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

I have a 2020 Toyota rav4 and a iPhone 15 pro with IOS 26. Im having issues connecting to my CarPlay too. I only have CarPlay via USBC cable. It’s connects for a second then cuts out. I’ve shut my phone off, restarted my car and the radio screen itself. I’ve deleted the vpn app on my phone and restarted it everything as well. I’ve bought new cables. I tried forgetting the device and starting over. And now it won’t connect really at all. It pops in and then disappears in seconds or just won’t show up all.

I can report that I have tried all fixes - my 17 Pro still disconnects. I suspect the entire network stack is crashing. No watch, no vpn, just carplay connected. All fixes mentioned, and even those that apple won't let us discuss.

We just have to use wired carplay until apple fixes it.

Count me in. Wireless CarPlay disconnects on my new 17 Pro all the time. No VPN or Apple Watch or anything like that, and my old iPhone 14 upgraded to ios 26 worked fine. Have to admit I regret trading it in, now.

Today marks day 7 of the 14 calendar days Apple gives to return an item. In other words, if there isn't a fix by this time next week, well... I'm going to have a decision to make.

It is possible that this is also in question because in addition to the problems we are writing about in the topic , my wife's sister screen stopped working after 10 minutes of use on iPhone 17 Pro. Since she bought the phone like I did during the preorder, they don't have to give her another one and declare that hers is DOA. This has never happened to Apple until now, and we have been using them as a family for years.

Maybe the first deliveries didn't pass QA because of the rush...

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I live in remote Alaska. Got my IPhone 17 Pro day before yesterday. Had to do a very long remote (no cellular) drive yesterday on unfamiliar logging roads. iPhone kept disconnecting from wired CarPlay. First thought it was the cable, I so swapped out the cable. Kept happening. Rebooted WiFi several times and would work for 5-15 min before crashing. It was very frustrating because I was using a remote navigation app to follow on the vehicles screen. Also Audible app stopped working completely until I got back in cellular range. Made for a very long drive where I had to keep reference to my phone every time I came to an intersection or off spur.

I have the same issue with my wireless CarPlay and I'm anxiously awaiting a solution. Everything worked perfectly with my 14 ProMax but my 17 ProMax constantly drops and then reconnects (most of the time) 10 minutes or so later. I have no VPN but have an Ultra 1 paired. I sure hope this is a software issue and not hardware. Frustrating that they would switch from Broadcom before this chip was ready.

I’m experiencing exactly the same issue you described guys.

I have a JOYAUTO system, and according to them nothing is wrong with their system.

But I get the disconnection problem on my iPhone 17 Pro Max, and even before that with my iPhone 16 Pro Max, which wasn’t running iOS 26....

I don’t use a VPN. I don’t have an Apple Watch either…

Crazy…

I’ve updated to 26.0.1, but I haven’t tested it yet.

From the first feedback I’ve seen, it doesn’t seem to fix anything, so I’m not very confident.

For those on 26.0.1, or higher, do you have any feedback to share with us?

The 26.0.1 update did nothing to fix the problem for me either.

The radio silence on Apple's part is disconcerting. My 14 days finishes up at the end of this week, can a fix be expected or is my new 17 Pro technically faulty and I'm better off making an appointment to swap it out at the Apple store?

I was hopeful that the CarPlay connection would start working after the update! but what else!! they couldn't get iPhone CarPlay to work!??! Now users need to get CarPlay working as it was before switching to the new iPhone 17 (pro/max) phone!!

iPhone 17 Pro Max running latest iOS26.0.1

Mercedes C200 2017

Carplay screen is gliched, I can see some artifacts no matter how you connect the phone, using USB cable or wireless adapter its the same problem.

iPhone 13 Pro, 14 Pro, 15 Pro Max and 16 Pro Max work just fine.

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Yep exactly same thing happened with me. I went to the store and they were like if there is no hardware issue found we can’t offer the same day replacement. They basically asked me to order a new device and then they extended the warranty period of my current device till the date when the order is expected to arrive.

lol they did not even try to troubleshoot at the store or anything

Apple we need a fix for this! I depend on CarPlay so much. When traveling for work it's my source of navigation in unfamiliar cities, at home it's so I can see real time traffic updates and respond to messages. Not having it is like going back to 2005 when I needed a paper map quest print out. PLEASE FIX!

shananies wrote:

Apple we need a fix for this! I depend on CarPlay so much. When traveling for work it's my source of navigation in unfamiliar cities, at home it's so I can see real time traffic updates and respond to messages. Not having it is like going back to 2005 when I needed a paper map quest print out. PLEASE FIX!

Apple isn't here. This is a user to user only forum, which Apple doesn't participate, nor read for user feedback. Asking Apple to fix anything here won't get you anywhere.

Use this link to get your message to Apple --> Feedback - iPhone - Apple

Install latest update seemed to work better for a couple days. Now it somehow keeps breaking the connection to the server and maps or apps for music won’t work. Phone calls will work but that’s about it. I have to load a map before connecting to CarPlay or it won’t even work. If the route needs to change for whatever reason won’t work. Last night got caught in a traffic jam for over two hours that easily would’ve rerouted me before. Very frustrated with the iPhone 17 so far. I’m seriously considering downgrading phones or changing to android phone.