[Falkor]

Mine loaded up, but then froze up and wouldn’t load back up after that. I only tried the one time yesterday so I’ll report back when I try again.

 

[Sandbag]

I was looking forward to this coming out compatible with my '19 Outback. I was ready to buy the updated version when I thought about it some more and decided against it. Why? The first thing I would be doing after I got it would be to plug my iPhone into the USB port to keep it charged so basically there would be no reason for me to get one. What would I gain?

 

[Falkor]

I was looking forward to this coming out compatible with my '19 Outback. I was ready to buy the updated version when I thought about it some more and decided against it. Why? The first thing I would be doing after I got it would be to plug my iPhone into the USB port to keep it charged so basically there would be no reason for me to get one. What would I gain?

In my scenario I think it’s helpful for quick commutes and the like, but yah long road trips just plug it in.

 

[MagnetiteGrayOnyx]

I purchased the Carlinkit 2.0 (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08FG2XRBP/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) and tested it out this morning. Seemed to work without any issues - only thing was that during the bluetooth connection the screen displayed a different name than my phone was picking up. Will continue more in-depth testing, but so far I'm impressed.

 

[Havimom]

Hey guys...got my 2020 Outback Limited (Canadian version, so lands somewhere between US Limited and Touring trim). On delivery it had the 502 firmware on the 11 inch Nav headunit so it didn't offer full screen CarPlay. Following the instructions in the firmware thread, I got it successfully upgraded to 504 and CarPlay works great in full sceen!

I've been reading about these wireless Carplay adapters and the Carlink 2.0 (as recommended here over the rebranded versions) was on sale here in Canada at 50% for Amazon Prime Day earlier this week. The unit arrived today.

I was a pretty simple connection process. Once I connected phone to the Carlink Bluetooth signal, the dongle took care of the rest. I did check the firmware on the Carlink and it was up to date with a late august 2020 build.

I drove around for about 45 mins this afternoon, and I have to say, its almost flawless. It seems like most of the bugs described previously in this thread have been solved. Note...I am running iOS 14.0.1 on my iPhone XS. Steering wheel controls worked great, Apple Maps navigation audio volume level was adjustable, Spotify over Carplay was crystal clear with no distortion or lag. Pressing the voice activation button on steering wheel activated Siri instantly. Even "Hey Siri" worked well. I tested using Siri to dictate text messages and place phone calls, all worked flawlessly. On a few occasions when switching from another CarPlay app back to Apple Maps, the maps had a very minor jitter as it zoomed in. Only beef I could really find was that the process of connecting does take about 15-20 seconds when you first start the car. You can shorten that time by about 3-5 seconds if you tap on the screen to start the wifi connection to your phone when it appears, otherwise doing nothing it will do it on its own. I think that interim screen exists so if you want to join a different nearby phone, you can, but I haven't tested that yet.

I know I only have less than an hour into testing, but so far I'm excited and impressed. Since I've posted such a glowing experience so far, I know I have tempted the gods to wreck my first impression in the coming days......

Anyhoo....for now though, it seems like there is hope for this to work if you order the 2.0 dongle with latest Carlink firmware, iOS 14 and Subaru head unit software v504.

I'm going to upgrade my iPhone XS to a iPhone 12 Pro next week then wait for the new MagSafe wireless car charger pads from Belkin to come out so I can get 15W wireless charging in the car!

Where would you put the wireless charger pad? I have a wireless charger in my 2021 outback.

 

[Rsonnens]

I'll be interested in hearing a full review after a week or so of using (rather than just an hour of use) from a few people before considering this. I'd love for it work but if it does not work well (and seamlessly) then I'd rather not bother. I'm anxiously/hopefully awaiting feedback.

 

[Shanimal92]

I bought this one (Amazon.com: Carlinkit 2.0 Wireless CarPlay Adapter for Volvo XC90 XC60 XC40 V90 2016-2020, Peugeot Chevrolet Honda Civic CR-V, Mazda CX-5 Artz 2017-2020, Hyundai, Convert Factory Wired CarPlay to Wireless)works great so far. I've had it for a couple of days and it has not given me any issues whatsoever. connects in about 20 seconds (faster than the previous) I tried the 1.0 version and it didn't connect quick enough for my tastes (among other issues like dropped signal) so I ended up returning it. Do NOT buy the one that looks like this one (Amazon.com: Carlinkit 2.0 Wireless CarPlay Adapter Dongle for Factory Wired CarPlay Cars, Compatible with A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 Q7 Q2 R8 Q5 MMI 2017-2019, Convert Wired to Wireless CarPlay: GPS & Navigation). It says that it's the 2.0, but it's not. that's the original version. Also, don't worry about the versions for different cars; the website states that they are all the same.

 

[Monsieurmaggot]

From what I've been reading, I don't think wireless CarPlay or Android Auto will ever work as it's designed with the current Subaru line up. Unless there's a design change, the 2.4 Ghz. WiFi spectrum in the vehicles can't support the bandwidth required for the wireless connectivity and Subaru doesn't support the 5 GHz. WiFi frequency. While an external third-party dongle might give you the illusion of a 5Ghz. connection, the CCU's design would limit the functionality to a few basic apps. Now that wireless CarPlay and Android Auto has been ratified by the industry, maybe future CCU units will support this wireless connectivity but I'm pretty confident it will never fully work on the 2020 models. Right from Apple:

"In order for full implementation and compliance, the access point must be certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance and it is recommended that it support the 802.11ac standard and operate primarily in the 5GHz frequency band"

 

[Rsonnens]

From what I've been reading, I don't think wireless CarPlay or Android Auto will ever work as it's designed with the current Subaru line up. Unless there's a design change, the 2.4 Ghz. WiFi spectrum in the vehicles can't support the bandwidth required for the wireless connectivity and Subaru doesn't support the 5 GHz. WiFi frequency. While an external third-party dongle might give you the illusion of a 5Ghz. connection, the CCU's design would limit the functionality to a few basic apps. Now that wireless CarPlay and Android Auto has been ratified by the industry, maybe future CCU units will support this wireless connectivity but I'm pretty confident it will never fully work on the 2020 models. Right from Apple:

"In order for full implementation and compliance, the access point must be certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance and it is recommended that it support the 802.11ac standard and operate primarily in the 5GHz frequency band"

The 3rd party dongles have WiFi radios in them (that’s basically what they are) and it is likely 5ghz. It then connects to the car thru the USB CarPlay connection. It is not an “illusion” as you claim. Your claim about the CCU limiting apps makes no sense. To the car it looks like the phone is plugged in.

Also, technically CarPlay can work on a non-5GHZ connection, there is actually enough bandwidth, but it is not recommended or supported because it is a crowded spectrum and as such is more flaky.

 

[Falkor]

Been driving around for a few days with ours. I can say it works great and is super easy to use!

First night I set it up, it didn’t work right off the bat but since that one time it’s been working perfectly.

Every now and then you get a hiccup where the audio buffers for 1/2 second.

I can easily say I’m very happy with this product.

On a side note, I am curious as to what they did to get it to work. Some of y’all were saying you got an email update the other day that they applied updated that got it to work or something, but I haven’t applied any updates to my Subaru or to the dongle so I’m wondering what changed.

 

[Rsonnens]

Been driving around for a few days with ours. I can say it works great and is super easy to use!

First night I set it up, it didn’t work right off the bat but since that one time it’s been working perfectly.

Every now and then you get a hiccup where the audio buffers for 1/2 second.

I can easily say I’m very happy with this product.

On a side note, I am curious as to what they did to get it to work. Some of y’all were saying you got an email update the other day that they applied updated that got it to work or something, but I haven’t applied any updates to my Subaru or to the dongle so I’m wondering what changed.

What version of firmware is on your dongle, that is what matters according to posters above. The Carlint folks did send an email saying they now support Subaru (I got it) but did not say they did anything special. It sounded like more of a testing effort but even then they were very vague. Carlint’s email was also not specific to the Outback or head unit types.

That said, having 504 or newer firmware (on a 2020 Outback) on your CCU/car will make CP more robust and give you full screen support.

 

[Shanimal92]

The 2.0 version of Carlinkit runs at 5.8ghz. It worked with the factory firmware but I updated just cause. Works great and it really fast. If you remote start your car it’s basically instant. If you don’t it takes maybe 20 seconds from the warning screen at first boot up

 

[ski_outback]

Please keep this post updated. I'd love to hear if you're successful. I'm currently exchanging emails with support. They just had me make a video of me following their instructions, etc.

Oh, and for those interesting, here are the instructions they sent:

1.Please download the firmware update file from here:

U2W_Update (1).img

1. Please save update firmware file on USB flash drive (Flash drive format must be FAT32) as "U2W_Update.img".
2. Plug the flash drive into the CPLAY2air adapter.
3. Plug CPLAY2air to the USB power charger/wall charger for your iPhone. Please don’t use the USB port of the car or computer!!
4. Please wait 2-3 minutes, until the the flashing light becomes solid
5. Please unplug the adapter from the USB charger and remove the USB flash drive from the adapter.
6. Please now plug the product into the USB port of the car.
7. Please wait until the new window will appear on the vehicle's screen.
8. Connect your phone to the Bluetooth network which is shown on the screen.
9. Wait for the new interface to appear on the screen.

Very Important note: Do not attempt to connect the adapter to your computer's or laptop's USB port. These ports are made to transfer data and will just interrupt the update process and brick the device.

If you have Type C port, kindly use a converter.

Were you successful with following support's instructions? I bought the cplay2air for my 2018 Outback (since the website says it's now supported), but I haven't had any success, even after following those steps.

Would love to hear other's updated reports!

 

[ski_outback]

I recently received the same email stating that it was now available for our vehicles. I think I’m going to give it a go and will report my findings.

Did it work?

Mine worked perfectly in a Toyota Tundra...but have had no success with my 2018 Outback. I updated it with the image file and it flashed red/green for about 30 seconds - but still just a solid red light when I plug it into the Outback.

I even tried to firmware update when it was plugged into the Tundra, and it said up to date. Frustrated - especially after seeing how well it worked in the Toyota.

 

[THX723]

Did it work?

Mine worked perfectly in a Toyota Tundra...but have had no success with my 2018 Outback. I updated it with the image file and it flashed red/green for about 30 seconds - but still just a solid red light when I plug it into the Outback.

I even tried to firmware update when it was plugged into the Tundra, and it said up to date. Frustrated - especially after seeing how well it worked in the Toyota.

What firmware version are you on? There's a newer release, which is not yet being pickup by the updater.

 

[Rsonnens]

What firmware version are you on? There's a newer release, which is not yet being pickup by the updater.

To be clear he said he has a 2018 Outback. I think the others that reported here were 2020’s and the the firmware you are talking about is for the 2020/1’s

 

[Gibson]

So, other than maps, what benefit is this?

 

[ski_outback]

What firmware version are you on? There's a newer release, which is not yet being pickup by the updater.

To be clear he said he has a 2018 Outback. I think the others that reported here were 2020’s and the the firmware you are talking about is for the 2020/1’s

For reference, my Software Version on my 2018 Outback is Rel_A2.20.07.20

 

[ski_outback]

So, other than maps, what benefit is this?

The benefit is not having to plug your phone in - my battery lasts all through the day so I don't need to plug it in. Being able to leave my phone in my pocket every time I get in the vehicle would be very convenient.

I had a Alpine Wireless Carplay unit in my prior car, which worked great. The only downgrade going to my Outback was the wired Carplay.

 

[Gibson]

Thanks. I’ve got the wireless charge in the dash, but even so, the wireless carplay unit wouldn’t charge the phone anyway, right? I leave my phone in my pocket anyway.
I’m actually just trying to justify SPENDING MONEY (😀)on a neat gadget, but still can’t figure out just why this would make things easier. It already automatically grabs my phone, what media I’ve been playing is rocking with Bluetooth, or jazzing..or folking...you get the idea. So other than maps, what plus?

The benefit is not having to plug your phone in - my battery lasts all through the day so I don't need to plug it in. Being able to leave my phone in my pocket every time I get in the vehicle would be very convenient.

I had a Alpine Wireless Carplay unit in my prior car, which worked great. The only downgrade going to my Outback was the wired Carplay.