Apple Car Play in the XPOWER

simonplayspiano said:

Hi folks. I've had my Xpower for 5 months now. For obvious reasons (the built in sat nav is crap and out of date already), I need to use my phone whilst driving for Waze & spotify. Until now I've been relying on bluetooth connection for the music, but find that the reliability of the connectivity is so poor, that I am having to 'forget this connection' and re-pair around every 5-6 journeys.

So...

I'm about to do something new for the first time - Apple car play. Does anyone use this? Am I right in thinking it basically clones the phone screen onto the infotainment screen? Is it a wired-only connection? Any other hints or tips?

Thank you.

Oh and out of interest - my biggest gripes with the car...

1. No 'off' button (instead, it's buried in a menu somewhere)
2. No rear passenger light or cup holders / armrest
3. Squeaky brakes
4. Low tyre pressure warnings whenever it's below 3 degrees c
5. The slightest frost and all of the camera-dependent safety features switch off

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tsedge said:

For Apple CarPlay use the left hand USB port and a quality high-speed cable. I use Anker braided cables. It is very fussy about having the right cable and even Apple cables do not always work well. There is no wireless option without a 3rd party add-on.

Yes, the infotainment display becomes the CarPlay screen. On earlier software releases it takes over the whole screen, on the latest software there's a thin row at the top to provide access to AC settings, outside temperature, clock etc...

(1) on the more recent infotainment software you can drag down from the top right on the main screen and there's a shortcut to turn off. However, you don't need to turn the car off, locking the doors will do that anyway.

(2) you can swap the courtesy lights for LEDs to illuminate the back better, or stick some aftermarket lights up on the headliner, or fit floor-level LED lights there are also 3rd party armrests with cupholders - we have had lots of threads on these things, check out the accessories forum.

(3) make sure you use the brakes without regen regularly to keep them clean (eg a heavy stop from high speed when appropriate). Also you can ask a garage to check the pins and sliders are greased properly, sometimes they are not.

(4) just add a bit of air to the tyres all round, I set mine to 2.6-7 Bar indicated, which avoids this.

(5) keep the windscreen clear and it should work fine.

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simonplayspiano said:

Great - thank you @JonnyG - I don't suppose I could trouble you for a link to said USB Tyre inflator?

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JonnyG said:

Currently on 30% discount for me (PRIME) if you apply the voucher

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0BF3VWBLP/

Some very bright LED bulbs to replace weak front courtesy bulbs :

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B071LNH2D3

These do help with illuminating the back of the car a bit better but MG should really have fitted rear courtesy lights IMHO on a 5dr family sized hatch !

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tsedge said:

For Apple CarPlay use the left hand USB port and a quality high-speed cable. I use Anker braided cables. It is very fussy about having the right cable and even Apple cables do not always work well. There is no wireless option without a 3rd party add-on.

Yes, the infotainment display becomes the CarPlay screen. On earlier software releases it takes over the whole screen, on the latest software there's a thin row at the top to provide access to AC settings, outside temperature, clock etc...

(1) on the more recent infotainment software you can drag down from the top right on the main screen and there's a shortcut to turn off. However, you don't need to turn the car off, locking the doors will do that anyway.

(2) you can swap the courtesy lights for LEDs to illuminate the back better, or stick some aftermarket lights up on the headliner, or fit floor-level LED lights there are also 3rd party armrests with cupholders - we have had lots of threads on these things, check out the accessories forum.

(3) make sure you use the brakes without regen regularly to keep them clean (eg a heavy stop from high speed when appropriate). Also you can ask a garage to check the pins and sliders are greased properly, sometimes they are not.

(4) just add a bit of air to the tyres all round, I set mine to 2.6-7 Bar indicated, which avoids this.

(5) keep the windscreen clear and it should work fine.

Click to expand...

siteguru said:

It's probably that Allow bit you need to find on the phone. This might help:

If you need help with CarPlay – Apple Support (UK)

If CarPlay isn’t working as you’d expect, check your settings, connection and vehicle compatibility.

support.apple.com

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simonplayspiano said:

Thanks - unfortunately no ideas there. I have already got carplay setup on my phone, no restrictions. I think it must be the cable as the message appears for a split second and then drops off.

Click to expand...

simonplayspiano said:

Hi folks. I've had my Xpower for 5 months now. For obvious reasons (the built in sat nav is crap and out of date already), I need to use my phone whilst driving for Waze & spotify. Until now I've been relying on bluetooth connection for the music, but find that the reliability of the connectivity is so poor, that I am having to 'forget this connection' and re-pair around every 5-6 journeys.

So...

I'm about to do something new for the first time - Apple car play. Does anyone use this? Am I right in thinking it basically clones the phone screen onto the infotainment screen? Is it a wired-only connection? Any other hints or tips?

Thank you.

Oh and out of interest - my biggest gripes with the car...

1. No 'off' button (instead, it's buried in a menu somewhere)
2. No rear passenger light or cup holders / armrest
3. Squeaky brakes
4. Low tyre pressure warnings whenever it's below 3 degrees c
5. The slightest frost and all of the camera-dependent safety features switch off

Click to expand...

KMC said:

I bought a wireless dongle off Ali express for my x power. Cost £24 & plugs into the left usb which you plug the mobile cable in for carplay. The idea is you just get in & carplay auto connects & starts on screen. I find I have to unplug the dongle & plug it back in, apple carplay then starts up on screen. Not perfect (typical MG software) but I prefer it to constantly re pairing my phone or messing with a charge cable. Hope this helps.

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Ekips said:

Some of the dongles have a setting for boot delay, extending this can fix the issue.
Or you could get a usb cable with a switch on it that will at least save some wear and tear on the port (and inserting it the right way first time)

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simonplayspiano said:

Thanks - unfortunately no ideas there. I have already got carplay setup on my phone, no restrictions. I think it must be the cable as the message appears for a split second and then drops off.

Click to expand...

simonplayspiano said:

Hi folks. I've had my Xpower for 5 months now. For obvious reasons (the built in sat nav is crap and out of date already), I need to use my phone whilst driving for Waze & spotify. Until now I've been relying on bluetooth connection for the music, but find that the reliability of the connectivity is so poor, that I am having to 'forget this connection' and re-pair around every 5-6 journeys.

So...

I'm about to do something new for the first time - Apple car play. Does anyone use this? Am I right in thinking it basically clones the phone screen onto the infotainment screen? Is it a wired-only connection? Any other hints or tips?

Thank you.

Oh and out of interest - my biggest gripes with the car...

1. No 'off' button (instead, it's buried in a menu somewhere)
2. No rear passenger light or cup holders / armrest
3. Squeaky brakes
4. Low tyre pressure warnings whenever it's below 3 degrees c
5. The slightest frost and all of the camera-dependent safety features switch off

Click to expand...

simonplayspiano said:

Thank you @johnnyg - I have just ordered the air compressor from Amazon! Wonderful!


hi @tsedge - I plugged my iphone into the left hand USB port. I got a message on the phone saying something about allow/disallow but it only appears for a split second and then is gone - and nothing. The phone is charging, but no carplay and nothing detected on the phone.

Do you think this is down to the cable? I have tried with the only 2 charging cables I have and neither of them works.

Do you have a link for a cable that you know works?

Thanks

Simon

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ok86 said:

Plugged into this usb a ambient light

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