Q7 Apple Car Play no longer working

[Rob Hogan]

Hi all. The Apple Car play in my wife's 2016 Q7 has stopped working with either my or my wife's iPhones - when up until a few weeks ago they both worked well in the Q7. They both works perfectly with ACP in my A3 Cab' using the same cable. I no longer see the "Audi Smartphone" menu option in the main MMI menu of the Q7, so suspect I/we have accidentally switched something off thus the Q7 isn't recognising the CarPlay. Any ideas anyone?

[Igloo]

Mine is broken too. Been meaning to take it into audi to get it looked at.

I don’t have another car to test car play on so wasn’t sure it wasn’t just me!

Let me know if you get it fixed

[wardienet]

Not sure if it the same problem but quite often (let’s say 1/3 of the time) my Q7 won’t connect to ACP on iPhone 8. The Audi Smartphone menu item is always there it just doesn’t change to CarPlay. To fix it I have to go into connection manager, scroll to bottom and manually tick my phone on the list of available devices for Audi Smartphone. Odd. But I’ve never seen the menu disappear. That sounds like a licensing issue with ACP... Originally my car didn’t have it installed but my dealer added it for me when I bought it approved used. It was just a DVD-like box from Audi HQ with some licence codes in it the techs installed at the dealership and after a software download, voila!


Q7 3.0 TDi ABT Power 325bhp MY16 S-Line Tech/Tour/Trailer packs, orca black, 21 inch 9.5J rims, rotor grey leather, sunroof, BOSE, ambient lighting, reversing cam, drivers memory seat. Gtechniq Crystal Serum Ultra ceramic coating. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk.

[andyhud007]

I doubt that AA or ACP have been "removed" from your unit, it would be as wardienet has stated and go into Connection Manager and re-tick your phone under connection manager.

Without any phone connected do you see "Audi Smartphone Interface" in the menu items at all? (the one that changes to "CarPlay" when you plug your phone in)?

Also try a 3 finger reboot your MMI unit (Hold NAV and RADIO up and press centre dial) and this will cause the MMI to reboot. It may re-appear after that.

Let us know. There is one more thing we can use to validate your install if that doesnt work

Cheers

Andy

[Igloo]

Just to add,

Going into the menu and reselecting my phone with it plugged in worked and car play works again.

[Rob Hogan]

Thanks Andy. I tried the "3-finger reboot" but no change. I no longer see the "Audi Smartphone Interface" in the main circular and rotating menu - with or without the phone connected to the USB. Interesting, I contacted Audi Nottingham (where the car was purchased). They are telling me that the "16" plate Q7s didn't come with ACP. I am even starting to doubt myself now!!!

[andyhud007]

Hey Rob.

Correct. Early 16 plate models didn't come shipped from factory with car play and android auto however some of them were eligible for the enablement of it with the booklet that was mentioned in this thread. It's cost £250 to buy and then your dealer would enable it.

If you take a pic of your USB ports in your centre console its a way to tell if your car had it or not. Can you post a pic of them?

I'd be very surprised if you magically have forgotten that you never had it. Its quite obvious if you did!

Andy

[wardienet]

Hey Rob.

Correct. Early 16 plate models didn't come shipped from factory with car play and android auto however some of them were eligible for the enablement of it with the booklet that was mentioned in this thread. It's cost £250 to buy and then your dealer would enable it.

If you take a pic of your USB ports in your centre console its a way to tell if your car had it or not. Can you post a pic of them?

I'd be very surprised if you magically have forgotten that you never had it. Its quite obvious if you did!

Andy

Yeah I was luck with mine, it was in the VIN range to enable it afterwards. Reason I mentioned the license was just thinking it may be something strange related to the expiry of the original 3 years Audi connect data etc? That range of cars didn’t come with embedded SIM so I have to put my own with but it came with 3 years of Audi connectivity if you did. I had to get mine manually renewed recently (for free) - not sure if ACP worked OK during that period when it expired, can’t remember. Rob is that the case with your car i.e. has it just stopped working as car is 3 years old?


Q7 3.0 TDi ABT Power 325bhp MY16 S-Line Tech/Tour/Trailer packs, orca black, 21 inch 9.5J rims, rotor grey leather, sunroof, BOSE, ambient lighting, reversing cam, drivers memory seat. Gtechniq Crystal Serum Ultra ceramic coating. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk.

[Rob Hogan]

Hey Rob.

Correct. Early 16 plate models didn't come shipped from factory with car play and android auto however some of them were eligible for the enablement of it with the booklet that was mentioned in this thread. It's cost £250 to buy and then your dealer would enable it.

If you take a pic of your USB ports in your centre console its a way to tell if your car had it or not. Can you post a pic of them?

I'd be very surprised if you magically have forgotten that you never had it. Its quite obvious if you did!

Andy

Thanks Andy. I have taken a photo of the centre console USB ports (which, incidentally, are the identical to those in my 2019 A3 Cab') as follows:
36138

Sorry it is upside down. Thoughts?

Also - thanks Wardienet - for you post as follows "Yeah I was luck with mine, it was in the VIN range to enable it afterwards. Reason I mentioned the license was just thinking it may be something strange related to the expiry of the original 3 years Audi connect data etc? That range of cars didn’t come with embedded SIM so I have to put my own with but it came with 3 years of Audi connectivity if you did. I had to get mine manually renewed recently (for free) - not sure if ACP worked OK during that period when it expired, can’t remember. Rob is that the case with your car i.e. has it just stopped working as car is 3 years old?"

That sounds a possibility as the Q7 was first registered in April 2016 and, as you say, the Audi Connect would have expired in April of this year. This would coincide with the time when ACP worked and then hasn't since. So your suspicion might be so.

Thanks.

[andyhud007]

Thanks Andy. I have taken a photo of the centre console USB ports (which, incidentally, are the identical to those in my 2019 A3 Cab') as follows:
36138

Sorry it is upside down. Thoughts?

Also - thanks Wardienet - for you post as follows "Yeah I was luck with mine, it was in the VIN range to enable it afterwards. Reason I mentioned the license was just thinking it may be something strange related to the expiry of the original 3 years Audi connect data etc? That range of cars didn’t come with embedded SIM so I have to put my own with but it came with 3 years of Audi connectivity if you did. I had to get mine manually renewed recently (for free) - not sure if ACP worked OK during that period when it expired, can’t remember. Rob is that the case with your car i.e. has it just stopped working as car is 3 years old?"

That sounds a possibility as the Q7 was first registered in April 2016 and, as you say, the Audi Connect would have expired in April of this year. This would coincide with the time when ACP worked and then hasn't since. So your suspicion might be so.

Thanks.

Thanks Rob

Ok, you definitely have the right USB ports for Car Play and AA. Thats a good sign

Regarding Audi Connect expiring etc, I guess its a possibility but my car was registered in March 2016 and when my Audi Connect expired (after 3 years) my Car Play and AA still worked fine. But I guess anything is a possibility.

For reference just ring up Audi Customer Service and say your Audi Connect has expired - they will extend it for another 12 months for free (as they havent figured out how to charge people for it yet). So do that, and it auto updates on your MMI after about 2 days. Something for nothing.

Regarding ACP - It would be great if you could check if your MMI unit is still licensed for car play. To do this you need to load up a special menu on your MMI unit

1. Wait for your MMI to load and wait a few minutes so you know its "settled down"
2. Hold up the NAV/MAP/TEL Button and hold down on the Radio/Media for about 5 seconds at the same time. If you have done it right you'll get a Red Engineering menu appear (Don't worry your just checking info, you can't do any damage)
3. Scroll to System (or Settings - I can't recall) and find Application Keys. Should look similar to the screenshot below.

36139

4. Look for the numbers:

00060900
00060800


5. These are the 2 licenses for Car Play and Android Auto. If you see both of these, then your unit is definitely activated for Car Play and Android Auto. If you dont see these 2 numbers, then its not
6. When your finished, do that 3 finger salute to reboot your MMI

Be great to confirm that

Ta

Andy

[AT.]

To do this you need to load up a special menu on your MMI unit

Wow Andy, thank you for this tip! IMHO the access to the "Red menu" could be added to the Tips&trick session, as I don't remember it was ever mentioned.

Also, let me ask a question: If I have the exact same USB port in my car, but no licence, then the only thing I have to do to activate the Carplay is to purchase a licence key from Audi?

[andyhud007]

Wow Andy, thank you for this tip! IMHO the access to the "Red menu" could be added to the Tips&trick session, as I don't remember it was ever mentioned.

Also, let me ask a question: If I have the exact same USB port in my car, but no licence, then the only thing I have to do to activate the Carplay is to purchase a licence key from Audi?

Yeah. Never really thought to add it as you can't use it for much without the right other bits but it is an easy way to view some simple info about your mmi.

Correct. If you have those USB ports you have the right ones to support car play (the older USB ports had a little phone icon under one of the USB ports. These ones don't support carplay and would need to be swapped out). Then yes, assume audi say your csr is eligible for the official update and are happy to apply it to your car then yep, your good to go.

If they say your car isn't eligible for the car play enablement then there are other ways.....

Cheers.

Andy.

[jldiablo]

Has the car went in for service or got any work done recently by the dealership? I know that there is a MMI update the dealership is keen to apply... if it did, maybe they done the update and somehow it messed up the ASI licenses?... the MMI version number and the red menu info will tell us something

[wardienet]

Wow Andy, thank you for this tip! IMHO the access to the "Red menu" could be added to the Tips&trick session, as I don't remember it was ever mentioned.

Also, let me ask a question: If I have the exact same USB port in my car, but no licence, then the only thing I have to do to activate the Carplay is to purchase a licence key from Audi?



If you had it before (which is obvious as your phone would have show “CarPlay” and the Apple-like menu on the MMI screen) then you shouldn’t pay for a new licence just go to your dealer and tell them it’s broke and they need to fix it... Although if out of warranty it could get interesting I suppose.


Q7 3.0 TDi ABT Power 325bhp MY16 S-Line Tech/Tour/Trailer packs, orca black, 21 inch 9.5J rims, rotor grey leather, sunroof, BOSE, ambient lighting, reversing cam, drivers memory seat. Gtechniq Crystal Serum Ultra ceramic coating. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk.

[AT.]

Yeah. Never really thought to add it as you can't use it for much without the right other bits but it is an easy way to view some simple info about your mmi.

Thank You Andy and thank you all for the info!

I will go to Audi, and will refer you with the answers later. Have a nice weekend!

[Rob Hogan]

Thanks Rob

Ok, you definitely have the right USB ports for Car Play and AA. Thats a good sign

Regarding Audi Connect expiring etc, I guess its a possibility but my car was registered in March 2016 and when my Audi Connect expired (after 3 years) my Car Play and AA still worked fine. But I guess anything is a possibility.

For reference just ring up Audi Customer Service and say your Audi Connect has expired - they will extend it for another 12 months for free (as they havent figured out how to charge people for it yet). So do that, and it auto updates on your MMI after about 2 days. Something for nothing.

Regarding ACP - It would be great if you could check if your MMI unit is still licensed for car play. To do this you need to load up a special menu on your MMI unit

1. Wait for your MMI to load and wait a few minutes so you know its "settled down"
2. Hold up the NAV/MAP/TEL Button and hold down on the Radio/Media for about 5 seconds at the same time. If you have done it right you'll get a Red Engineering menu appear (Don't worry your just checking info, you can't do any damage)
3. Scroll to System (or Settings - I can't recall) and find Application Keys. Should look similar to the screenshot below.

36139

4. Look for the numbers:

00060900
00060800


5. These are the 2 licenses for Car Play and Android Auto. If you see both of these, then your unit is definitely activated for Car Play and Android Auto. If you dont see these 2 numbers, then its not
6. When your finished, do that 3 finger salute to reboot your MMI

Be great to confirm that

Ta

Andy

Thanks Andy for the response. Sorry for delayed response.

I have contacted Audi Customer Service and they (as you said they would) said they would extend my Audi Connect for another year free. I can't telll if it has made any difference yet as they said it would take up to two weeks to complete and that they would send me an email to confirm. I waited a day thinking this was a case of under promising and over delivering. Hasn't happened yet.

Unless I am doing something wrong, I can't access the RED menu using the method you described. Nothing happens. I have check the internet and different actions are mentioned but none on a 2016+ model. Any other thoughts gratefully received.

Rob :Blush:

[andyhud007]

Thanks Andy for the response. Sorry for delayed response.

I have contacted Audi Customer Service and they (as you said they would) said they would extend my Audi Connect for another year free. I can't telll if it has made any difference yet as they said it would take up to two weeks to complete and that they would send me an email to confirm. I waited a day thinking this was a case of under promising and over delivering. Hasn't happened yet.

Unless I am doing something wrong, I can't access the RED menu using the method you described. Nothing happens. I have check the internet and different actions are mentioned but none on a 2016+ model. Any other thoughts gratefully received.

Rob :Blush:

Hey Rob

No worries, glad they offered to extend. Yep, mine updated after about 3 days after the phonecall to Audi CS.. so give it a couple more days. I dont think it will take 2 weeks. I know a couple of other guys have done the same 12 month extension via Audi CS and it only took a few days to "activate". Just sit tight a little longer

RE: Red Menu. Wait for the MMI to load up and give it a couple of minutes to be fully settled down, then at the same time with both hands hold the NAV Button up and the RADIO Button downwards and hold in that position for upto 10 seconds. the screen should then change to the Red Menu.

Pic below. Sorry its not the right way up!

36143

[Rob Hogan]

Andy. Thanks again for the speedy response. Can I just check that the main round button is not involved in this "Red Menu" procedure? The image you sent shows it as "red", possibly being involved in the procedure.

Next issue is that the wife has just gone out in the Q7 !!!!!!! so I can't check it out again - Doh !! Will do so later.

Many thanks.

R

[andyhud007]

Andy. Thanks again for the speedy response. Can I just check that the main round button is not involved in this "Red Menu" procedure? The image you sent shows it as "red", possibly being involved in the procedure.

Next issue is that the wife has just gone out in the Q7 !!!!!!! so I can't check it out again - Doh !! Will do so later.

Many thanks.

R

No mate, the main rotary dial is not involved. Image is a bit deceiving but definitely not involved

Let us know!

[srbsq7]

Good luck getting it resolved.

Just to tack onto this. For those who don’t mind trying new things out, iOS 13 beta is good and brings some nice touches to CarPlay.

Started to use waze much more of late.

[wardienet]

Hey Rob

No worries, glad they offered to extend. Yep, mine updated after about 3 days after the phonecall to Audi CS.. so give it a couple more days. I dont think it will take 2 weeks. I know a couple of other guys have done the same 12 month extension via Audi CS and it only took a few days to "activate". Just sit tight a little longer

RE: Red Menu. Wait for the MMI to load up and give it a couple of minutes to be fully settled down, then at the same time with both hands hold the NAV Button up and the RADIO Button downwards and hold in that position for upto 10 seconds. the screen should then change to the Red Menu.

Pic below. Sorry its not the right way up!

36143

My extended activation took over a week but that’s because it ran out just before Xmas shutdown and the folks that do it in Audi HQ in Germany were on hols for ages... It has to be done my some central department the dealers/Audi UK contact apparently.


Q7 3.0 TDi ABT Power 325bhp MY16 S-Line Tech/Tour/Trailer packs, orca black, 21 inch 9.5J rims, rotor grey leather, sunroof, BOSE, ambient lighting, reversing cam, drivers memory seat. Gtechniq Crystal Serum Ultra ceramic coating. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk.

[sandstheman]

I'm in a similar situation, bought a used approved audi q7 4M (2016), I can see the option for audio smartphone interface in the menu but no matter what I connect, apple or android, neither are detected for carplay/android auto. Looking at the USB ports looks like I have the right ones for this to work.

Assume then that this is a licence/fec issue?

Is my only route to payup for the booklet with codes to get the feature working?

Thanks

[AT.]

I'm in a similar situation, bought a used approved audi q7 4M (2016), I can see the option for audio smartphone interface in the menu but no matter what I connect, apple or android, neither are detected for carplay/android auto.

If you see the smartphone interface, then you have it. However there are mandatory things to do:

- you have to enable the Carplay in the Iphone menu,
- you have to pair the phone with the Connection manager in the MMI, sometimes you have to pair it again, and you have to select it in the Connection menu. Without it, the system will not recognise the phone.
- and most of all, you have to enable Siri, as without it, the system will not work.

I hope these info will help to you too.

[sandstheman]

Have tried those steps, but still not working.

I managed to get into the engineering menu this evening and check the FEC's and not seeing the codes that apply for apple car play/android auto. Which is odd considering the smartphone option is in the menu.

Suspect that's the missing element then.. 😕

[andyhud007]

Have tried those steps, but still not working.

I managed to get into the engineering menu this evening and check the FEC's and not seeing the codes that apply for apple car play/android auto. Which is odd considering the smartphone option is in the menu.

Suspect that's the missing element then.. [emoji53]Yep. That will be it. Did it definitely work before? Maybe the previous owner tried to enable the menu (Audi Smartphone Interface) which is easy to do but without the licenses it won't do anything.

What software version is your mmi on?

[sandstheman]

If you see the smartphone interface, then you have it. However there are mandatory things to do:

- you have to enable the Carplay in the Iphone menu,
- you have to pair the phone with the Connection manager in the MMI, sometimes you have to pair it again, and you have to select it in the Connection menu. Without it, the system will not recognise the phone.
- and most of all, you have to enable Siri, as without it, the system will not work.

I hope these info will help to you too.


Yep. That will be it. Did it definitely work before? Maybe the previous owner tried to enable the menu (Audi Smartphone Interface) which is easy to do but without the licenses it won't do anything.

What software version is your mmi on?

I'm assuming it worked before seeing as the menu option is there, but hasnt worked since I've had the car. So may well be the case as you that just the mneu option was enabled only.

It's on version 0442, time for an update?

[andyhud007]

I'm assuming it worked before seeing as the menu option is there, but hasnt worked since I've had the car. So may well be the case as you that just the mneu option was enabled only.

It's on version 0442, time for an update?

Yes, most likely. Can you go back into your Red Engineering Menu and take a pic of your Version screen and send it over?Can see what update your eligible for.

[sandstheman]

Yes, most likely. Can you go back into your Red Engineering Menu and take a pic of your Version screen and send it over?Can see what update your eligible for.


Sure, i'll grab a picture when I get in after work....

[andyhud007]

Sure, i'll grab a picture when I get in after work....Nice one.

[nbedford]

If you can get into REM (Red Engineerign Menu) you can also see which keys your car has and which are valid, this will clearly show if your car has the required keys for CarPlay/AndroidAuto

36406

[sandstheman]

So took pictures of the software version and the keys, this is what i got....

3640736408

[andyhud007]

So took pictures of the software version and the keys, this is what i got....

3640736408

Yep, you should be on 0976 and your missing the 2 license keys for AA and CarPlay.

[sandstheman]

Yep, you should be on 0976 and your missing the 2 license keys for AA and CarPlay.

Ok - it's a trip to the local dealer for the software update and licenses? Are there 'other' ways to get the software update and apply myself or is it not advised...

[sandstheman]

Thanks for reaching Andy, not able to respond to your PM, tried sending an email, not sure if you received it.