Very odd audio issue occurring daily [Carplay]

[sonofzell]

Given the long list of more important frustrations with my truck, I honestly haven't spent a lot of time / effort in figuring this out, but it really has me stumped. I'm wondering if anyone has had any similar experience or insight that can help me figure this out:

For better or worse, I am a full-time carplay user. It's in use 100% of the time when I'm in the truck. Lately (I'd say for the past two months), I've been experiencing an issue that I can only describe as "an abrupt change in audio output". The presentation is as follows:

• While carplay is active, my audio will completely "cut out" for 2 or 3 seconds, as if someone had paused playback.
• After the brief silence, the audio output resumes, however, sounding nothing at all like it did previously. The volume is lowered significantly, and equalization settings are completely unbalanced, resulting in a very "tinny" sound; almost as if the audio were playing directly from my phone's speaker (I've confirmed this is NOT the case; the sound IS still coming through the truck's speakers).
• Without intervention, this "tin can" sound will continue for 30-60 seconds. At that point, I get another drop to silence for a second or two before the audio output returns to its original sound.

This behavior rarely happens more than once per drive, but at this point it does seem to occur at least once during every trip. 95% of the time, the audio will return to its normal sound after a minute, but on rare occasions it will remain in that state until I perform a soft reset on the sync system (sound always comes back to normal if/when that happens). It may also be relevant to note that the carplay audio source does not seem to affect this in any way; it occurs regardless of whether I'm playing apple music, podcasts, I heart radio, spotify, etc.

Now for the REALLY confusing part....
There are several locations at which I KNOW this audio drop will occur! I know this sounds crazy (my daughter even teases me that I'm driving under "jewish space lasers" ? ), but I've been experiencing this for long enough now to just expect the audio drop when reaching a certain stop sign or intersection. The spots I've identified are, not surprisingly, near my home so I've even ruled out coincidental factors by taking different routes.

I fully appreciate that, since carplay is in the mix, this could very well be a bug with that interface specifically as opposed to my truck or its sync system, but I honestly don't even know where to begin in terms of determining WHY this occurs. On that same note, my iPhone has been updated twice since I first started having these drops, and I've removed and re-added it to the truck several times.

As stated, in terms of this truck's annoyances, this is certainly a minor one. That being said, it's become more of a frustration over time, likely due to the fact that I've not been able to make any sense of exactly what is happening here (or what is causing it).

I suppose I'm just curious as to if this makes any sense to those of you more familiar with sync/carplay tech than I am. Thanks in advance for any theories or suggestions!

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[itsdchz]

There are several locations at which I KNOW this audio drop will occur! I know this sounds crazy (my daughter even teases me that I'm driving under "jewish space lasers" ? ), but I've been experiencing this for long enough now to just expect the audio drop when reaching a certain stop sign or intersection. The spots I've identified are, not surprisingly, near my home so I've even ruled out coincidental factors by taking different routes.

100% known CarPlay issue- Happens a lot with cell tower interruption, but there are other known anomalies that cause this behavior. If it happens in relatively same spot all the time, this can be chalked up as known interference.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

Given the long list of more important frustrations with my truck, I honestly haven't spent a lot of time / effort in figuring this out, but it really has me stumped. I'm wondering if anyone has had any similar experience or insight that can help me figure this out:

For better or worse, I am a full-time carplay user. It's in use 100% of the time when I'm in the truck. Lately (I'd say for the past two months), I've been experiencing an issue that I can only describe as "an abrupt change in audio output". The presentation is as follows:

• While carplay is active, my audio will completely "cut out" for 2 or 3 seconds, as if someone had paused playback.
• After the brief silence, the audio output resumes, however, sounding nothing at all like it did previously. The volume is lowered significantly, and equalization settings are completely unbalanced, resulting in a very "tinny" sound; almost as if the audio were playing directly from my phone's speaker (I've confirmed this is NOT the case; the sound IS still coming through the truck's speakers).
• Without intervention, this "tin can" sound will continue for 30-60 seconds. At that point, I get another drop to silence for a second or two before the audio output returns to its original sound.

This behavior rarely happens more than once per drive, but at this point it does seem to occur at least once during every trip. 95% of the time, the audio will return to its normal sound after a minute, but on rare occasions it will remain in that state until I perform a soft reset on the sync system (sound always comes back to normal if/when that happens). It may also be relevant to note that the carplay audio source does not seem to affect this in any way; it occurs regardless of whether I'm playing apple music, podcasts, I heart radio, spotify, etc.

Now for the REALLY confusing part....
There are several locations at which I KNOW this audio drop will occur! I know this sounds crazy (my daughter even teases me that I'm driving under "jewish space lasers" ? ), but I've been experiencing this for long enough now to just expect the audio drop when reaching a certain stop sign or intersection. The spots I've identified are, not surprisingly, near my home so I've even ruled out coincidental factors by taking different routes.

I fully appreciate that, since carplay is in the mix, this could very well be a bug with that interface specifically as opposed to my truck or its sync system, but I honestly don't even know where to begin in terms of determining WHY this occurs. On that same note, my iPhone has been updated twice since I first started having these drops, and I've removed and re-added it to the truck several times.

As stated, in terms of this truck's annoyances, this is certainly a minor one. That being said, it's become more of a frustration over time, likely due to the fact that I've not been able to make any sense of exactly what is happening here (or what is causing it).

I suppose I'm just curious as to if this makes any sense to those of you more familiar with sync/carplay tech than I am. Thanks in advance for any theories or suggestions!

Hi there. Can you send us a DM with your VIN and dealership info? I can look into this for you.

 

[antho]

100% known CarPlay issue- Happens a lot with cell tower interruption, but there are other known anomalies that cause this behavior. If it happens in relatively same spot all the time, this can be chalked up as known interference.

Agreed. There is a cell tower by our shop and i can tell you exactly when my carplay will freeze.

 

[snyce1]

Given the long list of more important frustrations with my truck, I honestly haven't spent a lot of time / effort in figuring this out, but it really has me stumped. I'm wondering if anyone has had any similar experience or insight that can help me figure this out:

For better or worse, I am a full-time carplay user. It's in use 100% of the time when I'm in the truck. Lately (I'd say for the past two months), I've been experiencing an issue that I can only describe as "an abrupt change in audio output". The presentation is as follows:

• While carplay is active, my audio will completely "cut out" for 2 or 3 seconds, as if someone had paused playback.
• After the brief silence, the audio output resumes, however, sounding nothing at all like it did previously. The volume is lowered significantly, and equalization settings are completely unbalanced, resulting in a very "tinny" sound; almost as if the audio were playing directly from my phone's speaker (I've confirmed this is NOT the case; the sound IS still coming through the truck's speakers).
• Without intervention, this "tin can" sound will continue for 30-60 seconds. At that point, I get another drop to silence for a second or two before the audio output returns to its original sound.

This behavior rarely happens more than once per drive, but at this point it does seem to occur at least once during every trip. 95% of the time, the audio will return to its normal sound after a minute, but on rare occasions it will remain in that state until I perform a soft reset on the sync system (sound always comes back to normal if/when that happens). It may also be relevant to note that the carplay audio source does not seem to affect this in any way; it occurs regardless of whether I'm playing apple music, podcasts, I heart radio, spotify, etc.

Now for the REALLY confusing part....
There are several locations at which I KNOW this audio drop will occur! I know this sounds crazy (my daughter even teases me that I'm driving under "jewish space lasers" ? ), but I've been experiencing this for long enough now to just expect the audio drop when reaching a certain stop sign or intersection. The spots I've identified are, not surprisingly, near my home so I've even ruled out coincidental factors by taking different routes.

I fully appreciate that, since carplay is in the mix, this could very well be a bug with that interface specifically as opposed to my truck or its sync system, but I honestly don't even know where to begin in terms of determining WHY this occurs. On that same note, my iPhone has been updated twice since I first started having these drops, and I've removed and re-added it to the truck several times.

As stated, in terms of this truck's annoyances, this is certainly a minor one. That being said, it's become more of a frustration over time, likely due to the fact that I've not been able to make any sense of exactly what is happening here (or what is causing it).

I suppose I'm just curious as to if this makes any sense to those of you more familiar with sync/carplay tech than I am. Thanks in advance for any theories or suggestions!

I have had my 21' PB since 11/2/21 . Audio erros like that plus spontaneous changing sources occur but are least of my worry due to a generator that wont work when wet out . Waiting on software from engineers . Might be my last Ford ever

 

[spud_41]

Happens to me too, however the audio doesn't change when it comes back on... If you want to get around it plug your phone in directly and play downloaded music.

 

[sonofzell]

100% known CarPlay issue- Happens a lot with cell tower interruption, but there are other known anomalies that cause this behavior. If it happens in relatively same spot all the time, this can be chalked up as known interference.

Agreed. There is a cell tower by our shop and i can tell you exactly when my carplay will freeze.

Interesting - thank you!

I can 100% understand the interference; I understand carplay using wifi for its communications, so that does make sense. I suppose what really had me scratching my head was that

1. the audio does continue... it just sounds different. Other than the brief drops before and after, it seems the actual audio content continues without interruption. I would think (and here's where my technical knowledge is likely to become glaringly obvious) that any interference would result in a complete drop of the audio stream(s). Similarly, I would imagine the pathway from any audio source to the speakers being hard-wired would render it "exempt" from any effect of interference. This is not argumentive at all; just my uninformed reasoning lol
2. the issue seems to have manifested recently. Prior to a few months back, I don't ever recall this happening and it certainly didn't happen consistently as it does now.

As I said, relative to other sync issues I'm dealing with, this one is no major headache. Thanks for the clarity and info!

 

[sonofzell]

Might be my last Ford ever

I'm teetering on that conclusion as well. As much as I love the F150, my current one has been problematic since I drove it off the lot.

I fully appreciate the unique challenges that come with a new generation of vehicle, pandemics, staffing shortages, supply chain limitations, etc. but the "your problem, not ours" response by Ford has left me in serious doubt of ever wanting to own another one.

 

[LaHerencia]

I do not have the sound issue but I USED carplay all the time since I have an XL with no navigation. My issue that started about 2 weeks ago is that my phone disconnects randomly or the music cuts out like it was out of range. When it does that, the radio reverts to over the air music and suddenly back to carplay. It then changes to where it connects via carplay without my phone even plugged in to the truck. I did a hard restart and this didn't help; it started the cutting out within 5 minutes.

Right now, I just went ahead and deleted my info from truck/phone so I can connect only via bluetooth. Since I did this last week, the only issue that pops up occasionally is the bluetooth wont connect. I suspect it has something to do with the IOS update that was issued about 2 weeks. So I will be watching this thread....

 

[Ford Motor Company]

I do not have the sound issue but I USED carplay all the time since I have an XL with no navigation. My issue that started about 2 weeks ago is that my phone disconnects randomly or the music cuts out like it was out of range. When it does that, the radio reverts to over the air music and suddenly back to carplay. It then changes to where it connects via carplay without my phone even plugged in to the truck. I did a hard restart and this didn't help; it started the cutting out within 5 minutes.

Right now, I just went ahead and deleted my info from truck/phone so I can connect only via bluetooth. Since I did this last week, the only issue that pops up occasionally is the bluetooth wont connect. I suspect it has something to do with the IOS update that was issued about 2 weeks. So I will be watching this thread....

Hi there! I can look into the Bluetooth concern you're experiencing with your F150. Will you send us a message with your VIN and the name and location of your local Ford dealer?

 

[12Lariat21]

Have you tried:
1. running it wired (same or different result)
2. tried a different phone (same or different result)

Those two tests may give you some idea of where the issue is coming from...

 

[tcp]

I've had similar experiences since day 1 with the audio from CarPlay all of a sudden the volume drops to a minimum. I've noticed that when this happens when you crank up the volume it stays the same. Its almost like when you use CarPlay to call or accept a phone call, it puts the audio into a specific setting where it limits your max volume.

When this happens my quick fix is to change the audio source to FM then switch back to my Carplay music. Also when this happens, I've never noticed it going back to normal without me doing something. It was more frequent before OTA 2.3.0.

FYI for the Ford Marketing account on here, I am not taking it to the dealer for them to "look" at this. These issues are software bugs that needs to go to Ford's Dev team and not local dealers. Local dealers are only good for TSBs that has specific instructions for them to perform. We need a better channel to direct bugs and software issues.

 

[eschmidt12]

I had this issue with my phone when I was on wired CarPlay in my ‘17 GMC truck and wireless CarPlay in my wife’s ‘18 BMW…so I realized it had to be my phone. Similar symptoms between both cars. It ended up being location services being enabled for Amazon Alexa (the phone app, not the truck app). It would realize I was getting to my home geofence location and trigger Bluetooth. Turned it off and problem went away forever.

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