iPhone 17 Pro Max Carplay Keeps Disconnecting

Try different wires. Mine started working fine with a different wire but also i connected to my friends carplay to see if my phone works and it connected easily then i connected my phone to my carvwith a different wire and its working fine

To better understand why some (not all) people are having some CarPlay issues, I watched a few YouTube videos which offer suggestions. This one in particular is easy to follow and since I'm NOT having any CarPlay issues, I checked the settings as the video progresses and I don't have any of the settings turned on this person recommended you turn off.

Give this a watch and check your settings --> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kv3xdVdknMY

One universal theme with all the videos on this issue is many have VPN Profiles installed on their iPhone. Even if not turned on, VPN on iPhone causes connectivity issues and there is no benefit to having a VPN on iPhone. NONE whatsoever.

Same issue from day one of release on my base 17 apple have run all sorts of tests got me to restore as new device nothing as worked . Apple say it’s down to my head unit and my 17 is performing correctly but they CAN NOT explain why my CarPlay works perfectly with my wife’s 15 and my daughters 14 . Very frustrating as I use CarPlay every day for work via maps needs fixing asap

Nope the issue is not Bluetooth specific - I’m experiencing these same issues on a vehicle with wired CarPlay. Both my wife and I both started having the issue the same day when we upgraded. Tried all the tricks in this thread to try and resolve it, no luck. If we unplug and plug back in, it works again for a couple minutes then disconnects again. CarPlay is unusable and we are just getting a runaround by support.

iOS 26.1 has dropped. Nothing in the link that mentions CarPlay so we’ll have to see if this works.

About the security content of iOS 26.1 and iPadOS 26.1 – Apple Support (UK)

26.0.1 is no better. New details have been noticed. First, when it stops working, the lock screen changes to night-stand mode. This might indicate the data path is broken but the charging is still detected so it behaves like it would on a regular charger. I have never observed this on past phones. Second, I had one experience with it on 26.0.1 where I made it almost 10 minutes without a disconnect. That would have been a new record. What I found is the touch screen on the Sync3 system was frozen and it would not respond to touch inputs on steering wheel controls. It seemed to self correct not long after and then I start having CarPlay disconnects every song or two again.

Within moments of taking delivery of my iphone 17 pro (upgraded from 15 pro) I got into my car and carplay cutout within 5 minutes, it eventually reconnected after 10 minutes or so then worked for 20 minutes then cut out again.

I have spoken to Apple support and they asked me to do a whole host of things as have been mentioned in this thread - and still it keeps cutting out? this happens in my second car too!

None of my previous phones ever had an issue with carplay (iphone 13, 14, 15 pro etc) I am now seriously thinking I need to return the phone 17 pro and get a refund as it is useless to me without carplay working!

Has any one else had an update or a fix for this, particularly in the last few days?

I have had several conversations over the phone over the last 13 days and in person with Apple Tech and Genius people, resetting all the settings, then today I had an appointment instore with a Tech Genius - who simply said erase all data from the phone and setup as a new phone without any apps, Watch etc (except for google maps and rayo / BBC music Apps).

So this was done in store - and I got back into the car and setoff, 30 minutes later you guessed it, the CarPlay cut out!

To say that I am frustrated with my new iPhone 17 pro is an understatement and I wish I could have gone back to my old iPhone 15 pro, but I am told that's now not possible!

Come on Apple, please have some acceptance of this issue and some sort of a resolution soon.

PlymouthCraig wrote:

Have they acknowledged to you there is a widespread problem. By offering solutions/workarounds etc it makes me think they believe this is an isolated issue, rather than one that actually needs a fix.

Apple has a storied history of NOT speaking publicly about issues. That doesn't mean Apple isn't aware some users are struggling to maintain a stable connection with CarPlay. They work behind the scenes and magically one day, such issues are resolved and then people stop coming to threads like this to complain. You can do your part, by using this feedback link to keep the issue in the forefront with Apple --> Feedback - iPhone - Apple

Apple made me go through the same process unfortunately they then said there are no issues with my 17 base model even though it constantly disconnects when I informed them it only happens on my 17 and doesn’t happen on family members 15 and 14pro then they changed there minds and said we are aware there is a issue and we are working on a fix but there as been no fix yet

I’m having a similar issue with an Audi CarPlay unit and iPhone 17 Pro. Wireless CarPlay will disconnect and completely lock up the car’s audio system after about 5-10 min. Switching to wired CarPlay works fine. This same car has worked flawlessly with an iPhone 14 Pro Max for three years and with that 14 for four days with iOS26 wirelessly.

I’ve deleted the pairing on the car and phone, reset network. Nothing fixes it besides using a USB cable.

I'm wondering if this ultimately is some sort of a bluetooth issue. I'm a fast typist, so generally have a few bluetooth keyboards rolling around that I use on the phone. Had a Logitech Popkeys keyboard that kept dropping out. Replaced the batteries a few times, just figured a mixture of cigar smoke and loud blues music finally killed the thing, so I pitched it and use another, older generic logitech keyboard now.

Just makes me wonder if bluetooth is the culprit, some sort of an incompatibility with some devices. That would explain Carplay issues, if I understand it right.

Add me to the list. My 15 Pro running iOS 18.6 and my partner's 16 Pro Max running 18.7 work always. My new 17 Pro on iOS 26 disconnects constantly. I will try 26.0.1 later but I already read reports it's the same. Vehicle is a 2017 F150 with Sync 3 updated to the latest release supplied by Ford. It has been so bad we are leaving my partner's phone on iOS 18 until this is resolved.

Nick-edw wrote:

Same issue for me. Many previous iPhones worked flawlessly, iPhone 17 Pro Max disconnects every few minutes. Tried changing every WiFi setting to my CarPlay device. No effect. My wife’s iPhone 15 ProMax works perfectly connecting to same hardware.

come on Apple many car manufacturers rely on CarPlay functionality now so this is a big deal especially on a flagship phone.

There are too many people with the same issue with this phone across disparate devices here for it not to be you, sort it out.

When you say "come on Apple" you may be under the impression anyone from Apple is here. They aren't. This is a user to user only forum, which Apple doesn't participate, nor read for user feedback. If you want Apple to "come on" provide feedback to them where it will be read and this is here --> Feedback - iPhone - Apple

Posting here is just another "me too" post.