rockthebeef

I'd try clearing out the Bluetooth phones from your radio memory and start over. Pair the 5S first and see if that works. It does take a while to make a connection. When I used an appradio 2 with my iphone 6 it would take a while before the connection established itself.

For further clarification (or confusion!), if you have an iPod connected to USB2 it disables Bluetooth streaming. You can, however have a USB stick in USB2 and maintain Bluetooth streaming.

Another bit of information... You can't have bluetooth streaming and an iPod connected to USB2 at the same time. Seems odd, but you'd most likely have your phone connected to USB1 anyway for CarPlay.

I actually double checked this today. I should disclose that I use an AppRadio 4, but I believe they should be extremely similar. I started playing music and then turned the volume to 0. Then I pressed the 'talk' button on my steering wheel to bring Siri up. I could hear her fine and was able to adjust her volume while she was talking - I noticed Siri's volume did not start at 0 as I had previously set the music to. As soon as Siri's on-screen volume display vanished I could then again adjust the music's volume, which was previously set to 0. There is no on-screen difference that indicates whe

Siri's voice used to come in loud and clear for me. Then I noticed (no new software applied) that I couldn't hear her anymore. I noticed when I parked that her volume was just really low. I think if you adjust the head unit's main volume while Siri should be talking then you can make adjustments. It did not appear this had any effect on the volume of music, etc. I still need to confirm but I think this is what I experienced yesterday. How else could Siri be loud and all of a sudden become quiet?

For confirmation, I have an AR4 with an iPhone 6 all running current firmware. CarPlay is enabled and I can definitely plug my iPod into USB2 and it works. I have an old iPod Video 30GB, so the classic should work also.

Got it. I notice that the backlighting is less than perfect. If you turn it down to more acceptable black levels It helps to alleviate the bleed. The AR4 in my car looks good as far as my particular viewing angle. Good luck in finding what you're looking for.

As far as I know you set the main screen separately from the "AV" screens (all the other screens). When you set the background, press "AV" on the top and select the background for those screens. That's how it works on the SPH-DA120, which runs the NEX firmware for the most part.

Would you care to elaborate on the "horrendous" display of the AR4. I just don't see it. It has the same resolution as the 8000 in a smaller screen so it should actually look sharper. I'm genuinely curious about why you think that.

I wouldn't consider myself a true diehard audiophile but I do trust my ears very much. I usually leave EQs flat and turn off any boost or signal processing. In my opinion that normally produces the most natural sound without artificial sounding boosted lows or highs, or a scooped out midrange. However since the AR4 has an auto EQ function, I decided to try it out. It requires an external microphone but I happened to have one that came with the Pioneer AV receiver that I use in my home. You plug it into the AUX input and tape the mic to the middle of the driver's headrest before initiating

There are hidden files that the Appradio will detect when you format the USB drive on a Mac. If you have access to a windows PC, reformat the USB stick to FAT32 and then copy the update files. It should work after that.

It's really hard to say without testing your theory scientifically. I have an AppRadio 4 and it doesn't have an SD card slot, but it does have two USB ports. I think music from the USB plays louder than that from an iPhone. I think the difference in volume can definitely be perceived as having better sound quality. I'm not too sure I would buy the part about clearing the phone settings for better sound quality. Not saying right or wrong - just that it can't be proven without an appropriately designed experiment. All that considered, with the noise floor being so high in a moving vehicle,

I've experienced a couple of blank screen scenarios when using CarPlay. The head unit was unresponsive and nothing seemed to work except for turning the car off and on again. I actually had to pull over leaving my parent's house the other day. Certainly I hope this is a bug that can be fixed. Any time the owner's manual mentions restarting the head unit, it says to turn the car off and on. Obviously that's not practical if you're driving. Does anybody know of a secret way to reboot the AppRadio 4 without shutting the car down? Thanks.

I also use a ProClip mount with lightning connector attached. It makes docking the phone very easy. I'm already more satisfied with the AR4/CarPlay than I ever was with my AR2 and AppRadio mode. CarPlay has some bugs, but I feel better that Apple is responsible for those fixes rather than Pioneer.

(1) Since CarPlay is an in-dash interface of a specific set your phone's apps - this would only be possible or make sense if the iPhone had its own XM tuner or AM/FM tuner. That's why there is an NEX icon on Car - to take you back to everything that isn't affiliated with CarPlay. (2) It looks like all CarPlay apps are for playing audio from various services. I don't think that Apple's application programming interface (API) includes any criteria for anything other than audio apps (for now?).

What is Alpine's history with firmware updates, etc? Any better than Pioneer? I'm totally happy with my AR4 and all that it can do. I just discovered something. I was listening to a podcast via CarPlay earlier. When I got back to my car it was a short drive home so I didn't plug my phone in. I toggled the mode button on my steering wheel for Bluetooth and the podcast resumed. Can't do that with the Alpine! HOWEVER, the AR4 has many different ways to do the same thing. The user interface can be a little confusing. That's the beauty of the Alpine unit - its simplicity. That is the head u

It works for me with AppRadio 4 (should be the same as NEX). However I've experienced false triggering of "Hey Siri" and it doesn't reliably answer every time. I have disabled it and prefer to use the "push to talk" button on my steering wheel to activate Siri. That works very well every time.

Mine worked last night all of a sudden and it was in night mode even when not actively navigating. Let's see if it stays that way...

I haven't figured this one out. I'm actually using an AppRadio 4, but it should be the same. I went out on a night test drive last night and I saw the map on my phone was in fact in night mode. When I plugged it in and turn CarPlay on, it went back to day mode. Has anybody figured out how to enable this feature for certain? Thanks.

It looks like the seller I bought from has sold out and the cheapest one now is $499 (still $100 off retail) . I know they had several units. There was also a California shop that had them for $459 with free shipping. I didn't use them to avoid sales tax. Just keep your eyes peeled on Amazon and eBay every day and something will pop up.

eBay from the same retailer that sells it on Amazon for more money.

I was looking for a great deal also. I saw a price of $454 at one point, but that particular vendor has been dicking around with prices almost every day! They're currently selling for $499, but it went above $500 at one point also. I bought my AR2 when they came out at about 25% off retail so I was shooting for a similar deal with the AR4 ($450). After monitoring prices for weeks they seemed to have stabilized. There were no significant Black Friday sales. I don't think they'll go much lower until AR5 is on the horizon. I ended up paying $465 shipped and without tax. I could've paid less,

After all the debating with myself on whether to get an AR4 or the Alpine unit, I decided to stick with Pioneer. I Installed it yesterday. Swapping over from an AR2 made it a very easy swap since I used all my old cables and wiring. The 6.2" screen is totally fine and it looks quite good installed in my car. CarPlay is fantastic and Siri works with my "push to talk" steering wheel button (Axxess ASWC) - I didn't even have to program it. I'm glad I went with the AR4 since it will stream bluetooth if I don't feel like plugging in my phone for a short drive. Even without the phone, the AR4 is a v

Well, I went ahead and installed an AR4 in place of my AR2. It was plug-n-play so that made installation great. The bypass I was using for the AR2 isn't working though. I can hear the relay clicking 3 times so I know that it is working and I know the head unit sees that the parking brake is "grounded". I think what's happening is that the TR7 is starting the sequence before the AR4 is booted and ready (the AR2 must have a faster boot time). Rather than reprogramming the TR7, I just ordered a microbypass that should work and it will get rid of the bulky TR7/relay that I currently have. You don'

While that would be nice, I think the main prerequisite for CarPlay compatibility is that the iPhone must be the source. Anything outside of the phone (like an SD card) is off limits to CarPlay.