[twriter]

Well today was a new one on me.


Ever since I took delivery of my Bolt, when I connect my iPhone (X), the sound has randomly cut out. The music itself is still playing--I can see the time ticking away--and it comes back after several seconds. This seems to happen mostly at slow speeds, and will usually happen one or two or three times. At some point, it seems to "stabilize," even though I've done nothing except drive. But it happens just about every time I go anywhere.



Today, I'm heading out for lunch, and am stopped at a stoplight. First, the sound cuts out, but then CarPlay just disconnects. (And the sound went to radio.) I literally had to remove the Lightning connector from my iPhone and plug it back in the get CarPlay back. And this happened twice on the short drive.



Note that this cannot be the cable. I have tried 3 different Lightning cables; the current one is one never-before-used that I pulled out of my newest iPad box.



I will note that jiggling the cable both where it connects to the iPhone and where it connects to the USB port has zero effect. The sounds returns when it does as randomly as when it cut out, except on the occasions where I have explicitly disconnected and reconnected the cable.

 

[MDBolt]

I’ve had this happen to me a few times in the past, and was able to figure out that it was when the phone was going in and out of WiFi spots (i.e., handing off from WiFi to LTE). So what I’ve done is not connect my phone to the lightning cable until it’s out of our home WiFi range. May not be the case for you since it seems to happen in multiple places/situations, but worth a try.

 

[Sean Nelson]

I’ve had this happen to me a few times in the past, and was able to figure out that it was when the phone was going in and out of WiFi spots (i.e., handing off from WiFi to LTE). So what I’ve done is not connect my phone to the lightning cable until it’s out of our home WiFi range.

I have a Samsung Galaxy S7 and every time I leave the garage it has to drop it's connection to the WiFi access point in my house in favour of an LTE data connection. If I'm playing Spotify at the time then there can be a lengthy pause in the music as the phone figures out where to get its data from, but it always resumes on its own after something like 10 to 20 seconds.

 

[ol3Faz]

Same thing happens to me daily. Very annoying!

 

[MDBolt]

I’ve had this happen to me a few times in the past, and was able to figure out that it was when the phone was going in and out of WiFi spots (i.e., handing off from WiFi to LTE). So what I’ve done is not connect my phone to the lightning cable until it’s out of our home WiFi range.

I have a Samsung Galaxy S7 and every time I leave the garage it has to drop it's connection to the WiFi access point in my house in favour of an LTE data connection. If I'm playing Spotify at the time then there can be a lengthy pause in the music as the phone figures out where to get its data from, but it always resumes on its own after something like 10 to 20 seconds.

On CarPlay it’s not as reliable. Yes, there are some days where it reconnects seamlessly, but as the OP mentioned, I’ve had to disconnect the cable and reconnect to get audio back on again. Happens more frequently on the Amazon apps like Music and Audible.

So rather than deal with that song and dance routine every time, I just make it a point to either connect it later on in the commute or disconnect from WiFi (from the phone menu) before plugging in.

 

[LooseBolt]

I love/hate CP. Overall it’s a big win but it can be frustrating too. The app being used makes a huge difference. Generally I’ve found the Apple apps I’ve used work well. Some third party ones don’t. That said, I’ve never experienced exactly what you describe. I have the in-car WiFI plan and my phone stays connected to it all the time. This may lend support to those above that suspect entering and leaving WiFi areas may be a problem. However, an IPhone should not be connecting to random WiFi without your permission. Look in settings->WiFi and make sure “ask before connecting” is turned on. You really don’t want to connect to random open WiFi. That’s a huge security risk.

 

[twriter]

That's some very interesting stuff, especially about the WiFi.

I am (almost) always listening to the music stored on my iPhone. I can say with pretty much surety that I get no signal of any wort when I am in the garage here at my condos. That said, I use Xfinity Mobile and it is supposed to connect seamlessly to Xfinity WiFi access points to offload from the cellular network. My experience in the past year and a half gives me lots of evidence that the whatever software Xfinity added to the devices does a horrible, horrible job of this. (I should know; I worked for a company that made embedded software that did exactly this.)

That this doesn't seem to happen along the freeways, almost always out of range of WiFi access points, seems to suggest this a credible theory. If not rather annoying. This stuff should just work.


I also have disabled the WiFi in my Bolt.


I had an interesting twist happen as I pulled in to the garage tonight. CarPlay simply disconnected, then reconnected. As I parked (remember, in an area where I pretty much get no signal of any sort), CarPlay disconnected again. I put my Bolt in Park and set the parking brake, but did not turn it off, intending to futz with the display. I tapped the icon to get me to the apps, and a few second later, I saw the CarPlay icon back. But when I tapped the CarPlay icon on the car display, I heard a beep, but CarPlay itself did not start. I unplugged my phone and plugged it back in, and the CarPlay icon on the display still behaved the same way.


The especially tricky part of all of this is figuring out in whose software the bugs are. I wish I knew if it was possible to file a software bug with Chevy directly.

 

[cwerdna]

I've only had my '19 Bolt Premier since end of Jan 2019 and use CarPlay for audio w/my iPhone 8 (running iOS 12.x.x) quite a bit. I've never experienced these probs.

That said, I usually tend to drive my Bolt about 4 days/week and my Leaf the other 3, while I still have it.

I play a mix of audio from a very old copy of the NPR News app, synced music using Apple's music app, synced podcasts from Overcast and some streamed music from Spotify and Pandora. Pandora's CarPlay support seems kinda buggy. My carrier's Sprint.

I'm using a genuine Apple USB to Lightning cable. For the others, I'd only use quality Made for i (https://developer.apple.com/programs/mfi/) certified cables.

The wi-fi hotspot service in my car is canceled.

What if you reset network settings on your iPhone (https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204051)? Keep in mind what it clears out though...

 

[MDBolt]

I love/hate CP. Overall it’s a big win but it can be frustrating too. The app being used makes a huge difference. Generally I’ve found the Apple apps I’ve used work well. Some third party ones don’t. That said, I’ve never experienced exactly what you describe. I have the in-car WiFI plan and my phone stays connected to it all the time. This may lend support to those above that suspect entering and leaving WiFi areas may be a problem. However, an IPhone should not be connecting to random WiFi without your permission. Look in settings->WiFi and make sure “ask before connecting” is turned on. You really don’t want to connect to random open WiFi. That’s a huge security risk.

I agree. I stay away from open unsecured networks as well. The issue I used to run into pertained primarily to my home network, which appears to be strong enough to connect to my phone whilst being a neighborhood block away from the house. I actually tried it again this morning just to test my theory and sure enough, it did happen again. I was listening to an audiobook in Audible. As soon as the WiFi handed off to my phone's LTE, audio stopped playing - although the display showed the audiobook was still running - and then CarPlay disconnected. Had to manually unplug/plug the lightning cable to rectify the situation.

 

[MDBolt]

That's some very interesting stuff, especially about the WiFi.

I am (almost) always listening to the music stored on my iPhone. I can say with pretty much surety that I get no signal of any wort when I am in the garage here at my condos. That said, I use Xfinity Mobile and it is supposed to connect seamlessly to Xfinity WiFi access points to offload from the cellular network. My experience in the past year and a half gives me lots of evidence that the whatever software Xfinity added to the devices does a horrible, horrible job of this. (I should know; I worked for a company that made embedded software that did exactly this.)

That this doesn't seem to happen along the freeways, almost always out of range of WiFi access points, seems to suggest this a credible theory. If not rather annoying. This stuff should just work.


I also have disabled the WiFi in my Bolt.

Your arrangement with Xfinity Mobile does make me think that yours is a WiFi related issue as well.

I had an interesting twist happen as I pulled in to the garage tonight. CarPlay simply disconnected, then reconnected. As I parked (remember, in an area where I pretty much get no signal of any sort), CarPlay disconnected again. I put my Bolt in Park and set the parking brake, but did not turn it off, intending to futz with the display. I tapped the icon to get me to the apps, and a few second later, I saw the CarPlay icon back. But when I tapped the CarPlay icon on the car display, I heard a beep, but CarPlay itself did not start. I unplugged my phone and plugged it back in, and the CarPlay icon on the display still behaved the same way.


The especially tricky part of all of this is figuring out in whose software the bugs are. I wish I knew if it was possible to file a software bug with Chevy directly.

Regarding this kerfuffle when you got home - would you happen to remember if your phone was locked (i.e., on your lock screen) when you reconnected your cable? I've noticed that on occasion the Bolt's CarPlay would refuse to interface with a locked iPhone, requiring you to unlock the iPhone manually for it to display / connect on the Infotainment system.

 

[twriter]

Your arrangement with Xfinity Mobile does make me think that yours is a WiFi related issue as well.




Regarding this kerfuffle when you got home - would you happen to remember if your phone was locked (i.e., on your lock screen) when you reconnected your cable? I've noticed that on occasion the Bolt's CarPlay would refuse to interface with a locked iPhone, requiring you to unlock the iPhone manually for it to display / connect on the Infotainment system.

I generally take my phone out of my pocket and plug it into the cable. On occasion, when CarPlay does not start up immediately, I'll pick up my phone to look at it; usually I'll see a CarPlay screen. Sometimes I'll unplug it and plug it back in. But most of the time, I don't actively unlock. And I think it'd be a bug in the Bolt software if specific interaction with the phone is necessary to get CarPlay working.

 

[twriter]

And yet another interesting thing. This morning, I decided to see what the Android Auto experience was in comparison. I downloaded some of my playlists to my Pixel, but when I plugged it in, I found one more reason why iOS > Android: CarPlay is integrated, Android Auto required a specifically downloaded separate app.


So Android Auto was out for this test. But when I plugged my iPhone in instead, CarPlay did not start. unplugged and plugged he cable, still no CarPlay. I then had the idea to power down the Botl and restart it. I plugged my iPhone in before I restarted my Botl, as I normally would when I get in the car, and CarPlay started right up.

 

[Pete Blair]

The only time i've had the issues you are experiencing with Carplay was when I was using a bad lightening cable. Once I replaced the lightening cable with a better one I have had no issues with it disconnecting or sound dropping out.

 

[twriter]

The only time i've had the issues you are experiencing with Carplay was when I was using a bad lightening cable. Once I replaced the lightening cable with a better one I have had no issues with it disconnecting or sound dropping out.

I have tried 3 different Lightning cables. The issue occurred with all 3. The current one is an Apple one I pulled out of my latest iPad box that had not yet been used.


It's not the cable.