This was posted 10 months 10 days ago, and might be an out-dated deal.

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Mini Wireless Apple Carplay Adaptor US$14.97 (~A$22.43) Delivered, Android Auto US$15.11(~A$22.65) @ Factory Direct AliExpress

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This seems to be the cheapest historical price and was popular deal last time as well.

Description

  • Carplay and Auto Box Integration :Connect your phone to your car's infotainment system seamlessly with the Mini Carplay&Auto Box Dongle.
  • Wired to Wireless Connectivity :Enjoy the freedom of wireless connectivity while still being able to use your phone's charging port with the Mini Carplay&Auto Box Dongle.
  • Compatibility with Multiple Car Brands :The Mini Carplay&Auto Box Dongle is compatible with a wide range of car brands, including Audi, Toyota, Mazda, Nissan, Chevrolet, Suzuki, Subaru, Kia, Ford, Opel, Skoda, and Hyundai.
  • Easy to Install :The Mini Carplay&Auto Box Dongle is easy to install and can be done in just a few minutes, making it a hassle-free addition to your car.

Mod: Title price updated to include GST.

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closed Comments

  • -7

    so this will turn iphones to have androidauto functionality? is there any built in on apple ecosystem just like android auto? or we need hardware like this for iphone? android is free i think

    Android Auto is a mobile app developed by Google to mirror features of an Android device, such as a smartphone, on a car's dashboard information and entertainment head unit. Once an Android device is paired with the car's head unit, the system can mirror some apps on the vehicle's display

    • +3

      so this will turn iphones to have androidauto functionality?

      No

      is there any built in on apple ecosystem just like android auto?

      CarPlay. One of the very things this deal is for.

      One adapter makes wired iPhone CarPlay wireless. The other makes wired Android Auto wireless.

      • +1

        ah so carplay and AA is natively wired. with this gadget we can make them go wireless. got it thanks

        • +1

          Newer cars have wireless CarPlay and AA natively. This is for upgrading older cars.

    • -2

      Oh sweet summer child. Android Auto is a clone of CarPlay which came before Android Auto.

      • Android Auto is not a "clone" of Carplay.

        Clone implies that one is derived directly from the other, which is absolutely not the case.

        It is a competing product with a similar feature set, but the two were developed entirely separately.

        • -3

          Clone implies that one is derived directly from the other

          Scientifically you’re correct. But “clone” in this context means a cheap knock off. Which is accurate imo after using both.

          • @PainToad: What a load of hogwash.

            Android Auto has very equivalent features and functionality, and the Voice assistant is far more reliable and capable than Siri.

            • -2

              @klaw81: Cool. You can think what you like. I’ll do the same.

              • +2

                @PainToad: Both OS' actually use similar technology for their automotive platforms, which is entirely why after market head units are both AA and CarPlay compatible.

                CarPlay at least, is 100% happening entirely on the connected iphone. the head unit itself, while in AA/CP mode is receiving nothing more than a H.265 video feed (over wire or wireless) and transmitting touch screen input back to the phone. the wireless AA/CP head units have a GPS antenna/hardware inside which is also sent back to the device (this is how they reduce the battery consumption of the phone)

                you'll notice that if you take a screenshot on your iphone while using carplay, it takes a screenshot of the head units display and also your phone. I havent tried this with AA since the last time I used android they didnt even have screenshot functionality, but i imagine its similar.

                these devices in particular seem to spoof being an AA head unit and from there spoof CP handshakes to get it up and running. because they do not have the GPS hardware of a true wireless AA/CP head unit, you may experience higher battery usage than normal. additionally, they are converting the 'wireless' connection to a wired connection, so there is some inherent lag while the adapter converts data back and forth.

                I have a wireless head unit and I have some annoying gripes with the technology but they mostly derive from being in an underground carpark smothered in wifi interference, so the connection in my building on entry/exit struggles.

                AFAIK all wireless AA/CP struggles with the Toll gates all over sydney due to interference (drop outs) which, if they drop out long enough, will terminate the connection.

  • Anyone have one of these? are they good? Are they stable?

    • read below with my experience

    • I got this for last deal. Worked for a day or 2 but after that would barely work. One day I remember I tried connecting the whole way to work and didn't work. Have stopped using it.

      • i also got this on the last deal, i have issues with it as well. probably explains why it is so cheap, lol.

      • Annoyingly I hit issues yesterday with mine after it worked really well for about 3-4 weeks. I've reset everything so will see how that goes later.

        Edit - oh one thing I did generally find that certainly helped was turning on my wifi, Bluetooth, GPS before getting into the car.

    • I have one of these. Has worked flawlessly in mk7 golf

      • Mmmm…how long have you had?

        • Couple months? I went in with low expectations for just under $30 and have since bought a few more for mates. I suppose I wouldn’t be surprised if it dies but so far so good

          • +1

            @jsjc: Ok, you've convinced me! I've committed :D

    • I've had mine for a couple of months. It's been working great. This week it stopped connecting - Bluetooth kept trying to connect but failed, over and over. Solution: I had to login to it over wifi, "switch p2p", then factory default. Now it's working again.

  • +2

    this started off good, then it just keeps dropping and reconnecting repeatedly after less then a month of use. i have the apple car play one. very sporadic when it wants to work and not work. very annoying especially when i have the gps on and it cuts out as soon as making a bunch of turns and have no idea where the hell i am going in a busy city.

    • I don't have this model specifically, but I have another generic Carplay one.
      I had to log in to the device on my iPhone, do a firmware update and then muck about with the audio channels etc until I got it to run stable.
      Bit of mucking around, but yours is doing what it sounds like mine used to. Now it's "mostly" rock solid, only mucking up when I start the car, then walk back inside out of range for my phone to be connected and then come back to the car.
      Your mileage may vary, but you "might" be able to get it to play nicer for you.

      • firmware update? i just bought this on the last deal. shouldn't it be the most up to date?

        • +1

          Yeah, I got some 2023 badged version and then found out the firmware was from 2022 or something by memory.
          Again mine's not the same model as yours but let's be honest, surely all the Aliexpress things are pretty much the same thing in different-looking plastic shells you would think.
          Anyway, I found the wifi network that it transmits, connected to that on my phone, looked up the IP address and then popped that into a browser on my phone.
          All the settings etc showed up for it, along with a "firmware update" button.
          Tapped that and it updated the USB device itself (not the car head unit or anything so safe to do), then it was better, but still not perfect.
          Went back to the page and then started trying different audio channels or something. Changed it, and drove it for a few days to see if it was any better,.. rinse and repeat.
          Eventually, it was much much better and now almost faultless.

    • I bought a Motorola MA1, after 3 months it keeps dropping and reconnecting, whether I unplug it and plug it back in or restart the car, nothing works. The problem was solved after I restarted my phone. It happens every few weeks now. After I restarted my phone, it returned to normal. I still don't know why this happened, it could be an app that is not compatible.

    • Thanks Hugh G Rection.

  • Page not found?

    • same

  • Wife and I have similar product, not the mini version, and they work fine, very happy with them. (Both for Wireless Android Auto)

    • +1

      Me too. Have been using for the past 3+ months. Sometimes, it takes time to connect, no other complaints.

  • I keep seeing a more expensive Ottocast (and others) that allow streaming of Netflix/youtube to the head unit - this and a similar one ive got don’t.

    Has anyone seen a legit CarPlay adapter that streams non CarPlay apps (Netflix/youtube etc) to the head unit display? Are they any good, do they work with non jailbroken phones?

  • Do these work fine with aftermarket head units as well? Am using a Sony XAV-AX5000.

  • Increased to $28.26 when I checked out… :(

  • +2

    I'd avoid. Mine lasted less than a week before it stopped working

  • i got one of these things it works 'ok' the connection isnt bad but can be laggy when you get in

  • -2

    Not much point having wireless though it will only drain your battery. As a driver you shouldn’t be looking at your phone anyway so might as well just use wired CarPlay and get a charge simultaneously.

    • I disagree, I have AA Wireless and I don't notice a significant battery drain. Yes, there is a drain, not big enough to worry about it. I do short trips daily to pick up/drop from daycare and I cannot be bothered to plug my phone and unplug constantly.

      "As a driver you shouldn’t be looking at your phone anyway" to this point, I don't take my phone out of my pocket.

    • +1

      Genuine wireless carplay/AA head units are required to have GPS hardware in them which takes the serious load off the battery, meaning all your phone battery needs to support is the inbound data streaming (so google maps data and spotify for example), the video stream to the head unit (what you see on the display) and wireless connectivity (that the device uses for the connection). All three of those functions are well mature and the hardware extremely refined for efficiency. to argue that it would 'drain the battery' is well, yeah. it will. exactly the same way if you were using GPS to walk to your destination and listening to spotify.

      These units AFAIK do not contain GPS hardware so they might burn thru battery sooner.

      or you can just do what I did. get a magsafe charger for the car that you magnetically hang the phone on and literally never worry about charging it or plugging it in again.

  • Careful before you buy these.
    I brought 2x recently for a Mazda 2 and Subaru Outback. They were discounted also which encouraged me to buy 2x. These were for vehicles on their list. They just do not work!!!
    I spent a fair bit of effort trying to get them returned but AliExpress kept asking for proof. A bit hard when the thing does not do anything.
    In the end I had to get PayPal to intervene, and I had to return at my cost. Still awaiting my refund.
    My experience was poor. Just letting you all know.

    • Been using it (AA) on my Mazda 2 2017 for the last week. Connects within 10 seconds, no problems.

  • -1

    thought it would be nice to share some feedback to this deal. I purchased from the link provided here, a CarPlay wired to wireless box, for my Golf 2017 that comes with wired CarPlay.
    [Conclusion so far]: very happy, connect and forget, that's it.

    [fast delivery] - 1 week from order

    [packaging and finish of product] - as seen in picture, not spectacular just a small box / cables (USB-A and USB-C) in a white box with just understandable English user manual
    [setup] - plug in and connect to box via Bluetooth. The pairing takes not longer than connecting to any bluetooth deivce

    [connection speed] - this is where i was very worried about. It kicked straight into CarPlay screen, no added screen all original VW logo followed by CarPlay icon then you are in.

    [re-connection speed] - I did not remove my car bluetooth in my iPhone, it connects to last connected device which is the box every time when i turns on ignition (so is the car screen). Takes almost same time comparing to wired - if any slower. I barely see any chance my phone gets connected to car bluetooth however I did see during the connection process it says my phone will no longer be connected as a media source (via the car bluetooth) before CarPlay screen appears.

    [issue(s)] - I always had some issue using the wired as some times music fails to sound - my trick of fix (1) is to press Radio button, hear the sound, Press Menu to re-enter to CarPlay there you go. Another fix (2) is unplug and plug back in my iPhone. With my first setup using this box it was not an exception. I used in the morning for the 1st time and when I got back into the car after work, it turns on CarPlay screen everything works except my Spotify does not play any sound. Presuming fix (1) and (2) will both fix this as this box is just an Bluetooth transmitter anything to do with wire connection it will behavour the same. So I applied fix (2) as wanted to permanently fix any wire connection issue. So I unplug the box straight away and plug back in after a few seconds. The screen does go off and then Phone connected via car Bluetooth then same warning "phone will no longer be connected as media source" then fails once or twice to boot CarPlay. I was scared that's it I killed it. I did all I can, find Bluetooth in iPhone settings and tried to re-connect to the "smartBox XX-XXX" and that failed too. Here is the wired thing, the screen on the car is back, CarPlay is working all fine. What happens now is I never see the "smartBox XX-XXX" connected on Bluetooth in iPhone settings but it always works every time I got back to my car, for two days now. I thought there might be some bug on iOS as my phone does connect to "smartBox XX-XXX" because CarPlay is working wirelessly. So I rebooted my iPhone (iOS17 if helps) no difference there, never showing connection to "smartBox XX-XXX" but CarPlay is always working wirelessly.

    I live with it now and turn very happy.

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