21 Honda CRV Apple CarPlay issues

Have the same issue with a Honda CRV 2019. Took it to a Honda dealer and they said the issue is with the Apple IOS software. Apparently, Apple releases security updates without telling Honda and after a few days, it drops the Car Play connection. It seems that Apple doesn't speak to Honda or other dealers and coordinate with them. To test this theory, I used my other phone which is an Android on the same Honda, running Car Play, and the Android works fine, even when the iPhone drops the connection. I field tested this and in the following 5 weeks, the iPhone Carplay was dropped 10 times while the Android, which was connected to the same car at the same time, never dropped once. The issue is clearly Apple IOS.

When I spoke with the Apple Store about this they were very unhelpful and kept saying the issue is with Honda. I called Apple support and they stand by the same comment, although they cannot explain why the Android phone keeps working.

The issue is therefore with Apple but Apple could care less.

I was having a lot of the same issues mentioned with Apple CarPlay on my 2020 Honda CRV. After a couple trips back to the deal, I tried resetting my iPhone 12. This took care of the problem.

Hey there AppManCan,

Thanks for reaching out to Apple Support Communities. We understand you’re having issues using CarPlay as expected with your iPhone. We’ll be happy to help.

You’ve done some great steps far. Do you have Siri turned on? If not turn Siri on in Settings > Siri and follow the rest of the steps from this link and see if they help:

If you need help with CarPlay

We hope this helps.

Take care.

Same exact problems as AppManCan. INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATING.

I've tried all the same fixes and it still disappears, stops working, blacks out, etc. in a seemingly undeterminable way.

I can still hit the menu button on the console and scroll around through the Honda Interface, but clicking on CarPlay just results in a black screen or nothing. Unplugging and then plugging back in doesn’t work either… the Honda Interface indicates that CarPlay is connected (whether plugged in or not) and pressing on the CarPlay icon yields an error message telling me to connect the phone to the USB outlet (whether it is plugged in or not).  The only things I've tried that will "solve" (read temporarily reset) the problem is to turn the car off, open and close the door, restart, and then plug the phone back in OR reboot my phone and the audio interface/ center console.   Obviously none of these are acceptable solutions, and they only work for a while until the problem repeats itself. tip

2021 Honda CR-V Hybrid

iPhone XR iOS 14.4

I'm using an apple USB-to-lightning cable, not a third party cable.

If you’re having the issue with one vehicle and not the other, especially if it’s the same iPhone with an Apple OEM cable, it’s almost certainly your car’s head unit firmware.

If your dealership is unable/unwilling to diagnose the issue, then it is time to contact the company directly.

The infotainment system in the CR-V and Civic are terrible and buggy. Apple CarPlay glitches are growing in ahi da Infotainment systems. I just spoke with a Honda service representative when I dropped my car off for scheduled maintenance and he told me that it’s a known problem that is increasing and that Honda is working on an update. I am on iOS 14.5.1 and all my Apple CarPlay maladies got worse and worse over the course of 3 weeks to the point that Apple Music won’t launch and just crashes.

Ok everybody. This is NOT an Apple issue. It is definitely a Honda issue. Carplay works perfectly in my other 2 cars. I have a 2016 Accord and have been having this problem since day one. I've heard all the BS from Honda about using only apple cords and turn bluetooth on and off an blah blah blah. Pure and simple, Honda's system has a serious bug in it's Carplay compatibility and they will keep on denying it until they are somehow forced to fix it. Right now I can't think of how that can happen. Don't get me wrong. I love my car. Honda just really did a poor job of quality control on their infotainment system. AND they still keep installing it on all their new vehicles. So stop beating up your iphones. We need to somehow rattle Honda's cage!

Factory reset your entertainment center in your car. This fixed my girlfriend’s car.

Settings > System > Factory Reset > Yes through all the scary menus. Voíla

I finally had to do a factory reset of the CRV's head unit. So far everything is working fine. However, this is the 2nd time I've had to do this since I bought the car in October '20.

My 8 plus connects without a problem after 15.2.1.

No My ‘21 Crv has the same issue. The only thing you can do is hold the power button in and reboot the system. This quick fix works most of the time. Be prepared to pull over and let it reboot. If the car is moving the super safety feature will not let you operate the radio

I have a similar issue with a 2020 Honda Ridgeline RTL-E. I plug in my phone (12Pro) and sometimes it won't even recognize the phone. But it will still hook up to bluetooth. Other times I will get a call and after the call YouTube Music doesn't start back after the call ends. You have to manually force it to play. When this happens sometimes you can't get it to play no matter what you do. I have tried various things to get it to work again. Nothing seems to work. I have done a test a couple of times when this happens to try and see if it is the phone or the radio. It seems to be the radio. Because I can hit the home button and go back to play XM or FM radio and it won't play anything. It's like the radio is stuck in a loop and won't let go of the connection. I've tried unplugging the phone and reconnecting. But it still doesn't work. I've tried turning off wifi calling and Bluetooth. Nothing seems to work. I have called Honda about the issue and they said they have never heard of this issue. I replied to them "Well now you have. So what can be done?" They are now having a engineer look at the problem. I also made a video of the problem when it was happening and how you can't even change audio sources when it goes nuts. Hopefully this will give them something to start on and resolve the issue.

We just bought a 2021 CRV today and had the same issue on both my wife and my iPhone. Wouldn’t work. Two of the salesmen troubleshot the issue. We could connect iPhone but CarPlay wouldn’t work. They were able to resolve the issue by doing a factory reset on the infotainment system. It worked! Hopefully we don’t have to reset again.

On the connection tab of your system menu, select WiFi*** not the Bluetooth option****

Go to your phone settings and turn your wifi on.

The wireless function of your carplay connection is via WiFi. This should show up on the list of available WiFi connection on your phone. Something like “adcar***”. This will pair up your phone successfully to your car.

*** The Bluetooth function will allow you to connect to your car for music and phone calls only, but not for CarPlay. If you lose your connection again, it will be because your WiFi pairing disconnected. Repeat these steps. No need to reset your car to reconnect. See included pictures for reference.

I have an 11 Pro Max and it has the exact same issues. It was better for a bit under 14.6, but it craps out just about once a day under 14.7.1. Usually, restarting the infotainment system works, but sometimes you have to restart the infotainment system and the iPhone to get them to work. It's unbelievable that the companies have not been able to figure out a solution yet.