2021 Ram 1500 12" Uconnect USB issues

[Willjoe21]

New RAM owner (2 days old) and am a bit disappointed that I am already on a forum looking for help with a problem on a truck that hasn't even hit 100 miles on the odometer yet. I will say I love the truck and have only found the issue I am here to discuss. I also want to add that I had been searching for a truck for the last few months and I looked at Tundra, Titan, F-150, Chevy 1500, GMC 1500, etc. and I went with the RAM because it was the nicest truck and also because it had the massive 12" touchscreen in the dash.

So right away when I got in the truck I connected the USB to my iPhone via the USB-A right under the screen and my phone started charging but no carplay. I went ahead and paired the phone via bluetooth and it will work to make and receive calls but absolutely no carplay recognition whatsoever. I am using a factory Apple cable with a month-old Iphone XS Max.

I have also tried the USB-C cable with no luck, tried the wifes XS Max with the same result, tried my Iphone 8 with the same result. I have unpaired both on the phone and the Uconnect as well as verifying ALL iphone settings are correct. I have also done a factory setting reset on both the iphone and the Uconnect system with absolutely no luck whatsoever. The phone will charge so obviously the USB's are supplying power but not letting data pass through. I am quite upset that a brand new 2-day old vehicle already has an issue. Especially since a large part of my decision to go with the RAM was the superior technology package as compared to the other trucks.

I have read other posts from owners of the 2020 RAMS mentioning the media hub possibly could be at fault or maybe a loose plug or bent pin? If anyone can give me some advice or help it would be much appreciated. This is such a frustrating problem.....

-Joe

 

[piening2150]

You tried multiple phones, but have you tried a different cable? Cables fail a lot. Even OEM ones. Worth a shot. Pairing or unpairing the Bluetooth shouldn't matter for Car Play.

Also, have you used Car Play before? Only asking because I have a Note 9 and the Android Auto popped up almost immediately the first time, but when setting up my wife's iPhone it took a minute or so for Car Play to actually appear on the Uconnect screen. Almost as if it needed to load some software or perform a complex handshake. After the first loooong wait for Car Play to 'load', it comes up immediately now when her iPhone is plugged in. Hopefully it's something easy for you to fix and not something requiring a dealer visit.

 

[OtterRam]

I somewhat remember it asking me to Allow access on a pop up (i forget if it was on the phone or the touch screen), I am not sure how you could force that pop up (or if thats even the issue).

I believe the arm rest center area has another USB outlet, I have never tried it for CarPlay but it’s worth a shot!

Good Luck!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[bill-e]

You need to enable the Smartphone Projection Manager under Settings

 

[Willjoe21]

You tried multiple phones, but have you tried a different cable? Cables fail a lot. Even OEM ones. Worth a shot. Pairing or unpairing the Bluetooth shouldn't matter for Car Play.

Also, have you used Car Play before? Only asking because I have a Note 9 and the Android Auto popped up almost immediately the first time, but when setting up my wife's iPhone it took a minute or so for Car Play to actually appear on the Uconnect screen. Almost as if it needed to load some software or perform a complex handshake. After the first loooong wait for Car Play to 'load', it comes up immediately now when her iPhone is plugged in. Hopefully it's something easy for you to fix and not something requiring a dealer visit.

Thank you for the suggestion and yes I have tried 3 different cables which were all factory supplied Apple cables in both USB-A and USB-C with absolutely no luck. I have also used carplay several times in 3 or 4 different vehicles so I am familiar with the setup and use. I took the truck into the dealer yesterday and they did find that the media hub was defective. They are replacing it with a new one this morning; hopefully that fixes the issue! Thanks for taking the time to reply to my post.

 

[Willjoe21]

I somewhat remember it asking me to Allow access on a pop up (i forget if it was on the phone or the touch screen), I am not sure how you could force that pop up (or if thats even the issue).

I believe the arm rest center area has another USB outlet, I have never tried it for CarPlay but it’s worth a shot!

Good Luck!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Right. I cannot even get a popup because the phone nor the truck are letting data pass through. My understanding is that the only ports that allow data transfer are the ones directly under the screen. I did try all other ports in the truck anyhow just because and no dice.

I took the truck into the dealer yesterday and they did find that the media hub was defective. They are replacing it with a new one this morning; hopefully that fixes the issue! Thanks for taking the time to reply to my post.

 

[Willjoe21]

You need to enable the Smartphone Projection Manager under Settings

Right. If I could get the Uconnect system to even realize there is a phone connected to it I would enable the screen projection. Without the truck detecting a phone being plugged in the option to enable screen projection is checked as yes but there is not a phone displayed. I did end up taking it to Dodge because I suspected a hardware issue as I am pretty tech savvy so I know my way around this type of thing and they confirmed that indeed from the factory that the media hub was defective and only allowing power to pass through and no data. That should fix it up hopefully. Thank you for responding to the post though!

 

[BowDown]

There's usually a security screen (pop up when you plug the phone in) on your phone that you have to give access to uconnect for the phone to connect.

 

[Willjoe21]

Just an update. I took the truck to my local dealer and they replaced the media hub. All fixed and CarPlay and data pass through the USB’s under the screen great now.
Thank you to everyone that replied to my post.