General SYNC3 CarPlay Questions | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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General SYNC3 CarPlay Questions

shoelesscraig

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January 28, 2017
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City, State
Atlanta, GA
Year, Model & Trim Level
2006 Explorer, V8 Eddie B
Hey guys,
About to buy a 2017 Explorer Sport and was wondering a couple of things:
1. When you plug your phone in the USB port to connect to CarPlay, does this charge your phone?
2. Can I use Waze on my phone, but still use CarPlay to play music or make phone calls at the same time? I guess I'm asking, does my phone still work as normal when plugged into CarPlay, or is it locked out?
3. I assume there is no way to put Waze up on the car's display right? My friend made this happen in his Lexus, but he is running Android, so I know it's completely different. Just wondering if anyone has hacked this yet?
 



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1) Yes, the USB port also charges your phone. It is fast charging at 1A.

2) Once you connect to CarPlay, the phone is locked out. You can use CarPlay to play music or make calls but you cannot use the phone screen.

3) Waze does not currently support CarPlay
 













That sounds reasonable. I'd love to have it on the display, but this is better than nothing.

Another couple of questions:
1. If I have an incoming call, do I have the ability to answer it on my phone instead of the CarPlay system? Occasionally you might get a phone call that you don't want everyone else in the car to hear (business calls, etc).

2. Can I send the audio from Pandora on my phone to the car speakers through CarPlay?
 






That sounds reasonable. I'd love to have it on the display, but this is better than nothing.

Another couple of questions:
1. If I have an incoming call, do I have the ability to answer it on my phone instead of the CarPlay system? Occasionally you might get a phone call that you don't want everyone else in the car to hear (business calls, etc).

2. Can I send the audio from Pandora on my phone to the car speakers through CarPlay?

1) I haven't tried this but I don't think it would be a problem. I will see if I can test it this week.

2) Pandora supports CarPlay and their app shows up on the CarPlay screen
 






There are basically two different modes. Wired CarPlay vs Bluetooth. When wired, you are using the CarPlay interface on the car, which includes the inferior navigation, and different voice commands for making phone calls, different UI for playing music. I use Spotify.

Generally speaking, I use Bluetooth only, because CarPlay itself isn't nearly as good as Sync3. It's good for streaming music and making your phone calls (via voice commands), and lets you use the nice Sync3 nav system, and your phone isn't locked in any way.

But when my phone is low on charge and I need to charge it, I plug it in and the CarPlay takes over the main dash, and like I said, everything is annoyingly different, plus your phone is directly locked. Ironically I have better control on Spotify with CarPlay engaged. So it's tradeoffs and it takes some getting used to. It's not perfect, but it's way better than anything you could get a few years ago.

Maybe there is a way to charge your phone without activating CarPlay, but still communicate via Bluetooth for calls/music streaming? I've tried using different USB charging slots... the one in the front, the one in the center cubby. Both activate it.
 






There are basically two different modes. Wired CarPlay vs Bluetooth. When wired, you are using the CarPlay interface on the car, which includes the inferior navigation, and different voice commands for making phone calls, different UI for playing music. I use Spotify.

Generally speaking, I use Bluetooth only, because CarPlay itself isn't nearly as good as Sync3. It's good for streaming music and making your phone calls (via voice commands), and lets you use the nice Sync3 nav system, and your phone isn't locked in any way.

But when my phone is low on charge and I need to charge it, I plug it in and the CarPlay takes over the main dash, and like I said, everything is annoyingly different, plus your phone is directly locked. Ironically I have better control on Spotify with CarPlay engaged. So it's tradeoffs and it takes some getting used to. It's not perfect, but it's way better than anything you could get a few years ago.

Maybe there is a way to charge your phone without activating CarPlay, but still communicate via Bluetooth for calls/music streaming? I've tried using different USB charging slots... the one in the front, the one in the center cubby. Both activate it.


In Settings on Sync 3 you can select Apple CarPlay preferences then select the phone and switch it to Disable. CarPlay will no longer be activated when you plug in your phone.
 






In Settings on Sync 3 you can select Apple CarPlay preferences then select the phone and switch it to Disable. CarPlay will no longer be activated when you plug in your phone.
I've tried that before, but then as far as I recall, my Spotify streaming no longer works in that situation. I could be wrong. Now I'll have to try it again and see. I'll report back later tonight.
 






I just shut off CarPlay on my phone and stream whatever I want via Bluetooth. While the phone is plugged in charging.
 






Maybe there is a way to charge your phone without activating CarPlay, but still communicate via Bluetooth for calls/music streaming? I've tried using different USB charging slots... the one in the front, the one in the center cubby. Both activate it.

I installed a dual USB plug in the 12V power socket in the center cubby. This gives me power for portable devices, but does not activate CarPlay.
 






Thanks for all the great information. I've noticed some of the same things. One thing I have noticed is when CarPlay is active the screen does not AutoDim at night and is obnoxiously bright. To the point where it was distracting, even. I didn't try the manual brightness control on the "Display" setting yet in this scenario.
 






I don't like the default color scheme, and basically keep it in "night mode" all the time, which has a dark grey background and fits the look of the Explorer on the inside better. Maps look way better too. And way less obnoxious. So that could be another option for you.

Also I turned off CarPlay and just use Bluetooth connection to stream Spotify now. I can charge the phone and use all the stock Explorer Sync 3 UI instead of the inferior CarPlay. Still wish the Spotify interface was better. I can't even use the steering wheel controls to skip songs. I have to use the touch screen for that (in both CarPlay and Sync3).
 












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