OTTOCAST U2-AIR Wireless CarPlay Adapter for Apple iPhone, Convert Wired to Wireless Plug & Play Dongle 5Ghz WiFi Auto Connect Online Update for iPhone & OEM Wired CarPlay Cars

Using with an iPhone in a 2020 Lexus Rx350. It was very quick and easy to set up and has worked flawlessly the four times since that I have started my car. My husband said the call quality isn’t quite as good as wired, but we need to test more as it could have been the vents blowing harder. Regardless, I am very happy with this purchase and like the CarPlay version better with this device than when I plug in- easier interface/more options. I can’t get messages up on wired.

A year later still working perfectly. No complaints, starts quickly, always accurate.

I purchased this item for my 2021 Lexus NX300 as the car came with wired CarPlay. The connection time isn’t bad, it booted up within 5-6 seconds after turning the car on. Usually by the time the Lexus distraction warning was gone Wireless CarPlay was ready to go. There was no lag between me using the touchpad in the car and the reaction of the cursor on the screen for CarPlay. This is a great concept, but the execution has much to be improved. My issues with this product are: 1. The quality of the audio. I noticed when using the wireless CarPlay, my car speakers had poor audio - little to no bass and highs and lows got crackly/almost inaudible. Switching back to standard Bluetooth or wired CarPlay did not have this issue. I listen to a lot of music and this was a deal breaker for me. 2. Lag when switching songs. I skip around a lot in my playlists and library. The lag is easily 1-2 seconds between pressing my steering wheel button and the audio/display catching up in CarPlay. Again this issue is not present with Bluetooth audio or wired CarPlay. 3. Interference. This device accepts A LOT of interference while driving. It would happen often where I’m driving and the audio will cut out, crackle or even lose the connection because of some other signal (perhaps police radar, stronger wifi bands near by etc). I found this to be very annoying and distracting. 4. This is an edge case, but there are instances where I leave my car running and get out with my phone (for example to go into Starbucks while my friend waits in the car). Once I walk away and come back, the device does not reconnect to my iPhone. I can turn off/on wifi and Bluetooth on my phone and nothing. I have to physically unplug the device from my car and reinsert it to power cycle it. After a minute or so it will reconnect to my phone. This is probably the most annoying issue. 5. Back up camera black screen. After reversing and shifting to park or drive, my screen will be black for a few seconds I guess while the device reloads CarPlay. This happens quite often and can get annoying. 6. Battery drain. Not an issue for this device in particular, but wireless CarPlay SUCKS your battery dry. I download all my music in Apple Music so I’m not even streaming, but the wireless projection of CarPlay absolutely kills my battery on my iPhone 12. Add navigation and forget it. Just throw your battery out. I suppose you could use a Qi charger while connected to Wireless CarPlay, but that seems idiotic in my opinion. At that point just plug the damn wire in and call it a day with wired CarPlay. 7. Song seeking issues. Sometimes a song would end and the next song would begin but 10 seconds into the song. I’ve never had this issue with Apple Music in general or using Bluetooth or wired CarPlay. Very odd. 8. Phone call confusion. My iPhone wouldn’t know which device to connect to to route a call - my car, the phone, Bluetooth or the Wireless CarPlay receiver. Frustrating. 9. Slow disconnect. I shut off the car and it takes a good 5 seconds for my phone to disconnect from CarPlay. This can be annoying especially if you have DND while driving enabled to automatically enable while connected to your car and disable when disconnected. All in all I wouldn’t recommend this device for the above reasons I stated. If you absolutely need CarPlay, plug it in with your wire. If you don’t mind the above issues I mentioned then purchase this device and see how it works in your own car. The cons outweigh the pros in my opinion.

9/23 updates - "Otto" likes to disconnect frequently from the car, Bluetooth and my iPhone and can be very annoying to reconnect. One other very odd “quirk” has appeared with “Otto”. When my car is off and parked in my driveway with “Otto” plugged into the USB audio port in my car, Otto takes over my wireless Sony ear buds when I’m close to the car and kills the Bluetooth signal from my iPhone to my ear buds. See the Car Play photo - that’s what pops up on my iPhone when Otto takes over my Tidal streaming. I unplugged Otto from the vehicle USB and my ear buds were fine. My Palisade must power Otto via the USB cable even when the ignition is off and allow it take over my iPhone. I'm looking for an improved brand or Otto model. It’s very odd to have my Sony ear buds die when I’m doing yard work so from now on, I unplug Otto when I’m doing yard work with my car in the driveway. 3/23 update. 3 months later through a tough, cold winter and “Otto” is still working nearly flawlessly with my iPhone 12 and Tidal streaming. As long as the Tidal app is open on my iPhone, connection is quick. I have not noticed any unusual drop outs or other quirks. It can take a minute or two for iPhone and Otto to connect if the Tidal app isn’t open. But if I click on the Tidal app on the Palisade media display, it connects nearly instantly. Really happy with Otto! 12/21/22 update - got my 2023 Hyundai Palisade and I transferred “Otto” directly from old Mazda CX-9 to the Palisade, which immediately detected Otto and Otto worked instantly. The functionality was nearly perfect just like my old Mazda, I have to click on the Tidal app on my cell phone to fire up streaming with Tidal. Once I do, Car Play and Tidal work perfect! Otherwise, no issues. Original Review - My expectations for this device were low. I was expecting to have to send it back. I was wrong on both counts. Once I got “Otto” set up, it worked flawlessly and wirelessly with my formerly hard wire only Apple Car Play. It even worked with my Tidal streaming app on my iPhone through Otto enabled wireless Air Play. I had to open the Tidal app after my car audio system and “Otto” booted up. My car audio system boots a lot slower than Otto. Navigation, phone, audio and every app worked fine. A couple of install notes. Make SURE you have real Apple Car Play - Otto just makes existing Car Play wireless, it doesn’t create the entire Apple Car Play universe. Make sure you use the proper USB port in your car. You can have multiple USB ports in your car and it’s possible only one works for audio and the rest are power only. That’s how my Mazda CX-9 is set up. Otto includes 2 connection cables. One is USB C to USB C and the other is USB A to USB C. If you don’t know the difference, Google them. You need the right cable. Follow the directions and you should be fine - in a 2019 Mazda CX-9 with Apple Car play. I’ll have connection data on a 2023 Hyundai Palisade in about 10 days after my new Palisade arrives. Hope this helps!

I started off by comparing 10 different wireless CarPlay adapters. I used professional review sites and customer reviews to compare them on: 1) boot up time 2) input lag 3) connection quality/stability 4) updates (how difficult, how long manufacturer provides updates). Based on the data I collected for those points, I went with Ottocast. Here’s how it has measured up for me: 1) Boot time - People were reporting 18 seconds which sounds like an eternity to me but I am finding it to be way faster than that. I haven’t timed it but from the time I turn on the engine, buckle up, and put it in drive, CarPlay is on screen. My biggest fear was that this device wouldn’t be ready for use until I was already well down the road but it has been a non-issue. 2) Input lag - As there is with any wireless CarPlay whether that be via an adapter like this, or native to the car, or built into an aftermarket receiver/head unit, there is input lag/delay. Personally this hasn’t been a bother to me. It’s a minor delay. A little bit longer than the delay I see with plain Bluetooth music streaming, but less delay than I see when using AirPlay between devices at home. 3) Connection stability - It seems like many of these products are plagued with connection drops/disconnects. But that’s what stood out to me about Ottocast in the reviews, it had the least complains about that. And so far I haven’t had any issues. 4) Updates - Most other adapters require an update before using but this worked out of the box. They actually recommend not updating until something stops working - like after a phone update. I haven’t performed an update but it looks to be on pair with all others, and with Ottocast being one of the leading brands in this space, I’m hopeful they’ll be around to keep supporting this product with updates into the future. Some other points worth mentioning: Setup - While this wasn’t a criteria I was tracking/comparing, it is also worth noting how incredibly simple setup was. Just a couple of steps over a couple of minutes and it was ready to go. Size - this thing is incredibly small. I thought it would be much bigger. I like how compact it is - easily stays out of the way. Summary - From review comparing and my real world experience, Ottocast U2 seems like the best product from among its peers, particularly in what I think are the 2 most important aspects: boot up time and connection stability.

5-Star Review: OTTOCAST U2-AIR Wireless CarPlay Adapter 2024 – A Game Changer! I couldn’t be happier with the OTTOCAST U2-AIR Wireless CarPlay Adapter 2024! This device has completely transformed my driving experience by eliminating the hassle of wired connections. Easy Setup & Seamless Connection Setting up the adapter was incredibly simple—just plug it into the USB port, pair it with my iPhone, and within seconds, wireless CarPlay was up and running. The connection is fast and stable, with no noticeable lag, even when switching between apps. Lightning-Fast Performance I was impressed by the instant response time—music, maps, and Siri work just as smoothly as a wired connection. Whether I'm using Apple Maps or Spotify, everything loads without delays or interruptions. Compact & Reliable The sleek, compact design keeps my car interior neat and clutter-free. I’ve been using it for weeks, and I haven't experienced any dropouts or connectivity issues. It automatically reconnects every time I start my car, which is super convenient. Final Thoughts If you’re tired of dealing with cables and want hassle-free, wireless CarPlay, the OTTOCAST U2-AIR is a must-have. It’s an excellent investment that delivers on performance, reliability, and ease of use. Highly recommended! 🚗✨ Would definitely buy again! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I have a Ford Sync 3 system. Like other wifi based CarPlay adapters, this one syncs with your phone via wifi to provide the hard link via USB to the system. The problem is the system and the adapter only recognize each other about 50% of the time at startup. After a day of this I thought maybe it was the adapter software so I updated the adapter via the instructions provided. Unfortunately that didn't solve the problem and still only about 1/2 time did the sync happen at startup of the car, trying it multiple times per day over the course of the next 3 weeks. Unplugging the adapter, waiting about 10 seconds, then plugging it back in to the USB port will often reset the system so it then syncs and CarPlay starts. However this defeats the point of having the wireless setup, and since I keep the adapter in the armrest box is a bit of a pain. If there were a reset button either on the adapter itself, or better a reset button on screen that showed it would help significantly. I had a 9XX built in CarPlay adapter installed on another car that only missed syncing about 1/20th of the time, but had a reset button that showed on screen when it missed the correct sync so it was easy to get it back to operating in case it missed sync at startup. That was a more expensive setup and not for Ford so it's not an option here, but shows what can be accomplished if the designers chose. This adapter is a simple setup to plug into the USB port, and is cheap, but you're getting what you pay for. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be many other options available right now with better reviews either. If half time working is OK with you then this one does work well. As others have mentioned there is a slight lag between touching the onscreen buttons and response, but that's for all wifi based CarPlay systems and it's not a major issue - the lag is only for half a second. All CarPlay functions work just like plugging in the iPhone. More annoying is just that it doesn't work consistently to establish the CarPlay connection with the Ford Sync 3 system. So I returned the adapter and am now just back to plugging in my iPhone each time I get in. Can't leave the phone in my pocket but I know it will sync when I plug it in.

I bought the OttoCast U2-Air for my 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 5 which has wired Apple CarPlay. After using CarPlay I thought it would be much more useful if I didn't have to plug in my iPhone 13 everytime I got into the car. I had heard about wireless adaptors for CarPlay and thought that the U2-Air would be perfect for me - and the price was very attractive. I received it in just 2 days through Amazon and it worked almost perfectly. It was very easy to set up and I liked that it automatically connected to my iPhone every time I got into the car. However, on a long trip where I was using the Hyundai navigation system to find EV charging stations along my route I discovered a flaw: the steering wheel button that enables voice commands no longer worked for the car's built-in navigation system - instead, when pushing the button, it brought up Siri on my iPhone. The owner's manual for the Hyundai said that a "short press" would initiate the car voice command system and a "long press" would initiate Siri, but it didn't work that way when using the U2-Air. I contacted Ottocast tech support by email and they responded in less than 24 hours with the suggestion to upgrade the U2-Air firmware with very clear and specific instructions on how to do so. With their help (thanks Julie!) I was able to upgrade the firmware which fixed the problem. I'm really quite impressed with the product itself as well as the integrity of the tech support organization. I highly recommend this product to anyone who has a car with wired Apple CarPlay and would like to convert it to wireless Apple CarPlay.

Works as advertised and makes life a lot easier in motorhome !

Funciona bien !!

Very good Product. Connects fast and works well without any lag

I am impressed by the quality of the connection, fast and stable connection

It works perfectly and allows you to use your CarPlay without any cable. After sales also works perfectly: I had an issue and immediately they replied with the solution.