Not sure what I’m missing but when I hit the phone button sync tells me it can’t find the phone. But the phone is connected to CarPlay.
help

thanks

 

I would like to know too. I thought it worked at one point, now it doesn't. Also it said out loud I had a text message and allowed me to choose to reply (without hitting any on-screen button). Now it doesn't. Someone else started a thread about known issues, but haven't seen anything that helps with this.

 

can you guys include in your signature your truck's year and trim level? Makes it easier to give advice. Thanks.

 

If I knew how, can't figure out..... novice for sure

 

If it is connected to Car Play, the phone button should turn into the CarPlay button.

 

Luckily for me I had my salesperson take care of this for me. However I wanted to reverse engineer it so I could get my wife's iPhone hooked up as well. From what I figured out, you don't connect it to Bluetooth, you have to connect it to the Sync 4 "wifi" if this helps any. I found out that if you connect it via bluetooth, that the wireless sync for CarPlay, which is relatively new so you don't need to use a USB, does not engage all the features. I am a bit miffed that Ford didn't include a wireless charging for my phone, so I still have a stinkin USB charging cord sticking out of my center console.

 

I have to tell you, I love the B and O sound system but making "this work with that" etc. is a royal pain.

What's at work here? permissions or glitches or what? I'd need to be a total tech nerd to sort this thing out I guess.

Thank goodness I am not going to sell it tomorrow so perhaps some day I'll figure it out (I can't do iHeartRadio until I disable Apple CarPlay in setting I'm told, ugh! I'd honestly feel better if I knew that it was a Ford updates problem as I'd know at some point it would be sorted and it's not my fault.

I said "well at least I can go back to listening to SXM," but nope----hardware issues alert. Every day is some new oddity that an average mortal struggles to resolve. Maybe it is just me and I'm not savvy enough but am optimistic that I'll sort it out.

QR

 

What did the sales person actually do to make work?

 

So I just handed him my phone while I transferred my carseats from my Traverse to the F-150.

Your mileage may vary, and some of these steps might not be necessary:
I've done some tinkering on my own, and you need to connect to the WiFi SSID your truck is pushing out. Mine starts with a P or some such. Make sure Bluetooth is on, too. Also make sure that CarPlay is enabled on your iPhone. You need to also connect to the SYNC 4 in the CarPlay settings on your iPhone. I've basically connected to everything and anything with my phone to get it to work. In all actuality, you probably only need to connect to the SYNC 4 in the CarPlay settings, but I haven't tested that fully. I do know that you need bluetooth on as well, but I don't think you need to fully connect both together. There is an option to connect via bluetooth in the 12" HUD, but that turns CarPlay off, so I am not 100% where these things come into play together.

I haven't connected my wife's iPhone yet, but these are the general steps I am going to take to get it to try and connect.

 

Hopefully I can offer something useful here, being a tech-geek and having tinkered with my XLT's infotainment exhaustively since I got the truck in February...

I do not use any Android devices, so this info is exclusively related to the use of an iPhone with the Sync 4 system. From what I've observed, using your iPhone via Bluetooth and using it via CarPlay seem to be mutually exclusive options. To clarify, by "Bluetooth" I am referring to having your phone set up for info and contact sharing in the Sync settings, which is different from simply "finding and pairing". While your iPhone can be configured to do both (connect to carplay and share content via BT), each method will want to "override" the other when it comes to actual usage. For example: If you attempt to connect to your phone using the Sync messaging screen you will generate a prompt that doing so will disconnect your device from carplay. Similarly, connecting to carplay will immediately render your "Phone" and "Messages" sync screens unavailable.

Coming from the Sync3 system in my 2018, I admit that I had very little confidence for the new version to "wow" me over the carplay environment I've grown to prefer. That being said, I really did give Sync4 a legitimate chance and tried my best to be objective with any comparisons. While I can't say that I've found anything to convince me to change my preference, there's no denying that Sync4 is light years beyond its previous version, and I freely admit there are a lot of nice features that still occasionally tempt me to switch. As it relates to the OP's original questions regarding the behavior, here are some of my observations that may be helpful:

• Messages & Calls
  • SYNC4: Your phone's contacts are downloaded to the sync system, where they can be browsed visually or called up via voice search. Messages are announced by and responded to using sync voice prompts. When the vehicle is stationary, text messages can be displayed on the 12" screen.
  • CarPlay: Your contacts remain on your phone only. There is no visual dictation but any contact on your device can be called/texted using Siri voice prompt. Message notifications are displayed on-screen (depending on iOS notification settings) - they are announced and can be responded to using Siri, but their contents will never be displayed on-screen.
• Navigation
  • SYNC4: Downloaded contacts can be searched and routed to, as can any manually searched or entered destinations (although for the life of me I haven't found any way to sort the favorites list). Although I personally despise the sync routing algorithm, there are some exclusive benefits to using the native sync 4 navigation, including:
    • Tow-friendly routing
    • The ability to add an additional waypoint on your route
    • Full-screen display on the 12" screen
    • Integration with the dash cluster display
    • Can be "minimized" to side panel while other info is displayed in the main pane
  • CarPlay: Contacts remain on your device, but any person with an address can be routed to via Siri prompt (if using Apple maps). Some exclusive benefits to using CarPlay navigation include:
    • Integration with your iPhone calendar to route to events
    • Ability to share location / e.t.a. with contacts while en route
    • Reporting capabilities for accidents, hazards, and speed traps
    • While the above are specific to Apple maps, CarPlay allows the use of at least half a dozen other navigation systems, includng waze, google, tomtom, magic earth, etc.
• Audio
  • SYNC4: When connected via bluetooth, audio content on your phone can be played using Siri prompts by long-pressing the voice command button. Because this essentially acts as an audio-only frontend for your phone, you are not limited to music that you've actually downloaded to your device. For example, you can ask Siri to play one of your Spotify or Apple Music playlists and have the "now playing" info displayed on the 12" screen (with album art) while you listen. It also works with podcasts (I haven't tried with audiobooks), however, there is an extremely limited visual interface to browse or search your content (you can "browse" your phone's media, but it offers only a primitive list of your entire library that I find barely usable, especially when driving).
  • CarPlay: Again, Siri can be used to summon any of your content, although a long-press is not required on the voice prompt button when CarPlay is connected. You also have a visual interface for each supported app that allows you to browse and search your content in an organized, logical manner. Now playing info IS displayed on the 12" side panel screen, but with a much more simplified display (and without album art). As with navigation, you also have more source options to choose from with a ton of supported apps for music/podcasts/news/sports/books/weather/etc). When using CarPlay, there is no need to manipulate the controls in order to use different apps - Siri commands can be used to "Play my favorites on Apple Music", "Shuffle ZZ Top on Pandora", "Play my workout playlist on Spotify", "Play local news on I Heart", etc, etc.
• Apps
  • I honestly haven't played around extensively with app projection on the Sync 4 system since it seems to go insane every time I've tried it. The list of CarPlay-supported apps on iOS is limited, but other than the Amazon Alexa app, I don't recall seeing any offerings in the Ford catalog that are not available on CarPlay (the latter has many more to offer).

I could easily drone on with additional reasons that I personally prefer the CarPlay environment, but I'm trying to keep it as objective and relevant as possible. I know there's "different strokes" and there's no right or wrong choice... I just thought this info might help anyone who's not had as much time to play around in deciding what works best for them.

Cheers,

K