iOS 18.4 has broken CarPlay for some iPhone users – and it's hitting multiple carmakers

(Image credit: Future)

The iOS 18.4 update seems to be causing problems for CarPlay users
Symptoms include connection issues and missing dashboard information
There’s no solid fix yet, compounding the problem

Apple has just released iOS 18.4, which has brought a number of changes to users of many of the best iPhones. Unfortunately, though, it looks like the change has rendered Apple’s CarPlay platform unusable for a number of people, bringing disruption to Apple’s in-car entertainment system.

And according to multiple posts on X and Reddit, it looks like the issues are not restricted to one particular aspect of CarPlay. Instead, a wide range of glitches seem to be cropping up.

For instance, user NRein7 posted on Reddit to say that their car’s dashboard no longer displays Now Playing information after updating to iOS 18.4. Other Redditors chimed in to say that they were unable to connect their phone to their car in the first place, while others found their iPhones would only connect when using certain USB ports, or would repeatedly disconnect and reconnect over time.

We've reached out to Apple to find out if this is a confirmed issue and will update this story if we hear back about a potential fix.

Not just one car brand

The bugs seem to affect users of various car makes and models, including Audi, Ford, Honda and Mazda. That suggests the problem could lie with CarPlay itself rather than a specific car manufacturer’s software. Indeed, one Redditor said Volkswagen had told them that “Apple has to fix” to bug, implying it’s not down to Volkswagen’s own software. We've reached out to Apple to find out if this is the case.

Users have reported trying various methods to resolve the issue, including restarting their iPhones, unpairing and repairing them with their cars, and rebooting their vehicles. Some have found these methods to work, but for others, the problems remained.

Whatever the exact nature of the glitch, it’s a frustrating issue to encounter, and for now, there’s no confirmed fix. If you find yourself falling victim to this CarPlay mishap, you might just have to wait for Apple to roll out an update. The company has deployed the iOS 18.5 beta to testers, and the full version is expected to be released next month. Hopefully that provides a solution, if there isn't a fix before then.

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Alex Blake has been fooling around with computers since the early 1990s, and since that time he's learned a thing or two about tech. No more than two things, though. That's all his brain can hold. As well as TechRadar, Alex writes for iMore, Digital Trends and Creative Bloq, among others. He was previously commissioning editor at MacFormat magazine. That means he mostly covers the world of Apple and its latest products, but also Windows, computer peripherals, mobile apps, and much more beyond. When not writing, you can find him hiking the English countryside and gaming on his PC.