If your car integrates CarPlay or Android Auto but you hate plugging in your phone while you drive, these dongles may do the trick.

I've been writing about computers, the internet, and technology professionally for 30 years, more than half of that time with PCMag. I run several special projects including the Readers' Choice and Business Choice surveys, and yearly coverage of the Fastest ISPs and Best Gaming ISPs. I work from my home, and did it long before pandemics made it cool.

Most in-car infotainment interfaces are...not great. Just trying to hang up a call without hitting the wrong button can be an exercise in hair-pulling frustration. But your phone's interface displayed on the dashboard screen? Now that's nice. If you’re like me, when you finally got a vehicle that supported Apple CarPlay (for iPhones) or Android Auto, you fell in love with it.

The downside is that in most vehicles, to use CarPlay and Android Auto you must plug your phone in every time. Digging it out of a pocket or purse can be cumbersome, and it also means more wear and tear on the power port. If you’re limping along with an older iPhone, you probably know the Lightning port is not up to that much stress. Mine was at a point where the phone connecting was hit or miss, no matter how often I changed cables.

Then I found out about wireless CarPlay dongles. They plug into your car's smart USB-A or USB-C port. Normally, whichever smartphone plugs into it will then display on the screen. The wireless dongle is a go-between; it connects your smartphone to the dashboard via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. So you can get in the car and start rolling—no need to plug in.

These wireless adapters are now flooding the market. Many look suspiciously similar, so there’s probably only a handful of actual product developers licensing the designs. Search Amazon and you’ll find a plethora of “brand names” you’ve never heard of before, such as Drimfly, Zeteade, Teeran, Vrriis, Binize, and Loadkey. And some you may have seen in ads on TikTok or Instagram, such as CarlinKit and Pairr. Quite a few adapter brands don’t even sell via Amazon and stick to direct sales; they typically ship from overseas and will take days, if not weeks, to reach you.

We tested seven devices from five vendors, and our experience with each was similar. What they all share is that once you have your phone connected, you’ll appreciate the ease of wireless CarPlay or Android Auto. But you'll also notice a slight lag from hitting a button on the screen to when it responds (for example, when pausing a song) compared with using the direct wired connection.

One more warning: Once you have your adapter working, don’t mess with the settings. Read on to see why.

The first CarPlay adapter I tried, the Cplay2Air, is straightforward: You plug the Cplay2Air directly into the car’s USB-A smart port via the integrated cable.

A few caveats before you get started: Your phone can't be connected to other Bluetooth devices, not even the hands-free option for your car’s infotainment system—I had to delete my phone’s existing entry. It also can't be connected to another Wi-Fi network, which is difficult if you've got a strong signal from the house that reaches your driveway. The Cplay2Air works with the iPhone 6 and up, and you can plug it into a USB-C port if you buy your own converter cable.

Once the Cplay2Air is plugged in, try to access CarPlay and the device's interface appears on-screen instead. You click Search, go to the phone and find the matching name in Bluetooth to pair it; it’ll also set up the requisite Wi-Fi connection. From there, you can enter an IP address in your iPhone browser to access the dongle's settings, and then update the firmware if necessary. You can also change the name of the Bluetooth connection and the Wi-Fi SSID, but don’t bother—the confirmation dialog boxes are in Chinese.

From the Cplay2Air interface on the dash, you can choose between different iPhones if multiple people have them and are all vying for control. Then the screen switches over to CarPlay. Your iPhone treats this as a new instance of CarPlay, so if you have the icons pre-arranged, you’ll have to arrange them again in Settings > General > CarPlay.

After that, every time I entered the car, Cplay2Air connected to my iPhone and started CarPlay without a problem. The only issue—one that’s true of all these dongles—is the delay time. It takes a little longer to start wireless CarPlay, and there’s a noticeable lag when you push a button on the dash to when the phone actually reacts. That’s simply how it is with these things. How well you tolerate that depends on how frustrating you found your wired CarPlay connection. There was no added lag during phone calls in my tests, though.

Ottocast says the U2-Air works with 600+ car models from 2016 on, except for some Sony aftermarket head units. Its boot time is rated at 18 seconds, and it defaults to 5GHz Wi-Fi. This model only works with iPhones running IOS 10 and up. Unlike some of the other vendors in this roundup, Ottocast has actual offices in the US, but that doesn’t mean the device arrives in the mail any faster.

The stylish-looking (by dongle standards) U2-Air is easy to set up. It includes a 12-inch USB-A to USB-C, cable plus a USB-C to USB-C cable. Once the iPhone connects via Bluetooth, the iPhone takes over the screen. Much like the Cplay2Air, it supports multiple iPhones. You can access the U2-Air’s settings via an IP address typed into the browser on your iPhone.

Most of these devices required a firmware upgrade in my tests, but the U2-Air was different. It worked out of the box, and the manual specifically says “updating is NOT recommended when every function works well.” I updated it anyway...and the U2-Air immediately stopped talking to the dash. I could still access the dongle's Wi-Fi, but the browser settings page wouldn’t let me hard reset, so I had to use the old paper-clip-stuck-in-the-recessed-button-slot reset—Ottocast is one of the few to have that option.

Best for Fans of Big LEDs

The Magic Link from The Magic Brand(Opens in a new window) is rated to work with any iPhone from the 5 to the 13, in “any vehicle with wired CarPlay.” It's bigger than some of the others at 3.2 inches long, and it includes a decent-sized status LED on the front. It also has two ports—one at the top for USB-C, and another for USB-A at the bottom, which you can plug the iPhone into via a Lighting cable to use wired CarPlay, making The Magic Link just a $129 pass-thru.

Like the above devices, using The Magic Link starts out just fine: Plug it in, watch the intermediary interface appear on screen, look for the Bluetooth connection on the iPhone, connect to it, and CarPlay is up and running. The usual lag applies. It includes a 12-inch USB-A to USB-C cable.

Rather than go against the manual, I did not update the firmware on The Magic Link. Instead, I got annoyed that it (like the Cplay2Air) created Bluetooth and Wi-Fi network names like HondaXXXX. So I used the web interface with the device via Safari on the iPhone to change the Wi-Fi SSID. Big mistake. After the reboot, The Magic Link’s LED started blinking red. (Suddenly I missed the Chinese-only confirmation boxes of the Cplay2Air.) While the device would talk to the dash and connect to my iPhone via Bluetooth, the Wi-Fi network was no longer available. There’s no recessed reset button to set it back to the factory settings and no info on it online. I emailed the vendor for resent instructions. I’m still waiting to hear back.

The gist is, don’t mess with settings on these dongles if you don’t have to. Once it is up and running, leave it alone.

Setting up the AA Wireless dongle was about as painful as the Carsifi, unfortunately. It comes with a long, braided cloth, 18-inch USB-C to USB-A cable, which is nice. You first connect to it via Bluetooth—it comes up with a name like “AndroidAuto-AAWCxxxxxx.” After that, you need to install an app so you can do the required firmware update. A QR code for the app is on the back page of the little manual, and there’s a link on the company website.

Normally, it should then take over the dashboard, but that didn’t happen until I went into the app, clicked Device Settings, and set “Passthrough” to disabled. Thankfully, unlike so many other devices of this ilk, the software for the AA Wireless is at least nice to look at, though the settings remain esoteric.

After that, Android Auto popped right up on the screen and worked fine after a few car restarts and re-plugging of the device into the smart port. Which is good, because there isn't any apparent tech support available from the company. The website(Opens in a new window) allows ordering (it promises to ship within 7 days from their Dallas warehouse for US customers). For help, there’s a FAQ and troubleshooting guide in the app, but mostly you’re on your own. Thankfully, if you screw things up during the setup, the AA Wireless has a recessed reset button.

The Android Auto dongles induced hairpulling during setup, starting with the Carsifi. Admittedly, I was somewhat hampered by testing with an Android device (a Google Pixel 4) with no cellular data plan—that would have made the firmware updates and accessing the help files via the Carsifi app a lot easier. But even after the updates, I still had to experiment with settings, finally turning off Carsifi’s “Intercept AA protocol,” before it would work in my 2018 Honda.

The big difference between an Android Auto dongle and a CarPlay dongle is the Android Auto ones require an app from the Google Play store, plus a firmware update you must perform from the app. The Carsifi box lid has a QR code inside that makes it easy to get the right app; there’s more info and help on the company's website(Opens in a new window) .

Once I finished setup, the Android Auto interface took over my dash quickly. Restarting the car or replugging the dongle did nothing to break re-connection. It seemed the connection was a little faster than with CarPlay. I like that Carsifi ships with cables for those USB-A and USB-C connectors. It includes a short (9-inch) USB-A to USB-C cable, a USB-C to USB-C cable, and double-sided tape.

That said, these Android Auto dongles are not for people who can’t tolerate installation hassles. Which might explain why the Android Auto wireless dongles are the lowest priced in this roundup.

Best for Using an iPhone and an Android Phone in the Same Car

Most cars, if they support wired CarPlay, probably also support Android Auto (or vice versa, depending on how you roll). Obviously, not all dongles do that. The OttoCast U2-X does, and at a reasonable price. It's nice to have a dongle that supports both if you have a family that crosses the mobile OS streams. It includes a 12-inch USB-A to USB-C cable and a USB-C to USB-C cable. The U2-X is rated for any vehicle with wired CarPlay from 2016 on, but not for BMWs or Sony aftermarket head units.

Setting up the CarPlay for an iPhone was the same as the CarPlay dongles above: plug it in, look for the Bluetooth name and connect to it, wait for a dialog box to pop up asking to use the device's Wi-Fi for CarPlay, click okay, and watch your iPhone take over the dash. You can access a settings page via Safari if desired, to change network names or install firmware updates. Which I did not do, because I usually learn by the fourth screw-up not to touch it if it's working.

To use Android Auto, for once, you don’t need an app, but it does require phones to run Android 11 or higher. The Wireless Android Auto feature must be activated in the Android Auto app. Then when the interface for the U2-X appears on the dash, you must double-tap an icon on the lower left. That is not at all clear on the interface and I wouldn’t have copped to it had I not found it in the manual.

Switching back and forth between iPhone and Android phone with that method isn’t intuitive. It requires you to put whatever phone(s) you don’t want showing on the dashboard screen into Airplane Mode, and even then, the double tap didn’t always work in my tests. Nice as it is to have a unit that supports both types of phone, the Ottocast U2-X makes switching back and forth more hassle than it's worth.

Best for Mirroring Your Entire Phone Screen

Almost all the wireless dongles that support both CarPlay and Android Auto in one are still well under $150. When you see the price on The Magic Box, you should know that it's something different from the rest. That’s because it's a standalone Android box that you can plug directly in to take over the dashboard screen. While it runs Android, it still supports CarPlay for iPhone users. The Magic Box works in (most) cars and even on your home TV via an HDMI out port.

I say most, because I was told by the vendor upon requesting the device that “Magic Box doesn’t have 100% compatibility with Honda.” That could be a problem since I’m testing with a 2018 Honda CR-V. “But most of the time, it works,” they said. So why not try it?

The installation video(Opens in a new window) says you plug it into your car's smart port, be it USB-C or USB-A, with the other USB-C end going into The Magic Box. It includes an 8-inch premium braided cloth USB-A to USB-C cable and a USB-C to USB-C cable. The Magic Box takes about 20 seconds to load and displays a fun animation screen. It warns you not to use the dongle while in motion, and then deposits you in a configuration screen. The Magic Box runs Android itself, and thus has its own settings you must use—like setting it up to use Wi-Fi from your home, or when parked by the coffee shop, or off of your phone’s mobile hotspot while you’re on the road.

On the home screen are apps to launch CarPlay or Android Auto, plus others such as Google Maps. Pretty much any app available in the Google Play store or that you can sideload is an option—they even ship with a few of the non-Google-Play apps available on the device. You’ll need to log into individual apps and keep them up-to-date, like on your phone. If you prefer to mirror your phone to the dashboard (or your TV), you select the Phone Cast app and activate screen mirroring on your phone—it should work like a charm with iOS.

The vendor specifically says to unplug The Magic Box every time you turn off the car. It pulls more electricity than other dongles when in use, so it could drain your car battery faster if you leave it in. It didn't matter, though, because I never got it to work with my Honda. The boot animation tried to launch exactly once (pegging my speakers at full volume) and then it never worked again. I gave up after numerous re-plugs, resets, and erasing settings stored in the dash for Bluetooth. It's not like I wasn’t warned.

Testing these devices made it clear that we’re overdue to see wireless CarPlay and Android Auto in vehicles—sans dongles.

Cars.com has a helpful list of the makes and models(Opens in a new window) that natively support wireless CarPlay/Android Auto as of February 2022. It's small, but it's growing. Hopefully, we’ll see it become standard soon.

But if you’re stuck with a slightly older vehicle that has wired CarPlay and Android Auto, and you hate plugging your phone in every single time you drive somewhere, snag a simple unit such as the Cplay2Air or the Carsifi. Get it working to your satisfaction. Then never touch it again. That’s where these dongles shine.

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