Popular AAWireless Dongle Adds CarPlay Support

One of the best accessories for adding wireless support for Android Auto users is now welcoming iPhone and CarPlay folks into the fold.

The AAWireless dongle, which I reviewed earlier this year for Android devices, has just quietly announced a version 3.0 firmware update that introduces beta support for Apple’s CarPlay.

While the AAWireless adapter is considerably more helpful in the Android world, where wireless Android Auto support is significantly less common, there are still a great many vehicles on the market that don’t offer wireless CarPlay — and probably never will.

Although wireless CarPlay has rolled out farther and wider than its Android counterpart — despite having the potential to support both, my 2021 Nissan Rogue only does CarPlay wirelessly — the technology is still limited to cars with built-in Wi-Fi. That’s something not commonly found on lower-end trims.

While Bluetooth is adequate for streaming audio, it doesn’t have the bandwidth to handle the amount of data that needs to travel between your iPhone and your dashboard to present a graphically rich user interface or manage real-time navigation in Apple Maps. The latency and lag of trying this over Bluetooth would make for an intolerable user experience.

As I observed two years ago, wireless CarPlay is a game-changer. Rather than having to plug your iPhone in every time you jump in the car, which may leave you opting to forego CarPlay on shorter trips, you get a seamless experience that makes your iPhone feel like an integrated part of your dashboard.

So, it’s safe to say that the market for dongles to convert wired CarPlay to wireless will be active for at least a few more years. There have already been a few different adapters kicking around for this purpose, but what makes AAWireless stand out is that it’s already proven itself to be one of the most stable and versatile options on the Android Auto side — and we’re hoping that the same will be true once the new CarPlay support matures.

To be clear, the whole thing is very much in beta right now, so I wouldn’t suggest running out and grabbing an AAWireless adapter just yet unless you like living on the edge. Unlike Android, there’s no AAWireless iPhone app yet, so users will need to rely on a web app for now.

The configuration appears pretty straightforward; the AAWireless dongle should appear as a wireless CarPlay destination once the firmware update has been applied. Of course, your car has to support wired CarPlay for this to work; the AAWireless accessory doesn’t add CarPlay to your vehicle; it just wirelessly bridges the gap between your iPhone and your car’s USB port.

The initial implementation also appears to have a few glitches, with the possibility of choppy audio on older CarPlay versions and potential compatibility problems with steering wheel buttons, album art, and call information not coming through properly. Fortunately, this is an area where AAWireless proved itself highly versatile on the Android Auto side, with a wealth of settings that can be tweaked to workaround various compatibility problems. The web app already has “audio fix” and “IAP forwarding” options that can be adjusted to help address these problems if you run into them.

The AAWireless 3.0.0 firmware update is rolling out gradually — I have yet to receive it on either of my review units — and it’s also worth noting that you’ll require a generation 2 device with a cs317 model number on the back. That should apply to all AAWireless dongles sold through normal retail channels like Amazon, as the first-gen devices were only shipped out from the company’s original 2020 Indiegogo campaign.