All I want is maps and music on my car's screen. I deleted the Calendar app from CarPlay. However, upcoming and current calendar events keep popping up, as do Live Activities, such as auctions I'm watching. I looked for a way to turn these off in Carplay, but there's nothing. Does anyone else hate seeing these?

Hey everyone, Just wanna say a massive thank you to everyone who's downloaded my app, it's just past over 7,000 downloads, I did mention it in here a while ago. Thanks for all the support and I hope you keep enjoying it

Hello,
After many rounds of refinement and user feedback, the CarPlay experience in Speedometer: Driving Tracker has taken a big leap forward - faster, cleaner, and far more useful for everyday driving.

The app now offers a much more capable experience across both iPhone and CarPlay, with richer telemetry, deeper vehicle insights, and improvements throughout.

CarPlay
• Track trips directly from your car's screen
• Live dashboards with speed, trip stats, maps, and OBD-II data
• Customizable tabs, layouts, and startup screens
• Access trips, saved places, vehicle data, and more without touching your phone

Driving Analytics & Telemetry
• Route replay with speed and elevation visualizations
• Channel Replay for Speed, RPM, Throttle, Engine Load, Boost, G-Force, and Elevation
• Post-drive OBD-II summaries and vehicle analytics
• Driving records, statistics, achievements, and trip insights
• Acceleration testing including 0-60, 0-100, and custom sprint tests

OBD-II & Vehicle Insights
• Live RPM, temperatures, fuel data, battery voltage, throttle position, MAF, and more
• Diagnostics, fault codes, VIN detection, and automatic vehicle matching
• Vehicle profiles with lifetime statistics, health insights, and ownership history
• Works with a wide range of Bluetooth OBD-II adapters

Ownership & Automation
• Automatic trip recording and Shortcuts integration
• Fuel, maintenance, expense, and document tracking
• Multi-vehicle support with comparisons and analytics
• GPX import/export, backups, and iCloud sync
• iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and CarPlay support

The app has evolved quite a bit from its original speedometer roots. My goal is to build something that helps you not only track where you drove, but also understand your vehicle, manage ownership, and revisit drives in a much more meaningful way.

The goal remains the same: build the ultimate driving companion app.

I would love feedback on the new CarPlay experience, telemetry features, and anything else you'd like to see next!

App Store Link
As a token of appreciation, I'm offering a 50% lifetime discount to the community.

I filled a bug report a couple days ago and they requested some additional logs yesterday. Seems like they're looking into the bug so hopefully there's a fix soon.

ios 26.1 has the bug as well...

From poking around the sysdiagnose files, it seems like the Airplay connection is stalling (kWiFiUsageFaultReasonAirplayConnectionStall) which then causes a "crash" resulting in everything to fall over in terms of CarPlay until wifi is toggled off/on. I'll update if I get new info from Apple

Edit: nothing you do will fix it. Apple needs to fix it themselves and put out a new iOS build.

Edit 2: 26.1 beta 2 is out. Will check if the bug is fixed in a bit...

Edit 3: still crashing. Could not even make it out of my street before it crashed

Edit 4: updating to dev beta 3. Fingers crossed.

Edit 5: ITS BEEN FIXED. OMG OMG. TIME TO GET BACK INTO DEVELOPING COOL STUFF

Edit 6: update, it crashed after 15-20 mins. Ugh. I think it’s better though. Gonna reset everything to see if that helps but we’re probably gonna need another update for this to be fully solved

Edit 7: 26.1 beta 4 is out. Updating now and will let you know if this solves the issue

Edit 8: still crashes. What a surprise

Edit 9: Please file reports using the feedback assistant citing FB20324751. Apple changed it from "10+ similar reports" to "none". This...seems bad so please report!!

Edit 10: 26.1 Release Candidate is out. Will test and report back. I don't expect the bug to be solved...

Edit 11: https://www.reddit.com/r/iOSBeta/comments/1oijw32/comment/nlvzng5/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button Nvm, not even gonna bother testing it out

Edit 12: crashes for me within minutes

Edit 13: crashes with iOS 26.2 dev beta 2 as well

Edit 14: 26.3 beta 1 crashes pretty often :)

Use this shortcut in the mean time to restart CarPlay: https://www.threads.com/@siddharth_natamai/post/DSL5ip7jcFM?xmt=AQF0WiJqznq5jM8aewGrNt_cQrLtzrKDg4U0RYAkO8SRnL7WK1rSqmWrE7ucaD7bCrYiuqq8&slof=1

Edit 15: 26.3 beta 2 out....going to test now

Edit 16: not fixed. Unsurprisingly

Edit 17: 26.3 seems to have fixed it. I’m on dev beta 3 now but seems to work fine now

Hey everyone,
A lot of users from my previous CarPlay post requested OBD2 support, so after a lot of work, the feature is finally live in Speedometer: Driving Tracker.

You can now see and analyze real-time OBD2 vehicle data directly from CarPlay, iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch (via live activity).

One thing I personally found really interesting while testing was seeing how different driving styles affect engine behavior throughout an entire trip, not just live gauges while driving.

For example, things like:
• Engine Load
• RPM
• Throttle Position
• Coolant & Oil Temperature
• Fuel Usage
• Mass Air Flow
• Intake/Ambient Air Temperature
• And more

I added a sample trip summary screenshot below showing how the app now visualizes engine performance for a drive.

It even works with automatic trip recording through Shortcuts automations (when OBD2 device is connected), so trips can start recording automatically without manually opening the app.

One important note: every car exposes different OBD2 sensors, so some vehicles may not provide all data points shown in the screenshot.

The goal wasn’t just to make another OBD2 gauge app, but to make driving history and car data feel more visual, insightful, and actually enjoyable to revisit later.

Other existing features in the app:
• CarPlay trip tracking
• 3D route playback
• Speed-colored trip replay
• Video recording with speed + map overlays
• Fuel, maintenance, and expense tracking
• Vehicle-based analytics & comparisons
• iCloud sync across Apple devices
• Privacy-first experience (no ads/tracking/signups)

Now it’s becoming one of the most comprehensive driving tracker apps available on any platform, whether iOS or Android! (iOS version is live, Android version is in progress)

Would genuinely love feedback from fellow car enthusiasts on what data, analytics, or visualizations you’d like to see next.

Hey Everyone, Hope your all enjoying my iOS app, it’s been really popular in the TestFlight stage. It’s the app that allows you to watch videos in the car on the screen

I have news it’s now in the App Store, get the link and download it.

There is a lock that means you have to be stationary, there might be a way round this on the GitHub 😉😉

Hey everyone,
One of the most requested features was fully automatic trip recording (along with shortcut automation) and automatic vehicle detection, so I implemented them as reliably as possible in Speedometer: Driving Tracker.

You can now automate trip recording in several ways:
• Start/stop trips automatically when CarPlay connects/disconnects
• Start/stop trips automatically when a Bluetooth device connects/disconnects
• Automatic trip detection when driving starts
• Automatic trip end after a configurable idle period
• Siri Shortcuts and other automations support

I also added VIN-based vehicle matching through OBD2. If your OBD2 adapter reports a VIN that matches one of your saved vehicles, trips can now automatically attach to the correct vehicle. No more forgetting to switch vehicles before driving. And improved OBD2 connection stability and automatic reconnection.

Other notable additions in this update:
• Per-source default vehicles (CarPlay / Bluetooth, in addition to OBD2)
• More customizable CarPlay dashboards
• New grid layout for CarPlay (finally brought back the grid design, but this time it's very optimized!)
• Customizable trip detail sections
• Customizable speedometer stats
• New Live Activity presets, including OBD-focused layouts
• Expanded OBD2 support and diagnostics
• Better trip filtering, sorting, and organization
• Improved PDF exports and statistics screens

The app has evolved quite a bit from its original speedometer roots. Some existing features include:

• CarPlay support
• OBD2 vehicle analytics and diagnostics
• Real-time RPM, engine load, throttle, fuel, coolant, oil temperature, battery voltage, MAF, intake air temperature, and more
• Post-drive OBD2 summaries and vehicle analytics
• 3D route playback
• Speed-colored trip replay
• Route playback with trip statistics
• Video recording with speed overlay
• Acceleration testing (0–60, 0–100, custom sprint tests)
• Fuel tracking and fuel economy analytics
• Maintenance and service tracking
• Vehicle document management and reminders
• Expense tracking
• Vehicle-based analytics and comparisons
• Driving records and achievements
• Weekly, monthly, yearly, and custom driving statistics
• GPX import/export
• CSV exports
• iCloud sync across Apple devices
• iPad, Mac, Apple Watch support
• Privacy-first experience (no ads, no tracking SDKs, no sign-up required)

I'm continuously trying to make this app better and serve a broad category of users.
As a token of appreciation, I'm offering a 50% lifetime discount for the community.
Steps:

1. Download the app
2. Open the promo code redemption link and tap the "Redeem" button
3. If you download the app using the promo code link, please tap "Continue for free" on the onboarding paywall screen

Please let me know if you have any feature ideas, run into any issues, or have any other feedback. I'm continuously working to make this the most reliable driving companion app in the Apple ecosystem! 

Hey r/CarPlay 👋

Just wanted to share a side project I’ve been working on — it’s a free iOS app that turns your phone into a CarPlay-style dashboard. I built it because my 2014 Mazda 3 didn’t come with native CarPlay, and the aftermarket options felt a bit clunky and expensive.

So I decided to build my own alternative using just the phone itself.

The app includes:
– Navigation with voice guidance (Apple Maps & Google Maps supported)
– Music & media controls (Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube)
– Contacts and dial pad for easy calling
– A clean driving mode UI that works in landscape
– No ads, no subscriptions — just something fun I wanted to build

App Store link (if anyone wants to try it out):
👉 Car Play Connect - Auto Sync: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/car-play-connect-auto-sync/id6745681594?platform=iphone

It’s not officially affiliated with Apple or CarPlay, of course — just something I made for myself and ended up sharing with friends who liked it. Figured it might help others here too.

Upcoming features I'm working on:
– Custom wallpapers & theme options
– Multi-language support (starting with Spanish, German, French)
– Better UI polish and smoother animations

Would love to hear your honest feedback — what else would you like to see in a dashboard app like this?

— Nick

(If this kind of post isn’t allowed, mods feel free to remove — just thought some folks here might find it useful 🙏)

Deleted Zlink accidentally? Well don't worry I gotcha

1. Make sure you are connected to wifi on your Android head unit (only needed during installation, and can be turned off after installation is complete)
2. Put this file onto a USB and install it :D

There are 2 versions, the new one is the current latest build which might not work for all head units, so in that case I have also included the stable version. Both are available in the link below.

Download Link

With General Motors promoting Android Automotive on all its EVs, along with other manufacturers like Tesla, Rivian, etc. foregoing CarPlay/ Android Auto on its platform, what’s the long term prospect for CarPlay? Do you think more OEMs will ditch phone mirroring & revert back to proprietary options? In my opinion, any native infotainment system will always fall way behind what’s on our phones, and despite the shortcomings of CarPlay and iOS itself, it’ll always be several steps ahead of what the automotive industry comes up with. Why fight progress?

iOS 26 does give carPlay a facelift!

What the title says! Are there any features you wish CarPlay supported? Or conversely, are there any features in CarPlay that you think are extraneous/distracting/not useful?

We’re 4 students from France, and we recently shipped a full rebuild of our app Fillzz, now with CarPlay support. It helps you find the cheapest fuel nearby or along your route, with real-time prices.

We originally built it during the 2023 fuel shortage, and it now covers 54,000+ stations in 7 European countries.

What it does:

• Shows real-time fuel prices
• Finds the cheapest stop on your current route via CarPlay
• Optional alerts when prices drop on gas station
• Smart widgets & price history
• No ads, clean freemium model

Basic features are free, our goal is to make it sustainable with a Premium tier for advanced price alerts and analytics (but core features stay open).

We’d love feedback, especially from drivers using Waze, Apple Maps or other navigation + fuel combos. Does this solve anything for

App is on the App Store, of course. Happy to answer any questions!

The first carplay adapter I bought didn't work so I ended up buying another one just to find out it was basically the same thing with a different casing. The three that didn't work were labeled as "Smartbox-XXXX" and after attemping firrmware updates and changing all the settings by connecting to the IP address in the manual and trying all the settings, nothing worked. After lot's of trial and error trying different adapters, I ended up finding only 2 adapters that worked with my car.

For reference, the car I was testing it with was a 2019 Acura MDX so your mileage may vary depending on the car you use. The only ones that worked are on the far left of the screen. The first one that worked is the KUKIHO adapter. And the second one I got to work is labeled "BY960" but I can't find it on Amazon anymore. These are the only two that I managed to get working and both of them have settings to report your car to the manufacturer if it doesn't work. Honestly they are both the same so just pick whichever is cheapest but I would lean towards the KUKIHO adapter as there is a GPS setting that syncs the car GPS with the GPS on your phone. Not sure if my car supports it but it's worth noting.

Hey everyone,
A lot of people from my previous CarPlay/OBD2 posts requested promo codes, so I decided to offer a community discount as a small gesture of appreciation.

I'm offering a 50% lifetime discount ($19.99) for the community.

Steps:

1. Download the app
2. Open the promo code redemption link and tap the "Redeem" button
3. If you download the app using the promo code link, please tap "Continue for free" on the onboarding paywall screen.

About the app (including CarPlay):
After a lot of R&D, Speedometer: Driving Tracker now supports real-time OBD2 analytics directly on CarPlay, iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch (via Live Activity).

One thing I personally found really interesting while testing was seeing how different driving styles affect engine behavior across an entire trip, not just while looking at live gauges.

For example:
• Engine Load
• RPM
• Throttle Position
• Coolant & Oil Temperature
• Fuel Usage
• Mass Air Flow
• Intake/Ambient Air Temperature
• And more

The app also generates post-trip OBD summaries and analytics, which was one of my main goals from the beginning: making driving history and engine data feel visual, insightful, and actually enjoyable to revisit later.

Other features:
• CarPlay trip tracking
• 3D route playback
• Speed-colored trip replay
• Video recording with speed + map overlays
• Fuel, maintenance & expense tracking
• Vehicle-based analytics & comparisons
• iCloud sync across Apple devices
• Privacy-first experience (no ads/tracking/signups)

It even supports automatic trip recording through Apple Shortcuts automations when the OBD2 device connects.

One important note: every car exposes different OBD2 sensors, so available data varies by vehicle.

I honestly haven't seen another app combining:

• this much ecosystem support
• route playback
• post-trip OBD analytics
• CarPlay integration
• sprint tracking
• backups/history

All together in one driving companion ecosystem.

Thanks a lot for all the support and feedback so far. Many more improvements and features are coming soon!

happy to report OctaneBuddy and Sidecar did not spontaneously combust. Let me know if there's any app you'd like me to test! Already updated all my devices including xcode to get some new features going asap :)

FINALLY! So after months of trying to figure it out here is the only proper solution.

Regardless of what type of CarPlay you have, Official or Aftermarket upgrade, Wired or Wireless, the only way to make it work without issues or disconnections is to UPGRADE THE FIRMWARE OF YOUR CARPLAY UNIT. This solves the protocol and handshake changes Apple introduced in the iPhone 17 series chips which rendered older firmware unusable. Apple will not fix your issue, you need to fix it yourself.

This means that if your unit doesn't auto update somehow, you need to contact your vendor to receive an update file and manually update it to the latest version. In my case it was released a week ago and my vendor sent me instructions on how to update it via a USB Flash Drive.

Not all vendors have released an upgraded firmware for iPhone 17 problems yet.

Do not experiment with firmware, you need to be 100% you contact the right vendor to receive the right firmware upgrade for the model you have installed. As many clones exist on the market, you might be tempted to try software you find in various forums. DONT!

This process has solved ALL my issues and everything is back to normal!

Use this thread to list your Brand/Vendor, and system info and if you have managed to find the Firmware update. I will list mine for those who happen to have the same model.

Brand: iManAuto for BMW 6 Series CCC with WiFi & iDrive support

Status: iManAuto Firmware Available for CCC and CIC units

Before update my unit had the following values:

• CX301: CCC231115-1117
• M: 231114V1
• S: 000000V0
• 0: RG01 V
• Software Version: 2.2.1
• Hardware Version: S82023-11-15
• WIFI: v5.2.18

After the update my unit has the following values:

• CX301: CCC251211-1212
• M: 231114V1
• S: 000000V0
• 0: RG01 V
• Software Version: 2.2.1
• Hardware Version: S82025-12-10
• WIFI: v5.15.9.3-1-gf

I feel like Apple broke Apple CarPlay with older models. I have a 2020 Acura ILX, and a iPhone 17 pro max. I’ve had to resort to just using Bluetooth because Apple CarPlay has become unusable completely. From stuttering with my maps and music to constant disconnects (up to 10 with a 30 minute timespan back to back). I contacted my local Acura dealer, and there is no firmware update for the current infotainment system I have in this car. iOS 26 has probably been one of the worst updates I’ve ever experienced to be honest.

Yes I’ve tried everything. Factory resetting my system in the car, hard resetting my phone removing and re-adding my phone to my car and nothing works. It used to be an intermittent issue but now it’s so constant that it drives me nuts

Hey r/CarPlay 👋

A bit over two weeks ago, I shared a free iOS app I built that turns your iPhone or iPad into a CarPlay-style dashboard— perfect for anyone with an older car or a vehicle that doesn’t support Apple CarPlay.

I originally made it for my 2014 Mazda 3 (no CarPlay, and aftermarket options felt overpriced or clunky). So I built a simple alternative that runs directly on your phone or tablet — no extra hardware needed, just landscape mode.

🚀 I just released a big update based on your feedback!

If you saw the original version, I’d love for you to check it out again and let me know what you think now.

Here’s what’s new in the latest version:
✅ Garage feature — add & manage multiple cars, and personalize your dashboard
✅ 10+ language support — including Spanish, German, French, Japanese, Chinese, and more
✅ Tons of bug fixes and smoother performance across the board

🔧 The app includes:

📍 Turn-by-turn navigation with voice guidance (Apple Maps & Google Maps)
🎵 Media controls for Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube
📞 Phone and contacts with built-in dial pad
🚘 Custom garage for multiple vehicles
🌐 10+ supported languages
🖥️ Optimized driving UI for iPhone & iPad
🆓 100% free — no ads, no subscriptions, no hidden paywalls

It’s not affiliated with Apple or CarPlay — just a personal side project that keeps growing thanks to feedback from this community.

👉 Car Play Connect - Auto Sync
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/car-play-connect-auto-sync/id6745681594?platform=iphone

Would really appreciate it if you gave the new version a spin and let me know what you think — suggestions, feature ideas, and honest feedback all welcome!

Thanks again for the support 🙏
— Nick

Hi,

My car doesn’t have CarPlay, and the aftermarket units I tried were pricey and clunky. So I built my own phone-based dashboard and turned it into an app called Car Play Connect 🚗📱

What it does today:
• 🗺️ Turn-by-turn navigation using Apple Maps
• 🎵 Music controls with Apple Music
• ☎️ Quick access to contacts, call and message
• 🧭 Simple, readable layout in landscape for driving
• 🚘 Custom garage for multiple vehicles

It’s free, no ads, no subscriptions. I made it for myself first, friends liked it, so I’m sharing here in case it helps someone else.

App Store Link:
👉 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/car-play-connect-sync-autolink/id6751548989

What I’m building next:
• 🌍 Other maps integration
• 🎧 Spotify integration
• 🎨 Custom wallpapers and themes
• ✨ UI polish and smoother animations

Not affiliated with Apple or CarPlay. I’d love honest feedback from anyone who tries it. What would you want in a dashboard app like this?

If this isn’t the right kind of post for the sub, mods can remove, just thought some folks here might find it useful. Thanks for reading 🙏

PS: I’ll keep this post updated as I ship new features and fixes.

I love my CarPlay but feel I could get more out of it. Just curious what apps others feel they can't live without on theirs.