Because Carplay2air is just a reseller and unfortunately the dealer sometimes lies to customers
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CarPlay CarPlay adapter to convert to wireless CarPlay?
- Thread starter MrMister111
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Because Carplay2air is just a reseller and unfortunately the dealer sometimes lies to customers
i just refreshed the download site and now a 2/26 version is out there. Wondering why they arent releasing updates for the OTA wireless activatorBecause Carplay2air is just a reseller and unfortunately the dealer sometimes lies to customers
I do wonder why too. I am uncomfortable about trying the file manually, there must be a reason its not OTA
You're referring to the U2W_Update.img file inside the "hicar" directory? AFAIK those have never worked on our devices, despite having the same filename. They are probably technically compatible, but coded in such a way as to not allow installation on the regular Carlinkit/Carplay2air.
The files that work for us are the ones in the root of the date folder on their site. If a given date folder has no U2W_Update.img in the root, then there is no compatible firmware for us for that date.
I suspect "hicar" is short for "High-end Car". When I was trying to upgrade my adapter to v2, I kept getting a login screen that had a dropdown for "High-end Car" or "Ordinary Car". I speculate maybe "High-end Car" is a custom version of the adapter that is being designed for/with specific car manufacturer(s). There is probably a dedicated coding team working on firmware for it, and that's why its firmwares are in a separate subdirectory.
Just a guess. But in any case, their firmware files won't work for us. If you go through the subdirectories, the only recent dates with firmware for our adapters are 2020-01-22 and 2020-02-17
The 2020-02-17 file you can flash manually via USB but I don't believe it's offered via OTA. I think the 2020-01-22 file is the latest OTA update.
As for the lack of updates recently, Chinese New Year and the Corona virus have a lot to do with that.
i am having similar issues to you “product not activated(20)”
it seems to me that the 192.168 server is on the dongle and the dongle then goes somewhere else? How come some people are able to update via that server and some cant? How come firmware updates are coming out but the activation server is down? That doesnt make sense, so i keep thinking something is off with the dongle.
Its hard to know if anyone got past the "product not activated (20)" issue because as soon that issue is solved, they have little incentive to come back to this forum.
it seems to me that the 192.168 server is on the dongle and the dongle then goes somewhere else? How come some people are able to update via that server and some cant? How come firmware updates are coming out but the activation server is down? That doesnt make sense, so i keep thinking something is off with the dongle.
Its hard to know if anyone got past the "product not activated (20)" issue because as soon that issue is solved, they have little incentive to come back to this forum.
I think the activation server is definitely down. That said, I was able to get my adapter activated manually with the help of Carlinkit support.
You might email them first, but here is what I had to do:
1. Upgrade to the January 22nd 2020 firmware via USB. Download the U2W_Update.img from here and put on a USB flash drive. Plug the flash drive into the Carlinkit and then plug the Carlinkit into a 5V 1A or higher USB power supply (not your car). Wait a minute or so for both red and blue lights to come on simultaneously.
2. Take the Carlinkit adapter back out to your car and plug it into the car's USB. Join its WiFi network from your phone and go to 192.168.50.2. Rather than the "Product not activated (20)" message you should see a login box asking for Batch, Account and Password. Scroll down past that and tap on the button off to the right side. When you do so an option should pop up to upload a log file. Fill out your car's make & model and your region (USA, Europe, etc.). Submit the log file.
3. Contact Carlkinkit support (or Carplay2Air) and tell them you uploaded your log file and need the Account and Password to activate your adapter. You may need to tell them your car's make & model so they can find the log file. They somehow use that to generate the Account and Password, which hopefully they will then send to you. Once you have those then you just enter them on 192.168.50.2 and it should activate right away.
Sort of a PITA considering this previously was a totally automatic process, but at least my adapter works now.
Hope that helps.
There's a New "U2W_Update.img" file from today... currently not via OTA
OTA is working, but these updates were not (yet) officially released by the developer
Hello, yes that helps a lot. I was able to update to the u2w update file. All other u2w update have failed on my carplay2air so was very surprised. I initally got the same error unable to activate but after refreshing got the log in screen and followed your instructions. Contacted carplay2air support and lets see how long it takes them to respond. Almost tempted to contact carlinkit too just because they seem more responsive. Thank you!!
So what's the deal with GPS? I read earlier in the thread someone said that CarPlay via Carlinkit was using the phone's GPS instead of the car's. I'm pretty ignorant on the underpinnings of CarPlay, but is it part of the design spec that when connecting your phone via CarPlay, the car's GPS is supposed to supply positional data for maps?
I've only been using my Carlinkit adapter for a couple of days now (running 20200217 firmware), but I am noticing pretty significant lag when bringing up the Maps app, both when actively navigating to a destination as well as not.
That's puzzling to me, because even if CarPlay is relying on the phone's GPS as opposed to the car's it shouldn't be lagging like that. Prior to having a Carplay-capable car, I used to use Siri/Apple Maps to navigate from my phone directly and everything was always super smooth with the map display and directions.
Is everyone seeing this lag in the Maps app? I hope this is something that can be solved, or I'll be back to plugging my phone in when I need to navigate.
I've only been using my Carlinkit adapter for a couple of days now (running 20200217 firmware), but I am noticing pretty significant lag when bringing up the Maps app, both when actively navigating to a destination as well as not.
That's puzzling to me, because even if CarPlay is relying on the phone's GPS as opposed to the car's it shouldn't be lagging like that. Prior to having a Carplay-capable car, I used to use Siri/Apple Maps to navigate from my phone directly and everything was always super smooth with the map display and directions.
Is everyone seeing this lag in the Maps app? I hope this is something that can be solved, or I'll be back to plugging my phone in when I need to navigate.
So I did the USB update to 2-26-20 firmware. To see if the sound shuttering had been fixed. But unfortunately it hasn’t....on my 2018 GMC Sierra. I can say it starts up a lot faster.
Another thing I found was that I can set up shortcuts when CarPlay is connected. I now have it set up to open a radio streaming app to the station I like then open google maps automatically when carplay starts up.
In the past I would have to do this manually by the touch screen.
Another thing I found was that I can set up shortcuts when CarPlay is connected. I now have it set up to open a radio streaming app to the station I like then open google maps automatically when carplay starts up.
In the past I would have to do this manually by the touch screen.
On your iPhone do this.
Open shortcuts/Automation/Create personal Automation/CarPlay/Connects/Add action/Scripting/open app/** Choose the app you want open ie: radio app if you have one, pandora or music/then hit the plus sign+/open app/google maps.
remove show when Run so it does all this in the background while phone is in your pocket.
then save it.
it will run that everytime CarPlay connects
I know that it is using the phone’s GPS. I have the carplay2air dongle in my Honda Accord and my iPhone is an X. When I left work this afternoon, my phone was in my shirt pocket. When I switched to the Maps apps, my position was that big blue dot that indicates the app is not exactly sure of where the phone is. I took the phone out of my shirt pocket and put it on the dash alcove. The map immediately changed to the blue arrow and showed my position exactly, because it was then getting a good GPS set of signals.
I have had a flash drive plugged into the dongle about 10 minutes and it is still just the one red light. It is the ONLY file on the flash drive. Any other way to get files on there or detailed information on upgrading the version? Also can anyone share the login info i'm sure it is all the same to be honest, support seems to not respond very quickly.
First of all, exactly which file are you trying to flash? What folder did you get it from on the web site? Even though there are seemingly-compatible U2W_Update.img files within the hicar subfolders in various date folders, those will not flash to our adapters.
So assuming you have a valid file, the next thing to check is your USB flash drive. It must be formatted FAT32 (not HFS, ExFat, APFS, NTFS, etc.). You should try reformatting it just in case, and then make sure that the U2W_Update.img file is the only thing on it, no folders or any other files.
It will not take anywhere close to 10 minutes to flash. If you haven't seen the blue+red light within 2 minutes then it didn't work.
Try another flash drive if you can't get the one you're using to work.
BTW I'm quite sure that the account and password are unique, because Carlinkit said they needed me to upload my log file in order to generate them. Both the Account# and password were long random strings, so I really doubt it's the same for everyone.
I had good luck getting responses from Carlinkit's amazon support. Their hours of operation occur during our overnight hours. So usually I would email them during the day and then wake up the next morning with a reply.
If your car has a GPS antenna, CarPlay will use that antenna. Many vehicles and after-market head units - even those without built in navigation - have GPS antennas and will supply that data to CarPlay, which supplements any GPS data your phone gets. CarPlay2Air/Carlinkit clearly use the iPhone's GPS exclusively.
However, not all vehicles are set up to do this. I know our fleet cars are 2017 Chevrolet Impalas and if I put my phone in the car's "hidden compartment" behind the radio, GPS will just plain ol' not work.
Not really sure about that.
When i left my iPhone in my pocket using CarPlay, the localisation is not perfect.
I think he meant that wired Carplay will use the car GPS. Wireless Carplay doesn't.
Apparently, use of the vehicle's GPS is a recommended (but optional) part of wired CarPlay. But it is a required part of wireless CarPlay (source)
I also found this article that makes the claim that the car's GPS is required for wireless CarPlay because the WiFi signal from the phone can interfere with the phone's ability to get a GPS signal. I don't quite understand how that could be, seeing as GPS signal frequency is no where near the 2.4GHz/5GHz of WiFi. But maybe there's some other factor there I'm not thinking of.
But even setting that reason aside, it makes a ton of sense because with wireless CarPlay your phone is likely to be "put away" in a pocket or purse/briefcase. Not to mention that may help a bit with wireless CarPlay's impact on the iPhone battery.
That said, I wonder why Carlinkit is not using the car's GPS signal, and if it can be added. Has anyone tried asking their support about that?
I also found this article that makes the claim that the car's GPS is required for wireless CarPlay because the WiFi signal from the phone can interfere with the phone's ability to get a GPS signal. I don't quite understand how that could be, seeing as GPS signal frequency is no where near the 2.4GHz/5GHz of WiFi. But maybe there's some other factor there I'm not thinking of.
But even setting that reason aside, it makes a ton of sense because with wireless CarPlay your phone is likely to be "put away" in a pocket or purse/briefcase. Not to mention that may help a bit with wireless CarPlay's impact on the iPhone battery.
That said, I wonder why Carlinkit is not using the car's GPS signal, and if it can be added. Has anyone tried asking their support about that?
Okay. Now I understand. I thought you were referring to a special feature of the new firmware. This type of Shortcut Automation was always available with CarPlay — wired or wireless — in iOS 13. I’ve been doing it since I first got my Carlinkit, so it’s nothing new that came with this firmware update.
Still cool and something people should be aware of, of course