5thGenRams Forums

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Wireless CarPlay Dongle

Wilkinson22

New Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2020
Messages
3
Reaction score
2
Not sure how you guys plan to fit this into that slot, but I just don't see it happening.

Rebooted my phone and the media display issues went away. Really pretty solid for a beta product and I've been pleased with the performance thus far.

You can remove the two screws from the top tray on dash that hide under the rubber mat. After the two screws are removed you can tug pretty tough on the radio and the whole unit will pull out in one piece. Then you can run what ever wires you want behind the radio to include hide that dongle. I have my wired CarPlay connection wires all behind the stereo screen. Its super simple, two screws and then a good pull, it takes some force but the whole thing snaps right back in and then you reinstall the two screws.
 

justmikeyd

Member
Joined
Jan 10, 2020
Messages
11
Reaction score
11
Update on my CarPlay2Air. It works about 50% of the time. Seems like my phone doesn’t want to connect to it sometimes, the only way to get it to connect is to unplug the dongle and plug it back in. I’ve removed the truck from my bluetooth connections so that it would stop connecting to the truck instead of the dongle, but that didn’t solve it. Not super impressed.
 

stevestrike

Active Member
Joined
Mar 12, 2019
Messages
161
Reaction score
130
Update on my CarPlay2Air. It works about 50% of the time. Seems like my phone doesn’t want to connect to it sometimes, the only way to get it to connect is to unplug the dongle and plug it back in.
I’ve seen this occasionally as well. You can try opening your Bluetooth settings on your iPhone and tapping the RAM device in the list. This will often make the connection. But if that doesn’t work you need unplug and reconnect it.

Also, make sure you’ve recently rebooted your phone. iPhone has some finicky BT issues itself.

I’m hopeful that when they release another firmware for this device it will continue to improve the performance
 

Soldierguy

Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2019
Messages
23
Reaction score
18
I have the wirelesscar2play device for a few weeks now and like stevestrikes it took a little bit to connect but once I went to the update site and it was updated it works 99% of the time and even when it doesn’t on the carplay screen I just have to select my iPhone on the list and it then connects. The times that I have noticed this is when I use remote start. Easy fix though is just select CarPlay tab and then normally my phone is listed on the right side of the screen. I have had a couple times where I had to unplug the device and plug it back in and it worked after that but mist of the time it works great. While playing music, using Siri, and phone calls.
 

sconzy23

Member
Joined
Nov 28, 2018
Messages
13
Reaction score
17
Just bought one of these bad boys. Took 2 minutes to setup and zero problems so far. Will write back after a couple of days of use. I have an iPhone 11 Pro Max. Very happy with the purchase. Now to get the one I bought working in my wife’s Honda....
 

green68mustang_2002

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 26, 2019
Messages
216
Reaction score
120
I have the wirelesscar2play device for a few weeks now and like stevestrikes it took a little bit to connect but once I went to the update site and it was updated it works 99% of the time and even when it doesn’t on the carplay screen I just have to select my iPhone on the list and it then connects. The times that I have noticed this is when I use remote start. Easy fix though is just select CarPlay tab and then normally my phone is listed on the right side of the screen. I have had a couple times where I had to unplug the device and plug it back in and it worked after that but mist of the time it works great. While playing music, using Siri, and phone calls.
What model phone are you using?
 

Bluesurf

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 23, 2019
Messages
347
Reaction score
222
I just wrote again after a while to w2play for an update. I mentioned to them that many of us are interested in a fully working product. My last correspondence they told me they were updating the software specifically for the RAM Uconnect system. I don't like plugging in and out every time I get in/out of the truck. There are many vehicle's out there that are wireless, wtf was FCA thinking. 70K+ and no wireless!
 

fact mechanic

Active Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2018
Messages
93
Reaction score
77
Installed CarPlay2Air a couple of days ago. Followed instructions earlier in this thread to remove the UConnect bluetooth connection first and then followed the "instructions" in the box. I updated the firmware using the QR code link as soon as it connected. iPhone 11 stays in pocket and connects every time. Works great. Thank you to whoever found this thing and first posted about it here.
 

Patsy1099

Spends too much time on here
Joined
Jan 5, 2019
Messages
2,333
Reaction score
1,293
Location
People’s Republic of New Jersey
Installed CarPlay2Air a couple of days ago. Followed instructions earlier in this thread to remove the UConnect bluetooth connection first and then followed the "instructions" in the box. I updated the firmware using the QR code link as soon as it connected. iPhone 11 stays in pocket and connects every time. Works great. Thank you to whoever found this thing and first posted about it here.

Can you try starting your truck with remote start and then seeing if it connects without issue when you get in and start it? Some people have said that remote starting causes it to glitch. Just curious if you have same issue.
 

fact mechanic

Active Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2018
Messages
93
Reaction score
77
Can you try starting your truck with remote start and then seeing if it connects without issue when you get in and start it? Some people have said that remote starting causes it to glitch. Just curious if you have same issue.

Just tried this. It does not.

I wonder if there is something turned off with remote start that is necessary for the connection to work, the usb data connection or wifi or whatever. I know remote start does leave some electrical things disabled, such as the dash 12v plug, until the start button is pushed. I tried to see if it would connect on its own when I pushed the start button after remote start and it still did not. I'm not super patient so maybe there is a retry connection timing window and I just didn't give it enough time. I was able to select the adapter's bluetooth connection on my phone and manually connect and it did work fine after that. Maybe there is a certain window of time after startup when the device tries to connect and if it times out then it doesn't retry? I'll run a couple of different scenarios later and see if I can get more information on this.
 

fact mechanic

Active Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2018
Messages
93
Reaction score
77
Just tried this. It does not.

I wonder if there is something turned off with remote start that is necessary for the connection to work, the usb data connection or wifi or whatever. I know remote start does leave some electrical things disabled, such as the dash 12v plug, until the start button is pushed. I tried to see if it would connect on its own when I pushed the start button after remote start and it still did not. I'm not super patient so maybe there is a retry connection timing window and I just didn't give it enough time. I was able to select the adapter's bluetooth connection on my phone and manually connect and it did work fine after that. Maybe there is a certain window of time after startup when the device tries to connect and if it times out then it doesn't retry? I'll run a couple of different scenarios later and see if I can get more information on this.

Did remote start while sitting in the truck. Still no connection. So its probably not a timeout thing. Also got "There was a connection error with your Apple CarPlay device" alert on uConnect screen.
 

stevestrike

Active Member
Joined
Mar 12, 2019
Messages
161
Reaction score
130
Did remote start while sitting in the truck. Still no connection. So its probably not a timeout thing.
That's been my experience too, there must be something with the way that the truck doesn't fully "boot up" when using remote start until you actually press the start button. The sequence of events is off for the connection to happen correctly.
 

fact mechanic

Active Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2018
Messages
93
Reaction score
77
That's been my experience too, there must be something with the way that the truck doesn't fully "boot up" when using remote start until you actually press the start button. The sequence of events is off for the connection to happen correctly.
I agree. If it was an adapter connection issue only, then when I started the truck with the remote start while sitting in it with my phone present, it should have connected. But, I still wonder why it does not connect when I hit the start button and all the other electrical parts start up. I noticed the uConnect does not do a full reboot then (or even when the truck is just shut off briefly and turned right back on). I think its like an Apollo 13 issue and the order things are turned on matters for the connection to work. Remote start to operational might have a different order that is not compatible with establishing the connection. Hopefully the adapter guys can address it with their update.
 

Patsy1099

Spends too much time on here
Joined
Jan 5, 2019
Messages
2,333
Reaction score
1,293
Location
People’s Republic of New Jersey
I agree. If it was an adapter connection issue only, then when I started the truck with the remote start while sitting in it with my phone present, it should have connected. But, I still wonder why it does not connect when I hit the start button and all the other electrical parts start up. I noticed the uConnect does not do a full reboot then (or even when the truck is just shut off briefly and turned right back on). I think its like an Apollo 13 issue and the order things are turned on matters for the connection to work. Remote start to operational might have a different order that is not compatible with establishing the connection. Hopefully the adapter guys can address it with their update.

My guess is that the issue is just that. When you remote start the electrical system starts and the adapter tries its initial handshake, fails and times out. When you get into the car and complete your “soft start” it doesn’t RE-initialize your electrical connections. One thing you guys might want to try. After your remote start, when approaching your truck, kill the remote start so the vehicle turns off. Then enter your vehicle and perform a normal start-up. My guess is that should work fine. It’s an extra step but it allows you to warm up the truck and not have to worry about disconnecting/reconnecting the adapter. Just a thought. Hopefully it works.
 

Soldierguy

Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2019
Messages
23
Reaction score
18
My guess is that the issue is just that. When you remote start the electrical system starts and the adapter tries its initial handshake, fails and times out. When you get into the car and complete your “soft start” it doesn’t RE-initialize your electrical connections. One thing you guys might want to try. After your remote start, when approaching your truck, kill the remote start so the vehicle turns off. Then enter your vehicle and perform a normal start-up. My guess is that should work fine. It’s an extra step but it allows you to warm up the truck and not have to worry about disconnecting/reconnecting the adapter. Just a thought. Hopefully it works.
All I normally have to do after remote starting my truck is after I get into the truck and push the start button then on the head unit select car play app and on the screen will have my iPhone listed on the right side of the screen and I select that and it normally connects. Every so often I’ll have a blank screen on the car play screen so then I get have to unplug the dongle and plug it back in and then it will go through its thing and connect. Really it’s not bad works most of the time and it is nice not having to pull my phone out of my pocket every time I get in and out of my truck.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top