Apple CarPlay plagued by bugs on iPhone 17 and iOS 26

Apple CarPlay is having a rough start on iPhone 17 running iOS 26, with owners reporting flaky wireless connections, random dropouts, and setup headaches that make a simple drive feel like bug triage instead of a commute. 

Connection issues with iPhone 17

It starts with posts like dajev describing Wi‑Fi cutting in and out during setup and CarPlay disconnecting intermittently on day one, which set the tone for a thread full of similar experiences from early adopters who expected smooth sailing but got constant nagging prompts and inconsistent links instead. Several replies point out that the older phone on the same network behaved fine, which complicates the “it’s just the router” explanation and puts the spotlight back on iPhone 17 hardware or iOS 26 changes.

Once in the car, the pattern many describe is a clean initial connection that collapses a few minutes later, sometimes taking the head unit with it and forcing a full shutdown of the vehicle before CarPlay will reappear. As offdwall put it, wireless CarPlay “works for about 5–10 min… then the car head unit locks up,” while wired USB reportedly works without drama. So that could be a temporary workaround for those affected.

Another owner, Lukke123, said reconnection often required toggling both Wi‑Fi and Bluetooth because flipping Bluetooth alone left the system stuck on a permanent “connecting” screen, a small detail that hints at how the new radios negotiate links on iPhone 17. That same user noted an older iPhone 13 had no such trouble in the same car.

It’s not just this megathread where people are discussing the issue. There are similar complaints on Reddit and MacRumors forums too.

Network and accessory conflicts

Not all breakage happens in the cabin, either, with DerykLane describing a 6 GHz Wi‑Fi link at home that brings the 17 Pro Max to a crawl while other devices on the same mesh hit gigabit speeds, plus odd behavior like refusing to hand off to nearer access points and the screen timer not sleeping as expected. Those details matter because unstable Wi‑Fi can kneecap the handshake between phone and head unit, especially on wireless CarPlay setups that lean on both Wi‑Fi and Bluetooth .

Some comments on a Reddit thread, as well as the megathread on Apple’s forums, point towards a problem when users have their phones paired to other Bluetooth devices, like an Apple Watch or any other Bluetooth-powered watch. Disconnecting from the Bluetooth device apparently helped some users restore normal functionality.

There is even a home network twist: Davidgd12 said disconnecting a pair of original large HomePods stopped the chaos entirely, after which a drive in a 2024 BMW i4 went off without a single CarPlay drop, while HomePod mini units on Apple TV didn’t seem to provoke the same issues. It is anecdotal, but it points to older chips or firmware in certain accessories interacting poorly with iPhone 17 and iOS 26 until software catches up.

Not everyone is seeing problems, which makes this even trickier to pin down, and lobsterghost1 reported two different iPhone 17 models working fine in multiple cars.

One user, Usafquez, said Apple Support acknowledged the issue and suggested trying a network settings reset and even removing a MagSafe case, neither of which fixed the issue in that case, though it reinforces the sense that a fix may be in the pipeline rather than requiring new hardware.

Audio quality problems and third-party app issues

Audio quality is its own mess on iOS 26, with escape_into_reading noting, “Podcasts sound like they’re playing through an overdrive pedal or the gain is too high. Happens over BT or wired connection. Music apps play fine.”

The strangest workaround so far is opening the iPhone’s camera mid‑playback, which reportedly drops the gain back to a sane level.

That MacRumors thread also notes the distortion has been present since the betas and slipped through to release, and the poster asked others to file feedback to raise the priority, given that podcasts and audiobooks are a primary use of CarPlay for many drivers. It is a clean reproduction case that should be actionable for engineering, which often means relief comes sooner rather than later once enough reports converge on the same signature.

The problems don’t stop with Apple’s own services. Third-party navigation app Waze has also been hit hard. A growing number of drivers are reporting that the Waze app’s voice search is completely broken on CarPlay with iOS 26. Reddit user One-Cell-7377 noted that while Siri can still initiate navigation, using the in-app microphone icon to search for a destination yields no results at all.

Others have chimed in to confirm the feature worked perfectly on the previous iOS version, pointing to the new update as the culprit. On top of that, other users have noticed that the Waze user interface elements, like the speedometer, now appear much smaller than before, making them difficult to see at a glance while driving.

So it seems users might just have to wait for a future software update that will hopefully iron out the issues. We’ll keep an eye out for any further developments and will post an update if and when there’s something to share.

CarPlay troubles aren’t the only issues plaguing iOS 26. Users are also dealing with cellular connectivity problems that have left some iPhones without data or failing calls. Meanwhile, iMessage users have reported missing Photos and Documents tabs after the update. Earlier today we even highlighted how many users are reporting that apps are disappearing from their home screens following the iOS 26 update.