Pixelated Apple CarPlay screen on iPhone 17 Pro Max with Mercedes BClass W246

Thanks for the useful information!

I’m currently using an old iPhone 12 Pro just for navigation, music, etc., but of course it’s not without issues; like having to reconnect the hotspot every time, and the whole setup becoming messy whenever a phone call comes in.

This Ottocast Play2Video Ultra solution definitely looks better than what I’m doing now. I’m just a bit worried about the cheap Android layer that looks somewhat chaotic.

My car (a Mercedes SLC) has no touchscreen, so if I understand correctly I’d be able to use the CarPlay UI with the Mercedes controller, but not the Android UI of the device. And to control the Android interface I’d need the version that comes with the dedicated remote, right?

P.S. Apple is really dropping the ball here. These Mercedes systems (installed up until around 2020) are still used by thousands, if not millions, of people worldwide. And these cars are definitely not the kind you consider “obsolete” after five years or so.

Same problem with distorted screen using CarPlay in a Mercedes Benz A200 Class.

I tried buying the Ottocast and it still doesn't work. The screen doesn't stay stable for even 5 minutes. I have IOS 26.1

I hope Apple releases an update to fix this because it's frustrating.

Thank you very much.

Thanks so much for helping us out, mate! I will try one of these two.

For now, I use a very inconvenient workaround: using the old Iphone for CarPlay (with internet data via hotspot from the new phone). I don't believe (?) that you can have two phones connected at the same time (one wired and another one only audio via Bluetooth), so this means that for any calls on the new phone you cannot use the car's audio system. One more question to confirm that I understood correctly: you need a remote for Ottocast or Getpairr only if you want to use apps outside of CarPlay; meaning that Waze from my Phone should work fine on CarPlay (as before)?

I have the same problem described here, the blurry display, with an iPhone 17 Pro, which cost me an arm and a leg. It's unacceptable that a fix hasn't appeared yet. We're already on iOS 26.1 and nothing. Shame on you, Apple.

Does the Ottocast play2video ultra work in a Mercedes Benz A200 without a touchscreen? Can anyone who has it upload photos or videos and give their impressions of how smoothly it works? Thank you very much!

Hi,

Yes I can confirm that it does, I do not have a touchscreen, unfortunately this site won’t let me upload a video. I have a 2017 B class no touchscreen (Mercedes knob). It’s a pain in the *** to set up (you’ll understand why) but once you have then it’s not a problem.

if you want to use anything other than CarPlay and update the system, you will need to buy a bundle with a Bluetooth remote. Do everything you need to do with the remote first as you can’t pair the remote and the phone at the same time.

I spent about an hour setting up due to no touchscreen but now it just boots fine and you can use the knob to start CarPlay.

Me too, sadly. Truly thinking about selling my Mercedes. As a Realtor I cannot be without a reliable screen map - it is simply unsafe for me, as I drive into unknown areas all the time. Mercedes gave me so much conflicting information about this, my head spun. No resolutions. One manager did say that Mercedes released a bulletin basically telling iphone 17 pro users to re-start their phone. That did not work. I updated my new phone and updated all the maps (waze, google and apple maps) - to no avail. This is super frustrating.

Update: after updating Mercedes infotainment which not solved the problem, Apple has installed a profile in my iPhone 17 in order to collect logs from Apple Carplay. I hope that helps them to understand the issue and hopefully come out with a fix. Fingers crossed.

We re having a similar issue with an A Class W176. Both 17 Pro Max and Air not working correctly with the pixelation.

Same as me, Mercedes A Class.

[Edited by Moderator]

I have the same problem here. Mercedes GLC. It works great with iPhone 15 Pro Max running iOS 26.

[Edited by Moderator]

So did I!! Same issue with the wireless too…

what are Apple going to do about this

Same issue with C-Class W205 NTG 5.2

[Edited by Moderator]

I have the same problem with my GLC. Was using the iPhone 14 Pro Max and I had no issue at all. The pixelation appears after I've upgraded to 17 Pro Max. **** disappointed and frustrated.

I have the same problem. I had no problems with my iphone 13 pro and ios26 and upgraded to 17 pro and now it is happening, I don't know how to fix it