Golan Remi

I understand.
indeed it’s not for everyone. I ended up using the wired connection which significantly improved response time and call quality. And no disconnects as well. But I understand that what works for me, may not be right for others.

Good luck, I hope you will make the 4G/5G modem work.

2turbos4rings

For me I’ve ranted elsewhere so I won’t do it here but the short is the UI/UX is god awful and that stuff is far more important to me, including integration level, than using non-native maps that are potentially more up to date

Golan Remi

I get it. I personally use Siri a lot (to initiate and answer calls, to set up destinations on waze, and many more, so I am not impacted by by the poor (buttons operated) interface. but i get that it's not for everyone. I am looking forward to moving, at some point, to the facelift D5 where the integration level is much better.

GlynH

Glad it works well for you - which unit did you go with? Only asking because I'm too lazy to go back through 35 pages of the CarPlay thread in here!

I thought Siri might have been the answer but there was always a delay in my saying 'Hey Siri' and listening for the beep (which sometimes sounded and sometimes didn't) and I hate repeating myself especially to an inanimate object!

A D5 would be perfect but I think this one will probably see me out...

When I installed mine I even went to the trouble of running a USB->Lightning cable into the trinket tray beneath the armrest with the intention of using a wired connection as I know how flaky Bluetooth & WI-Fi can be! Also figured my phone would never be left wanting for battery if it was hard wired. Sounded like win->win to me but even this wired connection dropped off after about an hour(!) and of course the phone was shielded by the armrest and so GPS was flaky and Google Maps couldn't determine my location without perching it on top of the armrest. I even added a FireTV Stick to its HDMI input but had to manually connect it to my phone every time I wanted to use it. Seems whichever way I went with this CarPlay unit it was just grief...

While I concede I might have had a faulty unit and/or a newer version of firmware/software may have resolved some or all of the complaints the company from where it was purchased, ewaying never replied. Well they did once asking for my order number but even though I sent it to them as requested I never heard anything back.

----------snip----------
4th August 2021 – no reply
3rd October 2021 – no reply
1st August 2022 – you finally replied, 18th August 2022, apologised for late reply and asked my what my order number was
22nd August 2022 – I sent the order number and supporting documentation but you never replied.
8th February 2023 – I’m emailing you again asking for support

That’s 18 months just to get this far and I’m still waiting for you to support your product that has never worked properly!
Can you please, please send me the latest firmware upgrade for my ewaying Wireless CarPlay.
----------snip----------

Don't know what else I could have done except advise any prospective purchaser to give ewaying a wide berth and spend your money elsewhere. Many people here have had success with WAKAA or RSNAV but it seems to me they are so similar they all come from the same place anyway.

I've pretty much given up hope of ever updating 4G/5G in my car but every so often I do a search to see if progress has been made. A least I do have the Google Earth overlay back again even though it takes a long time to load over 2G!

-=Glyn=-

GlynH

I'm feeling better it's not just me that's super-fussy then!

-=Glyn=-

Golan Remi

I am using the RSNAV, and yes, I kept updating it everytime they came up with a new firmware version. Sadly, they don;t make that unit anymore, but Wakaa is as good. Soryy you did not have a stellar experience like I do. Again, it'll all be better with the D5

GlynH

If only I had been as lucky when it came to software updates as they might have cured some issues at least!

I originally planned to purchase from Unique Auto Developments here in the UK despite them being over twice as expensive (I'm always leery about buying anything from China) as their website promised lifetime updates and Technical Support but they ignored my pre-sales emails so I figured if they couldn't be bothered to respond before I spent money to make the sale then there wasn't much hope after they had trousered it!

So I ended up buying directly from ewaying in China as their website was trumpeting the fact that it was they who had developed and manufactured these CarPlay units ie. not just a reseller/boxshifter and a friend of mine was already buying Carplay units from them for use in Range Rovers. Who better than the manufacturer themselves for support I mistakenly thought to myself? What could possibly go wrong?

I just found an old Notes file of some of the issues I had with my ewaying CarPlay unit. Well I did say in a previous post there were many more reasons why I removed it!

----------snip---------
Although they say it retains full factory functionality it doesn't as it grabs the Aux input for sound so I'm now unable to hear my iPod connected to AMI interface despite it showing in the Media Source list and showing tracks in the DIS while still retaining full device control.
60 seconds after turning the engine off CarPlay switches off and goes back to MMI which is very annoying because whatever you're listening to is usually at the end and you miss the punchline!

Since removal I don't have to suffer the frustration of landing on the CarPlay Audi MMI red/black settings menu because it won't connect to the phone it was just connected to on the previous leg of the journey you just made, intermittent connection issues/random disconnects even when hard-wired, it remembering where it was when you last time you used it, no wondering whether it will/won’t connect, no intermittent app connections such as Amazon Music then having to shuffle through all of the other music apps to find one that you can actually hear, no wondering where your phone calls will end up, no screaming at the caller who obviously can't hear you despite them coming in 5/5, no echo on the other end when it does eventually decide to make the occasional connection to CarPlay telephony, no shuffling sources on iPhone trying to get it to connect to whichever device you want it to route to and no changing its mind from call to call, no runaway volume condition, dial always works the right way, no disconnecting at the most inopportune moment such as when close to SatNav destination, no more constant rebooting/resetting/re-pairing just to get it to work as it should, no more losing connection to the only paired Bluetooth device its ever known and being forced to reset/re-pair to that same previously paired device again & again, not being able to use it after ignition switches off, no track names in DIS only that round Aux symbol, no standard Audi displays such as volume, heating, massage being displayed, no 03389 VCDS error because Aux input enabled as well as Bluetooth, AMI sound back so I can listen to 12,500 tracks on my iPod, no more RSI from endlessly spinning the MMI **** because CarPlay is designed to be touchscreen not button/dial controlled, no wondering whether Siri will understand what is being said or whether you have to repeat yourself, not continually having to adjust volumes in various places due to differing volume levels and then having to repeat the same procedure when I next get in the car, no more checking that apps like Waze or TomTom Amigo are able to route their audio at the start of the journey only to worry about when/not if it will disconnect and you go past a speed camera over the limit, wondering which order your carefully curated app icons would appear on the display next time you got in the car, worrying over the amount of stressed connections bearing in mind the amount of force needed to shove the 5F back and fretting about any other side effects…the list is endless.

I do however miss Google Maps and the ability to have my texts/messages read back to me and respond by voice although sometimes that was fraught with danger but on balance and for peace of mind and my sanity it just had to come out!
----------snip----------

Phew...I'm sure I missed some but after reading that little lot I could feel my stress levels rising even now. I'm gonna find a dark place for a lay down...

Anybody want to buy an ewaying CarPlay unit for the D4?

A friend of mine had one in his RS6 and had the intermittent connection problems but he bought his from Amazon and whoever the manufacturer was they offered a 2-year guarantee. He sent his back to Amazon after 18 months or so and the replacement one worked as expected.

-=Glyn=-

2turbos4rings

And likewise I certainly don’t fault anyone that chooses to go that route. I’m probably not the normal use-case anyway. I’m still happily paying $10/mo for internet on my car so I can get weather and news in the MMI and RSE because it’s cool haha

Striker2237

I always just rely directly on my phone due to how many cars I have, all I expect the car to do is receive an audio signal. Everything else is done faster and better on my phone

16Boost

you know they have foldaway touchscreen options too right? Also if you are using force to get that quadlock back in somethings not right. Undo some of the tape from the other harnesses and itll make it easier back there. Also when doing the screen replacment that opens other holes to help gain better access to the quad lock to move it to a good location.

Like you I had the carplay box, hated it, moved to touchscreen although the large screen (was on sale for like $220) love it. Has quirks but much less and I enjoy way more features that the box only thing could ever hope for.