iPhone 17 Pro Max Carplay Keeps Disconnecting

Hi Everyone,

I finally got so fed up with the problem being even worse after the latest IOS update, that I started a ticket with chat support. They ran me thru trouble shooting, then told me that they needed a senior tech to look at it. They offered me a phone call. I scheduled the phone call, and the two techs who attempted to call me kept disconnecting and couldn't hear me. After this, I chatted back to support and requested they set me up an in-person appointment in store, and they did.

I went to the Apple Store, they were so kind and understanding, and one of the guys who worked there told me he ad his wife BOTH experienced this and it was a software issue. They recommended a backup, and to do a "reset" through their computer which includes completely removing the OS from the phone and then reinstalling it from their master OS in their computer there. The way I understood what they were doing, is that it were as if I were building a new PC, and installing windows for the first time ever on a blank hard drive.

They told me that the software that I had even though its the same "numbers" probably has some bugs in it, and it is best to just start fresh from scratch.

When they did that, I was skeptical, but it fixed every single problem. And I notice that voice to text works better than it had before, and that everything is generally quick.

So a complete reinstall of the OS at the Apple Store is what I recommend. It's worth the 3 hours I spent at the store, because I spent way more time than that troubleshooting random ****. And a software re-install and repair is indeed different than just factory resetting the phone.

Jowen825 wrote:

I do not have any type of VPN

OK. A couple things I've seen which cause issues with some CarPlay system are:

1. Not removing the previously paired phone from the infotainment system in the car.
2. Not giving the new phone a new name in Settings > General > About - Give the phone a different name from the previous phone.
3. See if there is an update for the cars infotainment system.
4. For more tips, read this --> If you need help with CarPlay - Apple Support

CarPlay is inherently tricky. Every car manufacturer has their own system and Apple has nothing to do with the cars system.

Well I thought I would speak to the manufacturer of the Car Play unit I have in one of my cars a Porsche Cayenne, A very helpful company called Integrated Automotive and they said there seems to be a worldwide issue with the new iPhone 17.

They suggested I follow the following steps:-

1.            Update to the latest ios 26.0.1

2.            Reset network settings on the phone, this fixes the issue in most cases, make sure you perform the following operations:

a.            Delete the iA_xxx bluetooth connection from the iPhone Bluetooth menu.

b.            Go into the IMI-1000 Bluetooth menu and click on the “trash can” to delete all phones.

c.            Turn phone off.

d.            Turn car off.

e.            Turn iphone on and got into setting/general/reset network settings/rest/reset network settings (note that this will wipe all wifi/Bluetooth connections).

f.             Power phone up and re-pair to the imi-1000 bluetooth.

And low and behold today I have done 3 x 30 minute car journeys and the carplay has not played up once!

So fingers crossed this has sorted it!

Well after weeks of problems mine have been resolved after I read your problems

I had a customer who worked at the Apple Store and he helped me.

He reset my iPhone back to its factory settings and started from beginning, I was nervous about doing it myself only because it has an e sim.

Tonight was my first journey home without it disconnecting

Thank you all for your help

lennie

You would likely know if you installed a VPN on your iPhone. In the Top Bar if you don't have a VPN it will say Not Connected. If you tap there, and you see Add VPN Configuration, you don't have a VPN on your phone. You could however, have an Anit-Virus Application on your iPhone, which acts much like a VPN and can also cause connection issues. There are NO known Viruses for a non-Jailbroken iPhone. So if you have some Anti-Virus Software or Application on your iPhone, remove it. They can't protect you in any tangible way on an iPhone.

The only workaround that worked for me was turning off the Apple Watch and any other device that connects over bluetooth. I think that the 17 pro has some bluetooth bugs.

At the suggestion of another poster here, I bought a OTTOCAST Mini Slim Wireless Carplay Adapter. This works with the iPhone 17 Pro. I suspect there is a compatibility issue with many wireless CarPlay units. This one works for me but not my native car one. This solution will do if Apple can't address the issue. I'm not buying a new car to work with a phone.

1Lunatic wrote:

I'm not sure why there's an effort to try to convince people to not use VPN's. It's suspicious, in my opinion - because the problem with Carplay likely has absolutely zero to do with VPN's.

It's clear you haven't spent much time on this forum. If you look around you'll find LOT'S of threads where it turns out VPN is the root cause of most people's connectivity issues. The simple fact is Apple doesn't even recommend using a VPN and Apple Security on iPhone is so strong there is NO NEED for one.

You can believe the recommendation to not use a VPN is suspicious. But you'd be completely wrong. VPNs cause connectivity issues and they most definitely DON'T provide the security people have been led to believe they do. In fact, quite the opposite and most garden variety VPNs sell your tracking history to anyone willing to pay for it. That may be OK with you. But it most certainly isn't OK with me.

You might want to educate yourself and read this --> VPN: What you need to know - Apple Community

I believe it is Bluetooth issue with iPhone 17 series. Turnoff Bluetooth after connecting to CarPlay and the annoying disconnect issue will not happen again

I Make an automation to turn off Bluetooth anger CarPlay connected and turn on Bluetooth after CarPlay disconnected, works fine for now

Go back to the store and demand a "repair and restore" reset where they reinstall the OS. That's what they did fr me and it fixed it.

Update to iOS 26.0.1 and recheck what you troubleshooted previously. This may or may not fix the current issue as every "me too" post here is a different make and model vehicle with different factory CarPlay support.

The iPhone 17 Pro Max ships with a USB-C cable that I was told by Apple was compatible with the new 40w Dynamic (60w) charger. For those with current wired CarPlay USB connections, try another cable. The iPhone 17 Pro Max is using Apple's N1 chip for Bluetooh 6.0 and Wi-Fi 7. Though the Bluetooth spec promises backward compatibility with older Bluetooth radios, there may be something going on with Apple's implementation with certain vehicles.

I have an iPhone 17 Pro Max and am experiencing similar issues.

I haven't had time to fully test this. I'm running iOS 26.1. Do you have an Apple Watch? Turn the watch off, then try carplay. And I mean, power that watch -down-.

Hi Pavoskas.. Apple told me Friday it is a big issue and they are trying to fix it .. 2-3 weeks for the next 26.02 update I’m afraid

iPhone 17 pro keeps disconnecting. iOS 26.0.1, resets, nothing worked. iPhone 15 with iOS 26.0.1 works.