You may need to consider one of the Carplay adapters that plug in to the usb and send a bluetooth signal to the car for Carplay communication.

 

[GilmourD]

You may need to consider one of the Carplay adapters that plug in to the usb and send a bluetooth signal to the car for Carplay communication.

Adding extra steps in between isn't going to help troubleshoot a root cause (source: my day job is senior technician/systems administrator). If it's not working with a basic cable the adapter is likely not to work either.

I was able to change out the USB port with the correct port and Sync 3 was successfully uploaded. Still CarPlay isn’t working

Which version and build of Sync3 is currently installed in your car? What cable are you using? Have you tried multiple cables?

 

[Joker721]

My CarPlay wasn’t working because of my phone. The lightning connection was loose constantly. Once I bought a new phone that issue went away

 

[lo-fi]

If you've done what you said and everything is the correct part number and functioning properly then you only have a few failure points

1. Sync build version (which you mentioned as 3), but you neglected to mention any build number specifics, which matters and as a senior tech guy you should know it matters.
2. Your USB hub is actually not functioning properly.
3. Your cable is too long or bad quality or both.
4. I've read non-nav is more difficult to get working than nav (may or may not be true).
5. I'm assuming you've tested your phone on another vehicle.

Massive thread here, probably better luck posting to that thread

 

[GilmourD]

My CarPlay wasn’t working because of my phone. The lightning connection was loose constantly. Once I bought a new phone that issue went away

It's actually also quite amazing how easily pocket lint gets into a Lightning port. I've seen many an iPhone where the cable wouldn't stay in the port and it's because there was just enough lint in the port to keep it from clicking in (there's tiny nubs on the sides).

If you gently use a non-metallic tool (like a wooden toothpick or, even better, something from an iFixit toolkit) go straight to the "bottom" (if you're holding the phone with the port facing you) of the port and poke at the corners to try to pull the lint up. Don't scrape across the pins as they could become misaligned.

 

[Joker721]

I did try that and it didn’t work. Probably didn’t help that the phone was 5 years old and belonged in the Smithsonian

 

[GilmourD]

If you've done what you said and everything is the correct part number and functioning properly then you only have a few failure points

1. Sync build version (which you mentioned as 3), but you neglected to mention any build number specifics, which matters and as a senior tech guy you should know it matters.

A point of clarity, here:

I'm the "senior tech guy" here in the thread but I'm also not the OP. Also, the only "3" mentioned is the generation of Sync, not the firmware version number. That's why I asked what version and build he's running, the current being 3.4 build 23188, as posted by CyanLabs on August 4th, 2023.​

2. Your USB hub is actually not functioning properly.

Despite the usual cry of "IT'S BRAND NEW!!! HOW IS IT BROKEN!?" defects in brand new products are unfortunately unavoidable and represent 1% to 3% of all products manufactured, regardless of industry. It happens and it's much more likely that you'll get a defective product than win the lottery.

3. Your cable is too long or bad quality or both.

Length by itself shouldn't affect things all to badly unless it's absurdly long. The USB 2.0 maximum recommended length is 16 feet (5 meters), which I do feel is absurdly long for usability reasons, but should function, but signal drive (versus DC resistance per foot) and latency shouldn't be an issue.

Now, QUALITY is a different thing. A cable made to spec should work just fine at maximum length. It doesn't cost much to make a cable to spec, which is why you can actually find decent cables on the counter at some 7-11 stores. But that doesn't mean that ALL cables are made to spec by people that actually give a flying pig. Under-spec'd conductor diameter or strand density can affect how many ohms per foot the cable presents to the system. Incorrectly spec'd insulation can introduce capacitance at a value that isn't accounted for by the spec. Or just a cable that can't keep itself together and has intermittent connectivity issues, which is just a problem altogether, Sync or not. Lord knows I've run across enough poorly terminated Cat5 and Cat6 cables that are passing PoE just fine but one of the data pairs is fakakta.

4. I've read non-nav is more difficult to get working than nav (may or may not be true).

Non-nav is more difficult to update due to only having 8 gigs of flash storage versus the nav APIM which has 32 gigs. Realistically, though, load up the maps and let the thing write logs to the storage long enough and it'll be too full to write out the updates.

My new-to-me GT/CS has Nav but was out of space and just REFUSED to update until I forced a format and fresh install using CyanLabs Syn3 (no 'c' in that) Updater. I haven't dug into it too deeply but I'm curious if there's a way I would be able to access the file system in the APIM and browse through it with a laptop.

5. I'm assuming you've tested your phone on another vehicle.

If there's one thing I've learned in all my years as a tech is to never assume if they haven't explicitly told you exactly what they did. The number of clients that I've had swear up and down that they reboot daily to find a Windows uptime that shows three or four digits for DAYS is... Well, probably counted at three or four digits. LOL

Massive thread here, probably better luck posting to that thread

 

[GilmourD]

I did try that and it didn’t work. Probably didn’t help that the phone was 5 years old and belonged in the Smithsonian

Five years isn't terrible. Due to budget reasons beyond my control I'm still rockin' a Pixel 4 as my work phone (Pixel 8 Pro is my personal). The battery is surprisingly just now starting to not hold a charge very well, but it still holds up for infrequent use since I'm generally tied to my desk keeping multiple systems running as smoothly as their developers allow me to.

 

[NightmareMoon]

Yoi’re plugging it into the armrest usb port behind the shifter, right? Not the one in front of the shifter? The front one wont work with carplay, only the rear one (IIRC)

Did you enable carplay in the Sync3 options?

 

[mookieit]

Not all cables are will work with carplay.

Have you tried different cables that are known to work with carplay?

 

[GilmourD]

Not all cables are will work with carplay.

Have you tried different cables that are known to work with carplay?

As much as I'm not a fan of the insulation on Apple's own cables they do "just work" as long as they're not damaged.

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