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#21
DadRS99 said:
Yes, which one to buy? There’s one that says iOS 16 pre-sale??
Click to expand...
Hi @DadRS99 , If I recall correctly, you seem to be an audiophile & you have upgraded your Tesla's stereo system a bit. If that is the case, you should be aware that T2C streams the audio to Tesla stereo via bluetooth. You are getting bluetooth compression added on to your music. Many people do not care but you might.
However, there is a way where you can actually listen to Apple Lossless codec media without any extra bluetooth compression. Even Tesla's Apple Music app can not playback lossless codec. If you use Tesla Android (www.teslaandroid.com) you have a few options.

1) Install Android OS Apple Music app on the Tesla android raspberry pi and you can stream lossless codec from Apple or download the media to the raspberry pi's local microSD card.

2) This methodology is a little uncertain since it uses wired CarPlay via carlinkit's CPC200-CCPA dongle that is plugged in to Tesla Android Raspberry Pi. Run wired CarPlay using Tesla Android. According to apple wired CarPlay is the only one which supports playing back Apple Lossless codec. In autokit's settings you'd set the audio channel to be "box". This setting transmits the raspberry pi audio (48Khz PCM) to the Tesla via WI-FI. The Tesla web browser is accepting the audio. No bluetooth degradation. So the audio pipeline is phone -->wired CarPlay to carlinkit dongle (not known what dongle does to audio stream. I'd assume 48Khz PCM uncompressed/lossless sampling)-->Raspberry Pi samples audio at 48Khz PCM (uncompressed & lossless audio codec) and sends audio to Tesla browser/stereo via WI-FI connection.

3) Run CarPlay in wireless mode on Tesla Android. Since the autokit audio channel setting is box, audio will be sent to the Tesla stereo via WIFI and Tesla web browser is accepting the audio. No bluetooth degradation but music might be ACC format and not lossless.
 
#22
It is my understanding that T2C does not relay any music/audio over Bluetooth - it is a direct link from the phone to the car - but I could be wrong.
Even with this limitation, I find T2C to be easy and reliable to use with my iPhone Hotspot.
I am monitoring usage as I have 3GB of Hotspot data per month. I doubt I would need more, but just in case I located a seller on eBay featuring an unlimited hotspot data plan with a SIM for roughly $18/month.
P.S. All my lossless audio is on a 1TB solid-state drive.
 
#23
charlesoris said:
It is my understanding that T2C does not relay any music/audio over Bluetooth - it is a direct link from the phone to the car - but I could be wrong.
Even with this limitation, I find T2C to be easy and reliable to use with my iPhone Hotspot.
I am monitoring usage as I have 3GB of Hotspot data per month. I doubt I would need more, but just in case I located a seller on eBay featuring an unlimited hotspot data plan with a SIM for roughly $18/month.
P.S. All my lossless audio is on a 1TB solid-state drive.
Click to expand...
To check if music is transmitted via Bluetooth, someone can check by playing music via T2C. Then on your phone turn off Bluetooth. Info not have T2C but this is my understanding after reading about the product. Would be great if someone can perform that test.
 
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#25
Not sure what the Carlinkit T2C uses as protocol/tech to transmit the music (since I have not traced it) but the quality is very good. At least the same quality as the latest Tesla Android version (2023.7.1) from my use experience with both.
 
#27
ElectricAnt54 said:
Hi @DadRS99 , If I recall correctly, you seem to be an audiophile & you have upgraded your Tesla's stereo system a bit. If that is the case, you should be aware that T2C streams the audio to Tesla stereo via bluetooth. You are getting bluetooth compression added on to your music. Many people do not care but you might.
However, there is a way where you can actually listen to Apple Lossless codec media without any extra bluetooth compression. Even Tesla's Apple Music app can not playback lossless codec. If you use Tesla Android (www.teslaandroid.com) you have a few options.

1) Install Android OS Apple Music app on the Tesla android raspberry pi and you can stream lossless codec from Apple or download the media to the raspberry pi's local microSD card.
Click to expand...
Updated my advice to a hypothetical audiophile who wanted to use Apple Music to playback media in lossless codec since CarPlay is such an undocumented mystery & both T2C and Tesla Android essentially use carlinkit dongles which are also not documented at all.

99% of people are not audiophiles so keep groovin to whichever product you like the use 👍.
 
#28
timeshifter said:
I'm 99% sure we're using Bluetooth. @mclark2112 is right when it comes to other cars with factory CarPlay. But the Tesla implementations (Tesla Android, T2C) send audio through Bluetooth.
Click to expand...
I think you're right. I don't have my Tesla yet, but I have the kit. I just hooked it up to my computer and ran carplay in the browser, no audio (everything else worked well). I assumed the audio would stream through the browser. I think I'll try connecting a bluetooth speaker to my phone, then try it again.

Edit: Turned on my bluetooth speaker, and lo and behold the sound came out of it. So, yes, the music plays over bluetooth. A little dissappointing, but I primarily wanted this for maps and audible books. I am also building up an android project raspberry pi, so I'll try that next.
 
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#29
mclark2112 said:
I think you're right. I don't have my Tesla yet, but I have the kit. I just hooked it up to my computer and ran carplay in the browser, no audio (everything else worked well). I assumed the audio would stream through the browser. I think I'll try connecting a bluetooth speaker to my phone, then try it again.

Edit: Turned on my bluetooth speaker, and lo and behold the sound came out of it. So, yes, the music plays over bluetooth. A little dissappointing, but I primarily wanted this for maps and audible books. I am also building up an android project raspberry pi, so I'll try that next.
Click to expand...
thanks for verifying T2C uses Bluetooth for audio transmission.not the end of the world, many people are fine with Bluetooth music quality. long ago I read wireless CarPlay uses Bluetooth for audio and wifi for the video stream. But I can not find the info source. This makes sense because that combo reduces the required computing power a car head unit would need. Considering wireless CarPlay came out years ago computing power was a major concern. According to Apple only wired CarPlay supports lossless Apple codec & is the way to avoid bluetooth.

in the tesla android setup you will be using a carlinkit cpc200-ccpa dongle that is attached to the pi. That dongle can be told to ignore audio input and let the phone directly send audio to car via bluetooth. This is the default instructions in tesla android & everything about CarPlay works very well.

however recently in a new version of tesla android, the Audio pipeline in the pi was enhanced so it can more reliably stream audio from pi to tesla web browser over the wifi connection. there is a setting for the carlinkit dongle to accept audio from phone and pass it to the pi. The pi sends audio to tesla web browser Via its wifi hotspot which car connects to. In this configuration, answering and making phone calls doesn’t work as simply so I wouldn’t yet recommend this setting to a person who is talking on phone while driving often. In this type of setup I use wired CarPlay to help ensure Bluetooth is out of the picture. I turn off my bluetooth even and still works. However, the developer of tesla android points out, even in wired CarPlay mode the audio first passes through carlinkit dongle before reaching the pie and we really have no clue how carlinkit dongle treats audio. Does it downsample audio Or does it do what tesla android does to incoming audio and use high quality 48khz PCM (lossless & uncompressed)….carlinkit wont tell us most likely.
 
#30
ElectricAnt54 said:
To check if music is transmitted via Bluetooth, someone can check by playing music via T2C. Then on your phone turn off Bluetooth. Info not have T2C but this is my understanding after reading about the product. Would be great if someone can perform that test.
Click to expand...
Indeed, the audio is transmitted directly to Tesla infotainment. I turned off Bluetooth and the audio went silent.
 
#31
There is a new version which only supports using the phone's hotspot.

Carlinkit T2C_wireless carplay_wireless Android auto_for Tesla.jpg
 
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#34
mclark2112 said:
I think you're right. I don't have my Tesla yet, but I have the kit. I just hooked it up to my computer and ran carplay in the browser, no audio (everything else worked well). I assumed the audio would stream through the browser. I think I'll try connecting a bluetooth speaker to my phone, then try it again.

Edit: Turned on my bluetooth speaker, and lo and behold the sound came out of it. So, yes, the music plays over bluetooth. A little dissappointing, but I primarily wanted this for maps and audible books. I am also building up an android project raspberry pi, so I'll try that next.
Click to expand...
How did you get CarPlay to work in the browser - I am also waiting for my vehicle so wanted to test out the T2C unit. I upgraded the firmware ok and the iPhone thinks its connected to CarPlay ok but neither Mac Chrome or Safari would display the CarPlay UX when connected to the Carlinkit Wi-Fi .
 
#35
Mandingo said:
How did you get CarPlay to work in the browser - I am also waiting for my vehicle so wanted to test out the T2C unit. I upgraded the firmware ok and the iPhone thinks its connected to CarPlay ok but neither Mac Chrome or Safari would display the CarPlay UX when connected to the Carlinkit Wi-Fi .
Click to expand...
Never mind - I got it - my machine was reverting to the Ethernet connection regardless of telling it to use the T2C Wi-Fi. Unplugging the Ethernet cable fixed it.
 
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#38
mclark2112 said:
Kinda strange seeing carplay on the computer, but it proves it should work fine in the car.
Click to expand...
Yes, I am hopeful this will do the job. Lack of CarPlay was a real issue for me since I am directionally challenged.

I am also investigating the best way to ensure the system reconnects automatically when I get back into the car. Should I leave the T2C powered up all the time I’m away (using Sentry mode)? I guess I’ll get all my answers on Saturday when I pick up my car … 😀

I am also curious why the unit needs the hotspot from the iPhone - if the iPhone sees the T2C as a regular wireless CarPlay unit why would it also need to set up a hotspot - the iPhone doesn’t need to do this for regular wireless CarPlay.
 
#39
Mandingo said:
Yes, I am hopeful this will do the job. Lack of CarPlay was a real issue for me since I am directionally challenged.

I am also investigating the best way to ensure the system reconnects automatically when I get back into the car. Should I leave the T2C powered up all the time I’m away (using Sentry mode)? I guess I’ll get all my answers on Saturday when I pick up my car … 😀

I am also curious why the unit needs the hotspot from the iPhone - if the iPhone sees the T2C as a regular wireless CarPlay unit why would it also need to set up a hotspot - the iPhone doesn’t need to do this for regular wireless CarPlay.
Click to expand...
The unit consumes 3W.
 
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