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

So I did some research today and a friend has one of those brand new Ottocast Carplay Minicubes.

We tried connecting my iPhone 17 Pro Max to it and drove around in his car for about 45 mins and no disconnections at all.

Went back to my car – factory wireless Carplay and kept dropping out almost every few minutes....

I then asked if I could borrow his Ottocast Carplay Minicube for my car - connected up fine and ZERO dropouts at all. Literally drove for about an hour around going through all the places that it dropped out as well to make sure it wasn't interference etc. Not 1 disconnect!!!

I have a feeling the new N1 Wifi chip by Apple has some hardware compatibility issues with some manufacturers, as it seems to be widespread but also some people are saying they have no issues with it.

Really hoping this can be sorted out with a future software update but somehow I kind of doubt it as it may be hardware based with the new N1 chip....

And NO VPN on my phone is setup either haha in case anyone is asking/wondering.

iOS 26.0.1 addresses the issue. This came out after 26.1B1, so if you’re on beta, wait until 26.1B2.

dragonpanda wrote:

• I have both the wifi and carplay issues.

My 17 pro is setup with the same settings as my 13 pro.

yes I use a VPN (tailscale) to connect to home from where ever I am

• Wifi speed is (most of the time) half of my 13 pro reaches, when running a speed test simultaneously

• wireless carplay stops after 2~5 minutes

• wired carplay does seem to work

• I have a 5th gen Apple Watch

Get rid of the VPN completely. Don't just turn it off. VPN's cause connectivity issues on iPhone and simply aren't needed.

Like many of you, I’ve had issues with my wired CarPlay disconnecting and freezing. A few users here have reported getting a new wireless adapter that uses 5.0 wifi to connect and this has solved it for them.

I decided to try this and picked up a new wireless CarPlay adapter that runs using 5.8ghz wifi and this has been stable. I’ve tested it for about a week so far, commuting to work about 1hr each way and have not disconnected once. Currently on 26.0.1, 17 pro max.

However I am still currently affected by the wifi dropping sometimes and not being able to connect to my 5.0ghz wifi at home.

Heres to hoping that 26.1 will iron out all these issues, have not had a new iPhone launch with this many problems before.

accidentally found a trick that seems to help the iPhone 17 pro max connect to CarPlay! When I start the car, the iPhone has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on! When the iPhone connects to CarPlay, I turn off Bluetooth!!!’ this has been the only way I have been able to get the connection to stay on!!! if Bluetooth and Wi-Fi PN are on at the same time, the connection is max 10 minutes and it no longer works!!!! I don't understand, but try it if this helps you too, I hope Apple releases a corrective update!!!!!

After 3 weeks of back and forth to my provider, new 17 Pro and sim, with connection dropping in and out, I phoned Apple.

I have now deleted VPN connection ( that I never added to my iPhone) and now have a 17 Pro that will actually connect to the internet.

Worth a try for others. Good luck.

I experienced the WiFi disconnects only on my first 17 Pro Max, together with Bluetooth drops that even disconnected my AirPods. After a hardware replacement it didn’t notice it anymore. I’m on the third phone now and don’t have any WiFi issues either. I read somewhere else about deficiencies with the WiFi module on the first iPhone 17 Pro batches. I hope that helps.

Speaking of Apple just released an update! Just checked and iOS 26.0.1 is available.

When I got my 15PM the carlinkit 5.0 became absolute trash. Disconnects, freezes, stutters, etc… upgraded to a more recent carlinkit, been fine since.

dajev wrote:

No I don’t use a VPN

OK. Did you cycle your router off and then back on? I got two iPhone 17s yesterday (17 Pro and 17 Pro Max) and I'm most definitely not having any Wifi issues. It's very stable. I have a whole house Linksys Mesh Router.

If it doesn't get better for you, I'd have the phone tested at your Apple Store Genius Bar.

A Reddit post has been made about this in r/iphone.

What exactly causes it: Apple Watch on wrist + unlocked= iPhone not happy.

If Apple Watch on wrist and locked= iPhone happy.

If Apple Watch off wrist and unlocked= iPhone happy.

Problem: “unlock with iPhone” will unlock Apple Watch, then iPhone isn’t happy anymore.

It seems like most people having this issue have an Apple Watch. There are some having the issue without an Apple watch

Agreed. That’s why I’m here going through everyone’s symptoms.

I’m the OP of the Reddit post. So, I’ve gone through pretty much all I can find about this issue trying to narrow it down to what it has to do with. First was Apple Watch, which seemed to affect a lot of people. Next was HomePods somehow. Then VPNs. But, there’s also some that fall outside of any of the workarounds and they have issues regardless.

Of course, this comes down to an Apple software update to actually fix. But, at least we can be fairly confident that it’s not a hardware issue.

Follow-up on my Iphone 17PM having the exact same disconnect issues on wired CarPlay via USB-C cable to my 2019 Cadillac CT6. I get disconnectee constantly every 1-5 minutes. To attempt to fix it, I installed the latest IOS 26.1 developer beta this afternoon and went on a pre-planned 2-hour road trip. The 26.1 Beta did nothing to fix the issue, so don’t waste your time. I turned off my Apple

Watch. That did nothing to help. My iPhone 15 Pro Max running IOS 26.0 has been working flawlessly with CarPlay for over a week. The iPhone 17 (Pro Max in my case) is fubar with CarPlay. It astounds me how they could have released this and universally broken CarPlay so badly.

Unfortunately 26.0.1 doesn’t fix the issues in all use cases.

I had some time to play the last few days and 26.0.1 has resolved the issues in my Honda with a newer gen CarPlay but not with my Carlinkit.

I did pick up a newer wireless CarPlay adapter off amazon this week that uses 5Ghz WiFi, and that looks to be working.

im pretty sure my older Carlinkit adapter used 2.4Ghz, so maybe that’s the issue. Maybe older wireless CarPlay systems use 2.4Ghz WiFi and newer support 5Ghz, which is why the issue is fixed for some and not others.

Do you have a VPN on your phone? If yes, get rid of it. VPN's cause lots of connectivity issues on iPhone and are completely NOT needed.