[x5legend24]

I have had a really good experience with wireless apple CarPlay so far but have recently noticed that it cuts out at the same spot when I'm driving on the highway. I'm in LA and it happens on the 405 near 110. I'm not sure if it is some other signal from the outside causing this but find it strange it happens at the same spot every time I drive through here. My cell phone coverage doesn't drop just CarPlay. Does this happen to anyone else and does anyone know what might cause this?

[TSMC55]

Originally Posted by x5legend24

I have had a really good experience with wireless apple CarPlay so far but have recently noticed that it cuts out at the same spot when I'm driving on the highway. I'm in LA and it happens on the 405 near 110. I'm not sure if it is some other signal from the outside causing this but find it strange it happens at the same spot every time I drive through here. My cell phone coverage doesn't drop just CarPlay. Does this happen to anyone else and does anyone know what might cause this?

There will be some form of radio interference at that spot. I have the same issue with Android Auto at the entrance to a tunnel, near where I live. They broadcast for their operations on a set frequency which kills the wifi and bluetooth connection for about 3 seconds while I drive past everytime.

[bongbong18]

Mine drops out by the angles stadium/honda center on the 5fwy every day.

[hkleyman]

Originally Posted by bongbong18

Mine drops out by the angles stadium/honda center on the 5fwy every day.

I have a similar issue going under a particular bridge

[athanyel]

I've had the same issue in both of my X5s with wireless CarPlay. There are specific locations seem to have *something* that interferes with the wireless signal. I've always assumed someone blasting something on the same spectrum but that's a complete SWAG.

[adamcb]

Yup. There is a place here in Austin, TX (up Hwy 183 at 360) where, without fail, CarPlay will crash. Every. Single. Time.

There must be something relatively powerful on the specific wifi or bluetooth frequency/channel to make it happen.

Adam

[X5_CC]

Same issue for me. However, it never happened with my iPhone 12. Only my iPhone 13.

[Stoshu]

Can it have something to do with the recent sunsetting of the 3G network? Maybe coverage area changed?

[jad03060]

A spectrum analyzer would be useful, but not exactly something most people outside of a lab would have!

There's likely some strong RF interference there. Is there a radio station or TV station tower in that area? Near an airport or a TV studio with a weather radar nearby?

There's an electronics shop in Needham, MA that's near several TV stations transmitters. That's the only place where I've ever had to use my physical key to get into my vehicle, because the RF interference was so high.

[ericthc]

I'm located in Perth, Western Australia and have the same issue in my Cayenne. So it seems not isolated to one country. Still waiting for my X5 to test if problem replicates in the same locations I've experienced in the Cayenne.

[adrocky]

Originally Posted by x5legend24

I have had a really good experience with wireless apple CarPlay so far but have recently noticed that it cuts out at the same spot when I'm driving on the highway. I'm in LA and it happens on the 405 near 110. I'm not sure if it is some other signal from the outside causing this but find it strange it happens at the same spot every time I drive through here. My cell phone coverage doesn't drop just CarPlay. Does this happen to anyone else and does anyone know what might cause this?

Does it reconnect on its own?

[viperdoc]

Yes, me too. Same location every time, in both my car (x5) and my wife's car (x7). Happens to both of us. We are near the beach. it seems to reconnect readily though sometimes I need to restart the idrive system

[jad03060]

If I had to guess, I'd guess a high-power RF interference source. That could be a radar, a TV or radio tower, or maybe a power station, but that would be more of a stretch.

[mjr24]

Have same issue on my X5M in one certain spot....always disconnects and reconnects within 15-20 seconds.

[Artc]

For me it drops at toll booths. BMW service tech knew about the issue and confirmed it is caused by 5G transmitters placed at the same locations.

[ST1965]

My 2021 X5 has the same issue with Android Auto. It drops at a few specific locations around Perth.

[B///MWGuy]

I get this interference near San Jose Int Airport on 87 fwy. What I'm more concerned is if such amount of radio activity could pose a health risk.

[10101X5]

It was very irritating to me because it happened twice when I was using iMap. I had to pull over to put the address into BMW’s navi. I finally learned a possible reason was the wifi was disconnected from the car and connected to Xfinity randomly and won’t connect back to the car even when Xfinity was gone. One way to fix this is to set car wifi to allow “auto connect”. I would still lose connection randomly but once Xfinity is gone it will eventually connect back to the car. Or you can “forget this network” on Xfinity.

[jad03060]

Vehicle electronics tend to be shielded better than many consumer electronics to RF interference which is especially more important as so many of today's vehicles rely on digital interfaces. When I was in El Paso, TX, near Ft Bliss Army base, one of my friends had his radio change stations every time he passed one of the missile batteries when their pulse radar was operating...the peak watts out on that was probably near a million, but very short, so the average wasn't much.

RF energy decreases at the inverse square of the distance, so if you're say 2x further away than someone closer, your exposure would be 1/4 (1/(2^2). For something like a radar at an airport, there are specific guidelines about the safe distance you can be to them while they're operating. Lots of research has gone into establishing those guidelines. You can believe it or not.

[cellarrat]

Originally Posted by 10101X5

It was very irritating to me because it happened twice when I was using iMap. I had to pull over to put the address into BMW’s navi. I finally learned a possible reason was the wifi was disconnected from the car and connected to Xfinity randomly and won’t connect back to the car even when Xfinity was gone. One way to fix this is to set car wifi to allow “auto connect”. I would still lose connection randomly but once Xfinity is gone it will eventually connect back to the car. Or you can “forget this network” on Xfinity.

have you tried connecting through USB instead of BT?

[GTATX]

Originally Posted by adamcb

Yup. There is a place here in Austin, TX (up Hwy 183 at 360) where, without fail, CarPlay will crash. Every. Single. Time.

There must be something relatively powerful on the specific wifi or bluetooth frequency/channel to make it happen.

Adam

Dude I work at gateway and whenever I take 183 north from 360, right on the ramp it always happens lol

[10101X5]

Originally Posted by cellarrat

have you tried connecting through USB instead of BT?

Yeah but not for this issue. I plugged in a few times to charge and when I did that the car was confused. It thought it was a different phone and tried to connect while being connected. And of course it stopped working. So I stopped and just put it in the tray.