Aftermarket Tesla CarPlay and Android Auto Devices

[**BatteryLow**]

So using TeslaAndroid on a rPi4 with iphone hotspot tethered over ethernet I now have 4 ways to get Apple Music in my Tesla with 4 different user interfaces:
1. Apple music app on my iphone in the Carplay interface
2. Apple Music app on Android on the rPi4 with the Apple Music for Android interface
3. Apple Music Web app in the Tesla Browser with the Apple Music Web interface
4. Apple Music in the Tesla app with the bad Tesla made interface

After a couple of longer trips fiddling with these different Apple Music interfaces I prefer No 2 with the Apple Music for Android interface as it can show the most information, can play music videos, will do searches, and will show lyrics that scroll with the songs. One minor thing is that steering wheel controls are limited to volume control. No Next Song, Previous song.

Anybody here with similar experiences on Apple Music in Tesla that can add to this and can share user experiences?

NB I posted in this Carlink T2C topic as I found more references here to Apple Music on Android than on the other Carplay & TeslaAndroid topics

 

[ElectricAnt54]

So using TeslaAndroid on a rPi4 with iphone hotspot tethered over ethernet I now have 4 ways to get Apple Music in my Tesla with 4 different user interfaces:
1. Apple music app on my iphone in the Carplay interface
2. Apple Music app on Android on the rPi4 with the Apple Music for Android interface
3. Apple Music Web app in the Tesla Browser with the Apple Music Web interface
4. Apple Music in the Tesla app with the bad Tesla made interface

After a couple of longer trips fiddling with these different Apple Music interfaces I prefer No 2 with the Apple Music for Android interface as it can show the most information, can play music videos, will do searches, and will show lyrics that scroll with the songs. One minor thing is that steering wheel controls are limited to volume control. No Next Song, Previous song.

Anybody here with similar experiences on Apple Music in Tesla that can add to this and can share user experiences?

NB I posted in this Carlink T2C topic as I found more references here to Apple Music on Android than on the other Carplay & TeslaAndroid topics

I feel if you ask in the tesla android Reddit community & the tesla android thread in this system that you will get some very Informative user experiences regarding running android os Apple Music app & listening in the tesla car, something T2C can’t do. Not many T2C owners have a tesla android setup…so you could be speaking Greek to them .

Some might scratch their heads and wonder why people would want to use android os Apple Music via tesla android.
0) these people are usually audiophiles & want the best audio quality & can tell the difference. There are songs which I think sound Bettter.
1) no Bluetooth compression, so the sounds are crisper.
2) you can download the lossless media to raspberry pi or stream it if you have a good data plan. The tesla android wireless connection sends audio to tesla browser at 48Khz pcm uncompressed audio. So basically you get a tad more quality than CD quality music. Apple Lossless is a tad less than 48Khz so the sound is unchanged.
3) it can display song lyrics so passengers can sing along….ohhh….joy…..

The downsides:
0) Every now and then there is networking issues between raspberry pi (tesla android) and tesla vehicle so audio drops out for a fraction of a second. This might get even better in next software update & also guides are emerging regarding how to improve vehicle’s wi-fi antenna which might help.
1) The gui is not optimized for driving so a bit more busy interface compared to CarPlay’s UI. But I find it usable & safe still.
2) You can setup “hey google” for sending voice commands. I only tried basics so not sure if it covers all of what Siri could do.

 

[ElectricAnt54]

I feel if you ask in the tesla android Reddit community & the tesla android thread in this system that you will get some very Informative user experiences regarding running android os Apple Music app & listening in the tesla car, something T2C can’t do. Not many T2C owners have a tesla android setup…so you could be speaking Greek to them .

Some might scratch their heads and wonder why people would want to use android os Apple Music via tesla android.
0) these people are usually audiophiles & want the best audio quality & can tell the difference. There are songs which I think sound Bettter.
1) no Bluetooth compression, so the sounds are crisper.
2) you can download the lossless media to raspberry pi or stream it if you have a good data plan. The tesla android wireless connection sends audio to tesla browser at 48Khz pcm uncompressed audio. So basically you get a tad more quality than CD quality music. Apple Lossless is a tad less than 48Khz so the sound is unchanged.
3) it can display song lyrics so passengers can sing along….ohhh….joy…..

Here is an Apple Music running on android OS Reddit thread within Tesla android community.

 

[**BatteryLow**]

Here is an Apple Music running on android OS Reddit thread within Tesla android community.

Thanks! I will continue on Reddit and leave my contribution above as promotion for Apple Music on Android.

 

[Mandingo]

I'm making progress with switched power for the T2C. As you might have seen my biggest issue with the unit was the fact it will not power up/down automatically as you enter/leave the car leaving the unit wirelessly connected to my phone when I am in my house if I forget to unplug it in the car.

In another thread on radar detectors they have discovered the MY brake harness circuit (for towing) is switched and so today I bought the harness ($4.40 from my Tesla Service Center) and connected it up. It works exactly as I hoped in that it has power when the main screen is on and is off when the screen goes off when I exit the car - I am using it to power my Valentine 1 radar detector.

Getting to the connector is an easy 5 minute job, just remove the trim in the driver's footwell.

The next step is converting this 12v circuit to a 5v USB socket, for that I have ordered this. Once this arrives I should now have a USB A socket for the T2C that automatically powers up and down as I enter and leave the car.

Note it isn't 100% clear whether you need the tow hitch package for this circuit to be live - I have read differing reports on this. I do have the tow hitch.

 

[timeshifter]

@Mandingo that is SUPER exciting. Getting that working would really level up this solution.

I read those threads and my takeaway was that tapping into that didn't work any more due to some software update. I think it would only work for those with the actual tow package, whereas it worked for anyone before.

What are the specifics on your car - make, model, year, etc.? Tow package?

 

[Mandingo]

@Mandingo that is SUPER exciting. Getting that working would really level up this solution.

I read those threads and my takeaway was that tapping into that didn't work any more due to some software update. I think it would only work for those with the actual tow package, whereas it worked for anyone before.

What are the specifics on your car - make, model, year, etc.? Tow package?

YLR 5 seat with hitch/tow package, February 2023 Fremont manufacture.

 

[timeshifter]

Happy for you, but sad for me, as what you're doing only works for those with the tow package (based on what I read in other threads).

I think for me to do the same (or similar) I'd have to tap into a wire in the passenger footwell. And by tap I think that means you have to pierce the wire, probably not a huge deal, but I like things that can be undone without a trace.

 

[ElectricAnt54]

I'm making progress with switched power for the T2C. As you might have seen my biggest issue with the unit was the fact it will not power up/down automatically as you enter/leave the car leaving the unit wirelessly connected to my phone when I am in my house if I forget to unplug it in the car.

In another thread on radar detectors they have discovered the MY brake harness circuit (for towing) is switched and so today I bought the harness ($4.40 from my Tesla Service Center) and connected it up. It works exactly as I hoped in that it has power when the main screen is on and is off when the screen goes off when I exit the car - I am using it to power my Valentine 1 radar detector.

Getting to the connector is an easy 5 minute job, just remove the trim in the driver's footwell.

The next step is converting this 12v circuit to a 5v USB socket, for that I have ordered this. Once this arrives I should now have a USB A socket for the T2C that automatically powers up and down as I enter and leave the car.

Note it isn't 100% clear whether you need the tow hitch package for this circuit to be live - I have read differing reports on this. I do have the tow hitch.

Sweet! Thanks for researching! I have tow package in my 2022 MYP. Might try this to power my tesla android setup which I believe is 5V too. I just need to get my car back from auto body shop.

 

[JoeyLeee]

Don’t need a SIM card, can use my phones Bluetooth for data. Only issue I’ve had so far was I have to unplug it before getting out of the car. Phone keeps connecting to the module even if I’m out of the car. Don’t know if that’s how it’s supposed to be, some setting I missed. Does anyone have an idea?

 

[Mandingo]

It is a common issue. I recommend you read this entire thread.

 

[jerome8283]

I'm making progress with switched power for the T2C. As you might have seen my biggest issue with the unit was the fact it will not power up/down automatically as you enter/leave the car leaving the unit wirelessly connected to my phone when I am in my house if I forget to unplug it in the car.

In another thread on radar detectors they have discovered the MY brake harness circuit (for towing) is switched and so today I bought the harness ($4.40 from my Tesla Service Center) and connected it up. It works exactly as I hoped in that it has power when the main screen is on and is off when the screen goes off when I exit the car - I am using it to power my Valentine 1 radar detector.

Getting to the connector is an easy 5 minute job, just remove the trim in the driver's footwell.

The next step is converting this 12v circuit to a 5v USB socket, for that I have ordered this. Once this arrives I should now have a USB A socket for the T2C that automatically powers up and down as I enter and leave the car.

Note it isn't 100% clear whether you need the tow hitch package for this circuit to be live - I have read differing reports on this. I do have the tow hitch.

One reason I went with the T2C solution for CarPlay over others was that I did not have to pull my car apart and tap into electrical components. However, this does sound tempting.

 

[timeshifter]

@jerome8283 do you have the tow package?

 

[jerome8283]

@jerome8283 do you have the tow package?

Yes

 

[Mikecm1]

Just found an old iPhone in my drawer, so I set it up to live in the car 100% of the time for this unit. So with the SIM card + cheap data plan + old iPhone - its 100% seamless and working even better than before. Highly recommend doing the same if you have an old phone or want to buy one cheap off eBay or something. Could even buy a damaged one since you’ll rarely have to even touch it.

 

[charlesoris]

I received my T2C and have updated it to Build 23021115.1508.1. I have T-Mobile for both my iPhone 14 Pro Max (eSIM) and the nano SIM I bought for the T2C. Thus, I entered the APN as Fast.t-mobile.com and set the APN Protocol to IPV4V6 as instructed. Although the T2C works just fine in hotspot mode (with the BT Modem turned on), when I try to use the SIM card (after turning off the BT Modem in the T2C's settings), my Model 3 won't connect to the T2C. The error message generated by the Model 3 is "Could Not Connect to Network. Unable to obtain IP address. Please check DHCP server settings." Any suggestions as to what I might be doing wrong to use the SIM card for the network connection?

(Before anyone asks, yes, I did verify that the SIM card works. I did so by putting it in an iPhone XR that I'm not using. When the SIM card is in the iPhone XR, T-Mobile's network sees the SIM card just fine. I picked up the SIM card and activated the line this past weekend and did so for the specific purpose of using it with the T2C.)

I, too, purchased a pre-activated T-mobile SIM that I tested with an unlocked phone. I went through all the steps as you did (all four icons in green color), but received the same error message.

Has anyone made T-Mobile SIM to work with T2C?

 

[jerome8283]

@jerome8283 do you have the tow package?

Wouldn’t you still need to turn on WiFi and launch your browser to access tespush? Oh and switch to Bluetooth to hear any output?

 

[timeshifter]

Wouldn’t you still need to turn on WiFi and launch your browser to access tespush? Oh and switch to Bluetooth to hear any output?

Yes, but these days my browser window pretty much stays up and open to the tespush.com page, my Bluetooth is always already selected as my source for the Tesla. With that solution it would eliminate the one step where I have to reach in and push the on off switch to power up the T2C. And since it's automated it might happen a little more quickly and maybe even connect before I put the car in gear.

Also, I get mixed results leaving the T2C on when I exit the car to go in to an appointment or a store or whatever. Sometimes everything connects OK when I return. Other times I have to fiddle with different things (turn Bluetooth on my phone off and on today, or power cycle the T2C anyway).

If my car had the tow package I would have ordered these parts immediately.

 

[jerome8283]

Yes, but these days my browser window pretty much stays up and open to the tespush.com page, my Bluetooth is always already selected as my source for the Tesla. With that solution it would eliminate the one step where I have to reach in and push the on off switch to power up the T2C. And since it's automated it might happen a little more quickly and maybe even connect before I put the car in gear.

Also, I get mixed results leaving the T2C on when I exit the car to go in to an appointment or a store or whatever. Sometimes everything connects OK when I return. Other times I have to fiddle with different things (turn Bluetooth on my phone off and on today, or power cycle the T2C anyway).

If my car had the tow package I would have ordered these parts immediately.

Thanks, I’m not convinced, yet.

 

[DB288]

I saw a lot of people complaining that they bought from Amazon and couldn't get the corresponding technical after-sales help, so in the end, most of them chose to return the adapter to Amazon, the other of them encountered problems after a few months, but Amazon ignored them at all. That's probably why Amazon's rating is less than 3.5. I ended up buying the device from another website store.