Carlinkit 2025 3.0 Wireless CarPlay Dongle Adapter U2W (Type C Design) for Factory Wired Cars, Fit for iOS Version and Cars From 2025

I bought this unit about a month ago with some reservations after reading the many reviews. It has surprisingly worked well for me, better than I expected with my 2019 Mercedes GLE with factory wired CarPlay. Before initial installation I upgraded the firmware as described by other reviewers; this necessitated several repeat steps to insure all of the patches were installed.I wouldn't say the unit is perfect but I have compared it to several vehicles in my family that have 2021 and 2022 factory installed wireless CarPlay and they aren't perfect either. Some of the same glitches experienced with this adapter also occur when using built in wireless CarPlay. It appears to me this is primarily caused by the process and time it takes to switch a phone for one wireless network to another. Additionally, all of the wireless CarPlay options (both Carlin and OEM) sometime misbehave when the vehicle is stopped and then restarted in a relatively short period of time due to the fact that the usb port and wifi remain active for a minute or two after the ignition is turned off. Somewhere during this period the device(s) become confused. After a few minutes after total shutdown has occurred connectively has always restored for me..I've experienced no significant latency or other audio issues.The convenience of using this wireless option to me is easily worth ~$100. Having to take my phone out of my pocket everyone I get in the vehicle is far more trouble than the occasional problems I encounter with the connectively glitches, all of which so far resolved themselves.Finally, I mostly just tell SIRI what I want CarPlay to do and it happens. Much better than any brand OEM voice system I have ever seen or used, including several Mercedes versions.

UPDATE IN 2024: This thing is a piece of crap. Eventually, it will stop working as you update your Iphone, which is a normal part of life. There is no tech support; they expect you to "email them" in order to get a firmware update...it's just a joke. This is the problem with dealing with a limited Chinese company...it's not going to be a good customer service experience because they simply don't have to do that. Go with a more established company that has straight-forward customer service. This isn't it.Original review: Got this for my Mazda CX-9 2022. It does work but I had to read the instructions from one of the reviews in order for it to connect. Once it’s connected, I still flawless, fast and works great.The problem is that about every 4 months it disconnects and you have to go through the tedious set-up process again. I’m very good with technology but it still usually takes me about 15 mins to get it working and connected again. Then it will be great again for several months. Until I have to go through the setup again. And so on.For clarity, you have to have it connected via the WiFi signal and Bluetooth signal for it to work. I have to update the software version several times usually and sometimes downgrade the version…it’s just a crap shot until suddenly your car detects it and you’re all set. The product is great; the software and IU is not for those who struggle with technology. Having said that, I will always own one of these bc it completely changes the CarPlay experience and makes it what it should have been from Apple.

It works perfectly on a 2021 Mazda CX5, but it took me 2 hours to figure out. First off, don't read the instructions. They claim you plug it in, and then connect to bluetooth, and you're all set. But that's not it at all. It doesn't even transmit a bluetooth signal until you've updated the firmware on the box. So here's what you need to do: Plug it into your car's USB port which you use with wired CarPlay. Wait approximately 30 seconds, then on your phone connect to the wifi transmission labeled "VOLKSWAGN" or something very close to that. I don't know why it's called that, but that connects you to your Carlinkit. The password to join is 12345678. After you're connected, browse to IP address 192.168.50.2, which takes you to the configuration page for your Carlinkit. On that page, it'll say that your Carlinkit is up to date, but it isn't. Click the "Check for update" button, and then you'll see that there's a newer version available. Install the update and wait for the page to tell you it's done updating. At this point, you may lose the "VOLKSWAGN" WIFI connection because the update reset the WIFI transmission name from "VOLKSWAGN" to "Auto box" or something similar to that. After you've re-established a connection to the new "Auto box" WIFI signal, browse to IP address 192.168.50.2 again. Again, it'll tell you that your Carlinkit is up to date, but it probably isn't. Click the "Check for update" button, and then you'll see that there's a newer version available AGAIN. Install the update and wait for the page to tell you it's done updating. Repeat the cycle of update, refresh page, update, refresh page, until it tells you that there's no more updates when you click "Check for updates." When you reach that point you should be ready to rock. When you plug in your Carlinkit to your car's USB port that you use for CarPlay, you will see an different screen that gives you directions to connect your iPhone. Now finally the Carlinkit transmits a bluetooth signal that you can pair with. Go ahead and pair it, and on your phone it'll ask you to confirm if you want to pair it. For some reason, after it's paired via Bluetooth, it'll unpair itself and then continue to use the WiFi connection. That's it! You're all set up. Next time you start your car your iPhone will automatically reconnect. I give this thing 4/5 stars. It would be 5 stars if it came with good instructions. But otherwise, this works perfectly!