How can I fix Wi-Fi and CarPlay issues on iPhone 17 Pro Max?

CarPlay not reliable with ios26 and iPhone Air. Wireless connection constantly dropping. Unusable. Using USB connection for now. Hopefully a software update coming soon. No Apple Watch involved.

My iPhone 17 Pro would not pair, but the USB port was providing energy for charging. I disconnected the actual car battery and let my car’s computer reset, and voila. It works

Use the cable that came with the phone, you may need an A to C adapter for one end. My wife and I did.

I installed 26.1 today and I went for a 20 minute drive home - no drops. That’s the first time a i’ve had no drops since I bought the 17. More testing needed but this is promising.

RETURN IT!

it’s a nightmare….

Having the same issue with my 17 Pro. Setup continuously failed as it tried to run an update before transferring anything. Update continuously failed due to connection issues. Tried skipping it and same thing for the transfer. Ended up just plugging into my Mac and updating and restoring from there.

Now the phone is “usable” but doesn’t work on wifi. Refuses to connect most of the time and if it does shows less than 1mbps download. My 13 Pro right beside it has around 500mbps on the same network.

No idea if this is a software bug or something wrong with the phone itself. Debating just returning to avoid the hassle and sticking with the 13 Pro.

Many people are posting on Reddit and other sites that they have this issue as well, and you can easily replicate it.

Just lock your phone, then unlock it after 10-15 seconds. The device will turn off the WiFi and then turn it back on.

KuriousKat wrote:

I had no issues with iPhone 15 pro and CarPlay connectivity. Just got my 17 pro Friday and can connect but intermittently drops out then reconnects over and over…what’s the story here Apple?

Apple isn't here on this user to user only forum. So asking a question of Apple here won't get you anywhere. It appears you're not alone and people are reporting it may be resolved in a future update, but if you want to share your thoughts with Apple, this isn't the place to do so. You can use this link --> Feedback - iPhone - Apple

Problem solved by buying new wireless modul and it running using Bluetooth only. Wifi can be connected as well but only for internet use from that module which is connected to wifi into car. Setup: Mercedes S-class 2020, IP 17 Pro Max, Watch Ultra 3.

Shame on you Apple. Those are exepnsive toys and it has been reported week ago and what, nothing.

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My Experience with iPhone 17 Pro, iOS 26, and Wired CarPlay (Ford Kuga 2021, Sync 3.4)

With my previous iPhone 13 Pro running iOS 26, I always used a cable for CarPlay (mainly because of Apple Music Lossless). It worked flawlessly – no issues at all, not even on earlier iOS versions like 17 or 18.

Now, after switching to the iPhone 17 Pro, I am facing constant problems with wired CarPlay. The connection is unstable and breaks down within a few minutes (usually 2–5). Either the entire CarPlay app on the iPhone crashes and restarts automatically, or it completely freezes. When that happens, the only way to recover is to physically disconnect the cable and plug it back in. Then it works again for a few minutes before the same problem repeats.

What I have tried so far (without success):

1. Tested with different cables → No improvement
2. Updated from iOS 26 to iOS 26.1 → No improvement
3. Updated the Ford Kuga Sync 3.4 system to the latest version → No improvement
4. Bought a new wireless CarPlay dongle (Ottocast Mirror Touch) → Will be testing, but this is not a real solution since I want wired CarPlay for Apple Music Lossless
5. Deleted all VPN profiles and VPN apps from my iPhone 17 Pro → Will test with cable later today

At this point, I honestly believe Apple has a major issue here. Not only does the new Liquid Glass design look questionable, but iOS 26 seems to have introduced a significant number of bugs and stability problems.

I sincerely hope this is not a hardware-related defect with the iPhone 17 Pro itself.

I will continue testing and report back with updates.

I'm quite displeased with my Iphone 17 Pro Max, which ended up being a functional downgrade from my 12 Pro Max. Car Play does not work, despite endless resets, restarts and fiddling with settings. I have a 2019 Ford F150. Carplay worked fine with the 12 Pro Max.

I can only get Car Play to work for a few minutes at a time, by resetting the network settings on the phone. It always disconnects, and can only be reconnected by resetting the phone network settings.

The F150 doesn't have wireless/bluetooth Car Play capability, cable only. The cable seems fine, as it powers the phone. There's no VPN installed on the 17 Pro Max. Bluetooth is stable and works fine, so I have music and phone. But without Car Play I have no navigation.

Separately, Siri continues to suck for basic queries while driving. The AI seems limited, when I have access at all. Half the time it will respond with "I can't give you that information while you are in the car."

[Edited by Moderator]

iPhone 17 Pro and OttoCast wireless CarPlay adapter U2-air. Frequently disconnects and reconnects. Have updated iOS to 26.0.1 with no change and also the ottocast firmware with no change.

i have noticed that it seems to stay connected while stationary though and only disconnects once I start driving. I need to do more tests to confirm this though.

logged a support call with apple and after running through all the initial steps such as resetting the network nothing worked so it has been escalated.

also logged a support request with ottocast.

no idea what the underlying issue or fix is so just sharing my experience and thoughts. Seems something is incompatible after software and/or hardware update that is only affecting certain other devices. I’ve had no issues with wifi in general and AirPods Pro have been fine since the 26.0.1 update. They disconnect a few times before that on 26.

But, sadly, it does have issues!

Wired CarPlay on my 2020 Mazda Factory unit seems to be mostly OK with few random crashes.

Wired CarPlay with my aftermarket headunit in my other car is crashing constantly, although it sort of seems like it crashes quickly the first time, but then seems to last random periods on subsequent crashes.

In all cases I have to unplug and re-plug the USB cable to get it to work again.

Built in Wireless Carplay on that aftermarket head unit is even worse.

Wireless CarPlay on the Mazda with a CarLinkIt dongle is also bad.

Previous phones (14 Pro and 15 Pro Max didn't have these issues). I should get my Son (who inherited the 15 PM which is updated to iOS 26.x) to connect his phone next time we are in the car to see if it works as well as it used to or if iOS 26 is a factor.

Same thing here. I was using my 14 Pro last week on iOS 17 last week with no issues, but when I started using the 17 Pro, even with the same CarPlay in the same car, it will disconnect, and a minute or two later, it'll reconnect. It was on iOS 26 for the 17 Pro and I got it on iOS 26.0.1, and then this morning, same thing again, went off, then a min or two, its back on, when it originally first connected this morning, the reception was bars were grey but I was still able to use data, but not much calling. I assumed even being told and reading the update that it'll fix the problem, nothing changed. I have no problem with my AirPods 3rd Gen BlueTooth, but not CarPlay. The OS is still basically fresh out of the box, so no VPN, like if you just went to Apple, bought a new phone, and set up the phone there, chucked your sim onto the new one, some photos/videos and apps

nicosuave757 wrote:

Why would the VPN cause this if all I did was upgrade from 14PM to 17PM? I had my VPN on my 14 and zero issues?

Because the VPN is tied to the device it was originally installed on. And over time Apple is simply making it harder and harder to use a VPN on iPhone because they simply aren't needed and give people a FALSE sense of security, which is actually quite the opposite. You can if you insist on using a useless VPN, uninstall it, then install again to the new phone. But you simply don't need a VPN and it will continue to cause you issues.

Read this helpful article --> VPN: What you need to know - Apple Community

Personally, you couldn't PAY me to use a VPN on my iPhone.