On 23/03/2023 10:09, jeremy wrote:
> On 21 Mar 2023 at 16:17:07 GMT, "David Kennedy" <davidkennedygm@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> On 21/03/2023 15:57, David Kennedy wrote:
>>> On 20/01/2023 17:58, RJH wrote:
>>>> On 20 Jan 2023 at 16:02:17 GMT, David Kennedy wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Just bought a Volvo with CarPlay which is good but...
>>>>> It only works with a wired connector and the socket is in the armrest so the
>>>>> best place for the phone is there also...
>>>>> The phone, an XR, gets a bit warm so I'm wondering if I should invest in a
>>>>> dongle.
>>>>> Does anyone have any experience of these devices?
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> I did look into it as I have a wired carplay stereo. Apart from being quite
>>>> pricey, I ruled it out as the reviews were mixed, and it'd look a bit of a
>>>> mess (dangling off the front of the stereo). Be interested in others'
>>>> experiences though.
>>>>
>>> Coming back to this, what I was looking for was to avoid the need to
>>> physically connect the phone to the car socket - bluetooth/wireless? - as very
>>> often the first time I realise that I've forgotten to plug it in is after I've
>>> driven off...
>>>
>> But, scouting around, they _are_ a little on the pricey side aren't they?
>
> I suppose it depends on your reference points. I don't get the reference to
> dangling off the stereo - I'm assuming the car supports bluetooth - which if I
> understand correctly is what the wireless carplay adaptors use.
>
> I bought one of these last year: "OTTOCAST Wireless CarPlay Adapter"
>
> I found the boot time (the time for it to be fully functional and recognised
> by the car) to be variable (from more or less instant to over a minute
> sometimes) - I reported this to the mfr who advised a software upgrade - which
> seems to have hung and now it doesn't work at all. This post has prompted me
> to go out to retrieve it from the car and see if I can do some form of hard
> reset.
>
> As for cost - it was around £90 iirc - which is a lot for convenience (or in
> my case, inconvenience!) but against the cost of a recently purchased car, an
> incidental additional cost for the (ideally) completion of the ICE
> capabilities.
>
> Oh and certainly in my car there's no need to have something "dangling from
> the front of the stereo" - this plugs into USB in the armrest.
>
>
Well, after a considerable amount of dithering and prevarication over the cost
- not to mention getting severely pissed off every time I forgot to unplug my
phone and take it with me - I settled for the Carlinkit 4.0.

BIG mistake. Always read the small print. Not compatible with Volvo!

So, that went on ebay.

Got the Ottocast U2 Air Pro and, it does what it says on the tin.

My only caveat would be that the Volvo implementation of the Google/Android
software they are now using in their current vehicle line up is occasionally
flaky. Fine for normal use - or so it seems - but every so often I have to
give it a reset for the car to connect with CarPlay. But, as this was the case
prior to getting the Ottocast nothing has really changed.

Volvo tell me that an update is due. But, they told me that in May and when it
did eventually appear - July IIRC - although there were various tweaks the
problem remained.

Anyway, for those interested, the Ottocast does the job.