Aftermarket Tesla CarPlay and Android Auto Devices

[jorhett]

Discussion of the T2C solution seems to have taken over the thread named "CarPlay solution for Tesla by Michal Gapinski". Someone suggested that people get their own room thread So I'm going to recap what seems to be the critical points in that mixed-thread by @jerome8283 and @EMEV

I’ve used these guys for ICE vehicles before and the devices worked fairly well In creating a wireless CarPlay interface. Looks like they will be releasing a Tesla version soon…..

https://carlinkitcarplay.com/products/carlinkit-t2c-tesla-wireless-apple-carplay-adapter

They already have a Tesla version. I owe one. It can be purchased on Amazon. It works well for me ...

Following the feedback from jerome8283 I got a T2C and updated it to the latest firmware to test it and I have to say that it works pretty well. Here are my impressions so far - It is smaller than a RPi4, it only consumes 3W and will work on any USB version for power (it works on 5V 1A power sources), with the latest firmware version it can run on 4G LTE or Bluetooth hotspot (so you do not need a SIM card or pay carrier fees) - this makes it fully wireless (no need for any cables besides the power cable for the T2C) with internet access and without having to pay fees, it has been stable after 3 hours of continuous driving, from turning on to webpage access is 50 sec (same experience as jerome8283), access/use is fluid without jerkiness, image quality is fine, sound quality is fine, normally it cots $99 on amazon [...]. The only con so far is that you need to learn how to set it up since there has been many firmware updates that have changed the way to configure the device and the documentation is outdated. I had to find a couple of different sources to figure out how to configure the way I wanted.

The thread then devolved into discussions of the differences between different Tesla vehicles on when the usb power stops being supplied, and of USB power versus cigar-plug power as the best way to ensure it powers off. The following seemed pertinent:

I normally power off via an on/off switch when I leave the car. What I did was power on, leave it on and left the car. I gave it enough time where I no longer saw the T2C connected to my phone. When I jumped back in the car I was connected to my home Wi-Fi and the Tesla would not automatically switch to the T2C even though I could see the Wi-Fi connection. I blocked my Tesla from connecting to my home network and repeated the same steps. When I got to the car it was connected to LTE instead of my home Wi-Fi and it automatically switched to the T2C and the CarPlay screen appeared in 49-52 secs.

 

[jorhett]

I also purchased this device. On install it seems to work just fine. I'm having intermittent success when I return to the car, but if I power cycle the unit it always works afterward. Going to keep an eye on this - might need to do something about power on/off like @jerome8283 mentioned.

 

[JimmyB]

I tried mine for the first time yesterday. Seemed to have intermittent connectivity issues but that could be user error. I'll play with it some more before I decide whether to keep it or return it.

 

[timeshifter]

Thanks for making a thread dedicated to this device. For clarity the company is "Carlinkit" and this is their official website

Carlinkit Official Website | Smart Driving Safe Traveling

As an innovative company specializing in the development of connected car products,We are fully committed to the research and development, application and promotion of multi-screen interactive products.

www.carlinkit.com

official store website:

T2C for Tesla

Shop the Carlinkit Official Website. Browse the latest collections, explore the campaigns and discover our online USB wireless CarPlay adapters and accessories.

www.carlinkit.store

There are lots of sites / companies that sell this device, but for support you may want to stick with the above links. I've heard they won't help you if you don't buy from official channels. Having said that I bought mine for $99 on Amazon, not sure mine will get support from the company. Oh well.

Also, checking my second link it looks like there may be a new variant of the device, it mentions iOS16. Will have to look at that later.
Edit: upon checking, the first one on the left is for Europe, etc., and the second one is for North America.

 

[mclark2112]

I bought one, but I don't have a tesla yet. Updated the firmware, it wasn't too hard. I don't expect the world from this device, mostly just want Waze and Audible.

In the past I've had issues with call quality with add-on carplay solutions. How is it with this device? As good as native Tesla Bluetooth?

I guess I could test this with a browser on my laptop, hmmm.

 

[timeshifter]

Call quality is good because the calls don’t pass through the device, they use the native Teslas Bluetooth call interface.

 

[acaurora]

In for one also. The videos I have seen show some jerky animations, hopefully that isn't the case. The nice thing of course is that this is entirely removeable, and nothing permanent.

 

[Konquest]

Tried the T2C out using my iphone as the hotspot for connectivity. When connected it works fine but definitely had alot of issues reconnecting the phone to the T2C and then connecting the tesla to the T2C wifi. It may be more seamless with a sim card setup but way too much work just to have carplay working with the tesla.

 

[JimmyB]

So I'd posted in the other thread about a similar device being marketed under the "Road Top" brand. TLDR - this thing is terrible.

Here it is on Road Top's site; it's a rebranded version of this:

Having had good success with a Road Top CarPlay module in an Audi A4, I decided to get one off of Amazon to try it out. As I said, it's terrible.

You have to rename your phone to "CPhoneHot" in order for the device to connect to your hotspot, which is an unnecessary inconvenience and not something I'd want to have to do permanently. But, for the sake of testing this box, I figured I might as well. But no matter what I did, I couldn't get the box to talk to the car. I got the wifi network connected, but couldn't get either carplay or the box's configuration screen up on the Tesla browser.

So back to Amazon it goes, and this may be one of those rare occasions where I actually write a review.

 

[timeshifter]

That's a bummer. It's encouraging to see other manufacturers come out with competing products. Too bad that one sucks. Hopefully they'll improve it over time.

 

[charlesoris]

Tried the T2C out using my iphone as the hotspot for connectivity. When connected it works fine but definitely had alot of issues reconnecting the phone to the T2C and then connecting the tesla to the T2C wifi. It may be more seamless with a sim card setup but way too much work just to have carplay working with the tesla.

Have you updated your device to the latest firmware?

 

[SecretAznMan]

I use mine with a SIM card and so far so good. It automatically connects about 95% of the time. With the SIM in it, it also acts as a Wi-Fi hotspot so I can use most of the premium connectivity features without subscribing to it.

 

[gordonli51]

I use mine with a SIM card and so far so good. It automatically connects about 95% of the time. With the SIM in it, it also acts as a Wi-Fi hotspot so I can use most of the premium connectivity features without subscribing to it.

which cellular SIM do you use? I have tried Tmobile and Xfinity Mobile, both of them aren't working and gave me an amber signal LED.

 

[DBV1]

Have you updated your device to the latest firmware?

Thanks - I checked and did have to update. Used on another trip and worked fine again.

Guessing there is no way to automatically update or alert if there is an update available? You probably just have to check to see if there is an update.

I am still not sure if I trust this to be secure, especially coming from China.

 

[ElectricAnt54]

Thanks - I checked and did have to update. Used on another trip and worked fine again.

Guessing there is no way to automatically update or alert if there is an update available? You probably just have to check to see if there is an update.

I am still not sure if I trust this to be secure, especially coming from China.

If security aspects of the cellular connection is a major concern, you can use "Tesla Android Project" (google it) and download the VPN software of your liking (I use Private Internet Access sometimes), The project is open source too & the developer is very transparent and public. I've been using it for a long time & latest release at time of this message (version 2023.7.1) is very stable. That being said, it is a bit more technical but seeing that you have a good understanding of how T2C works, you will probably be fine. I forget if I mentioned this already here so forgive the spam if I did already.

 

[SecretAznMan]

which cellular SIM do you use? I have tried Tmobile and Xfinity Mobile, both of them aren't working and gave me an amber signal LED.

T-Mobile. Make sure you update to the latest firmware and enter the APN settings

T-Mobile Can't connect to the cellular network

We released a new version update on December 10th It will support T-Mobile cellular network, please use your iPhone to upgrade the device online(iPhone online upgrade) 1. Turn on devices 2. iPhone Bluetooth pair"AutoKit_xxx" 3. iPhone chick"USE CarPlay" 4. Safari enter to 192.168.3.1 5. Click...

autokitcarplay.com

 

[DadRS99]

Thanks for making a thread dedicated to this device. For clarity the company is "Carlinkit" and this is their official website

Carlinkit Official Website | Smart Driving Safe Traveling

As an innovative company specializing in the development of connected car products,We are fully committed to the research and development, application and promotion of multi-screen interactive products.

www.carlinkit.com

official store website:

T2C for Tesla

Shop the Carlinkit Official Website. Browse the latest collections, explore the campaigns and discover our online USB wireless CarPlay adapters and accessories.

www.carlinkit.store

There are lots of sites / companies that sell this device, but for support you may want to stick with the above links. I've heard they won't help you if you don't buy from official channels. Having said that I bought mine for $99 on Amazon, not sure mine will get support from the company. Oh well.

Also, checking my second link it looks like there may be a new variant of the device, it mentions iOS16. Will have to look at that later.
Edit: upon checking, the first one on the left is for Europe, etc., and the second one is for North America.

Yes, which one to buy? There’s one that says iOS 16 pre-sale??

 

[DadRS99]

I use mine with a SIM card and so far so good. It automatically connects about 95% of the time. With the SIM in it, it also acts as a Wi-Fi hotspot so I can use most of the premium connectivity features without subscribing to it.

And can you share roughly how much your SIM card is?? Can I get a sun from a burner phone to have it work? Mostly want to use it for phone and Apple Maps. With Apple Music integration in the Tesla now, I’m happy with that…

 

[DadRS99]

And can you share roughly how much your SIM card is?? Can I get a sun from a burner phone to have it work? Mostly want to use it for phone and Apple Maps. With Apple Music integration in the Tesla now, I’m happy with that…

* sim

 

[timeshifter]

Yes, which one to buy? There’s one that says iOS 16 pre-sale??

Not sure. I'd probably try the iOS 16 pre-sale listing if I was ordering from them. Since it doesn't mention a choice for different regions I wonder if it still requires a SIM, or if it does maybe there's one SKU for all regions now.

I just ordered mine from Amazon when I got it, much simpler.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BLB265QQ