[x5x2]

Hi it seems I can connect my iPhone via Bluetooth and wireless - is one better than the other, is it best either or?.

Thanks 😊

[randybobandy]

I am 99% sure the phone uses a combo of Bluetooth and WiFi to connect for CarPlay. See a excerpt and link to article below.


How it Works

Wireless CarPlay has three requirements, a Bluetooth connection, a Wi-Fi access point, and location data. Here’s is a simplified breakdown of the entire process:

To initialize the connection the phone uses Bluetooth to send a signal to the head unit requesting to connect.
Once the Bluetooth connection is made the phone will request wireless credentials to the Wi-Fi access point.
Upon confirmation the head unit will send the wireless credentials to the iPhone, which will cause the phone to search and join the Wi-Fi access point.
After the Wi-Fi connection has been established, the Bluetooth signal will disconnect and all audio and video will be transferred over Wi-Fi.
And now you’re set, you now can use CarPlay wirelessly.

https://connectedcarlife.com/tech/ho...-carplay-work/

[BeemerDreamerNYC]

Originally Posted by randybobandy

I am 99% sure the phone uses a combo of Bluetooth and WiFi to connect for CarPlay. See a excerpt and link to article below.


How it Works

Wireless CarPlay has three requirements, a Bluetooth connection, a Wi-Fi access point, and location data. Here’s is a simplified breakdown of the entire process:

To initialize the connection the phone uses Bluetooth to send a signal to the head unit requesting to connect.
Once the Bluetooth connection is made the phone will request wireless credentials to the Wi-Fi access point.
Upon confirmation the head unit will send the wireless credentials to the iPhone, which will cause the phone to search and join the Wi-Fi access point.
After the Wi-Fi connection has been established, the Bluetooth signal will disconnect and all audio and video will be transferred over Wi-Fi.
And now you’re set, you now can use CarPlay wirelessly.

https://connectedcarlife.com/tech/ho...-carplay-work/

This is interesting. So does Spotify streaming via the phone connected with CarPlay transfer the audio to the car via Bluetooth or WiFi?

[randybobandy]

Originally Posted by BeemerDreamerNYC

This is interesting. So does Spotify streaming via the phone connected with CarPlay transfer the audio to the car via Bluetooth or WiFi?

I would assume WiFi. From the article, the way I interpret it is once the car starts, it searches to BT devices. Your iPhone is talking in BT and they make the connection (this is after pairing the first time). From there, the connection is via WiFi, which explains a lot given that AirPlay 2 is connected via WiFi in home.

I think the whole thing is a hybrid of both, but the majority of the time, it wants to stay on WiFi. If you sit in your driveway/garage prior to turning the car on, you'll see you're still connected to your home WiFi. Once turned on and that connection to CarPlay is handed off to WiFi...you aren't connected to your house anymore.

As a side note, what pisses me off is that we can't connect the X5 to our home WiFi for updates overnight and what not. But that's a whole other story. I think a lot of the CarPlay issues make sense given the WiFi drops I had on my previous Xs in my home. I have not had any big issues once I went to the 11 Pro Max.