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In a recent thread I mentioned that I had ordered an adaptor to allow Wireless Apple CarPlay and a number of members asked to hear my views. I have no connection to the supplier or the product, I am just a Kia e-Niro 4 owner who was disappointed to find I needed to plug in the phone every time. I found the CPLAY2air online and decided to take the plunge.
The unit was ordered from the website; the price was slightly different to the quoted figure as it was invoiced and paid in US dollars and so there was a currency exchange and a small fee on my credit card. The total came to £106.51. The CPLAY2air was delivered in just over a week directly from China and via Royal Mail for the final stage. There was no mention of import duty and none was paid.
I had been waiting for a long journey to test the unit fully because the first time I tried it I realised quickly that I hadn’t set it up properly. This was because the instructions inside the box appeared to be a bad translation and to be honest the text and pictures didn’t make a lot of sense - so, as usual for me, I ignored the whole lot and just plugged it in. The first attempt at setup was therefore something of a mystery tour; I got through it and it seemed to work, but it wasn’t quite right and CarPlay froze a few times. I then found clear step-by-step instructions on the back of the box, including how to reset the thing so I went ahead with the reset and started again. This time it worked perfectly so FOLLOW CLOSELY THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE BACK OF THE BOX!
The size and minimal weight of the CPLAY2air means that it can simply hang out of the USB socket - in the e-Niro, it can barely be seen from the driver’s or passenger’s seat; however mine will probably be taped or cable-tied to the lead for the dashcam which is plugged into the power socket next to it. A longer lead would have been better though.
In use the CPLAY2air can simply be forgotten about. CarPlay usually starts within 30-40 seconds of switching on the car and it works seamlessly; in fact it works exactly how it would if the phone was plugged in using a lightning cable. Sometimes (I think it’s when your phone is still connected to WiFi inside the house before you drive away) startup takes a minute or two and at one point it you’ll be alarmed to see a blank screen but leave it and finally the CarPlay screen appears as normal. In day-to-day use, there doesn’t seem to be any time lag or lack of responsiveness at all. It also works perfectly with the phone charging on the wireless charging pad in the car, although for some reason my iPhone XS gets hot when it’s on the charging pad - whether using CarPlay or not - which is something I’ll have to sort out another day.
So, I’m a very happy “e-Niro with wireless Apple CarPlay” user. The CPLAY2air isn’t all that expensive (compared to the car!) and to my mind it’s a sound purchase. It’ll certainly fill the gap satisfactorily for me until Kia makes wireless Apple CarPlay an included feature.
I'll upload some photos shortly.
The unit was ordered from the website; the price was slightly different to the quoted figure as it was invoiced and paid in US dollars and so there was a currency exchange and a small fee on my credit card. The total came to £106.51. The CPLAY2air was delivered in just over a week directly from China and via Royal Mail for the final stage. There was no mention of import duty and none was paid.
I had been waiting for a long journey to test the unit fully because the first time I tried it I realised quickly that I hadn’t set it up properly. This was because the instructions inside the box appeared to be a bad translation and to be honest the text and pictures didn’t make a lot of sense - so, as usual for me, I ignored the whole lot and just plugged it in. The first attempt at setup was therefore something of a mystery tour; I got through it and it seemed to work, but it wasn’t quite right and CarPlay froze a few times. I then found clear step-by-step instructions on the back of the box, including how to reset the thing so I went ahead with the reset and started again. This time it worked perfectly so FOLLOW CLOSELY THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE BACK OF THE BOX!
The size and minimal weight of the CPLAY2air means that it can simply hang out of the USB socket - in the e-Niro, it can barely be seen from the driver’s or passenger’s seat; however mine will probably be taped or cable-tied to the lead for the dashcam which is plugged into the power socket next to it. A longer lead would have been better though.
In use the CPLAY2air can simply be forgotten about. CarPlay usually starts within 30-40 seconds of switching on the car and it works seamlessly; in fact it works exactly how it would if the phone was plugged in using a lightning cable. Sometimes (I think it’s when your phone is still connected to WiFi inside the house before you drive away) startup takes a minute or two and at one point it you’ll be alarmed to see a blank screen but leave it and finally the CarPlay screen appears as normal. In day-to-day use, there doesn’t seem to be any time lag or lack of responsiveness at all. It also works perfectly with the phone charging on the wireless charging pad in the car, although for some reason my iPhone XS gets hot when it’s on the charging pad - whether using CarPlay or not - which is something I’ll have to sort out another day.
So, I’m a very happy “e-Niro with wireless Apple CarPlay” user. The CPLAY2air isn’t all that expensive (compared to the car!) and to my mind it’s a sound purchase. It’ll certainly fill the gap satisfactorily for me until Kia makes wireless Apple CarPlay an included feature.
I'll upload some photos shortly.
